The Wheel Of Time (Amazon Prime) TV Show • Page 28

They’re also absolutely nailing the Seanchan. Had no idea how’d they do it, but wow.

 

I finished watching Episode 1. As an episode of TV, this was incredible. For most of the storylines the time jump wasn't a problem to adjust to, - Rand only makes a brief appearance here though, so his storyline doesn't count - but for the Moraine / Lan storyline I felt like I was supposed to know where they were, who they were with, and the circumstances of how they got there and what they were doing there, and I really couldn't figure any of that out even by the end of the episode. Honestly, not even a little bit.

The pacing felt much more assured here though than pretty much anywhere in Season 1, almost the entirety of which feels to me like it is edited and paced as an action / fight scene even when that is not what is happening at all. The show is also starting to feel more confident and comfortable telling its own story. I selfishly already want more episodes per season because there is just so much story that they are tackling and taking on here, but if they use the episodes and runtime that they have wisely then I am happy, and they are off to a good start as far as I am concerned.

 

Can we openly talk about spoilers? Been out for a week now.

I’m not super aware of the implications long term, but combining Hurin’s sniffing ability with Elyas’ powers makes sense to me currently. I know in the books Hurin has some fun moments with Thom, Nynaeve and Elayne, but who knows what those storylines look like now on the TV show.

 

For some reason with Season 2 so far I am much more able to just roll with the changes to the story and the characters and enjoy the ride. I think it helps that they seemingly just spun all the characters off in different directions, because it almost feels like a soft reset. It feels like it's telling its own story vs being a very rushed and somewhat disappointing adaptation of The Eye of the World that left out A LOT of the story. Season 1 hewed just close enough to the first book that the changes were baffling and confusing yet so much had to be skipped or omitted simply due to time constraints.

It might just be that I've accepted at this point that this isn't a 1:1 adaptation of the books. Things like the Emond's Field kids being (or acting?) older and less innocent were very hard for me to swallow in Season 1, and I think I spent a big part of the season mourning the fact that I wasn't gonna get to see that story adapted into live action with big bucks behind it, which is something I've been dreaming about seeing since I first read the books as a kid. But then there are a lot of aspects of this show that have worked for me right from the jump: Daniel Henney's Lan is now my Lan. Period. I also love Rosamund Pike's take on Moiraine. Casting by and large has been amazing across the board, even overcoming situations like the Mat recasting. The design of the costumes, weapons, and sets is incredible and very creative and inspired.

 

But…Uno…

 

EP4:That last scene was well worth sitting through a whole episode of shot-reverse shot conversations. I hope that was the last setup episode because I’m so stoked for what comes next on all fronts

 

I wasn’t emotionally prepared for Hopper to be introduced.

 

Interested to see what Perrins series arc is like, but so far hes at the bottom of my character list just like in the books. Happy to have Hopper introduced, but theyve got their work cut out to make Perrin interesting and relatable. I think thats by far the most cliche, corny, silly aspect of the source material to deal with, and they havent done anything thus far to elevate what was always the weakest arc of the books.

 

Lanfear reveal was really cool, the one at the beginning of the episode and the end.

 

AVIENDHA LFG

 

Verin is absolutely perfect.

 

I’m really digging this season so far. Definitely differs from the book but I think I am ok with them trimming some of the fat if the beats are the same. Way too much Liandran though

 

Was talking with a friend last night about how much I’ve enjoyed Liandrian taking so much of the spotlight because it’d be hard to have her and Elaida right now.

 

I really enjoyed this last episode and think it's definitely becoming more confident in it's own skin and the story it's trying to tell. We're all over the place from the book now (especially Mat), but the big beats are similar enough at the moment. I liked that the Forsaken were touched on a little more here, though I'm sure to non book readers there's still a lot of confusion. My wife is also starting to get a little whiplash from all the character introductions and location jump arounds, but I think she's following well enough.

Definitely the most optimistic I have felt about the show yet after these last few episodes. It's still crazy and annoying that the seasons are so short (though the episodes are long) but 8 just seems too few especially with the rhythm it has at the moment.

 

i could definitely use a map to know where all the locations they’re referencing are in relation to each other.

 

This season has been getting better with every episode

Minor book spoilers but Now that they have Min paired with Mat and Aviendha paired with Perrin I am wondering if they're going to do the whole polycule thing with Rand or are they setting up different relationships?

 

For Perrin at least, Faille has been cast for later seasons. I was wondering the same thing though. They still could do a lot of love triangles/squares though.

 

I kinda hope they don't do Rand's romance plot the same as the book. I'm not sure it could possibly translate well to the screen at all. But that being said, Mat and Perrin's have very specific plot reasons (especially Mat) to happen the way they do, so I hope they're not changed.

 

Can I complain about the books real quick?

Spoilers up to Lord of Chaos: Why do all the romances feel totally unearned? They all catch me so off guard. Rand and Elayne felt like a summer camp romance, Nynaeve and Lan came out of nowhere for me, Perrin and Faille are... fine, but problematic, and I just hit the point where Egwene and Gawyn confessed their love for one another and it truly felt like it came out of nowhere. Really weird stuff to me.

 

If you didn't know, we do have a book thread for the series, too.

But I honestly feel like he's just a bad romance writer in general. There's only two in the entire series that truly makes any sense to me, but I don't want to name them because not sure then they start, haha. And they're not really main characters.

 

You're absolutely right, most of the relationships come out of nowhere and are annoying at best (Faile is the worst and Min's character is also suffering at the point I'm at in the books).

 

Friends, this show is very good. Perhaps even great.

I only got 3 hours of sleep last night but I figured I could power through a work day, ended up getting mandated and had to stay for 16 hours. I've been awake for about 24 hrs but my brain is fried and I'm wired and I can't sleep, so I made a few martinis and put on Episode 3. Holy shit. I was not prepared but I was totally riveted.

Now, had I been in charge of the show, I would have had the story hew much, much closer to the books: Emond's Field, main characters are young & innocent, no sex, Thom Merrilin is present and has a colorful, patched cloak, etc., etc. - but I really do feel like this show is telling a story in the world of The Wheel of Time, even if it is a different story than the one told in the books.

Maybe it's just because I am basically the ideal audience for this adaptation in that I absolutely love the world Robert Jordan created with the books but have never been able to actually read all of them and finish the series.

 

I saw a review on fantasy Booktok that was like “this show is stumbling into greatness, somehow.”

 

I was getting really tired with about 15 minutes left of the newest episode, but I was absolutely on the edge of my seat. Lanfear is totally stealing the show, and Rand feels a lot more Rand-like (in a good way) this season.

 

My sister who is a nonbook reader was suddenly so invested during this recent episode. She's usually on her phone but she started asking me a million questions about the Seanchan and damane because she was worried about Egwene. So maybe it's finally connected for people.