I completely disagree. I find both actors to be perfect for their roles. Indeed, I find the acting to be outstanding across the board and is, in fact, the strength of the show.

More accurately, it hasn’t been touched on since. That doesn’t mean it won’t ever be. But there is no question that Mat wasn’t handled well in S1. There are multiple factors involved, including the fact that the actor quit mid season.

It’s certainly intimated that Mat stole the bracelet. But he could have gambled for it or seduced the young lady into giving it to him.

To be fair, COVID skewed the production schedule for the first 2 seasons. I think they’re going to try for a season every 18 months or so.

Why though? Sometimes scenes are capable of delivering multiple meanings or are better used to serve a different purpose from the ones they served in the books. I agree with you here. If the purpose of the scene was for Rand to hold his composure as he did in the books, that would not have been difficult to place on screen. At least with a good actor, which Mr. Stradowski is. Agreed. Also agreed. The show writers have changed Siuan's character somewhat - or rather, they have changed Siuan and Moiraine's understanding of what they were to do with the Dragon. (Moiraine's having developed over the course of the show as she begins to understand more fully what they are facing). I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here, but you are correct. There are bigger dangers ahead than simply a hostile Siuan. The reason for the change, however, is that they have slowed Rand's growth. They want to be able to depict him growing in his power in a more linear fashion than what Jordan wrote in the books. The scene was thus meant to convey that, powerful as he is Rand is still not able to contend with the power of the Amyrlin. Because he lacks training and understanding, the Aes Sedai are able to force him to kneel. (See where I'm going with this yet?) Further, it gives viewers a more visceral reason to engage with Rand's growing hostility toward the Aes Sedai. In the books, we are told that Aes Sedai are controlling. But it's still often very unclear why Rand is so distrusting of them. None of them ever do anything to even inconvenience him until he is well established as the Dragon. By changing the scene, the writers have given viewers a very memorable foundation for him to distrust the Aes Sedai. (I suspect that they will use Moiraine to illustrate the counterpoint - which is that while the distrust of Aes Sedai is justified, there is madness underneath it that leads to paranoia. Rand shouldn't trust Aes Sedai in general, but he should trust Moiraine.) But we've already seen this Rand. His 'stubborn' nature has been on display many times during the show. It didn't need to be demonstrated in this scene. This change is not a bad one, in my opinion.

My point is that Perrin's growth in WoT is almost all depicted in his own inner monologue. Thus, the need to create scenes for him to display it externally.

I think this is where we diverge. Perrin's growth, even in the early books, is mostly internal. While I think they could have stuck closer to the books with him, I still think they needed something to more dramatically establish Perrin's inner conflict. In the books we hear about how he is a gentle giant, always patient, always cautious, always afraid of hurting others because he's so much bigger. All of that is internal. As readers, we understand that he is slow to violence because that's an established part of his character. The show needed a way to dramatize that in a quick way. I would have gone with Brandon Sanderson's approach - have him accidentally kill Master Luhan. But the killing of his wife did the job - it gave you a very dramatic moment that establishes a reason for Perrin's passivity. Viewers aren't going to forget that like they would a few lines of untethered dialogue.

I’m not sure what you mean here. I think the Way of the Leaf was well explained in Season One. If you’re saying that it did not work to develop Perrin, I agree to some extent. I would also have kept Elyas and spent more time with Perrin’s wolf side in S1. I think they slowed Perrin and Mat down in service to the “Who is the Dragon” idea, which flopped. On the other hand, I do think they have established Perrin’s hesitancy to use violence early and did a better job in S2 of subtly developing the tension between man and wolf.

Not with proper source attribution. Interesting... The dialogue at the end of chapter 25 involves Raen telling Perrin and Elyas about meeting the Aiel. The dialogue between Perrin and the Tinkers in Chapter 25 was recreated ... in some points verbatim ... in Season 1, episode 3. The dialogue at the beginning of chapter 30 encompasses two pages in my edition. It is a great bit of dialogue. The true importance of the exchange, however, takes place in Perrin's internal monologue. The notion that this single exchange between Elyas and Perrin would, by itself, be sufficient to establish Perrin's core character trait is silly. While good, the dialogue has no particular hook, it does not occur at a pivotal moment, or during a scene of great tension. It would be quickly forgotten. Now this dialogue could still find its way into the show, helping to further emphasize Perrin's already established discomfort with violence. After all, Perrin did not have an axe when he met the Tinkers. And he did not encounter the Tinkers while he was with Elyas, so in the show there has been no occasion to juxtapose the Wolfbrother with the Way of the Leaf. If/when that juxtaposition does occur, it will have additional weight to it given the contrasts that have been established through the first two seasons of the show. This is dramatically different from the books where Perrin reflects internally on this discussion over the course of the next 11 books. In the books, it works. We get to hear Perrin's thoughts. On the screen, it wouldn't work at all.

Then pull them from the books and post them here.

Okay. I’m intrigued. Let me see your script. Not the whole thing, just the dialogue that will build Perrin via conversation between him, the Tinkers, and Elyas.

Most movies and tv shows aren’t adapting source material that relies heavily on internal monologues for character development the way WoT does. You’re conflating the POV with the internal monologues of the POV characters. A great deal of the motivation for all of the main characters in WoT is expressed via internal monologue, which means that much of the character development occurs entirely within the characters’ heads. That’s difficult to film, no matter how great your actors. The solution is to externalize those internal conflicts. Which is what the writers are trying to do.

GoT is a poor comparison. First of all, GRRM cut his teeth writing for television and the books are structured in a way to make them far more easy to adapt. They are heavy on dialogue and very light on internal monologue. On the other hand, WoT relies heavily on the characters' internal monologues. Rand's madness, Egwene's political maneuverings, virtually all of Perrin's character development occur almost entirely inside their thoughts. You seem to think it's super easy to just film that, it's not. I'd like to see you take a crack at writing a season. Tell me how easy it is to script.

No it isn’t. It is a massive problem that will dog any writer trying to adapt the series for the reasons stated above. Your question about Lan is a complete non-sequitur. As you point out Lan has few POV chapters (he has 25 total all coming after ToM or in New Spring), but pointing that out does not answer @expat’s question. You can like or dislike Lan’s characterization in the show (I’m on the record saying that I dislike it), but it is not an answer to the question.

No. TV Rand’s growth has been slowed down, which allows it to progress more naturally than in the books. (Rand is basically nerfed after Book 3). I think you’ll find him develop his power and the arrogance you’re looking for this season.

Explain to me how this fundamentally alters the story as opposed to simply slowing Rand’s growth as the Dragon.

He needs to be a fully formed character before he takes his dark turn, IMO. Your position assumes that they haven’t planned ahead. I think they have. Just as the whole “it could be a boy or a girl” thing was a piece of incorrect information that was used in service of demonstrating just how out of her depth Moiraine was, I believe many of the changes are meant to be paid off later.

I’m not sure I follow. What “choice in his own suffering” are you referring to? In any event, I think that there are still some opportunities for him to sheathe the sword before he goes Darth Rand - possibly in the Waste. I don’t know that we know this. He really hasn’t shown us any “powers” yet. Something happened when he blew the horn, but we aren’t sure what. And we don’t know that the Finn have been cut. This one makes the least sense to me. How is Thom and Moiraine’s relationship fundamental? There are plenty of reasons to go rescue Mo and plenty of time for Thom to develop a relationship with her. Nothing about their history together has been foreclosed by the story they’ve told so far. Rand has to go to Rhuidean and be named Car’a’carn. Egwene has to learn from the Wise Ones. Perrin has to return to the Two Rivers and unite them. Siuan must be deposed. Nyn and Elayne must become exiles. Mat has to visit the Finn. Removing the Finn entirely would be a huge blow to the fundamental structure of the novels. Asmo (or another Forsaken) needs to train Rand with the Power and Lan must train him with the sword before Dumai’s Wells. (I suspect both will happen in S3)

What FUNDAMENTAL changes have been made? Not plot points being shifted or character origins being changed. I’m talking changes to the overall plot and structure.

It is far more than “tangentially connected”. The fact that you hate the changes doesn’t mean that the overall story has been fundamentally altered.

This is laughable. Of course they wanted to make a good WoT series. Whether they succeeded or not is a matter of opinion, but they clearly didn’t set out to make a flop.

I’m not sure this tracks. The ratings information we have available shows WoT as comparable to other fantasy shows. You can certainly make the case that it’s not had the ROI Amazon wants, given the expense (a question that will be answered by the decision whether to green light Season 4), but the idea that it’s been some sort of ratings disaster is vastly overstated. It also bears repeating that the ratings information available to us does not reflect the international market, about which Amazon cares a great deal.

First, if you are truly contemplating self harm, please seek help. Second, I’m not sure what I’ve decided or how I’ve been “high handed”. I asked a simple question.

What were the WOT numbers?

Wow! The show opens 2024 on a hot streak! I think the rumors of its demise have been somewhat exaggerated.