You might not think so, but abuse can be used for training. Take the animals out of it. Spouses abuse each other. Karens scream. Parents abuse children and vice versa. Bosses abuse subordinates and coworkers abuse each other. There may be an element of sadism involved, but I think this type of abuse (even unconsciously) is used to train the victim to a certain type of behavior or response. Because they don't know how to train the right way. They don't want to take the time to teach/train using words and examples. They resort to the iron fist, screaming, passive-aggressiveness - or whatever has worked for them in the past for quick results. Just because it is abuse doesn't mean that the animal or damane is not being trained.

In a perfect world. Unfortunately some people do abuse animals to train them. We've all seen the news stories or witnessed it ourselves.

I'm good with removing the circus.

Jordan did this so well in the books. Probably what he did best in the books. Everything from one-on-one combat to skirmishes to full-scale battles... His descriptions on the use of the one power were a close second. Combat both with and without the power was what I was most looking forward to seeing in the show. Mundane combat was a huge disappointment with the exception of the Blood Snow. I've watched bad action movies repeatedly if the fight choreography was good. But I couldn't stay with a series I was so looking forward to because this was executed so poorly. Use of the power was a little better. All the arm waving looked kind of goofy, but how the weaves were presented on screen worked fine for me.

You've been a member of this forum for almost 4 years - why did you let a month pass before letting the rest of us know? As for the book itself - it looks nice. But if all they are doing is Eye of the World, I'll have to pass. If the whole set is coming out leatherbound, then I might consider upgrading.

How is it one-off when you mention Egwene's (1) and Nynaeve's (2) in the same sentence? That is at least three OTT uses of the power in one season by untrained (or little trained) channelers. Maybe that is the point - Aes Sedai have lost/forgotten so much since the AOL. That was a theme in the book series, but it came much later than how it was introduced in the show. Still poorly done imo, but maybe that's the direction they're going.

Looked that scene up on youtube. I like it, an awesome display of the Power by Rand. Everyone looking tough and posing - and then splat. Plus they were able to avoid a badly choreographed fight scene. Duel would have been nice for sure though.

Sorry, I'm ignorant on this point. Are the seals failing in the show like in the books? In the book, they could be easily be broken without the power.

Not interesting to you. I find it fascinating: is it right, wrong, irrelevant? Just like coming here and reading comments/opinions/insights from fellow Dragonmounters. Someday it might not be as exciting, but for me it's still new, shiny, and interesting.

They change stuff. Get used to it.

True that. There will be many small details missed. The 14-book series was long and rich (and often repetitive). There is no way everyone's favorite details are making it to the screen no matter how many episodes and seasons they get. Adaptations are tough, and people have different scenes they consider important or their favorite. Rafe is a professional in the entertainment industry and I assume he wants to continue down that path. If that is the case, he is doing the best job he can. I think he is making many mistakes, but I'm only an entertainment consumer. Someone else might have been more capable and made a better show from my perspective, but Rafe is who we have and his vision (influenced by execs) is the product. S3 is soon...

How do we know which way he will go when he isn't getting the screen time? Framing the protagonist through the eyes of other characters works for a couple chapters/episodes, but I'd think you'd want it from the horse's mouth at some point. But not nerfing Nynaeve and Egwene accomplishes what? I can understand the protagonist not being the focus for an episode or three, but for two entire seasons? Unless the Dragon is not the protagonist and is just another tool for Moiraine (the true protagonist) to use... If Rand is the protagonist (and not 'just' the Dragon) it's a pretty risky move to wait until S3 for him to get his season. Especially with the drop off in viewership between S1 and S2 - according to our AI Overlords. 😁

It was a bit over the top - and there had to be people hiding in there. Oops! Visually I just thought it looked awesome but I can see how it wouldn't work for everyone.

Improved marketing or word of mouth?

can being the operative word. They might still blow up the character. Just think there is potential there...

Thanks for adding specifics as to what you didn't like. I personally think this is one of the things Rafe got right. Mat is one of the good guys. Him coming from a dysfunctional family and having his own flaws makes him more interesting. In the books, the Congars and the Coplins were the black sheep in the Two Rivers - but they were barely tertiary characters without huge impact on the story. Having one of the main characters, Mat, be less than squeaky clean is more realistic to me. It adds tension to the story. Will he do the right thing when the chips are down? Will he betray Rand or others? Will he redeem himself? I loved Mat in the books, but I think his show character can be even better.

I'm with you in that Rafe and team did a piss poor job with the show. But you just wrote an entire paragraph without giving a single example of what you didn't like. Here are some of my dislikes: Super-ninja Nynaeve taking out trollocs solo Lan throwing his belt knife at a charging trolloc making it fly backward Terrible fight choreography in general, but specifically with Lan - a blademaster Healing explosions Perrin having a wife, killing her, then the subsequent arc... Adding characters, subtracting others, changing who does what... But I also liked some changes: Aging up the main Emond's Field characters Removing the Pollyannaish shine from EF Bringing Logain in early Moiraine using stones from the inn to blast trollocs And I could add more to each category. My long-winded point is - if you're coming here to complain about the show, give us something to talk about. Then we can agree, disagree, and have a conversation.

Yes - I loved the Tigraine scene.

Hell yeah. I'll tune in for that even if nothing else. But the fight choreography has to be there.

I liked it. Rand finally gets some sword training from Lan - though the little I've seen of Lan's sword play in the previous two seasons left much to be desired. Liked the Bangles for the trailer theme music. For those that don't know - check out 'Hazy Shade of Winter'.

Something bothers me about Rand's head, maybe the way he is leaning into Moiraine... Other than that, I like the image.

Some of us just aren't as eloquent as others. Sometimes we like or dislike something just because we do. Articulating why may not always be important. For example, I love the movie Napoleon Dynamite but hate the movie Stepbrothers. Don't care about the 'why', that's just how I feel. And for that reason I won't discuss either movie on a forum. One I'll watch every year and the other I'll never watch again. But back to your point, I agree that if you come to a forum about WoT (and only WoT) be prepared to defend likes/dislikes. Saying Rafe is a piece of garbage that destroyed Jordan's beloved books will get a much different response than I didn't like the way Rafe changed the story by adding/deleting these specific scenes for these reasons... The second post would likely lead to a productive back and forth that may or may not change anyone's mind but that might nudge the needle on both sides - even if imperceptibly. The first leads to trench warfare where each side digs in and the independents throw up their hands in exasperation.

Probably for the benefit of new readers that might be picking up a book mid-series to give them the benefit of some background. Can't say I enjoyed them overmuch...

That seems like a stretch. How much content could they get out of 8 hours of programming per season with two years in between? Even if I 1000% agreed with them that would get boring real quick. But I guess that doesn't matter if it is a passion project that is not expected to generate income...

Definitely possible. I'm coming back up to that scene in my reading now. Will have to keep an eye out.