The Wheel of Time: The need to find your own strength

(Before getting into this, I want to say to everyone struggling with whatever you are dealing with, people care about you and want to help. If you don’t have anybody now, it doesn't mean you won’t later.)

Have you ever felt like the world completely turned against you? That some people were actively trying to keep you in a terrible position, and it felt like there was absolutely nothing you could do? These were the thoughts that came to my mind while I was watching The Wheel of Time. If the show piques your interest after reading this, all three seasons are available on Amazon Prime.

The Wheel of Time is set in a fantasy world where some people are able to use a magic which they call the Weaving. They call it Weaving because when they use this energy, it looks like strings of thread weaving together. The source of this mystical energy is called the One Power. Like most fantasy shows and movies, there’s an overarching villain that wants to do something incredibly evil. They’re called the Dark One (shocking, I know). The Dark One corrupted the One Power a thousand years before the show takes place. The corruption causes every man who can weave to go insane sooner or later.

However, people who are cut off from the One Power usually end up committing suicide. The reason for this is that they feel they can no longer live without it. This becomes a recurring plot point in the show.

The show then takes you to a place called The Two Rivers, an idyllic mountain village, where the main characters live. Rand al ’Thor, Perrin Aybara, Matt Cauthon, Egwene al ’Vere and Nynaeve al ’Meara. The five characters' peaceful lives are upended when a sorceress and her bodyguard save them from monsters. Afterwards, the sorceress delivers the biggest (and least surprising) bombshell of their lives. One of them is the reincarnation of the most powerful magic user to ever live, the Dragon. Now they have to go on quests to find out who the Dragon is so they can stop the Dark One and prevent the end of the world.

From my description, most of this seems to follow the standard formula of a fantasy. But the addition of every guy who can use magic going insane brings a whole new sense of risk and suspense. Magic has pretty much been the go-to quick fix for problems in fantasy worlds, so what happens when this power becomes your greatest curse? The characters go through arcs which make them feel more like real people than just tools to tell a story.

To me, The Wheel of Time does an incredible job of balancing story arcs with multiple main characters and showing their struggles. They bring home the feeling of reluctance to leave home. Begrudgingly accepting a path you never walk down. They even managed to get you to understand the antagonist's point of view, which can be tough. I’ll talk a little bit about what I thought of each character's arc.

Rand never wanted to go on this journey; he just wanted to stay in the Two Rivers, marry Egwene (who turned him down) and have children. After awakening as the Dragon, all hope for an everyday life was gone. Now he’s a ticking time bomb because every time he uses his powers, madness starts to creep in. In spite of it all, Rand continues to fight because it’s the right thing to do. I thought it was incredibly well done because many people dream of having the chance to be special and destined for greatness. His journey feels very easy to understand and connect with because he just wants to be normal and happy.

Matt struggled with his decision to leave because he didn’t want to leave his little sisters with their awful parents. Later in the show, he finds a cursed dagger and sees a vision of himself stabbing Rand. He leaves the group because he doesn’t want to hurt Rand or anyone else. Afterwards, when he knows they're in trouble, he comes back proving himself a better man than others thought. I see Matt as the most understandable one in the group; he just wants to keep his family safe, but he makes mistakes along the way.

Nynaeve hated the magic organization that turned down her adopted mother because she was a peasant. After losing her friends, she’s forced to work with them and unlock her powers. She never completely trusts the organization, but learns to judge the individuals rather than blaming everyone. I felt her story was about letting go of old grudges that kept you from moving forward in life.

Perrin, perhaps most tragically of all, must learn to cope with the loss of his wife while knowing it’s his fault she died. Perrin was haunted by his actions, and no one knew it was he, assuming it was the monsters. Even after saving his friends more than once, he couldn’t erase his guilt, but he learned to continue living for others. His story exemplifies what it means to be your own worst enemy. You are the person who keeps yourself down to try to make up for your guilt.

I want to talk a little more about Egwene’s arc during the second season because it really helps me drive my ramblings home. During the second season, Egwene is captured by an invading country’s army. After she’s caught, they put a magic collar on her. Her captors treat magic users as nothing more than attack dogs. The collar prevents her from using her magic against them and causes her to endure terrible pain.

Most people caught in this position would just accept it and do as they're told, but she continues to persevere, except more subtly. Through her patience and determination, an opportunity presented itself. While the city they were in was attacked, Egwene escaped from her wounded captor. This arc made me give a deep introspective look at my life. I was never someone who had a lot of perseverance. It wasn't until college that I wanted to do better. After watching these scenes, I reevaluated how I wanted my life to go. I could keep going with the flow, or take some initiative in my life. I wouldn’t say I’ve fully integrated this philosophy yet, but I’m making progress.

Egwene’s experience also reminds me of the story of the circus elephant. The Elephant is a small child, the carnival workers keep it tied to a wooden stake that's hammered into the soil. The elephant struggles to escape but fails every time, so it gives up. Years later, the elephant has grown to their full size and could easily pull the stake from the ground, yet it doesn’t. The elephant still believes it can’t escape, so it doesn’t even try anymore. We all go through times when we question the point of struggling against things that seem impossible to overcome. You’ve used your most remarkable powers and abilities, but none of them work. However, when you go beyond the scope of your current self and learn something new or try different approaches, you change. You find the challenge only ever tries to trick you into thinking it can’t be beaten.