14 of the most shocking moments from 'The Wheel of Time' season 1

It was clear that danger was around the corner in episode one, however, the level of destruction was unexpected to viewers who have not read the books as much as the villagers themselves. Minotaur-like beasts called Trollocs storm Emond's Fields and slaughter many of the villagers before they are able to form a counter-attack.

This attack showed how much of a threat the Trollocs are in big numbers.

Laila Dearn (Helena Westerman) isn't married to Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) in the books so it seemed she was getting more of a role in the series. However, this was cut short, literally, when Perrin accidentally killed her with his axe during the battle with the Trollocs in episode one.

This is mostly shocking due to how little we know about the character before she dies, considering she is the wife of one of the series' main characters. There was clearly some tension hinted at between Laila and Perrin in episode one, which is never properly explained.

In episode two, the main characters used a ferry to escape the Trollocs chasing them. An Aes Sedai called Moraine Damondred (Rosamund Pike) was leading the five villagers at this point of the story. Once they get across the river, she destroyed the boat by creating a typhoon to make sure the Trollocs cannot use it to follow them.

However, the typhoon also killed the boat's owner who tried to salvage the boat to go back and save his family. The first season continued to paint Moiraine as a morally grey character especially when she sent the Red Ajah, a group of Aes Sedai, to chase Mat after he left the rest of the group at the end of episode six.

At the end of episode two, Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), who at the time was thought to be dead, reappeared almost out of thin air. Nynaeve was one of five Dragon Reborn candidates hence it was not too surprising that she survived being carried off by Trollocs in the first episode.

However, her escape, shown at the beginning of episode three, is what made this moment shocking. Nynaeve lures the Trolloc into a lagoon then stabs it with its own weapon after sneaking up behind it. The scene shows Nynaeve to be a force to be reckoned with even without any magical ability.

In episode four, Rand (Josha Stradowski) and Mat (Barney Harris) camped out on a farm owned by a family of four on their way to Tar Valon. In this part of their journey, they were being led by a performer called Thom (Alexandre Willaume).

While it seemed they were safe from the Dark One, this moment of relief disappeared when Thom and Rand woke up in the middle of the night and found the bodies of the farm family, including the two small children.

For a time it was unclear whether the killing was carried out by the Fade, a monster created by the Dark One who showed up after Rand and Thom found the bodies, or by Mat who seemed to be possessed by darkness.

In episode four, we discovered Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) could also use the One Power in the most dramatic way. With the Aes Sedai around her along with their Warders, the injured Nynaeve exploded with a burst of energy healing everyone around her.

This moment seemed to hint at a departure from the books by making Nynaeve the Dragon Reborn. We later learn that this is not the case.

In episode five, Perrin and Egwene (Madeleine Madden) are captured and tortured by the Children of the Light, a group of humans who hate anything to do with the Dark One including those who are able to use the One Power. They eventually escaped after Perrin tapped into a secret power that called on wolves to fight the Children of the Light, allowing the pair to escape in the chaos.

Before this scene, the show had teased that Perrin has some connection to wolves but this was the first time he has been able to call on them to fight for him.

The bond between an Aes Sedai and their Warder is very strong and this is shown by what happened to Kerene (Clare Perkins) and Stepin (Peter Franzén).

Kerene was killed towards the end of episode four by Logain Ablar (Álvaro Morte), a man who thought he was the Dragon Reborn. However, it was Stepin's death that pulled on many viewers' heartstrings.

After the loss of his Aes Sedai, Stepin was visibly distraught for the entire of episode five, and towards the end, he drugged his friend Lan (Daniel Henney). This seemed to hint that Stepin was going to hurt someone, especially when Lan found a dagger missing from the room he woke up in. However, it turns out that Stepin did not want Lan to stop him from taking his own life. This moment was definitely one of the saddest of this season.

Mat, one of the adventurers from Emond's Field, was noticeably absent for most of the last two episodes after deciding not to join the others on their quest to stop the Dark One. When they all went through the portal called "the Ways," he stayed behind until the portal shuts.

Whilst it was clear earlier in the season that he was not that keen to become a hero, it was shocking that he would deliberately leave his friends, especially considering he could have been the Dragon Reborn that was needed to save the day.

His departure from the rest of the group in this way wasn't in the story of the first book and may have been tied to Harris leaving the show after its first season.

Episode seven opens in the past. We meet Rand's real mother, Tigraine Mantear (Magdalena Sittova), as she was fighting a group of soldiers by herself whilst being in labor. She won the battle, killing all but one. Then on the freezing mountain where the battle took place, Tigraine gave birth whilst bleeding out.

Unfortunately, Tigraine doesn't survive the birth but this was an unforgettable moment from the show.

In episode seven, it was revealed that Perrin has had a crush on Egwene since before his wife's death in episode one. This was quite a shock because up until this episode, their relationship was presented more as Perrin being a protective older brother rather than him harboring secret feelings for Egwene.

While it was hinted in the first book "The Eye of the World" that Perrin had strong emotions for Egwene, it never developed into something that was spoken out loud like in the show.

In episode seven, we finally discovered which one of the five heroes was the Dragon Reborn. This was not as much a shock to those who have read the books but for those who had just watched the show, Rand seemed the most unlikely of the five to become the Dragon Reborn.

Each of the five displayed some sort of supernatural power, however, Rand's display in episode three when he destroyed a door was the least flashy of the five. The episode added more surprising news when Rand learned from Min Farshaw (Kae Alexander), a person who could see the future, that his father was not his real father.

Through the first season, there had been multiple dream sequences but none had felt as real as the one in the season finale. Rand woke up urgently from sleeping in a forest called the Blight and Moiraine asked him what his dream was about.

Just as Rand told Moiraine that the Dark One was coming for them, a sword pierced through her head, killing her. Although it is later revealed that this was a dream, for a few short moments it looked as if Moiraine had actually bit the bullet.

Padan Fain (Johann Myers), a traveling tradesman from episode one, was revealed in the finale to be working for the Dark One. Padan broke into Fal Dara, the city the heroes were defending, with two Fades and killed multiple guards. In his attack, he also harmed the new companion of the heroes, Loial (Hammed Animashaun).

Padan then revealed to Perrin that the only reason he came to Emond's Field in episode one was to monitor Rand and his friends because they are powerful heroes called Ta'veren. Padan then left with a powerful object called the Horn of Valere.