Thom fighting the myrdraal. We even got to see it move through shadows a bit.
Also the little girl with her Birgitte doll was a nice touch.
No gonna lie I did a fist pump (Book Spoilers 4-5ish)
at that doll, shows the advantage of knowing what seeds you need to plant for later, especially as a one-two with that little tale of the Tuatha'an lady trying to will herself to pick up that spear...an almost direct copy of the Rhuidian flashbacks, beautiful.
I was already down to keep watching after the first three episodes but this one has given me hope that this adaptation might end up being really, really good.
i had completely forgotten that name was an important name...i feel like an idiot now.
does logaon get gentled in the book? Cant remember
yes he does
Yes, but [book 2/3 stuff]
Like so much else, it doesn’t happen “on screen”. He’s just there and already Gentled, as like a tourist attraction, at the White Tower when all the girls arrive.
The more I think about it, if they’re pushing the Royal Three’s first appearances to season 2, then introducing Logain properly now is probably better. It will give more grounding to the tower adventures and it lays a lot of groundwork for all Liandrin’s bullshit in Book 2 and beyond. And shows him now makes his Gentled-self and all the stuff with Suian more immediately interesting and understandable.
I hope they have Elaida’s foretelling in there somewhere, maybe have Rand’s Caemlyn adventure in flashback? Still not sure how everything is going to play out. It feels like they’re still hovering close to the book even though they’re pretty far afield in strict terms. The books are about the trauma of being thrust into war and told everything depends on you, and just wanting to go back to how things used to be even though you can’t, and they’re getting that subtext in there by the ton. You know, like Animorphs.
As long as they don’t fuck with Mat’s exorcism, one of my personal favorite scenes from the series, I’m still 100% on board.
There are over 2,700 named characters in this series, which is kind of incredible and ridiculous
There are 147 unique POVs
It's kind of a big problem for an adaptation too because one of the things the series does constantly is have those characters show up all the time here and there. It's part of what builds the setting up really well. But it also means you gotta figure out in an adaptation when and how you are gonna bring these characters into the narrative because in the book you don't have to worry about getting an actor back.
does logaon get gentled in the book? Cant remember
yes he does
Yes, but [book 2/3 stuff]
Like so much else, it doesn’t happen “on screen”. He’s just there and already Gentled, as like a tourist attraction, at the White Tower when all the girls arrive.
The more I think about it, if they’re pushing the Royal Three’s first appearances to season 2, then introducing Logain properly now is probably better. It will give more grounding to the tower adventures and it lays a lot of groundwork for all Liandrin’s bullshit in Book 2 and beyond. And shows him now makes his Gentled-self and all the stuff with Suian more immediately interesting and understandable.
I hope they have Elaida’s foretelling in there somewhere, maybe have Rand’s Caemlyn adventure in flashback? Still not sure how everything is going to play out. It feels like they’re still hovering close to the book even though they’re pretty far afield in strict terms. The books are about the trauma of being thrust into war and told everything depends on you, and just wanting to go back to how things used to be even though you can’t, and they’re getting that subtext in there by the ton. You know, like Animorphs.
As long as they don’t fuck with Mat’s exorcism, one of my personal favorite scenes from the series, I’m still 100% on board.
He shows up in Book 1 as well.
Book spoilers:
Rand sees him on his way to the White Tower. Then he shows up in Book 2 as someone wandering around the tower and then I think also in later books till the schism happens.
I found the first 3 eps to be pretty weak but 4 was a marked improvement in almost every way and pretty interesting! I’m hoping this continues. Unsurprisingly, it got better when they started giving people time to talk and breathe
Nice bit of linking two plot threads with Thom talking about his nephew and how being Gentled is essentially just a death sentence, and then we see Logain get Gentled.
Books
Which will make his refusal to give up later all the better.
Episode 4 Though: The way they said Tar Valon.... URGH. There's a damned pronunciation guide in the books.
The way they pronounce it in the show is the way Jordan pronounced it, which differs from the guide. According to Sanderson, the pronunciation guide was a typo that annoyed Jordan to no end.
Episode 4 Though: The way they said Tar Valon.... URGH. There's a damned pronunciation guide in the books.
The way they pronounce it in the show is the way Jordan pronounced it, which differs from the guide. According to Sanderson, the pronunciation guide was a typo that annoyed Jordan to no end.
Well Jordan was wrong then. It's basic English pronunciation (and I'll brook no conversation over all the stupid exceptions in English). It's like Talon, CLEARLY there is no other word with the emphasis on the second syllable.. not even Salon.... er shit..
Honestly, it's just that after like over 2 decades of saying it like Talon, it sounds as weird as Liandrin's mispronunciation of Nyneave to me.
Had a buddy who pronounced it tar valoon. Also “Levs Terin”, “Ny-na-eh-ve”, Moo-ee-rine-eh”.
Which to be fair are “correct” using Swedish pronounciatory rules and we both read the books in Swedish. But it drove me insane since it’s obvious an English series and therefore should be pronounced using an English “base”
Tar Valon and most of everything is how I thought it was pronounced in my head. The whole Nynaeve thing threw me in for a loop though, I always and still do pronounce it "Nin Neeyev or Nin Nyev" in my head. Oh well, I'll always have my way of saying it.
Also ep 4 was rad except for the lame battle scene.
Watched episode 4. Overall an improvement from the prior episodes. Still not amazing or anything, but hopefully they continue to refine and improve. If they do then I think we'll have something special.
While many of the characters look a little different than I pictured them, the one that bothers me the most is Lan:
The actor has almost no physical presence. He also smiles all the time. He is acting nothing like Lan in the books. This kind of bothers me as Lan was one of my favorite characters.
Thomm:
The actor is growing on me. Even if he doesn't have a mustache, his performance is really solid and he is very much fitting with how I envisioned Thomm acting in the books.
As for "the dragon can be anyone one of you"
This really comes off as a cheap executive decision to make the show more marketable to women and to also add a big mystery or hook for those who haven't read the books. I'm not a fan of this decision at all. It completely undermines many of the books themes as well as is completely contradictory to many of the lore points mentioned above. Hopefully they don't keep doing stuff like this, because I think it's pretty a pretty crappy way to treat the source material.
Something I noticed about the way they are handling shielding in the show vs books
They mentioned that it takes more strength to shield someone than to break out of it. This is literally the opposite in the books. Why change this? It doesn't make any sense. In the books once someone is shielded the weaves can be tied off and it can be held with little effort.
Tar Valon and most of everything is how I thought it was pronounced in my head. The whole Nynaeve thing threw me in for a loop though, I always and still do pronounce it "Nin Neeyev or Nin Nyev" in my head. Oh well, I'll always have my way of saying it.
Also ep 4 was rad except for the lame battle scene.
Watched episode 4. Overall an improvement from the prior episodes. Still not amazing or anything, but hopefully they continue to refine and improve. If they do then I think we'll have something special.
Something I noticed about the way they are handling shielding in the show vs books
They mentioned that it takes more strength to shield someone than to break out of it. This is literally the opposite in the books. Why change this? It doesn't make any sense. In the books once someone is shielded the weaves can be tied off and it can be held with little effort.
Did they say that? I know they said he was strong enough that it took 2 to maintain. In the books Rand had 6 or 7 on him, and they were having to actively maintain because once a few of them tied it off he was able to break free, which stilled a few of them in the process. Logain wasn't as strong as Rand but he was still pretty strong.
They did say that, yeah. Which is just 1 more thing that screws things up they'll probably not do correctly later if at all. Be a miracle if the show gets that far, though.
They did say that, yeah. Which is just 1 more thing that screws things up they'll probably not do correctly later if at all. Be a miracle if the show gets that far, though.
More likely whether someone can be shielded will be entirely up to plot convenience.
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
They did say that, yeah. Which is just 1 more thing that screws things up they'll probably not do correctly later if at all. Be a miracle if the show gets that far, though.
More likely whether someone can be shielded will be entirely up to plot convenience.
Watched episode 4. Overall an improvement from the prior episodes. Still not amazing or anything, but hopefully they continue to refine and improve. If they do then I think we'll have something special.
Something I noticed about the way they are handling shielding in the show vs books
They mentioned that it takes more strength to shield someone than to break out of it. This is literally the opposite in the books. Why change this? It doesn't make any sense. In the books once someone is shielded the weaves can be tied off and it can be held with little effort.
Did they say that? I know they said he was strong enough that it took 2 to maintain. In the books Rand had 6 or 7 on him, and they were having to actively maintain because once a few of them tied it off he was able to break free, which stilled a few of them in the process. Logain wasn't as strong as Rand but he was still pretty strong.
Ya, they did say that. It's completely the opposite in the books. In fact, in the books the largest effort is establishing the shield in the first place. Once it is in place it requires little energy to maintain, whether it is tied off or not.
Watched episode 4. Overall an improvement from the prior episodes. Still not amazing or anything, but hopefully they continue to refine and improve. If they do then I think we'll have something special.
Something I noticed about the way they are handling shielding in the show vs books
They mentioned that it takes more strength to shield someone than to break out of it. This is literally the opposite in the books. Why change this? It doesn't make any sense. In the books once someone is shielded the weaves can be tied off and it can be held with little effort.
Did they say that? I know they said he was strong enough that it took 2 to maintain. In the books Rand had 6 or 7 on him, and they were having to actively maintain because once a few of them tied it off he was able to break free, which stilled a few of them in the process. Logain wasn't as strong as Rand but he was still pretty strong.
Ya, they did say that. It's completely the opposite in the books. In fact, in the books the largest effort is establishing the shield in the first place. Once it is in place it requires little energy to maintain, whether it is tied off or not.
I don't think it's really the opposite of the books, I took this to mean that Logain could nap and rest while they had to maintain the shield constantly. They show a few times where he really pushes against the shields. Right when Liandrin said that she also talked about having to travel hundreds of miles and how hard it would be to keep up.
Related book spoilers:
When Nynaeve heals Logain and immediately shields him she has a really hard time keeping it place as he struggles to break free. After that the Aes Sedai use six sisters to keep him shielded at all times and scoff at the idea of tying any shield off.
It is also harder to shield the opposite sex
I asked why Elayne thought even a Forsaken couldn't break the shield Adeleas and Vandene were holding on Ispan, expecting the answer that Elayne is clue-impaired. The correct answer is that holding a shield on someone depends not only on relative strength and fatigue, but also on whether the shield is held by channelers of the same sex as the victim. Thus, two women (Adeleas and Vandene on Ispan, or Ispan and Falion on Nynaeve in A Crown of Swords) can hold another woman, but three women just get severed if they try to shield Rand. As a curiosity, it is also possible for multiple people to hold a shield without linking, but this is less strong and less precise, producing basically a layered shield.
I'm only through the first 3 episodes so far because my wife (who hasn't read the books) is kinda meh on the show and my brother in law who lives with us (who hasn't read the books and doesn't like fantasy stuff) is firmly "no thanks" on it.
So far I really enjoy it. I think every episode so far could easily have been two episodes, giving more time for talking and establishing characters and the world, but given the effort to put a book into 10 episodes I think they're doing a good enough job on the pacing.
My biggest gripe is the visual direction. I don't necessarily think Game of Thrones comparisons are valid here, outside of the 'big-budget fantasy adaptation' sense, but the thing I think GoT did best across all its seasons was in making the world feel real. The costumers for GoT were fucking geniuses and managed to make people look natural in obviously fantastical constumery. Similarly, the set design made all these wild fantasy settings seem like real, lived-in places. Far too many shots in Wheel of Time look like they were filmed in a Disney theme park after hours, with buildings that look like buildings constructed specifically to be Fantasy Faux-Medieval Tavern #3. All the characaters clothes look like costumes. Even the background characters. There's just too many (outside of the Tinkers' camp) bright colors, clean materials, etc. The most realistic-looking clothes in the show are maybe Rand's hide coat and Perrin's...whatever the fuck it is Perrin is wearing, but both look too new and too clean. Rand's coat looks like it's been professionally distressed, not like something he's worn for years working a farm in the mountains. Moiraine and the other White Tower folks can get away with wearing stuff that looks new and obviously color-coded, but everyone in the show looks like they're in costume.
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Book readers, I gots a question, feel free to put it all on spoilers: we're in the halfway point of the season, what else is gonna come up in the book for the second half? I only remember the very last bit, and a couple locations that's reputed to be cut and moved into season 2:
Baerlon (and Min) and Caemlyn (and Elayne) aren't in Season 1.
I only remember the last bit with the saidin pool and the Green Man, but that's likely the season finale. Loial (ep 6?) and travelling via The Ways are coming up as well, but I'm blanking on what else will be happening.
Dollars to donuts they make the Seanchan the season stinger.
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i had completely forgotten that name was an important name...i feel like an idiot now.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
yes he does
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
Yes, but [book 2/3 stuff]
The more I think about it, if they’re pushing the Royal Three’s first appearances to season 2, then introducing Logain properly now is probably better. It will give more grounding to the tower adventures and it lays a lot of groundwork for all Liandrin’s bullshit in Book 2 and beyond. And shows him now makes his Gentled-self and all the stuff with Suian more immediately interesting and understandable.
I hope they have Elaida’s foretelling in there somewhere, maybe have Rand’s Caemlyn adventure in flashback? Still not sure how everything is going to play out. It feels like they’re still hovering close to the book even though they’re pretty far afield in strict terms. The books are about the trauma of being thrust into war and told everything depends on you, and just wanting to go back to how things used to be even though you can’t, and they’re getting that subtext in there by the ton. You know, like Animorphs.
As long as they don’t fuck with Mat’s exorcism, one of my personal favorite scenes from the series, I’m still 100% on board.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
There are 147 unique POVs
It's kind of a big problem for an adaptation too because one of the things the series does constantly is have those characters show up all the time here and there. It's part of what builds the setting up really well. But it also means you gotta figure out in an adaptation when and how you are gonna bring these characters into the narrative because in the book you don't have to worry about getting an actor back.
He shows up in Book 1 as well.
Book spoilers:
Episode
The way they pronounce it in the show is the way Jordan pronounced it, which differs from the guide. According to Sanderson, the pronunciation guide was a typo that annoyed Jordan to no end.
Well Jordan was wrong then. It's basic English pronunciation (and I'll brook no conversation over all the stupid exceptions in English). It's like Talon, CLEARLY there is no other word with the emphasis on the second syllable.. not even Salon.... er shit..
Honestly, it's just that after like over 2 decades of saying it like Talon, it sounds as weird as Liandrin's mispronunciation of Nyneave to me.
I found this clip of RJ saying it:
It's literally how I've always pronounced it and how I assumed you pronounced it based on the pronunciation guide.
I have no idea wtf the rest of y'all have been doing for these past 31 years. But clearly it's wrong.
Tar Va-Lon as opposed to Tar Vallen
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This both makes me say duh how did I miss that, and makes me hate it MORE. Argh.
Saidin pronounced as said in.
Saidar pronounced said arrrrr, like a pirate.
Who reads pronunciation guides anyway....
Which to be fair are “correct” using Swedish pronounciatory rules and we both read the books in Swedish. But it drove me insane since it’s obvious an English series and therefore should be pronounced using an English “base”
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
I don’t make the rules.
Nintendo Network ID: PhysiMarc
Also ep 4 was rad except for the lame battle scene.
While many of the characters look a little different than I pictured them, the one that bothers me the most is Lan:
Thomm:
As for "the dragon can be anyone one of you"
Something I noticed about the way they are handling shielding in the show vs books
I always pronounced Nynaeve as "nih-na-eve"
Maybe he should have given those notes to the people recording the audiobooks at some point....
I used to have a really long commute, so after the first 3 or 4 books I listening to most of the series. Here's a clip.
https://v3.fastupload.co/file/10024
More likely whether someone can be shielded will be entirely up to plot convenience.
I like wizard lady and side character obvious stating guy and love interest and samurai a lot
Tar Valon
Was how I pronounced it.
Yep, just like
(Book spoilers, whole series):
Related book spoilers:
It is also harder to shield the opposite sex
So far I really enjoy it. I think every episode so far could easily have been two episodes, giving more time for talking and establishing characters and the world, but given the effort to put a book into 10 episodes I think they're doing a good enough job on the pacing.
My biggest gripe is the visual direction. I don't necessarily think Game of Thrones comparisons are valid here, outside of the 'big-budget fantasy adaptation' sense, but the thing I think GoT did best across all its seasons was in making the world feel real. The costumers for GoT were fucking geniuses and managed to make people look natural in obviously fantastical constumery. Similarly, the set design made all these wild fantasy settings seem like real, lived-in places. Far too many shots in Wheel of Time look like they were filmed in a Disney theme park after hours, with buildings that look like buildings constructed specifically to be Fantasy Faux-Medieval Tavern #3. All the characaters clothes look like costumes. Even the background characters. There's just too many (outside of the Tinkers' camp) bright colors, clean materials, etc. The most realistic-looking clothes in the show are maybe Rand's hide coat and Perrin's...whatever the fuck it is Perrin is wearing, but both look too new and too clean. Rand's coat looks like it's been professionally distressed, not like something he's worn for years working a farm in the mountains. Moiraine and the other White Tower folks can get away with wearing stuff that looks new and obviously color-coded, but everyone in the show looks like they're in costume.
I only remember the last bit with the saidin pool and the Green Man, but that's likely the season finale. Loial (ep 6?) and travelling via The Ways are coming up as well, but I'm blanking on what else will be happening.
Dollars to donuts they make the Seanchan the season stinger.