Online Series: The Wheel of Time (Prime Video, Nov 22)

[Nizdizzle]

This weeks episode was my favorite so far. A lot of questions finally get answered or fleshed out, and the set up for the final episode of the season has it in a really good place.

It stills seems crazy to me that they decided to tackle the entire 1st book in 8 episodes. The pace of the season has been absolutely breakneck and I think the show would benefit extra time to take a breath and elaborate of certain lore or places (wasting like 2 episodes on a random character like Stepin still seems like a waste to me).

 

[Tawnos]

This weeks episode was my favorite so far. A lot of questions finally get answered or fleshed out, and the set up for the final episode of the season has it in a really good place.

It stills seems crazy to me that they decided to tackle the entire 1st book in 8 episodes. The pace of the season has been absolutely breakneck and I think the show would benefit extra time to take a breath and elaborate of certain lore or places (wasting like 2 episodes on a random character like Stepin still seems like a waste to me).

Given the time crunch, I agree. I will say that the groundwork they laid with the Stepin episodes is going to have a good payoff later in the series... but they could have done it in S2

 

[Jussi]

This weeks episode was my favorite so far. A lot of questions finally get answered or fleshed out, and the set up for the final episode of the season has it in a really good place.

It stills seems crazy to me that they decided to tackle the entire 1st book in 8 episodes. The pace of the season has been absolutely breakneck and I think the show would benefit extra time to take a breath and elaborate of certain lore or places (wasting like 2 episodes on a random character like Stepin still seems like a waste to me).

Really good episode and a lot of questions answered. That opening scene was more or less better than the fights in GoT.

By the way, while searching for the torrent of this episode, I saw that there are Wheel Of Time Origins episodes too. They seem to bee only a few minute long backstory episodes. Just wondering if they've attached to these episodes at Amazon Prime?

 

[Nizdizzle]

Really good episode and a lot of questions answered. That opening scene was more or less better than the fights in GoT.

By the way, while searching for the torrent of this episode, I saw that there are Wheel Of Time Origins episodes too. They seem to bee only a few minute long backstory episodes. Just wondering if they've attached to these episodes at Amazon Prime?

Yeah, it the Prime player they are listed in the "bonus content" section similar to how you would view the trailer or "making of/on-set" videos. They aren't attached to the episodes themselves.

 

[NyQuil]

I was a bit down on this week's episode.

A lot of melodrama.

 

[Tawnos]

Really good episode and a lot of questions answered. That opening scene was more or less better than the fights in GoT.

By the way, while searching for the torrent of this episode, I saw that there are Wheel Of Time Origins episodes too. They seem to bee only a few minute long backstory episodes. Just wondering if they've attached to these episodes at Amazon Prime?

Just imagine what a non-pregnant Aiel warrior can do

 

[NyQuil]

Just imagine what a non-pregnant Aiel warrior can do

I don't know, my wife was recently pregnant. She was plenty tough and occasionally very abrasive.

I think it probably evens out.

 

[Jussi]

I don't know, my wife was recently pregnant. She was plenty tough and occasionally very abrasive.

I think it probably evens out.

Well look who she's married to. Perfectly understandable.

 

[Tawnos]

I don't know, my wife was recently pregnant. She was plenty tough and occasionally very abrasive.

I think it probably evens out.

How fast could she move with a spear, though?

 

[NyQuil]

How fast could she move with a spear, though?

Her mobility was not up to Aiel standards.

Her glare could kill a foe at 20 feet though.

 

[RandV]

So yeah like I commented on last week I'm going to assume Barney Harris checked out when they moved locations, so Morraine sent the Red Ajah with prejudice to take care of him, and next season we'll have a new Matt played by Donal Finn, and we can get back on track to getting best-character Matt.

 

[RandV]

I'm curious how the 'Rand al'Thor is the dragon reborn' reveal turned out for people new to the series, if they didn't guess it already. I would assume some confusion to when they cut back to Rand dragging his dad Tam along. While overall I'm not that critical and love the show this whole aspect of it just felt clunky and awkward to me.

It also makes a good example of the challenges in converting books to TV. By the book, The Eye of the World is told entirely from Rand's PoV up until the party gets split, so you learn right at the beginning from Tam's delirious rambling that he wasn't born in the Two Rivers. This become a core component of his character through the first books journey, always inner monologing 'Tam is my father', and creates an extra strong attachment and focus on the sword.

But how do you translate that to TV? Same kind of thing with A Game of Thrones (1st book), where Ned Stark is always hearing the voice of his sister "Promise me Ned" throughout the book. That doesn't work on TV though so it just gets dropped.

 

[Jussi]

I got the feeling after the first seer meting that they're all the dragon reborn but like a 4 headed one but now it's Rand? A bit contradictory but we'll see where it goes.

 

[Fire Tortorella]

EDIT - wrong thread.

 

[NyQuil]

EDIT - wrong thread.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I got the feeling after the first seer meting that they're all the dragon reborn but like a 4 headed one but now it's Rand? A bit contradictory but we'll see where it goes.

In the first seer meeting, doesn't she say to to Moraine that she could see the vision for the Dragon Reborn as the most clear vision? That is, she saw lights and patterns for the girls, eyes shining back for Perrin, and Rand clearly holding a child. To me that seemed like a big hint that it was Rand.

 

[CupHolders]

I got the feeling after the first seer meting that they're all the dragon reborn but like a 4 headed one but now it's Rand? A bit contradictory but we'll see where it goes.

In the first seer meeting, doesn't she say to to Moraine that she could see the vision for the Dragon Reborn as the most clear vision? That is, she saw lights and patterns for the girls, eyes shining back for Perrin, and Rand clearly holding a child. To me that seemed like a big hint that it was Rand.

SHOW SPOILER TO FOLLOW




Min (seer) actually didn’t name any of them Dragon Reborn. Just that they were all interconnected and important to the pattern… with a viewing represented by light being attacked by darkness.

The specific viewings were…

Perrin… Golden eyes and blood on chin/face

Rand… Holding a child

The Girls (didn’t specify individually) but… white flame and ring of gold.

IMO… the child being held by Rand is a representation of himself. Tying him back to her first ever viewing (she mentioned later in the episode)… A soldier carrying a baby and bearing the same heron mark blade. Also the blade that cut Rand’s umbilical cord.

That was Tam (post war) making his way through Tar Valon back to the two rivers.

EDIT: Actually the more I think about it… the first viewing of Rand holding the child might actually mean something else… and be an attempt at a visual “representation” of the viewing from the book.

 

[IDvsEGO]

True but that is like the novels...though I had only read The Great Hunt many moons ago but just ordered and received New Spring which I am told is a prequel that should be read before the first real book of the series. I mean Jordan didn't write this as a young adult novel like the shimmering vampire one or the Hunger Games.

Do NOT read them in that order. Read new spring after book 5 or with publishing order as after book 10.

 

[IDvsEGO]

SHOW SPOILER TO FOLLOW




Min (seer) actually didn’t name any of them Dragon Reborn. Just that they were all interconnected and important to the pattern… with a viewing represented by light being attacked by darkness.

The specific viewings were…

Perrin… Golden eyes and blood on chin/face

Rand… Holding a child

The Girls (didn’t specify individually) but… white flame and ring of gold.

IMO… the child being held by Rand is a representation of himself. Tying him back to her first ever viewing (she mentioned later in the episode)… A soldier carrying a baby and bearing the same heron mark blade. Also the blade that cut Rand’s umbilical cord.

That was Tam (post war) making his way through Tar Valon back to the two rivers.

EDIT: Actually the more I think about it… the first viewing of Rand holding the child might actually mean something else… and be an attempt at a visual “representation” of the viewing from the book.

The baby was not rand holding himself. It's more likely something else.


Also for people wondering why min wasn't completely honest with moiraine, think about how she approached min. It wasnt with politeness or anything, it was veiled threats.
Rand comes in, asks a rude question, but then apoligizes.

 

[CupHolders]

The baby was not rand holding himself. It's more likely something else.


Also for people wondering why min wasn't completely honest with moiraine, think about how she approached min. It wasnt with politeness or anything, it was veiled threats.
Rand comes in, asks a rude question, but then apoligizes.

Book Spoiler Warning


While that visual representation did not actually occur in the books… but do you think it’s just another way to hint at what did happen in the books?

Specifically her withholding some of the more personal connections from her first vision of Rand? Or, do you expect it’s something entirely new?

 

[IDvsEGO]

Book Spoiler Warning


While that visual representation did not actually occur in the books… but do you think it’s just another way to hint at what did happen in the books?

Specifically her withholding some of the more personal connections from her first vision of Rand? Or, do you expect it’s something entirely new?

If its a literal representation, then its nothing that happened in the books.
If its a metaphorical representation, then I know exactly what it is.

The show has done a really good job of hitting the BIG points and FEEL of the books, while also bringing some new story in.
There will be a change with one of the visions mentioned about rand, but it makes more sense the way theyve hinted at the change.
You can PM me if you want details, not putting it in here.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Really good episode and a lot of questions answered. That opening scene was more or less better than the fights in GoT.

By the way, while searching for the torrent of this episode, I saw that there are Wheel Of Time Origins episodes too. They seem to bee only a few minute long backstory episodes. Just wondering if they've attached to these episodes at Amazon Prime?

The origins episodes have been moved to just traditional episodes location, and they helpful world building for new fans, (not critical but helpful) and the animation style is great.

 

[Jussi]

Damn, what a season finale!

 

[RandV]

Poor kid at the end, that was a total dick move by the Seanchan. Good chance she lives on as a meme at least.

The good news is viewership ratings on the show was top of the charts, so season 1 is a big success for Amazon which we need to keep the show running. I'm a bit critical but I do still very much enjoy it.

As for the criticism, I can view this side by side with The Witcher and while that has the benefit of being at season 2 I can full understand and approve of the changes to the story they're making their. With WoT we'll have to wait till season 2 is out but I'm really not sure where they're going with the changes here. The books have to be heavily adapted because they get way to cumbersome with too many plotlines, but that happens later in the series and not in the first few books. But with how they ended it here it looks like everyone's going their own separate ways already and season 2 will start with split storylines. My guess/preview is:

Rand - He looks off to the horizon and sees a mountain range. Going with WoT lore I'm going to assume this is the spine of the world and whether he knows it or not he's off to meet 'his people'. I like this one.
Matt - WTF is he doing going back to Shador Logoth? I don't like this one.
Perrin - probably chases down Padan Fain to recover the horn.
Loilal - he can't be dead can he? This would be like killing Gimli in the mines of Moria in a new addaption of f Fellowship of the Ring. I can only hope he will be healed, then sets off with Perrin or finds Rand.
Egwene and Nynieve - off to Tar Valon I assume, though may travel with Perrin.
Morraine and Lan - I have no idea, but I assume travel with Egwene/Nynieve?

Book spoiler with a very brief description of how it ended instead:

Spoiler

In the book Fain gets instantly captured by the borderlanders, and the entire group goes to the eye of the world which itself was the McGuffin. In the form of a magic pool of great power, this is what Rand uses for the dual, not the little Buddha statue, and in addition he uses it to wipe out the trolloc army. The group then find the next MacGuffin, the horn, at the bottom of the now empty pool, and the next book is set to start with the entire group escorting it to safety.

 

[NyQuil]

Also:

Spoiler

Don't they meet a couple of Forsaken at the Eye of the World?