Wheel Of Time's Big Moiraine Family Change Sets Up A Great Character Connection The Books Ignored

Summary Moiraine's storyline in season 2 sets the stage for exploring her relationship with Galad, Gawyn, and Elayne, a connection overlooked in the books.

The show's departure from the books emphasizes Moiraine's family ties, opening up new possibilities for future character interactions and storylines.

Moiraine's interactions with her relatives, especially Galad, may lead to compelling conflicts and alliances, offering exciting character dynamics in upcoming seasons.

A change to Moiraine's story in The Wheel of Time season 2 lays the foundation for the show to tackle a huge character connection that went ignored by the books. Though Prime Video's show is only two seasons into its adaptation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time book series, it's already made some significant changes to Moiraine's arc. In addition to having her shielded from the True Source for most of the events from The Great Hunt, the series added a whole-new storyline for her in Cairhien.

Whereas the book version of Moiraine was more focused on the issue at hand with Rand and his destiny as the Dragon Reborn, her TV counterpart wound up being sidetracked by family matters. In season 2, her search for Rand led her back to her family home. Reunions with her sister and nephew (Anvaere and Barthanes) forced Moiraine to have some uncomfortable conversations about the choices she's made. With Moiraine leaving Cairhien in Wheel of Time season 2's ending, the show may have moved on from this story, but regardless of whether that's the case, this subplot paves the way for the series to do something else the books never did.

How Moiraine Is Related To Gawyn, Galad, & Elayne In The Wheel Of Time

Moiraine is the aunt of Galad, Gawyn, and Elayne

Developments in The Wheel of Time books confirm that multiple main characters are related by blood. The books give plenty of attention to the familial ties between Galad, Gawyn, and Elayne, but give little focus to the fact that Moiraine is part of their family. In Jordan's novels, it's understood that Moiraine has three siblings: the aforementioned Anvaere, Innloine, and Taringail, the latter being a half-brother. Taringail is the father of Gawyn, Elayne, and Galad, whom he sired through two different marriages.

Both of Taringail's marriages were arranged for diplomatic reasons. As a way to strengthen ties between Cairhein and Andor, Wheel of Time's House Damodred married him off to Tigraine Mantear, one of Andor's noblewomen. During their short time together, the pair had one child, Galad. After Tigraine left him to live with the Aiel, Taringail remarried, this time to the newly crowned queen of Andor, Morgase Trakand. In doing so, Taringail became the Prince Consort of Andor. Sometime before his death, Morgase gave birth to a boy and girl, Gawyn and Elayne. As the only female child of Morgase, Elayne became the heir to the throne.

Tigraine Mantear, Taringail's first wife, is also the mother of Rand al'Thor. Rand was born via her marriage to an Aiel chief, following her split from Taringail.

Why Wheel Of Time's Show Is Unlikely To Ignore Moiraine's Connection To Taringail's Children

The show's handling of Barthanes and Anvaere could tease Moiraine's season 3 story

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Unlike the situation with Rand and Moiraine, she's a blood relative to both of the Trakand siblings and Galad, giving her a major connection to three significant characters from Jordan's books. Even so, this hardly mattered in terms of the show's narrative or the four characters' respective stories. It was implied in Knife of Dreams that Elayne had met Moiraine before the timeframe of the series, due to their shared backstory. Yet, they never shared any meaningful interactions, with the same being the case for Moiraine and her brother's two sons.

Looking at what season 2 did with Moiraine, the show's approach to her link with Galad, Gawyn, and Elayne is in a position to be decidedly different from the books. Not unlike how the books didn't emphasize Moiraine being related to Elayne and the others, they also paid no heed to the fact that Moiraine and Barthanes are both part of the Damodred bloodline. It wasn't even clear what their exact connection was. In stark contrast to that, the show made them aunt and nephew, and also fleshed out an interesting relationship between the two, establishing that the Darkfriend had real love and admiration for Moiraine.

The show's willingness to go this route with Moiraine and Barthanes, in spite of the latter not even being an important character, offers a promising preview of what to expect in future seasons in regards to Moiraine's story. Whereas Barthanes was a minor character with an extremely short lifespan in the wider narrative, Elayne is a protagonist in her own right, with both Galad and Gawyn being key supporting characters. If The Wheel of Time intends to make the most of Moiraine's noble blood, it's hard to imagine the show not following its own example when her path inevitably crosses with Galad, Gawyn, and Elayne's.

What Moiraine's Relationships With Elayne, Gawyn, & Galad Could Be

Galad is unlikely to admire Moiraine as much as her other nephew, Barthanes

If the increased importance of Moiraine's bloodline carries is consistent from season to season, there's a strong likelihood the series will see at least one of Taringail's kids share some screentime with her in the future. One in particular who could have a particularly adversarial relationship with Moiraine is Galad, especially since he eventually joins the Whitecloaks in the Wheel of Time books. Whitecloaks hate Aes Sedai, and their influence could have a big effect on how Galad sees her. Since he appears in several books, it shouldn't be hard to make their stories converge.

An easier option for this is Elayne, considering that season 2 ended with both her and Moiraine in the same general area (Falme). Presumably, they'll be headed in different directions in The Wheel of Time season 3 with Moiraine likely headed for the Aiel Waste and Elayne on track to go to Tanchico, but unless there's a time skip, there could be an opportunity for them to interact before their next journeys begin.

Similar to what was hinted at in the books, it may be that they've already met. Since both are good-natured characters, it would make sense for them to have a mutual liking for each other. Elayne could also respect Moiraine's experience as an Aes Sedai and see her as a potential mentor figure for her. Alternatively, her headstrong personality could result in the two butting heads. Either way, a dynamic between the two could present the show with some great character interactions in The Wheel of Time season 3 and beyond.