tv show spoilers S1E8: The Eye of the World

[Chivalry]

4 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

The tsunami was a bit overkill but oh well, it leaves an impression for sure

I didn't mind the tsunami. I felt it demonstrated another use for the One Power without requiring any exposition.

 

It also helps lay the groundwork for how the Seanchan manage to overwhelm nations so effortlessly. They're doing things with the One Power the AS are too moral to contemplate (given the 3 Oaths). Traditional armies have no chance.

 

Lastly, this postscript scene gives me hope the WOT team may get more right than wrong in the next season.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Chivalry

[Cellardur]

25 minutes ago, VooDooNut said:

I actually can't stand Martin Freeman or The Hobbit Trilogy, so they complement one another perfectly. ?

I thought he was brilliant in the role and perfectly captured Bilbo.

 

However, the Hobbit and the LoTR trilogy show the difficulty of adaptation. Despite ludicrous things like the love trilogy the Hobbit trilogy is actually the one which is a lot more faithful and true to the books especially when it comes to characters, plot and themes. You can edit the Hobbit trilogy into an incredibly faithful film to the books no chance with the LoTR.

[Gothic Flame]

12 minutes ago, Chivalry said:

I'm putting this moment up there with the non-AS chain of destruction in Tarwin's Gap. I felt that both these scenes (or actually the whole extended scene) only diminished the AS, who spend decades in training and yet struggle to defend themselves against random Trolloc attacks, or heal critical injuries, etc. It did not feel earned.

 

Also, we've already seen a miraculous healing, in Episode 4. If it keeps happening, is it that miraculous? 

It does seem to indicate that "wilders" are more formidable that those that are Tower-trained 

[Chivalry]

10 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

Anyone else feel like the damane are so much more unnerving with the mouthgags? I like it.

One of the things that really stands out for me in the books is how the Seanchan view the Damane as little more than animals...how they speak to them, feed them, discipline them, reward them, even petting them.

 

The mouth gags help convey that sense of dehumanization perfectly, IMHO. 

[Gothic Flame]

7 minutes ago, Chivalry said:

Lastly, this postscript scene gives me hope the WOT team may get more right than wrong in the next season.

Women wearing ball-gags are a flip of the coin as to right or wrong.

[RhienneAgain]

38 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr.com/wheel-of-time-rafe-judkins-interview/amp/

 

Gawyn confirmed lmao

 

 

 

That quote on Nynaeve and Egwene really worries me. It feels like a bit misunderstanding of the relationship between Egwene and Nynaeve from the books 

[Frenata]

5 minutes ago, Cellardur said:

I thought he was brilliant in the role and perfectly captured Bilbo.

 

However, the Hobbit and the LoTR trilogy show the difficulty of adaptation. Despite ludicrous things like the love trilogy the Hobbit trilogy is actually the one which is a lot more faithful and true to the books especially when it comes to characters, plot and themes. You can edit the Hobbit trilogy into an incredibly faithful film to the books no chance with the LoTR.

 

Right. I feel about the films as released much like the most show-hostile opinions in this thread, but there are at least two really solid fan edits: "The Tolkein Cut" and "The Bilbo Cut".

[TheMountain]

43 minutes ago, Ryan al'Thor said:

Will Dumai Wells even be recognizable?

No, I would bet good money on it being nothing like the books. With the narrative the show is constantly pushing (the arrogance of men is why we can't have nice things), there is no way Aes Sedai are going to be overpowered or to "kneel or be knelt."

Edited December 24, 2021 by TheMountain

[LordyLord]

stll so angry with the finale

 

trying to write a proper review but so mad?

[Gothic Flame]

Just now, TheMountain said:

No, I would bet good money on it being nothing like the books. With the narrative the show is pushing, there is no way Aes Sedai are going to be overpowered or to "kneel or be knelt."

Pfft...black coats that are far stronger in the power... I mean...men...? 

Hell no.

[Finfolfin]

19 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

Anyone else feel like the damane are so much more unnerving with the mouthgags? I like it.

Not so sure. I like the leash look. The way the were treated like dogs to be patted on the heads and given treats , it added to the dehumanisation of the damane

[TheMountain]

9 minutes ago, Finfolfin said:

Not so sure. I like the leash look. The way the were treated like dogs to be patted on the heads and given treats , it added to the dehumanisation of the damane

100% this is why it was removed.

[VooDooNut]

I wonder if that little girl will actually survive the giant wave (by channeling) and then this will introduce us to how damane are "acquired" with the opening of season 2. Then, ~7 seasons later, we see the same girl, a few years older, fully obedient under the control of the Seanchan. It just seems like there must be some justification for a wave being summoned to kill one little girl.

 

[Finfolfin]

1 minute ago, VooDooNut said:

I wonder if that little girl will actually survive the giant wave (by channeling) and then this will introduce us to how damane are "acquired" with the opening of season 2. Then, ~7 seasons later, we see the same girl, a few years older, fully obedient under the control of the Seanchan. It just seems like there must be some justification for a wave being summoned to kill one little girl.

 

That would be decent, i would actually like this....but i have a feeling the whole tsunami was just 'le Seanchan bad' and nothing more. Please go and work at Amazon and save us

[Lurker_Fan]

16 minutes ago, LordyLord said:

stll so angry with the finale

 

trying to write a proper review but so mad?

I’m with you 

[Gothic Flame]

4 minutes ago, TheMountain said:

100% this is why it was removed.

Let me add to that; recall how they spoke...when they spoke.

[MiriSedai]

I really want to like this TV series. I had such high hopes, but as it goes on, I'm becoming slightly disappointed. There is no depth to these characters at all. I feel no connection to any of them. Why are they making Matt so dark? Moiraine gentled??? Tracking a tell? A love triangle between Rand, Perrin and Egwene? I get there needs to be a few change ups from the book but it doesn't feel like the world of WoT, its like I'm just watching some random fantasy series with great cinematography but really poor acting. 

[dwn]

The Seanchan introduction was just kind of nonsensical. I'd have likely had the girl see the red sails on the horizon and left it there. To really give the Seanchan impact they needed to fight someone--anyone--other than an eight-year-old on an empty coast.

 

The redesign of the a'dam is odd as well. It's likely to better telegraph it on screen, but I don't like the way it turned out. Perhaps the collar+leash+bracelet wasn't visible enough, or posed safety/logistical problems. Also, we know the leash isn't integral to the a'dam, so maybe they'll use them in different contexts. Overall it's the same problem I have with the design of the great serpent rings: to be believable on-screen a design needs to be plausibly functional. These were visually confusing, at best.

[movieguru]

2 hours ago, TheDreadReader said:

 

Save for all those who have read and enjoyed the books and understand the tv show just fine. ?

 

Really? Jordan was a master story teller. He is right now turning over in his grave. No way this gets written like this if he was alive. Making the capture of Logain a major focus when it is mostly mentioned in passing in the first book. This took up huge amounts of story arc that could have been devoted to keeping the show more on track with the book. What purpose exactly did having Moraine and Nynaeve there with Logain when they weren't? Just a lot of unnecessary stuff put in that runs contrary to Jordan's vision of his world. Or not.

[Hudson]

1 hour ago, WheelofJuke said:

I'll add to this the BBC's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett. Masterfully done, one of my all-time favorite adaptations. 

 

BBC's 80s Narnia stuff was pretty decent IIRC...

Second that for Jeremy Brett.  Just watched Hound of Baskervilles and The Sign of Four earlier this week with my boys. Love him!

[Ryan al'Thor]

Hopefully S2 has been planned out in an intelligent manner. I also hope that Rafe can swallow his pride and see some of the fair criticisms as constructive.

[Yojimbo]

16 minutes ago, Hudson said:

Second that for Jeremy Brett.  Just watched Hound of Baskervilles and The Sign of Four earlier this week with my boys. Love him!

Good to know.  Been wondering if it was any good.  My wife and I have both read every SH story multiple times.  Loved the Cumberpatch reimagining (the first two seasons anyway).   Still love Basil Rathbone the most though.   

[Cellardur]

45 minutes ago, movieguru said:

Really? Jordan was a master story teller. He is right now turning over in his grave. No way this gets written like this if he was alive. Making the capture of Logain a major focus when it is mostly mentioned in passing in the first book. This took up huge amounts of story arc that could have been devoted to keeping the show more on track with the book. What purpose exactly did having Moraine and Nynaeve there with Logain when they weren't? Just a lot of unnecessary stuff put in that runs contrary to Jordan's vision of his world. Or not.

I disagree with this. The capture of Logain was another really good episode and accomplished a lot. 

 

I get the criticism that they could have focused the development on the main characters, but this episode worked for so many reasons.

 

It gave the viewer a quick understanding of the madness when using saidin. Apart from the other things, which could have been accomplished in other ways this was excellent world building. They episode gave so much exposition to the viewer about Warders, the Aes Sedai, the bond, the false dragons and gave an indication of how strong the Dragon reborn would be.

 

This is just my opinion change for the sake of change, change that alters characters for no reason, changes that don't work, changes that alter the theme of the books etc.

 

I am completely against this. The only criticism of this is that the time could have been spent on the main characters.

 

However, again how much character development can Mat get whilst he is sick? The first two books are fresh in my head. 

 

I can watch the show and there's not much more character development I get from reading the books about Nynaeve, Ergwene or Matt.

 

It's Rand, mostly his identity crisis about Tam and especially Perrin that really suffer.

 

In fact to drive this point home. I remember asking my cousin who got me into the books who his favourite character was. He said Mat. I asked "why Mat doesn't really do much." He agreed and said "yeh I suppose you are right, but keep reading and you will love him."

Edited December 24, 2021 by Cellardur

[TheMountain]

25 minutes ago, Ryan al'Thor said:

Hopefully S2 has been planned out in an intelligent manner. I also hope that Rafe can swallow his pride and see some of the fair criticisms as constructive.

Fat chance of that happening. His Q&A saying that he knew all along he was going to lose hardcore book fans tells me that he is doubling down.

[pretty_blossom]

4 hours ago, Dreamwalker said:

I actually think this part was necessary and important to have at this point in the story. I would have had Nynaeve club Amalisa over the head when she wouldn't let go to skip the weird healing bit, but overall I thought it was good they depicted burning out.

 

Many have complained even in this thread about female Aes Sedai and channeling being too powerful in the show. Showing people burning out introduces the stakes and consequences of channeling, something the books explain through internal thoughts of fearing it happening, but this was a way to 'show, not tell' the concept.

 

This concept of burning yourself out needed to be introduced at this point because in the storyline Egwene and Nynaeve (and Elayne) are about to start their Tower training, probably in the very next episode. This sets a lot of the stakes in that plotline around the danger while you learn to channel.

Burning yourself is a big possibility. Burning others linked to you in a circle is stated in the books as impossible - the link buffers the people in it - they can't even draw to their regular limit in a circle. I accept changes to the books when it's necessary, but this doesn't seem important to burn everybody else aside from Amelisa herself - when we get to the seafolk learning circles, the point comes up.