Wheel of Time on Amazon

[Logain Ablar]

No issues for me with the CGI. Yeah, you could tell some of the trollocs were cg, and some of the scenery shots looked a bit “off”, but nothing distracting.

[lonestar]

I don't get people who complain about cgi, I mean, do they even remember what it used to be like?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I don't get people who complain about cgi, I mean, do they even remember what it used to be like?

Yeah, seriously! The CGI is fine. I don't know what people were expecting...

[gmillerdrake]

I don't get people who complain about cgi, I mean, do they even remember what it used to be like?

The first time my sons watched SW's Attack of the Clones they literally busted up laughing at the battle scenes. This was a few years back and even then the CGI technology was light years ahead of what Lucas had available at the time of production.....so they'd been spoiled by 'great' CGI.....and I remember them just bursting into laughter at how bad the CGI was/is in those prequels.

[Sacul]

Just finished the first 3 episodes. Pretty good so far

[jingle.boy]

Thankfully I didn't read the books so I'm not tainted going in. 


Watched the first two last night, entertaining enough to carry on with it.

Just one episode last night.  Will probably polish off the other three this weekend.

[soupytwist]

Been in a bit of lull with new things to watch - then suddenly Wheel of Time, Cowboy Bebop and Hawkeye drop...

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Episode 4 is the best so far. Seems the show is really hitting its stride. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I honestly think they needed to expand the season to about 10 episodes.

[Logain Ablar]

I agree. We’re already halfway through the season, and it feels like we are blazing through the story when maybe a few extra episodes would allow for more time and a bit more depth to these characters.

Still enjoying it so far. I like what they did with my namesake, but again it felt rushed. We could have had a few episodes to find out some more about him before he was captured.

It was interesting to see how they showed the “weaves”.  Not exactly how I imagined from the books, but it worked ok.

[Sacul]

Episode 4 is the best so far. Seems the show is really hitting its stride. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I honestly think they needed to expand the season to about 10 episodes.

Oh yeah, all of this. Great episode.

[lonestar]

Fantastic episode...thank god for Youtube recap videos so I can follow what's going on lol

[Polarbear]

Watched the first episode without knowing anything about The Wheel of Time.

Really enjoyed it, and I'm intrigued to learn more. It's great to jump in without any preconceptions regarding the source material, as opposed to "The Witcher" which I'm very familiar with.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Episode 5 is streaming now. Time to go watch it!

[Sacul]

I'm surprised by how good the series is so far. This last episode was pretty tough, mostly that final scene.

[jingle.boy]

I'm surprised by how good the series is so far. This last episode was pretty tough, mostly that final scene.

Agreed.  The final 10 minutes of both Ep 4 and Ep 5 were incredible, but for completely different reasons.

I'm actually quite glad I don't know the books, so I can see how all of this is going to unfold for the 5 of them, and for the political power struggle within the Sisterhood.

[gmillerdrake]

Yeah. Loving the show and I too am glad I don’t know the source material. This is all new and fresh and very well done.

[MoraWintersoul]

My sister and I quit watching this because they're not doing a good job being faithful to the books (within reason), but they're also not picking the right path in simplifying it. The parts that they distill to don't have any of the distinct flavor of WoT (at least the books I read) that sets it apart from other fantasy series, imo. Glad you guys are liking it, but it could be a lot more interesting.

On the plus side, the casting is pretty good - Moiraine and Lan got me from the first two scenes, and the kids are alright, no one is as tragic as Emilia or Kit in the first few GoT seasons. Shame the guy who plays Mat already quit the series and won't be appearing in season 2.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

My sister and I quit watching this because they're not doing a good job being faithful to the books (within reason), but they're also not picking the right path in simplifying it. The parts that they distill to don't have any of the distinct flavor of WoT (at least the books I read) that sets it apart from other fantasy series, imo. Glad you guys are liking it, but it could be a lot more interesting.

On the plus side, the casting is pretty good - Moiraine and Lan got me from the first two scenes, and the kids are alright, no one is as tragic as Emilia or Kit in the first few GoT seasons. Shame the guy who plays Mat already quit the series and won't be appearing in season 2.

I knew going into the series that there were going to be changes. Some of them I wish they hadn't changed. However, knowing how the world of the Wheel of Time works, I just look at the show as an alternate turning of the wheel. I've already mentally separated it from the books in my head and am enjoying it for what it is.

I'm surprised by how good the series is so far. This last episode was pretty tough, mostly that final scene.

Agreed.  The final 10 minutes of both Ep 4 and Ep 5 were incredible, but for completely different reasons.

I'm actually quite glad I don't know the books, so I can see how all of this is going to unfold for the 5 of them, and for the political power struggle within the Sisterhood.

I'd be curious to find out from you, and from the others of you that haven't read the books, what your early predictions are for the main characters. Like, how their stories might unfold. I won't spoil anything for anyone, but I'd love to see what your thoughts are.

[Grappler]

I'm being incredibly lenient for the show - I just want to see this story come to life on the screen.  There's no way they can cram one book into 10 episodes, let alone the 8 that this season has.  I completely understand the need to condense and move the story along faster than in the books.   What matters is the feel of the show, and it feels right to me. 

[jammindude]

One thing that surprised me so far is that I’ve heard that they were going to put storylines from the first two or three books into this first season. But I haven’t seen that so far. By everything that I remember (and that’s a vague memory of reading the first four books about 10 years ago) they so far just seem to be covering the events of the first book.

If we are five episodes into an eight episode season, I don’t see how they are suddenly going to start cramming the storylines from The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn at this late stage in the game.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

One thing that surprised me so far is that I’ve heard that they were going to put storylines from the first two or three books into this first season. But I haven’t seen that so far. By everything that I remember (and that’s a vague memory of reading the first four books about 10 years ago) they so far just seem to be covering the events of the first book.

If we are five episodes into an eight episode season, I don’t see how they are suddenly going to start cramming the storylines from The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn at this late stage in the game.

I could potentially see them pulling a storyline from The Great Hunt into the first season, but nothing beyond that, unless they are planning on skipping a ton of stuff. Or reordering certain events. If they end up chopping out a massive story thread that is weaved through the entire book series, which I suspect they have, almost the entirety of book 2 can be skipped with the exception of a couple things. They've already skipped one major city in the first season, so who knows how they've rearranged the story for the show....

[Logain Ablar]

My sister and I quit watching this because they're not doing a good job being faithful to the books (within reason), but they're also not picking the right path in simplifying it. The parts that they distill to don't have any of the distinct flavor of WoT (at least the books I read) that sets it apart from other fantasy series, imo. Glad you guys are liking it, but it could be a lot more interesting.

On the plus side, the casting is pretty good - Moiraine and Lan got me from the first two scenes, and the kids are alright, no one is as tragic as Emilia or Kit in the first few GoT seasons. Shame the guy who plays Mat already quit the series and won't be appearing in season 2.

I knew going into the series that there were going to be changes. Some of them I wish they hadn't changed. However, knowing how the world of the Wheel of Time works, I just look at the show as an alternate turning of the wheel. I've already mentally separated it from the books in my head and am enjoying it for what it is.

That's where I'm at with too - it exists as a separate thread in my mind. The world created by the books will always be there, but the show is a little bit of a view into that world, even if you are only getting a limited view into that world. I wouldn't criticise any book fans that have given up on it. I totally understand, and if the show is going to spoil your enjoyment of the books, by all means kick it to the kerb.

What matters is the feel of the show, and it feels right to me. 

I wouldn't say it feels 100% right to me, but it's good enough for now and we'll see how it goes. I think the excellent casting helps, but my main worry is that we lose a lot of the depth and scale of the books, and this show just turns into "generic fantasy".

I enjoyed episode 5, but I have to say that I was a little underwhelmed by Tar Valon / The White Tower. I had imagined it to be a lot bigger, with a lot of fancy gardens and grounds, around the tower itself, with the town itself then surrounding all of that. Instead, it felt a lot more like a standard medieval city. I thought a lot of the interiors in the tower looked a bit fake, which was the first time I've really felt that about any of the sets on the show.

[jingle.boy]

I'd be curious to find out from you, and from the others of you that haven't read the books, what your early predictions are for the main characters. Like, how their stories might unfold. I won't spoil anything for anyone, but I'd love to see what your thoughts are.

It's clear all 5 of them have some form of power - maybe they're like Voltron, and it takes all 5 of them to become the dragon re-born?  I don't think we've seen the last of Logain either - considering he was a big enough impact for a DTF member to use that as his username.

[cramx3]

My gf and I watched the 5 episodes, neither of us are familiar with the books.  It's decent, but nothing special IMO.  I know it's based off the books but I can't shake how it resembles GoT and Lord of the Rings in many ways.  I don't know if the books are like that or if that's part of the TV adaptation, but it's hard to ignore that it doesn't feel very original even though I know it actually is coming from an original source.  Maybe this genre is just a bit saturated at the moment.  I also just watched The Witcher too for example (which I also wasn't crazy about). 

Having said that, it is decent and has enough intrigue to finish the season for sure.

[jingle.boy]

Cram's tastes:

Marvel - meh
Witcher - meh
Wheel of Time - meh

You're a tough man to please!

[cramx3]

Cram's tastes:

Marvel - meh
Witcher - meh
Wheel of Time - meh

You're a tough man to please!

Dune - Awesome

I'd say Wheel of Time, so far, is more interesting than the Witcher and they are fine, just don't really blow me away or feel like must see TV.  Marvel is a totally different animal as for reasons I don't enjoy it.

[Grappler]

What the Wheel of Time show hasn't done well with is explaining the WHY the main characters are important.  Just a few passing sentences about the Dark One and the Dragon Reborn, but not much about how some of them can change life around them simply by existing.  Maybe they'll get into that in the future episodes/seasons.

The series is similar to Lord of the Rings in many ways (main characters plucked out of normal life to journey and fight against evil) but the themes and worlds are very different.  Visually, the show does remind me of the LOTR films.

[Logain Ablar]

I don't think we've seen the last of Logain either - considering he was a big enough impact for a DTF member to use that as his username.

I won't say too much, but "Book Logain" did have a pretty cool story arc that I liked. Plus, I was finishing the book series around the time I signed up for DTF and was trying to come up with a name.. 

[MoraWintersoul]

I know it's based off the books but I can't shake how it resembles GoT and Lord of the Rings in many ways.  I don't know if the books are like that or if that's part of the TV adaptation, but it's hard to ignore that it doesn't feel very original even though I know it actually is coming from an original source. 

It's a bit more the other way around - Jordan was influenced by Tolkien (though he tried to slightly break up the similarities to Fellowship in the narrative in the way the first few books unfold, and the show went straight for it scene for scene instead), but he influenced Martin. Martin took the amount of characters, the scale of the world and the attention to detail more from Jordan than any other writer. I kinda cringed when there was that one scene similar to GoT in the first ep - you guys don't need to copy an adaptation of something that came after, for fuck's sake. I prefer ASOIAF by a mile (since I haven't even finished WoT), but WoT is one of its mommies, in time that should be clear enough without taking visual clues from GoT.

What the Wheel of Time show hasn't done well with is explaining the WHY the main characters are important.  Just a few passing sentences about the Dark One and the Dragon Reborn, but not much about how some of them can change life around them simply by existing.  Maybe they'll get into that in the future episodes/seasons.

They will, they have to. In the series there's this famous scene/prologue that spells it out for you what kind of person this Dragon Reborn could be - I hope they drop it at the end of the season or something, I would so tune in for that I also have to be extremely vague when I say I think it's kinda interesting what they're doing with the Dragon Reborn - maybe all the outcomes in play are just to make the first season more interesting, or maybe they're doing something totally different about the core of the narrative. Extremely vague

[jammindude]

I guess the reason why I’m focusing on the similarities to the book is because it’s been so long since I read them and there’s not a lot I remember. But when something in the show happens that strikes a familiar chord, I immediately go “oh! That happened!“

I would imagine that if you were over familiar with the storyline, you would be focusing in on the differences. But I’m immediately struck by all the things that they are showing that DID happen in the book. And it seems like quite a lot from my perspective.

[Grappler]

They will, they have to. In the series there's this famous scene/prologue that spells it out for you what kind of person this Dragon Reborn could be - I hope they drop it at the end of the season or something, I would so tune in for that I also have to be extremely vague when I say I think it's kinda interesting what they're doing with the Dragon Reborn - maybe all the outcomes in play are just to make the first season more interesting, or maybe they're doing something totally different about the core of the narrative. Extremely vague

Oh I'm sure, they haven't yet explained the concept of ta'veren.  What I've noticed is that the show is playing with the audience, and I don't really remember that from the first book.  Book readers know who the real Dragon Reborn ends up being, but the show is setting up the idea that it could be someone else.  I'm guessing the final episode will be about the events at the Eye, which will confirm it. 

I do like the little nods to a certain character's heritage as an Aiel. 

[cramx3]

I know it's based off the books but I can't shake how it resembles GoT and Lord of the Rings in many ways.  I don't know if the books are like that or if that's part of the TV adaptation, but it's hard to ignore that it doesn't feel very original even though I know it actually is coming from an original source. 

It's a bit more the other way around - Jordan was influenced by Tolkien (though he tried to slightly break up the similarities to Fellowship in the narrative in the way the first few books unfold, and the show went straight for it scene for scene instead), but he influenced Martin. Martin took the amount of characters, the scale of the world and the attention to detail more from Jordan than any other writer. I kinda cringed when there was that one scene similar to GoT in the first ep - you guys don't need to copy an adaptation of something that came after, for fuck's sake. I prefer ASOIAF by a mile (since I haven't even finished WoT), but WoT is one of its mommies, in time that should be clear enough without taking visual clues from GoT.

Interesting, but not surprising.  Kind of expected something like this given the timelines, but still, just can't shake the feeling of the similarities and I'm trying hard to not blame it on the show runners but the timing of how I watched them all.  But then some things you've written sound like they are being more blatant than necessary.

[MoraWintersoul]

What I've noticed is that the show is playing with the audience, and I don't really remember that from the first book.  Book readers know who the real Dragon Reborn ends up being, but the show is setting up the idea that it could be someone else.  I'm guessing the final episode will be about the events at the Eye, which will confirm it.

Yeah, they're really trying to create a mystery. That part of it isn't so bad, though it got a lot of book readers whining. Do you think we'll get the scene in the prologue? I just checked and they did cast the main character of that scene, but who knows if they do something else with that character instead.

But then some things you've written sound like they are being more blatant than necessary.

Just to be clear, the first part of the book does read like you're in the Shire and the idyllic scenes are interrupted similarly as far as I remember, but then they didn't have to do all the visual copying of the FotR movie. I get it, that thing is twenty years old and we like being nostalgic, but they didn't have to heighten the similarities so much.

[jammindude]

I echo the sentiments about when they first arrived at the white tower. But in the end, I thought the change was a bit more “real” for lack of a better word. The way they describe that city in the book, everything sounded so absolutely pristine so it’s to the point of almost fairytale levels. On your screen, a city like that would feel fake and not “lived in”. I thought the way it was presented came across as very real but at the same time very majestic.

[Grappler]

Yeah, they're really trying to create a mystery. That part of it isn't so bad, though it got a lot of book readers whining. Do you think we'll get the scene in the prologue? I just checked and they did cast the main character of that scene, but who knows if they do something else with that character instead.

I don't know if they'll show the whole prologue, unless they get into the backstory of who the Dragon Reborn is.  My guess is that the casting is for "voice" roles or how the Dragon Reborn sees visions of the character.