They could do worse than Westworld with the old time-y covers of modern songs :3

But I know what you mean.

For WoT I think there's a unique challenge for a composer to make the sound fit the culture. It's not pure old-school fantasy, so an epic score (think LotR) might not land properly. I think the challenge is to lace the soundtrack with a slightly more modern feel without going too hard into pop, and dipping into a variety of cultures sounds without feeling derivative.

Well I have a lot of internal ideas about the sounds of the Wheel of Time, and I'm sure everyone has different ideas. I'm really excited to see them do their version on the big stage and I think the trailer music was pretty good so I'm anticipating something good on that front.

But for me, the thing I'd love to see the most (and I fully acknowledge that this wouldn't be until season 2 or 3 probably) is Dance With Jack of the Shadows on screen to the tune of Garryowen. Idk if that's gonna be in the cards or not, but that's something I'd love to hear.

I'm not a fan of this particular (rumored) change. My immediate reaction to hearing about it is "but why though?" and I can't think of a satisfying answer. Perrin losing himself in the moment and killing those Whitecloaks, him fearing what being a Wolfbrother means for his sanity, and having his village attacked because the Dark One is after him specifically is plenty for the writers to play with, without inventing something that is so significantly different from the books.

I'm not automatically against all adaptation changes, but this particular one would be a mistake imo.

It stands out as a thing that could be cut without impacting the larger narrative or the main character arcs. Looking at it from that perspective, I'm sure the writers had to think about cutting the Green Man.

My gut instinct (so take that for what it's worth, which is basically nothing lol) tells me that the sequence of events at the Eye will be altered significantly. There was a question posed to Rafe Judkins if there will be Forsaken in Season 1. He said it depends how much you know about the Forsaken, which heavily implies that Balthamel and Aginor will not show up at the Eye (unless the Eye is moved to Season 2).

I'm a little more excited after watching the trailer, because what I saw from the special effects, costumes, and sets was really encouraging. But there's always been a little apprehension about what they'll change, and I'm feeling that about the Logain storyline now. I didn't see anything I disliked per se, but I wonder what they're going to do with that, and I hope it doesn't deviate too much.

He works for me. He's missing the grey hairs that I pictured in my head, but is otherwise pretty much perfect - angular and stony-faced. It's a no-brainer to me that they'd make Lan kinda hot, because of course he is.

I wouldn't be against facial scars but I don't think that's in the books so idk, I don't see the point. Am I remembering wrong? It would be a lot of work to apply that makeup consistently every time he's on screen, so I can see why they wouldn't go that route.

Looking at all the shots of the actor with the double axes, I think he's a warder whose Aes Sedai is killed by Logain. Combining his character with Elyas would be a bold potential move but I don't think they'll do that, because I feel that story is much more engaging, and also neater, if we see Perrin struggle through it instead of a minor character.

I think they'll use that warder to show how amazing the bond is, and what happens if the Aes Sedai dies. This will help with Lan's character development, as well as Moiraine's and Nynaeve's relationships with him. It seems clear to me from the trailer that those 3 will meet up with the Logain caravan.

12 minutes ago, Elgee said:

squiggle guy: thank you so much for the help!

I am squiggle guy ;-; Funny story, I created this account like 14 years ago or something, and the username was <(^-^)> but I guess the site changed how it did text formatting so now I have a very odd username. Anyways, I'm glad to help.

And yeah I also enjoyed watching Greene break it down. I kinda disagree with him on the lighting, I think darkness is a tool to be used sparingly in a show, and one of my biggest criticisms of modern fantasy shows is that they're too dark. I love the colors and vibrancy, and I'm sure it will get dark when it needs to like in Shadar Logoth.

6 hours ago, Elgee said:

I want to see it in slomo! Can anyone do that?

If you pause a youtube video you can use the , (comma) and . (period) keys to advance/rewind frame-by-frame.

Gosh, that game brings me back lol. I vividly remember the opening CG sequence.

The Tower in the show looks significantly different from what I had in my head, but I really like their take on it. I was pretty impressed with all the shots of Tar Valon actually.

I'm pretty happy with that! The fade was an excellent rendition with a properly frightening design, my favorite part. I also really liked their take on Mashadar, doing it with creeping shadows instead of luminescent fog is a different idea but it worked for me visually, and it's not something I've seen before.

I liked the visuals of the power but I wasn't blown away, but I want to see more. Because it's going to be used all the time I think the seemingly subtler approach has merit in the visual medium.

I'm really curious about the changes that have been sort of implied by this. It almost looks like Nynaeve will join up with a group of Aes Sedai and Lan to fight Logain's dragonsworn. It's hard to say because everything is obviously cut together from a bunch of different scenes.

Egwene swimming through the river was very on the nose, I'm wondering if that's a rite they do when it's time to braid her hair in Emonds Field. If so I like the parallel to the way Saidar is embraced, and how it establishes ritual and custom as a theme.

Overall it made me more excited for episode 1, and I'm still feeling good about it.

I think Harldin's list has the range of potential responses pretty well covered ?

It's a real treat to have an entire professional crew, backed by millions of dollars, create something based on the WoT universe. I never thought I'd see the day. It's one thing to know it's coming and to see some photos and tiny clips, but a trailer makes it a lot more real for me. So today I've been basking in the good feeling that I'm being given something special.

20 hours ago, Ararana24 said:

I know media adaptations are never perfect (though LotR and the first half of GoT came really really close - I also wasn't that attached to either of those stories when the media first released), but this is simply horrifying to my WoT book-loving heart.

Speaking as someone who was already extremely attached to LotR before the movies came out, I definitely get what you're feeling. But because I've been through that, I know that an adaptation can work out beautifully despite changes.

The idea that LotR is "perfect" as a movie adaptation comes from their smashing success and groundbreaking/epic levels of special and practical effects, amazing costume, prop, and set work, and spot-on performances. They are great films. There are actually loads of adaptation changes though. On the topic of character appearances, Frodo was 50 during his journey (the hobbit equivalent of 30-ish). He was a good bit older than his friends. In my head he looked nothing like the rosy-cheeked Elijah Wood that we got in the movies. But in the end it worked, and although Wood's youthful face does now have a place in my head attached to my idea of Frodo, it's not a bad thing despite my initial thoughts, and it hasn't replaced anything, only built on it.

I guess my point is that I want to reassure you, we can get a "perfect" adaptation of a story on the level of LotR even with significant changes to character appearances. Because that's exactly what happened with me and LotR.

Amazon's "Invincible" started with 3 episodes and then it was weekly after that. The best guess I can make is that they'll copy that release schedule.

I think they'll rely on a few things to show us inner thoughts. Primarily, the actors will be relied on to show us what their character thinks. But the writers can also add in or modify dialogue to show their thoughts. Saying what they think to someone, or denying what they really think in a way that's obvious to the audience. Some more subtle methods involve cinematography, the way a character is shot can say a lot about them. A really simple and well-known example would be how under lighting makes a character seem more sinister, but that's just the tip of the iceburg.

I don't think they'll do actual "vocalized inner thoughts" because that can be a little cheesy. Maybe with Rand and Lews Therin.

The Mat/Tylin thing was a good introduction (for 14 year old me) to the insidious ways that sexual coercion happen in the real world. I didn't really understand how social dynamics enable it without the explicit use of force, but these scenes made me think about that for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised to learn years later that Harriet thought it was a good way to introduce men and boys to that exact topic. Mission accomplished.

It's still a pertinent topic and I wouldn't want to get rid of that storyline. But the conversation around these issues has developed quite a bit since it was written, so it might benefit from a fresh take.

Yeah for sure, I think the Paths of the Dead were a little too "haunted house" compared to what they could have been and how I pictured them. The Ways are actually very similar, both in their tone and their purpose in the story, and I hadn't really thought about that before. I think the Ways might be a bit easier to portray, because there's no "Aragorn must make the undead recognize his claim" plot point, which added some difficulty to the whole segment from a horror standpoint. The portrayal of the trip through Moria would be closer to the tone I'd want, although that still misses the mark a bit.

Making the fantastical elements feel "right" in the setting is definitely going to be a challenge, but there's a large body of work in the genre for them to build on, and even shows/movies that are lighter on magic like GoT have plenty of lessons to teach in that regard. With the budget they have, I think the show is poised to really knock that out of the park, as long as they actually take those lessons to heart and build on what came before in the genre and medium.

8 hours ago, templar7 said:

Ya for sure! The Dark Wind!! I wonder how they will present "The Ways"

I'm really looking forward to it! I don't know exactly how they'll manage to get across the sense of scale while keeping the oppressive darkness, but that moment when they realize "wait a minute, aren't we directly above the spot we started?" could be a great little scene to build tension. Loial reading the rotting and/or defaced guiding stones is another good moment, and also could be a good visual representation of the Taint. I think the Ways would be a great place for Moiraine and Loial to drop some exposition to the Emond's Field group about the Taint and the Breaking, and how the wonders of the Age of Legends have been either forgotten, corrupted, or both.

With all of that, and thoughts of madness fresh in everyone's mind, the voices from Machin Shin can start up. Maybe Rand hears them first, and the show could play with that for a moment where we're not sure if it's just Rand hearing it, and he's not sure either. And that leads to everyone's mad dash for the exit.

That's a rough idea of how I'd go about it. I think it could be a really memorable sequence if they do it right. I want to feel that suspense build up.

I'm also not so much into merch, but if I was getting something as a gift I'd want either a dream ter'angreal or Mat's medallion. Those won't appear until much later seasons however.

I think it's likely they'll introduce some Forsaken without naming them as such. But yeah it's surprising that he sort of implies that Aginor and Balthamel won't be in S1. I suppose he might use Ba'alzamon in their place, or potentially might do away with the fight at the Eye and make the battle at Tarwin's Gap more prominent in the climax of the season. Tough to say what they'll change and how it will work out, but I'd really love for Moiraine's badass scene at the Eye to happen so I hope they have an antagonist there for her to face down whether it's a Forsaken or not.

The ageing-up of the main cast is another surprise for me. I can see this one being a bit controversial, especially if they're trying to portray them as mature adults at the beginning (which I doubt, but then again who knows?). I do understand wanting to get away from a YA feel though. And honestly I never knew the actual ages of the main cast so a minor change adding a couple years shouldn't bother me. But the general immaturity of the EF5 at the beginning goes hand-in-hand with their isolation in the Two Rivers, thematically. They learn about the wider world at the same time they're growing up. So I am still hoping to see that captured in the show.

If we're doing 3 scenes from book 1 that I'm looking forward too (which I love as a topic), here's mine:

1) Rand and Logain

2) Machin Shin

3) Mashadar

I might be a little biased towards the horror aspects, but I'm also excited to see a lot of other moments, these are just the 3 that come to mind in a list :3

I hope that everyone ends up having a great time watching the adaptation. Specifically about the outfits, I think some of the criticisms are off-base and feel like they're reaching to reaffirm hopes for a failed show.

A blacksmith wouldn't work the forge while wearing a coat. He'd take it off. If they show Perrin at the forge with those cuffs I'll change my mind.

Lan isn't described as wearing armor all the time, and he's done an excellent job as a Warder without it in the books. I also don't see anything singularly Japanese about his outfit. Although it's clearly Asian influenced, that's always been the borderland aesthetic. His outfit doesn't need Western influences tacked on to stay true to RJ's "cultural mashup" style.

Nynaeve's braid is hard to see clearly but it's fine for someone doing her hair on the road. I'm glad it's properly thick as described.

Looks great!

Nynaeve is my favorite character in the story, and she's in the running for my favorite character in fiction. She looks different from my imagination, but all they need to do is present her character arc well and I'll be completely on board. The mix of determination and concern in her eyes in this picture is spot on, so that's a good sign to me. Seeing the Braid for the first time is making me smile.

Regarding height, it's a negligible concern for me. Casting is hard enough without handcuffing yourself to the relative heights between a very large ensemble cast. With LotR they employed a ton of perspective tricks and practical effects to get the hobbits and Gimli to appear much shorter, but when we're talking about a few inches difference, it's just not worth it to put in that sort of effort for a minimal payoff. Instead of focusing on practical effects to make Rand look a few inches taller or Moiraine a few inches shorter than their actors, I'd rather see that focus go towards... well, pretty much anything else, to be honest. It's not needed for the story as I see it, and it could possibly be detrimental to the production to get caught up on that particular detail.

Shadar Logoth looks amazing. This is one location that I didn't have a clear picture in my head for in terms of the "cultural feel", so it's cool to see their take on that with the statues and stonework around the windows and doors. If I'm remembering it correctly, the building they camp in is mostly intact on the ground floor so this seems like a good rendition.

Logain actually looks quite different from what I had in my head, but it works. The cage is excellent. I love the Red sisters in the background looking the part. I really hope the Reds get some love in this. They're great antagonists in the story, but also their cause is pretty well-justified (although not their methods in many cases), and I want to see that piece of it get fully explored. This is something that I think the adaptation can potentially improve on compared to the books.

I see it two ways.

As a very serious fan of WoT, I want them to wow me, and I expect that they'll fail at times. I would be surprised and very disappointed if they fail entirely, but I think there will inevitably be disagreements I have with the showrunners, actors, prop designers, etc. It seems completely impossible for them to get it 100% right from my point of view. Mostly because they don't (and realistically can't) have my point of view.

As a fan of the fantasy genre and of good storytelling in general, I expect them to succeed generally. They have the tools to make this work. It's an ambitious project but it's not ridiculous to try to make WoT work on the screen these days and with this budget. Even when it doesn't appeal to my POV, I think it can work for general audiences and I think the adaptation can be satisfying enough to keep me happy even when I disagree with certain decisions.

I can't help but compare to the LotR movies, like mistborn82 referenced. There were some hugely significant changes to the movies compared to the books, but they remain classics that I love. I would wholeheartedly say that they "put in the effort to WOW the serious fans" in that case, and I expect something similar with WoT.

Yeah, it can be overdone. Like how the Reds sometimes come across as downright mean-spirited in the earlier books. I know it's partly from biased character perspectives, but still. I want to see it shine through in the acting and the writing with subtlety, and only get a heavy dose when it's plot-relevant.