I’m in the camp that they are having to adapt 14 books into what appears to be at most 6-7 seasons. The books are the ultimate even Tolkien would be proud of Jordan and yes often looked to as the standard. The books are pure gold. The show is an adaptation, they are keeping most of the main story intact and that is the battle between the light and the dark, Rand vs The Dsrk One and the forsaken. A lot of sacrifices have to be made to tell that story much to the detriment of the larger richer world of the books. The characters, generally, are fairly consistent personality wise and motivations to the original works. A lot of details have to be glossed over or eliminated completely. I was quite the purist when season 1 came out but after bellyaching over it with 3 of my daughters who also LOVE the books they pointed out to me that I should enjoy it for what it is or not. One of the daughters is a PURIST and couldn’t make it through season 1 but the other 2 viewed it from that other lens and brought me around to their way of thinking. Is the show as good as the books, ABSOLUTELY not, but can I appreciate what they are trying to do and stick to the main story Rand gs the dark one and the forsaken. Through that lens they are doing as well as can be expected considering they only have 8 episodes of 70 min each season with at most 6-7 seasons to tell that story. A tall order in its own. Through that view they are doing a well-enough job.