No I was merely pedantically pointing out the inaccuracy of comparing any argument to "Hitler made the trains run on time." since Hitler was not famed for making the trains run on time at all. My comment had no intended relevance to the argument in progress, it was merely pedantry for its own sake - and what better purpose could it have had. For avoidance of doubt this comment also has no wider relevance.

Is it confirmed that "Great Lord" is not ever used as an address for any other entity?

You mean sort of like how literally any WoT show would have increased the exposure of the WoT IP? So you're saying it was actually a good analogy.

Glad liked it. It was not even accurate Reductio ad hitlerum. Mussolini made the Italian trains run on time (or more accurately he was just credited with doing so and actually failed), the German trains already did so.

I thought it was deliberately intended to show just how little the Children actually know about Darkfriends.

Glad to hear all the birthday things were amazing and awesome! *squishes the work busy and crazy (unless it's a good type)!* ??

So my birthday dinner was amazing and awesome. Went to a steakhouse and it was awesome. Now work has been busy and crazy of course. How is everybody else doing?

Glad liked it.

but... ...you did agree?

"(b) Mat wasn’t very well formed by this point in the books either. " I respectfully disagree with the above statement, and your follow up comment did not sway me. 🙂

Example of gatekeeping.

About which part?

For this one, just in case anyone is wondering, it is funny because the guy doesn't hear what the girl says and that is really funny.

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree here. 😉

I feel a little sad as I wanted to check if this really was Dick King-Smith, and found out he died in 2011. That just shouldn't be allowed.

I'm not saying he wasn't an 'established character', I'm saying that his personality wasn't fully formed by this point in the books. RJ was still trying to figure out what to do with him. To your point about where he was 'by this point in the books': We have seen him being an avid gambler and carouser. And we've seen him go through some of his arc with the dagger. He 'escaped' Tar Valon here too. So all we are missing is 'masterful quarterstaff user' and 'humorous post-healing eating sequence'. So it doesn't seem like we're too far off. And that's before acknowledging that we lost 3 episodes of Mat content when Barney Harris left the show.

What?! By this point in the books, Mat is established as a masterful quarterstaff user, an avid gambler and carouser, has his arc with the dagger and humorous post-healing eating sequence, is persuaded to "escape" Tar Valon, et al. He's not full-on Mat yet, but he's still Mat. Definitely an established character by this point in the books. Sorry.

Reductio ad hitlerum, really? Godwin's Law now in play!

Gatekeeping aside, this argument feels a bit like, "Hitler made the trains run on time." It's no doubt that the show has increased the reach and engagement of WoT books and IP in general. But a faithful adaptation would have done that, too. Just like the holocaust didn't make the trains run on time.

"Will ye be binding me fast while you call for the Watch? No?" Eb grit her teeth at the combination of the Illianer's drama, sarcasm and disregard for her actions against those smaller than herself. The woman snorted and moved for her spear, head down. Eb closed the distance between them with two quick steps, snapping a hand to the shaft of the weapon as it was snatched into the air. At the same time, the force in the taller woman diminished - at least, she didn't try to stab anyone, or barge her way past. "I'd prefer we all just got on with things ourselves, actually," Eb growled, moving the spear aside with carefully schooled 'reasonable force' so that she could reach for the water that Ashar Dovinhald had offered her. Whilst doing so she silently but vehemently cussed out herself and her choice of non-action, the High Council, their Light-blasted 'standards' and the years of bloody reprimands and repercussions - all of which clearly made situations like this more complicated than they needed to be. "If we're not fighting with more than words?" she shrugged, raising her eyebrows in invitation. "Back to business." Still standing, she turned her dark gaze to Dovinhald, wondering if that really was his name, and nodded slightly back at him as she lifted the cup. "I was hoping to know how much money, exactly." "I'm ... good with security," she said, meaning it as both a comment on the proposed plan and a response to his question of skill. "And I've experience enough rolling with the dice, however they land," she grinned wryly, the faded scar on her face crinkling at her cheekbone. "...As long as you aren't looking for someone who's good with archery, or gateways," she amended. The grin and scar twisted into a grimace.

This bit is basically the definition of gatekeeping, the equivalent of challenging someone wearing a band t-shirt you don't think they actually listen to to name their top three songs. "Modern audiences" are indeed watching WoT on Prime, and in turn the books are selling more than they have in years. Yes, there's social media content that's part of the pop culture churn with hot takes and takedowns and culture-war rage-bait, but this adaptation is clearly resulting in many show-WoT fans who go on to read the books. Navigating all this hype can definitely be exhausting, but if we want lots of new people to engage with the story, it's one of the most effective ways to hook them.

It usually has to reach 10k.

I know this is the case with RoP. But I have seen no such thing with WoT. Can you point me to it?

Nielsen, March 04 – 10 The Wheel of Time (16) – 40M

They have done the same with LOTR. There are multiple instances of cast interviews, media stories, and social media that are used to intentionally divide the fans or malign fans that dislike the show. They will create a narrative that dislike of a show is due to hate of race or gender. This narrative is then use to create an internal war within the fanbase and deflect from actual discussion. The tactic has been used as far back as the BSG remake but was deployed in force with Star Wars and it very present with Rings and WoT. It is an actual marketing strategy. Whereby marketing departments use bots, seed media stories, etc.