Series Why does this show exist?
I gave this show a chance. I gave it a lot of chances. Even as it continuously left me bored, baffled, and disappointed, I kept hoping that maybe it would get better, that maybe it would capture the magic that made the Wheel of Time novels so enchanting. But after two seasons, it never has and I don't think it ever will. And that is because this show is made by people who hate the Wheel of Time.
That's a bold statement, and perhaps you have some assumptions about why I'm making it. Maybe you think I'm butthurt that Nynaeve on the show is black, or that Moiraine is a lesbian. But those aren't my issues. My issues is that the writers fail to understand who Nynaeve, Moiraine, or any of the other characters are supposed to be. Instead, we get characters bent completely out of shape, yet trying to go through a vague simulacrum of the books plot.
Nynaeve in the books is overbearing and outwardly arrogant, but inwardly cares deeply about people and struggles with her sense of responsibility and generally being in over her head. The show has none of this, with her starting out with little room to grow as a character, as well as having little interest in healing and being mostly focused on violence.
And that's how the writers deal with a character they like. Watching scenes with Mat or Rand is like reading a Revenge Fic. Mat goes from a good-hearted hedonist to a scummy, manipulative thief whose arc in the second season is entirely about what an awful person he is, while Rand is a useless joke of a Chosen One whose only contributions to the plot are slightly mitigating messes that are entirely his fault.
The show also rejects the books' themes. Rand bangs Lanfear because the writers don't grasp that she's supposed to represent the temptation of power. Mat uses the cursed dagger as a weapon rather than it being a threat that Mat, specifically, has to defeat. Rand can't do anything because the writers took the "It was never about me!" Speech way too literally. And worst of all, Rand is the Dragon because Moiraine, not any higher power, declared him to be such, going against the books' theme that the only power you have over your fate comes from accepting how little control you truly have.
Showrunner Rafe Judkins had claimed that this show is what Robert Jordan would be writing if he were alive today. That's a remarkably tasteless thing to say in any situation, and feels disingenuous given that Rafe seems to criticize Jordan's work more often than not, and seems determined to churn out a lackluster show he believes is "fixing" the books.
Series Season 1: A good adaptation
Overall, season 1 is a good adaptation of The Eye of the World. The first three episodes are a bit shaky as they lean heavily on expospeak, but after that the writing finds its groove and starts showing instead of telling, at the same time as the actors develop chemistry and character interactions come to the forefront.
If you haven't read the books, be aware that The Wheel of Time is not Game of Thrones, no matter what Sony and Amazon try to do. This is the story about a group of chosen ones unlocking their true power to defeat the Dark Lord and his armies of monsters, not violent nobles squabbling over the throne while ice zombies are rising in the north.
The show is also not the same as the book. The major story beats are all there, but some things happen in a different order, some characters are less prominent, and others more so. Most of the changes are obviously due to the kind of logistical and budget issues inherent to a TV show that don't really affect books. Even so, quite a lot is cut or concatenated to keep the story moving at a much brisker pace than the book; for the most part, the changes work, and given the notorious amount of padding in the later books, such a decision is welcome. More controversially, there are a number of modifications to plot and characterisation intended to fix some aspects of the books that haven't aged well. I thought those changes were good, but I know a good portion of the fanbase feels differently.
In short, the first season does a good job of adapting the first book, and fans of the books will likely find something to enjoy in the series. As for non-fans, that's harder to say. I know at least a couple of non-fans who did get into and enjoy the show, but as I said earlier, if you're expecting another Game of Thrones, you'll be disappointed.
Series Season 1: A good adaptation
Overall, season 1 is a good adaptation of The Eye of the World. The first three episodes are a bit shaky as they lean heavily on expospeak, but after that the writing finds its groove and starts showing instead of telling, at the same time as the actors develop chemistry and character interactions come to the forefront.
If you haven't read the books, be aware that The Wheel of Time is not Game of Thrones, no matter what Sony and Amazon try to do. This is the story about a group of chosen ones unlocking their true power to defeat the Dark Lord and his armies of monsters, not violent nobles squabbling over the throne while ice zombies are rising in the north.
The show is also not the same as the book. The major story beats are all there, but some things happen in a different order, some characters are less prominent, and others more so. Most of the changes are obviously due to the kind of logistical and budget issues inherent to a TV show that don't really affect books. Even so, quite a lot is cut or concatenated to keep the story moving at a much brisker pace than the book; for the most part, the changes work, and given the notorious amount of padding in the later books, such a decision is welcome. More controversially, there are a number of modifications to plot and characterisation intended to fix some aspects of the books that haven't aged well. I thought those changes were good, but I know a good portion of the fanbase feels differently.
In short, the first season does a good job of adapting the first book, and fans of the books will likely find something to enjoy in the series. As for non-fans, that's harder to say. I know at least a couple of non-fans who did get into and enjoy the show, but as I said earlier, if you're expecting another Game of Thrones, you'll be disappointed.
Series The Pilot: The Weeb of Time
I am trying to get out of the habit of reviewing single episodes, especially if I am going to make sweeping opinions about the rest of the series. That sometimes becomes really hard when you come across a show you bounce straight off of, and struggle to bring yourself to watch any more. This is how it is with the first episode of The Wheel of Time.
Disclaimer: I've not read the book series and had no prior idea what the series is about. What I can gather from the first couple of episodes is that The Wheel of Time is an epic high fantasy in which a matriarchal, oppressive society of wizards fights against some ambiguous evil army called "the Darkness", whilst searching for a prophesied reincarnated super Wizard called "the Dragon". The wizards rule that only women can use magic, and murder any man who shows magical promise, which is a bit of a problem when the Dragon may well have reincarnated as a man.
What I have seen isn't very inspired. It's very generic high fantasy, with evil lords, rolling green uphills, and exaggerated English accents. The only novelty comes via random East Asian cultural elements tossed into an otherwise very European setting; things like katanas, reincarnation, floating lanterns etc. It feels a bit off to have these tropes, but also only one East Asian actor amongst a predominantly white cast; the show can't seem too exotic, heaven forbid. Meanwhile, "The darkness" is as generic a fantasy villain as the name implies; hairy beastmen led by Voldemort looking baddies in black cloaks.
Within the pilot episode we meet quite a few characters, most of whom are utterly uninteresting. Boring pretty teenagers, living in a quaint harmless village, the kind that should have one of those "[x] days since our last pillage" signs. It's no surprise that before the end of the episode, a bunch of monsters come out of hiding from off camera to wreck the place. It's the only piece of action in an episode that consists almost entirely of people standing around chatting in front of picturesque vistas.
This isn't a show worth watching, especially if you aren't already a fan of the books. Perhaps it was fresh and new when The Wheel of Time books first came out, but the show feels almost intentionally clichéd to any audience who has even a casual familiarity with fantasy entertainment. I watched more than the pilot just to be sure the show wouldn't turn into something more interesting. It doesn't.
Series A terrible show, and a worse adaptation.
The Wheel of Time is one of the worst types of adaptation, the kind where the makers are clearly using someone else's world and characters to try to tell their own story, but don't have anywhere near the skill to create something as good. Eight episodes would have been plenty to faithfully adapt the first book with some cuts to filler and travel times, but the first season instead balloons itself with filler of its own, while changing everything about the books that was actually good.
The first season completely sidelines and undermines all of the male characters: they're made far weaker (Tam, Lan), have all of their best moments given to other characters (Rand), turned into selfish failures instead of heroes (Lews Therin), or even treated like borderline villains (Mat and his father). The casting was hit-or-miss (mostly misses), with every character either looking or acting so differently from their book selves that I couldn't even pretend that they were the same people. The fundamental lore was rewritten, and in the process, made into something less. It isn't just a matter of loyalty to the source material, however: I had mixed feelings about the books due to their extreme length/detail and would have welcomed an Adaptation Distillation, but this show would thoroughly fail even if it was its own original property.
The show started off as mediocre in its first few episodes, with no huge problems, but also nothing to set it above the painfully average. As it went on, however, the problems mounted: the terribly written dialogue, many instances of weak acting, pointless subplots that wasted time, a pitiful attempt at a love triangle, a tiresome number of death fake-outs, Rand having little motivation or character beyond his obsessively submissive relationship with Egwene, and above all else, lackluster characterization. I said the Eight Deadly Words by episode five, and wouldn't have even finished the first season if it hadn't been based on a book I'd read, as the final episodes rapidly descended into the lowest tiers of quality.
All in all, a complete failure as both an adaptation and a story. I'd consider it a generous ranking to give it a 3/10 just as a show, and as an adaptation, it thoroughly rejects both the structure and the spirit of the books to the point where only In Name Only adaptations are less faithful. I have no interest whatsoever in watching the second season, and advise both readers of the books and new potential viewers not to even bother.