5 minutes ago, AdamA said:

Best-ever book/film combo to me is 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Agreed. The wrinkle to this pair is that Clarke wrote "The Sentinel" in 1948 that was a precursor to both. As you said, the 1968 creations were contemporaneous so something different from an adaptation. Kubrick/Clarke were always unique in their work, so that makes sense. 

15 minutes ago, ArrylT said:

this is now set up very plausibly as to a reason why she gets automatically made Accepted.  

Sounds right to me. Not to mention Liandrin's crude attempt at recruitment. (This definitely belongs in this thread.)

Battles

The big battle scenes in both GoT and LoTR/Hobbit are the standards for fantasy battles. Gandalf's charge at Helm's Deep, Rohan's charge at Minas Tirith, The Vale's charge at the Battle of Bastards are all classics. I am sensing a pattern here--charges when all is nearly lost. Where might they be in WoT?

26 minutes ago, danweasel said:

We can only imagine what Tolkien would have thought of Jackson's work, but I'm extremely skeptical he would have cared about some of the details altered along the way,

You could be right. However, the Tolkien estate seems more purist. But that's the way human beings are. The original artist is completely secure in his place and allows others to tinker with his creation, whereas the ones that follow become holier than holy, rigid to a fault. That's the way religion often works irl.

23 minutes ago, Ralph said:

They took away Perrin's axe, I

That's an interesting topic, where Amazon's take is arguably as good for the story as the Book's. Perrin doesn't have any use for a killing weapon yet, so the introduction, can be a notable scene to come.

3 minutes ago, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

Or if the deal Aiel in the cage means they have already started their hunt across the dragonwall then Thom may have spoken to one before and been aware that they are hunting one of their own raised in the "wetlands" and been interested in Rand on that account - Aiel accept gleemen in the waste and would be accustomed to asking them for news.

It's not worth arguing the point that Thom is attracted to an Aiel-like DR candidate. What does he do after? He tells Rand that he thinks it's Matt. I don't buy this as a strategy.

6 minutes ago, bringbackthomsmoustache said:

Except that we get to hear the voices advising him to do vicious and spiteful things (e.g. kill the king of Ghealdan) and he is trying to do better by choosing to do the opposite (heal him).

I agree. However, the latest counter-argument is that Logain is not mad ENOUGH yet, so he resists the voices that later will drive him mad. You can't win.

1 minute ago, Tim said:

To be clear, my theory is not that Thom thinks Rand is the DR due to his hair - I'm just pointing out that there's no way of confidently extrapolating from the books on this point - but rather that he might think Rand or Mat can channel, regardless of how he makes the point to Rand.

According to your theory, Thom lies to Rand, saying Matt needs protection from the AS, seemingly ignoring the possibility that Rand also needs protection. That would jive with my idea that Thom doesn't really have convincing evidence for Matt=Owyn. You go further that despite lack of evidence, he says so, to influence Rand. That is subtlety out the wazoo for all but the most esoteric of televised art. My theory is unsatisfying, but this isn't any better. ?  Oh well, all attempts are appreciated.

3 minutes ago, Tim said:

and that the DR shall be "born of a maiden wedded to no man"

Does this refer to every DR? We know there are many DRs, both male and female -- does the red hairing/Aiel connection still apply? And, of course Thom would have to know more than Moiraine, who didn't pick out Rand particularly among the candidates.

1 minute ago, Tim said:

Not the origin, but I did wonder if they might have Thom understand more of the significance of red hair on a non-Aiel then they have let on (or than he seemed to understand in the books). 

One reason I don't buy it, is that Thom shouldn't have any knowledge of the prophecy, and especially would not know more than Moiraine. Past Dragons, like LTT, presumably don't have that characteristic, so only this particular DR would be pointed to. Without the Book prophecy, Thom is in the dark. So, the part of the theory that Thom is misdirecting from Rand to Matt doesn't make sense. 

What is the origin? My unsatisfying theory, as you may know, is that the Amazon writers used the unconvincing Matt=Owyn story to further their aims of misdirection about the identity of the DR.

14 minutes ago, Tim said:

or that Thom could have put two and two together once he saw Rand's hair and heard Dana say one of them is the dragon.

Wow. Is this the origin of your "Thom was lying about Owyn = Matt" theory? Incredible. I don't believe it, but, incredible!

1 minute ago, Tim said:

I think the prophecy was that the DR would be born of the ancient blood and raised by the old blood - meaning the Aiel and the descendants of Manetheren, respectively. I don't think Moiraine knew what that meant in the books (or not at first), and it would be surprising for Thom to understand it - but it's notionally possible either that in the show the prophecy will give another more explicit hint regarding Aiel heritage, or that Thom could have put two and two together once he saw Rand's hair and heard Dana say one of them is the dragon.

Thanks for an answer. This would not yet apply to the Amazon universe, as you say.

1 minute ago, Sabio said:

Did you read the book?  LTT's hair has nothing to do with it.

You may not understand, but I ask a question to get the answer. Why does the Aiel hair point to Rand as the DR?

1 minute ago, Sabio said:

Really?

Really. Does the DR have red hair? Did LTT? 

9 minutes ago, Sabio said:

quick view of the Aile's hair in E3 should give you a clue. 

Why does that point to the DR?

4 minutes ago, Tim said:

Obviously that is what Thom said to Mat. I'm suggesting that Thom may not actually be entirely truthful here.

Sorry you caught me before the edit. My current reaction to what you said is that Thom is either lying or giving a contrived "truth." Don't know if either is believable.

5 minutes ago, Tim said:

Logain makes the slightly different point that the voices are telling him how to be a better dragon. I think Moiraine is understandably dismissive, because it sounds vainglorious

And what do you think of the shadows in Ghealdan telling Logain to murder the King?

7 minutes ago, Tim said:

FIRST, and maybe I am alone on this, but I did not conclude that Thom is convinced Mat can channel.

Ok...your point is that Thom is lying while he tells the Owyn story. That's subtle, although I see no evidence of it, except that the other interpretation, i.e., Thom is telling the truth, is contrived.

2 hours ago, Sir_Charrid said:

wasn't as dark as Winterfell attacked by Zombies 

Oh! I thought it was black leopards in a coal mine.

1 minute ago, Jackdaw_Fool said:

He has the foretelling!

I pray it's not the channeling sickness. Nyn hasn't learned to heal it yet.

1 minute ago, AusLeviathan said:

More like the nightmare I've been dreading.

OK. Dreading having everyone like you? That's the dream of all N&Ns. Since you haven't answered, we can conclude you are just trollocking about this "twist."

Just now, AusLeviathan said:

Holding back what?

The twist that will turn everyone in N&Ns. Your dream come true.

11 minutes ago, AusLeviathan said:

Mark the date, December 24th, the day Episode 8 featured a twist that caused the fan base to lose its mind.

The fan base losing it's mind is a constant, and it's part of the marketing strategy. Later, they realize...oh, it's ok. If you knew anything definitive, like all the N&Ns, you wouldn't hold back.

2 minutes ago, KakitaOCU said:

Last AMA Rafe said the issue with the prophecies was not any changes but that after 3000 years no one trusted them.   So until we get wording showing changes, we can trust the original.  Which means Dragon is the same Dragon, which means there's nothing to re-write for Aus' issues.

Within the Amazon series, Moiraine says there have been past Dragons that are male and female. This means that the DR can be male or female. There is no other way for a reborn entity to switch genders. The prophecy tells Moiraine that the DR was born 20 years ago but doesn't tell her the gender. There is no "original" other than the one referred to in Amazon. 

20 minutes ago, KakitaOCU said:

THIS cycle the prophecies are correct and the Dragon is a Man.

Great post otherwise. This I don't understand. In the Amazon Universe the prophecy doesn't tell Moiraine the gender of the DR, so she is willing to consider male and female candidates. The prophecies are correct, but they would have been correct even if the Dragon were a woman.