Wheel Of Time: What Happens To Thom At The End Of Episode 4

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Wheel of Time episode 4!

The Wheel of Time episode 4’s ending raises questions about the fate of Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume). The newest addition to the group risked his life to save Rand (Josha Stradowski) and Mat (Barney Harris) from a Fade. Granted, the mysterious gleeman, who joined up with the group in episode 3, already parted ways with the characters.

In Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books, the gleeman is one of the original members of the main group that leaves the Two Rivers on the journey to the White Tower. On the other hand, Amazon’s adaptation of the story changed some things by delaying his introduction after they were split up by the incident at Shadar Logoth. In Amazon’s Wheel of Time show, Thom spent only a short amount of time with them before having to stand up against a Fade. Given how powerful these creatures are, it wasn’t made clear in the show if Thom would survive or when he’ll be back.

While Wheel of Time episode 4 didn’t reveal what happened to Thom when Rand and Mat ran away, the books shed more light on what transpired in their fight and what came after. In the second book in the series, The Great Hunt, it was explained that Thom suffered a leg wound at the hands of the Fade, but since he was never the creature’s target, the Fade quickly moved on and didn’t try to finish him off. As a result, Thom gained a permanent limp but was still able to continue his activities as a gleeman. Since the TV version of Thom seemed to share his book counterpart’s fighting skills, he may be one of the few non-channelers in the show who can go toe-to-toe with a Fade and survive the encounter.

Similar to what happened in the books, Rand and Mat will likely assume – wrongly – that Thom is dead. In the original version of the story, none of the main characters crossed paths with Thom again until Rand al’Thor arrived in Cairhien in the second book, which means that if Amazon’s show follows the source material, Thom may not appear again until The Wheel of Time season 2. However, showrunner Rafe Judkins has indicated that the series has directly avoided introducing characters only for them to disappear for lengths at a time. That’s why the plan may be for Thom to appear sooner rather than later.

Thom has an important future in Wheel of Time and a key role to play in the show’s Dragon Reborn story. For this reason, viewers may not have to wait long before Thom shows up again, whether it be as a part of Rand and Mat’s journey or in the company of one of the other characters. Either way, the show has barely had a chance to develop his dynamics with The Wheel of Time characters and should rectify that in the episodes to come.

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