I think his role is "lend credibility to the show by including one of the authors as a producer guy." And ... that's about it.

I just don't think they are going to telegraph his return, even for people who have read the books. They're gonna want to keep that one in their back pockets. So even if BS has read Rafe's treatment for all 8 seasons (which I'm not so sure about), I don't think he would spoil the surprise.

Not necessarily to change the plot, but often to change the dialogue, or the way a scene is blocked or shot.

Yeah. Gotta think it will be Asmo.

Just because something hasn’t been explained yet, doesn’t mean it won’t be explained later.

This has nothing to do with character development. The mechanics of how one gets from one place to another does not develop character. Experiences develop character. So, for example, watching your good friend and fellow warder succumb to depression and commit suicide makes you fearful when another good friend suddenly finds herself bereft and hopeless. Having the essence of what makes you forcibly taken from you causes you to become depressed and lash out at the people around you. You must find some reason to continue to put one foot in front of the other. Being caged, belittled, and tortured causes a person to want revenge on their captors. And, of course, development is different from motivation. One is motivated by what one experiences. Right now, our characters are motivated by trying to keep their heads above water. They are at sea in a world that is far more complicated than what they ever knew. We are just now understanding what their motivations will be.

You're clearly more qualified than Rafe, what with your doctorate and all.

I'll be looking forward to reading your scripts.

I bow to your superior knowledge, oh master of the written word.

what a cogent response.

Obi Wan’s explanation of the force was perfectly timed in A New Hope precisely because it WAS emotionally relevant to Luke.

No it isn’t. It means that the show is focusing on how the characters interact with the world rather than on lore dumps. The show is focusing on prioritizing character development over plot and lore. The theory behind this is that viewers get invested in characters and don’t care as much about the threat of the Dark One or the Last Battle or prophecies of the Dragon. The plot and lore are like the set of a stage play - something to use to advance the emotional development of the characters. Your “paraphrasing” wasn’t paraphrasing at all. It was interpreting what Rafe said through your own lens. Which is fine. But don’t call it paraphrasing.

The actual quote was: “We are trying to explain the one power as it's emotionally relevant to the characters and go deeper visually simultaneous to that explanation. The two halves of the one power get more time the deeper the series goes.” So not even close to the way you paraphrased it. Weren’t you insisting after S1 that Rafe had abandoned the distinction between the halves entirely?

What do you base this claim on? Do you have evidence to back this up beyond not liking the choices he’s made?

Except that I believe the weave for a gateway takes more time than it does for Blink. And I don't recall anyone holding any other weaves at the same time as channeling a gateway. So it could be a problematic weave to try and use mid battle.

This is just kind of the way he talks though. I think it makes him seem more acerbic than he really means to be.

Also don’t discount the possibility of Forkroot tea. Though it hasn’t yet been introduced in the show, Liandrin could have employed it to keep everyone from being able to channel. If that’s the explanation though, I wish they’d spelled it out. Would have been easy enough to do during Liandrin’s chat with Nyn in the ways.

Agreed.

I get that people don't care for my explanation of Egwene and the collar. (Which I have repeatedly conceded could have been handled better). Is there another example of one of my far-fetched justifications?

You are not the sole arbiter of what is good, bad, or mediocre. Art is subjective.

Oh please. I’m sure it’s me saying, “actually this wasn’t that bad” that starts the arguments as opposed to: OMIGOSH RAFE IS A MISANDRIST WHO HATES ROBERT JORDAN AND SPITS ON HIS LEGACY! THIS SHOW IS HOT GARBAGE!

This attitude. This show is miles ahead of any other fantasy property on TV. But y’all book purists try to act like it’s the same as wanting to watch Real Housewives or something.

Fortunately, unlike D&D, Rafe has a finished product to adapt so he doesn't have to try to come up with an ending to a massive saga all by himself. I think the thing that really gets my dander up about the book purists is they act like I need their permission to enjoy the show.

Being critical of something is not the same as disliking or trashing it. BS, like many of us, see the writing as the weakest part of the show. There’s miles of difference between that and “the writing is horrible and an affront to RJ’s memory and Rafe just thinks he’s better than everyone.”

And so moving. And Uthred’s reverence for Alfred in that moment, despite how awful he had been treated. Just amazingly written and acted.