Warning! There will be spoilers ahead!
I plan on discussing things from the first book only. This show is supposed to start off in book one and stay in book one only for this first season. So, I plan to keep thoughts and my comments within that same mindset.
Real Quick: Author Appreciation
Alright, for starters I just wanted to say how Robert Jordan was a brilliant author and clearly did something right with all of his books! This series is so well-known and enjoyed by so many people that it is a surprise it took so long from them to make this show. – I am glad they did because there are so many more techniques around now and can do a great justice to this series. – It is amazing that this author dedicated so much of his life to this world. Starting these books back in the 1990s, Jordan was writing non-stop it seemed. Eventually publishing 14 giant books for this series. He gave everything to this created world of his and to his readers. Even going so far as to have Brandon Sanderson (who is also an amazing author BTW) understudy for him to complete out the series once he passed away. That alone receives an applause because Jordan never forgot about his about his story and never forgot about his readers.
My Reading Thoughts
I read a fair amount of this series when I was younger; unfortunately, I didn’t finish them all. A lot of, wrong time and different reading preferences when I first picked them up and definitely didn’t appreciate them as much back then. With this resurgence of the series, I wanted to start reading them again. Not only to refresh my memory, but to give the series a second shot now that I am older. Since finishing the first book, I am very glad that I have! I seem to have forgotten far more than I thought I would have or at least how much of it happened in the first book.
One thing that I kept thinking of while reading this book was how much it reminded me of Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. This could be because I am in the middle of reading that series as well so it is still on my mind. Also, that each of these series are written in the epic/high fantasy genre of stories. But I found it quite interesting that both the main characters are similar names: Rand (Wheel of Time) and Richard (Sword of Truth). Each man has some connection to a quieter life: Rand – farmer and Richard – a woodsman guide. Neither guy wanted their destinies and were forced to go along with it no matter what they said. But there are only so many builds for a story one can start with. This isn’t to say they are identical. That is far from the truth. I just found similar, short moments where I would forget which book I was reading. When you read a lot of books in the same genre those moments are bound to happen.
I greatly enjoyed the first book of this series and I am very excited to continue with the others. It was full of details, had plenty of action happening throughout the pages, and constantly gave me something new to learn. I was never bored while reading it – even though it was a large book. Like most large, word-building stories, you are having to sit through a lot of explanation and details to build up the landscape and world around you and the characters. I have found that these extra details make the world far more encompassing. I can and do submerge myself far more when I can essentially feel the world being created around me. Jordan left little to ponder about and had room to let imagination to wander. This is a book series that I would recommend to any who like Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones, Sword of Truth, or similar series.
When will it be released?
This show is supposed to be coming out November 19th, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. Not to far off! So if you haven’t start the first book yet, you have time. Just a heads up it is a bit of a lengthy read. It has 814 pages which ends up being about 30 hours for audio reading. If you wish to have the book’s or chapters’ key moment play-by-play without having to re-read the book, I highly suggest the Wheel of Time wiki. It is super helpful and I love how they break everything down into far more manageable details.
Here is the trailer for the show if any wish to watch it!
Expectations
There are so many things that happen in the first book. I really hope that they are able to nail this series as well as they were able to with Game of Thrones and many others out there. With all of the special effects they have access to and the depth of this world, the bar is pretty high on what the audience is looking for. Below are some big things that I am looking for in the season both the good and the bad moments.
The Bad Guys
One of the big things I’m looking forward to seeing are all the evil fiends that show up to fight the main characters. The trollocs are going to be a good identifier for the amount of dedication they put into the series. Will it be really great makeup artist/CGI creating these creatures? Or will it be patched together costumes/super fake CGI running the show? The biggest fear for these is how outlandish they might come across. I’ve seen movies do creatures really well and even allowing them to talk with all of the makeup – which is very important if they wish to keep the wolf-looking trolloc speaking to Rand in the beginning of the adventure. I don’t want to see guys in rubber masks and weird mis-matched bodies. These things should be scary looking! The trailer shows a faint outline of a few trollocs, and they look pretty big which is great! Just have to hope for the looks at this point.
The myrddraal (fade) are another one I am interested to see what their interpretation will be. I imagine them similar to the Lord of The Rings’ Nazgûl (Ringwraiths). It could be just the all black armor, rider in the night kind of character though. One of the key identifiers for these things are the windless cloaks. This is going to be a HUGE thing. If those cloaks are moving or those horses make a noise – I’m calling them out on it! I get that there is only so much studio magic can do, but these are big things for being a myrddraal and is what assists when striking fear into mortals.
The Magic
Even though this book doesn’t show up many moments with magic or seeing Moiraine use the One Power I am excited to see this in action! Magic in TV shows can be done super cheesy. If done this way, it takes me straight out of the show and I start laughing at how bad they make a spell look. It seems that only in the past few years have I seen magic wielded in a show done really well. I would love to see all the different moments when Moiraine uses her’s play out on the screen. Especially the one where it seems she is stepping over the Baerlon’s city wall when they are escaping from the Children of the Light. That would be super cool! OR the Green Man working is magic in his sanctuary? How beautiful would that be? Plants growing from seedlings, his world just suddenly appearing, his Tree growing in the end. All of those would be gorgeous to see.
How about when Rand taps into the Power? That battle that he is a part of in the very end is pretty intensive and amazing. I really hope we are able to view that entire scenes with him being at the battleground with the men of the Boardlands to the fight between him and Ba’alzamon. All of that will be pretty kick butt! Oh also, I would totally count what Thom Merrilin does as magic. I mean who doesn’t want to watch a Gleeman perform and sing? Thom has his own form of magic and manages to work it on people throughout the whole adventure – or at least for as long as he is around. Good luck to his actor and hopefully he’s got a good voice!
The Locations
You can tell that Jordan took a lot of pride in the locations he created for his world. Each place has its own personality and none seem like another. It not only helps to show how wide this world really is, but furthers that dedication Jordan had to this entire place. There are two places I am really eager to see in on screen: Shadar Logoth and Caemlyn. These two places that are probably on a lot of people’s “want to sees” so toss me in with them. They are essentially the complete opposites from each other; however, I feel like each location – and the events that happen in both – were so captivating I just wanted to see more of these cities.
Shadar Logoth seemed like one of those abandoned cities from chernobyl. No one is ever supposed to go into to them, but they are so fascinating to see and explore. Granted neither chernobyl nor Shadar Logoth is safe and I would strong state to stay out of both. Shadar Logoth would still be really cool to see on screen. I don’t want to only see in the inn and the basement full of gold. I want to see them going down the streets, their escape from the mist and trollocs, maybe get a glimpse as to what Lan is doing while scouting around? And as for Caemlyn, I want to see the royal palace of Andor. This place always seemed to be the most beautiful – it helps that everything within the walls still lives despite the harsh winter. There are a fair amount of descriptions given for the palace, but I am really interested in seeing how much they are going to show us. Just the garden and audience chamber or will there be more to see?
The Complete Book
It is usually next to impossible to capture an entire book into a movie. There are far more details one can get across in the written word than can be expressed in a movie. This is mostly because writers of a movie have to take into account those who know nothing of the world and character. With this being a TV show, I hope that they are far more diligent with the amount of details and scenes they are willing to put into the production. There are so many key moments that the characters experience during this book even if they are small compared to the big picture. If they keep as much of the book as they can, I anticipate the episodes being closer to an hour each and maybe seven or eight episodes (about 100ish pages = 1 hour). Remember this is an 800 page book, there is plenty to pull from to create full length episodes in my opinion. We shouldn’t be missing things and if things are overlooked, I really really hope they aren’t plot changing or character building moments.
The biggest thing I am worried about will be them sticking to only book one and not spilling over into the second book. Now if the last episode shows a glimpse into the second book to keep us hooked, fine – I get that and would welcome that if it was brief. But if they start to merge book two into this series earlier on? That is going to throw off so much of the story. I really don’t like it when screenwriters do that. They might not think it is a big deal to mix a few things from the next book, but it can change the entire mood or perspective of events. Leave this series at the end of the book with Rand wanting to go his own way, Perrin trying to figure things out, Matt and Egwene heading to Tar Valon. It is a great set up into the next season and doesn’t overstep the length of book one. Authors of books know what they are doing at the end of their stories, especially if they are setting up a series like this.
Your Thoughts?
There are my hopes, wishes, fears, and opinions about the new series coming out in a few months. Do you guys have any similar thoughts or opinions about the show? There are probably big things that I am missing that I am really eager to see on screen. If you guys can think of anything, let me know either in the comments or shoot me a message! I would love to hear what your thoughts are and what you think the show may or may not do. What did you think of the trailer? We don’t have long to wait and see what actually happens!
