The Show Has Been Cancelled

[Cipher]

9 minutes ago, Elder_Haman said:

But he didn’t hear the louder, more consistent, complaints about favoring Egwene? Why would he fix one and not the other? 
 

Oh I think S1 had louder complaints about Nyn overall, but ya that ending was crap too.

[Cipher]

On 5/29/2025 at 12:38 PM, Elder_Haman said:

These AI scientists are like the scientists in Jurassic Park, more interested in whether they can do something than whether they should do something. AI will end humanity.

Only if we keep feeding it media and stories that say humans are evil monsters that the universe is better off without. E.g. Prometheus 

[Cipher]

On 5/30/2025 at 1:06 AM, fearbrog said:

How it's in jest if he literally turned straight characters gay?

I think Uno was victim to this line of thought as well.  First Rafe took the likable Uno and made him contemptible and them killed him unceremoniously.

[Sabio]

Uno's death was classic.  

[Mailman]

1 hour ago, Sabio said:

Uno's death was classic.  

I actually laughed when it happened. 

Only actor worse than Napier in the series.

[fearbrog]

18 hours ago, Elder_Haman said:

But he didn’t hear the louder, more consistent, complaints about favoring Egwene? Why would he fix one and not the other? 

Because Egwene is his favourite character. There is no power in the world to force him to make her look less relevant. Even global pandemic, which used by some fans as get out of jail free card to first season, didn't push him to change e8, Egwene needed to be center of attention, so she performed literal miracle. I even think "Who's dragon" was born from brainstorming how to make Egwene more important than Rand. So by pretending everyone equally could be Dragon, Rafe had chance to correct injustice and let Egg shine as she shoud. If only they didn't have star power behind Moiraine, different character would be main focus

[WoTwasThat]

Another big problem - aside from the terrible adaptation - is the show just looked so cheaply produced and yet somehow cost a fortune to make. 
 

Here is a good example. Taken right from the show…

 

Good Lord. That is the fakest damned pyre I’ve ever seen. And everything looks too clean, too staged. The whole show looked like this. Why?

[Sabio]

22 hours ago, Mailman said:

I actually laughed when it happened. 

Only actor worse than Napier in the series.

It was like thy won't kill anyone, ohh damn they killed Uno in the most brutal way.  Then they made him a hero and pretty much ruined the death.

[Cipher]

20 hours ago, fearbrog said:

Because Egwene is his favourite character. There is no power in the world to force him to make her look less relevant. Even global pandemic, which used by some fans as get out of jail free card to first season, didn't push him to change e8, Egwene needed to be center of attention, so she performed literal miracle. I even think "Who's dragon" was born from brainstorming how to make Egwene more important than Rand. So by pretending everyone equally could be Dragon, Rafe had chance to correct injustice and let Egg shine as she shoud. If only they didn't have star power behind Moiraine, different character would be main focus

I love Egwene’s story arc in the books.  Her battles for the White Tower are epic and a high point for Sanderson’s books.  Though her elevation to rebel Amyrlin is one of the hardest plot points to suspend disbelief.

 

But there was never any idea in my mind that Rand must be set aside so that Egwene can be elevated.

 

Why?!

[Cipher]

11 hours ago, Sabio said:

It was like thy won't kill anyone, ohh damn they killed Uno in the most brutal way.  Then they made him a hero and pretty much ruined the death.

Rafe’s Uno seemed like a turd—how is a hero of the horn?  He showed no battle sense when he was ready to die fighting the Seanchan for no purpose.

 

But honestly his death was pretty good.  I liked book Uno, but TV Uno could be killed and was the “someone must die to show how ruthless the Seanchan are” example.

Edited June 20 by Cipher

[Samt]

6 hours ago, Cipher said:

Rafe’s Uno seemed like a turd—how is a hero of the horn?  He showed no battle sense when he was ready to die fighting the Seanchan for no purpose.

 

But honestly his death was pretty good.  I liked book Uno, but TV Uno could be killed and was the “someone must die to show how ruthless the Seanchan are” example.

Uno is a masculine archetype that Rafe either didn’t understand or didn’t want to develop.  It’s just one of many examples of Rafe wanted to rewrite the story the way he wanted it to be rather than adapt the story as it was.

[RextheDog]

On 6/20/2025 at 6:22 AM, WoTwasThat said:

Another big problem - aside from the terrible adaptation - is the show just looked so cheaply produced and yet somehow cost a fortune to make. 
 

Here is a good example. Taken right from the show…

 

Good Lord. That is the fakest damned pyre I’ve ever seen. And everything looks too clean, too staged. The whole show looked like this. Why?

 

I had a theory more based on hope than anything, which will never be proved either way, but my theory was the show started so clean and simple becuase that is how the early books were written, simplistic fantasy with characters with fairly basic stories......theres many theories as to why the books got so much better as they progressed and im not here to discuss them, but my theory was that as the show progressed, it would get deeper and darker as per the books doing the same....

 

it started to head in this direction in season three and i was secretly hoping it had found its feet around the same time Jordan did in the books.....

 

it was just a theory and im not trying to say Jordans books were as simple as the show, just a progression into a deeper told story...

 

hence why the sets looked so clean, to Mimic that 'simplistic' world view... 

[WoTwasThat]

31 minutes ago, RextheDog said:

 

I had a theory more based on hope than anything, which will never be proved either way, but my theory was the show started so clean and simple becuase that is how the early books were written, simplistic fantasy with characters with fairly basic stories......theres many theories as to why the books got so much better as they progressed and im not here to discuss them, but my theory was that as the show progressed, it would get deeper and darker as per the books doing the same....

 

it started to head in this direction in season three and i was secretly hoping it had found its feet around the same time Jordan did in the books.....

 

it was just a theory and im not trying to say Jordans books were as simple as the show, just a progression into a deeper told story...

 

hence why the sets looked so clean, to Mimic that 'simplistic' world view... 

 

LOL dude that is a charitable take! But props for optimism.

[Kaleb]

31 minutes ago, RextheDog said:

 

I had a theory more based on hope than anything, which will never be proved either way, but my theory was the show started so clean and simple becuase that is how the early books were written, simplistic fantasy with characters with fairly basic stories......theres many theories as to why the books got so much better as they progressed and im not here to discuss them, but my theory was that as the show progressed, it would get deeper and darker as per the books doing the same....

 

it started to head in this direction in season three and i was secretly hoping it had found its feet around the same time Jordan did in the books.....

 

it was just a theory and im not trying to say Jordans books were as simple as the show, just a progression into a deeper told story...

 

hence why the sets looked so clean, to Mimic that 'simplistic' world view... 

I absolutely thought the same thing. The increasing griminess would be another way to show the Dark One's touch on the world, to make it feel like the world is falling apart and the situation is becoming more and more hopeless. 

[Mailman]

2 hours ago, Kaleb said:

I absolutely thought the same thing. The increasing griminess would be another way to show the Dark One's touch on the world, to make it feel like the world is falling apart and the situation is becoming more and more hopeless. 

Not sure about that Emonds Field was basically a dank hovel in the show absolutely nothing like the image I had from the books.

[Kaleb]

2 hours ago, Mailman said:

Not sure about that Emonds Field was basically a dank hovel in the show absolutely nothing like the image I had from the books.

Mat's home was definitely a hovel, everything else about Emond's Field seemed well within the image I had from the books.

 

Anyway, my comment was primarily in response to the "everything is too clean" complaints, so if that's not you then no need to make it so.

[Jaccsen]

17 hours ago, RextheDog said:

 

I had a theory more based on hope than anything, which will never be proved either way, but my theory was the show started so clean and simple becuase that is how the early books were written, simplistic fantasy with characters with fairly basic stories......theres many theories as to why the books got so much better as they progressed and im not here to discuss them, but my theory was that as the show progressed, it would get deeper and darker as per the books doing the same....

 

it started to head in this direction in season three and i was secretly hoping it had found its feet around the same time Jordan did in the books.....

 

it was just a theory and im not trying to say Jordans books were as simple as the show, just a progression into a deeper told story...

 

hence why the sets looked so clean, to Mimic that 'simplistic' world view... 

It's not a bad theory but, if true, shows the writers did not understand the Age. The Dark One has been touching the world since the Bore. Ishmael was loose for 3000 years. The world had steadily decayed for the entire period from the Age of Legends, to the Ten Nations, Artur Hawkwing, to present. It was Rand, as the Dragon Reborn, that changed the decline.

 

So, the world was steeped in growing darkness until the Lord of the Morning returned.

[WoTwasThat]

Found this article describing what I saw:

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2021/11/21/the-wheel-of-times-biggest-problem-seems-totally-avoidable/

 

Quote

The Wheel Of Time’s Biggest Problem Seems Totally Avoidable

I’ve already written a fairly long and detailed review of the first episodes of The Wheel Of Time on Amazon Prime. I’m also penning recaps for individual episodes (you can read the first one here).

 

But I wanted to address one big problem I have with the show that I’ve received some pushback over from some readers (while others wholeheartedly agree). In my review and in my YouTube review I note that everything feels very clean, as though it’s never been lived in. The village of Emond’s Field looks too much like a set.

Nothing feels real, it all feels sort of fake. My colleague Paul Tassi messaged me after starting the show: “Why does this show look so low budget?”

 

And that’s the thing. It’s not that everyone is too clean necessarily—it’s not any one thing I can pinpoint exactly. The whole thing just feels super low budget. And that’s crazy, right? Because Amazon is reportedly spending $10 million per episode, but this looks Legend of the Seeker, not at all on par with Game Of Thrones or The Witcher.

 

I think a lot of this comes down to cinematography and editing / post-production. It’s also, to some degree, the special effects. Magic looks fine, but things like the Trollocs (man-beast fill-ins for orcs) look like they’ve been plucked from another decade. The real culprit, though, I believe is the cinematography.

Maybe a different filter or choice of cameras would help. But right now everything is so vivid it makes costumes and sets look like costumes and sets. This is similar, if not identical, to the problem you get when your TV has the “true motion” setting (called different things on different sets I believe) which results in the “soap opera effect.”

 

That’s caused when a TV’s settings play back video at a refresh rate higher than the source material via something called motion interpolation. Even the best-looking show will suddenly look fake—ironically, the attempt to make it look more real removes all the camera trickery that makes sets and costumes not look like sets and costumes.

 

Weirdly, The Wheel of Time and its producers have managed to somehow give the show its own version of the soap opera effect, which makes everything just too vivid fake looking. I do think without this effect, the sets and costumes (which are very detailed!) would look much better.

 

[Kaleb]

2 hours ago, Jaccsen said:

It's not a bad theory but, if true, shows the writers did not understand the Age. The Dark One has been touching the world since the Bore. Ishmael was loose for 3000 years. The world had steadily decayed for the entire period from the Age of Legends, to the Ten Nations, Artur Hawkwing, to present. It was Rand, as the Dragon Reborn, that changed the decline.

 

So, the world was steeped in growing darkness until the Lord of the Morning returned.

And that growing darkness notably accelerated in the very brief timeline of the books. In the very first scenes in Emond's Field, the characters are talking about the exceptionally harsh winter. And then it got truly crazy for the next 18 months or so. The show writers understood this all very well.

[Bodewhin]

Interesting, some found the show to look too clean? That certainly isn't the word I'd use - like Emond's Field looked rather grunge imo. Like a dreary mining town in upstate Oregon. Which is interesting if you consider RJ joking about living in the Two Rivers (Charleston, South Carolina) - looking at the rural areas between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, I totally see the inspiration matching the book atmosphere which was starkly different in the show. 

 

Personally speaking - despite my disconnect of how the show displayed (and in most cases deviated) from the source material, the production values, I could have accepted if the core character, themes and story adaptivity been handled differently.

 

The cast was like that for me. I actually liked a lot of the actors fine, and others I might have been okay with had the characters been written like their book counterparts - (with some exceptions like Min, Kae Alexander did not work for me at all, period). 

 

IMO The Blight and The Ways were poorly executed - but from what I gather there was some Covid blame to explain why it was the way it was? Something about both felt cheap. 

 

My biggest complaint with the production is probably just the lack of differences and loss of distinctive cultures that plays a large role in the books. It made the world feel small, and WOT's setting is anything but small. One place felt much like another imo.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 25 by Bodewhin

[Cipher]

On 6/25/2025 at 12:19 PM, Bodewhin said:

- (with some exceptions like Min, Kae Alexander did not work for me at all, period). 

 

 

 

 

The woman who played Faile almost looked exactly like the Min from my imagination.  May be a little younger.

[Maximillion]

On 6/18/2025 at 9:11 PM, Elder_Haman said:

You’re going to have to defend this statement. Because I will argue that nearly every gripe you have about the show can be traced back to that plot choice. 

 

I tend to agree with you on that decision being the root cause of the shows failure.

I distinctly remember my own excitement level being 11/10 when I first saw the show announced - and then I remember vividly the sinking feeling when I saw the opening scene of season 1.

I was still interested in watching, but I was from that point on - perhaps unfairly - looking out for stuff that was being injected into the story to align with modern life and societal issues/hot topics.

 

[Prowler]

I just finished reading all but the last book when the tv series was announced. I was so excited until I watched it. I didn't want it canceled, just fixed. There were so many inconsistencies that as a fresh reader drove me nuts. Just like Eragon. Watched the movie thought it was great, read the books and realized what all the hate was about. 

[Andra]

On 6/24/2025 at 8:26 PM, Kaleb said:

Mat's home was definitely a hovel, everything else about Emond's Field seemed well within the image I had from the books.

 

Anyway, my comment was primarily in response to the "everything is too clean" complaints, so if that's not you then no need to make it so.

What is this "Emond's Field" people keep mentioning?

Mat, et al lived in a town called "Two Rivers," not a village called "Emond's Field."  😕

 

Seriously, Rafe couldn't even keep the name of their home village the same.  The words "Emond's Field" appear nowhere in the show.  Which makes one of the good things in the show - the song "Sing of (or Weep for) Manetheren" mean a lot less than it should.

Edited Thursday at 01:15 AM by Andra