I hope the original poster has stopped watching the show. I grudge-watched all of season one just to see if things would improve, and it did not pay off for me. It's not an approach I would recommend. 😉 Some shows have good writing, and some don't. Wheel of Time doesn't.

It isn't even about changes from the books or picking & choosing what to cut or what to include. It's just about creating a compelling story for the viewers. That isn't dependent on having enough episodes or long enough episodes. The writers aren't there. Some shows are better than others, that's just how it is.

coming in late, i haven't visited in some time. For me, having read the book or not isn't the biggest issue. I'm less bothered about changes from the books, than I am about plain poor writing overall. Heck, TV Lan is my favorite character in the show, and he's one of the most different from the book. But the show is internally inconsistent, the story doesn't tie together well, it doesn't show compelling progress through episodes to keep the viewer engaged. IMO. And some of the writing errors just defy any suspense of disbelief. Much of what happens in the show doesn't follow logically from anything in the story, things just happen, seemingly at random. The acting is really inconsistent, the directing is too. Maybe those are weak because the writing is poor. For comparison, I love the Shadow and Bone show, although that's hugely different from the books. The acting is solid, the story maintains a solid course of development and keeps viewers engaged. I just feel like the Rafe of Time team forgot that a compelling series is about only one thing - the story.