New model of A'dam:

Is it WoT or a basic course of biosensors? 😄

Mmm...for 3 episodes? I don't know what to think.

Ok, so now we officially know that of course Moraine was not stilled and this was a subplot to have some Moraine/Lan arc in S2.

That I would like to see some source for this piece of news...

Mmmm...the part on viewership is not very promising. I think Nielsen rating will be published soon anyway, so we will at least an idea on how successful the show has been.

I still bet my dollar that Moraine is NOT stilled. I go for Siuan master-"unknotter" theory...and then Siuan really get stilled but Moraine can do nothing about it (and Nyn coming to the rescue)

On my behalf, I do not see malice, just diverging artistic view between source material and show and it's perfectly legitimate from the showrunner to try to do it his way.

Unfortunately these streaming companies are not trustworthy on this subject. Amazon already cancelled a few series in the last months as execs are starting to question the way in which Video division is spending the money. D+ just axed two completed shows before even broadcasting them. Warner Bros also did something similar with Batgirl, even destroying the physical copies of the movie. Honestly, only super-successful and popular shows are safe at the moment (better if they are not super-expansive), which is sad because it will become difficult to draw people to new series going this route.

Lan character is almost beyond redemption

As far as i remember, Rand does not use OP but wins with a combination of a little-more-than-rudimental skills coupled with his personal natural talent, underestimation by opponent, the Void and of course being lucky/ta'veren as you said. By the way, I would be extremely surprised if show-Rand battles Turok AND Ishamael in the sky in S2 finale. My guess is that the first fight will go to someone else and I say Aviendha.

1:1 adaptation could be only possible with anime/cartoon. Reasonably Closer-to-the-books is not easy ("nobody said it was easy" as the Coldplay sing) but neither impossible. For instance, I am re-reading book 6 (one of my favourites)...lthe first 200 pages can go in less than half episode, but only if one really wants to be pedantic in the adaptation🤣

I feel that One Piece adaptation proves that you can take a gigantic series set in a super-wierd world, be faithful to the source material as much as it is reasonably possible and...surprise surprise...be extremely successful (I would say much more than WOT series). And this comes from the same people that botched Cowboy Bebop...so you can also learn from your own mistakes. WOT showrunners have legitimately chosen another route, but I am not convinced that a closer-to-the-books series would have been impractical. I feel that more than practicality the distance from the books is stemming from the artistic choice (again legitimate) from the showrunner, i.e. it is less "This doesn't work on screen" and more " I don't like this part. Let's change it". At least, this is the way I feel but I am waiting to see how things unfold in these last episodes to have a stronger opinion (even if S1 finale already had "a tell").

Technically, in this version or take of the story, Moraine is the main character, what she does is main plot and probably family drama will have consequences as other original parts of her story (e.g. her being stilled/shielded in end of S1 being one of the main plot points of S2).

Having gone through, I have not yet matured an overall opinion...just random thoughts I am gonna share At this point, it is useless to compare with the book and/or complain about changes. It is a very different thing, which will succeed or fail mainly on its own merits/flaws. However, in this regard, while the show surely does not seem to be made to please the most, let's say, "conservative" book fans, at the same time, it feels that, without any book knowledge, it might be difficult to catch all the details. This leaves (at least for me) open the question: what is the target audience of this show? I think this is (commercially) the main conundrum that the show has not solved and will decide its future. In this context, while we know that streaming platforms are far from being open in sharing numbers (an issue which is at the core of the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike), I don't think that the reception is satisfactory for Amazon, in terms of buzz and interest generated only. A few random numbers on FB House of the Dragon > 1 mln followers The Witcher 681.498 followers Rings of power on prime 531.229 followers One Piece 292.582 followers The Last of Us 244.909 followers Wheel of Time 71.987 follower Not entering in comparison on which show is better, I think that when you spend the money that Amazon is spending on WoT, you maybe would like something better... Anyway, coming to reviewing thoughts... The technical aspects of the show are drastically improved. Writing is still oscillating too much among good and bad, worst CW-level bad (most of it given unfortunately to some of the main characters) I do not also understand the reasons beyond the pacing and the time devoted to each sub-plot. Acting is a big problem because there is a sheer difference between best and worst performers. In this context, thanks to good writing and Kate Fleetwood being two steps above the rest, Liandrin is by far the most interesting character in the season and i honestly feel more curious to explore her motivations than follow the stories of the supposedly main characters. Is it an awful show? No, there are definitely worse shows Is it an outstanding, top-notch tv show that can be compared with the best of the best? No, it has too many problems. Can be enjoyed? Probably if you are too focussed on the books, you need to step back or try the effort to understand that this is a different tell of the story which will still end in Tarmon Gai'don (or, as I fear, in some Amazon execs meeting). Looking it without prejudice, I would give an overall 6.5/7 to the show. Now, just to have a personal take: i have started watching the One Piece adaptation by Netflix, which is probably the WoT of manga/anime in terms of length. On every single technical aspect , I feel WoT show being far superior than OP live action... BUT OP knows clearly who is its audience and how to make them happy, you can feel the respect and love for the source material, for the lore, for the characters. In a word, it has something that WoT show is still missing: a soul