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Moiraine Damodred
Moiraine Damodred
Portrayed By: Rosamund Pike
An Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, set to finding the Dragon Reborn.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Moiraine, described as brown-eyed in the books, is played by blue-eyed Rosamund Pike. She's also pretty tall, and Moiraine was famously short.
- Adaptational Protagonist: Moiraine served as a mentor figure to Rand in the books, albeit one who frequently quarrelled with Rand. Moiraine in the show is the main focus of the story and advertising.
- Adaptational Sexuality: In the novels, Moiraine only had a youthful dalliance with Siuan, and what little Ship Tease she had was with Thom Merrilin (of all people); in the series she and Siuan have been a committed (albeit secret) couple for over twenty years.
- Beneath the Mask: She briefly dropped her ice cold and professional persona during a single night when she visited her girlfriend Siuan. Fittingly, the scene started with her masking her Warder-bond to Lan, something he commented on.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: One of the vows an Aes Sedai must take is to never say something that is untrue (which is a Magically-Binding Contract rather than just a promise, and as such can't be broken even if she wanted to). She can, however, use Exact Words and Metaphorically True, such as claiming she's going to visit her sister, since she expects to find another Aes Sedai in the city, and all Aes Sedai call each other "sisters".
- Elemental Powers: In her battle against the trollocs attacking Emond's Field, Moiraine showcases an array of elemental powers. Throwing fireballs, creating a whirlwind, summoning lightning from the sky and blasting rocks and stone.
- For Great Justice: As an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, Moiraine is driven by a desire for righteousness and justice.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She presents very feminine with long hair, wearing elegant dresses and is in a long term relationship with Siuan Sanche.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With her Warder Lan. When he asks if Tar Valon feels like home, she muses that her boots, her saddle and "this brooding man at [her] side" are the only things that feels like home after 20 years of them on the road.
- Secret Relationship: She has spent the last 20+ years hiding that she is in a lifelong relationship with Siuan Sanche, the current Amyrlin Seat. They keep it secret because being seen to show favoritism would be politically disadvantageous for Siuan, and pretending in public not to support Moiraine's quest makes it easier to help her on the sly.
- Shoulders of Doom: Her coat has very high leather shoulder pads, which look almost like pauldrons.
- Squishy Wizard: Moiraine must fully concentrate on casting her spells during combat, so she needs Lan to physically defend her from enemy attacks.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: Another of her vows is to never use her powers as a weapon against another human. She explains to Egwene that she did not kill the ferryman, as he jumped into a whirlpool while she was sinking the boat, and thus accidentally killed himself.
Lan Mandragoran
Lan Mandragoran
Portrayed By: Daniel Henney
Moiraine's warder, a skilled swordsman.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: His job as a Warder. While Moiraine is using her Elemental Powers, Lan keeps the Trollocs off her to buy her time.
- It's All My Fault: He tries to help Stepin recover after losing his Aes Sedai, but Stepin commits suicide anyway. Lan is devastated afterward, and blames himself because he didn't see it coming.
- Mr. Fanservice: He's easily the most objectified male cast member, getting a fair amount of shirtless scenes. Being played by the very attractive Daniel Henney helps.
- Platonic Life-Partners: He and Moiraine are spiritually and emotionally bonded, but there is no romance between them. In the first episode, Lan climbs into her bath completely naked and they have a chat.
- Secret-Keeper: When Moiraine masks their Bond, Lan immediately runs up to her room to check on her, only to find her in her nightgown. He disapproves of her masking their Bond for any reason, and they casually argue over it, with her suggesting he should go and enjoy this moment of privacy. He ignores this and tell Moiraine to be back the next morning and give her his love, causing Moiraine to smirk, showing that Lan knows of her clandestine relationship with Siuan.
- Undying Loyalty: He stays with Moiraine through thick and thin. When she thinks she's been stilled and tries to drive him away with cruelty so he'll pass the bond to someone else, he refuses and stays by her side.
Nynaeve al'Meara
Nynaeve al'Meara
Portrayed By: Zoë Robins
The village Wisdom.
- Action Girl: She fights the Trollocs along with other Emond's Fielders, then almost attacks Lan when she thinks he's abducted Rand, Egwene, Perrin and Mat.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the books Nynaeve comes from Emond's Field, and had been living with the previous Wisdom since her mid-teens after her parents died. In the series she was an orphan from outside the Two Rivers raised by the Wisdom from a much younger age.
- Adaptational Badass: Like Egwene, she's made into a ta'veren in the show, someone whom the Pattern has chosen to weave around.
- Big "NO!": She reacts this way when she discovers Lan has had his throat slashed by Stepin's attempt to kill Logain. Fortunately, she's powerful enough to heal him.
- Braids of Action: She wears her hair in an elaborate braid to indicate her membership in the Women's Circle. Her introductory scene in the first episode has her as the one who gives Egwene her own braid and explains its significance as the group's signature hairstyle. She soon becomes an Action Girl and Mama Bear for her younger friends.
- Imaginary Love Triangle: She is hesitant to make her move on Lan because she thinks he and Moiraine are a couple. Eventually, she learns that while some Aes Sedai are indeed romantically linked with their Warders, this is not necessarily the case, and Moiraine and Lan are Platonic Life-Partners.
- Mama Bear: She tracks down Lan when he thinks he's abducted the main characters, and threatens to gut him if he doesn't return them. When Lan protests that she wouldn't do that, she goes straight for the throat.
Egwene al'Vere
Egwene al'Vere
Portrayed By: Madeleine Madden
A hopeful Wisdom's apprentice.
- Action Girl: She fights the Trollocs alongside her fellow Emond's Fielders, then shows herself very capable on the road too, including escaping from the Whitecloaks.
- Adaptational Badass: She's made into a ta'veren in the show, someone whom the Pattern has chosen to weave around.
- Adaptation Deviation: In the series she loves tales of Jain the Farstrider. In the books she is mentioned to not like the stories of travel and adventure.
- Braids of Action: She wears a long braid down her back as a symbol of her initiation into the Women's Circle. Before long she's thrust into adventure and proves herself an Action Girl.
- Career Versus Man: She chose becoming a Wisdom over Rand.
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Rand. They have a relationship starting out, and knew each other all of their lives.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Loial says "There's steel beneath that sweet exterior" regarding Egwene, and it's true. She is a kind and pretty young woman, but nonetheless very tough with a strong determination, even in the most dire circumstances. Although appearing reserved and demure, she is a good fighter, while also capable of holding up under intense torture which surely would break many other people.
Rand al'Thor
Rand al'Thor
Portrayed By: Josha Stradowski
A shepherd.
- Adaptational Wimp:
- In the books, Rand harnesses the purified saidin in the Eye of the World to destroy an army of Trollocs. In the show, there is no well of saidin and the Trollocs are killed by Nynaeve and Egwene.
- Rand in the books is the most powerful channeler, and the only time he was shielded it took a circle of thirteen Aes Sedai to do it. In the show, Rand is rendered completely helpless by a shield made solely by Siuan.
- The climax of the second book, The Great Hunt, features Rand appearing as a spectral giant over Falme, fighting an equally massive and ethereal Ba'alzemon. In the show, Rand is shielded by damane and left helpless while his allies fight Ishamael and the Seanchan.
- The Chosen One: He is the Dragon Reborn, destined to face the Dark One at the Last Battle, and to break the world.
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Egwene. They have a relationship starting out, and knew each other all of their lives.
- Girl Next Door: Gender-Inverted to Egwene, being the approachable, unassuming childhood friend with a hint of romantic tension. Of course, in his case they break up at the beginning of the series.
- Humble Goal: He states his life dream to Egwene in the first episode: that the two of them would start a farm and have a quiet family life together within the Two Rivers.
- Nice Guy: His main characteristic from the start throughout the rest of the season was him being obsessed with loving and helping his childhood friends and quietly assuming that he and his Childhood Sweetheart Egwene would eventually marry and start a humble family life within the Two Rivers. The Dark One offers him exactly this in the season finale.
- Oblivious Adoption: Rand had no idea that he was adopted by Tam al'Thor; his birth mother was Tigraine, an Aiel Maiden of the Spear who gave birth to him on the slopes of the Dragonmount during the Aiel War, with Tam serving as midwife, and suffered Death by Childbirth soon after.
- Out of Focus: Out of all the main characters in the first season, he receives the least focus and most of the scenes revolve around Egwene or Mat. This continues even after Rand is revealed to be the Dragon Reborn, with Rand sometimes getting less screentime per episode than Liandrin.
- Supporting Protagonist: He is the Dragon Reborn, though Moiraine is the character that receives the most focus.
- Undying Loyalty: His first reaction to Mat maybe secretly being a male channeler was him denying it since "Mat would have told me!", and his reaction after he started to believe it was him whispering that he would always be there for him into a sleeping Mat's ear. When Moiraine and Lan find them and they freak out over Mat's curse, and Rand doesn't know what is going on but instinctively grabs his sword and step between Mat and Lan.Mat: (Delirious) Bless the boy, he tried!
- Walking Spoiler: Given that he doesn't have much of a role in the first season, other than traveling with Mat, it's hard to discuss him without spoiling the main twist of the season.
Perrin Aybara
Perrin Aybara
Portrayed By: Marcus Rutherford
A blacksmith.
- Accidental Murder: During the chaos of the fighting, Perrin accidentally kills his wife, Laila.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the books, his dislike of hurting women is put down to his Two Rivers upbringing ingraining Wouldn't Hit a Girl in him (and the other two boys) even in self-defense. Here, it's because he accidentally killed his own wife.
- The Beastmaster: Wolves start to follow Perrin around, then even help him escape along with Egwene by attacking Whitecloaks, to his bafflement.
- Secret Stab Wound: Knowing that they're low on supplies and Moiraine is much worse off, he hides an injury he got in the Two Rivers battle. It soon gets infected.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: Perrin's eyes turn gold when his bestial power wells up.
- Wrong Context Magic: Perrin can't channel, but he does have a mystical connection to wolves that is completely different from the One Power the majority use to do magic.
Mat Cauthon
Mat Cauthon
Portrayed By: Barney Harris (season 1), Dónal Finn (season 2)
A gambler and a thief.
- Adapted Out: He doesn't join in the journey to the Eye of the World.
- Adaptational Job Change: He's a thief in the show, hawking stolen goods in order to support his family. In the books, he was a gambler and certainly the seediest member of the main cast but hadn't actually stolen anything.
- Adaptational Villainy: While other characters in the books might accuse Mat of being a layabout or ne'er-do-well, and while Mat himself claims he's no hero, he proves himself loyal to a fault and unable to turn his back on others in need. Mat in the show abandons his friends towards the end of the first season, may have killed a family of farmers who gave him and Rand shelter for the night, works as a thief, and is subjected to a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech from Liandrin about what a thoroughly terrible person he is.
- Evil Weapon: The dagger he wields is tainted with some sort of evil magic, and starts to drive him mad. It also may have compelled him to slaughter an entire family.
- Forbidden Fruit: When they're trapped in the fallen city of Shadar Logoth, Lan warns everyone not to touch anything. However, Mat finds a certain dagger with a ruby in the hilt, and takes it anyway.
- Mercy Kill Arrangement: Asks Rand to kill him if it turns out he is a male channeler going mad from the Taint. Fortunately for him, he's not.
Aes Sedai & Warders
Siuan Sanche
Siuan Sanche
Portrayed By: Sophie Okonedo
The Amyrlin Seat, leader of the Aes Sedai.- Adaptational Sexuality: In the novels, Siuan only had a youthful dalliance with Moiraine, while in the series she and Moiraine have been a full couple for twenty years.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Siuan is shown with her father as a girl, and they were close. Her mother is not seen or mentioned though.
- Compelling Voice: Siuan has this power, it turns out. As the Amyrlin, she's the head of the Aes Sedai. Subordinate Aes Sedai have sworn magically unbreakable oaths to obey her. Thus when Moiraine refuses to obey an order Siuan gives her, she invokes her authority formally, with doing so compelling obedience.
- Intimate Marks: Siuan has intricate tattoos on her arms and chest just over her breasts, as seen when she's having her tryst with Moiraine.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Siuan has long hair and is a regal feminine woman in adulthood, secretly involved with Moiraine.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Her Pseudo-Romantic Friendship with Moiraine from the books is an explicit romance here.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She rebukes Liandrin for "gentling" Logain before he could be brought to the White Tower for trial. While being depowered would have been his eventual fate anyway, it's not how things should be done and sets a bad precedent, and the rules of the Aes Sedai are not for their own benefit but to protect others.
- Self-Made Man: She went from the child of a poor fisherman in a culture that hates channelers to the most powerful Aes Sedai in the world.
Liandrin Guirale
Liandrin Guirale
Portrayed By: Kate Fleetwood
An Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, who tracks down and neutralizes male channelers before they become dangerous. She is actually a member of the Black Ajah, a darkfriend sworn to serve the Forsaken, specifically Lanfear.
- Adaptational Sympathy:
- A conversation with Moiraine hints that there's a Freudian Excuse towards her hatred of men, as she says that while she's free in the Tower, in other parts of the world "powerful men do what they want". Her book counterpart had no such implication, or any sort of tragic backstory besides growing up poor and being envious of nobles.
- She also gets even more sympathetic in Season 2 by the reveal she has an elderly son whom she cares for while facing the fact he'll die soon. The book character wasn't a mother and showed no tenderness toward any man. It serves to soften and humanize her on the show.
- It's revealed she was forced to marry as a girl even before reaching menarche, so it's no wonder she hates men after that (aside from her son). In the books Liandrin had no such sympathetic backstory.
- Does Not Like Men: Granted, it's part of her job and no one likes male channelers very much, but she's disgusted by men attempting to use the One Power and tainting it, and seems to take sadistic pleasure in "gentling" any male channeler she can find.
- Love Makes You Evil: Liandrin swore herself to the Shadow in the hope that her dying son could be saved by the Dark One as a reward.
- Outliving One's Offspring: It turns out that Liandrin has an elderly son whom she cares for, while given his advanced age and illness it's clear she faces his imminent death. Lanfear later kills him after learning about this, thus severing Liandrin's last tie with her past.
- Pet the Dog: In the books Liandrin handed over Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne to Suroth without a qualm; in the show she genuinely seems to like Nynaeve, so as she departs she unshields the trio from the One Power and burns Nynaeve's bonds to give them a fighting chance against the Seanchan.
Alanna Mosvani
Alanna Mosvani
Portrayed By: Priyanka Bose
An Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah. Her two Warders are Ihvon and Maksim.- Polyamory: She's in a relationship with both of her Warders.
- Signature Move: Her go-to weave in fights appears to be using Earth to make the ground under an enemy blow up like a land mine.
Ihvon
Ihvon
Portrayed By: Emmanuel Imani
One of Alanna's Warders.- Adaptational Sexuality: He wasn't shown as being into men in the books. In the series he has a trio relationship with Alanna plus Maksim, his fellow male Warder.
- Polyamory: He, Alanna and Maksim are all in a relationship together.
Maksim
Maksim
Portrayed By: Taylor Napier
One of Alanna's Warders.- Adaptation Name Change: His name is Owein in the books. It's changed to avoid confusion with Owyn, Thom's late nephew.
- Adaptational Sexuality: The book character's sexual orientation is not shown. Here he's lovers with Alanna and his fellow male Warder Ihvon.
- Polyamory: He, Alanna and Ihvon are all in a relationship together.
Kerene Nagashi
Portrayed By: Clare Perkins
An Aes Sedai and Captain-General of the Green Ajah. Her Warder is Stepin.- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the Books, Kerene only appears in the prequel novel New Spring as one of the Searchers sent by the then Amyrlin Seat, Tamra Ospenya, to find the Dragon Reborn on the night of Rand's birth, only to be murdered by the Black Ajah. Here only Siuan and Moiraine were there to hear Gitara's prophecy and consequently Kerene survives to the present day, only to die protecting Moiraine and Liandrin during Logain's escape attempt. That said, the show makes Liandrin partially responsible for her death, so in a way the Black Ajah still got her in the end.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: As Captain-General of the Green Ajah, her authority outranked Liandrin's on the mission to bring Logain in for claiming to be the Dragon Reborn, and thus is able to rebuff her attempts to gentle Logain without a trial before the Amyrlin Seat. Unfortunately, her death at his hands is justification enough for Liandrin and the other Aes Sedai, Moiraine included, to gentle Logain in retribution.
Stepin
Stepin
Portrayed By: Peter Franzén
Kerene's Warder.- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Like Kerene, he only appears in the New Spring prequel, presumably he was murdered alongside Kerene by the Black Ajah after the former sets out to find the Dragon Reborn.
- Driven to Suicide: After Kerene's death. This is common for Warders whose bonded Aes Sedai die before they do.
The Whitecloaks
Valda
Eamon Valda
Portrayed By: Abdul Salis
A Whitecloak Questioner.
- Faux Affably Evil: His cheerful demeanor just comes across as smug. He'll smilingly describe decadent culinary practices even as he prepares to burn you at the stake.
- Knight Templar: As the rest of his ilk, he is fanatically devoted to expunging Darkfriends.
- Past Victim Showcase: Has a cord with several rings taken from the Aes Sedai he has murdured.
- Light Is Not Good: For being a member of the "Children of Light", he sure is a piece of work.
- Sadist: Valda loves inflicting pain and seems to care more about killing Aes Sedai than his own religion.
- Torture Technician: He takes his job as a "Questioner" to mean "brutalize whoever's unfortunate enough to cross his path".
- Villain in a White Suit: A fantasy version, as he and the rest of the Whitecloaks wear immaculate clothing.
Geofram Bornhald
Geofram Bornhald
Portrayed By: Stuart Graham
Lord Captain of the Whitecloak chapter that Valda was traveling with.
- Pet the Dog: In sharp contrast to Valda's Knight Templar outlook, Bornhald tells Moiraine (whom he believes, at the time, to be a normal woman) that she should seek out an Aes Sedai for healing once she's in Tar Valon in order to survive her Trolloc wound.
Tuatha'an
Illa
Illa
Portrayed By: Maria Doyle Kennedy
A Tuatha'an who gives Egwene and Perrin shelter among her caravan.
- Actual Pacifist: She's completely non-violent, to the point where she won't even defend herself.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlived her daughter, and sees it as her job to make the world better for when she reincarnates.
- Restrained Revenge: How she sees her adherence to the Way of the Leaf, even after the brutal death of her daughter to bandits.What greater revenge against violence than peace? What greater revenge against death than life? I couldn't protect my girl in this turn of the Wheel, but one day, long after I'm gone, after Aram and his grandchildren's grandchildren, the Wheel will turn out my daughter's soul again. I do what I can to forge a better world for her then, where she can enjoy the life she should have had with me.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We don't find out what happened to her and the other Tuatha'an after Valda and the Whitecloaks brutalize them to get to Perrin and Egwene.
Two Rivers
Tam
Tam al'Thor
Portrayed By: Michael McElhatton
- Action Dad: When a Trolloc busts down the door, Tam yanks out a sword and goes to town.
- Adaptational Heroism: Not that Tam wasn't already a good person, but in the books he only found infant Rand after Tigraine, Rand's mother, had already given birth to him and died. In the show, Tam came across Tigraine after she had killed several of his fellow soldiers and he had the opportunity to kill her, but instead he made it clear he wouldn't harm her and supported and comforted her while she spent the last moments of her life giving birth.
- Everyone Has Standards: While Tigraine had killed several of his fellow soldiers, Tam didn't kill her when she was in labour and defenceless but instead helped her to deliver her son.
- Retired Badass: He was once a soldier and keeps an ancient magical sword under his bed and remembers how to use it.
Seanchan
Suroth
Suroth Sabelle Meldarath
Portrayed By: Karima McAdams
- No Brows: Like other high-ranking Seanchan, she has no eyebrows, making her look creepy and untrustworthy.
Turak
Turak Aladon
Portrayed By: Daniel Francis
- Bald of Authority: Has a completely shaved head and even eyebrows, and he's the highest-ranking Seanchan seen so far.
- Slashed Throat: Dies this way along with his personal guard by Rand al'Thor's powers.
The Forsaken
In General
The leaders of the Dark One's forces. They were the strongest channelers of the previous Age and were once allies of the last Dragon, Lews Therin Telemon, before turning to evil. Lews and the other Aes Sedai of the previous Age sealed each of them away to prevent them from being reincarnated after they died, but those seals have begun to weaken as the Dark One stirs from his slumber. Being former Aes Sedai from the Age of Legends, before the tainting of saidin, they include both men and women.
- Adapted Out: Compacted from 13 in the books down to 8 in the show. Thus far Aginor and Balthamel have been cut from the show. Who the other three cut Forsaken are is yet to be seen.
- And I Must Scream: Lews tells Ishamael that the seal will leave him somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, for thousands of years at the very least, possibly until the end of time. It's assumable this is true of all the Forsaken.
- Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Ishamael, Lanfear and Moghedien have all been seen wearing attire that seems out of step with the fashions of the current era, emphasising that whole "man/woman out of time" thing.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Led by Ishamael, each individual Forsaken is strong enough in the One Power and armed with enough lost knowledge to be a dire threat all on their own, let alone in a group.
- The Dreaded: The people of the Third Age view them as demons, and fashion idols of them to ward off their evil.
- Face–Heel Turn: Some were bad right from the get go, others like Lanfear and Ishamael turned to the Dark for various other reasons.
- Gambit Pileup: Known in the past for their schemes tending to trip over one another and cancel each other out.
- Insistent Terminology: Known as the Forsaken to just about everyone else in the world, they chose to style themselves as "The Chosen".
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Named after various real world demons, fallen angels or incarnations of the devil, just saying one of their names out loud can put a chill in the steeliest of spines.
- Outside-Context Problem: A group of insanely powerful mages who last walked the earth when flying cars and all sorts of Clarke's Third Law bullshit were at play suddenly arriving in a medieval fantasy setting that's forgotten more than it ever knew about magic in the first place definitely fits the bill for "Outside Context".
- Science Wizard: The Age of Legends blurred the lines between science and magic already, but several of the Forsaken were actual scientists in their time as well.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Lews sealed each of them away, for good, he'd hoped, but it appears the seal wasn't as perfect as he thought it was.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Lanfear and Ishamael spend much of their time plotting against each other rather than presenting a united front. Then once Moghedien appears she's clearly at loggerheads with Lanfear as well, and makes it clear she'll scheme against her.
- We Used to Be Friends: Ishamael, Lanfear and Lews Therin were once best friends before their respective graps for power drove them apart. Ishamael and Lanfear fell to the Dark, and Lews didn't exactly fare much better on the Light side either.
Ishamael
Ishamael / Ba'alzamon
Portrayed By: Fares Fares
The most powerful and de facto leader of the Forsaken, and initially the only one awake. While the other Forsaken serve the Shadow in pursuit of personal power and immortality, Ishamael wants to free the Dark One in the hope that he'll stop the Wheel of Time turning and destroy the world. In the current Age, most people have mistaken him for being the Dark One himself.
- Death Seeker: He confesses to Mat that his desire is a final, permanent death (as reincarnation usually occurs), given how tired he's become of being reborn again in a world so saturated with suffering. When he's mortally wounded by Rand and thinks he sees nothing waiting for him, Ishamael smiles in happiness.
- Go Out with a Smile: While it's unclear if he really gets a permanent death by the end of Season 2, it is heavily implied as he goes out smiling before turning to dust.
- Master of Illusion: He's able to create a perfect illusionary counterpart of himself, with Rand and Mat both thinking it's actually him.
- Reduced to Dust: Once he's dead, his body crumbles away.
- Visionary Villain: Unlike the other Forsaken, who want personal power, Ishamael knows the Dark One will destroy the world - which he wants, as he sees it as filled with pain and wishes for Cessation of Existence so he can escape Reincarnation.
Lanfear
Lanfear / Selene
Portrayed By: Natasha O'Keeffe
One of the most powerful and feared of the Forsaken, second only to Ishamael. She has an obsession with Rand, whom she'd been lovers with once in his long-ago incarnation as Lews Therin, the Dragon, and wants to get him back.
- Bed Trick: She pretends she's just ordinary innkeeper Selene, becoming lovers with Rand while he's none the wiser. As he's The Chosen One fighting against her side, he certainly wouldn't have slept with her knowingly.
- Cosmic Motifs: The Moon. Her outfits tend to be silver and/or black and incorporate crescent shapes, and "Selene" is the name of the Greek moon goddess.
- Dream Weaver: Lanfear is well known for her skill with manipulating Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams. She can make herself appear as other people there or even create whole dream environments. Moiraine thus tries to keep herself and Rand awake for as long as possible while Lanfear is chasing them so she can't attack them in Tel'aran'rhiod as they dream. However, then Moiraine realizes using Rand as bait to find out Ishamael's plans from Lanfear may work, and so sends him into a dream.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Thus far Lanfear has helped Rand and his friends and allies about as often as she's harmed them. It's clear that there's some glimmers of humanity and good still within her, even if she's not actually redeemable herself. Moghedien and the other five surviving Forsaken having it out for her after she betrayed Ishamael might end up pushing her down the character alignment spectrum whether she wants it or not.
- Honey Trap: Lanfear seduces Rand in the guise of Selene, a seemingly ordinary innkeeper, to become his lover in hopes of winning him back after she'd once had a relationship with his former incarnation thousands of years before, along with turning him to the Dark like her no doubt.
- Love Makes You Evil: She became a Darkfriend (and one of the Dark One's lieutenants, the Forsaken) because it might give her enough power to get back the Dragon, her lover who'd left her. Thousands of years later, she's still intent on doing this.
- Mad Love: She is absolutely obsessed with getting back the Dragon (now reborn as Rand), who had been her lover millennia ago before he left her for the woman he married. She won't let anything stop her from pursuing him, even though he clearly isn't interested at all, only becoming her lover in the present day due to her having completely deceived him on her identity.
- Off with His Head!: She casually creates a weave that cuts off a man's head to get the poor sap's horse.
- Person of Mass Destruction: Lanfear gives Rand aid when he's imprisoned in Cairhien with the most destructive means possible. She marches through the Foregate, casting fireballs that set fires everywhere nearby and kill probably dozens, then easily destroys the gate of the Sun Palace where he's being held. Lanfear leaves a huge swath of destruction in her wake.
- Reincarnation Romance: It turns out that Lanfear once was lovers with Lews Therin, the Dragon who is now reborn as Rand millennia later. She's still obsessed with him and had seduced Rand pretending to be Selene, hoping to win him back.
Moghedien
Moghedien
Portrayed By: Laia Costa
A member of the Forsaken at odds with Lanfear. She is awakened by Ishamael along with the remaining five Forsaken as a final act of revenge against Lanfear.- Animal Motifs: Spiders. Her mannerisms invoke a spider spinning its web. Her weaves are complex and spiderweb-like, and even the name Moghedien means "spider" in the Old Tongue.
- Ax-Crazy: Described initially by Lanfear as being dangerously kooky, she wastes little time establishing that she is in fact both insane and dangerous once she's unsealed.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Not much is known about her at present, but it's clear from her lone interaction with Lanfear that she has a lot of things planned now that she and the rest of the Forsaken are free to roam the world again, and they don't intend anything good for either Rand, the rest of the forces of Light, OR Lanfear either, for that matter.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: In contrast to basically every other character on the show who've so far had a vaguely Western European accent, or an American accent in the case of the Seanchan, Moghedien has a very pointedly Nordic accent.
Graendal
Graendal
A female Forsaken awakened by Ishamael.- The Ghost: Only mentioned so far in the show.
- It's All About Me: Lanfear describes her as a vain idiot.
Sammael
Other Characters
Thom
Thom Merrilin
Portrayed By: Alexandre Willaume
A travelling minstrel or 'gleeman.'
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the books Thom's nephew Owyn was gentled and then exiled from his community and is implied to have died from despair, all before Thom could find and help him. The show cranks the trauma up several notches by having Owyn gruesomely commit suicide in front of Thom.
- Freudian Excuse: Thom hates and distrusts the Aes Sedai, and the Red Ajah in particular, because they reduced his nephew to an empty shell who slit his own throat at the dinner table. He wants to protect Mat, whom he believes to be a channeler, from suffering the same fate.
- Uncertain Doom: In Season 1, he's last seen facing a Myrdraal in battle.
Logain
Logain Ablar
Portrayed By: Álvaro Morte
A man who claims to be the Dragon Reborn.
- Death Seeker: Stripped of his power and with the revelation that he's not the Dragon Reborn, he tries to bait Siuan into having him executed.
- Despair Event Horizon: After he understands he's not the Dragon Reborn, he's left in distraught silence.
- The Dreaded: The Aes Sedai are all immensely wary of him due to his enormous power.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Logain accidentally kills Kerene — one of the more reasonable Aes Sedai, who wanted to take him to the White Tower and give him a fair trial rather than "gentle" him on the spot — during his escape attempt in "The Dragon Reborn". When Kerene dies, Liandrin promptly strips Logain of his power and nobody objects. However, for him it was the difference between being gentled immediately or a month later.
- Magnetic Hero: He is able to attract an army of loyal followers to his cause, even converting the King of Ghealdan after meeting him in battle.
- Signature Move: Frequently uses a weave that causes metal to rapidly corrode.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Logain truly believes that he's the Dragon Reborn, and sincerely intends to fix the world.
Loial
Loial
Portrayed By: Hammed Animashaun
A Ogier fresh from his Stedding.
- Gentle Giant: He is an Ogier, a towering humanoid man who inspired fear from both Rand and people earlier in Tar Valon, to the point a mob chased him around the city. However, in truth he's harmless. Loial is a highly polite, scholarly fellow who has no ill intent toward anyone.
- Nice Guy: He goes out of his way to help Rand, a total stranger.
- Token Non-Human: For the main characters when he joins them on the journey to the Eye of the World.
- Uncertain Doom: He's stabbed with the Shadar Logoth dagger in the Season 1 finale. Season 2 shows he survived and is back to full health.
Min
Elmindreda Farshaw
Portrayed By: Kae Alexander
A bartender who can see people's fate.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Young Min has lived a rough life in Tar Valon instead of an uneventful life with aunts in Baerlon. Her gift first manifested when she saw Tam al'Thor with baby Rand. Moiraine hides her in Fal Dara to protect her from the troubles her gift could attract.
- Adaptational Job Change: In the books she was a resident of Baerlon and her occupation was never specified. Here, she is a bartender in Fal Dara.
- Blessed with Suck: Min views her power to see the future as a terrible curse, since it shows her people's fates, which are frequently awful. She even makes a deal with Ishamael to remove this, she hates it so much.
- Eye Contact as Proof: At one point Min demands Rand al'Thor look her in the eyes and proclaim the desire to know the whole truth and face the consequences. Otherwise, Min will only tell insignificant details, withholding the most important visions.
- Fortune Teller: Season 2 shows that Min was forced by her aunts to work as one, which she hated as she'd see people having awful futures very often.
- Oracular Urchin/Waif Prophet: When her power first manifested, she was young and wasn't living a good life in Tar Valon.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon seeing visions of the Fal Daran soldiers dying in the Trollocs' attack on Tarwin's Gap, Min quietly slips out with the other foreigners who were given a chance to leave Fal Dara before the battle.
- Seers: When she looks at people, she sees additional images related to their significance to the Pattern. The hard part is interpreting them.
- You Didn't Ask: Min describes to Moiraine exactly what she sees when Moiraine brings the potential Dragons to her tavern. Min does not tell what she saw about the Dragon Reborn elsewhere until Rand demands it of her.
