- The Wheel of Time showrunner has explained why he keeps changing parts of its source material
- Long-time fans have grown frustrated with the show’s storytelling alterations
- Rafe Judkins says those creative deviations are necessary for Prime Video’s TV adaptation
Rafe Judkins has defended the decision to keep making story- and character-based changes in The Wheel of Time‘s (TWoT) TV adaptation.
Speaking to TechRadar ahead of The Wheel of Time season 3’s debut on March 13, Judkins said they were a necessary evil to help its audience to “emotionally understand” the characters that inhabit its world.
Ever since The Wheel of Time‘s first season was released in April 2021, long-time fans of Robert Jordan’s beloved fantasy book series have expressed frustration at what they deem to be superfluous changes. Those complaints continued with The Wheel of Time season 2 and, without wanting to spoil anything significant, I can confirm there are more deviations from the source material in the Amazon TV Original’s third chapter.
Amid growing fan anger over the show’s creative departures from Jordan’s literary works, Judkins says he sympathizes with anyone who’s still upset about said alterations. Indeed, as a TWoT devotee himself, Judkins understands why sections of its fanbase are vexed by said detours.
Nevertheless, Judkins believes that these changes are vital to aid the story’s translation from page to screen. To that end, he even offered up an example of how Prime Video’s take on Jordan’s literature actually expands on what’s depicted in the books.
“I’m always focused on the emotional truth of the characters and trying to get that across on screen,” Judkins told me. “That’s where television shines.
“If you’re doing an adaptation for television, I think you really need to focus your energies [on that] because that’s what the art form of TV does best – it brings those characters across.
“In this season, for instance, we do a lot with the relationships that Rand has with Lanfear and Egwene,” Judkins continued, “And neither of those are really present in the books. A lot of what we have to do is condensing [stuff down from the novels], but sometimes we need to expand [on what’s on the page].
“Rand has really deep, complicated relationships with these women, but they don’t have a lot of scenes together in this book [The Shadow Rising], so it felt like we really needed those in order to understand the depth of these relationships and how important they are to those characters.
“That’s an [example of] where we’re actually adding something that wasn’t in the books. I’m sure it’ll drive people crazy but there’s a reason why we do it, and that’s because we want viewers to emotionally understand the relationship between these characters and how each one affects the other. It has a huge impact on the story as it moves forward.”
Want even more exclusive TWoT coverage? Read my Wheel of Time season 3 cast feature to learn more about what lies in store for the show’s ensemble in one of the best Prime Video shows’ next installment. Then, check out my review of The Wheel of Time season 3’s first three episodes to see if they’re good or not.
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