Wheel of Time on Amazon

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Alright, just finished episodes 3 and 4. Let's just say I absolutely hate the story changes....

If they had called this show something else and changed the character names and titles and place names to something else, you would never know this was The Wheel of Time and I probably wouldn't mind it so much. This is just an absolute insult to the story Robert Jordan created.

[abydos]

Yep, it's a dumpsterfire. So far, worse than S1.

[Sacul]

Damn, I had hoped it'd improve on the first season, but seeing the reactions to this one, well... I'm not looking forward to watching it

[hefdaddy42]

No offense, but it someone was adapting something I loved as much as you guys love these books, and they were butchering it as much as you say (I haven't read the books), no way would I keep watching it.

[jingle.boy]

No offense, but it someone was adapting something I loved as much as you guys love these books, and they were butchering it as much as you say (I haven't read the books), no way would I keep watching it.

Pretty much why I stayed far away from The Stand and The Gunslinger.

I never understand why anyone would intentionally do something that caused so much angst or anguish.  Seriously guys, just don't watch it.

[twosuitsluke]

Alright, just finished episodes 3 and 4. Let's just say I absolutely hate the story changes....

If they had called this show something else and changed the character names and titles and place names to something else, you would never know this was The Wheel of Time and I probably wouldn't mind it so much. This is just an absolute insult to the story Robert Jordan created.

I couldn’t agree more. There are brief glimpses of good stuff, but so much that I can’t fathom (as in, decisions made by the writers). The ending of episode 4 particularly annoyed me! I won’t spoil, but seriously, what the hell!

[Polarbear]

Alright, just finished episodes 3 and 4. Let's just say I absolutely hate the story changes....

If they had called this show something else and changed the character names and titles and place names to something else, you would never know this was The Wheel of Time and I probably wouldn't mind it so much. This is just an absolute insult to the story Robert Jordan created.

I couldn’t agree more. There are brief glimpses of good stuff, but so much that I can’t fathom (as in, decisions made by the writers). The ending of episode 4 particularly annoyed me! I won’t spoil, but seriously, what the hell!

The way you guys are reacting to The Wheel of Time, is exactly how I feel about The Witcher (Netflix) now.

I tried to look past the changes for a while, but it became almost unrecognizable from the original work by Andrew Sapkovski. I guess the studios only want to use the original work as a jumping point, into their own homogenized version.

The Wheel of Time book series seems like an interesting read, but I won't waste my time with the show.

[LudwigVan]

I dunno. Not sure why this is getting so much hate. I’m enjoying this series quite a bit.

That said, I was only a casual fan of the books. I think I only got thru 2 of them.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I dunno. Not sure why this is getting so much hate. I’m enjoying this series quite a bit.

That said, I was only a casual fan of the books. I think I only got thru 2 of them.

I mean, I did mention that people who hadn't read the books, or are only casual fans will probably enjoy this much more than avid book readers/fans of WoT. It is, in fact, well acted for the most part and the visuals are much improved from the first season. I don't actively dislike any of the actors.

[abydos]

I don't dislike the actors, well maybe Egwene falls a bit flat on me but that could very well be the writing and I'm pretty sure it is. And Selene is attractive but still... visually she doesn't even come close to what they say in the books.

As for why we're watching, it's morbid curiosity. WoT is huge but also underground, so it doesn't have the massive support LOTR does on any level (you can even judge that by the fan art online). But the books are great, the world is fantastic and we've been wanting a LOTR-like adaptation for decades. And when we finally get it, it's this amateurish writing and generic fantasy visuals. Also, I'm watching it but not by supporting Amazon, if you get what I mean .

This is spoiling the latest episode, but for those that don't care and are curious why we don't like it you can check this quick synapsys of the changes from the books in the episode. I'm pretty sure that even if you haven't read the books you can judge which version is better https://winteriscoming.net/2023/09/08/all-the-biggest-book-changes-in-the-wheel-of-time-episode-204/

[soupytwist]

The books fall of a cliff after book 6 though, so maybe the increased pace of the show will actually improve the sluggish pace the books fell into.  (I gave up after struggling though Winter's Heart).

[hefdaddy42]

As for why we're watching, it's morbid curiosity. WoT is huge but also underground, so it doesn't have the massive support LOTR does on any level (you can even judge that by the fan art online). But the books are great, the world is fantastic and we've been wanting a LOTR-like adaptation for decades. And when we finally get it, it's this amateurish writing and generic fantasy visuals. Also, I'm watching it but not by supporting Amazon, if you get what I mean .

This is spoiling the latest episode, but for those that don't care and are curious why we don't like it you can check this quick synapsys of the changes from the books in the episode. I'm pretty sure that even if you haven't read the books you can judge which version is better https://winteriscoming.net/2023/09/08/all-the-biggest-book-changes-in-the-wheel-of-time-episode-204/

I mean, it's your time, so spend it how you choose.

One of my favorite book series is The Dark Tower by Stephen King.  The film they made was, by all accounts (ALL accounts), an atrocity, so I'm not watching it.  I just don't have the time to hatewatch.  That's just me.  I would rather spend the little time I have watching things I like or have hope of liking than watching things I actively dislike or hate.  Again, that's just me.

[abydos]

I'm not really that invested in it, it's just there to kill some free time and satisfy some curiosity. Downsides and all, it's still a visual representation of the world I like. And there's not much else left to watch anyway, at least nothing that would interest me.

[Grappler]

I'm not really that invested in it, it's just there to kill some free time and satisfy some curiosity. Downsides and all, it's still a visual representation of the world I like. And there's not much else left to watch anyway, at least nothing that would interest me.

That's exactly where I'm at.  I love the books, but understand that this world is pretty much impossible to adapt word for word, scene for scene.  I'm enjoying this season much more than the first.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

The books fall of a cliff after book 6 though, so maybe the increased pace of the show will actually improve the sluggish pace the books fell into.  (I gave up after struggling though Winter's Heart).

While I highly disagree with the books getting worse after book 6, I do understand that there are some that don't like some of the books. Personally I love them all and it's still my favorite fantasy book series. I do agree the pace could be sped up in the show easily.....however....

I'm not really that invested in it, it's just there to kill some free time and satisfy some curiosity. Downsides and all, it's still a visual representation of the world I like. And there's not much else left to watch anyway, at least nothing that would interest me.

That's exactly where I'm at.  I love the books, but understand that this world is pretty much impossible to adapt word for word, scene for scene.  I'm enjoying this season much more than the first.

While I understand it would be impossible to make a scene for scene adaptation, they at least could have kept the main plot lines and major characters back stories intact.

[abydos]

Of course, no book can be adapted scene for scene and it's not something anyone is suggesting. However, the overall plot lines and characters, their motivations, etc. can be. Even if you change events (add/remove/rearrange), you can still do it by making those changes coherent with the characters and their entire arc so you don't get inconsistent scenes.

Like emotional outbursts from Aes Sedai, the childish drama between Aes Sedai and their Warder, all done for cheap TV "conflict" that only undermines the almost incomprehensible deep relationships between them.

The best part of the show for me is that it has made me go out and buy the last 3 books so I can finish the show (kind of got "book depressed" when RJ died and stopped reading anything after his passing). Downside being that the old edition of the books here has become sort of a collectible item and The Gathering Storm, the prologue book and others can cost up to 100-150$ which I'm not going to pay . The entire series from 0-14 is $600. Not even hard covers. I'd like to finish the series as it is translated first, before I reread in English.

[Grappler]

The three final books by Brandon Sanderson are really, really good and he used a lot of Jordan's notes to put the pieces together.  It didn't feel any different to me.  The final chapter of the series was almost entirely written by Robert Jordan before he died, so the series is bookended really nicely.  It's worth it to finish the books.

[hefdaddy42]

We found a pretty good recap video of season 1.  What I learned is that this story is ridiculously dense, and I'm pretty glad I've never delved into the novels.

At any rate, we remembered enough to continue, and watched the first episode of the new season.  Not bad.

[jingle.boy]

At the risk of triggering the book club, I really enjoyed the season.  The last couple of episodes felt a little rushed, and probably could've benefitted from being a 10-episode season.  All in all, I liked ... and will look forward to S3 when that comes out (probably not 'til 2025 as most things are going to be severely delayed.

[abydos]

I liked it the most out of any episode so far, I think I'm just now finally managing to think of this not as an adaptaion of the books, but something loosley based on them. Still think there were a lot of things I don't like, but it was OK.

Not sure if I've mentioned this but every episode and the show as a whole, somehow manages to always feel both rushed with a lot of stuff happening and simultaneously meandering and nothing seems to happen.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I liked it the most out of any episode so far, I think I'm just now finally managing to think of this not as an adaptaion of the books, but something loosley based on them. Still think there were a lot of things I don't like, but it was OK.

Not sure if I've mentioned this but every episode and the show as a whole, somehow manages to always feel both rushed with a lot of stuff happening and simultaneously meandering and nothing seems to happen.

I think the biggest problem is they keep focusing on things that never happened in the books or don't matter and could have easily been cut. It's like they picked the wrong things to expand on and added useless stuff while deleting major plot points.

[chknptpie]

huh...I haven't watched the last episode yet but I think season 2 is GREATLY improved on season 1. Most major characters are now established and all paths are leading to Falme! I find it so much easier to watch now that I think my brain has accepted it as essentially fan fiction. I'm also happy that the women on the show aren't portrayed as bipolar and fashion obsessed. RJ couldn't write a female character to save his life. I'm not entirely happy with some of the romance hints, but will try to hold judgement until anything actually happens.

[jingle.boy]

Not sure if I've mentioned this but every episode and the show as a whole, somehow manages to always feel both rushed with a lot of stuff happening and simultaneously meandering and nothing seems to happen.

I think this is a very accurate comment/assessment.

[Lynxo]

huh...I haven't watched the last episode yet but I think season 2 is GREATLY improved on season 1. Most major characters are now established and all paths are leading to Falme! I find it so much easier to watch now that I think my brain has accepted it as essentially fan fiction. I'm also happy that the women on the show aren't portrayed as bipolar and fashion obsessed. RJ couldn't write a female character to save his life. I'm not entirely happy with some of the romance hints, but will try to hold judgement until anything actually happens.

Agreed with this. Season 2 is a major step up and in my opinion not nearly as bad as you guys make it seem.
I'm not saying it's the next Game of Thrones or anything.  But despite some changes I don't agree with, overall, I was invested and I really enjoy the diverse cast.

That being said, the last episode was... (spoilers)

Mat putting the the super dangerous dagger on a stick was super cartoonish and I can't decide if it was too silly or just in line with Mat's personality.
Not having a sky fight between Ishmael and Rand was both good and bad - that fight could very easily been cheesy as all heck, but it also meant that the big dragon symbol was just...Moirane creating some fire dragons? I understand she does this to manipulate Rand, force him to come forward as the dragon. But on the other hand, I still liked it better that it was just circumstances that forced Rand to go public.

[ZirconBlue]

Just finished the 2nd Season, and am enjoying the series.  I haven't read the books, and likely never will, so I am not at all concerned about how "faithful" and adaptation it is.  I'm just along for the ride.  The only quibble I have with the show is that it seems like someone is constantly being captured and in need of rescue.  I was pleasantly surprised, then, that one main character managed to free herself rather than being rescued.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Just finished the 2nd Season, and am enjoying the series.  I haven't read the books, and likely never will, so I am not at all concerned about how "faithful" and adaptation it is.  I'm just along for the ride.  The only quibble I have with the show is that it seems like someone is constantly being captured and in need of rescue.  I was pleasantly surprised, then, that one main character managed to free herself rather than being rescued.

This is a good point. If I had never read the books and they weren't my favorite book series of all time, I would probably like the show a fair bit more. The acting and the cinematography is quite good (especially in season 2).

[Evermind]

The only quibble I have with the show is that it seems like someone is constantly being captured and in need of rescue.

As far as I recall this is extremely consistent with the source material

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

The only quibble I have with the show is that it seems like someone is constantly being captured and in need of rescue.

As far as I recall this is extremely consistent with the source material

Yeah, except for the whole Mat storyline in the show so far. Which covid was partly to blame and the original actor leaving the show the other part, but they completely botched the end of season 1 so...

[abydos]

Brandon Sanderson and 2 others live reacting to the S2 finale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7d8DYs7G2g

[hefdaddy42]

Just finished the 2nd Season, and am enjoying the series.  I haven't read the books, and likely never will, so I am not at all concerned about how "faithful" and adaptation it is.  I'm just along for the ride.  The only quibble I have with the show is that it seems like someone is constantly being captured and in need of rescue.  I was pleasantly surprised, then, that one main character managed to free herself rather than being rescued.

All of this.  We just finished yesterday.  It was fun enough.

Hey, book readers.  How far into the series are we now?  I mean, approximately; I realize they may have sped some things up or reordered or left things out from the books.

[chknptpie]

ehhhhhh loosely through book 2 I'd say for the major plot point.

[hefdaddy42]

ehhhhhh loosely through book 2 I'd say for the major plot point.

So, we still have another 72 seasons or so to go?

[jammindude]

ehhhhhh loosely through book 2 I'd say for the major plot point.

So, we still have another 72 seasons or so to go?

 

I haven’t watched season 2 yet, but I’m hoping to get to it next weekend.

This is a show I really want to support because I think it’s WAY overdue for adaptation.  About 10 years ago I read the first 4 books and I thought they were really good…just didn’t have the time in the day to finish 9 more books that size. But I guess I’m still enjoying the show because I’m just viewing it as an adaptation and not intended to be as completely faithful to the original material.

I loved the first season, but I was immediately skeptical about having to replace an actor so soon in the run. A show like this can live and die by the chemistry of the ensemble.

[ZirconBlue]

ehhhhhh loosely through book 2 I'd say for the major plot point.

So, we still have another 72 seasons or so to go?

I saw a blurb recently about the next season covering book 4, but didn't follow up to read the details.  From my understanding, as a non-reader of the series, there are some books later than can be covered in like one episode. 

[chknptpie]

Yeah I'd say books 5-8 can all be one season lol They are ROUGH reading.