Wheel Of Time Season 3 Just Completely Rewrote Faile Bashere’s Backstory

Warning: Spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 6

In a surprising moment, The Wheel of Time completely rewrote Faile’s origin story, creating some interesting implications for future seasons. In adding Faile Bashere to the fold, The Wheel of Time’s third season has opened up several new storylines for the books to explore. Most of these include Perrin Aybara, as she’s his primary love interest. However, Faile and the corner of The Wheel of Time map she hails from is relevant to the overarching narrative in other ways as well.

As Faile explained to Perrin in The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 6, she comes from Salidar. In Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books, Saldaea is one of several kingdoms at play when Rand and his allies are trying to muster support for their efforts to defeat the Dark One ahead of the Last Battle. Considering how Faile has important connections to the leadership of Saldaea, her relationship with Perrin becomes crucial to the role the kingdom ultimately holds in the series.

The Wheel Of Time’s New Faile Backstory Explained

Faile Fled Saldaea After Finding Out That Her Mother Was A Darkfriend

According to Faile, she hails from a military family in Saldaea, with both of her parents being generals. A year before the events of season 3, she was shattered to learn that her mother – who was not named in the show – was a Darkfriend. Revealing her loyalty to the Dark One, she tried to convince Faile to swear the Dark Oaths that would bind her to the Dark One’s service. After refusing, Faile told her brother what happened, setting up a confrontation between the two. As a result, her mother killed him, leaving Faile with guilt over his fate.

In response to her mother’s shocking admission, she immediately fled Saldaea and signed up to join the hunt for the Horn of Valere. This decision was made before she learned about her brother’s death at her mother’s hands. As for what became of her mother afterward, that’s not been explained as of yet.

How Faile’s Backstory Differs From The Wheel Of Time Books

Both Of Faile’s Parents Were Allies To The Dragon Reborn

The TV version of Faile shares her book counterpart’s roots as a member of a Saldaean military family. However, only one of her parents – her father, Davram Bashere – was a general. Her mother, Deira ni Ghaline t’Bashere, was not involved directly in military affairs. What’s more, she wasn’t a Darkfriend. Rather, she strongly supported her husband and cared deeply for her children. So, both her allegiance and the killing of her own son were inventions of the show.

Deira being a Darkfriend is a significant departure from the source material, though Faile losing a brother on its own doesn’t change anything. It’s known from the books that she has multiple brothers, including one named Maedin. Two of them are older than Faile, and both died in their military duties. This led to increased pressure on Faile, as it led to her taking on more responsibilities.

Due to the changes to Faile’s mother, the circumstances and motivations for her search for the Horn of Valere differ considerably from the books. Faile’s interest in acquiring the Horn of Valere is genuine, but it’s apparent that the truth about her mother has a lot to do with what drove her out of Saldaea. In the books, her desire to find Horn of Valere was actually born from her lust for adventure and eagerness to get away from the burdens she had been shouldered with at home.

Wheel Of Time’s Faile Changes Significantly Alters 2 Book Characters Before Their Debuts

Davram Bashere & Deira Bashere Won’t Be The Same As Their Book Counterparts After Faile’s Big Reveal

What The Wheel of Time season 3 has said about Faile’s parents could have major repercussions for plotlines and characters that will appear in future seasons of the series. After all, Davram Bashere is a key supporting character in the novels, beginning with his debut appearance in book 5, The Fires of Heaven. Davram gradually becomes one of Rand al’Thor’s most trusted military advisors and a member of his inner circle. Since the TV character has already been described as a general, there’s no reason why he can’t have that role in the TV series as well, but there will most likely be a new layer to him.

The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 6 effectively rewrote Davram Bashere into a general whose wife hid a terrible secret from him for years. What’s worse, one of his children was killed by her. This is a level of emotional trauma that wasn’t present in the book character’s backstory.

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There’s also the matter of Deira’s own role in the story, as she too is more than just a figure in Faile’s backstory, but a character in the wider narrative. Deira isn’t as prominently featured as her husband, but she does travel alongside Rand and the Saldaean army for a time, sharing interesting interactions with Rand, Faile, Davram, and Perrin over the course of her time in the series. Evidently, these relationships she had will have no place in Prime Video’s take on Robert Jordan’s story.

What Was The Point Of Faile’s New Backstory?

Faile & Perrin Have A Deeper Connection Because Of The Show’s Deira Change

A shared theme between the book and TV versions of Faile’s story is the loss of a sibling. But only in one of these stories does Faile feel guilt over what happened to them. It’s possible that it was this particular difference that was behind the change to Faile’s past. By revealing that Faile inadvertently caused the death of her brother, The Wheel of Time strengthened the emotional connection between her and Perrin, given that he also blames himself for the death of a loved one, which in this case is his wife, Laila.

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It’s unclear if the motivation for the changes went any deeper than making it easier for Faile and Perrin to relate to one another. It is possible, though, that in doing so, the series was also intentionally paving the way for a nuanced character arc for its interpretation of Davram Bashere, who could be part of the show’s plans for The Wheel of Time season 4.

The Wheel of Time

6/10

Release Date

November 18, 2021

Network

Prime Video

Showrunner

Rafe Judkins

Directors

Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip

Writers

Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna