WoT Premier - Read At Your Own Risk!

[Gothic Flame]

Can anyone confirm the following:

  Reveal hidden contents

Ep 1. Attack on Two Rivers and Moiraine leaves with the 4 kids. Not Nynaeve. She is captured by trollocs instead. She, of course, kills a trolloc, escapes and then tracks the rest down, appearing later in ep 2.

Ep 2. is riding through the woods and lots of exposition, plus a first meeting with the Whitecloaks. At the end they run into Shadar Logoth. No Baelon/Min. And leaks suggest they won't meet here until Fal Dara.

Ep 3. is the aftermath of Shadar Logoth with the (briefly) separated party. Rand/Mat meet Thom, who then disappears in Ep 4. At least he does so fighting a Fade like the books. Perrin/Egwene meet the Tinkers, but no Elyas. And Lan/Nynaeve argue over an unconscious Moiraine.

Ep 4. Hoo, boy, do they really start deviating from the plot here. Moriane/Lan/Nynaeve come across Liandrin and her party escorting Logain. Liandrin keeps wanting to gentle him on the spot. But then Logain's army attacks, trying to rescue him. In the aftermath Logain is gentled and Moraine agrees to it. Yeah, that is not Moriaine at all.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ep 5. Arrive at Tar Valon. There has been no mention of Rand in Caelyn and accidently falling into the palace grounds and meeting Elayne/Elaida/etc. Whitecloaks capture Perrin/Egwene.

Ep 6. Siuan arrives in TV from Caemlyn and is a tad annoyed that Logain was gentled before arriving in TV. Liandrin blames it all on Moiraine. But of course. Mat is healed, easily, by Moiraine now rather than in later books. Meet Loial and take the ways to Fal Dara. All but Mat. Yup, he gets left behind. Guess that is how they are writing him out of the show.

 

[Borderlander]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:39 AM, TheMountain said:

Wow... I was a skeptic, but color me impressed!

Expand  

 

??? Who are you and what have you done with TheMountain? ?

[MikHael]

  On 11/16/2021 at 1:13 PM, Maximillion said:

 

Shadar Logoth within the first 2 episodes?

Did it feel rushed?

 

Expand  

Not at all. The pacing was perfect. 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

The only thing that felt rushed was the exit from the two rivers. If the gang had fought back a minute longer or snuck off like in the books it would have been better. 
 

That really the only thing I would have changed though.

 

 I went to the premier really worried/skeptical, and I thought they nailed it. So did everyone else around us. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by MikHael

[MikHael]

I took my sister and her husband to the premier and they LOVED it. 
 

Neither of them has read the books or knew anything ab the series beyond the trailer. 
 

 

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 1:13 PM, Maximillion said:

 

Shadar Logoth within the first 2 episodes?

Did it feel rushed?

 

Expand  

  Reveal hidden contents

Yes, second episode, but it actually works!

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I have to say, the first few minutes of episode one were the worst for me, where I felt like things were going off the rails. There's a scene where Liandrin says to a male channeler something like "this power is for women and you make it filthy." I absolutely hated that and it definitely did not give me confidence that the magic system would be preserved. Then Moraine starts talking about the DR, and then we cut to a shot of Egwene immediately in the hair braiding scene, which ends up feeling a bit preachy and trying too hard to be all girl-power-y.

 

But... after that uneven start and you get to the scene with Rand and Tam, you begin to get drawn into the world, and the rest of the two episodes is world class television, a good deal of it on par with early-mid GoT. I left episode two craving for more. So, if you're a book purist like me, grit your teeth through the first 10 minutes and then I suspect you'll start to enjoy yourself and forget why you were upset ?

 

Also... many of the early leaks and rumors ended up panning out. The odd thing though was that there were a couple things they got wrong, even when 90% of the leaked information was right in some cases. Part of me wonders whether some of those things were changed and reshot.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by TheMountain

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 9:25 AM, Maximillion said:

Sounds like this is quite a significant departure from the books... but enjoyable entertainment nonetheless, is that right?

 

Expand  

 

I wouldn't say its significant. There are a thousand mini departures. Little things that make your brain go "Huh...what about" but then to their credit it silences you and sucks you back in for more. 

 

The other thing is that Season 1 basically takes the first two...possibly two and a half books and "re-weaves them" shifting some events forward or backward to form a more cohesive story. I think THAT is the biggest departure. The events are there but not entirely where you expect them.

 

Its a bit early after seeing literally TWO episodes...but sofar its working. A series like this is bound to have a ton of slower character building moments. But they pace them well... Every time I got that "where is action" twinge they slapped me with some and I was sated... not unlike how for its parks Disney measured the exact amount of time a human being was willing to walk with trash before dropping it on the floor and put the bins exactly that far apart. They did their homework from series' that have come before that get mired in just...exposition...forever.

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 2:16 PM, TheMountain said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

There's a scene where Liandrin says to a male channeler something like "this power is for women and you make it filthy." 

 

Expand  

  Reveal hidden contents

So honestly there is one of the key points I actually LIKED about that scene haha. Honestly it gave me a really interesting viewpoint and feels very very Red Ajah. I am holding out hope for a Saidar Saidin explanation in either a short (Like how Moiraine describes Manetheren its very in vibe with the tv series' changes... but in the animated short...it was way closer to the verbatim book description). Or when Rand has to learn about his power to survive. But deliberately avoiding mentioning the split...by basically erasing the male half -

 

I liked that. it shows since the Breaking women have not gotten over that. I mean...calling the Dragon arrogant in thinking he could defeat the DO. As a reader of the series you and I know he was trying to save the world. Women were involved too! The plan was sound but the counterstroke was unexpected. It wasn't his fault the men went insane. But thousands of years later I feel like...only the browns...maybe the blues...they may be the only ones who know the truth. When talking about the Dragon to Rand...while Moir-y does paint him as bad you dont have any edge to it...no venom to her words.

 

Contrast that with Liandrin. she HATES when men channel. To her its an affront. They make HER power dirty. they make HER world unsafe. They could have just let women handle it and clearly the DO would be sealed and every little thing would be great and everyone would have mega cities and flying vehicles lol. Its not about the worry that a man would go insane and cause problems...she feels like they steal something sacred to her and pervert it.

 

Its honestly a lovely vibe...really is gonna stand in contrast to views of other Ajah. But should we expect less from men hunters? lol.

 

Its alot to me like how they took the Whitecloaks and in two scenes made me genuinely worry about the safety of ... literally everyone lmao.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by CaddySedai

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 1:36 PM, Gothic Flame said:

Can anyone confirm the following:

  Reveal hidden contents

Ep 1. Attack on Two Rivers and Moiraine leaves with the 4 kids. Not Nynaeve. She is captured by trollocs instead. She, of course, kills a trolloc, escapes and then tracks the rest down, appearing later in ep 2.

Ep 2. is riding through the woods and lots of exposition, plus a first meeting with the Whitecloaks. At the end they run into Shadar Logoth. No Baelon/Min. And leaks suggest they won't meet here until Fal Dara.

Ep 3. is the aftermath of Shadar Logoth with the (briefly) separated party. Rand/Mat meet Thom, who then disappears in Ep 4. At least he does so fighting a Fade like the books. Perrin/Egwene meet the Tinkers, but no Elyas. And Lan/Nynaeve argue over an unconscious Moiraine.

Ep 4. Hoo, boy, do they really start deviating from the plot here. Moriane/Lan/Nynaeve come across Liandrin and her party escorting Logain. Liandrin keeps wanting to gentle him on the spot. But then Logain's army attacks, trying to rescue him. In the aftermath Logain is gentled and Moraine agrees to it. Yeah, that is not Moriaine at all.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ep 5. Arrive at Tar Valon. There has been no mention of Rand in Caelyn and accidently falling into the palace grounds and meeting Elayne/Elaida/etc. Whitecloaks capture Perrin/Egwene.

Ep 6. Siuan arrives in TV from Caemlyn and is a tad annoyed that Logain was gentled before arriving in TV. Liandrin blames it all on Moiraine. But of course. Mat is healed, easily, by Moiraine now rather than in later books. Meet Loial and take the ways to Fal Dara. All but Mat. Yup, he gets left behind. Guess that is how they are writing him out of the show.

 

Expand  

 

So only EP 1 and 2 are in the preview. Plus a short making of scene, plus one animated short. So noone will be able to confirm anything beyond till the 19th. And even then its only thru EP 3.

 

And not exactly. through 2 noone knows how the wisdom survives. We will see in ep three.

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 1:13 PM, Maximillion said:

 

Shadar Logoth within the first 2 episodes?

Did it feel rushed?

 

Expand  

 

Like others have said, it actually doesn't. The pacing is pretty good. Other than the beginning where they do a ton of "heeeey here is everyone you should know. See? They have lives...you should like them" which had to happen SOMEWHERE lmao. That's the slowest part. Picks up from there and keeps slow mixed with action to prevent boredom.

 

It somehow feels natural though, and when you see the visuals the shots... its oh so beautiful. Even the scary bits like Trollocs hehe.

 

Speaking of, the first major One Power scene...is bonkers. So good. lol.

[TheMountain]

  Reveal hidden contents

It was mostly the way she worded it that made me think somehow the men themselves are filthy or that the corruption is on men themselves. Hopefully it's just Reds being Reds as you say, and not how things actually work.

 

The Whitecloak scenes were great, and I didn't hate their "armor" as much as I did in the promo shots. However, I see a big problem with them being made more dangerous... there's NO WAY the White Tower in the books would let that many sisters be killed without responding. In the books, if the Whitecloaks did that, the White Tower would crush them. To not create any major plot holes, the Whitecloaks need to have some major ace up their sleeves for it to be believable...

 

Another note... the last oath removes the "against the Dark One" exception, which I'm a bit worried is going to end up being either a major inconsistency, or a major change... a la the White Tower not able to fight Darkfriends unless threatened. 

 

 

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 2:54 PM, CaddySedai said:

Speaking of, the first major One Power scene...is bonkers. So good. lol.

Expand  

 

It was awesome! There were a couple parts where the CGI was a bit wonky though. I didn't say anything and my wife actually commented on that lol. I'm usually the picky one (as you can probably guess haha).

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 2:55 PM, TheMountain said:

  Reveal hidden contents

It was mostly the way she worded it that made me think somehow the men themselves are filthy or that the corruption is on men themselves. Hopefully it's just Reds being Reds as you say, and not how things actually work.

 

The Whitecloak scenes were great, and I didn't hate their "armor" as much as I did in the promo shots. However, I see a big problem with them being made more dangerous... there's NO WAY the White Tower in the books would let that many sisters be killed without responding. In the books, if the Whitecloaks did that, the White Tower would crush them. To not create any major plot holes, the Whitecloaks need to have some major ace up their sleeves for it to be believable...

 

Another note... the last oath removes the "against the Dark One" exception, which I'm a bit worried is going to end up being either a major inconsistency, or a major change... a la the White Tower not able to fight Darkfriends unless threatened. 

 

 

Expand  

  Reveal hidden contents

I will need to see how a Greenie feels about men to know for certain.

 

Hehe. Their armor has historical president and I do like how you can tell rank/assigned task by the color and shape of their little arm bubble thing lol. (I know its part of their spaulder. Its an arm bubble. Lol). Im sure they wanted to give the Aes Sedai a real series headache and the CoL always was that but in an almost inept way. Now the viewer will always be concerned when they enter frame. I can see it working when Rand runs from them eventually lol.

 

And Im sure its the simple implication that ANY servant or creature of the Dark One is an immediate threat to the sister, warder etc. So its implied that you can just use it against them. I'd say this is likely.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by CaddySedai

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:00 PM, TheMountain said:

 

It was awesome! There were a couple parts where the CGI was a bit wonky though. I didn't say anything and my wife actually commented on that lol. I'm usually the picky one (as you can probably guess haha).

Expand  

 

Yeah but I think that is just the cost of doing business with THAT much happening lol. Here and there you'll get some glitches in the Matrix lol.

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:06 PM, CaddySedai said:

  Reveal hidden contents

And Im sure its the simple implication that ANY servant or creature of the Dark One is an immediate threat to the sister, warder etc. So its implied that you can just use it against them. I'd say this is likely.

Expand  

This is what I'm hoping for!

 

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:08 PM, CaddySedai said:

 

Yeah but I think that is just the cost of doing business with THAT much happening lol. Here and there you'll get some glitches in the Matrix lol.

Expand  

 

Yeah, I think that for a TV SHOW, the CGI was great. I think the whole sequence would have been much better though without that one part with the massive stone blocks. That was the one that stood out the most.

[Gothic Flame]

  On 11/16/2021 at 2:55 PM, TheMountain said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Another note... the last oath removes the "against the Dark One" exception, which I'm a bit worried is going to end up being either a major inconsistency, or a major change... a la the White Tower not able to fight Darkfriends unless threatened. 

 

Expand  

  Reveal hidden contents

Hmm.. Liandrin revealing she's a dark friend came out quick (deliberately lying about Moiraine)

 

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 1:40 PM, Borderlander said:

 

??? Who are you and what have you done with TheMountain? ?

Expand  

Perhaps Graendal got to me! ?

[TheMountain]

  Reveal hidden contents

Also, the rumored scene where Nynaeve surprises Lan with a knife... not as jarring or unbelievable as I thought it would be. Granted, in the books I still don't see this happening, but in the show at least he was very distracted by something when it happens.

 

[themann1086]

Some things I really liked. Gonna put each point under a separate spoiler tag so it's not just a wall of text:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The unnamed male channeler and his "companion". That is some excellent groundwork/foreshadowing, and it definitely freaked out my fiancé

  Reveal hidden contents

Liandrin's lines. I mean, they're bad and I didn't like them, but we're not suppose to like her. My fiancé whispered "what a b--". Mission accomplished

  Reveal hidden contents

Rand and Egwene. In the books I never felt like they had a real romantic connection that fell apart, but boy do they here. Incredible chemistry, you feel how much they care for each other, but the cracks are there and you can tell they're probably not going to make it

  Reveal hidden contents

Speaking of chemistry, the lads! They really felt like three best friends who love and support each other.

  Reveal hidden contents

I really loved the lantern scene. Gives some really nice quick exposition to how the Wheel works that's more show than tell, and it gave us a nice emotional moment between Rand and his dad

  Reveal hidden contents

Winternight. At first I was worried because none of the shots of the Trollocs were in focus and there were a lot of quick cuts, but after a bit (and especially when Moiraine shows up) the camera settles and the cuts become longer. It made me feel like I was one of the villagers, where you're in so much shock initially that you can't focus. Glad they didn't keep it for long though

  Reveal hidden contents

The Whitecloaks. Eamon Valda especially just oozes evil. Really interested to see how they play their involvement going forward. Loved Moiraine's furious "he's not the only one who won't forget a face from today"

  Reveal hidden contents

BA'ALZAMON! The whole dream sequence was so good, definitely freaked people in the theater out

  Reveal hidden contents

HOPPER!!! I assume it's Hopper at least. Great way to introduce Perrin's affinity with them. Also, we own a German Shepherd whose sire was a Czech wolfdog, and there was definitely a resemblance! She will also try to clean your wounds. My fiancé cooed

  Reveal hidden contents

Wasn't too sold on Mashadar right up until it ATE A HORSE HOLY SH-. Definitely spooky. The whole Shadar Logoth design was incredible

  Reveal hidden contents

NYNAEVE IS A MOMMA BEAR AND YOU MESSED WITH HER CUBS. Zoe absolutely nailed it. She is Nynaeve. And if you don't take her to her kids she will slit your throat

 

Whew, ok, I think I'll take a pause here and do a separate "things I didn't like or have conflicted feelings on" post. It's honestly shorter, which is good!

[TheMountain]

You know, Nynaeve is actually the only character I'm not sold on yet. To me, she isn't like in the books at all. She's fierce, but more in a "Momma Bear" way like you said when she feels like her fellow villagers are threatened. Her famous unjustified temper isn't really present and she comes across as calm and cool-headed most of her scenes. Even in the angry ones, she's in control and doesn't say anything that comes across as hot-headed.

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:21 PM, TheMountain said:

This is what I'm hoping for!

 

 

Yeah, I think that for a TV SHOW, the CGI was great. I think the whole sequence would have been much better though without that one part with the massive stone blocks. That was the one that stood out the most.

Expand  

 

It could have been removed but its not a dealbreaker. I now consider the "Winespring Shotgun" to be my new favorite Weave ?

[CaddySedai]

By the way. Noone has mentioned it yet but:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

How bout that Taren Ferry scene lol

 

[Gothic Flame]

And how often did Moiraine show her temper?

 Cool as a cucumber in the books except for several moments that we read in the books when she was alone.

 

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:57 PM, Gothic Flame said:

And how often did Moiraine show her temper?

 Cool as a cucumber in the books except for several moments that we read in the books when she was alone.

 

Expand  

 

She is pretty calm and collected, but Rand gets a rise out of her in one scene. She is clearly upset, but more in a "I don't have time for fools" sort of way. It felt pretty faithful to me.

[TheMountain]

  On 11/16/2021 at 3:57 PM, CaddySedai said:

By the way. Noone has mentioned it yet but:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

How bout that Taren Ferry scene lol

 

Expand  

  Reveal hidden contents

I loved that scene! I did think that book Moraine would have bound the Ferryman with weaves of air so that he couldn't chase after the ferry, instead of letting him drown, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Not exactly faithful to her character in the books, but well-done nonetheless. It worked.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by TheMountain

[CaddySedai]

  On 11/16/2021 at 4:43 PM, TheMountain said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I loved that scene! I did think that book Moraine would have bound the Ferryman with weaves of air so that he couldn't chase after the ferry, instead of letting him drown, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Not exactly faithful to her character in the books, but well-done nonetheless. It worked.

 

Expand  

It let them easily show why people distrust Aes Sedai. But also that things arent exactly as everyone sees. lol.