Yes, the events in the books occur in just over 2 years. The show is doing a particularly bad job at demonstrating the passage of time. Oops. Obviously I am making my way through the comments for Ep5. It's hard to keep track!

Moiraine and Siuan at least had a history of being pillow friends although they left that behind when raised to Aes Sedai. It doesn't do anything to move the story forward, but it doesn't detract either. Elayne and Aviendha? Nada. Someone once tried to tell me that they were gay because they took baths at the same time (but in different tubs). The Sea Folk were insulted that they were not invited to bathe with Elayne, indicating it was some sort of social ritual among them. So does that mean all Sea Folk women were gay? Aside from the lack of evidence, there is the fact that they are magically born again as sisters. Then it becomes akin to invest which I'm pretty sure even in today's woke environment is still frowned upon.

I can't agree with this. Siuan is played by a black actress, Nyaneave, Egwene, and Perrin are all brown skinned. Ihvon was black (and we know why he was killed off instead of Maksim). What difference does it make that Ishamael is Lebanese? All of the other Forsaken so far are white.

Do you think, in today's political and social climate, that they would admit it if they disagreed? The fact that they are all fine with the changes does not equate to Rafe's personal interpretation being accurate based on what actually happens in the books. This is evidenced by his intentional misrepresentation of the first sister ceremony and the the bond it creates.

Actually, DaddyFinn asked which changes specifically, and AMOW listed legitimate instances from the episode that were not from the books. There's nothing wrong with their reply. I don't agree that they're all bad just because they're not taken straight from the books. The Tower scenes with Siuan and Elaida were excellent. Alanna's reason for being in the TR is half book accurate. Perhaps the other changes will lead to substantial and meaningful plot points. There have been changes previously that have not, while others I had to reevaluate after watching this season. Only time will tell.

I agree, good, not great. But there was a lot of set up. The horror of Natti's burned face was enough for me! On my rewatch I closed my eyes, opened them, and what? is not over yet? That was a real gut punch. Although I should have seen it coming after what we saw in S1E2. And Valda, man he gives me the creeps! Elaida and Siuan were great. Venim just dripped from Elaida when she was talking to Siuan. I wanted to throw something at the TV. She's gonna be my Cersei for WoT. Did you notice Siuan called her sister instead of daughter after she healed her? I love Elayne in the books, and I really love her in the show. The dynamics between her, Mat, and Nyaneave are great. And between Mat and Min. I was surprised to see the Sea Folk too. They made very good use of the conversation between the Sail Mistress and Nyaneave. Of course Egwene hasn't failed at anything. I'll be surprised if the Wise Ones even learn that Egwene disobeyed them. TV and movies are terrible at establishing the passage of time, but I think we are supposed to think a couple of years have gone by, because one of Mat's sisters said she could barely remember Perrin. Or she could have just be lying. Who knows with these writers.

I didn't think it would last because they've let us down in the past. No matter how good an episode is, I always go into the next one with cautious optimism. But I didn't dislike this episode. TV shows/movies in general are bad about giving you a sense of the passage of time. It's a huge pet piece of mine. All Egwene had to say to Moraine was "I've only been studying with the Wise Ones for X amount of time". One line, 5-10 seconds. If you know they've made it clear that distinct races aren't a thing in the show, why are you surprised to see a non-Asian blonde from Malkier, or Sea Folk that are not all very dark skinned? I agree with you about the accents, though. In S1, Thom told Mat there are 2 ways to tell where someone is from, clothing styles and accents, but accents are all over the place. Perhaps with the EF kids, they are too young to have the experience to speak with an accent that is not native to them, but what about everyone else? I thought the actress who played Moiraine's sister was great, but she and Moraine sound nothing alike. If they weren't going to strive for consistent accents based on locations, they shouldn't have had Thom say that to Mat. On the subject of Mat though, I love Donal Finn! I didn't notice the continuity errors you mentioned. Fortunately, those aren't the things I focus on, but there have been plenty of other continuity errors. For instance, when Moiraine told Egwene the exact wording of the 3 Oaths, she omitted darkfriends (and shadow spawn). Now I'm this episode we see Elaida kill a Black Ajah sister in cold blood.

I don't think these are examples of the madness beginning to manifest. I think these scenes were demonstrating how addictive the OP is, even with the taint.

He's not in control of his dreams in the show. Lanfear keeps entering them. So he's not technically cheating, although it could be argued that the fact he doesn't just tell her to go away, and that he says he sees the woman she used to be implies those are his true feelings. I've had dreams that made me think "where did that come from?", but I've never dreamed I had sex with someone I hate IRL. I don't like this being the reason Rand and Egwene break up, instead of the way it happens in the book.

I think it's both. I don't watch a lot of TV/movies, but my husband does, and it's rare to not have at least one sex scene. When romance serves the story, I'm fine with it. Otherwise, I couldn't care less. Romantic relationships are a part of life, though, so it would be unrealistic to never have them in a story. As to whether the show has improved on the romance, mostly I'd have to say no. Nyaneave and Lan are good.