Summary

• The Wheel of Time season 2 introduces a twist regarding the Forsaken, revealing that they cannot die and their bodies regenerate after death.
• This is a departure from the original books, where the Forsaken were reincarnated into new bodies, allowing for new challenges and identities.
• The show's decision to change the Forsaken's immortality likely replaces the concept of reincarnation, which would have been confusing for viewers to keep track of.

Warning: Spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 2, episode 4

A big twist regarding the Forsaken in Forsaken are a group of 13 channelers who serve the Dark One. With many serving as main antagonists for entire books in the series, the Forsaken are the greatest threats the Dragon Reborn and his allies will face until the Dark One himself finally emerges.

As if their capabilities with the One Power aren’t enough, the Forsaken have another ability the main characters will need to be wary of in the battles ahead. The Wheel of Time season 2, episode 4, titled “Daughter of the Night” reveals that the Forsaken can’t die. After sneaking up on Lanfear in the episode’s ending, Moiraine seemingly killed her. But as Rosamund Pike’s character told Rand, she’s actually incapable of killing a member of the Forsaken. As the scene teased, Lanfear’s body is already repairing itself.

The Wheel Of Time’s Forsaken Reveal Replaces A Major Power From The Books

While the idea that the Forsaken can come back from death is indeed in the books, how it works in the show is a significant departure from the novels. For a while, it was assumed that once a member of the Forsaken died, they were gone for good. But as it turned out, the Forsaken are reborn into new bodies, forcing Rand and the others to deal with them again. Due to this reincarnation power, the Forsaken would re-enter the picture as people with whole new identities. Some would even have different genders. This allowed the books to reintroduce defeated villains as new challenges for them to overcome.

From the looks of things, Amazon’s Wheel of Time show has found a different way to approach the Forsaken’s immortality. Since their ability to regenerate after death isn’t in the books, it’s likely this new power is essentially a substitute for reincarnation. If that’s the case, several stories from the books won’t happen or will at least occur very differently. That means the show may never use characters like Moridin and Cyndane, reincarnated versions of Ishamael and Lanfear respectively.

Why Reincarnation Would’ve Been Confusing For The Wheel Of Time

Although it does make quite a few moments from the books unlikely for the show’s future, abandoning reincarnation is a move that would make a lot of sense for the series. Even if The Wheel of Time reduces the number of Forsaken, there would still be quite a few for viewers to keep up with, particularly if they’re all alive and well at the same time. Reincarnating them when they die with new names and bodies would make it all the more difficult to keep track of who’s who. By replacing reincarnation with a new way to make them immortal, The Wheel of Time can retain the same actors when the Forsaken die, thus avoiding any unnecessary confusion.

The Wheel of Time releases new episodes on Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.