Wheel of Time TV Show Is At Amazon

@LadyMusashi this is for you!

 

https://deadline.com/2021/09/the-wh...harris-not-returning-for-season-2-1234840887/

 

Hopefully! I think I'm more partial to Al'Naito at this moment, but I'm sure this song will grow on me. Speaking of songs, there was a third released!

 

So it seems like most if not all of the soundtrack has been uploaded, or at least a VERY big chunk of it. I'm going to upload this last bunch and leave the stragglers. There are a lot of songs, and uploading them all may feel like spoilers to some. (It certainly does to me.) So yeah...I guess I'll see y'all on the other side of the premier!

 

The reviews are coming in, and they're mostly positive so far. We've got some extremes on both ends, but overall this is looking to be quite the show!

 

About to watch now! Using my free Prime trial month for this show!

 

Below are my thoughts, reactions, and first impressions. I try to keep away from any major spoilers, but if someone wants to go in completely blank, then ignore my comments below.

Episode 1 thoughts:
There's a LOT of Worldbuilding done in just the first episode. We're introduced to our core cast, the struggle at large, two different Aes Sedai factions, and the Two Rivers (including our characters' families and struggles, customs, and connections).
Also, Rand reminds me of AOTC-Anakin and I can't unsee it now.
The Trollocs look decent! I like them better in the middle of chaos than when they appear one-on-one. I know a lot of people will compare this to Game of Thrones or more big budget things like movies, but fans have to remember that GoT didn't have to deal with giant CGI monsters often until the final two seasons or so, and big-budget movies get ten to twenty times the budget of one episode for something that's barely triple the length.
There is one scene that I HATE and made me audibly go "NOOOOOOO!!" And I can't wait to see where it goes.
I LOVE Rand and Egwene's relationship so far! The two are clearly in love, but Egwene - as she always does, even in the books - is willing to give up what she loves for what she wants, which is power. Here, Rand is more accepting and (at least so far) supportive of that, but the love is still there and pain of that choice is very clear.
The casting is spot-on. I rarely see such perfect casting outside of the MCU. The characters don't look remotely how I imagined then when I read the books, but their actors capture the spirit of the characters in a way that's herculean. Perrin is stoic but caring; Rand is emotional, but you see his genuine nature and hints at his leadership skills; and Mat has a unbothered facade that gives way to one of the most heroic things in the first three episodes. Egwene is Egwene, and her actor plays that brilliantly. Still, my favorite is Nynaeve. Sure, there wasn't much braid pulling, but she had all of that strength and defiance and fire you get with the character in the best of ways.
The change from three Taveren to four is a welcome one, as Egwene being a Taveren is a well-known theory/head-canon in the fandom.

Spoiler: Potentially Massive Spoilers

IF THEY KILL NYNAEVE SO HELP ME I WILL STOP WATCHING THE EPISODE IT'S CONFIRMED.
Also, Perrin's wife's death was gutwrenching. I'm not a fan of the whole "fridging" trope it kind of is, but I AM interesting in seeing the effects.

Episode 2 thoughts:
WoT should probably be more compared to Star Wars than GoT. The Hero's Journey is a major component in WoT, as is the mixture of Eastern thought & aesthetics and Western thought & aesthetics. Both also have pretty blatant Arthurian influences.

If it feels like they're playing the Rand/Egwene romance thing a little harder than the books, I think they're doing an appropriate amount. Rand spends the first two or three books pining after Egwene, even when it's clear she's 100% over him. (Jordan says she thought of him like a brother, but 99% of Jordan's romances were awful.) I think them handling all of the relationship stuff now will allow the characters get to where they need faster, especially since they may only have 8 seasons, not 14 books.

Episode 3 thoughts:
Speaking of romances, one of the best (if not the best) in the series get's it's iconic start!
A certain character's theme also reminds me a lot of Hans Zimmer's Dune score.
I've heard some complaints about the seeming meandering nature of these middle few episodes, but I heartily disagree in their purpose. The Wheel of Time is a meandering sort of series, for better and for worse. That meandering gives us a lot of time in this world, time to really see and understand how people live, and how big a world it really is. But it also means that plots can stretch out far longer than they need to. I don't think either of those apply in this episode, to be honest. The meandering here is purposeful, as it's key intent is to build relationships between characters as well as forge them on their own independent journeys. That, and it's just really true to text.

The ending of this episode felt like it was dependent upon me knowing the book context of this scene, and the meta-context of the show and some of the changes they're making. I know that stuff to some degree of course, but I worry about viewers who don't.


At the end of the day, I enjoyed all three episodes. I will definitely follow along and keep watching. The show is good, with a lot of potential for greatness. I think it'll get better as the seasons go by, particularly since it's already been renewed for a third season despite the first season just starting to air.

Lastly,

Spoiler: Book Dragon Reborn Character Identity Spoiler

If Nynaeve is the Dragon Reborn in this version, I actually wouldn't mind.