How did the show hold up for you?

[etchambers202]

I just watched episode 8. I can't even by accident give any book spoilers because about the only thing this hot mess of a television series got right was the name of some of the characters. 

I was kind at first & initially said some good idea fairies got together & decided to try to bring these books to the small screen. Then I went lower & decided that some bad idea fairies got together & thought they were better writers than Robert Jordan.

After watching the final episode, I think/IMO a bunch of idiots got the Cliff Notes for each book, tore out a page from each one; cut them into pieces; threw the pieces into the air & then randomly grabbed 1/2 of them & tried to write 8 scripts. 

Save your money, skip the Prime series & read the books which are fantastic better.  

[fitzwell]

Start the poll again I would love to see how it scores now.  Wheel of time in name and old tongue only.  What a disgrace.

[Chivalry]

5 hours ago, Gothic Flame said:

  Hide contents

Amalisa as one of the great generals?

 

 

Lots of men died unnecessarily, I guess. 

 

The irony is that even in the book, the DR did not destroy the entire army, even channeling pure Saidin. His actions were enough, however, to inspire the exhausted Shienarans to rally and destroy the remnants of the Trolloc army ("The Light wills it!"). Confusing as it may have started, that was one of the great sequences of the series, IMHO. 

[Sabio]

Why not have the five women at the Gap Fortress?  Problem solved since they took out the army so easily.  

[Chivalry]

So...overall, I enjoyed the series, but Episode 8 left a bad taste in my mouth. 

 

I hate to make the inevitable comparison to GOT. I'm not attached to GOT, as I never read the books (quit during the 1st book). I much prefer Robert Jordan's world building, overall tone of the books, the characters, and the themes.  Also, I appreciate that Rafe (in his adaptation) hasn't felt the pull to bludgeon us with those gratuitous sex and rape scenes (seriously, thanks...) which HBO seems to equate with serious filmmaking.

 

But one thing the GOT series had was that "WOW" factor. I'm not talking about just water cooler hype, or competent CGI...I'm talking about scenes that generated genuine wonder and awe and resonated with viewers long after the episodes finished. There are potentially plenty of those moments in the WOT books, including The Eye of the World. I don't expect all viewers to agree with me, but thus far, I haven't seen many of those moments on the screen...a few, but also a number of missed opportunities.

 

I think the Blood Snow scene definitely qualifies...it transported me to a mythical moment, filling in details I hadn't imagined, augmenting the basic outline of this story (thus even improving on the book). It felt like one of the great moments from the GOT show. I hoped for something like that in Episode 8, but did not feel the show delivered.

I remain hopeful that Season 2 delivers more on this promise.

[TheSmurf]

Votes as a book fan:

Hated. 

 

Trying to be objective about the quality of the show (rather than comparing  to the original):

Decidedly Meh. 

[DaddyFinn]

I love the first season. It is WoT for me even with the changes. I'm very excited for season 2.

[fra85uk]

6 hours ago, Sabio said:

Why not have the five women at the Gap Fortress?  Problem solved since they took out the army so easily.  

Well just Nyn and Eg 

 

When one of them dies, the other heals and so on...

[Gothic Flame]

"Do you know what that lack-wit Seaghan's done now, girl?" Thom said, looking down at her. "He's taken on a pack of louts who call themselves 'players.' They walk around pretending to be Rogosh Eagle-eye, and Blaes, and Gaidal Cain, and...Aaagh! They hang a scrap of painted canvas behind them, supposed to make the audience believe these fools are in Matuchin Hall, or the high passes of the Mountains of Dhoom. I make the listener see every banner, smell every battle, feel every emotion. I make them believe they are Gaidal Cain. Seaghan will have his hall torn down around his ears if he puts this lot on to follow me."

------

And this is what we have now.

A cheap fake.

[EduardoEnriqueGonzalez]

This thread and poll is completely pointless now. Might as well lock it.

 

End of the show deserves it's own thread and poll.

Edited December 24, 2021 by EduardoEnriqueGonzalez

[Raal Gurniss]

Would say it was mediocre…But I am not going to be that generous!

 

For me it was a disappointment, it would have been a massive disappointment but I had low expectations to start with.

[TheMountain]

56 minutes ago, EduardoEnriqueGonzalez said:

This thread and poll is completely pointless now. Might as well lock it.

 

End of the show deserves it's own thread and poll.

Agreed. I want to change my vote now.

[JenniferL]

That’s not a bad idea. I’ll probably do that later today if I see everyone has calmed down a bit from last night. 

[WheelofJuke]

How did the show hold up, after sticking it out for a full season on the recommendations of others who said, "It'll get better..."???

 

[MasterAblar]

It's good but not great basically. 1st seasons are often pretty rough. Had the execution for the last episode been better I'd feel pretty good about it, but since it wasn't I'm satisfied but no more. Season 2 has a lot of work to do, particularly with Perrin and Mat.

[calmas55]

I think it's a good start. It was never going to be easier condensing the books down. I think there is a foundation for much better episode going forward.

[MasterAblar]

10 minutes ago, calmas55 said:

I think it's a good start. It was never going to be easier condensing the books down. I think there is a foundation for much better episode going forward.

 

Agreed, and the 1st book was probably the roughest to adapt in the first place. It's no perfect by any mean, there are very much flaws and unforced errors, but I think it's sufficient to get people engaged and excited for what comes next.

Edited December 24, 2021 by MasterAblar

[fitzwell]

1 hour ago, MasterAblar said:

 

Agreed, and the 1st book was probably the roughest to adapt in the first place. It's no perfect by any mean, there are very much flaws and unforced errors, but I think it's sufficient to get people engaged and excited for what comes next.

 

Um the first book was a car chase and should have been easy to adapt to TV.   I get there is a lot of thinking in the books that doesn't translate but they did LoTR well cutting pieces that get off topic.  The chase should have focused on Rand/Mat and with the other sub plots going on.  Aes Sedai are not the stars of the books the core of the story is the five from Edmunds field.  Imagine a show that could have been around Mat/Rand on the run and the night in 4 kings?  The first time Rand knowingly channels and watching Mat slowly sink.  

 

IMO the first book was good enough...  The show writers have an agenda that the books are conforming to that is where the issue lies.

[SingleMort]

I'd be curious to know where the poll stood before episode 8 aired and where it stood after to see if there was any significant change? 

[Skipp]

9 hours ago, DaddyFinn said:

I love the first season. It is WoT for me even with the changes. I'm very excited for season 2.

Same

[TheSmurf]

I voted after today's episode... By the thread title, we should have waited till end of S8 (or cancelation) before we vote. I guess I only feel a little dumber than those who voted before Ep8 ?

[Cellardur]

Slow start, but really strong middle with a terrible finale, which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. 

 

To fix season 2. There needs to be a few things done.

 

1. Get Amazon to extend the length of the episodes or at the very least make it 10 episodes per season. In truth at least 12 is needed.

 

2. Don't deter from the story. Spend the first episode correcting the mistakes of the Season finale. Have Lioel find Rand and pass on the message that Matt needs him to find the dagger. Have Rand then join the hunt for the dagger separately with Lioel and maybe Hurin. This allows for Rands  story to pretty much be the same. Have the new Matt somehow turn up where Fain is, he was being drawn by the dagger, get beaten up and left for dead near the Border Lands. Have him be spotted by Perrin and then healed by Verin on their way on the Hunt. Have Verin say that the evil in the dagger has taken root too deeply and Morraine's healing was only temporary.  It needs more Aes Sedai working together to heal him and he will die without the dagger.

 

First episode has correct the mistakes of the Season finale and set things back on track. The book can now pretty much progress on track with fewer changes. 

 

Better CGI hopefully Perrin and Ergwene's acting performances suffered due to Covid. Get them back up to scratch.

 

I think with 4 extra episodes they can correct a lot of mistakes and give the series time to breathe. The best episodes for me were 4 and 5 where they actually took time over the story and did not rush things. 

 

Lan and Morraine are both now well established and well liked. Nyneave is either loved or hated, but her character is well established. 

 

Focus this series on Perrin, Matt and Rand's development. Also introduce Elayne. Verin and Lan can give Perrin the basics of Elias' story. Then Perrin can spend the rest of the show dealing with this and the Way of the Leave, finally deciding to pick up his axe again in the finale, but not fully embracing being a Wolf brother.

 

I was speaking to some people pure show watches and with the bonus animations etc a lot of the world building has already been established. A lot of information and world building has sunk it. So they can really havve this series take off.

 

[Wassup]

I have to watch the last episode again to form a less biased opinion of the show. I will probably watch season 2 because I want more WoT. I will most likely not follow any production news before the season airs like I did for this. 
 

I am hoping it is like Star Trek, The Next Generation in that season 1 was not a stellar season (sets were not great, writing had issues, some actors/characters were weak) but it turned into a great show that improved mightily and went on for seven seasons. 

[rowdie]

It's simple really.   There's a great book series with a really cool world and one heck of a story.   People really liked it.   So JUST TELL THE STORY!!!  Is it that hard?   Why mess with it?    Rafe is basically redoing the whole thing...WHY??

[Chivalry]

13 hours ago, MasterAblar said:

It's good but not great basically. 1st seasons are often pretty rough. Had the execution for the last episode been better I'd feel pretty good about it, but since it wasn't I'm satisfied but no more. Season 2 has a lot of work to do, particularly with Perrin and Mat.

 

Well, Fain told Perrin that all 5 of them have a role to play, so I'm gonna have to hope that Rafe and company find some time to develop their characters. This was the weakest part of Season One for me, and a few tweaks could have helped prevent this (Perrin actually dealing a blow to the White Cloaks, having a wolf dream, etc). Probably saving that for Season 2, but still...