Wheel of Time: Liandrin Is Being Set Up As The First Great Villain

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time episode 5 and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.

Amazon’s The Wheel of Time adaptation is setting Liandrin up as the series’ first big villain, but having her pose such a threat so early on might be a problem for the show. The Wheel of Time is adapting Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time fantasy series. His book series spanned 14 main series novels as well as a prequel novel called New Spring. Rafe Judkins, The Wheel of Time’s showrunner, has acknowledged that season 1 of the show will include content from the first two books.

Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) and some of her Red sisters are some of the first characters shown in The Wheel of Time as Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) watches them catch a male channeler before moving on to the Two Rivers. She is not shown to be explicitly evil, but is set up as an antagonist to Moiraine, Lan (Daniel Henney), and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) in how she pushes her political agenda. She attempts to manipulate Kerene Nagashi (Clare Perkins) into letting them gentle Logain (Álvaro Morte) before returning to the White Tower for a trial and seeks to curry favor with Nynaeve and steal her away from Moiraine. Liandrin’s political actions are repeatedly brought up as an issue for the fact that Aes Sedai from outside of the Red Ajah are starting to listen to her, suggesting that she is gaining power in the White Tower.

Liandrin’s characterization as a political being could pose a serious problem for Amazon’s The Wheel of Time show because it seems to be combining two distinctly different characters. In Robert Jordan’s books, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah named Elaida gains traction among the Aes Sedai and eventually manages to depose Siuan Sanche to take over the Amyrlin Seat. This creates a uniquely complicated situation for Moiraine, who no longer has a strong ally leading the Tower. But this also does not happen until the fourth book, The Shadow Rising. Liandrin, while still villainous in the books, does not gain political traction in the White Tower as she outs herself as a Darkfriend, a member of the secret Black Ajah that serves the Dark One.

While adaptations can and should make changes to their source material, it is hard to see how The Wheel of Time would be able to reckon with making Elaida and Liandrin one and the same. Liandrin is revealed as a Darkfriend as part of a defining moment in Egwene’s story arc at the end of book two, The Great Hunt, that longtime readers of the books will be eager to see. With Liandrin and Elaida combined, if Liandrin has revealed herself then she will not be able to gain the same traction in the White Tower that Elaida did, and the White Tower will likely be solidified against trusting such a figure after being betrayed by Liandrin. Alternatively, Liandrin would have to initiate a coup against Siuan before revealing herself, which would mean turning the White Tower upside down extremely early and jeopardizing the potential to train Egwene and Nynaeve there.

Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time was sprawling, and the show has already successfully removed some characters and moments that, while interesting, are not strictly necessary when trying to get new viewers engaged with a faster-paced story. However, if Liandrin has, indeed, become one with Elaida, it suggests that The Wheel of Time might be trying to oversimplify some of its characters. In the long run, this could jeopardize major and beloved story elements. In doing so, it also runs the risk of lessening the critique of institutions that is represented by the White Tower in the books in a portrayal that relies on it being seen as a paragon before it is eventually shown for what it is–an institution whose potential effectiveness is hamstrung by unquestioned traditions and elitist “ivory tower” aloofness from the world.

The Wheel of Timereleases new episodes Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.

About The Author

Faefyx Collington
(487 Articles Published)

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Faefyx Collington (They/Them) is a senior features writer for Screen Rant. They’re a British writer of both fiction and non-fiction, focussing on science fiction, fantasy, and mystery for the former and on culture, gender, and current affairs for the latter.
Never content to settle to one thing, Faefyx is also a co-host and producer of the podcast and video series “Unramblings,” and can occasionally be found making music around the internet as well.
Having acquired degrees on both sides of the Atlantic, Fyx has settled (for the moment) in the southern United States where they live with their spouse and an entirely appropriate number of cats.

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