Why Is Wheel Of Time So Much Like Fellowship Of The Ring?

Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time shares some striking similarities to Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but it also charts its own path.

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Prime Video’s new fantasy series The Wheel of Time shares a lot of similarities with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but its differences outweigh its commonalities. Based on the books by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time is a classic fantasy tale with a chosen one narrative about good versus evil. The series follows a group of characters – dubbed ta’veren – who are prophesized to stop the Breaking of the World and prevent the Dark One from remaking the World of the Wheel in his own image. These ta’veren (Rand al’Thor, Perrin Aybara, Mat Cauthon, Egwene al’Vere, and Nynaeve al’Meara) are led by Rosamund Pike’s Moiraine Damodred and her Warder, Lan Mandragoran.

The post-Game of Thrones fantasy boom, sparked by HBO but traceable back to the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, famously led former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to ask for a show that could be the next Game of Thrones-sized hit and the streamer is currently working on two. In addition to The Wheel of Time, Prime Video will also release a series set in the world of Middle-earth, taking place thousands of years before the Lord of the Rings saga. Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings series is set to release in late 2022 and first, the streamer will release The Wheel of Time season 1 with season 2 already in production.

The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time are finally out and they adhere closely to the plot of Jordan’s novels, the early plot of which is all but guaranteed to draw comparisons to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy largely because J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece became the blueprint for much of the fantasy that came after it. Lord of the Rings is a modern classic about good versus evil, too, and it set the stage for the explosion of the fantasy genre in the latter half of the 20th century in the same way that Game of Thrones did in the early 2010s. Still, The Wheel of Time has the ability to set itself apart from that fantasy epic in unique ways.

Wheel Of Time & Fellowship Of The Ring Similarities

One of the main reasons comparisons between Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time are inevitable is because of its setup. Initially, the series follows four characters that are much like the four hobbits – Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Sam – introduced at the onset of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Like the hobbits, Rand, Egwene, Perrin, and Mat (and eventually Nynaeve) have a destiny far greater than what awaits them in Emond’s Field, and Moiraine is there to lead them to it as their own personal Gandalf.

There’s another Gandalf-like figure in The Wheel of Time episode 1, though. Early on, Johann Myers is introduced as Padan Fain, a traveling merchant who visits Emond’s Field with gifts for its residents. Not everything is as it seems with Padan Fain, though, and he will become integral to the story of The Wheel of Time in the future.

The characters of The Wheel of Time also have a strikingly similar journey to the hobbits in Lord of the Rings early on. After leaving Emond’s Field, Moiraine and the rest of the traveling party must cross a river to avoid the trollocs, members of the Dark One’s army that are afraid of water and unable to swim. This mirrors when Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin must cross a river themselves to avoid the Ringwraiths. The party in Wheel of Time also takes refuge in an abandoned area, the tainted city of Shadar Logoth, much like the hobbits seeking shelter at Weathertop.

There are also several other similarities peppered throughout The Wheel of Time’s first three episodes. Rand’s father says, “All we can do is the best we can with the life that’s given to us,” which is similar to a quote from Gandalf: “All we must decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” The presence of the Dark One, The Wheel of Time’s main villain, is also similar to that of Sauron, who is more of an omniscient villain that can influence the world without actually being present in it.

Is Wheel Of Time Entirely Like Lord Of The Rings?

While the similarities between The Wheel of Time and Fellowship of the Ring are prevalent early on, the two stories actually diverge greatly as time goes on and there are also fundamental differences between Tolkien and Jordan’s worlds. Most notably is the presence of the Aes Sedai in The Wheel of Time. The all-female magical order holds much authority over the World of the Wheel and this allows for greater gender diversity in the Prime Video show compared to Lord of the Rings, which does not have a magical order comparable to that of the Aes Sedai in The Wheel of Time.

Additionally, The Wheel of Time’s Chosen One narrative is vastly different than Lord of the Rings. Whereas Frodo has the One Ring thrust upon him through mere circumstance, one of the Emond’s Field Five is a prophesized Dragon Reborn. While the narratives certainly share some commonalities, Frodo’s journey in Lord of the Rings is one that he actively chooses to go on in some ways. The Dragon Reborn has no choice in the matter.

How Wheel Of Time Will Differ Going Forward

Like Lord of the Rings and the mythology that is associated with the sprawling world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, the world of The Wheel of Time is expansive and has a vast lore to explore, but its episodic format already sets it apart from the Lord of the Rings films. The Wheel of Time will have many more opportunities to explore this world than the Lord of the Rings trilogy simply because the Prime Video show has time on its side. There are also many facets of The Wheel of Time that differ from Lord of the Rings.

While Frodo’s journey in defeating Sauron does not come easy, it is eventually wrapped up quite neatly when Middle-earth is saved from evil at the end of Lord of the Rings. The defeat of the Dark One in The Wheel of Time won’t come so easy. While the line between good and evil is pretty clear in Lord of the Rings, something that is representative of the time in which it was written, morality is a lot less clear-cut in The Wheel of Time. This all boils down to the conflict within the Dragon Reborn themselves – the temptation of evil is strong and it won’t be easy to resist.

With season 2 already in the works, the Prime Video series could be around for a long time if it plays its cards right. The follow-up season also has the potential to introduce another facet of the series that could make it different from Lord of the Rings. The Wheel of Time season 2 has cast Elayne Trakand, introducing a pivotal love interest for one of the main characters of the series. While there were romantic elements to Lord of the Rings, including the relationship between Aragon and Arwen, romance is much more central to the plot of The Wheel of Time.

While post-Tolkien fantasy authors owe a great debt to the British writer, many like Jordan have also forged their own paths in the genre. Like any genre, fantasy has evolved since the publication of Tolkien’s original novels and while it can be difficult to operate in the fantasy genre without earning comparisons to Lord of the Rings, these comparisons can’t and shouldn’t be seen as criticisms. The Wheel of Time may draw a lot from Tolkien’s seminal epic, but it also has a great deal of originality within its pages that will make for a grand retelling on the small screen.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/wheel-time-lord-rings-fellowship-similarities-explained/