Not looking at any other posts in here because I don't want book spoilers, but thoughts for @Majube -

(Spoiler for all of season 1)

Spoiler

I liked the season as a whole. However the ending was very weird, and the final episodes had odd pacing.

I think the end of the season was being pulled between two forces:

On the one hand, the viewer knows this is season 1 of a multi-season series so things are not going to end with this season. The viewer probably also knows that the WOT books go on and on and there's no way the story is done here. So going into these episodes, what the viewer is expecting is a "stepping stone" type finale, one that wraps up the season arc but which also asks the question which will be answered by the following season(s).

What the viewer gets, however, is a finale (really, final 2-3 episodes) which in content is ramping up towards the final resolution, even though the viewer knows that can't be true. And when the final resolution comes, the show continues to play it straight, depicting it as if it is indeed final. The "question" the viewer is expecting, setting the next season on its path, never comes. There's a vague sense that something has gone wrong but it's so underplayed that it falls well short of foreshadowing. It's just doubt.

So the feeling the viewer has on watching the ending of s1 is primarily cognitive dissonance.

For me, the most interesting part of season 1 was the mystery as to who is the dragon. That was the primary question of the season, and the finale should have been about delivering the answer to that question - in dramatic fashion. Instead we get this anti-climax where the answer to the question the viewer has been asking since episode 1 is delivered as an afterthought in the penultimate episode, and then the final episode is just the dragon going off and apparently doing what he is meant to do in a very rote, by the numbers fashion which does not at all live up to the hype of how powerful and dangerous the dragon is.

You kinda get why that's the case, as a viewer with meta-knowledge. You know this isn't the end and that Rand will likely have a progression arc of coming into his power ahead of him. But as a standalone season 1 arc, it doesn't work.

Nynaeve's death fake-out was also meh. Killing someone and bringing them back 5 minutes later has no impact. It just cheapens the concept of consequences and gives the viewer the impression that the protagonists will never be in serious danger. Also I find Nynaeve's zoomer-esque cynicism and distrust of authority really tiresome. It's funny that she's the oldest and ostensibly most mature of the Two Rivers characters, but actually is the one who acts most like an edgy indy!Harry teenager. I was cheering on her death so was rather disappointed when she came back.

Highlights of the first season were:

1. The mystery of who is the dragon.

2. The white cloaks, who have a real sense of menace.

3. The darker, quasi-horror elements like the empty city and the dagger that possessed Matt.

4. White tower politics and factions.

5. Power reveals as the Two Rivers characters start discovering their powers.

I will watch season 2 for sure, but season 1 didn't exactly stick the landing, so my hopes for season 2 are not particularly high.

 

@Taure One of your highlights is the Power reveals? That's a major lowpoint for me in episode 8. How powerful is the Dragon? No one knows. How powerful are two wilders, one Accepted, and two Two Rivers girls - apparently stronger than eight Aes Sedai who couldn't even protect themselves against a raiding party of fifty men rescuing Logain. They five demolished single-handedly a Trolloc army, greatest the world has seen since the Trolloc Wars. Why should we ever fear what the Shadow can do if five non-Aes Sedai supposed weaklings can do that?

 

In a meta context, what they did at Tarwin's gap is more than possible, given that Eldrine did something very similar at Manetheran all by herself, the five of them were probably as strong as a level 1 channeller put together, and yer man's sister had aei sedai training. Aside from the fake out death, I thought it was a great scene that really showed us what is possible when channelers work together (And it puts Logain's strength into perspective).

I also don't mind that particular scene taking Rand's slice of the action, but I just wish that they'd have given him his fight with Aginor, and a proper go at Ba'alzamon.

 

I agree with you, but without the more specific understanding of how the One Power works from the books, this is just a fairly conventional powerful-but-inexperienced magical hero's deus ex machina at the 11th hour moment. A lazy cookie-cutter narrative beat without the proper context and gravitas to make things actually matter.

 

If there's one thing that seems fairly consistent in the opinions I've read/heard, it's that the more you know about how channeling works in the books, the more you grit your teeth in anger at the show.

None of this is the way shit works! It's making Harry Potter's magic system look like a hard magic system by comparison.

This is just one of the quotes that prove Rafe is a shit-heel, and no one who is a fan of the books should trust him to respect the source material. They should, however, trust him at his word. Every other statement he makes about the show is about how he will deliberately do things that make existing fans howl in pain, and how he will change things in the name of activism or his "interests."

Killing off characters that didn't die in the books, just for shock value, has zero effect on non-book readers; as such, it's an act that is solely done to piss off book fans, since almost no one would be enough of a putz to find that sort of crassness entertaining.

Rafe's just laughing up his sleeve while he deliberately ruins the show for old fans.



"Just kidding." is the only part setting off my lie detector.

Spoiler

It also cheapens Nynaeve's character, considering SHE is the one who is supposed to be such a spectacular healer.

Death can't be healed, first off, so either she wasn't completely dead or Rafe is using the book for toilet paper. For Egwene to just bring Nynaeve back from the brink of death, especially as someone who isn't even an Accepted yet, though, is ridiculous.

They weren't content stealing from the men in order to bolster the women, now the women are stealing from each other! Egwene's much better with destructive magic, but I guess the show-runners just want her to have everything.

I won't even get into how the mechanics of this scene don't really work in the canon magic system.

Your number 5 is so much better and makes so much more sense in the books...

 

I've come to think of show!Egwene as the version of the Homer and Poochie scene from The Simpsons:

Whenever's Egwene not on screen, all the other characters should be asking "Where's Egwene?"

 

The show is horseshit, and would be whether it was utilising an existing IP or not. The writing is inconsistent, the rules of channeling bend to the need of whatever corner the writers have written themselves into.

This is nothing new, by any means, but it is frustrating when the writers have 14 books to refer to and avoid these problems.

Amazon spent $100 million and got a show ANY of us could have written, simply by referring to the source material.

It's a wash and will be cancelled in a season to two.

While we could tear apart the final episode a thousand different ways, I'll stick to the 'reveal' of the Seanchan. They use the damane to create a tidal wave to... what? Wet the beach a little, knock off one dumb kid? That wave is going to hit and then when that sheer amount of water recedes it should capsize their own damn boats.

As a Wheel of Time adaption, this is a 2/10 for a few good scenes. For a generic fantasy show, it's still a 2/10 for same but given the sheer level to inconsistent writing it deserves to be cancelled. I mean if Rand was needed to free the Dark One at the Eye, why in the fuck would Moiraine take the Dragon Reborn within a thousand miles of the damn thing?

 

To me this is the biggest indictment of the show in that I believe I could’ve done a better job.

Literally the script, the costumes, everything is ready made for you to adapt.

I could’ve done a better job and that is the biggest indictment I can give this show

 

Nicely done.
I flirted with this line of thought when I said...

But I hadn't quite gotten there. This way of thinking about it really puts things in perspective.

For a fraction of that budget, any of the truly hardcore fans from RASFWRJ could have handed them a bible detailing how the One Power works, and likely a guide to important continuity moments, so they don't cut something they'd need later, if not simply written the entire screenplay for them.

Mattress companies have nothing to fear from an economic slump; Hollywood shits the bed so hard and with such frequency, these days, that they'll stay in business forever.

 

I did not watch the show because I wasn't that big of a fan of the books (read until Book 6 I think). I tried the first episode and it was so bad I couldn't continue.

But what I don't understand is how did they fuck up this way? I mean for a 100 mil $ show, they must have screeners, and they had Brandon Sanderson consulting on the script.

Seeing everybody reaction does not bode well for the Lord of the Rings series.

 

I've reread the first book now and am planning on rereading the others. Here's a summary of how I'd adapt the Eye of the World in eight episodes.

Episode 1
Open on the prologue from the books: LTT breaking the world. Cut to Bel Tine at Emond's Field. Rand and Tam enter the scene carrying their brandy behind them; use the offloading to establish Rand, Mat and maybe Perrin. Also drop in bits about Nynaeve, Egwene, and the fact that there's a mysterious lady staying at the inn. Once they're done, Padan Fain enters the village and tells people the news. Rand and Tam stay in the inn for Bel Tine; that night, the village is attacked. Moiraine and Lan are properly introduced and can do the big lightshow or whatever if Amazon's got money to burn. End the episode on Moiraine persuading everyone to leave, and Egwene deciding to come along.

Differences from the books: Rand and Tam being attacked on the farm is incorporated into the attack on the town, because it saves quite a bit of time. Tam instead mutters after having been poisoned by Trollocs, because Rand thinking he's not from Two Rivers is important. Thom's introduction can be delayed until Baerlon because he has nothing to do as of yet. The village council business is skipped entirely because it doesn't matter that much.


Episode 2
Open on Lan knocking on the ferryman's door intently. After they're across, Moiraine surreptitiously sinks the boat and Lan pays the ferryman and his workers off. Show the Trollocs hunting for them somehow: a Draghkar in the sky or the Fade standing menacingly at the ferry crossing. The party heads to Baerlon. Once there, they meet Thom, who tells the story of Manetheren. Moiraine meets Min, who tells the group's futures but keeps staring at Rand for some reason and tells a not-entirely convincing lie about what she saw. Moiraine wishes to interrogate Min about this, but is interrupted by Nynaeve, who shows up again to rejoin the party. End on the first Baalzamon dream. If there's time to fill in between aforementioned scenes, have Thom list a few prophecies about the Dragon Reborn.

Thoughts: it's probably best to put extra emphasis on the Eye of the World in the Baalzamon dream, to set up the going there later.

Differences from the books: the order of Rand meeting Min and having the Baalzamon dream is reversed, because I think it makes for a more suspenseful ending and the order isn't immensely important. Thom is introduced now instead of in Edmond's Field, because it's now that he plays a part in the plot. Rand doesn't talk to Padan Fain, because I think it makes Padan Fain's eventual reveal more impactful and it's one of the decent touches from the show. Min meets Moiraine to show her network as a Blue.


Episode 3
The boys wake up in the middle of the night from their shared dream; the party sets off thereafter and are later pursued by the Trollocs. After a battle in the saddle where Mat first discovers his odd liking for shouting old Manetheren battlecries, they are forced to head to Shadar Logoth. Thom explains the lore of Aridhol; Mat finds the dagger. After being chased by Mashadar, they are split up. Groups:
* Mat, Rand, and Thom, who decide to head for Caemlyn.
* Perrin and Egwene, who decide to head onwards also.
* Lan, Moiraine, and Nynaeve, who track the other two groups.

Thoughts: more time could be spared by skipping Shadar Logoth but I'm loathe to actually do so. It's neat lore, it's very easily translatable to TV and it sets up Padan Fain becoming who he becomes later. And also Mat's dagger, obviously.

Differences from the books: Rand isn't randomly threatened by a Fade in the middle of the night, because it makes little sense that the Fade then leaves again. There's no meeting with Bornhald because he's been cut from the narrative. Explanation of saidin and saidar comes later: the original stop where it is explained is skipped and the explanation is important, so it's gotta be placed elsewhere. No confrontation with the Whitecloaks in Baerlon because it saves time, and the Children confront Perrin and Egwene later anyway.

Episode 4

• Mat and Rand head to Whitebridge. They encounter a Fade, lose Thom, and are forced to move on. Show effects of dagger on Mat.
• Perrin and Egwene, the focused pair of the episode, meet Elyas and his wolves, who drops them off with the Tinkers. The Tinkers explain the Way of the Leaf. The final scene of the episode is Perrin and Egwene, along with the Tinkers, getting arrested by the Children.
• Moiraine and Lan and Nynaeve meet up. More loredumps on the Aes Sedai. Also have a moment where Lan and Nynaeve stoke their romantic tension.

Differences from the books: Elyas leaves Perrin and Egwene with the Tinkers, instead of just being there the whole time, to save on time. The lore of Shadar Logoth is compressed so that there's no Mordeth, because the focus is better put on the evil of Mashadar that later is shown to have infested Padan Fain. The Tinkers do not share the prophecy told by the Aielman, in order to save a little time.


Episode 5
* Rand and Mat arrive at an inn in an unnamed town. It is the latest of many. The owners are Darkfriends and try to rob Rand and Mat, but Rand channels for the first time (unconsciously) to rain thunder from the sky. Rand is shown to get channeler's fever from this. Later in the episode, after meeting a bunch of people wishing to see Logain, they lose their tails and finally reach Caemlyn.
* Perrin and Egwene are subjected to a bad-cop-good-cop routine by the Whitecloaks. They lie as best they can, but the Children are not convinced and sentence Perrin to death for running with wolves. The sentence is to be carried out at Caemlyn.
* Nynaeve, Lan and Moiraine discuss being an Aes Sedai: the apprenticing process, the Ajahs, the channeling fever. In the final part of the show, they rescue Egwene and Perrin from the Whitecloaks.

Thoughts: to keep the episode count at 8 a lot has to be cut from Rand and Mat's journey to Caemlyn, which mostly happens here. In all honesty the show's decision to skip Rand and Mat doing town after town doing gleemanning, working odd jobs for farmers, meeting like three different Darkfriends, etc makes sense, considering the episode limit.

Differences from the books: Mat and Rand are nearly robbed at a random farm on the way to Caemlyn, not at Four Kings. A lot of their journey is skipped but their clothes get progressively dirtier and they're clearly running ragged (rely on costuming department for this), because time is still a concern. The farmer dumping lore about Tigraine and Luc is skipped for now. Perrin is the focus of the interrogation because he lashed out when seeing the Tinkers get arrested and accidentally killed a Child with his axe. Alternatively, have Elyas leave Hopper with them and have Hopper be killed as in the books.


Episode 6
During Logain's parade through Caemlyn, Rand explores Caemlyn for a better view, meeting Elayne and Gawyn. Their guards eventually take him to the Queen. While Morgase prevents him from being locked up, Rand does get thrown out of the palace, as Elaida very much does not like him. Back at the inn he finds Mat being inspected by Moiraine and the others - Moiraine confiscates the dagger and insists that Mat head for Tar Valon (later) to be healed of the darkness. Talking about what has happened, in conjunction with the dreams being brought up again, makes Moiraine decide to head for the Borderlands and the Eye of the World.

Thoughts: if there's enough time, Padan Fain's final scenes from the book can be inserted here, where Moiraine finds out that he's become something twisted and warped to track the Ta'veren.

Differences from the books: Loial meets Moiraine instead of Rand, for the same reason Moiraine met Min in Baerlon: to give her something to do and show her web of informants as a Blue.


Episode 7
Loial leads Moiraine and the others to the Waygate and opens them. He guides them along the Ways, though the trip is interrupted by Machin Shin arriving as they are at its end. Upon arriving at the Borderlands, they are greeted by the sight of the Blight and the fact that the Borderlanders are fighting a losing battle against surging numbers of Trollocs, Halfmen, Dreadlords, and others. They are warmly welcomed, Lan most of all - reveal his heritage as last prince of the Malkieri here. Shaking off the desperate requests of the Borderlanders to let them come with or offer aid at Tarwin's Gap, the party moves on to the Eye of the World, where they meet Baalzamon in the final scene of the episode.

Differences from the books: The "Rand looks like an Aiel" thing is worked in here. Padan Fain's appearance in the Borderlands is moved earlier if not skipped entirely, because it serves mostly as a reason why the Darkfriends were able to track Rand and Mat. That said, the dagger explains that just as well, or the Dark One could just be tracking them through dreams or something.


Episode 8
This episode is largely an immense fight scene. The Borderlanders fight the Trollocs. Rand fights Baalzamon and, using the Eye of the World's clean saidin, vaporizes him and manages to wipe out great parts of the Trolloc army. Aginor is fought, and defeated, by Moiraine wielding a sa'angreal and Lan. The rest of the group manage to hold out for a while against Balthamel and eventually finally manage to take him down. Moiraine realizes that Rand must be the Dragon Reborn; Rand insists the Dark One is dead. The final scene is having a meeting of the Darkfriends, where Baalzamon shows up again as if nothing happened.

Thoughts: Ideally I want the final scene to be setup for the next season, which would adapt book 2, because otherwise this feels like a fairly 'complete' ending and that's not the intent. Hence the meeting of the darkfriends is pulled forward from the prologue to book 2.

Differences from the books: no Green Man, because he's a random bit of lore that is just kind of there and doesn't show up ever again. He'd be neat to have but I'll pull a Rafe and sacrifice him at the altar of Ensemble Casts: everyone except Moiraine and Rand fight Balthamel instead.

General concerns:

• Nynaeve and Egwene have little to do throughout the first book. That's partially why I added a big change in episode 8, having them take on Balthamel along with the others. He's mostly meant to be a spy and very much decayed, he died to a living fungus in the books, and the fact that he later becomes Aran'gar and Egwene's maid is just more dramatic (and funnier) this way. All in all, I think that this is a battle that is hard but can be won by the heroes.
• The other changes made are minor and occur mostly to Rand and Mat's journey to Caemlyn. A few minor villages are skipped, a few characters such as Bayle Domon aren't met, and others may simply not be explicitly named.
• It was immediately clear to readers that Rand was the Dragon Reborn after Thom mentions the prophecies he knows about the Dragon and then Min casually drops the fact that she sees some of those same sigils around Rand. It would probably be more unclear to the show viewers due to the lack of said signs from Min, which I think may not be a bad thing per se.

 

Sanderson is between a rock and a hard place.

He shits on the scripts either in private or public, and he blacklists himself from being a team player on any of his own works being adapted.

'Sanderson can't work with a team of TV writers.'

'Sanderson won't support an adaption of his work if it isn't 100% honest to the books.'

I'd wager he's contemplating whether attaching his name to this property 12 years ago was a good idea.

I also admire how well he's walking the ledge he's been pushed out on. We've all read Sanderson's work, all watched his writing class YouTube vids. You think that man is happy with the slop being served up by Rafe Judkins?

 

Sanderson mentioned while watching episode 8 (his watch was streamed live) he heavily regrets not getting suggestions done in time for the script of episode 8.

 

I couldn't bring myself to watch that livestream tbh. The last episode was just too fresh in my mind.

 

Well, I had been planning on waiting till the whole series was out and then binging it over xmas. I've been avoiding spoilers, but did skim over the reaction to the end of the season.

Gotta say, I don't even know what happened, but I have very little desire to watch this now.

 

Just read the books

 

Better yet, listen to the audiobooks.

One good thing to come out of this is that Rosamund Pike did a reading of EotW to go with the release of season 1 and she's actually really good. Better than the Kramer/Reading production because it's so dated and the audio is awful for that one.

 

I’ll have to check it out. I only really do audiobooks anymore.

I’ve read the whole series through twice, though, and I’ll do a third at some point.

 

I'll second the audiobook recommendation. I hope Rosamund does more of them as well.

 

Shared on Discord, but rotfl. Rafe sucks.