On 10/6/2022 at 1:15 AM, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

I have always preferred to think of the dark one in WOT as a personification of entropy more than of evil

I like that a lot, and I think along the same lines. I used to refer to the Dark One as "the friction on the Wheel of Time"--the opposing force against the force that turns it.

As a Physics graduate, I think Jordan would nod his head at these conceptions.

I've seen some comments accusing this article of using a series written in the 1990s as a 2022 vehicle for a political agenda. A lot of this was inspired by a visit to Washington D.C.'s Holocaust Museum and African American Museum. One of my many takeaways was that the rise of authoritarianism, the erosion of human rights, and the precursors to war have recognizable hallmarks that recur across geographies and back through time.

I highly recommend that anyone with the opportunity and an interest in history and current events visit these museums. For me, it was an experience that still percolates in my mind.

Rafe Judkins and company talk about several of these points explicitly, even using the phrase "ripple effects" in reference to the gender essentialist changes. I think we're on the right track on how to think about this show.

https://gizmodo.com/adapting-the-wheel-of-time-for-tv-is-an-epic-all-its-ow-1848026456

On 11/10/2021 at 2:53 AM, among1 said:

There are many blogs on the Internet. But I can definitely say that your blog is amazing. It has all the qualities a perfect blog should have.

 

Thank you--you are too kind!

Those Whitecloaks look like they're about to break into a song; a big ensemble number, at that.

On 9/12/2021 at 8:33 AM, Minigno said:

So for someone who has not quite finished the series...a critique of your breakdown...if you are going to say spoilers for Eye of the World, it makes it sound safe for me to watch/read.  But instead you give one of the biggest spoilers of the ENTIRE series, and a LATE series one at that. It kind of sucked for me to have it pop out like that.  Like I understand people slip and not one of those folks who think the world exists to keep things spoiler free for me, but there was absolutely no reason to reference Egwene's eventual character arc in this first trailer breakdown if you were saying spoilers for EotW.

You're right, and I'm sorry. It doesn't help you, but I updated the spoiler warning.

21 minutes ago, shelleyhaines said:

I believe the man who is crying and kissing the ring in Lan's father, sending him away to safety.

Oh, that's interesting... So that ring is the Malkieri Ring of Kings?

1 hour ago, Jleahul said:

The circle of graves seems to be the aftermath of the Logain battle. The people standing are the same cast that the arrows were raining down on. Pale bald guy really stands out.

You're right--those are Red sisters in the picture. The battle against Logain was costly indeed. (And the attack on Emond's Field, in the book, had surprisingly few casualties and damage. As though the Trollocs were concentrating on only a few selected residences...)

Another reader pointed out that the city across the river in the shot of the hills is probably Shadar Logoth, looking decidedly less sinister in the daylight.

3 hours ago, CaddySedai said:

Honestly. Was everything I hoped it could be. Loved sharing the moment with yall ?

Seconded. I knew watching the trailer would be a joy. Watching it with so many others who were waiting for this moment? Joy exponentially amplified.

On 7/14/2021 at 8:38 AM, myn0s said:

I just can't help think that because info on the AoL is so sparse in the books the majority of the movies will be a sort of 'official fanfic'.

"Official fanfic" is a great description, and one that nicely encapsulates why I'm down on the idea of an Age of Legends movie. It takes something that lives in so many of our imaginations, and canonizes someone's version of it. Someone unconnected with the original work. Yes, we'll still have the version in our heads, but it somehow becomes lesser standing next to a "licensed" version.

So much of the mystique of the Age of Legends is that it's... legendary. There are artifacts, there are tales, but the millennia have mythologized the truth so much that it is more a Gleeman's tale than a historical period. That's a whole theme in The Wheel of Time. That's the opening catechism. To nail it down erases some of that malleable wonder.

FURTHER, from the description, it sounds like the story takes place after The Strike at Shayol Ghul. At earliest, it's the Breaking of the World, but the mention of the White Tower makes it seem much later. Either way, not the Age of Legends. And if they can't get that bit right, I don't have much hope for this Official Fanfic to be true to its source material.

7 hours ago, wotfan4472 said:

Maybe the show could do this with Bao?

I love this idea. Hey, if Game of Thrones gets a spinoff in House of the Dragon, then why can't The Wheel of Time get a spinoff like Dragonslayer? It could run parallel to the penultimate season(s) and converge with the introduction of Bao the Wyld.

I do hope that they go for a weekly release. The Mandalorian and WandaVision have both recently shown the power of an engaged fan base keeping the momentum going from week to week with speculation, memes, and discussion. I'd love to see the same sort of energy around The Wheel of Time--again!

Now I'm wondering if, when Rand and Mat "play for their supper" at the Grinwell farm, Rand will sit by the fire and play the guitar for a googly-eyed Else... I can picture it, and it works.

This was a lovely event. Thank you for hosting it, and thank you, Harriet, for speaking to us.

And let's not forget Egwene's humble origins. (No, not as the best water-carrier in Emond's Field, though that's an early indication of her drive.) While the boys were following Joseph Campbell's "Heroes Journey" and dutifully Refusing the Call to Adventure, Egwene was proactive. She knew she had bigger things in store for her, from the very beginning. Perhaps Egwene's first badass moment was choosing to leave Emond's Field. Choosing to learn the One Power when everyone (including her former mentor) still feared it. Life didn't drag her along kicking and screaming, she leaped onto it and rode it like she did a Power-strengthened Bela!

In the books, Siuan and Liandrin both don't appear until The Great Hunt, but Kerene only appears in New Spring. Siuan is, of course, a major character in New Spring, and I think Liandrin makes a brief appearance too. It sounds like we'll be getting lots of New Spring flashbacks in the show.

On Twitter, Emilia Machuca wrote that Peter Franzen (Stepin) said they were filming a big battle scene in Finland, and unless he somehow appears in Tarwin's Gap, that means the Blood Snow, in New Spring. That makes me wonder if Tam's ramblings about the Aiel War are going to be shown in flashback. That would cast them very differently from the book, where Rand has the luxury of thinking them fever dreams.

There's a lot of content for ten episodes!

I'm so glad you found us, Misha! And I envy the journey you're on! The first time through is special. Enjoy the ride, and let us know how it goes.

Move over Thor and Mjolnir. Behold Perrin Goldeneyes and Mah'alleinir!

I liked, in New Spring, the cultural misunderstanding between Lan and Moiraine over his refusal to meet her eyes. It was all the more poignant in light of our knowledge of the intimacy they'll have 20 years later, when they'll be able to understand each other's slightest gesture.