Wheel of Time TV series [Show spoilers, no book spoilers]

[alhoon]

Here's what Jordan himself was thinking about the characters.

[Pizza]

It is Min that is visiting Egwene as a Damane and it happens once per week for a few minutes. There are no mentions in the Great Hunt, which I finished a couple of weeks ago, that Min was considered attracted to a Daman.

Mat not Min. It comes in a later book and a different city when he is trying to help some Aes Sedai or Windfinders who have been captured escape. It has been a long time so I can’t be more specific.

[alhoon]

ohhhhhh... I think I recall ... something. But yeah, it is too far away yet.

[alhoon]

So far, season 2 is quite better than season 1. It also deviates much more. We're moving from "based on" to "inspired by" territory. But it works better.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Oh? How so?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

So far, season 2 is quite better than season 1. It also deviates much more. We're moving from "based on" to "inspired by" territory. But it works better.

Yes, I really think it's doing a great job of that. Cutting the fat (forgive the sacrilege) and hitting the high points. The one part I could do without is the endless Moiraine/Lan drama, but I gather that's a side effect of the way TV production works. You can't hire a big name actress, elevate her mentor role to the "lead" in Season 1 and then expect her to sit around researching for a few scenes in season 2 and expect her to still be there for her big moments in season 4.

The moments I've been waiting to see are still there, if how we get to them are slightly different. And the actors have all stepped up their game. (as have the costumers, effects artists, etc.) I was worried after Season 1 that the show might not last long enough to get to the "good stuff", that it might simultaneously not grab the non-readers and alienate the readers. But Season 2 is showing off the potential like crazy. If this doesn't grab people enough to secure several more seasons, I don't know what would.

It's certainly an adaptation, much more so than Game of Thrones or the Lord of the Rings movies were, but it's a good one.

[alhoon]

Yes, I really think it's doing a great job of that. Cutting the fat (forgive the sacrilege) and hitting the high points.

Half of the changes is not "hitting the high points", they are "making a new story".

The one part I could do without is the endless Moiraine/Lan drama, but I gather that's a side effect of the way TV production works.

I agree with you 100% there and most people are also rolling their eyes on the Lan drama and how it is handled.

But Season 2 is showing off the potential like crazy. If this doesn't grab people enough to secure several more seasons, I don't know what would.

I think it is already renewed for season 3.

However, unlike you I don't see many of the scenes I wanted to watch. What remains though is nice. As for the big name actress... I could do without her, honestly.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Half of the changes is not "hitting the high points", they are "making a new story".

However, unlike you I don't see many of the scenes I wanted to watch. What remains though is nice. As for the big name actress... I could do without her, honestly.

Fair criticism. Everyone's going to have different moments they are looking for and missing. For me, Nynaeve's accepted test, Egwene's damane arc, and the battle of Falme were the one's I was looking forward to this season. They've delivered on the first two and events of episode 7 and previews for next week's finale seem like we're getting the third. I know you said upthread you wanted the portal stone world bits, but I always thought the portal stones to be a bit redundant with the Ways and Tel'aran'rhiod, and later, Traveling. So, it doesn't bother me that they ditched it, though I would have liked to see a bit more of how Rand met and came to trust "Selene" in this version. I kept hoping for the "Real trollocs hidden by the puppet trollocs" bit every time we saw that big puppet in the Foregate, but I guess budget didn't allow for it. And I do miss the illuminators chapter house bit, and Thom continuing to be MIA, but I like a lot of the other changes. Getting Aviendha in early in place of Gaul was another good one, I think.

But Season 2 is showing off the potential like crazy. If this doesn't grab people enough to secure several more seasons, I don't know what would.

I think it is already renewed for season 3.

Yes, but I hope it doesn't end there.

[alhoon]

If there is one thing Amazon has, is money. The TV series is not doing bad, it is doing well and with season 2 having better reviews than season 1, I think Amazon will pump this at least to season 5. What I mean is that with 2 seasons doing well, even if the 3rd season is meh it won't be BAD. Which means season 4 will come. And with 4 seasons in, Amazon would need more than one bad season to pull the plug.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Well, I do have to admit to some disappointment as a book reader in the finale, while recognizing that it did a lot of great things as an episode of television. Without my pre-existing expectations, it probably was pretty great, but I did really feel the lack of

VIEW CONTENT:

* a real swordfight with Turok
* Rand and Ishy fighting in the sky
* Ingtar's darkfriend reveal and redemption
and
* about 80 more heroes of the horn(!). Really now, are extras (or a bit of CGI copy and paste) really that expensive?

Also, the fiery dragon looked more than a little goofy (as did the horn!), and I thought that Egwene

VIEW CONTENT:

killing Renna was ironically less cruel than her fate in the books

but still badass enough to be worthy of my favorite character.

The payoff of the Lan/Moirane rift was really well done, and almost maybe enough for me to forgive spending so much time on it. almost.

I do love the intro of

VIEW CONTENT:

Moghedien

in the final scene. Great casting there and I'm looking forward to more of her next season.

The new Mat really won me over, throughout the season, but particularly when he made his own makeshift Ashandrei, and let loose his battle cry in the Old Tongue. Rand did too. I never really felt he looked like Rand last season, but once he donned those coats, there was the dragon reborn, for me. And his acting really took a step up this season too.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

<removed double post>

[alhoon]

Moghy was indeed great. Different from the books, but great.

I strongly disliked that Moraine, a non-battle-mage could take down a dozen Damane in their ships with torpedoes. That's the kind of weave that I expected DAMANE to know and not Blue Ajah Aes Sedai.
Also, I honestly expected the Damane, powerful battlemages all of them, to wipe out the Whitecloaks like the books, eliminating them by the score with each weave, with broken earth, large waves of fire etc. Literally blow them away.

I also liked Renna's end.

Considering how dark Tuon is in the books, I expected Artur Hawkwing to be black. And not the deep brown of Turak, but black.

As for Turak-Rand fight, that was emitted, which I understand. What we see is the book-3 scene where Rand does exactly that to a bunch of Darkfriends that come to kill him, leaving them kneeling after he kills them.
I remind you that season 2 was supposed to cover book 2-3 and that season 3 will be book 4!
Rand can already channel strongly like in book 3. And he had already lost control of Saidin, burning the inn, instead of the much more expensive turning a mountain to a stirring pot and bringing down avalanche to his own people - which prompted him to leave them behind in early book 3.