By means of Jonathan Klotz
| PUBLISHED
on Amazon Rings of Power It may have grabbed all the headlines with low-budget cuts to major movie productions, but it’s not the only high-brow fantasy series on the streaming service. Destined to always be a bridesmaid, like the series it’s adapted from, is The Wheel of Timewhich flew under the radar. That may change soon, with Season 3 set to arrive on March 25, 2025, and with how much Season 2 progresses, this could be the show’s final breakout year.
Bringing Life to Hit Novels
The Wheel of Time faced the daunting task of adapting Robert Jordan’s vast work, which included more than 18 novels with hundreds of characters and spanning centuries of story. Season 1 mainly focused on the first novel, The Eye of the Worldand the gradual introduction of how big the world is and the importance of One Power. Trying to summarize the events of the novel would drive anyone crazy, but the Amazon tested the series, and for the most part, it hit the mark.
Focused on Rosamund Pike’s Moiraine, The Wheel of Time Season 1 tried to gradually explain the complex world that Robert Jordan filled with intricate details, and even the smallest of them became important along the way, but it did not have the action of Lord of the Rings, or the violence of Game of Thrones. However, the rise of Rand al’Thor, the reincarnation of the Dragon, a male channeler who can use the One Power to defeat the Dark One, scares casual viewers as the changes from the novel, sometimes essentially, angering Jordan’s hardcore fans. novels.
The Wheel of Time Keeps Moving On
Despite the no-win scenario the cast and crew found, The Wheel of Time looks great on the screen and, in some cases, surpasses the bigger budget of The Rings of Power. Season 2, coming together The Great Hunt and The Dragon Rebornproving that those willing to look closely and interact with a well-constructed world will be rewarded. The pace is up, everything looks bigger and better, the characters have a lot to do, and it’s just plain fun to see some of the wilder characters and concepts, like Lanfear and The Forsaken, who lived for the first time.
while The Rings of Power improved in Season 2, it is still blocked from being a prequel, while The Wheel of Time there are still more than a dozen books worth of material to examine, although some of them, especially the tenth book, Crossroads of Twilightis the equivalent of an anime filler episode. If Season 3 improves even half as much as Season 2 compared to the first, even non-fans should start paying attention. Amazon isn’t committed to any times beyond the third, but that could change at any minute.
Even without a fourth season, The Wheel of Time Season 3, which introduced The Waste, should bring The Shadow Rises on screens, including, hopefully, more of Rand using his powers and less taking a backseat to Moiraine. Either way the series goes, it remains, quietly, one of the best fantasy shows on the air today.
The Wheel of Time now streaming on Prime Video.
