Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 1 ofThe Wheel of Time.
The wheel turns, and ages come and pass.
Now here we are on the other side of season 1.
Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Lady Amalisa and Thomas Chaanhing as Lord Agelmar on ‘The Wheel of Time.'.Jan Thijs/Amazon
How are you feeling about the job at this point?
RAFE JUDKINS:I mean, it’s crazy seeing how many people are watching the show.
That’s a really gratifying thing to see.
Madeleine Madden as Egwene, Josha Stradowski as Rand, Hammed Animashaun as Loial, and Zoë Robins as Nynaeve on ‘The Wheel of Time.'.Jan Thijs/Amazon
What did you like about doing that?
Will the show continue with the ensemble feeling even now that Rand is revealed as the promised hero?
Yeah, that was the whole idea.
I don’t even think Rand has the most POV chapters in the books overall.
It’s very much an ensemble, even though the first book is not.
That really drives him throughout the season.
What motivated adding that in?
You guys were more patient in rolling out his connection with wolves than the book is.
But for the character overall, his arc in the book is about violence.
Mat (Barney Harris) ended up splitting off from the group in the final episodes.
I think Mat is the character who most clearly struggles with the darker elements of himself.
He really brings a lot of lightness to the character.
How will these events impact the next season?
We have to tell stories so efficiently on the show because we’re trying to do 17,000 pages.
Reading theWheel of Timebooks, it sometimes feels like they could be shorter.
But those massive page counts allow Jordan to really build up the characterizations.
How do you think about what you lose in changing formats, and how to compensate for that?
Mainly what we have to focus on is compression, and then reacting to those compressions.
We only add new stories when we need to.
Before we go, I just wanted confirmation on one thing: Is Loial (Hammed Animashaun) dead?
Loial is not dead.
He is alive and well and shooting in Prague.
We have to, because we can’t hold 2,000 series regulars through multiple seasons.
It’s coming, and I want people to emotionally prepare themselves.
He’s my favorite.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
