“There are a couple things that have always set The Wheel of Time apart,” said creator Rafe Judkins. “When the books came out in the 90s, they were very much the first thing that put women in the forefront in a fantasy epic genre piece.”
The character of Moiraine Damodred, played by Rosamund Pike, is the fantasy guide, which Judkins compares to Gandalf of The Hobbit fame. “When I read the books, I was drawn into this world where magic existed, but only women can use it. How does that affect these different cultures and people?”
Within this world, the new Amazon Prime series based on Robert Jordan’s book explores Moiraine’s path as she crosses five young men and women. This sparks a dangerous, world-spanning journey. “As a genre piece, this gives you so much to play with.”
The mythology in this world has certain religious undertones. “Reincarnation exists. All of our characters believe in it,” said Judkins. “That fundamentally affects the way they all live their lives. That’s how we approach it from a character standpoint, big and small interactions.”
To help capture this viewpoint, the writers made sure there were actually Buddhist writers on the team who understood this point-of-view. “We went on all kinds of adventures, like having our past lives read by Balinese Shaman to try to get this experience,” added the creator.
Rafe Judkins
In one example, he said Koreans who believe in reincarnation believe they need to have a certain number of brushes with someone in past lives in order to partner with them in your present life. “We wanted to incorporate this through character.”
With this in mind, since the story is also created for television, it’s somewhat of a five-hander, where there are five heroes going on five journeys. “It’s the Western story of the chosen one, mixed with Eastern philosophy, where the chosen one is reborn.”
Judkins is also known for writing episodes of My Own Worst Enemy, Chuck, Hemlock Grove, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the upcoming feature, Uncharted.
Feminine Storytelling
To avoid the cliché of having female leads who essentially act as men in dresses, the writers wanted to clarify the femininity of the story. “The relationship between men and women, where some men are threatened, comes from an assumption in Wheel of Time where women are powerful.”
“There’s an assumption, in this story, that women would be in charge [because of their magical powers]. Most of the nation’s leaders are queens. Moiraine isn’t the exception to the rule, she is the rule. You also see women who hate men and men who hate women and women who hate women.”
Since there are so many women on the show, there are multiple POVs to consider and various ways in which they see others and the world. In addition to personal preferences, the role of darkness and light also play in these perspectives.
“The religions of their world take front and center stage. For us, there’s no religion so to speak, but this belief in light and a Creator, who is an embodiment of this light. And, there’s the darkness or shadow, and the embodiment of that. Being in this world means being at this collision of light and dark.”
Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike)
“This idea of strength equaling balance is an interesting idea in the book series. It’s not trying to gray everything out. You can also have strong forces that still balance everything out,” said Judkins about the yin and the yang of the world.
The Importance of Magic
For other fantasy stories, such as The Lord of the Rings, the story often shies away from magic, where in The Wheel of Time “…it’s the centerpiece.” Judkins continued, “We do lean into it. It’s called the One Power, as if you’re able to reach out and touch it, similar to chi where some people can reach out and touch it.”
This takes shape for the female characters in the way they move and how they behave in the show. “It’s visually represented to push towards this idea that it’s an elemental force. It’s around everything. It’s around anything. They’re weaving these sources together.”
Other points of significance come from the number seven, time itself, and the wheel. “The reason this story continues to be meaningful is that it’s about the repetition of time. Not only do we repeat the mistakes of our past, but stories repeat and come back to us.”
“The number seven is significant, but so is the number thirteen and how it fits into everything.” This is perhaps relevant to numbers like 40 in the Bible. For 13, it’s represented and repeated for things like 13 Dread Lords, 13 trapped Forsaken, 13 Towers of Midnight, and so on.
Entering the Story
Judkins had read the books before he started to work on the series. “The series is so large, that’s massive just to read the 14 books. Because you want to know what you’re building to and where it lands. I really like the ending and where the characters land, so I’m hoping we get enough seasons to land there.”
“As for where to start, the books are driven by these seven characters, so meeting them in the pilot [is vital]. In the show, they’re a little older and they have a larger emotional life, which I thought was important to help us tell the arc. We wanted to plant the seeds for the characters.”
Other differences from the source material fall back on characters. Judkins said, “I’m a very emotional writer. I’m very attached to the characters. I’m very emotionally involved in the scenes they’re in. Watching television and writing television, that’s what drives me.”
By bringing these emotional elements to the screen, the writer believes the audience will better understand why the characters are making the emotional decisions they make. “That might be a little different from the books, in terms of my adaptation of it. The emotional storyline.”
This helps push the story beyond the plot and towards the theme. “The books are so long and there are so many different themes, but to me, the idea of balance is so interesting. Balance of characters. Balance in the world around them. That’s what we leaned into for the show.”
Diverse Thinking
Everyone wants diversity in the writers’ room, but Judkins also wants people who think differently about story. “Ideally, you want people who do things better than you do them, so the writer gets better when they put their minds to it. It also leads to arguments,” he joked, “as we had big fans of the books in the room.”
“Having a divisive opinion in the room is very important, but sometimes it does slow you down. Because you’re talking about how to tell the story, rather than just what to tell. I was deliberate in that, to have people argue with me and argue with others, because they care whether it’s good or not.”
At the same time, Judkins has also brought in writers who do not care about fantasy. This way, they could keep the stories honest and focus on the family elements so perhaps there is something for everyone who watches the show.
“Intellectually, the show is trying to say things and I hope it’s not giving one direct message in terms of gender and balance. I think it shows a lot of different ways of showing different subjects. Intellectually, I hope people see the beginnings of a conversation about these topics, rather than my opinion, or Robert Jordan’s opinion.”
Another unique element from Judkins’ point of view is that he likes to mix up story elements based on character, rather than always follow the hero’s journey, for example. “I like for the audience to feel surprised or unexpected for the character, especially in a close adaptation. We’re changing a lot, but it’s a classic piece of literature, but I try to limit how my voice falls into it. It’s there for emotions, but not a screaming of my voice, nor should it be.”
Across all of Judkins’ stories, there are themes that often find their way in. “I grew up gay and Mormon in Salt Lake City, Utah, so it’s obvious that everything I write has this sense of difference and otherness, how they feel or how they approach their place in the world. I’m always attracted to characters who feel like the other, and they often act in a way that’s the opposite of the world.”
