The Great Mat Twist of Wheel of Time Makes a Moiraine Theory Even More Likely
A major change to Mat Cauthon's plot in The Wheel Of Time supports a theory regarding Moiraine Damodred's future in the show. Though with some variation, most of the characters in the program are expected to follow the path described in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books. Often highlighted as an exception to this is Rosamund Pike's Moiraine Damodred, mostly because of her increased prominence in the television version of the narrative.
Why would Moiraine's disappearance in the Wheel of Time alter its course?
Moiraine opens the story in the source material as a major player in the path of the Dragon Reborn, finally guiding Rand al' Thor toward his destiny. She stays relevant for a time, but in the fifth book, The Fires of Heaven, her path changes when she is thought dead following an encounter with Lanfear. The way the program handles this incident is still debatable; some speculate it will be significantly changed. According to the source material, Moiraine's "death" marks a turning point that causes her absence for seven straight novels. Given the season count of the show unlikely to match the 14-book Wheel of Time series, Moiraine's departure from the main cast for two to three seasons, or maybe longer, appears unavoidable. Her more prominent part in the story and Pike's leading actor status complicate this, too.
Mat's Unlocked Memories Point To The Aelfinn & Eelfinn Aren't On TV Show's Wheel Of Time
Mat drank a tea given by Ishamael in the penultimate episode of season 2, setting off a sequence of odd "memories." Ishamael links these visions to Mat's "past lives," drawing on the idea of reincarnation in The Wheel Of Time—where people are "spun" back into the Wheel as fresh life after their death. When Mat blew the Horn of Valere at the end of The Wheel of Time season 2, his memories came alive and he was able to identify the Heroes of the Horn as former allies and pick up Old Tongue speaking skills.
This turn of events seems to replace what happened with Mat in the fourth book, The Shadow Rising. Accidentally approaching their domains in the Aiel Waste, Mat came into two mysterious races in the book: the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn. Unaware that they would grant upon him the memories of dead military leaders, he sought their help in filling the voids in his mind due to memory loss concerns brought about by the ruby-hilted dagger. Given that this gave Mat access to decades of tactical expertise and the Old Tongue, it seems reasonable to say that Mat won't run into the Aelfinn and Eelfinn in the Prime Video series. The choice of the show to exclude these races from Mat's narrative while adding his newly acquired memories points to their total elimination from The Wheel of Time. Given their impact on several stories, notably Moiraine's fate in The Fires of Heaven, this would be a dramatic change from the books.
Excluding The Aelfinn & Eelfinn Would Completely Change Moiraine's Return
Absence of the Eelfinn and the Aelfinn would force changes to Moiraine's plot. She drives Lanfear across a ter'angreal gateway in The Fires of Heaven among a violent struggle. Later on, both characters are thought to be dead for a long time; Lan's bond is then passed to another Aes Sedai. This view holds until Towers of Midnight, the 13th book. Unbelievably, it turns out that Moiraine lives at the Tower of Ghenjei, a cross-point between the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn.
Their dimension, apparently, is where Moiraine ended up after Lanfear passed the ter'angreal door. This resulted in a convoluted rescue operation including Thom and Mat, who had to come up with a strategy for saving her. This turned became a fundamental component of their storyline in Towers of Midnight, therefore defining the novel. The choice of the show to exclude the Tower of Ghenjei begs problems concerning the direction of this story. Should the Tower of Ghenjei disappear from the program, The Wheel of Time would have to create another theory about Moiraine's location and absence for numerous books.
How The Wheel of Time Might Maintain Moiraine's "Death" Without Eliminating Her From The Narrative
Retaining her "death" but changing its duration is maybe the most reasonable way to handle the Moiraine-Lanfear twist in The Fires of Heaven. The Wheel of Time can provide a fresh narrative for Moiraine should the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn be abolished and Moiraine does not get caught in the Tower of Ghenjei for extended seasons. Eliminating the effect of her disappearance on Lan, along with other characters, would mean significant modifications, so the program might decide to make it a fleeting event with few long-lasting effects.
A subsequent season may essentially have Moiraine setting off a solo adventure elsewhere in The Wheel of Time's universe, with many characters mistakenly thinking she died alongside Lanfear. This would let the program include important events resulting from Moiraine's "death" without sacrificing her involvement in the more general story. Should the program veers in this path, it will allow Moiraine to be reunited with the surviving characters inside a season, therefore allowing her participation in narratives she never encountered in the books.
