The Wheel of Time Writer Says He Fought for One Character to Have a Very Different Season 1 Storyline

A Wheel of Time writer is apologizing to fans for the way that one main character’s Season 1 storyline unfolded.

“Sorry about Perrin on the show,” Brandon Sanderson, a consulting producer on the Prime Video fantasy series, told an audience at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo over the weekend. “It’s not my fault. I tried. Oh, how I tried.”

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Per the Independent, Sanderson explained that instead of having Perrin (played by Marcus Rutherford) accidentally kill his wife in The Wheel of Time’s series premiere, “I presented a completely different thing to do with Perrin that would still get what they wanted.”

Perrin — a character who might eventually become the Dragon Reborn, aka the savior of the entire world — is haunted by what he did, and doesn’t share the truth with his companions. Sanderson said his idea concerned the blacksmith to whom Perrin was apprenticed: “What if he wounds Master Luhhan?”

He continued: “He’s worried about the rage inside of him — you can get all the same beats without doing the thing that you did, and then he also won’t be traumatized for the entire first season. And he can actually go on fun adventures with friends.”

Sanderson said that showrunner Rafe Judkins “really went to bat for me” but that “certain forces at work” meant that his version of the story did not come to pass.

TVLine has reached out to Prime Video for comment.

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The Wheel of Time streamed its Season 2 finale on Oct. 6, 2023. Though the Season 3 premiere date has not yet been announced, Judkins told fans at New York Comic Con that the third season will focus primarily on the storylines from Book Four (The Shadow Rising) of Robert Jordan’s series of novels, with a sprinkling of elements from Book Five (The Fires of Heaven).

Judkins also teased that viewers will get to meet additional members of the Forsaken, and that the third season will explore Dreamwalking, the ability to enter the dreams of others. (Get the full Season 3 scoop here.)

What do you think about Sanderson’s proposed Perrin plot? Hit the comments with your thoughts!

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