I thought that scene was fantastic. I enjoy a lot of Mat and Elayne's scenes tbh. They usually make for some great moments, comic and unexpectedly heartwarming. While some of the time in Ebou Dar was slow for me during my first read, the actual climax of The Bowl of the Winds I found interesting, and worth some of the slower bits it took to get there. I agree with you on the importance of Elayne's mission vs taking the throne. The horrible unrelenting drought and endless summer was definitely a bigger deal than political unrest and technically, more dangerous to the world at large.

Every reader is entitled to their own opinion, but I'd have to agree to disagree. I really like Elayne. I liked her from her first introduction. She and Nynaeve are two of my favorite characters in the series on the whole. Are they annoying sometimes? Do they lack foresight? Do they make mistakes? Yes, to all. Their flaws and strengths are what make them compelling. Ebou Dar plot can be summed up by the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. Frankly the pattern is controlling events to happen the way they are meant to, so I think it's unrealistic to say "this would've saved countless lives" because there is zero assurance any actions would actually work out that way. Rand trying to fix things throughout the series backfires more often than not, so I don't feel it's a simple fix or rests on the shoulders of a particular character. You can't stand Elayne. I like her a lot. Liking or disliking a character or plot point isn't a universal one-size fits all thing.

IMO turning Egwene 's rite of passage into any type of ritual be it tossing her off a cliff or a grotto baptism just doesn't fit the culture of the Two Rivers from the books. In the book, the sign of a girl reaching adulthood was braiding her hair which is such a simple but lovely tradition (harkening back to early medieval and Celtic cultures). Why would her rite of passage be so mystic or symbolic? IMO it just doesn't fit Emond's Field. I'm trying to think of something positive Rafe did...I didn't mind expanding the celebration of Bel Tine with the little remembrance candle lighting thing. It didn't exactly fit the festive Bel Tine vibe but you know I didn't hate that compared to most of the off things about the Two Rivers.

I agree with this. 9 and 10 were not a slog for me at all, I really enjoyed both of those. Book 7 A Crown of Swords was a bit of a slog my first reading, so I think I'd say that was the one I had to power through. But honestly, strange as this might sound, New Spring took me forever to finish. It's not even that long! I can't relate to all the love New Spring gets with readers, for the most part, it feels unnecessary and outside of the dressmaker scene, and one or two wittily dry lines from Lan, I can't say anything really stood out. I'd probably skip it in most future rereads.

While I've read people complaining about RJ's female characters, it's not an opinion I hold. As a female reader, I actually appreciate the fact he put depth into his female characters, giving them flaws and moments of weakness as opposed to the token type females a lot of fantasy authors write in the genre. Same as his males to be honest. All the characters annoyed me at times, and I think that makes them feel more real. I like a lot of the females in the WOT. So, while RJ gets a lot of flack on that point, he's not getting that from me. I felt like the series missed the mark on so many of the characters, IMO Nynaeve was not the character I came to love in the books among other changes that are more noticeable on reread. The series' take on Min was bizarre and unrecognizable. (I won't even get into the guys like Mat, Perrin, Thom, that would be it's own topic) The character changes probably bothered me the most, because the characters were the thing I liked best and they are what kept me hooked on the books the first time around. I didn't have the same attachment to the style of characters presented in the tv series. While there are a lot of things I might have changed going forward, I don't see the WOT as all that hard to adapt within a series context. Some plots need cutting, a lot needs to be streamlined but ultimately, there are roads to take in that regard that wouldn't take the spirit of the story away. I feel like claiming the story is too difficult to adapt faithfully is just a handy excuse. I'll agree to disagree on those points. At the end of the day, the relationship between a book and reader leaves a lot open to personal interpretation and personal preference. So, that's why we're all going to walk away with different opinions and deal breakers when it comes to accepting an adaption, I think.

Agreed. I realize the shift in focus was deliberate, but I take issue with it. The handling of the characters book vs show is just off-putting. For example, imo Lan was done dirty. In The Eye of The World he shines throughout in various ways, whereas in the show, he's much more Moiraine's hound in the writing, less impressive, less skilled, less in general. While he is her loyal Warder book Lan comes across as his own person, and takes initiative that isn't afforded to his actions throughout season 1 of the series. At times, Lan has nothing to do. Equally, something of book Moiraine's essence is lost in translation, because there's too much focus on her which actually distracts from the powerful calm and unpredictable aura that makes her so interesting. Show Liandrin always seemed more like book Elaida to me. And whoever thought to make Alanna the Aes Sedai poster-child continues to baffle me. In the book, her claim to fame is bonding Rand against his will. Similarly, I'll never understand why there was an entire episode devoted to the Aes Sedai/Warder saga/soap opera with characters that were basically NPCs, when actual plot arcs of main characters were non-existent. It's just such a strange angle in adapting a book like The Eye of The World.

This is the first time I've taken the plunge into rereading the WOT since watching the series... And I'm a little astounded how much worse season 1 adapted of The Eye of The World than I originally thought. Reading the book again, I'd forgotten how simply a lot of the world building and story is presented. Like come on, the first book is not as hard to adapt as people make out. I disagree that 8 episodes weren't enough, because I think a faithful adaption that carried the themes and spirit of the book could be achieved with proper editing, pacing and good writing. I'm not saying this to kick the can down the road or persist in criticism of a series that obviously some people really enjoyed. But - rereading is just solidifying my feelings. In my mind showrunners were using WOT as a base for their own fantasy tale and lacked interest in adapting WOT faithfully, outside of using the character/place names and channeling and some of the basics. It's not the same story because it misses the mark from get-go.

I recently started rereading Eye of The World, I'm about halfway into the book atm. I'm kind of amazed at some of the bits I'd already forgotten. I don't think this book gets enough credit for how it handles the setting and story in a way that is easy to grasp (something I noticed when first reading but have again). It's almost like you are going on a journey to discover RJ's world while the characters are on their journey. I'm looking forward to rereading the series in the general. So, when was the last time you reread the series?