Wheel of Time TV Show 7: And There Shall Be Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

[Gertrude]

Have finished the first 3. Some really nice things, some pretty clunky things. There's a lot that happens and the chugging on of the plot elements are the clunky bits. The character moments tend to be the nice bits. Not sure what that means long term. I thought Mat was the best character - they nailed a lot of his defining characteristics quickly and I love Barney in that role

I was underwhelmed by the channeling effects in particular and a lot of people were saying they loved the opening credits, but they were meh? Nice concept but the execution wasn't great IMO.

[Corvinus85]

Rand, Mat, Perrin, and Egwene! All of you in quarantine!!! You have eaten bat.  Sorry I couldn't help myself. It was a good scene, but in light of Covid, I had to chuckle.

Ok, long review forthcoming.

 

[Lord Patrek]

41 minutes ago, Gertrude said:

Have finished the first 3. Some really nice things, some pretty clunky things. There's a lot that happens and the chugging on of the plot elements are the clunky bits. The character moments tend to be the nice bits. Not sure what that means long term. I thought Mat was the best character - they nailed a lot of his defining characteristics quickly and I love Barney in that role

I was underwhelmed by the channeling effects in particular and a lot of people were saying they loved the opening credits, but they were meh? Nice concept but the execution wasn't great IMO.

Ah crap, and you being so optimistic and open-minded. This is not exactly a resounding endorsement. 

I was looking forward to your thoughts. . .

[Gertrude]

Just now, Lord Patrek said:

Ah crap, and you being so optimistic and open-minded. This is not exactly a resounding endorsement. 

I was looking forward to your thoughts. . .

Sorry :p The perils of having an open mind.

I do think it has potential, it just doesn't feel like it's settled yet. Not sold on the Perrin story yet - I thought the way the wolves were introduced was bad. Egwene has a specific line of dialog that I thought was especially ham-fisted about the wolves. I think there were some smart decisions, but maybe not executed as well as I'd hoped. Maybe they just needed room to breathe instead of story beats being packed back to back. The Whitecloaks were simultaneously a good and bad idea. I like their threat/tension level (and a good way to insert a lesson about Aes Sedai truthfulness) but they also cranked up the villain dial on Eamon Valda a few clicks too high.

Lots of other thoughts, but I'm sure they will come out in conversation.

[Lord Patrek]

Imagine the perils of having such low expectations! 

Will watch the first three episodes and we'll see how it goes. But yeah. . .

[Durckad]

Saw only the first episode so far, but... I liked it. Not perfect, certainly not terrible, but room for improvement. I quite liked all the actors and their portrayals. Rand, Nyneave, and Egwene I think are the standouts. Also,, the guy they got for Padan Fain is perfect. His few scenes are great. I especially liked the locales they chose and the sets for Emond's Field. The Two Rivers really is quite beautiful, which is funny as this is supposed to take place during a rather harsh winter.

The pacing is... definitely the weakest aspect. I thought the first half was fine to quite good, though the Winespring Inn clip is still really strangely edited, even in the context of the episode. I do not like that the villagers know that Moiraine is an Aes Sedai right from the start. Sure it'd be impossible to hide that fact from the viewers with the increased focus on Moiraine as a character, but I feel it massively changes her dynamics with the other characters.

That said, after Bel Tine, it seems like the episode is just racing to get to the attack on Emond's Field, like they knew exactly where they wanted to end the episode at and damn the consequences. I mean, FFS, this is a streaming show, you don't have to limit yourself to 55 minutes on every single episode. Go a bit longer, give the episode time to breathe. This one could certainly use it, especially at the end.

The channeling was also a bit underwhelming. It was just glowing CGI stuff most of the time so... eh?

Overall, not bad, and I'm certainly tickled that a fantasy book I first read 20+ years ago has been adapted to the small screen in such a way that it's not a massive dumpster fire and shows some true promise to improve and become, hopefully, quite good down the line.

[Corvinus85]

Watched all 3 episodes and the animated mini-episodes, too. I continue to have mixed feelings. Every time the show threatened to be really good, something clunky or awkward pulled it back. I did my best to separate the show from the book, so some of the problems I have are not with the massive changes but with how some things were presented.

Long post so I'll just put everything in spoilers

Spoiler

The story has a rushed clunkiness to it, fortunately interrupted by solid character moments, and occasional good lore exposition. Shadar Logoth was a great set, only for the characters to spend all of five minutes there. At least there was a quick explanation about what the place is.

The first of the animated mini-episodes starts with one of the book epitaphs, the one about the Dragon breaking the world. They should have used it for its introduction, instead of Moiraine’s narration with weird editing. It immediately made think of a low budget show like BBC’s Merlin. Each episode, in fact, had an awkward cold open. Though I only say the Nynaeve vs. the Trolloc was awkward because I felt she shouldn’t have been away from the group for so long and be pretty much cut out of episode 2. The Whitecloak one was the most awkward of all, as we still don’t know how they managed to subdue an Aes Sedai, but apparently Aes Sedai require their hands to channel, hence why we see the cut off hands. Valda was extremely hateful but a bit of a caricature psychopathic villain. It made me hope he is a Darkfriend. For all that WoT is full of questionable characters, the Dark One is at least quite thorough in recruiting all the psychopaths.

The part with Nynaeve surprising Lan was the show’s LOTR inspiration (from the movie, not the book). I knew it was coming and fully expected Lan to find a sword at his neck, with Nynaeve saying “What’s this, a Ranger Warder caught off his guard?”

If you’re going to turn Bel Tine into a party, why isn’t Rand there? They had to separate them to follow the books, but the execution doesn’t quite make sense.

I’m not sure why they had to make such a big, life risking situation about Egwene’s ceremony. They decided they needed to setup the visual feel of channeling saidar, but at the expense of other lore that needed to be setup. Sure, I expected Two Rivers society to be changed, as a lot of people may find it too prudish, but it’s one thing for Rand and Egwene to have sex in the inn, another for life risking ceremonies just to braid one’s hair.

Darkfriends being a thing comes out of the left field with Danya. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great scene in terms of tension and atmosphere, and as a book reader I could see the signs before it happened. And Danya’s justifications felt real. It may even be the scene where the show has managed to find its footing. Buuut, why not set up that this was a possibility, and if this is a possibility why isn’t Moiraine more secretive about her mission? Out in the open she tells the youngsters one of them may be the DR. Shhhh! And we get the weird pattern of dead animals with no explanation, because this show tries to compete with GoT. I know it was the Dragon’s Fang. But you know what would have been great, actually talking about the Dragon’s Fang. 

The show decided not to give any time to the aftermath of the Trolloc attack. Ffs, they decided to change Perrin’s background, and all he has time for is to dump his wife’s body next to others. And wow, that is some way to show that Perrin has a tendency to lose control in battle. I mean, damn! And no one has cared to ask Rand why he has a sword, nor Rand to wonder why his dad had it.

They really should have cast Elyas. That scene with the wolf licking Perrin’s leg was weird as fuck, and Aram having to recite the Tuatha’an traditional greeting was awkward. With how many actors they’ve cast (and reducing Thom Merrilin’s time in the story) they could have cast Elyas.

I thought the scene with the mad man and Liandrin was great. That is a good example of setting up how madness takes hold of a man who can channel. But then we get to see Logain captured at the end of episode 3. Hmm, so Liandrin gentles a man she captures on the spot (non-readers may believe she killed him) but Logain is not treated the same way? Why, because he called himself the DR. Well maybe they’ll explain later, but this is one such moment that could have been setup in one of the episodes, maybe in first episode when they mentioned the war in Ghealdan – that there may those who are False Dragons.

Well, I suppose if we want to compare this show to GoT, it successfully imitates it in giving fuck all about traveling time. And they have a map that updates on their website. I mean how did Perrin and Egwene survive all that time? And Mat and Rand going through mountains, not on a travelled road with villages to stop and rest. Breen’s Spring looks to be very close to Caemlyn. And it seems that Lan decided to take Moiraine all the way to the Wall of Ghealdan. I mean, she should be dead by now. Didn’t she get hit with a poisoned Trolloc blade like Tam?

The visuals are also a mixed bag: the Trollocs look great when it’s guys in suits, but bad when they’re fully CGI. Their movement is terrible. There are great sweeping shots, and some truly beautiful shots, like when Nynaeve is picking up plants to make a poultice, and then there is the shot when she runs from the Trolloc with clearly fake background around her. The Fade looks good, but we haven’t seen more than what was in the trailer. I thought the channeling looked great. The weaves going around Moraine, forming patterns and creating effects, and her taking down the Trollocs with all kinds of cool shit was awesome. But her hand dance is the weird part which mars it a bit. I also liked Lan’s movements slicing up Trollocs. Tam’s fight with the Trolloc was solid, too.

I liked the songs. The song about Manetheren and Moiraine’s story was probably the best moment in episode 2. And I thought Thom’s song about Lew Therin was great, too. I could already foresee covers on youtube, perhaps to rival Toss a Coin to Your Witcher. (OK, maybe not that one) 

The best part is the characters. For all this talk I hear about a show that focuses too much on action, it is the character interactions that shine. All major characters got their due. Perrin’s background may not totally work, but we still got to see him struggle with what happened. Rand had plenty of good dialogue with all the other characters. Egwene and Nynaeve were great. But I think Mat was the best one. While I still hate what they did with the parents, his care for his little sisters really gave Mat a whole new dimension. He is still someone who wants to be carefree and enjoy life, but he’s a good guy at heart.

Another solid point is how some of the lore was introduced. The plot pacing isn’t that great, but the writers found good ways to introduce the lore. (well, except for intro scene) Again, the stuff about Manetheren was at the right time, and hell it might even beat the book there. Moiraine being compelled to speak about the Three Oaths after the ferry scene is another good example. I suppose the scene with the Whitecloaks served this purpose, too. And we got dreams, too, with Ba’alzamon. Yay for that! Bats instead of rats, because we live in the time of Covid, and anyway, they were in the woods, so it worked.

I liked the title sequence. I had always imagined something with the Pattern, and it's a beautiful sequence. The song for it is fine, too. Not sure why it has to focus only on Aes Sedai, though.

So, OK, I’ll keep watching. Like other have said, the show has promise. The animated episodes are interesting, but the narration volume is too low and for some reason it doesn’t come with subtitles. Fix your shit, Amazon!

[IFR]

I got to about halfway through episode 3 and then had to quit. The one thing this show got right was the casting. The actors are really suited to their roles.

Otherwise the show only bears a passing resemblance to the books. It follows the point A to point B of the books (somewhat), but the details are all radically different. Which I guess would be fine, but the writing is pretty bad and so what is in place of the book material is substantially inferior content. Even worse, the show has none of the charm of the books, which for me was a key element that brought pleasure to the experience.

And much of this show is really campy. When Moiraine did her little dance to channel the One Power, it was pretty hilarious. And Nynaeve, the villager who, unbeknownst to others, was a highly trained warrior.

Anyway, a lot of silliness.

I would be absolutely stunned if this show ended up as more than a niche interest. I can't conceive it having the sort of audience that would justify its budget.

It's a pity, but on the bright side, I'm glad Rafe Judkins got a hold of this property and not Game of Thrones. And the books will always be there.

[Gertrude]

36 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

 

  Hide contents

The story has a rushed clunkiness to it, fortunately interrupted by solid character moments, and occasional good lore exposition. Shadar Logoth was a great set, only for the characters to spend all of five minutes there. At least there was a quick explanation about what the place is.

The first of the animated mini-episodes starts with one of the book epitaphs, the one about the Dragon breaking the world. They should have used it for its introduction, instead of Moiraine’s narration with weird editing. It immediately made think of a low budget show like BBC’s Merlin. Each episode, in fact, had an awkward cold open. Though I only say the Nynaeve vs. the Trolloc was awkward because I felt she shouldn’t have been away from the group for so long and be pretty much cut out of episode 2. The Whitecloak one was the most awkward of all, as we still don’t know how they managed to subdue an Aes Sedai, but apparently Aes Sedai require their hands to channel, hence why we see the cut off hands. Valda was extremely hateful but a bit of a caricature psychopathic villain. It made me hope he is a Darkfriend. For all that WoT is full of questionable characters, the Dark One is at least quite thorough in recruiting all the psychopaths.

The part with Nynaeve surprising Lan was the show’s LOTR inspiration (from the movie, not the book). I knew it was coming and fully expected Lan to find a sword at his neck, with Nynaeve saying “What’s this, a Ranger Warder caught off his guard?”

If you’re going to turn Bel Tine into a party, why isn’t Rand there? They had to separate them to follow the books, but the execution doesn’t quite make sense.

I’m not sure why they had to make such a big, life risking situation about Egwene’s ceremony. They decided they needed to setup the visual feel of channeling saidar, but at the expense of other lore that needed to be setup. Sure, I expected Two Rivers society to be changed, as a lot of people may find it too prudish, but it’s one thing for Rand and Egwene to have sex in the inn, another for life risking ceremonies just to braid one’s hair.

Darkfriends being a thing comes out of the left field with Danya. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great scene in terms of tension and atmosphere, and as a book reader I could see the signs before it happened. And Danya’s justifications felt real. It may even be the scene where the show has managed to find its footing. Buuut, why not set up that this was a possibility, and if this is a possibility why isn’t Moiraine more secretive about her mission? Out in the open she tells the youngsters one of them may be the DR. Shhhh! And we get the weird pattern of dead animals with no explanation, because this show tries to compete with GoT. I know it was the Dragon’s Fang. But you know what would have been great, actually talking about the Dragon’s Fang. 

The show decided not to give any time to the aftermath of the Trolloc attack. Ffs, they decided to change Perrin’s background, and all he has time for is to dump his wife’s body next to others. And wow, that is some way to show that Perrin has a tendency to lose control in battle. I mean, damn! And no one has cared to ask Rand why he has a sword, nor Rand to wonder why his dad had it.

They really should have cast Elyas. That scene with the wolf licking Perrin’s leg was weird as fuck, and Aram having to recite the Tuatha’an traditional greeting was awkward. With how many actors they’ve cast (and reducing Thom Merrilin’s time in the story) they could have cast Elyas.

I thought the scene with the mad man and Liandrin was great. That is a good example of setting up how madness takes hold of a man who can channel. But then we get to see Logain captured at the end of episode 3. Hmm, so Liandrin gentles a man she captures on the spot (non-readers may believe she killed him) but Logain is not treated the same way? Why, because he called himself the DR. Well maybe they’ll explain later, but this is one such moment that could have been setup in one of the episodes, maybe in first episode when they mentioned the war in Ghealdan – that there may those who are False Dragons.

Well, I suppose if we want to compare this show to GoT, it successfully imitates it in giving fuck all about traveling time. And they have a map that updates on their website. I mean how did Perrin and Egwene survive all that time? And Mat and Rand going through mountains, not on a travelled road with villages to stop and rest. Breen’s Spring looks to be very close to Caemlyn. And it seems that Lan decided to take Moiraine all the way to the Wall of Ghealdan. I mean, she should be dead by now. Didn’t she get hit with a poisoned Trolloc blade like Tam?

The visuals are also a mixed bag: the Trollocs look great when it’s guys in suits, but bad when they’re fully CGI. Their movement is terrible. There are great sweeping shots, and some truly beautiful shots, like when Nynaeve is picking up plants to make a poultice, and then there is the shot when she runs from the Trolloc with clearly fake background around her. The Fade looks good, but we haven’t seen more than what was in the trailer. I thought the channeling looked great. The weaves going around Moraine, forming patterns and creating effects, and her taking down the Trollocs with all kinds of cool shit was awesome. But her hand dance is the weird part which mars it a bit. I also liked Lan’s movements slicing up Trollocs. Tam’s fight with the Trolloc was solid, too.

I liked the songs. The song about Manetheren and Moiraine’s story was probably the best moment in episode 2. And I thought Thom’s song about Lew Therin was great, too. I could already foresee covers on youtube, perhaps to rival Toss a Coin to Your Witcher. (OK, maybe not that one) 

The best part is the characters. For all this talk I hear about a show that focuses too much on action, it is the character interactions that shine. All major characters got their due. Perrin’s background may not totally work, but we still got to see him struggle with what happened. Rand had plenty of good dialogue with all the other characters. Egwene and Nynaeve were great. But I think Mat was the best one. While I still hate what they did with the parents, his care for his little sisters really gave Mat a whole new dimension. He is still someone who wants to be carefree and enjoy life, but he’s a good guy at heart.

Another solid point is how some of the lore was introduced. The plot pacing isn’t that great, but the writers found good ways to introduce the lore. (well, except for intro scene) Again, the stuff about Manetheren was at the right time, and hell it might even beat the book there. Moiraine being compelled to speak about the Three Oaths after the ferry scene is another good example. I suppose the scene with the Whitecloaks served this purpose, too. And we got dreams, too, with Ba’alzamon. Yay for that! Bats instead of rats, because we live in the time of Covid, and anyway, they were in the woods, so it worked.

Spoiler

With Perrin, I just feel like I don't really know what's going on with him. What was up with their relationship? They felt like they were having major troubles and she was pregnant? Maybe - it seemed to be implying that, but they didn't really do anything with it. The dream with the wolf eating Layla was just odd. I think they are setting up Perrin associating wolves with him losing control - and on paper that makes a sort of sense, but right now it just seems awkward and that dream was bizarre. I haven't rewatched yet, but Ba'alzamon was in that dream, right? Couldn't they have the wolf still there, but doing something other than literally eating his wife that he could interpret as menacing, but the wolf is actually protecting his dream?

Mat was great. Yeah, petty thief, but they got across that his motivations are good (as much as stealing can be). I liked that it was him who was there for Perrin. Padan Fain and how they used him was perfect - love it. I was actually surprised for a moment when Mat started being a dick to Rand about the wood, then I remembered - oh yeah, dagger. So I think that they conveyed all of this well. I did like the darkfriend stop and Thom's introduction. The travel has to be condensed so I'm fine with that, and they gave that sequence the time it needed to breathe (as Corvinus said). Why did they name her Dana though (it was Dana, right?) and then have Thom kill her? Give her a different name, please.

They didn't really explain why Rand and Tam weren't in town, but whatever. I'd imagine Rand might not be in a celebratory mood after Egwene's decision, but he was the one asking why they weren't in town, right? (again, I will rewatch at some point). Their 'breakup' is also a good tool to have Rand be kind of in a pissy mood and not wanting to put up with Moiraine's shit. Let's be honest, Rand was kind of a wet noodle in the books, just along for the ride. I like seeing a little fire in him.

You're right, Shadar Logoth was necessary because it drive the separation and dagger plots, but it was so rushed and shoe-horned in. Beautiful set, it's a shame. Honestly I wasn't really a fan of the Shadar Logoth Mordeth sequence in the books, so I'm not heart-broken that it was cut, but that makes Mat finding the dagger just a random thing. so ... I was hoping they'd find a more elegant solution, but it is what it is.

And yes, the CGI trollocs were bad. I also didn't understand why Nyneave had to be dragged off like that. There were plenty of trollocs just feeding in the open, but not Nyneave - she needs a bad ass scene, so ... I wasn't a fan of that for the fake tension of "oh no, Nyneave's dead ... NO! she's not! For some reason I'm just not feeling her Nyneave energy yet. Most of he rest of the cast seems spot on. It's not a lack in Zoe Robins that I can tell, it just feels like she really hasn't been defined yet in the show. Perrin is also kind of in this pot for me too. I want more. Also, I hope there's an actual reason the old wisdom was denied entry into the Tower and we get to hear it, otherwise that's just weird. Also, Mat's sisters seem too young to be taken to the Tower in later books, but that wasn't a thing I was sure they'd adapt anyway.

 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

I guess much like the Witcher series, this show is just...boring.

[Durckad]

3 minutes ago, Centrist Simon Steele said:

I guess much like the Witcher series, this show is just...boring.

Well, at least someone thinks that this series was faithfully adapted.

I kid, I kid...

[SpaceChampion]

Err, how do I view these animated shorts?  I don't see them anywhere.  Watching on my computer at the website.

 

[Corvinus85]

2 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

Err, how do I view these animated shorts?  I don't see them anywhere.

 

Search for the bonus content. If you pause an episode, and go to where it says X-Ray, it should show what bonus content is available.

[SpaceChampion]

Thanks, had no idea what "X-Ray" was.

 

That darkfriend was on The Outpost for the final two seasons.

[fionwe1987]

25 minutes in, I think their biggest mistake was trying to make the season about who the Dragon Reborn is. That's a meaningless mystery, yet its driving pretty much everything I've seen so far, especially the very cryptic Moiraine scenes we keep getting that seem super choppy.

They'd have done better to focus on why the Aes Sedai are distrusted. Or focussed on the Breaking, like we see in that X-Ray scene. 

[JGP]

Watched all three. Very underwhelmed myself, but freshly minted 14yo was cranky there weren't more to watch. Spose that's something.

[Jace, Extat]

Terrible

[fionwe1987]

Rushed is a good description of these episodes. And I get it, Eye of the World is a lot to adapt. A lot of places. A lot of people. A lot of cultures and concepts. 

So I'm mostly fine with the changes they made. But I think the execution is unpolished, to me. I'm left feeling mostly cold. I was just re-reading Eye of the World, and all the comfort-fantasy charm of it has been erased.

Maybe things improve with episode 4, but I feel they're going to have to keep the breakneck speed going, and that's going to continue to hurt the story. We'll get blink-and-you'll miss it snippets of story, and then set pieces and fights that don't land because too little time was spent setting them up.

At the least, I think 2 more episodes would have given them the time to establish the characters and the world more. Right now, I'm pretty sure that whether it is the Tower or the Ways or Fal Dara, they may all have decent CGI, but we'll get too little of any of it for these things to feel 

[Ran]

Fairly underwhelmed as well, I have to say, simply as a television product and doing my best not to think about it in terms of what it's adapting. Like... 6/10? Maybe? It's not a ruin, but if the rest of the show is at that level, I don't know that I'll stick to it, since so far there's nothing compelling beyond seeing my memory of the story meet a compromised rendition of it that has no real stand-out segments. Half of Foundation has been very rough and not compelling, but the other half has been right in my wheelhouse and the performances there have been terrific, so I can keep up with that. 

I'm not going to say that I don't see where the $10 million per episode went, but I don't know that it was all well-used. There seems to be some low-effort aspects of the series -- Rand's freshly-shaved look staying pristine across a handful of nights, everyone's clothing looking like it's been pressed each morning (seriously, does Rand's shirt even reveal he broke a sweat when chopping all that wood?) -- that contributes to a vague sense that this could have been the CW's take on a fantasy show. I'm not saying everyone needs to look like they sleep in manure, but when you're on the road for awhile things get rough. Even Aragorn had to sew up tears in his clothes, right?

Just how unbalanced is the male-female split in the Two Rivers, as well? It literally sounds like a bunch of young women end up dying during that ceremony, from the way her father was relieved and just from what we see -- how many of them knock their heads against a rock or panic and drown? And no signs of people stationed along the river ready to fish them out... (I found the whole speech about the braid and the women's circle very cringe-inducing in its earnestness.)

(Also, we repeatedly see scenes in trailers and teasers of there being a further ceremony in that pool, presumably after she gets out of the water, and yet no sign of it to be seen. Is it going to be a dream? A flashback? Or one of those things they cut when Amazon told Judkins that he was spending way too much time on made-up adulthood ceremonies?)

As an adaptation, the fact that the only real difference between the populations of Breen's Spring and the Two Rivers is that the Breen's Spring folks are dirtier because they're a mining town or whatever, just feels a bit odd. I also counted a number of distinct fashions in the Two Rivers, which again suggests it's ... not really isolated? I don't really get this part of the production because it really does make it feel very generic to not have any distinctive cultural differences going on. They talk of the Old Blood of Manetheren, but the people there look pretty much as mixed ethnically and culturally (at least in material terms) as the Breen Springs folk.

We do see what I guess is a Shienaran channeler at the start who kind of looks like an off-brand GoT Dothraki, which is a choice, so I guess there'll be some distinct cultural differences highlighted later. But between the TR and Andor? Not so much. (Also, that channeler scene presents its own problems -- anyone else notice the continuity error as they cut back and forth between the guy kneeling upright and then bent down with hands on the ground? Very, very sloppy.)

Like @fionwe1987, I think the decisions they made structurally -- particularly trying to make a big mystery of who the Dragon Reborn is -- is proving to be a real mistake, a one season mystery that causes all sorts of contortions. The sense that everything is feeling very rushed is true. Two more episodes... yeah, that would probably have been useful to actually give the characters more opportunities to breathe. 

One common thing I've seen on the Television subreddit is people feeling that of the young actors, Barney Harris as Mat has been the most compelling... which makes the fact that they've replaced him for season two seem like a very unfortunate thing. If he continues to impress and people get attached to him, only to see a new actor next year, that may strike a blow.

On the plus side, the Czech Republic has some really gorgeous vistas -- I didn't realize it had such neat mountain ranges (I'm not talking about the CGI stuff, but that place where Mat and Rand were walking after escaping Shadar Logoth was pretty cool). The animation extras are generally pretty cool, but the one about Jearom makes me think that they've already decided they're not going to do the Mat vs Gawyn and Galad scene as it basically takes everything from it. And the trolloc practical prosthetics are pretty impressive in an old school way (the CG versions of trollocs, OTOH... less said the better). I liked Henny as Lan, but I liked less that Tam can't even kill a single Trolloc... and then no one at all wonders where Rand got the sword? Even Lan doesn't bring it up? Hmm! Rushed indeed.

Oh. And WTF, have they basically ditched Bela? I don't see how she's supposed to meet up with them again. Feels like episode 2 is the place where they realized, as GoT did, "Light, it's really hard to film scenes with horses," and did what they could to get rid of them for as many segments of the story as possible.

(Oh, and another thing -- I absolutely did not expect the vulgarity of the show, replacing Jordan's pejoratives for a litany of Shit, shite, piss in your mouth, bastard, etc. (most of these from Mat). And the closest we get to an authentic exclamation is... "Dear Light!"? A phrase never once uttered in the novels? If BSG can get away with frak this and frak that, WoT absolutely could have used things like 'Burn me!')

 

[Corvinus85]

2 hours ago, Ran said:

(Oh, and another thing -- I absolutely did not expect the vulgarity of the show, replacing Jordan's pejoratives for a litany of Shit, shite, piss in your mouth, bastard, etc. (most of these from Mat). And the closest we get to an authentic exclamation is... "Dear Light!"? A phrase never once uttered in the novels? If BSG can get away with frak this and frak that, WoT absolutely could have used things like 'Burn me!')

Yeah. There was a scene which was ripe for Egwene to call Rand a woolhead, and instead she goes with 'bastard'. Throwing in some of the actual book jargon would have helped with the atmosphere.