Amazon’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Isn’t ‘Lord of the Rings,’ It’s ‘Wheel of Time’

For the past few weeks, I have been riding a high called The Wheel of Time Season 2. The nerd in me enjoyed the first season of Prime Video‘s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy saga just fine, but the last few installments of The Wheel of Time Season 2 have catapulted the series to the top of the genre TV heap. What was once a decent stab at high fantasy storytelling is now a thrilling drama on the level of Game of Thrones‘s golden years. In fact, the last time I found myself so obsessed, so entranced, and so satisfied by a science fiction or fantasy show was during the HBO hit’s halcyon days of Red Weddings, Purple Weddings, and White Walkers taking Hardhome. The Wheel of Time Season 2 has gotten that good, further proving that Amazon finally does have its coveted answer to GoT. Only it’s not Jeff Bezos’s baby, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It’s The Wheel of Time.

Game of Thrones was such as critical and commercial success for HBO that it should come as no surprise that other streamers and premium channels sought their own marquee fantasy franchise. Netflix produced hits (like The Witcher) and misses (like Cursed), Apple TV+ made the Jason Momoa dystopia show See, and HBO sagely just reinvested in George R.R. Martin’s work, making prequel series House of the Dragon.

But no network so clearly hungered for a big fantasy hit quite like Prime Video. Amazon’s streaming service was so determined to corner this market that they dropped a whopping $250 million for the rights to adapt Tolkien’s appendices for television. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered in Fall 2022 to middling reviews and oodles of backlash. Meanwhile, Amazon already had a fantasy series that was connecting with fans, albeit in a less flashy way: The Wheel of Time.

The Wheel of Time premiered a full year before The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and immediately managed to endear itself to the Robert Jordan fandom. Sure, Lord of the Rings had the bigger budget, but The Wheel of Time had the bigger heart. Even as Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins drew criticism for changes to the source material, the spirits of the characters stayed mostly the same from page to screen. Most importantly, the series took the time to pay homage to key themes from the larger saga, from the mythic Fall of Manetheren to the intense emotional bond shared between an Aes Sedai and her Warder(s).

The first season of The Wheel of Time also had to overcome a cesspool of problems to make it to the screen. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted production mid-season. A core cast member, Barney Harris, left the show, forcing massive changes to the storyline. Even adapting The Eye of the World, the first book in Jordan’s sprawling series, itself came with unusual challenges. Which is to say, the first season of The Wheel of Time had to do the yeoman’s work of table-setting for far more explosive storylines yet to come. The good news is I can now say confidently — as both a TV critic and a Robert Jordan fan — that The Wheel of Time Season 2 is the payoff for all that hard work.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 kicks off with our heroes scattered. Now aware that he is the Dragon Reborn — the reincarnation of the most powerful channeler in history, destined to both face the Dark One at the Last Battle and go insane — Rand al’Thor is laying low in Cairhien, letting his best friends believe he is dead. Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zöe Robins) train to become Aes Sedai alongside Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney), the daughter-heir of Andor, at the White Tower. Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) has joined a party in pursuit of the stolen Horn of Valere and Mat (Dónal Finn) is imprisoned by sisters of the Red Ajah. Meanwhile, the Two Rivers kids’ former mentor Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) is dealing with being cut off from the One Power by pushing her Warder Lan (Daniel Henney) away.

Our protagonists were threatened by shadows, monsters, and magically evil fogs in Season 1. The Wheel of Time Season 2, on the other hand, has the charismatic and tortured Ishamael (Fares Fares), the beautiful and cunning Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe), and the Seanchan running amok. The former two are members of the Forsaken, powerful channelers who were locked away by the original Dragon in the past Age. Their addition to the show hasn’t just raised the dramatic stakes, but also engendered a newfound fandom for the characters (who aren’t nearly as three-dimensional in the early books). Likewise, the Seanchan — with their standard American accents, brutal culture, and mandate to enslave any woman who can channel — have added a spice to The Wheel of Time that enriches every part of the show.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 starts well and gets progressively stronger with every episode, crescendoing with tonight’s explosive finale. Judkins and his writers haven’t just delivered on years of careful set up. Without getting into spoilers, they’ve reminded me why I love The Wheel of Time books in the first place. I felt a specific type of exhilaration watching The Wheel of Time Season 2 finale bring Jordan’s world to life that I first felt way back in 2010 when I realized that HBO really had nailed the tone of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire in Game of Thrones.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 is a triumph. It’s addictive, surprising, and, ultimately, a hell of a fun ride. I am so heartened to know that The Wheel of Time Season 3 is already in the works. However, what I need Amazon to do next is greenlight Season 4, 5, and beyond. The Wheel of Time is Prime Video’s true flagship fantasy show: its Game of Thrones.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 finale will premiere on Prime Video tonight, Thursday, October 5 at 8 PM ET.