Predicting Which Books The Wheel Of Time’s Remaining TV Show Seasons Will Adapt

Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time is expected to run for eight seasons, making it worthwhile to predict which books will be adapted in each of the show’s remaining seasons. The Wheel of Time is based on Robert Jordan’s 14-volume novel series of the same name, which is so expansive the show has already been forced to make significant changes. As The Wheel of Time season 3 waits in the wings, fans are left reflecting on the show’s first two seasons, wondering where it will go next.

After the end of The Wheel of Time season 2, it’s fairly easy to see where season 3 will go. However, it’s difficult to say for certain which books will be included and which ones will be cut beyond the upcoming season. Luckily, by examining Jordan’s book series and considering which storylines are essential and which ones are disposable or too difficult to adapt, it’s possible to make a reasonably accurate assumption about which books each remaining season of The Wheel of Time will adapt.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 3

Book 4: The Shadow Rising

The Wheel of Time‘s showrunner, Rafe Judkins, has already confirmed that The Wheel of Time season 3 will adapt the fourth book in Jordan’s series, The Shadow Rising. Among the best Wheel of Time books, The Shadow Rising has plenty of quality material to take up a full season of television. There is also a solid chance that aspects of the next book in the series, The Fires of Heaven, will be included in The Wheel of Time season 3, but the expectation is still that it will mainly focus on The Shadow Rising.

The reason there might be a handful of characters or events from The Fires of Heaven in The Wheel of Time season 3 is that the show might need to take the opportunity to set up characters or storylines that will be central to season 4. That said, the actual story in The Wheel of Time season 3 will follow The Shadow Rising, even if some aspects of the next book are snuck in as well. Considering how highly rated The Shadow Rising is, it seems like a good move to give this book its own season.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 4

Books 5 & 6: The Fires of Heaven & Lord of Chaos

The Wheel of Time‘s book changes have made it difficult to predict which books it will cover going forward, but the most logical step after season 3 would be to jump straight into the next two books, The Fires of Heaven and Lord of Chaos. Firstly, it’s likely some aspects of Fires of Heaven will be included in The Wheel of Time season 3, which should make it easy to transition straight into its story. What’s more, Fires of Heaven and Lord of Chaos have closely connected plots that could easily be merged into one story.

Though a lot happens to Rand during this time, he spends the majority of both novels consolidating his power from his seat in Cairhien. Meanwhile, Egwene and the Salidar faction of Aes Sedai deal with the fall out of the White Tower schism, while Nynaeve and Elayne are sent out from Salidar to hunt the Bowl of the Winds in the west. Although there is much more going on between all that, those three storylines are central to both novels and would work nicely as the spine of The Wheel of Time season 4.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 5

Books 7 & 8: A Crown of Swords & The Path of Daggers

As for The Wheel of Time season 5, it seems logical to continue the two-book-per-season method and adapt the next two novels in the series, A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers. Like the previous two novels in the series, these two books have overarching plotlines in common that would make it relatively easy to boil them down into one season of television. Rand spends both books in the south, fighting Sammael and conquering Illian before confronting the Seanchan in Altara.

Meanwhile, Egwene and the Aes Sedai “rebels” continue to gain traction, building an army and preparing to lay siege to the White Tower. Mat, Nynaeve, and Elayne spend most of these two novels obtaining and using the Bowl of the Winds, and Perrin contends with the Shaido Aiel and Masema’s army of fanatics. While these plotlines can form the heart of The Wheel of Time season 5’s story, it can continue to build towards the endgame by including some elements of the next few books.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 6

Books 11 & 12: Knife of Dreams & The Gathering Storm

After The Wheel of Time season 5, the adaptation will probably get a bit more uneven in terms of which books it covers. The next two books in the series chronologically would be Winter’s Heart and Crossroads of Twilight, but seeing as these are two of the lowest-rated books in the series and the show has to make major cuts, it will likely gloss over the majority of them and skip to books 11 and 12. However, the cleansing of Saidin and the Siege of Tar Valon, which occur in books nine and ten, will need to be included.

With that in mind, the Cleansing and the Siege of Tar Valon will likely occur at the beginning of The Wheel of Time season 6 or the end of The Wheel of Time season 5, allowing the show to jump into Knife of Dreams and The Gathering Storm. Events begin to accelerate at this point in the series, but these two books are still closely linked enough to be consolidated into one season of TV. Everything begins to funnel toward The Last Battle at this point in the series, which should make it easier to weave the stories together.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 7

Book 13: Towers of Midnight

When The Wheel of Time reaches its final two seasons, it will likely revert to a one-book-per-season schedule. The final two novels are chock-full of action and drama, and they both have plenty of content to fill a season of TV. Further, as the show approaches its conclusion, it will need to start tidying things up and finding a way to reconcile its changes with the book series’ ending. This will be much easier if it adapts the last two novels as individual seasons, allowing for more flexibility in the plot.

Towers of Midnight also works perfectly as the penultimate book in the novel series, so there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t do similarly well as the penultimate season of The Wheel of Time. The book focuses on the world’s preparations for The Last Battle, tying up the necessary loose ends before heading into the climactic final installment. With that in mind, The Wheel of Time season 7 could be one of the less book-accurate seasons because it will need to start fitting its accumulated story changes to the story’s impending conclusion.

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The Wheel Of Time Season 8

Book 14: A Memory of Light

If there’s one book in The Wheel of Time that needs a whole season to itself, it has to be A Memory of Light. The final novel in the series is lengthy and unrelenting, providing more than enough material for a thrilling final season of the show. In an ideal world, this momentous book would probably be split into two seasons, but considering The Wheel of Time‘s need to speed things up, that isn’t likely. However, it’s possible that the show’s need to speed events up could make it even more thrilling.

The final season of The Wheel of Time has the opportunity to be one of the most dynamic and rewarding seasons of fantasy television ever. If the seasons leading up to this can create the requisite emotional investment in the fandom, The Wheel of Time season 8 should be visually spectacular and emotionally rewarding, as Rand, Egwene, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve and the rest finally take on the armies of the Dark One at Tarmon Gai’don, The Last Battle. If The Wheel of Time gets this far, fans can safely expect an incredible conclusion.