The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

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Kordin
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Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:17 pm

Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Kordin » Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:22 pm

Just watched Ep1:

Strong "last season of GoT" vibes


Wouldn't be surprised if they completely go "off script" and turn Rand into a Warder, one of the girls will be the Dragon, Matt will end up as an MC and Perrin will be a mad Wolfbro hermit ridden with guilt for killing his blacksmith wife....

All in all, I had low expectations but the first episode lowered them even more...an honest description would be that the show is "inspired by WoT series" instead of "based on WoT" series.

Reyne
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Reyne » Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:21 pm

Only watched the first episode so far. It was okay.

I like the casting.

Didn't think the changes were that drastic. Some of them were good. I liked the thing with Perrin's wife.

Did feel a bit rushed. I disliked how Moiraine just straight told them "one of you is the dragon now come with me." Could have spent more time building suspense. Not sure what the hurry is.

The serpent ring looks too gaudy, like cheap costume jewelry. Not a fan of the color coding either.

Kordin
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Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:17 pm

Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Kordin » Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:59 pm

Ep 2 and 3 done...

2021 Flat Tire of Time - a saga loosely, maybe, somewhat, sort of inspired and set in the world of Wheel of Time but not really cause reasons

EDIT: ngl, that Wisdom Tier 1 Operator scene when Nynaeve somehow meets the one trolloc in the entire Pattern not affraid of entering a body of water and just Navy SEALs him....

And then manages to sneak up on a Warder, but not any Warder, Lan Mandragoran, the Stud of Malkieri, most eligible bachelor of Tar Valon...sneaks up and places a blade on his neck.....

Oh and the healing scene..."you feel what she feels? prepare yourself, this will hurt" and then....pops a pimple on/in Moiraines wound? And Lan is standing there like "oh, yuck"

Gulwinid
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Gulwinid » Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:31 pm

"Game of Thrones was not a perfect show. The Wheel of TIme makes it looks like a masterpiece". Pretty accurate.

cael
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by cael » Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:57 pm

Watched all 3 twice already, noticed tam lost his spear in one cut screen when he and rand are walking to Edmonds field.

I hate that they made mat a thief. He is supposed to be a merry prankster that shirks duty but comes through in the end. Making him a thief is overboard and not consistent with his book morals.

Overall I’m enjoying the series so I can probably live with the issues I don’t like.

Itesh
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Itesh » Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:30 pm

It was pretty bad. I'll probably watch all of it.

Aira
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Aira » Fri Nov 19, 2021 7:52 pm

I liked how they alluded or mentioned so much history and other places. It makes the world and its history seem big. E.g. Hawkwing, Manetheren, Stone of Tear, the Lion Throne in Caemlyn. Tar Valon of course had been mentioned. They were 'from Baerlon'. Whitebridge is mentioned. The Aiel and how they veil prior to killing.

Did anyone notice the stadium in the Age of Legends ruins?

I recognized Breen's Spring's location as a quarry I'd seen in a Dutch tv show called "Who's the Mole". I was like "ah, a village. Now we get that part. WAIT WHAT?! I've seen that place before!". Who's the mole double whammy. Andor did have mining, but iron and alum, so it's not altogether pulled out of thin air.

Thom's coat has the fluttering patches on the inside. Not my headcanon, but eh.

Mat caring about his sisters and going out during Winternight sets up his character nicely, although I don't like the thievery. Nor his parents. The horse trader nod was there though.

The taint is bad at the beginning was quick, but effective and makes me wonder about Lews Therin. Are they going to do that differently, to make the distinction, or not?

I like that there were songs.

Character buildup seems slow, but really, comparing this to LotR, we didn't know so much about Frodo and Sam either, except a sense of duty/ loyalty and wrt Merry and Pippin that they were troublemakers. The others of the Fellowship were kind of unfleshed out as well. And they have a lot to introduce: empty scenery to suggest a big world with few people, history, other places. Tbh, I'm impressed with what they've managed to squeeze in.

Although yeah, the first episode is really speedy and the others not so much.

There was a ton of foreshadowing, although of course, now I can't think of any example.

I liked it, although I also didn't go into this expecting a verbatim copy of the books. With how books work, usually being inside the head of a character, that can't be pulled off on screen very well, so there were always going to be changes to portray the same thing in a different way.

Tyrex
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Tyrex » Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:42 pm

I’m watching trollocs and aes sedai on screen, firetruck the haters, this is the dream

Ashlee
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by Ashlee » Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:45 pm

Tyrex wrote:
Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:42 pm
I’m watching trollocs and aes sedai on screen, firetruck the haters, this is the dream
I love this.

halfhand
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Re: The Wheel of TIme Season 1 Episode 1, 2, 3 Discussion Thread

Post by halfhand » Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:49 pm

Thoughts from Brandon Sanderson on the first episodes:

Haven't watched the final product yet, as I wasn't able to make the premier. Disclosure, I'm one of the producers. My part equated to reading the scripts and offering feedback directly to Rafe, the show runner. I'll be watching tonight, and there are a few details I'm curious to find out about in regards to whether he took my advice or not.

Biggest thing he and I disagreed on was Perrin's wife. I realize that there is a good opportunity here for Perrin to be shown with rage issues, and to be afraid of the potential beast inside of him. I liked that idea, but didn't like it being a wife for multiple reasons. First off, it feels a lot like the disposable wife trope (AKA Woman in the Fridge.) Beyond that, I think the trauma of having killed your wife is so huge, the story this is telling can't realistically deal with it in a way that is responsible. Perrin killing his wife then going off on an adventure really bothers me, even still. I have faith that the writers won't treat it lightly, but still. That kind of trauma, dealt with realistically and responsibly, is really difficult for an adventure series to deal with.

I suggested instead that he kill Master Luhhhan. As much as I hate to do Luhhan dirty like that, I think the idea Rafe and the team had here is a good one for accelerating Perrin's plot. Accidentally killing your master steps the trauma back a little, but gives the same motivations and hesitance. One thing I don't want this WoT adaptation to try to do is lean into being a tonal Game of Thrones replacement--IE, I don't want to lean into the "Grimdark" ideas. Killing Perrin's wife felt edgy just to be edgy.

That said, I really liked a LOT about this first episode. I prefer this method of us not knowing who the Dragon is, and I actually preferred (EDIT: Well, maybe not prefer, but think it's a bold and interesting choice that I understand) this prologue. I thought it was a neat, different take on how to start the WoT. I really liked the introduction to Mat, and in screenplay form, I thought the pacing was solid--fast, catchy, exciting. People are complaining about it, though, so maybe in show form it's too choppy. When I was on set, I liked the practical effects, and what I saw of the acting--so I'm expecting both of those to be great in the finished product.

EDIT: For those complaining about Abell Cauthon, I did try to get this one changed too. So at least they heard from one of us, offering complaint, before going to production. I always had a soft spot for him. I didn't expect them to change this, though, with Mat's more gritty backstory. Again, I do wish they had taken a less "grim" feel to all of this, though I do think the details of introducing Mat were interesting and a nice acceleration of his character. Which is a good thing, since the series will need to condense from the books, so moving character beats up in time is going to generally help with that.

This team is excellent, I have to say. Episode six is the best--least, I think that's the number of the one I'm thinking about--so be on the lookout for it. But they have real respect for the story, and are good writers. This is an enormously difficult project to undertake, and I'm quite impressed by Rafe and everyone involved.

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