“The Wheel of Time” TV series, based on Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books, has made some minor but significant alterations to the original predictions about the Dragon’s rebirth. While the show has been reasonably loyal to the novels thus far, there have been a few modifications. The aging of various cast members, the more blatantly grim tone, and the changes to who the Dragon Reborn could be are the most noticeable of them.
The preceding Dragon in Jordan’s Wheel of Time books was Lews Therin Telamon, who was partially responsible for the Breaking of the World. The Dragon will be reincarnated to combat the Dark One in the Last Battle, according to legend. The Dragon will be born on Dragonmount and reared by the “ancient blood,” which aids Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) in her journey to the Two Rivers, where a vast civilization once stood, according to the Dragon Prophecies. A Foretelling, or prophesy, from the Keeper at the White Tower indicates the Dragon has been born again twenty years before the events of The Eye of the World, during the events of the prequel novel New Spring.
While it may seem unusual to change something as important to the plot as the Dragon Prophecy in “The Wheel of Time“, the adjustments are beneficial. The show’s revised take on the prophecy allows for a lot more intrigue around who the Dragon is at the start of the series, but in the books, the identity of the Dragon is very evident early on. The adjustments also help to improve “The Wheel of Time’s” gender representation. Here’s how and why Amazon’s “The Wheel of Time” alters Robert Jordan’s original Dragon Prophecies.
Moiraine believes that one of the five is the Dragon
When Moiraine arrives in the Two Rivers in the Wheel of Time books, she has whittled down the probable contenders for the town’s Dragon to just three people. Rand, Mat, and Perrin are their names. All three were reared in the Two Rivers or the surrounding area, which was originally Manetheren and is now populated by the relatively isolated descendants of those warriors, indicating that they meet the criterion for being raised by the old blood. The Dragon would be born at the War of the Shining Walls, according to the Keeper’s prophecy, and all three boys were born within days of one another during that battle.
Moiraine says the Dragon is one of five persons in the Two Rivers in “The Wheel of Time” TV series. Moiraine must believe this since her Aes Sedai oaths prevent her from telling open lies. Dana, the Darkfriend in Breen’s Spring, reveals that she sees one of five persons in her dreams from the Dark One, confirming the growth from three to five viable contenders for the Dragon Reborn.
Egwene is younger than the rest of the group in the original Wheel of Time books, ruling her out as a candidate for the Dragon Reborn. She has been aged up with the other characters in the Amazon series to make her close enough in age to be considered. Nynaeve, on the other hand, was several years older in the books and thus was not a viable contender. While the adaptation has preserved the idea of her being older, the first episode raised a lot of doubts about her age. Despite the probable age gap, the prospect of her being the Dragon is subsequently strengthened when, at the end of episode 4, she demonstrates tremendous aptitude with the One Power, leaving Logain amazed that she is so much stronger than he is. Season 1 has a more credible amount of mystery thanks to these elements that allow for more contenders to be the Dragon Reborn.
Dumb. Just dumb idea to suggest that the dragon reborn could be a woman. Why the show makes it seem like Egwene or Nynaeve might be the dragon is beyond me. I thought the show was starting to get better in episode 3 when most of the plot was still intact. Then they veered off completely at the end of episode 4 who the dragon and Nynaeve and just bypassed a full one half of the book to go straight to the tower in the 5th episode. The thing is a complete train wreck.