The Wheel of Time

To start with, I have read the series of books and although they were not perfect, they were highly enjoyable and epic in their scale.

Now to the series.

A show or movies based on a book or series of books is generally bound to infuriate as the finished product cannot compare to the imagination of the reader, and there are not many examples of where this has been overcome.

So far I have been watching a show that has the main characters of the books relegated to supporting characters with little to no dialogue in some episodes.

There were over 2000 named characters in the book and they still felt the need to create new characters for the show that serve no real purpose.

The acting is fairly bad. With the amount of money spent on the cinematography, you would think they would have hired better actors.

I could see how someone who hasn't read the books would be confused as to what is going on, as the explanations as to what is going on are vague, which makes me wonder who this show was made for.

If it was to introduce people to the world that Robert Jordan created then they failed.

If it was for fans of the books, then they have again failed, as they have been changing things that didn't need to be changed and generally angering fans.

If you are going to adapt a series of books, then do so correctly, otherwise write your own original story and do what you want with it.

My positive takeaway from The Wheel of Time is that the cinematography is excellent, and unfortunately that is the only thing I find worthwhile.

Maybe it will get better, but I highly doubt it.

If you enjoy reading, I would recommend giving the series of books a glance, as this show is a pale reflection of the story Jordan wrote.

Absolutely amazing season so far! A snow a bit shy, based on covid and Mat's recast in the ending of season 1, but getting better with each episode since! Season 3 is a must see, great world building, costumes and very good acting already at this point from the kids! Fresh new additions to the cast and solid adaptation. The show is now ready to lose some of the main protagonists as in the books, although that will make me cry! A few things done even better then in the books, especially when it comes to the heroes being more real and relatable in a tv adaptation. It also answers my biggest question as a huge book fan - why the white tower is unaware that there are so many channelers in the world outside of it? It absolutely bothered me in the books that the so powerfull and knowledgeable tower doesnt have a clue about the chanellers amongst the aiel, the seafolk etc if there are so many and each Aes Sedai knows who can channel only by seeing them, even when that person does not hold saidar at the moment. I beg those at Amazon, keep the show going it seems it will only get bigger and better now! The book material from now on has such a rich and unique storyline, that if the show goes all the way to the end, it will be impossible to ever find anything as good as it! PS: I cannot get "The hills if Tanchico" out of my mind! The hills of Tanchicoooo.....

I never read the books for The Wheels of Time so I had no idea what to expect but I have to say that I've truly enjoyed it so far. This show hooked me from the first episode and held my attention to the last. I binged the first two seasons in less than a week and was still hoping for more episodes when I was done so I'm glad season 3 is finally here. It seems like some of the people who read the books didn't like it as much but as long as you try not to compare it to the book and just enjoy it for what it is...and that's an entertaining fantasy series. The series should be judged on its own and not compared to the book. I'm not saying it's the best show I've ever seen but it's definitely worth watching. The world building and cast are the best things about the show and I can't wait for more.

Have read the books multiple times and not hung up on changes, in fact not knowing exactly what is going to happen is part of the enjoyment! Many scenes have been lifted directly from the books. Acting is amazing and the show just looks incredible this season! Only reason it's not a 10 there were a couple of very minor story points I think could have been stronger but only minor things.

The actors feel so confident in their roles and :characters now and the world much wider. Loving the shadow characters being a bit more nuanced and exposition is handled well, especially for the amount of lore they have to try to explain. Hopefully a 4th season is greenlit soon as the story will just take off from here.

To be clear: the first two seasons are really NOT good, especially if you are a fan of the books.

They changed a lot - also stuff that was not needed for an adaptation. They also had weak writing. 5he troubles while shooting (covid + hollywood strike) explain some of that, but these two seasons are no more than 6 stars, if even that high.

That beeing said, season 3 is really good. It is what this adaptation was supposed to be like. Nobody in their right mind expects a 1 to 1 translation from page to screen, thats not how tv works. You have to change stuff. The things they are changing for s3 make sense or bring things back on track from the first two seasons. If they continue like this, they can make it a good show.

Is it flawless? No. Is it finally an acceptable adaptation? Yes.

I hole we get s4 confirmed soon and they can make this something special.