9 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

I wonder, if the show is really so awful as some people claim, why so many people are watching it...

With all of the negativity coming from the naysayers, that just goes to prove that no one can please all the people all of the time. 

Although this adaptation isn't as close to the books as I would have hoped, season 1 is still hitting all of the necessary beats in plot lines, and characterizations. Also, I'm pleased that, for the most part, the acting has been superb. 

6 hours ago, Sir_Charrid said:

In the show there is no shadow luring Matt he just finds the dagger 

I believe if you watch that scene again that you will see a shadowy figure for just a second. 

I thoroughly enjoyed episode 1 and I liked episode 2 even better. With episode 1, we see that Mat stole a gold bracelet so that he could buy laterns for his sisters. We see that Mat and his family is poor and he is a gambler. In Shadar Logoth, Mat leaves the building where Moiraine and Lan are resting after Rand and Egwene go exploring. 

A shadow of Madashar lures Mat into another building when he goes exploring. That shadow lure leads Mat to the ruby dagger. So seeing how the show has set up Mat's character, it fits his character that he is tempted to leave Perrin, Lan, and Moiraine. 

Thank you very much for an excellent review. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this episode almost as I enjoyed watching this very good episode. 

Very well written, Adam. I have also the rest of your blogs here on Dragonmount, and I must say that I certainly do agree with all of the major points you've discussed in each blog. I know that you don't receive a lot of comments from WOT fans here on these Dragonmount blogs. However, I believe that many of my fellow fans have read and sincerely appreciate you and your blogs. 

As for this man here, I do not see Daniel Henney as a "pretty boy."  For me, he is an excellent choice to be Lan Mandragoran.

This appears to be an excellent choice. If he has enough athleticism to be Lan, and I believe he does, then I am well pleased. 

For me, it really do not matter too much whether or not the actors and actresses selected look a lot like they are described by Robert Jordan in my all time favorite series of fictional novels.  I believe that Rand's actor should be at least 3 to 5 inches taller than the majority of the other actors portraying characters that are west of the Spine of the World. Naturally, that means that I would like to see that the majority of the actors and actresses for the Aiel themselves be at least 2 to 3 inches taller than the "wetlanders."   I want for Perrin's actor to actually look like he could be a blacksmith.  I want Mat's character to have that lanky and handsome appearance as described in the books. I would also like for Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve, Aviendha, Min, and also Lan Mandragoran to be portrayed by actresses and actors whom visually look very very similar to how my favorite writer of fantasy fiction described them in his books.  BUT, is all of that necessary for me to enjoy the WOT tv series on Amazon? No. Of course not. 

However, what I honestly prefer to NOT be changed are the core personalities and mannerisms of the primary, secondary, and most of the tertiary protagonists & antagonists. If Rafe and the writers for the TV series decide to have some of the characters that we in WOT fandom know and love be written as gay or lesbian characters, then that won't bother me too much just as long as they don't change their personalities and mannerisms a lot.  During my multiple re-reads of the WOT over the last 26 years, the primary reason that I always enjoyed those re-reads was that I loved the various character interactions, both positive and negative, that my favorite protagonists & antagonists had with one another. In my eyes, the various stories and plot lines in the WOT series are very much character driven because of each characters' personality and cultural traits, including both negative and positive traits. Robert Jordan found a delightfully wonderful balance in writing about the daily interactions between males and females in real world cultures and societies when he wrote each novel in his WOT series. Hopefully, Rafe, the screenwriters, the directors, and all of the actors & actresses will be able to successfully and consistently depict those favorite aspects of mine in the Wheel of Time series.  

I am very hopeful that Amazon will do a great job with the WOT series. Although the seasons will probably initially be available only on Amazon Prime's streaming video, I'll have to wait and hope that Amazon puts the seasons on dvd. I am very excited and hopeful that one of the largest entertainment corporations in the world shall do a great job with the Wheel of Time.