Wheel Of Time Revealed An Important Book Moment Missing From Episode 1

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Wheel of Time season 1, episode 7.

The Wheel of Time episode 7 confirmed that a major moment from Robert Jordan’s books secretly happened during the events of the series premiere. When the first episode was released, it was originally thought that Amazon’s adaptation of the books had removed a key building block for the Dragon Reborn reveal. However, it’s now become apparent that instead of cutting it, the series cleverly hid it from viewers.

The Wheel of Time series premiere adapted the opening chapters of the first book, The Eye of the World. Similar to the original story, it centered on the battle at the Two Rivers village with the Trollocs and Moiraine’s efforts to escape with the Dragon Reborn candidates. It made some notable changes, such as the addition of Perrin’s wife, Nynaeve’s abduction, Egwene being counted as a Dragon Reborn suspect, and Thom’s absence from the battle. But the main story ultimately moved in the same direction and ended with an accurate outcome, which was the four villagers agreeing to accompany Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Lan (Daniel Henney) to Tar Valon.

One of the most glaring omissions from the Two Rivers battle in Wheel of Time episode 1 was a discovery that Rand was supposed to make about his parents. In the book, a wounded and delusional Tam thought he was talking to his now-deceased wife and told a story about how he found a baby during a battle, took him home, and named him Rand. Tam was badly injured in the premiere, but Rand’s birth wasn’t discussed. That being said, a flashback in Wheel of Time episode 7 revealed that this scene really did happen.

What makes this moment so important to the books is how it foreshadowed the Dragon Reborn reveal. Rand hoped Tam’s rambling was the result of a fever dream, but it planted seeds of doubt in his mind about Tam being his father. It wasn’t until much later that he found out about his secret backstory and his connection to the Aiel. He also learned that the story of his birth was tied directly to his destiny. According to an ancient prophecy, the reincarnation of the Dragon is supposed to be born on the slopes of Dragonmount, meaning that the true Dragon Reborn couldn’t be from the Two Rivers.

The significance of this scene provides an adequate explanation for why the series chose to hide it. In the books, the true purpose of Moiraine’s mission was much less obvious, so the hint about Rand not being from the Two Rivers didn’t immediately point to him being the Dragon Reborn. But in the show, Moiraine was up-front from the start about her intentions. It was known from the first episode that one of the villagers was the Dragon Reborn. If viewers had heard Tam’s story at the time that it happened, The Wheel of Time would have given away its biggest reveal as early as its first episode. Hiding it allowed the show to keep the Dragon Reborn’s identity a secret a bit longer.

The Wheel of Time releases new episodes on Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.

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