Das Rad der Zeit

I've been struggling to put into words exactly what it is that makes me dislike this tv show, the best I can do is say that Rafe Judkins has removed, changed and added so much that the resemblance to this book series is at best passing. What he has created from a classic fantasy story is a Frankenstein's monster with a rushed story that makes little sense in a world robbed of any character or depth. I watch because I love the book series, and seeing them mangle one of my favourite series is like witnessing a car crash happen in slow motion, I don't want to watch but I can't bring myself to look away.

I could go into detail, but nobody wants that so I'll save you that torment. The book readers know what the changes are, and the tv show enjoyers don't really care. Each to their own, Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been on television for 20 years so it's not like the bar is incredibly high. The crux of my criticism of the Wheel of Time steaming series is this; Rafe Judkins believes himself a better storyteller than Robert Jordan, that is the only way to explain how and why he made the changes that he did. That is the only way to explain it. There are moments that could have been book accurate, but weren't. For what reason? Only Rafe knows.

It is simply impossible to translate a written story of 10 thousand pages into a TV series with only a few episodes (each 1 hour or less). There are so many things left outside than people that have not read the books will sooner than later find things hard to follow or even to understand. However, having said that, I believe this series is great, lots of resources have been used or spent to make it as close to the books as possible. Also I personally have discovered quite a few actors and actresses that previously I did not know. Acting is really good for most key characters, specially those that portrait strong mature women such as Moiraine, Siouan, Elaine... But do not forget about others like Lan.

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 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.

First of all, forget the books - while the general premise is there, there is a different path that leads to each "key" moment, even if that path alters the characters singificantly or generally cutting corners (inevitably, due to the size of the original work).

Admittedly the first two seasons might seem a bit lacking in structure at points, or lacking in character development, or explaining important concepts, with each such moment coming down as a missed opportunity. I have to say that the third season really improves in everything. And even the overall quality of visual and sound effects is very high. Very much satisfied with how this monumental task is shaping and can't wait to see what comes next.