Warning: Includes a SPOILER for The Wheel of Time book 5, The Fires of Heaven!
Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time seemed to be setting up a powerful moment for Elayne, and I’m disappointed we won’t get to see it. The fantasy TV series based on Robert Jordan’s epic book saga has met a premature end, with Amazon canceling The Wheel of Time last Friday. The adaptation was divisive from the start, with some viewers fretting over the numerous changes from the source material, while others enjoyed the fresh experience, differing from Jordan’s brilliant but much more extensive material.
The Wheel of Time season 3’s ending primarily concluded the events of The Shadow Rising, indicating that The Fires of Heaven might have been the next story to adapt. Of course, all we can do now is speculate, but using book events and the changes established in season 3, theories had been developed on where the show’s narrative might be heading. Ceara Coveney gave one of my favorite performances in The Wheel of Time’s cast as Elayne, and I was thrilled about where her story might be heading.
How Wheel Of Time’s New Ter’angreal Connects To Rahvin’s Fate In The Books
Elayne Has A Ter’angreal Rod That Creates Balefire
Image via Prime Video
One of the notable book changes in The Wheel of Time season 3 was Elayne’s acquisition of a ter’angreal rod, which was one of the items the Black Ajah had stolen from the White Tower. Liandrin claimed that the rod could create “balefire,” a force of power that she then used to save Thom Merrilin, vaporizing a foe in one blast. Balefire doesn’t just kill its targets; it prevents them from being reincarnated by the Dark One. Balefire is a deadly weapon, which is why it was used to defeat one of the Forsaken in the books.
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Rahvin is the Forsaken who has infiltrated the Kingdom of Andor. Using his power of Compulsion, he’s established his influence over Queen Morgase Trakand, Elayne’s mother. We met him earlier in season 3, and had the show adapted The Fires of Heaven for season 4, he might have been the primary antagonist. In the novel, Rand uses Balefire to kill Rahvin, defeating him and preventing the Dark One from resurrecting him. The show seemed to be pointing in a different direction for this moment, with Elayne taking Rand’s place.
Elayne Could Have Killed Rahvin Instead Of Rand
Elayne Killing A Forsaken Would Have Been Amazing
Given that Elayne was given the tools to kill Rahvin, and that it’s her kingdom that he threatens, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were the one to save Andor from his grasp. Rahvin uses Compulsion to cast Morgase and her loyal supporters out of Caemlyn, and it makes sense for Elayne’s overarching story if she were the one to arrive and reclaim the kingdom she’s heir to. With so many books and Forsaken to get to, taking stories from Rand and assigning them to other characters was very plausible.
Elayne has her fair share of fantastic moments in The Wheel of Time books, but there’s nothing on the level of defeating a Forsaken.
This would be taking a crucial moment away from Rand al’Thor, but he has plenty to spare. In fact, with Moiraine suggesting that Rand needed a trainer in season 3’s finale, it’s possible Rand’s story might have skipped ahead to Lord of Chaos, with him meeting Mazrim Taim and starting the Black Tower plotline. Especially after Elaida’s coup and the White Tower being taken over, Rand’s focus might have been on understanding his new power better, with Mazrim Taim teaching him in place of Asmodean from the books.
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Elayne has her fair share of fantastic moments in The Wheel of Time books, but there’s nothing on the level of defeating a Forsaken. Thom Merrilin told Elayne that Rahvin was disguised as Lord Gaebril, and I would have been shocked if her next step hadn’t been to save her mother. There are so many great stories that The Wheel of Time was just getting to, but I’m mostly disappointed that Elayne never got to fulfill the exciting ideas she was set up for.
The Wheel of Time
6/10
- Release Date
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November 18, 2021
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Rafe Judkins
