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Wheel of Time - Amazon Prime

I’ll watch all of the first season, but we’ll see if I care to continue after that. Like Dig said, LOTR has all the fantasy I need, and it’s my favorite film (all three) of all time. The themes, characters, design, and score are all immaculate, relatable, and it has so much depth. Whereas this does feel a bit basic and a lot of the characters do really feel the same. Plus the design just looks really fake because it’s so clean. They were traveling in the mud and dirt for a month, Rand says “we need to clean up” and yet the inside of his jacket is shiny white still. It’s really starting to bug me that nothing gets dirty.
 
Episode six came with a lot of hype. Reviewers (who received screeners of the first six episodes) seemed to regard it as the best of the bunch. For me, though, this episode was the first where I had visceral “this is not the books” reaction. However, upon a rewatch, I mostly got over my initial issues. First, it has been made clear that the show is looking to adapt the overall story and not a season to book adaptation. This is not Eye of the World, but it does follow the story arc more or less. I think this is a good thing since the early books didn’t really find their footing. Most changes I’ve regarded as not just necessary for an adaptation to a different medium, but as actual improvements to the story. For me, especially in the early books, this is about characters. And the characters are absolutely nailed and the acting is terrific. So, on first watch, this may have been my least favorite episode. On second watch it is top three. It may even be higher if not for the ending which is rather clunky due to off screen issues. I’m excited for the final two episodes of the season!
 
My brother also said they were definitely changing a lot in this episode. As a non reader, I did enjoy this one quite a bit and I’d say it was top 3 for me as well. And now that they were all rested and in a nice big city full of washing paddles, their clothes being squeaky clean are not as big of an issue for me, but I’m afraid it will continue for the rest of the showrun. But yes, bring on the last two episodes! At least this show will get a season 2 greenlit (unlike a show that came out on Netflix on the same day…)
 
Episode seven was another strong episode. With a lot of the exposition heavy lifting done now, it feels like the show has more room to breathe. I still feel like each episode would be better served being about 15 minutes longer. Episode seven finally resolved the central mystery (for non-book readers) and I’m glad for that. Though apparently the mystery did work for many that haven’t read the books. I’m not on board with every decision, but I continue to be impressed with how well they’ve adapted this material. I expect episode eight will include both the finale of book one and the set up for book two.
 
Moe_Syzlak said:
Episode seven was another strong episode. With a lot of the exposition heavy lifting done now, it feels like the show has more room to breathe. I still feel like each episode would be better served being about 15 minutes longer. Episode seven finally resolved the central mystery (for non-book readers) and I’m glad for that. Though apparently the mystery did work for many that haven’t read the books. I’m not on board with every decision, but I continue to be impressed with how well they’ve adapted this material. I expect episode eight will include both the finale of book one and the set up for book two.
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My wife hasn't read any of the books, and while it wasn't hard for her to figure it out, the mystery was cool! I also really enjoyed the way they did it.

I also found the first book to be rather boring, so I'm actually enjoying the show MORE than the book.
 
This last episode was good. Kind of felt like "ok, now that we're done with the intro and foundation stuff...and away we go!"
 
With the holidays and the kids off school it’s taken me a while to watch this episode. I’m one who didn’t much like the ending of the book Eye of the World book so I was hoping for significant changes. And I got them, but unfortunately I didn’t think they improved it enough. I do think a lot of the issues with this episode are due to external factors including the COVID-19 shutdown and the loss of the actor who played Mat. I did like a lot of the way they adjusted the actual climax at the Eye. Such as not having all the non-Rand characters just stand around. Having just Moraine and Rand go to the Eye works. Unfortunately, again I think due to cast and COVID issues, many characters are still left with not much to do. The actual climax is, I’d assume, still confusing to those that don’t know what happened. It’s also anticlimactic as the Eye doesn’t get given a real reason to exist. It just seems like a spot to meet “The Dark One.” But we know Rand can meet the “Dark One” almost anywhere, so why the Eye? It also seemed like the episode that had the least budget. Once again, I assume this is due to COVID issues, but it did seem to stand out as not consistent with the rest of the season. I’m generally okay with that as long as story and characters are served but with the addition of the cast issues I think this episode really suffered.

It was a disappointment as a finale and definitely one of my least favorite of the season, but it wasn’t terrible. It’s unfortunate that the worst episodes were the first and last. But I’m still excited for season two. With the exposition heavy lifting done, I think this show will really hit its stride.
 
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Well I went ahead and finished season one. For an epic story, this felt extremely small scale, linear, and lacking focus. There just isn't much to get invested in unless you already know and care about the source content. I suppose I'm just not into the current fantasy aesthetic.
 
DigModiFicaTion said:
Well I went ahead and finished season one. For an epic story, this felt extremely small scale, linear, and lacking focus. There just isn't much to get invested in unless you already know and care about the source content. I suppose I'm just not into the current fantasy aesthetic.
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I totally get it. Now that the whole first season is complete I can safely say that it’s a mixed bag at best. I think this show is weird in that people either love it or hate it. That alone isn’t what’s weird. What’s weird is that it’s not divided along book people and non-boom people. There are people for whom this story is completely new that live the show and there are book readers that absolutely hate it. And vice versa.

I think the show had a tough task and I think they just barely cleared the bar. It helps to know the books, but if you know the books you’re also likely to be annoyed—if not flat out raging mad—at the changes. But for the life of me, I can’t see how anyone not familiar with this story could understand a lot of the nuance. The finale is a perfect example. There is a lot going on there but I’d guess that most people have no idea that, for example, there is a whole dream world side of things. So much of it is just poorly conveyed.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record but I’m hopeful that season two can take its time a bit more. This story is epic and can be very confusing even when reading. There are over 2000 named characters in the books and many have multiple identities. And sometimes a minor character from many books ago shows up as a major character. They’re obviously going to have to streamline that. I’m honestly surprised the show has worked for anyone that hasn’t read the books. I get book readers being distraught over changes, but I think those changes have largely made sense for the adaptation in order to make things comprehensible for those new to the story. But I still feel like they needed more time in the season. I don’t know, maybe it just isn’t a good property for screen adaptation.
 
Anyone else watching season two? My son, a huge Star Wars fan is all but disinterested in Ahsoka (still hasn’t watched the most recent episode), but can’t wait to see each new episode of Wheel of Time despite never having read the books (it was the first thing he wanted to do when getting home from basketball today). Perhaps not having read the books is why. I’ve read the books, but I think I’m more forgiving than a lot of book readers. The first three books to me were very uneven and I felt they needed to be significantly changed for the screen. I agree with some choices and disagree with others. I quite liked most of season one, though I understand the changes may not have been to every book reader’s tastes. There was
a lot of world building to do and a lot of time that main characters were completely absent in the books. Not to mention that much of the world and characters from early in the books weren’t consistent with where it all ended up. That first season, however, ended very badly. Awful in fact. But season two has been good bordering on great tv to me so far. And you can see the pieces moving into place for a more faithful adaptation in the future where it is more warranted. It’s definitely fantasy but it doesn’t feel too much like LotR or GoT.; it is its own thing. It has a bigger budget this season and the world feels larger and more lived in. And obviously it didn’t have the serious complications of the end of season two due to COVID. Anyway, I’m enjoying it and if anyone was put off by the ending of season one, you might consider giving season two a shot. However, if you’re a book reader who can’t accept substantial changes, you probably shouldn’t bother.
 
I've been putting it on while doing other tasks. It feels like the Rings of Power, overly dramatic, CGI heavy and gore for no reason. The arches episode was interesting and I actually cared to know what was happening tot he character, I don't know her name though. The rest continues to be meh to me.
 
For season one, despite the world feeling too small and the production level feeling rather cheap, I enjoyed the first six episodes and even quite a bit of episode seven. Episode eight had the opportunity to deliver a climax that was better than the rather disappointing climax in the book. And yet, it not only squandered that opportunity but really undermined much of the goodwill I had for the show to that point.

In season two, there’s no denying that the production levels are vastly improved. Again there are massive changes from the books but most felt warranted to me (the Lan storyline being the most notable exception). I really enjoyed the first seven episodes of this season. There was downright phenomenal performances and great moments of TV sprinkled throughout and, as a fan of the books, it felt like it was building to a satisfying conclusion. But again the season finale dropped the ball. It failed to deliver satisfying conclusions to the character arcs that were built all season long in favor of jumping from one action hero moment to the next, all of which felt unearned in the previous seven episodes. To make matters worse the finale felt so rushed that many of those hero moments felt almost comical. Strong character arcs and storylines were all but abandoned. Some of the most promising characters were pretty much cast aside in the finale. For some of them it is clear they had filmed more but it was likely cut for time. The finale needed to be two episodes or at least an extended episode. The end result is a rushed, half-baked finale that is totally unsatisfying. And alas, again I’m left sorely disappointed in a season after largely enjoying the first seven episodes.

I take some solace in the fact that little permanent damage seems to have been done. All of the characters are where they should be more or less going into the next leg of the story. The one notable exception is Rand, who unfortunately might be the most important. While the Wheel of Time series is definitely more of an ensemble than about a single protagonist, Rand as the Dragon Reborn is crucial to the motivations of just about everyone in the story. His presence is felt even when he isn’t present in the story for large amounts of time. But the TV Rand just doesn’t have that gravitas. His moments in the show have felt unearned and his power and importance feel totally muted. He feels so inconsequential that it calls all the other characters’ motivations into question. It feels like those characters are acting due to a prophecy (one that feels improbable in the show) rather than a person. They have to get that right moving forward. He doesn’t need to be THE central protagonist (and shouldn’t be), but we should feel his importance nonetheless.

I believe the plan for season three is to adapt book four, which was my favorite of the series. I hope they can right the ship. This was a big step up IMO from season one, but they have to get better at landing these climaxes.
 
Finished season 2. I know that I don't care for gore, but this seems like it puts it in just because. I found a couple stories interesting and while the ending was a bit too much violence wise for me, it at least was a decent conclusion. I really struggled with Egewene's storyline. She did an amazing job in showing the hell of the situation she was in. It was extremely disturbing. I really liked Matt's story in the final episode. This is definitely better than Rings of Power, but I do hope they do more episodes that have compelling storylines rather than 1/3 consequential material, and 2/3 filler.
 
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