Television THE WHEEL OF TIME (Premieres Nov. 19, 2021)

[streets ahead]

Alright I watched the 4 first episodes again it's growing on me. Although I don't remember Logain getting free before he is brought to camelyn, and I reread the series fairly recently.

But I'm not gonna nitpick too much between the TV and books, you know they will have to cut out and add a TON of shit because of Jordan's propensity for going off on descriptive tangents

I certainly didn't remember Rand and Mat going to Tav Valon and meeting Loial. It was in Caemlyn. I guess Elayne and her brothers will be coming there.

Not sure why they wasted so much time on this warder story to leave the other characters languishing. There is so much they are skipping over or shortening (Min, shaidar logoth background) that adding this heartbroken warder storyline which won't be a relevant plot point until at least season 3 makes my head hurt.

 

[WhiskyJack]

I certainly didn't remember Rand and Mat going to Tav Valon and meeting Loial. It was in Caemlyn. I guess Elayne and her brothers will be coming there.

So it looks like they are condensing the first half of the first book. They are skipping the initial 2 towns where they meet loial and Min, and just placing all of that narrative into tar valon. Probably to save on time and the cost of set pieces

 

[GearSolidMetal]

So what's the verdict on the 1st season?

Is it shit or worth watching?

 

[aunshi189]

It's not as seedy as a British police series where everybody is shagging everybody.

I'm not objecting to seediness as a whole. But it clashes with the Aes Sedai's role as these mystical beings driven by hidden goals that have global consequences. It's like if Gandalf arrives at the Prancing Pony and grabs himself a prostitute before investigating where the hobbits went.
I think they're adding the sex to make it more GoT like which I think is a bad strategy.

 

[SalvadorCollie]

Excited to watch this, I only read up to “Fires Of Heaven” before I got burned out, I’ll finish the series eventually, but I’m going to wait til all the episodes are released before starting the series, I don’t like cliffhangers.

 

[ralphc1]

I'm not objecting to seediness as a whole. But it clashes with the Aes Sedai's role as these mystical beings driven by hidden goals that have global consequences. It's like if Gandalf arrives at the Prancing Pony and grabs himself a prostitute before investigating where the hobbits went.
I think they're adding the sex to make it more GoT like which I think is a bad strategy.

The show hasn't set the Aes Sedai up as some higher beings. It very much shows them as humans who can tap into a mystical power. They seem to have all of the basic flaws of humans. I have been getting the impression that there is some animosity between the various divisions of the Aes Sedai and this last episode seemed to confirm that as Moiraine was warning Nynaeve of the politics at the white tower. Liandrin seems like a bitch and there is some anticipated tension about meeting the Amyrlin Seat who apparently doesn't like Moiraine.

The show is kind of explaining what each sect, I guess they're called Ajahs, does. From my understanding, the Reds hunt those who abuse the power, especially men. The Green are the warriors to fight the final battle. The Yellow are healers. I don't really understand exactly what the Blues do. Moraine seems to have spent her time searching for the next Dragon. There are other Ajahs that I don't recall their purpose being mentioned. It seems that every Aes Sedai has the same powers. They can all heal, they can all fight, they can all control magic so I don't really see the purpose of having the different Ajahs except to create a competitive environment. I've avoided searching it at this point because it could spoil something in the future.

 

[Streeter]

So what's the verdict on the 1st season?

Is it shit or worth watching?

Depends . If you are a fan of the books then it may be frustrating n seem like a cheap knock off. If you haven't read then I can see where it might be a decent watch for fantasy epic genre.
I would say it plays like a combo of LOTR and the Witcher. It's no where near LOTR quality but story plays a little similar it's a slightly less than the Witcher . It would have been better had they gone full TV MA instead of half assing it.

My biggest issue is the casting. A few were cast decent but overall pretty bad imo. Moraine cast was terrible Pike is just not great for that role. Would loved someone more like Cate Blanchett but she's too old n she has the whole LOTR image.

As a book fan I'm watching and it's growing on me a little but I am dissapointed in casting and the fact they are blowing through the books so fast not allowing g proper character development.

6/10

 

[streets ahead]

The show hasn't set the Aes Sedai up as some higher beings. It very much shows them as humans who can tap into a mystical power. They seem to have all of the basic flaws of humans. I have been getting the impression that there is some animosity between the various divisions of the Aes Sedai and this last episode seemed to confirm that as Moiraine was warning Nynaeve of the politics at the white tower. Liandrin seems like a bitch and there is some anticipated tension about meeting the Amyrlin Seat who apparently doesn't like Moiraine.

The show is kind of explaining what each sect, I guess they're called Ajahs, does. From my understanding, the Reds hunt those who abuse the power, especially men. The Green are the warriors to fight the final battle. The Yellow are healers. I don't really understand exactly what the Blues do. Moraine seems to have spent her time searching for the next Dragon. There are other Ajahs that I don't recall their purpose being mentioned. It seems that every Aes Sedai has the same powers. They can all heal, they can all fight, they can all control magic so I don't really see the purpose of having the different Ajahs except to create a competitive environment. I've avoided searching it at this point because it could spoil something in the future.

It's important to note that we saw the Aes Sedai in their own camp with no outsiders (except a prospective sister in Nyneave). In a public setting they would present a more imperious facade.

 

[streets ahead]

By the way, Loial didn't say the word "hasty" once which is a travesty and shows a general disinterest in the details of the book which makes me leary.

 

[ralphc1]

I keep wondering what happened to Thom. Is he the Syrio Forel of Wheel of Time that we keep wondering if he died?

 

[Marfa]

Fuck my life but as far as I'm concerned this is how you try to adapt a fantasy series with a shit ton of books. Witcher was a fucken joke as an adaptation and GoT got ruined by the later seasons.

 

[Talent]

The show is fine. I'll keep watching as long as they keep making episodes. I assume I'll also be questioning the showrunners decisions every step of the way.

Ex: Of all the things to do/develop when arriving at Tar Valon and the White Tower, why chase around this dead-end storyline with the Warder? Watching Lan bare his chest and scream while he's surrounded by chest thumpers was a very odd viewing experience.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

My wife was watching this. It’s not really what I’m into, but wow we’re the sets and CGI gorgeous. They really spent a lot of money on this show.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

Fuck my life but as far as I'm concerned this is how you try to adapt a fantasy series with a shit ton of books. Witcher was a fucken joke as an adaptation and GoT got ruined by the later seasons.

What was wrong with the Witcher aside from being a bit confusing, and changing a few things they didn't need to?

 

[ralphc1]

The show is fine. I'll keep watching as long as they keep making episodes. I assume I'll also be questioning the showrunners decisions every step of the way.

Ex: Of all the things to do/develop when arriving at Tar Valon and the White Tower, why chase around this dead-end storyline with the Warder? Watching Lan bare his chest and scream while he's surrounded by chest thumpers was a very odd viewing experience.

I suspect it's to emphasize to the viewers the deep connection between the Aes Sedai and their warders.

 

[Marfa]

What was wrong with the Witcher aside from being a bit confusing, and changing a few things they didn't need to?

The first book is a compendium of (very good) short stories which would have been easy to adapt: at first a story per episode to portray Geralt and the world and then focus on Ciri for the later half as a mini-arc. Instead someone decided to go the time jumps way giving Yennefer a lot of screen time. Moreover, the series guts out much of the mystery associated with the sorceresses. In the books it's shocking (to Geralt too) to discover that Yennefer used to be a bullied ugly hunchback that later on changed her appearance thanks to magic and that all the sorceresses do the same despite how powerful and beautiful they appear to be. Focusing on Geralt + secondary characters to then explore Ciri's story would have been a much better use of the first season in my opinion. Or maybe a different editing would have made wonders, I dunno.

 

[Fake Doctor]

Watched the first episode with my wife last night. As someone who read the books and loved (most of) them, it took a big steaming dump on the way Jordan laid it out and messed with some core concepts. As a fan of the books, it was trash. For my wife, who never read the books, she left the first episode utterly confused and not too enthusiastic. The only way I see that first episode being a good start is if you're someone who read the books but doesn't care if there is any attempt to adhere to the source material.

On the characters. Matt, who was supposed to be a fun guy, sucks. Nynaeve has the charisma of a tree stump which is unfortunate because she was hilarious in her anger in the books. Hopefully they improve as they're my two favourite characters.

The scenery was good. Special effects were solid. While this was a point in favour of the show it's actually kind of depressing they obviously dropped some big money on a show which was underwhelming out of the gate.

After the first episode I'm expecting a big Shannara Chronicles style dump. Hopefully it improves. Will watch, unless it doesn't get more engaging. 5/10 at this point.

 

[BB in Crazy!!!!]

The first book is a compendium of (very good) short stories which would have been easy to adapt: at first a story per episode to portray Geralt and the world and then focus on Ciri for the later half as a mini-arc. Instead someone decided to go the time jumps way giving Yennefer a lot of screen time. Moreover, the series guts out much of the mystery associated with the sorceresses. In the books it's shocking (to Geralt too) to discover that Yennefer used to be a bullied ugly hunchback that later on changed her appearance thanks to magic and that all the sorceresses do the same despite how powerful and beautiful they appear to be. Focusing on Geralt + secondary characters to then explore Ciri's story would have been a much better use of the first season in my opinion. Or maybe a different editing would have made wonders, I dunno.

I see what your saying. Can’t say I disagree. I still thought they did a good job, they just could have done a better job by changing a little less and not leaving out some things I thought were important.

 

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Valda: waaaa what are you? Waaaa!


Yo that shit cracked me the fucked up. It was awful tho

 

[Losfer Words]

The show still hasnt found itself yet and it might not but i still have some hope. The scene at the end (lan beating his chest) of the last episode kinda sums up my feelings so far. When scene started i was like ok. When he starting tearing up i was like alright. When moriene started reflecting his pain i was like boom, there is the wheel of time. If youve read the books, the bond that is shared was shown so well in that scene...then lan did the michael jackson thing and all the emotional momentum that had been built was lost and i loled.

Im enjoying the show still but its not very good yet.