if it has not been defined in the books, but RJ has the explanation in his head then any information he gives in an interview is canon, it his his world explanation for the things he wrote about. Now, if he writes something and then contradicts that in interview then yes the written word is canon.

The chronicles of Thomas Covenant is a series of 2 trilogies and a final trilogy of 4 books that are just amazing, in my opinion the best fantasy series ever written. The lore and how things tie in to each other are fantastic and the series just improves book to book and trilogy to trilogy. You can read the first 6 books and leave the series there happily as well.

I mean I followed up the line you quoted with "Not to GOT levels, maybe cut away or fade to black before the actual act"

RJ talked about 2 prequels and a follow on trilogy he had planned (what we know of RJ that trilogy could have been many many many books longer lol) but I think he also made it clear at the end that he did not want others writing stories in his world other then finishing off the series.

Once Amamzon start selling advertising space on Prime they will be forced to make all those details public, demo splits, numbers watching each show etc so that advertisers can price the adspace accordingly for bidding.

Out of left field, everything I had read about Pike as a person is that she is supportive and does not play politics, I don't see her blocking anything for anyone and instead enjoying everyones success.

I mean, you can't say if it is or isn't a good adaptation becaseu you have not seen it, but also I do agree, I mean the WOT books are not always good writing, there is a whole section in the middle (about 3 books) that many on this forum say they can ignore or wish didn't exist, there are those like me who think the opening 3 books are weak. But saying the writing on this show is not good without watching it is just you, taking the opinion of others who have an agenda. For instance, there are scenes in season 2 that absolutely deserve award recognition this year, there is acting that is powerful and delicate and emotive and makes certain scenes come alive better then anything in the book, there have been artistic choices made because you know, you cant fit it all into the run time available, and by all means tell me what has been cut or added you don't like. But the fact is that reviews and scritcs have said season 2 is great, and many also liked season 1, so if you want objectivity take that. But I will say again, you can't say the writing is low quality, or the show is bad, all you can say is that the what 1/16th you saw you didn't enjoy, you are not an arbiter of what is good or bad writing, none of us on here are really, we all have opinion. My opinion is that watching teh TV show with non book readers the writers got real, visceral reactions and emotion from there viewers about characters, about plot, about things that happen. That is good writing, a show that people enjoy and feel emotions about. I found out yesterday that one scene brought tears to a friends eyes, and then minutes later another then made them cheer out loud.

I mean he said he loved the show and thought the writers had done a brilliant job, so i think we have to balance any minor criticism he has for the fact that he was also very very very praising of it and all that it has done.

I think the kind of show that some on here would want to see whould end up being an atrocious mess of long exposition followed by cuts from scene to scene with no real character development or growth, a confused mess of a story that even book fans would watch and hate. making a TV show is not easy, you might want all sorts of things on screen but you have a budget, you have time restrictions and you have limitations. Lord of the Rings took 438 days pretty much filming every day, it took 7 film units, 150 locations and peter jackson monitoring each unit remotely via satellite feed. He was constantly re writing the script and ony got about 4 hours of sleep a night. WOT does not have that budget, it does not have that amount of time, 438 days to make 9 hours of movie. So decisions have to be made as to what can be shot, what locations can be used, where to spend the money on effects. That then feeds into the creative choices. I would love to see "almost anyone" on this board have a go at making that al come together in something passably looking like WOT lol. You might not like the WOT tv show, that is your personal opinion, there are many many who do, who think it is a really good show, that might confuse you but, guess what, its opinion there is no right or wrong here. What is a fact is that a human being does not pick up a project like WOT intending to use it as a vanity project, trying to prove they are a "better writer" or "wanting to tank the show". Have mistakes been made, yes, in my opinion minor ones that in the grand scheme of things don't stop it from being one of the best fantasy shows on TV at the moment. Is season 2 an improvement, yes, where changes always going to need to be made, yes, and is there a version of this show that makes everyone, book reader and non book reader happy all at the same time. Absolutely not, there is no way this show could be adapted and make everyone happy with everything. A version that stuck "closer to the books" whatever that means would probably have tanked with non book reading audiences and that would have killed the show 100%.

I meant we don't see what his goal is or that he is truly separated from the dark lord and something new, even in killing the Fade on first read through I was not 100% if that was for or against the dark lord.

Another thing to consider about the Tylin storyline is that as a reader we all find it pretty horrific, so, when we learn that the Seanchan are stamping down on it, making people fill out paperwork for duels meaning fewer people are dying for instance, it emphasises that the Seanchan bring far more positives to the lands they occupy then negatives.

Mat himself is told that the way she is treating him is awful by another Altaran women. And I am sorry "culture" is not a defence for horrific behaviour, we as readers can still look at that and think "well thats pretty bad", the Seanchan start changing that culture when they come in.

I mean there is no redemptive qualities abotu Carridin, yes he remembers his sisters smile, or his nephews laugh, but he there is no regret there, no feeling of wanting it all to end, he almost is simply counting in his head how many are left until it reaches him.

I mean darkfriends use compulsion for sex all the time, not just in the case of Morgase and the aes sedai that is forced to have sex just before the mansion is balefired, but the descriptions of Foresaken turning kings and queens into versions of the human centipede, making them "put on displays" etc. Rape and sexual assault run right through the books, genrally under the surface but they are there, I hope they are shown, but not to GOT levels, I hope instead things are hinted at and then cut to next scene or pan away. But yes Matt was forced and coherced to do things he didn't want to do but it was not rape, it was however an abusive relationship.

I mean in many ways it was, but it can be shot for TV, the Netflix Show Bridgerton is a period drama which has a scene that shows exactly how you could film this. Matt could have tried to get himself out of the situation if he wanted, yes he doesn't like that he is not in control and she dresses him as she wants but he tells himself that some of it is fun. In some ways this storyline was key for Matt, he stops sleeping with any pretty girl that gives him a smile, mainly because Tylin puts the word out, and then finds himself in Tuons presence and realises he wants to make the choice to be with her and not be forced. he also chooses to be in a relationship where he will always be at her beck and call.

The ending I wanted. Rand stands there at the last battle and finally realises, the darklord is not some evil that dates back to the creator, it is an evil that was imprisoned in the last turning, the last time a great evil was defeated, he realises that the dark lord can be destroyed and there will be no impact. So he destroys it, frees the world and then, fain appears. A new evil that can’t be defeated but, can be contained in the prison that is now empty. And so, the “dark lord” is destroyed, but a new one is imprisoned ready to be unleashed in 20’000 years time.

Think the tongue in cheek humor was lost here, it is clear they reproduce, RJ went into it in rather cringey detail lol

My hope always was he would replace the darklord in his prison, the big reveal being there is no creator, the dark lord is not some supernatural being from creation, it is just the evil from the last turning that got put in a prison, and so the next turning will be fighting that evil not the dark lord as he was last turning (zombie apocalypse anyone).

Have you never seen videos of people (usually men) firing guns up into the air in "celebration" ignoring hat gravity means, you know, someone is going to get hurt (apparently they do quite often) "Sorry mrs jones, what you have here is your typical case of Aes Sedai throwing away rubbish without paying attention to where it is gone, yes I realise there is a dead trolloc in your living room and a hole in your roof, but unfortunately if you check the terms of your insurance you will see that in the terms and conditions you are not covered for. Amongst other things Balefire undoing the DIY you did in your bathroom Damage to people or property caused y travelling and Aes Sedai throwing trollocs around with no consideration of where they might be landing.

I mean you assume they are unique, you never know, maybe there where queues hours long waiting for the latest release of the Fat Man angreal. Fat Man 5.6, now slightly slimmer and in a different shade of green.

I like to think that Aginor read the Lord of the rings and decided to try making Orcs, only to be told he would be sued by the Tolkien estate for copyright breach, and so in a fit of rage went to the dark lord, and with his new found powers decided to create the Trolloc. I don't thik they reproduce, that sounds far to messy for a Foresaken to mess about with, I think they are just, created. Also, trollocs will eat anything i cant see baby trollocs lasting beyond the next time mummy is hungry. Ooo your pregnant mavis, well you know Miriam I was peckish and fancied a nice snack later.

I would love to have something like the Tolkien notes that where released, but, we had a load of drafts and re writes (and christopher tolkien did milk that alot), I think from what BS has said the idea of "notes" is a very very loose thing, there where ideas that had to be formed into a story. to the OP, I agree, the first time I read them I liked them, because the series was coming to an end, but I have since re read them about 7 or 8 times and they have to count amongst some of the worst fantasy writing I have read, the worst thing is that there is an essence there, but BS fails to stick the landing (in my opinion) multiple times. I think the fact is we need to live with what we have and be grateful that this is not GOT, to be fair it taught me an important lesson, never start a fantasy series that has not been finished, especially if the Author is a slow writer who is nearer to death then birth 🙂

What the battle master with only 1 eye, Matt is Odin, I relation to the OP, I don't think Robert Jordan was looking at biblical references for his work, which is surprising because he was certainly a very religious man who took communion several times a week. In fact I have always thought it interesting that someone who was so heavily involved in organised religion was able to separate that from his writing, I mean I don't know what it says that the only organised religious group in his story (the white cloaks) are a force of evil in the world. Robert Jordan was inspired by Tolkien, it is why EOTW is so closely aligned to Fellowship of the ring, and why so many of the characters early on can be linked directly to LOTR characters (Lan Aragorn, Moiraine Gandalf, the EF5 the hobbits, Loial Treebeard). Tolkien leant very much on nordic mythos for his story. Robert Jordan used some eastern mythos, but this was not a reference to lucifer. I suggest you read the origins of the Wheel of Time, the author was given access to notes and was able to interview those close to RJ including Brandon Sanderson to give a very good book that looks at the writing process and the influences of the story.

To be fair book 2 we see hints of it but don't truly see what he is able to do, and certainly have no idea that he will become the evil zombie making fog man he does at the very end, hmmmm maybe Rafe should just have him killed in Season 3 and be done with it

I mean, given the way they have set her up, and that they will no doubt ramp up the evil she does, maybe her book ending will give a nice sense of punishment to the viewers, she actually ends up with Suroth in the book which always asked the question how would the shield work against a collar.