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 cursed the years of reprimands from the High Council In her mind. "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.

I could. But, nah.

Prove it. You have exactly zero idea whether there is a contract, much less what that contract says. It does not. It makes it. She had no problem calling out something she believed was an affront to her husband's work. Prove it. Once again, you have no idea about any contract that Harriet has or doesn't have. You said that you've never heard of anyone getting 'jumped on' for saying 'positive things' about someone else's work. That remarkably obtuse in today's day and age. People are publicly 'jumped on' on a daily basis for merely agreeing with someone who holds an unpopular or controversial opinion. You have no idea what you're talking about. Literally none. But go right ahead and continue putting words in her mouth and continue to pretend that you know exactly what Robert Jordan would have thought of the show.

I must question this myself. I would expect the last thing Amazon "wants" to do is divide the fan base. A large consolidated fan base has the potential to bring more viewers, just what Amazon wants.

So wrong it's funny. As I've pointed out I doubt Harriet could get herself removed from the project even if she wanted to. The producers love her name attached to the project and would even if she never did a single seconds work on it. Can't fault her for joining in in the first place. It's Amazon, they've done good work in the past.

Hi, are you referring to me? You understand that my requests for how to film inner monologues are rhetorical statements and not a desire to see proposed screenplays. It is intended to get beyond content free statements like "writers and showrunners believe they can tell the story better" into actual discussions about how to film them in an interesting way that makes good TV, generates the necessary character development and stays as faithful to the books as possible. I think this is very hard to do all of them well simultaneously and accept the need to introduce new material, but lots of posters think otherwise. Fine, lets discuss. But just saying "be closer to the books" is not discussion, it's a way to shut down discussion because it's an appeal to emotion without any accompanying arguments which can be debated. What is statement even trying to say? How is Amazon purposely dividing the fans? That some fans like it and others don't? Doesn't that go with the territory? How about LOTR, is Amazon purposely dividing the fans on that show also? How do know it's true, do you have an actual argument backing up this statement?

Wow so naive. I'd day she is contractually bound. What is shown on paper often varies wildly from what a project ultimately winds up being. Dune (1984) can act as an example again here. David Lynch was the director of this movie and left quite a bit of shot footage on the cutting room floor. He was pleased with the released version. Some time later (well after the successful release) the producers re-edited the movie and put a lot of what Lynch had cut back in. The producers had the gall to call it the directors cut. Lynch had told them he removed those scenes to improve the flow, continuity and watch-ability of the movie. He was so incensed he insisted his name not be included in the credits. If you are unfortunate enough to watch the "Directors Cut" of Dune (1984) you will quickly realise Lynch was right to do so. It's a dreadful version with the smooth flow and pace of the original completely lost. Did you watch the interview on you tube. I'm pretty sure you know about the 2015 law suit. The law suit alone negates your argument here. Sorry you've lost me with this. How is this relavent to what I said? Before anyone jumps in. Harriet, if she wanted to, can not get he name removed from the show as a consultant unless the producers agree. Almost any word spoken from her mouth whilst on set could be argued as her consulting, " I like that costume" would be enough. Legally she did consult so there is no legal argument to force removal of her name. It could be argued that there is a legal requirement her name must be included. I apologise for the formatting of the replay, It's clear I've had issues with this post, it would be great if a person could delete and start again. The software does not appear to support that.

It is the reaction you'll get when you suggest that you can speak for Robert Jordan and put words in Harriet's mouth. I have zero problem talking about the 'bait and switch' as you call it. It's valid criticism and a subject that is entirely worth discussing. What I despise is when people resort to saying that RJ 'would be rolling over in his grave' or pretending that they can arbitrate what 'deserves' to be called the Wheel of Time. And that is what I'm referring to as gatekeeping in this context.