Robert Jordan’s fantasy epic The Wheel of Time coming to TV

Washout · 15 Dec 2021 at 15:28

I'm cutting it a bit more slack than others seem to be and enjoying it tbf. Can understand them switching out Caemlyn for Tar Valon just in the interests of practicality - building cgi/real sets for two major cities in the first season would be a bit much. Pacing would be way off (if they're trying to do roughly a season per book), how many episodes would you want to devote to following them on the road for a month? I thought the scenes in the village, introducing Thom and the dangers of dark friends was pretty good instead. Also nice intro to Aiel.

Could also be they had lots of other stuff shot but Matt's actor going half way through the shoot had to make going back and re-doing some stuff impossible so may well have been cut? I think they've all said getting the show over the line was incredibly hard so here's hoping they can just keep improving season by season if things get a bit more stable.

PlacidCasual · 15 Dec 2021 at 15:41

Tar Valon needn't have been in season 1 at all. It's been a while but I'm fairly sure it's barely in the first book. It's only because the Aes Sedai involvement was supercharged in this season vs the book that its needed.

C Kent · 15 Dec 2021 at 16:11

PlacidCasual said:
Tar Valon needn't have been in season 1 at all. It's been a while but I'm fairly sure it's barely in the first book. It's only because the Aes Sedai involvement was supercharged in this season vs the book that its needed.

the only aes sedai given any 'screentime' in book 1 are Moiraine and Elaida, Tar Valon being shown etc is another nonsensical decision take by the show runners.

Greebo · 15 Dec 2021 at 16:14

C Kent said:
the only aes sedai given any 'screentime' in book 1 are Moraine and Elaida, Tar Valon being shown etc is another nonsensical decision take by the show runners.

I think the idea was to bring them forward so people would buy into the whole Aes Sedai more. I just dont see it really, it was better in the books with mainly the mysterious Moraine and over the first book, more and more came out. It was like the 5 from the two rivers were finding out at the same time as the reader was.

And i hate what they have done with the way gates, both outside and inside

LiE · 15 Dec 2021 at 16:26

Greebo said:
And i hate what they have done with the way gates, both outside in inside

No idea why they didn't keep it like the books.

arknor · 15 Dec 2021 at 16:27

The dragon guy was kinda cool, shame he didn't win...

LiE · 17 Dec 2021 at 12:35

I enjoyed episode 7, a lot better than all those before.

toshj · 17 Dec 2021 at 13:17

Yeah it was a much better episode than the previous two. Moved the plot along nicely - TBH I thought the first 50% of the episode was great, the next 35% was a bit hammy and then the last bit was excellent again. All building nicely to the finale next week.

You'd imagine they spent a massive amount of the budget on e7, and I reckon the same will be said for e8.

LiE · 17 Dec 2021 at 13:29

I really liked the opening scene, that gives me hope they can produce some very good TV.

McPhee · 17 Dec 2021 at 15:08

I'm enjoying this well enough. But it's little more than a high budget fan fiction, rewriting large parts of the story and characters. This isn't the show people spent a few decades hoping for, at all

As a bit of fantasy TV, 7/10. As an adaptation of the Wheel of Time books, it's worthy of maybe a 2 or a 3 out of 10...

Bar · 17 Dec 2021 at 15:44

For me, episode 7 was easily the best episode so far. Again it deviates from the book, but its coming together nicely and all set up for the season finale.

VonScar · 17 Dec 2021 at 16:28

McPhee said:
I'm enjoying this well enough. But it's little more than a high budget fan fiction, rewriting large parts of the story and characters. This isn't the show people spent a few decades hoping for, at all

As a bit of fantasy TV, 7/10. As an adaptation of the Wheel of Time books, it's worthy of maybe a 2 or a 3 out of 10...

All I see is a low budget TV series, bad writing, bad lighting, cheap actors (apart from one), mediocre special effects (in first 6 episodes). Heck they cannot even get Mashadar right in Shadar Logoth.

Where is, Mordeth, Elaida, Galad, Elayne, Min, Gawyn, and most important of all, The Forsaken are MIA.

And they can't even get The Eye of the World right, it was a reservoir of pure Saidin, not the HQ of The Dark One...That was Shayol Ghul.

If this lasts beyond Season 2, amazed...

LiE · 17 Dec 2021 at 16:33

VonScar said:
Where is... Min

Did you even watch episode 7?

VonScar · 17 Dec 2021 at 16:39

LiE said:
Did you even watch episode 7?

"(in first 6 episodes)".

Lord-Jaffa · 17 Dec 2021 at 17:22

LiE said:
I really liked the opening scene, that gives me hope they can produce some very good TV.

That opening scene of episode 7 was really great, imagine if the whole series had been done to that standard.

Bar · 17 Dec 2021 at 18:41

VonScar said:
All I see is a low budget TV series, bad writing, bad lighting, cheap actors (apart from one), mediocre special effects (in first 6 episodes). Heck they cannot even get Mashadar right in Shadar Logoth.

Where is, Mordeth, Elaida, Galad, Elayne, Min, Gawyn, and most important of all, The Forsaken are MIA.

And they can't even get The Eye of the World right, it was a reservoir of pure Saidin, not the HQ of The Dark One...That was Shayol Ghul.

If this lasts beyond Season 2, amazed...

Camelyn was missed out for whatever reason, but has been referenced - this will obviously exclude Elaida, Elayne, Galad, Gawyn.
Min is in episode 7
The Foresaken (Ba'alzamon) has been in numerous scenese with the caverns of fire for his eyes
As to the Eye of the World - time will tell in episode 8 what will come of it

McPhee · 18 Dec 2021 at 09:49

VonScar said:
All I see is a low budget TV series, bad writing, bad lighting, cheap actors (apart from one), mediocre special effects (in first 6 episodes). Heck they cannot even get Mashadar right in Shadar Logoth.

Where is, Mordeth, Elaida, Galad, Elayne, Min, Gawyn, and most important of all, The Forsaken are MIA.

And they can't even get The Eye of the World right, it was a reservoir of pure Saidin, not the HQ of The Dark One...That was Shayol Ghul.

If this lasts beyond Season 2, amazed...

"Low budget" is the wrong accusation to level. The reported budget is actually quite decent. Accounting for inflation, it's similar to GoT S1 and The Witcher S1.

The big budgetary difference between this and GoT is that the GoT showrunners were careful with VFX and action sequence expenditure. They even skipped the Battle of the Green Fork to ensure they had money to spend on what they saw as more important stuff. The WoT showrunner decided to go the opposite way, adding new action sequences which weren't in the book. And as such, they've had to cut back in other areas (costumes being one obvious one).

C Kent · 18 Dec 2021 at 10:03

More evidence the showrunner never bothered to read the books as apparently Rand's mother was aiel according to him..spoiler, she wasn't.

LiE · 18 Dec 2021 at 10:08

McPhee said:
costumes being one obvious one

Yea the costumes aren't great, it's theatre level costumes.

PlacidCasual · 18 Dec 2021 at 10:17

What was it about this episode everyone loved? Sure we got a a little action at the start then Love Island meets Eastenders in the middle. Once again plot elements are being brought forward for no reason. Also why does the ruler of Fal Dara have to be an idiot, he's not an idiot in the book? Writing plot we don't need seems a theme for this series.