I think this is the more appropriate trope for this instance. It looked cool as heck on screen, pick your personal handwave to explain it. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool

And remember, Tropes Are Not Bad! https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/TropesAreTools

Now that's a Slatepitch I can get behind!

(I mean it's actually a tad premature for that sort of grandiose claim, but I hope it becomes true!)

5 minutes ago, Tim said:

Yep. I've seen suggestions that "most people working on the show probably haven't read the books", and while I think that is probably literally correct and I also doubt the entire writing team has read the books, I suspect that most of them have read at least the first few, and that on any given episode there would be at least some people writing or overseeing the script (including Rafe obviously) who have a sense of how major changes would impact the plot.

Hopefully he required everyone to read Isam's summaries of the first 10 books ?

I do have one more prediction for this episode: we'll get an even clearer Ba'alzamon appearance, as has been the trend this season (e2: briefly forms in rand's dream; e3: creeps around perrin's dream; e4: interacts with egwene and yells in rand's dream). Not sure whose dream we'll drop in on (Egwene? Mat??) but I think we might actually get a voice line this week!

Let Asmodean live to the Last Battle and redeem himself. "No man can stand in the Shadow so long that he cannot find the Light again."

13 minutes ago, Harad the White said:

Are those predictions or based upon some authoritative Episode 5 preview that exist somewhere?

Possible there are leaks elsewhere but AFAIK there's merely the title and imdb episode description, plus a scene from the trailer showing

(Spoiler boxed just in case anyone is avoiding the trailers too)

So folks are making predictions based on that

Oh cool are we having the same discussion we always do again? Great, it was super productive the past ten thousand times.

Anyway got to rewatch the episode, had a couple additional observations:

• I really liked Egwene's comment to Aram, about how maybe they already found the song.
• I liked the tweaked Red Ajah purpose as Liandrin explained it: not merely the hunters of male channelers, but a sort of law enforcement for all who can use the One Power (this is why Liandrin gets called out when she pushes for Logain to be gentled, by the way)
• Had a thought about past lives/voices of madness: one of Tam's comments in E1 is that (paraphrasing) we don't remember our past lives, implying that maybe it's a good thing. That does tie in with the comments from Semirhage in the books about how being able to talk to your past incarnations is super unhealthy for a person, mentally. I'm wondering if they're expanding that to be a common symptom of madness for male channelers, and if so, does that mean the named woman is a past Logain? Maybe even a past False Dragon?

That's all for now. 3 days until Blood Calls Blood!

For inspiration for at least Mat, whose ta'veren-ness tends to come out more in combat, Deadpool 2 had a minor character whose superpower is "luck". They all make fun of her for that not being a thing but they did a good job at putting it on screen! Could definitely take some ideas from that (Domino's highlight real below)

8 minutes ago, Durzan said:

So... been binge watching the series to catch up. Actually kinda like what they've done so far (But then, I never watched GoT and don't plan to, so maybe that's why...), although I am a little annoyed that they seemed to take Eliada of the Red Ajah and change her name to Liandrin. (Liandrin is a fairly bookish brown ajah with a less haughty personality).

No they got her right. In your defense there are a LOT of named Aes Sedai in the Wheel of Time

https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/Liandrin_Guirale

It might not have been my favorite but I always found The Horse and His Boy criminally underrated. Would have loved to see how they would have adapted it for the screen.

BTW one of my favorite Youtube channels is Dominic Noble who has a "Lost in Adaptation" series of videos that do a good job discussing both what changes are made and why they made those changes (and also his opinions on whether or not those changes worked). He has done all the Narnia films, I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

Anecdotal, but I was with my future in-laws over the weekend and several of them were talking about the show, unprompted from me. When they learned I was a fan of the books they asked some questions about starting to read the series, too (what book to start with, what to expect, etc). All good things!

16 minutes ago, Jaysen Gore said:

Ep 8 Nyn stabs the Dragon Reborn while trying to heal them

Correction: she stabs the DR in order to heal them!

I'm trying to figure out what the E5 "prologue" scene will be. I nailed the E3 and E4 ones but have no clue what they'll give us this time. Anyone have an idea?

6 minutes ago, Agitel said:

Anyone else notice that the Prime Video Explore page didn't update its timeline or map this week?

When they updated before Episode 4 aired they (apparently) spoiled the events of E4. They're probably trying to avoid that kind of error again

New thing I'm looking forward to seeing on screen: Mat attempting to get away from everything and managing to accidentally get into and win several battles in Fires of Heaven. Re read those chapters recently and they are honestly some of the funniest sequences in the series.

2 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

That would be such an Alanna thing to do

Hopefully she asks first ?

I think having her do this without understanding or being able to replicate it without actual training is fine. That's how a lot of new channelers in the books worked: a moment of stress and trauma lets then touch the Source and the Power sorta just does what they need it to. They are of course completely incapable of replicating this feat, but they can get back there with time and training.

I do hope we see Nynaeve being completely exhausted next week. Beyond the sheer amount of Power used, it's probably her first major channeling. She should basically be bedridden. They can have Lan secure her in the saddle while she complains haha

31 minutes ago, WhiteVeils said:

Anyway....did anyone else notice the beginning credits had changed?

Oo no I didn't! I'll keep an eye out for it on rewatch

WOW. Wow wow wow. I enjoyed the first 3 episodes but this one completely blew me away. Rambling thoughts 

• That "prologue"! Wow, what a great introduction to both saidin, the taint, and Logain all at once. Really enjoyed his madness expression.
• I found the Tinker colors a lot brighter in this episode. Dunno if it was a filter issue or maybe the wagons helped? Either way, was less jarring with my internal head canons and, more importantly, gave them some distinct visual personality
• Ila's conversation with Perrin was perfect. Made me tear up and was a beautiful defense of the Way of the Leaf, especially in the WoT universe
• Aram continues to be an engaging character whose presence I enjoy. This is witchcraft.
• Mat is grabbing his dagger ? really like the way they're showing its effects
• Thom's deduction is perfectly reasonable based on the information available to him (not to mention Owyn would make him predisposed to see evidence of male channelers). Loving the head fakes they're throwing
• FADE FIGHT. What a grisly scene. Great fight too. Wish we'd gotten more of Thom
• The Warder and Aes Sedai interactions were fantastic. I love that we see different types of relationships they have. They're not all the same!
• "You always get emotional when I drink" made me laugh
• Some good exposition on three of the Ajahs
• That quiet moment between Lan and Nynaeve was very sweet and also gave us some early Malkier backstory
• The combat channeling looked a lot better than it did in the trailer and I think a lot smoother than in E1. Still a couple moments of jankiness but that's probably inevitable
• When Moiraine talks with Logain, and talks about the power of the DR, it cuts to Egwene. A second head fake!
• I did not expect to see everyone dying. Actually made me nervous! And I know better!
• Nynaeve being a nuclear bomb of channeling is absolutely canon, and I love that her first intentional channeling is to heal people. Hell yes Wisdom!
• And a third head fake! Absolutely love it.
• The Amrylin Seat is gonna be PISSED. Also, did Liandrin set this up? Go Light.

Phew. Can't wait to rewatch tomorrow,  get more reactions. I'm so hype about the quality and content of the show. What a time to be alive ? 

"Hey what's the longterm effects if we kill Thom?" That is so mean, poor Sarah!

3 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

in episode 1 it was the butchered sheep, and in 3 it was the blood in the pool.

but in episode 2? I didn't notice it, where was it?

Ugh I feel like I saw one but I can't remember now. Guess I'll have to rewatch it again!

Less plot prediction, but I think there's been a Dragon's Fang in every episode so far, and I expect this trend to continue, especially with the episode title!

I think the Prologue-esque scene before the title sequence will be Logain either getting captured or maybe even channeling for the first time or declaring himself the Dragon.

Moiraine/Lan/Nynaeve arc: Moiraine is healed, and we probably get the attempt to free Logain by his followers. Probably some fun Aes Sedai dialogue, especially with Linadrin there

Perrin & Egwene: probably a slower episode for them. A good chance for them to rest and recover, possibly get some important information (especially with Sir Not Appearing In This Adaptation, uh, not appearing) but I now think Episode 5 (Blood Calls Blood) will be the Big Whitecloack Confrontation. We may see the beginning of it though

Rand/Mat/Thom: fleeing east towards Whitebridge, but you can't outrun a Fade. It'll catch them, but in the meantime I expect them to have to play for their supper, maybe do some barn chores on the road. Mat's mental state continues to deteriorate. Rand maybe gets post-touching the Source sickness? Might save that for Episode 5. Episode 4 ends with Thom buying the boys time to escape, his screams echoing as we cut to black

I really, really want to see the Verin reveal. One of my favorite sequences in the books.

This is less of a book reveal situation but boy am I excited for Loial. They've been playing very coy and I follow the actor on Twitter and you can tell how excited he and the rest of the cast are for him to show up.

They're actually wolfdogs, Marcus talked about them in one of his blue carpet interviews. They're part domesticated wolf and part German Shepherd. Very intelligent but can be trained to listen to humans. The Czech Republic is where they originated, and I actually have a dog whose sire is one (mom was a standard German Shepherd)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakian_Wolfdog

So I noticed something in Episode 2 that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else and this seemed like a good thread to bring it up in. When Moiraine and Egwene are discussing the Three Oaths, Moiraine asks what she knows about them, and Egwene says (paraphrasing) "the promises the Aes Sedai made to break Artur Hawkwing's seige of Tar Valon". I wasn't sure if I'd heard it right so I waited for a 2nd watch and then did some digging because that definitely didn't sound like what I recalled from the books.

However! It does not directly contradict the series proper, from which we learn only that they were added between the Trolloc Wars and the Hundred Years War, which this technically is. The Companion does date it to the end of the Trolloc Wars as opposed to just before the Hundred Years War. Regardless, it's still definitely an interesting choice to place it here explicitly. It definitely makes the Oaths feel like more of a punishment rather than something the Aes Sedai voluntarily chose. Anyone have any thoughts on this?