Wheel of Time - Amazon Prime

[Moe_Syzlak]

As much as I like Cavill, the WItcher pacing is kind of crap. So far I am really enjoying Wheel of Time FAR more than the Witcher once I got through the first really slow 25 minutes.

Interesting. I would’ve improved the first episode by extending the first half hour. Really doubling it. I felt the shit hit the fan too quickly and we didn’t know or care about the characters. The subsequent two episodes really helped with that, but I would’ve liked to see more everyday life of the main characters early on. I’ve alluded to this, but the first book didn’t really grab me in terms of story. It felt very derivative of LotR and the good humans vs bad beasts just wasn’t that compelling to me. The thing that kept me going to the next books in the series was the characters. The main characters and their interactions were definitely the best part of the first book for me and I wanted more of that. The good news is that, starting in book two you get more human character bad guys. I won’t go into spoilers but there are more interesting and nuanced bad guys coming; more Lannister than White Walker.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Episode four is the best yet IMO. It’s also going to infuriate those that want a slavishly faithful book adaptation. I quite like that I’m enjoying the series as its own thing and I don’t 100% know what’s coming next. But the core, the heart and soul of the story is there. This is such a big world that the series still has a lot of heavy exposition, but it’s starting to be handled more deftly.

 

[Malthus]

Episode 4 was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the way multiple narrative threads were delivered succinctly without undue exposition. The visual effects are really growing on me too. Obviously things are being skipped or conflated to save time but it's really working for me. I particularly liked the representation of

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Matt's corruption as though a piece of Marshadar lives within him now, very cool visual storytelling.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Episode 4 was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the way multiple narrative threads were delivered succinctly without undue exposition. The visual effects are really growing on me too. Obviously things are being skipped or conflated to save time but it's really working for me. I particularly liked the representation of

Reveal message

Matt's corruption as though a piece of Marshadar lives within him now, very cool visual storytelling.

Barney Harris is so good as Mat. Not sure why he’s not returning but it’s clearly not related to his on screen performance.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

I've been recommended this. Will a moody, cynical git like me (who's not that big into swords and sorcery and hasn't read the books) get anything out of watching WoT?

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I've been recommended this. Will a moody, cynical git like me (who's not that big into swords and sorcery and hasn't read the books) get anything out of watching WoT?

Hard to say. I think it’s very well done. I didn’t grow up a fantasy fan or playing D&D, etc. My first real toe dip in fantasy was the Fellowship of the Ring movie. I’ve since loved the GoT series and read the LotRs books. I started the WoT book series with my kids but they were bored by it. I, however, loved the series. It’s way heavier in the sword and sorcery aspects of fantasy than GoT is, but for me, it’s all about the characters. And I think the show is doing a good job there. If you do start watching, I’d say only do so if you’re prepared to watch the first four episodes at least. It takes a while to get its footing as there is so much exposition to deal with the establish the world of the series. My wife hasn’t read the books and isn’t really a fantasy fan and she’s enjoying the TV series FWIW.

 

[Malthus]

Barney Harris is so good as Mat. Not sure why he’s not returning but it’s clearly not related to his on screen performance.

Wait, what?

Edit: Just read the news. That's so sad. Recasts aren't the end of the world but Barney is doing great. Pity.

I’d say only do so if you’re prepared to watch the first four episodes at least.

I'd agree with this assessment. I'm actually really looking forward to rewatching the first episode now that in fully committed to this adaptation. As a fan of the world I personally am very satisfied with the show.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Wait, what?

Edit: Just read the news. That's so sad. Recasts aren't the end of the world but Barney is doing great. Pity.



I'd agree with this assessment. I'm actually really looking forward to rewatching the first episode now that in fully committed to this adaptation. As a fan of the world I personally am very satisfied with the show.

I don’t want to get into idle speculation, but here’s some idle speculation . I’m guessing there was either some very personal issues he’s going through or he had some incident on set or with conflict with the cast or crew. He’s been completely absent from any promotions and very suddenly disappeared from all social media just before it was announced he wasn’t coming back for season two.

 

[Malthus]

Some interesting choices in episode 5 that effectively streamline the meandering narrative of the first book but after the excellent episode 4 I found this to be decidedly lacking.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Some interesting choices in episode 5 that effectively streamline the meandering narrative of the first book but after the excellent episode 4 I found this to be decidedly lacking.

Yeah, it definitely felt like a bridge episode. A lot of time spent on the Stepin storyline. Peter Franzen is great, but beyond wanting to feature him more the only purpose I see is to further underscore how powerful the Aes Sedai/Warder bond is and that felt pretty well established already. The only rationale I can think of is that they are going to move a plot line from later in the book series way up to season one or two.

The episode wasn’t bad and the acting was fantastic across the board. But it felt like it moved the story forward the least.

The introduction of a certain character threw me at first because it is, so far, the one whose look has differed from my mind’s eye the most. But the performance was spot on so I quickly accepted the look. I’m thinking this is the exhale episode before the next three which I’m guessing are going to be pretty packed.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

It’s interesting to see that non-book readers are rating episode five as the best yet, including my wife. I, personally, rank the episodes so far 4, 3, 5, 2, 1.

 

[Darth Kermit]

As a non book reader (can’t even read English), I’d rate it 4, 3/5, 1, 2? Idk, I don’t remember the difference between 1 and 2 very well, kinda blurred together. 4 is definitely the best so far.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

As a non book reader (can’t even read English), I’d rate it 4, 3/5, 1, 2? Idk, I don’t remember the difference between 1 and 2 very well, kinda blurred together. 4 is definitely the best so far.

Where are you from/ what is your native language? I turned a friend here in Germany onto the series a while back and he’s reading it in German and loving it. I’m pretty sure it’s been translated in most common languages.

 

[Darth Kermit]

I was joking. I am typing in English. I can read. It was a dumb joke anyway lol

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I was joking. I am typing in English. I can read. It was a dumb joke anyway lol

Ha! As a non-German speaker (though I’m trying to learn), I often use translation apps for emails and even in conversation. So you typing in English didn’t necessarily convey it was a joke.

 

[Darth Kermit]

Yeah, I am unfamiliar with translating for emails and stuff, but in hindsight I realized plenty of people probably do it.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

After that last episode I think I'm out. Five episodes in and these characters feel like a random D&D quest with a dungeon master that is making everything up as they go. The story is also painfully vague and slow. I'll stick with LotR if I need hours of fantasy.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

After that last episode I think I'm out. Five episodes in and these characters feel like a random D&D quest with a dungeon master that is making everything up as they go. The story is also painfully vague and slow. I'll stick with LotR if I need hours of fantasy.

That’s too bad. It is, of course, impossible to know how things come across to non-book readers, but the characters of WoT are so much more nuanced for me than in LotRs, despite the story feeling very derivative early on. Especially in the early books, it’s the characters that carry the day and led me to continue reading in order to experience the story really come into its own.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

That’s too bad. It is, of course, impossible to know how things come across to non-book readers, but the characters of WoT are so much more nuanced than something like LotRs. Especially in the early books, it’s the characters that carry the day.

I don't really find these characters to be nuanced. All of the characters are pretty much the same. They all have incredible power within but are afraid of finding that out or channeling it. The only difference is that the girl seems to be driven by obligation, the Anakin guy is driven by some sense of purpose/honor, the theif/creepy one is driven by fear and greed, and the bruiser one is driven by guilt and possibly rage. Together they make a whole I suppose? Perhaps that's what the story turns into? I don't know, but I've come to realize that I don't really care about this presentation. I was pretty sure it was going to have issues when the promotional content had paragraphs of information about the characters in the world. I read those, and they didn't help either. I just don't have much bandwith for fantasy worlds I suppose.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Fair enough. As I said, it’s entirely possible the characters don’t come across the same way when you haven’t read the books. I think the show has done a good job presenting the characters. But clearly, given your sentiments, it is still reliant on prior knowledge of the characters. The irony is the characters would be even less nuanced on screen if book loyalists had their way. It’s a far from perfect show, but I find it to be very good, especially given the fact that I didn’t find the books to be that good until book four. But no one should waste time on things that don’t work for them. And opinions and tastes vary widely. Here’s hoping you find something that floats your boat! Cheers!