Overall, there were some enjoyable elements of this first season. I don't know if I was as bothered as some by deviations from the book; once you decide that the characters are going to be older, some things are just going to have to change. Also with Pike being your lead actress, the focal point is going to have to shift. She was great. I'm also ok with Lan being a little bit more human and relatable. It is a character change, and you lose something about the eventual impact of his relationship with Nynaeve, but I think it's probably worth the tradeoff.
I am a little bit concerned that the red herring, who is the dragon game, took away from opportunities to develop Rand, Matt, and Perrin's characters more thoroughly. If I hadn't read the books, I'm just not sure that I would care about any of them. I don't know if that is the acting or the writing, but it is a problem that will need to be addressed going forward.
One thing that I felt like this first season didn't do a good job with was making the audience understand the stakes. Maybe it was the weather impacts, or the dream sequences, or the darkfriend/ shadowspawn encounters, but the books provide a good sense of menace and make the reader understand the stakes for the characters of the dark one breaking free. I don't know if I got that in the series other than, maybe the initial Two Rivers attack. To some extent, I think that was my complaint with this final episode. To the extent that there was the rising action, and climax, the denouement felt unsatisfying. If I'm being honest, I'm ok with them changing the first book ending. I would have liked to have seen Aginor and Balthamel, but I can understand why they didn't want to introduce new characters at this point. Even Jordan recognized that there were some issues with the first book's ending, and if they had tried to strictly follow it, it would have been pretty weird (The Voice saying that they will take no part; the scene where the dark one is supposedly whipping his mother's soul; the omni-present battle in the gap etc...). That said, the resolution of the season is supposed to be this confrontation. I don't necessarily mind that it was more of a mental fight, but I think that we needed some sort of hint to Rand's power. The statue of the sa'angreal glowing isn't enough.
I'm hoping that the next season can address some of these issues, and I'm looking forward to getting to see Elayne and some of the other characters. I hope that Matt's reintroduction can bring in a little bit more of his humor which was something that the first season was missing, IMO. The Seanchan should provide a good opportunity for developing the conflict. I think that the Forsaken should also present some interesting possibilities.
Review of "The Eye of the World"
in TV Show
Posted
Overall, there were some enjoyable elements of this first season. I don't know if I was as bothered as some by deviations from the book; once you decide that the characters are going to be older, some things are just going to have to change. Also with Pike being your lead actress, the focal point is going to have to shift. She was great. I'm also ok with Lan being a little bit more human and relatable. It is a character change, and you lose something about the eventual impact of his relationship with Nynaeve, but I think it's probably worth the tradeoff.
I am a little bit concerned that the red herring, who is the dragon game, took away from opportunities to develop Rand, Matt, and Perrin's characters more thoroughly. If I hadn't read the books, I'm just not sure that I would care about any of them. I don't know if that is the acting or the writing, but it is a problem that will need to be addressed going forward.
One thing that I felt like this first season didn't do a good job with was making the audience understand the stakes. Maybe it was the weather impacts, or the dream sequences, or the darkfriend/ shadowspawn encounters, but the books provide a good sense of menace and make the reader understand the stakes for the characters of the dark one breaking free. I don't know if I got that in the series other than, maybe the initial Two Rivers attack. To some extent, I think that was my complaint with this final episode. To the extent that there was the rising action, and climax, the denouement felt unsatisfying. If I'm being honest, I'm ok with them changing the first book ending. I would have liked to have seen Aginor and Balthamel, but I can understand why they didn't want to introduce new characters at this point. Even Jordan recognized that there were some issues with the first book's ending, and if they had tried to strictly follow it, it would have been pretty weird (The Voice saying that they will take no part; the scene where the dark one is supposedly whipping his mother's soul; the omni-present battle in the gap etc...). That said, the resolution of the season is supposed to be this confrontation. I don't necessarily mind that it was more of a mental fight, but I think that we needed some sort of hint to Rand's power. The statue of the sa'angreal glowing isn't enough.
I'm hoping that the next season can address some of these issues, and I'm looking forward to getting to see Elayne and some of the other characters. I hope that Matt's reintroduction can bring in a little bit more of his humor which was something that the first season was missing, IMO. The Seanchan should provide a good opportunity for developing the conflict. I think that the Forsaken should also present some interesting possibilities.