Book vs Show | The Wheel of Time | Season 1 Episode 7

[@Left4Coragem]

Don't worry about the length of the video. Watching people lose their minds over the series mind bogling decisions is the only fun we can get from it. :P

[@jonevansauthor]

I legit get more enjoyment from watching people break these down than I do from the actual show. :D

[@bigjonS4]

I’m beyond mystified. To me, book readers enjoying this show is the very definition of cognitive dissonance.

[@SWTORLOL87]

@@bigjonS4I tried so hard to like it. Then I tried to enjoy hate watching it. I failed on both accounts. Watching someone with a fraction of the context thoroughly and properly picking this thing apart is satisfying on a level I haven’t before experienced.

[@WhitecloaksPips]

I love that a person who has only read the one book, the one time, has already picked up on how Loial is basically worthless in the show and the waygates in the show don't make any sense 😆

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

I BEG your PARDON, Sir! Loial is NOT worthless! Oh, no... Loial's TRUE worth is... to be SEEN being worthless.

[@Perry_Wolf]

@@Nyet-ZdyesOh, I see! They're pulling the wool over our eyes! Nice! (If only they _were_ that intelligent!)

[@bidossessi]

Don't even need to read the books to figure this out. I mean, where is Loial in ep7? Gone fishing, I guess...

[@korionterivers9995]

They destroyed Loial in the show😢

[@WhitecloaksPips]

@@Perry_Wolf no that is just his wig 😆

[@undertone8367]

Agelmar was extremely respectful of Moiraine and the Aes sedai in the book, and he was regarded as one of the great captains, a world renowned general. What they did to him the show was straight up character assassination.

[@rustyshackleford1062]

I think we just need to accept that to the writers in this show, competence is a biological trait that you can only actually have if you have the correct genitalia.

[@undertone8367]

@@rustyshackleford1062 they were definitely trying to portray him as an arrogant male who was refusing to listen to his sister because she's a woman. There was absolutely no need to butcher his character like that.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

In fairness though, poor Agelmar is at least in good company... with virtually every other male character of the show.

[@undertone8367]

@@Nyet-Zdyes They've flipped the gender dynamics from the books to make it seem like women are suffering under a patriarchy. It doesn't makes sense within the lore of the books

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@undertone8367 How does it make sense from the lore of the books for women to be suffering under a patriarchy? Far Madding? Ebou Dar? Aiel Wise Ones? Aiel roof mistresses? Sea Folk?

[@techsoul5590]

"If you think amazon couldn't do this, you are too innocent for this world" That was a much needed, and perfectly stated point.

[@BeholderThe1st]

My take on Mat from the books is that he's the guy who doesn't want to have anything to do with this adventure, but he keeps getting roped in because his friends need his help. Its his moral center which drives him along the story when his better 'self-preserving' common sense would tell him to run away. Mat is the everyman who rises to the occasion because its the right thing to do. He's the reluctant hero.

[@TheNightrider88]

I would partially disagree. Mat actually wants to do, but after his experience with dagger he starts to deny his own adventurous streak and dodge any decisions that could lead to consequences.

[@harvellt]

@@TheNightrider88 Yea the dagger was a real slap in the face about what a "real" adventure is. The dagger killed his childish views of "adventure."

[@harvellt]

From a "I used to be a teenage boy once." Matt was my favorite character. Not because of the womanizing and the gambling, but because no matter what, he is going to do his best to live up to his word and be there for his friends when they need it. Even most of his energy in leading the Band comes from wanting to keep as many of them alive as he can.

[@iogssothoth666]

The only non reluctant hero in the lot is Egwene. It is actually the special thing about her. She is the one who actually wanted to go to adventure. She is the one who embraces it to the fullest. Whatever life throws at her, she will try to make the most of it. Things to learn, opportunities to catch. Dancing with the tinkers is a better option than worrying about it all. And when it is time to move on, then let's go, no time to waste. Mat is a guy who loves freedom above all, but with an inflexible moral code. He has determined what is right, wrong or neutral, and he will never do what is wrong. He's slippery as a fish, because he knows that if he ever commit to anything, he will be obligated to his word and to do what is right. Mat is Galad with a sense of humor. He's the one claiming as much as he can he is no bloody hero while doing the most heroic things, because doing anything else would be wrong. He's the reluctant hero trying to flee heroism. Perrin is the reluctant hero resigned to his fate, mostly. He believes himself unworthy of heroism, but somebody has to do it. And heroismndoesn't feel that heroic to him, he is unsure that this heroism he does is actually that right. He just view things practically. There is a task that needs doing, and it is not by complaining that anything will get forged. The purpose is all, whether right or wrong. Nynaeve is the reluctant hero resentful at being forced in there. She is angry at the world for even needing heroes, and angry at those people who forced her into the position of having to become one. Rand is somewhere in between those three. The heroism he has to face is too terrible not to try to avoid it, and even when embraced, how not to be bitter ? He's destined to go mad and destroy the world, and if he's lucky, maybe he will save it in the process. How does one even to begin to deal with that kind of fate? That was one of the thing that prompted Robert Jordan to write those books : when the wizard comes into town to say to you : you need to go on an adventure to save the world, the primary response is "nah, I'm fine here, I think I'll pass"

[@mooserocka522]

That is no where to be found in the show. In the books he would do anything to help his friends, in the show he hates his friends they are making him basically a bad guy

[@HamzaBoujelouah]

Seeing this show break you is both hilarious and incredibly sad. At least the show introduced you to the books.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

That's the biggest plus from this show. Lots of my commenters didn't read the books until after seeing the show.

[@weetbix8837]

I love your story predictions. Just sayin.

[@leonielson7138]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSIt's not just watching the show break you, it's watching you fall in love with the books and having your heart broken by the series.

[@silverlock05]

Another great job. It is sad how bad they are destroying this book series. The book series message was so simple, Men and Women are stronger together. Even when they don’t understand each other.

[@beetlejuice1989]

It's such a beautiful idea. The message is also very relevant these days, with gender politics idealising division between the sexes.

[@boots6065]

2 hours 17 minutes of justified frustration is exactly what I needed today 🙏

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I hope it brightens your day.

[@Vincent.E.M.Thorn.Author]

1:30:45 Rand saying to Egwene "You've never given Mat a chance" and that she never got to know him made me so mad when watching this episode because it really hammered in your earlier point that the show completely fails to present the Emond's Fielders as a group that grew up together. Mat and Egwene knew each other their entire lives growing up in a super small town, along with the others, but they're talking as though Mat was Rand's high school buddy that he introduced to his College Girlfriend.

[@TheNightrider88]

Once again, I understand, how two farmboys and blacksmith' apprentice can be close friends. What I don't understand is what ties together grownup bachelor from a distant farm, established village blacksmith with a wife and a thief from dysfunctional family.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Yes! It's so lacking in an understanding of small town life.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

The Waygate... Moiraine is opening the Gates so that she can girl-boss and "be the star"... and Loial is just there to be VISIBLY worthless.

[@thorinpalladino2826]

Of course. Loial does have dangly bits after all.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@thorinpalladino2826 Yep. People with dangly bits are sort of like bicycles for fish. Or so they think.

[@strugglesause4601]

This show is a masterclass on how not to make a show. Do they ever write a second draft on these scripts? Did they forget to hire a continuity editor? Boggles the mind Amazon is still letting them make this.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

It really feels like a first draft.

[@philnorfleet1371]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSOr bad fanfic from someone who doesn't like the actual main character(s).

[@urfaes6878]

Amazon has become bad fanfic. Wheel of Time. Rings of Power. It's just poor writers attaching to a big corporation shouting, "Look what I did!" Look at how many series were cancelled after the CEO asked where all his money went.

[@tiagodagostini]

My theory is that they do not even have scripts.

[@darthcy9790]

Supposedly there is a leaked first draft on the internet. This looks like War and Peace compared to that. Just search for Rafe Judkins leaded script. Warning, don't eat before reading about it. As bad as this is it could have been much worse. The sad thing is the leaked script seems plausible knowing what we know about the show runner. and his comments on the show.

[@arenkai]

Brandon Sanderson was the one giving them advice on how to rework the story into something better. But they didn't listen to him.

[@davidlea-smith4747]

Why would you listen to the writer who has sold over 40 million book copies when you can hire some Hollywood writing hacks?

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

36:47 the money was spent on things they didn't need to spend it on. They explicitly discuss in behind the scenes that they spent an inordinate amount on wigs (notice Rand's hair for the last few episodes looks like garbage - he cut it for another role, plus Liandrin's braids, Nynaeve's braids, Moiraine's dark hair - which progressively changes color, and more). And they explicitly discuss how they blew a huge chunk of the budget building Breen's Spring (where Rand and Mat ran into Dana and Thom). Like... That entire town, which isn't in the books (aside from a quick mention), which they have no reason to go back to, which they only went beyond the entrance of for one of the dumbest chase scenes I've ever seen... That took a big chunk of their budget so it could be completely built out. The Two Rivers (aka Emonds Field) was actually burned down on purpose (and has since been completely rebuilt). They chose to go to Tar Valon instead of Caemlyn, which meant more named actors, less on-location sets, and more fantastical sets. They had dozens of shots of trollocs that did nothing for the story. They focused on the fight at the Gap and made the Eye into some side story that didn't even matter (which completely blew their vfx budget and ruined any rules around one power limitations). In other words, they spent money on all the wrong things just because Rafe hasn't had a job in the industry in 8 years before this happened, and even back then he was a budding writer at best. He's by no means a veteran in the film industry.

[@TheNightrider88]

Said "Breen Spring" looked like shantytown of drunkards and junkies, while towns in the Andor was, like, normal medieval-to-renaissance towns! Even Baerlon had 4-stories buildings! I guess budget went another way.

[@janaanklassen87]

​@@TheNightrider88my question is how hard and exspensive is it to make some false fronted buildings? I feel like witha a dozen 2x4s and ply wood you could crate buildings that pass. Like 200$ and you have a complete building.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@janaanklassen87 O yeah. Also, remember that Two Rivers are supposed to be a major region with three large villages and many individual farms. And what we saw?

[@janaanklassen87]

@@TheNightrider88 I know, it's sad. Also the use of tile roofs. It jsut can't be that exspensive to create a dozen false fronted buildings. And using brick on the windsurfing I get it brick is cheaper but they destroyed it so sad.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@janaanklassen87 I miss the Whitebridge. That never was shown.

[@Trygvar13]

Nynaeve is 26 and all of the other kids are 18 yet she often seens like the least mature of the lot. I never really liked her (or Egwenne) in the books but in the end she was far less annoying. What they did with Mat is beyond bad. And not just him but his whole family. His dad is supposed to be a well respected man and he is one of the two people from Emond's Field who actually went to Tar Valon (Tam was the other one) to find the kids.

[@CalebMcCartyA.A.P]

Actually, Rand, Matt, Perrin are 19ish at the start, and Egwenne is stated to be two years younger, so, 17, but, also stated to be Elayne's same age, about, who is supposed to be sent to the tower at age 15, making her possibly 16 instead. Nynaeve would be about 24, maybe 26.

[@IamVendel]

@@CalebMcCartyA.A.P Nynaeve is 23-24 at the start of the series. Min is 22-23. R/M/P are 19. Egwene and Elayne are 16-17.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@IamVendelyup! This is why it annoys me how commonly accepted it is that the EF crew are "aged up" from the books. They're 19 in the books, and 20ish in the show - they just made them more flawed, sexual, and immature in a Hollywood way. They're not any more wise, nor are they much older - it's just ways that Americans are taught are "adult" behaviors (if you ignore the undertones of literally everything they do in the show).

[@TheNightrider88]

@@jeremyvanneman8112 At 24 Rand and Egwene should be married and keeping their own farm.

[@jasonbrown9142]

I’m really unclear - did the show writers not realize that the fan base all has the different characters they identify with and like best? The book is an assemble. Matt is a MC, as is Perrin, more so than Moiraine, so of course if they reinvent or ruin those characters you’re alienating a significant chunk of the IP fan base you are trying to leverage. Did they think the IP was only the arc and world?

[@davidburt9303]

After 10 episodes I asked someone that hadn't read the books who the 3 main characters are. Answer: Moiraine, Lan, Nyneave. This show is completely different from the books. Seems they stole names and place names to write a different story

[@Gunleaver]

I think everyone is hating on Moiraine in Fal Dara, because the writers want to have a persecution narrative. They want their heroines to be the subjects of bigotry and prejudice and be morally superior and constantly pwning the bigots. It's why we got that creepy scene of the Children of the Light bathing Egwene, and arresting them for no reason, and interrogating Egwene for being a channeler, rather than arresting them because Perrin murdered two men for the crime of being attacked by a wolf. It's why Liandrin tells Nynaeve that men control so much of the world and it's not kind to girls who try to reach too high. That persecution narrative might also explain why they excised so many instances of female power from the book, like showing that Nynaeve is actually a Wisdom, with authority that people fear, and a political constituency that backs her up or having most of the book take place in a country ruled by a queen, where her daughter, despite being the youngest sibling, is going to inherit the throne, ahead of her two older brothers. The only power the writers of this show appreciate is naked force. That's why they emphasize that, and only that. From being the person who runs the day to day operations of Fal Dara, Amalisa is reduced to a helpless voice of reason whose blowhard brother won't listen to her ... but she is a channeler! Isn't that badass? It's why Nynaeve is no longer someone the kids fear might call off the eagerly awaited gleeman performance, or who can barge into a Village Council meeting and publicly insult them and they have to take it ... but she is awfully quick to draw that knife of hers, and gets to kill a Trolloc! Nynaeve never uses a knife to threaten people in the books, but on the show, she's ready to draw down on Lan for the threatening behavior of ... walking into an inn, through the front door, on a rainy night. Or while his back is turned and he is treating an injured woman. It's why Egwene shrieks threats at men who have her tied to a chair - because violence = strength.

[@TheNightrider88]

I really can't see what would be a political status of White Tower in show's world. If Children of the Light can simply hunt the Aes Sedai on an industrial scale (judging by Valda's trophies) and to persecute people in vicinity of Tar Valon, and Liandrin complains that men control so much of the world... that would mean that White Tower can't even hope to have level of political influence it had in books. Add to this all that imcompetence we saw and you will be left with a single question - how White Tower still stand?

[@kragary]

I dread to think what they'll do to Elayne... She'll probably go from being the Daughter-Heir to the oldest, most competent sibling whose no-good younger brother is the heir because boy. And then she'll prove herself by beating him in a fight.

[@Gunleaver]

@@kragary i'm willing to bet money that she'll have a romantic/sexual relationship with Aviendha if the show goes long enough. I'm pretty sure they won't be able to rsist making a big thing of her being Moiraine's niece, despite them having zero familial attachment in the books. I do have to say she's far and away the best adapted of the major characters, albeit with a very small sample size. The flaws so far are in the context - she both knows way too much about the Tower and also is way too ignorant of her status and how her rank (doesn't) translate in the White Tower. Also, she's a bit prone to running her mouth and making social faux pas for the sake of exposition, where Book!Elayne is very smooth & diplomatic and knows how & when to keep her mouth shut.

[@nmbalo]

Something I don't get is when they talk about who the dragon is, it seems they want to be the dragon. There is no sense of fear of becoming the dragon, when in the books this was something to be afraid of. The man who broke the world, no sane person wished this on themselves or on their loved ones. Besides men who channeled using it

[@TheSilverOrn]

Book Agalmar - Aes Sedai are our greatest allies and we worship the ground they walk on. Please tell the Amyrlin Seat that her children will protect their Mother and the lands behind us, even to death! Show Agalmar - Oh, an Aes Sedai is here. How horrible, tell me why I shouldn't throw you out on your ear? The whiplash was practically physical, and you know they did this on purpose because they are inserting additional drama with the sister being the right one...

[@TheNightrider88]

Renowned general being courteous with powerful woman is especially evil.

[@fistovuzi]

book Machin Shin: rips out your mind and soul then rips off your skin and tears you to pieces. show Machin Shin: makes you face your prominent insecurities. the Black Wind, in the show, is like a rather good therapist.

[@joshuatempleton9556]

the money went to ignoring the book expert they hired. Rafe literally bragged they were giving her a paycheck for busy work. he would set her a task and then toss the research in the trash and then give her something else to work on. he said it became a running joke she did all that work just for him to say oh well we are going to do it this way instead.

[@kragary]

That's disgusting. For that alone I want to make sure I never watch anything he does.

[@thanos619]

This episode is a prime example of the messaging they've been pushing this entire show and that's that men are incredibly dumb, and women are just better at everything. Which is infuriating. I love the Agalmar character as he's considered one of the greatest Military strategists alive in Randland. Agalmar absolutely respects Moiraine Sedai (he respects them in general as a a whole) and literally helped raise Lan as he got older. This show is taking a massive dump on the original themes and characters that Robert Jordan created. Nothing in this show makes sense at all. No one is likeable at all. And lest not forget the awful story writing that is this Menage-a-stupid that is the love triangle between Rand, Egwene, and the big dumb idiot that is the show version of Perrin. This doesn't exist in the books as it would do insane harm to how those characters really are and how the interact with each other going forward. These changes are catastrophic to this show making any sense whatsoever. Which means that from here on out, EVERYTHING that would play out from the books just won't because they changed the fundamental basics of every main and side character as if the original characterizations of the Scooby Gang (Moiraine, Lan, and the Emond's Field 5) were considered problematic by Rafe Judkins the show runner. He's been on record multiple times claiming that show still isn't "feminist" enough for his tastes and plans on putting a lot more of it into the story which is not what this story is about at all. You'd think that a story that's based off of men and women learning to come together again for the sake of humanity to save the world would be an excellent message to send out into the world via this show? Nope. Not Rafe Judkins (who says he's a fan of the books but is clearly lying). He wants this story to be what he wants it to be and not what the authors initial messaging was intended to be. Apparently, the only thing that matters to the show runner and the idiot writers that clearly aren't good at their jobs is that men are inherently dumb, stupid, irrational, greedy, and incapable of solving any problems at all while women know EVERYTHING and can solve all the problems in Randland in this show. The character assassinations in this show are just really grossly appalling at this point. It's as if they've gone out of their way to specifically destroy our beloved characters from the books. Especially Mat, Perrin, Lan, Moiraine, Rand, Min, Nynaeve, Egwene, Siuan, and literally every other character put on the show. The only character that wasn't really messed with too much if at all is Tam al'Thor. Sheesh. Sorry for the rant but like 90% of this show is just made-up BS to fit a showrunners delusion that he's a better storyteller than Robert Jordan which is a massively farcical notion.

[@thanos619]

@theswordandthepenreflections I love that you're getting into The Wheel of Time and that you're liking the books but also having to witness the bastardization of this wonderful series in the show. Really hurts muh soul lol. I've wanted a WoT show for so long only to be given something that is NOT representive of the very thing you've loved for so long. Heartbreaking really.

[@jasonbrown9142]

I agree to a degree with almost everything said but RJ did try to put a juvenile love triangle of sorts in the book between those 3 characters, there are passages that support that and as in the show nothing really comes of it. But of course this all changes dramatically as the books move forward.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

57:27 if your brightness on your screen was turned up, you could also see Fain following them in the Ways when Lan says there's something following them - he's just standing there in the middle of the bridge. In fact every time you hear whistling for the first season, Fain is always the one doing it. I wish they put as much care into the main story as they did into the Easter eggs.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Oh really? I didn't see him there. Haha. Yeah, my screen is sorta dark.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS yeah, they didn't do the best with light balancing things when it came to colorization. It's not as bad as the night king fight in game of thrones, but the color work in general was really weak - and the darks were far too crushed.

[@mooserocka522]

i did not notice this? and still dont maybe its my tv :)

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@mooserocka522 that's my mistake - he actually shows up right after Lan looks back the way they came, after the trolloc jumps toward them. (14 minutes, 10 seconds into the episode)

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS sorry, that was my mistake - it's a bit later. 14:10 into the episode, just after they start running from machin shin (immediately after Lan looks that way).

[@Gunleaver]

They did Nynaeve dirty from the first. In the books, she is a topic of constant conversation before she shows up on the page, with people arguing and complaining about her. But we see the guys who complain are losers and the sensible people don't listen, and accept Nynaeve's style of leadership. When a man suggests replacing Nynaeve, the nearest woman rises to her defense, making it clear that Nynaeve has a political constituency, and the women in the village are not powerless. People are legit concerned that despite the eagerness with which the village is looking forward to the gleeman's performance, Nynaeve has the power to cancel it if she disapproves of his stories. Nynaeve can barge in on the Village Council while they are interviewing Fain, and later insult them publicly, and they have to take it. Mat recounts Nynaeve disapproving of something a merchant's guard telling him and other kids, and the merchant promising to fire the guy to placate her. Even the way Moiraine realizes Nynaeve is the Wisdom and tries to make up for calling her "child" shows that she recognizes the importance of the Wisdom's authority. On the show, she essentially says "If you're supposed to be a leader, why are you scrubbing rocks?" The answer being "To set up Nynaeve's intimate familiarity with the pool which will pay off when she ambushes a Trolloc in it later" as if you need to explain why ANYONE who grew up in the village is more familiar with the terrain than a stranger. Even you accept that all those little moments have to be sacrificed due to time constraints, they could have had her doing clear leadership functions, like leading the village in prayer with the lantern ceremony, or making the speech to initiate the party on the village green. Instead they have Nynaeve doing her own lantern off by herself and they have Egwene's mother (if you asked the writers or showrunners, I would bet money they would say it's because Marin is the Mayor, not Bran - because feminism, and completely missing the point) opening the festivities, while showing Nynaeve standing there watching & smiling. They went through the trouble of shooting Zoe Robbins in both scene, but could not be bothered to show her leading. All we get is the sacred pool nonsense, with not one other word about the sacredness of that pool or even any indication that anyone but Nynaeve cares about the pool or knows it exists, and she pushes Egwene off a cliff in a nonsense ritual. Nynaeve does not even get to save anyone during the Trolloc attack, with her first patient dying on her, and getting yeeted off by her braid while helping a second. In the books, we can tell from what she does in the aftermath that she knows her stuff, medically speaking, and Rand's belief she can help Tam is not unfounded, despite her inability. Nynaeve in the books explains what she is giving her patients, even if they don't care, and she assures Lan that no matter what she thinks of Moiraine, she would never hurt her or abuse her medical power over the Aes Sedai. On the show, she assaults Lan while he tries to tend to her injuries, withholds her medical treatment to extract a promise to do what she wants, and then refuses to explain her treatment process. And even then, does not really cure Moiraine, just stabilized her until Aes Sedai could actually help her. Even with the tracking. Lan offers a straight up compliment to her ability in the books, she later proves her skills by sneaking up on him & Moiraine and he proves his admiration of her skills by asking her to help with his plan to rescue Perrin. On the show, Lan demands to know how Nynaeve tracked him, as if there is some trick to explain it, and she could not possibly be that good. Later on, she reveals to his colleagues that she tracked him to their general hilarity at Lan getting tracked by a girl. Even her origin anecdote is repurposed to shine up Egwene. But she's played by a black actress, so if anyone has a problem with her portrayal on the show, the only possible explanation is racism.

[@TheNightrider88]

And while taking away all her real strong sides and admirable traits they forced everybody to dance around her in recognition of her awesomness.

[@charlestruppi7793]

I likened Matt somewhere else to one of those friends who talks a big game about how he doesn’t care about anything and is always pulling pranks and you wonder why you hang out with him. Then one weekend you’re moving apartments and you ask all your friends to help, but he’s the only one that actually shows up to help, and brings a 12-pack to enjoy later. People say this isn’t in the 1st few books with Matt but that’s not true. When Rand and Tam 1st arrive at the Inn in Emmonds Field to deliver the brandy, Rand tells Matt that he should get away otherwise Tam will make him help unload the cart. Matt doesn’t leave though and stays to help. That’s who that character is.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Yeah. I remember that scene. No matter what, Show Mat and Book Mat are different people.

[@charlestruppi7793]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSthere are differences and there are differences. Egwene is different. Rand is different. Nynaeve is different. The show Matt (and his whole family) is a mere husk of the character books. Only Lan is done dirtier in the show than Matt. Show Lan is slowly tortured and bled to death while show Matt is made to stand on a plastic sheet and shot in the head. Keep up the great work. Love these reviews.

[@wighty5860]

Don't forget R&M's trip to Caemlyn. Even as Mat gets progressively more paranoid with everybody, that everybody never includes Rand; his friend. Even when Rand is laid out sick after escaping the inn using lightning, Mat is still there to take care of Rand.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@wighty5860 Yeah, it's only in Caemlyn things got really worse. In the show he doesn't even need the dagger.

[@odotawaissaku3755]

Yes I LOVE Mat!! They ruined him 😭

[@Vanbedda]

Yes you are right! Machin Shin in the books is a terrifying "parrasite" born of the corrution of the Ways that will devour your soul and leave your body a living empty husk. In the book Machin Shin gets close to the group, but does not catch them before Moiraine opens the Waygate and they are able to escape. The voices Rand hears as it gets closer are like a thousand vile curses. Moiraine staying behind and fire blasting the hell out of Machin Shin is one of the most badass moves of the first book imo. In the book Moiraine and Lan are like a guardian Angels to these naive and inexperienced kids. It is really unfortunate what the show has done to their and many other characters.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

Not just vile curses. It literally croons a song of "beautiful" brutal torture - overlapping whispers and songs regaling of the joys of ripping flesh and breaking bones.

[@dudeguy8686]

Basically the taint on Saidin made sentient. And hungry.

[@jeremyn8562]

Your editing and cut-aways are so on point this channel is gonna blow up soon imo On topic, i cant even get mad anymore its just a skinsuit at this point - like Vincent D'Onofrio in Men In Black. They cant desecrate the show any- *sees what they do to Min in S2* Nevermind

[@jeremyn8562]

Also - part of the warder bond is to detect shadowspawn

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

You just reminded me of a whole pool of new cutaway clips. Men in Black is a classic.

[@mooserocka522]

I feel it did blow up I honestly don’t read books often and this appeared and I am reading along with the you tube channel

[@jeremyn8562]

​@mooserocka522 No no you are right to be honest. It's how I found it too and subbed.

[@j4ywalker927]

I can't wait to hear your take on season 2. Fantastic channel.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Sweet! Thanks 😊

[@mooserocka522]

I can’t either, I actually cheated and am Caught up on the show , but the books I am only reading a little at a time for these reviews

[@ploptimusgrime332]

She's going to need 4 hours per episode to sort through that mess.

[@merorantu]

The books were formative for my teenage years and this series has made me not recommend the show but ONLY the books to people. I.. I am so upset at how badly the show was done. Even season 2 which is nominally 'better' in terms of shots/editing... the show writing is so so so so bad... it just makes no sense to viewers, angers readers and isolates any support you would have gotten from book fans.

[@xYalahx]

1. Amber makes episode 8 predictions 2. Commenters laugh hysterically 3. ???? 4. Profit. Looking forward to the next review! :D

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Did you mean "Prophet"? Sweet! I hope that I can get it out in the next few days. This last one only took so long because of family stuff combined with Amazon blocking it for about a week.

[@xYalahx]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Naw, I was trying to shoehorn in a "profit meme" implying that episode 8 involved a lot of ???. The last step was only really included because meme :D

[@ethanhandel1001]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS It's a South Park reference in case you aren't familiar with it. Look up the underpants gnomes all the way back in season two.

[@deepap468]

I love watching your series. Great job on the inserts, memes, funny text, etc. I can only imagine how much effort goes into editing. It's not wasted, makes your videos very fun to watch!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Hurray! Mission accomplished! I figure that people would probably be pretty depressed watching just me sitting and sighing over this show.

[@merorantu]

Sighing or crying out of frustration?

[@TheNightrider88]

Also. Why is Rand so nonchalant about being the Dragon? It looks like he has much more important things to worry about (snu-snu with Egwene?). Where is identity crisis, where is trying to deny oviously horrible fate? And he wasn't particularly bright in the show, how he was able to figure it out?

[@dudeguy8686]

Woo! Finally released! Thanks for the hundred hours trying to get this one uploaded, and for the length. A couple non-spoilery notes, book Moiraine's threat was based on the lads joining the Dark One. Breaking the world is essentially a guarantee through the Prophecies, it's expected in the books. There's no possibility of a "good Dragon", outside of his potential defeat of the Dark One. The Breaking is just worth that victory. Also, Moiraine sending the Reds after Matt just felt like more vindictiveness for his actor leaving. Idk where the hate for the character comes from otherwise..

[@gansomb]

1:02:14 it's not the same story, it just have the same name of the books and characters

[@Perry_Wolf]

It dawned on me when you were talking about Egwene dissing Mat, saying "He left us, he probably went back to Tar Valon for that stupid dagger!" - Not only did they not establish Mat craving the dagger by them talking about it, but in the show, Egwene _never_ saw Mat from Shadar Logoth onward until the Way Gate. When they all reach Tar Valon Moiraine decides to keep them all separate and not let the others know they've all arrived. (In fact, that would've been a great time to have them reunite and show how close they all are). At no time does Egwene meet with the boys, nor with Nynaeve, to know about the dagger, or the influence it may have had on him! They only reunite at the Way gate and there's obviously no time spent here relating stories with each other of how they got to Tar Valon. No Egwene saying, "Oh man, it's nice to see you guys! Where'd you go? Perrin and me were chased by wolves, met the Tinkers and were captured by Whitecloaks, we're SO lucky to have made it at all!". To which Rand would've responded, "Us too! We stopped at Breen Spring and almost got murdered by a Darkfriend, but a Gleeman by the name of Thom Merrilin saved us. Then we stayed over at a farm house only to have the family there slaughtered by a Fade, but Thom attacked the Fade allowing us time to escape! I'm pretty sure Thom's dead. Then Mat started acting strange and going almost mad because he took a dagger in Shadar Logoth and it was killing him through some evil magic, but Moiraine found us in Tar Valon and healed Mat!" Egwene, "Wait, how long have you been in Tar Valon?" Rand, "Two days now". Egwene, "Wait?! TWO DAYS?!!! Why didn't Moiraine tell us?!", turning to Moiraine, "MOIRAINE?!!" But no, she would've been clueless about the dagger and Mat. Arrrrgh!!!!

[@TheNightrider88]

Don't forget that when Loial bring Nynaeve to the Rand, Rand never saw her since destruction of the village. He didn't even knew she survived. But he doesn't seem to be surprised much and never asked her about village and reasons why she is here. Amazing interpersonal dynamics.

[@Perry_Wolf]

@@TheNightrider88 So very true! Ugh, these writers are horrific. I said it before elsewhere, I believe wholeheartedly that they had different writers for every episode, working off of an outline, but none of them went back to see what the previous writers established in previous episodes!

[@JamesMiller-ce1df]

The moment screenwriters made "men" the corrupters of The One Power, instead of The One Power corrupting the minds of "men", the whole story irreparably diverged from its source. It might seem a subtle and trivial change to screenwriters with a topical understanding of the written story, but it is the device that allows one (especially we boys/men in our often innate hubris) to pause throughout the story and ponder the consequences of exercising or pursuing power. In that way the original story is often a learning experience as much as it is an entertainment. It appears now that men who exercise or pursue power are -- inescapably and inevitably -- the problem. Nothing more to consider, no alternatives presented.

[@TheNightrider88]

In the books potential in the One Power isn't actually equals to personal power and strength. Even the White Tower informal hierarchy based on power levels is depicted as warped system. Also, those who tried to live like in power fantasy, leaning on channeling abilities, usualy met a sad end.

[@Ellis_Hugh]

Oh yes, the books are a celebration of the dual nature of masculinity and femininity at its core. The show is an outright rejection of the binary nature of men and women (to reflect modern Hollywood's social views) and a consistent theme throughout is the reduction of men to further the empowerment of women. Countless key plot points are taken from male characters and given to the female characters - unnecessarily so, because there are already so many amazing, strong and nuanced female characters throughout the books. You know the show was doomed from literally the beginning when they HAD to make it so that the Dragon could be Male or Female. Right from the outset, that was the consummate confirmation of just how bad this was going to be.

[@bidossessi]

Long video! Yay!!! Of all the things that pissed me off about this series as a standalone show, you hit the largest one on the head: why was Moiraine not investigating which one of the kids is the dragon?! Not once throughout the season did she sit, observe, take note. She was just doggedly heading off to some new place, being cryptic or dismissive or peremptory, even to Lan (eagle shriek!!) but She. Never. Even. Tried! That drove me crazy! Especially given how this episode ends. I've been asking this question to every reviewer I could: Why according to the show is Rand the Dragon Reborn? All of them have been experiencing new powers. Why does _he_ feel special? Why does his being adopted matter? Why does him channeling matter? Why him and no other?

[@bidossessi]

By the way, I love what you're doing with Lan (eagle shriek!!).

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

Yeah, I love that the reveal was like: - Rand recognized Dragonmount! + But why would that relate to him being the Dragon? - Rand has a heron marked blade! + But what does that have to do with Rand being the Dragon? - Rand was born to an Aiel maiden and adopted by Tam! He's "something impossible!" + But... The Dragon?... - oh! But Rand can channel! + So can Nynaeve, Egwene, and Logain... And Moiraine effectively said that may not really matter (or else she would have said that to Lan about Mat instead of the character assassination line, considering he didn't try to channel as she sucked Mashadar out of him), and it would have disqualified Perrin since he growled at Valda instead of hitting him with the One Power. - Rand is 20! + So are Mat, Egwene, and Perrin - Rand is a male! + What does that have to do with him being the Dragon in the show? - Rand... Was told by the black wind that he's the Dragon? + The thing Moiraine told him to ignore, and Egwene said spoke lies? - Rand is ta'veren! + okay, at this point in the show... What is ta'veren? They keep using that word. I don't think it means what they think it means. There's nothing. Literally no dots connected aside from one to another that are intentionally kept separate from anything to do with the Dragon Reborn.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

With the way the show is written, the dragon should have been either Egwene or Nynaeve.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I have no answer for why the show still had Rand as the Dragon. I wish I could have been listening in on conversations in the writing room. I guarantee that changing who the dragon is came up.

[@bidossessi]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS to be honest, I would have been ok with it. That major of a change takes cojones and I respect that. As long as the follow-through is good, I'd have been down with whatever. They just had to maintain internal consistency and tell a good tale. 🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️

[@DeadbeatShadows]

"Why does Moiraine need Lan?" Been asking myself this since the beginning of the show, and I guess we know that she apparently doesn't now lol Your reviews and the new episodes of season 2 are making me do another re-read listening to the audiobooks at work though, so at least there's some upside to the pain. I feel like Lan's eagle cry sound effect is going to need to start sounding a lot sadder as time goes on, as much as it cracks me up every time lol

[@TheNightrider88]

Why? To have a bumbling idiot that can be blamed for her failings and to carry heavy things.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I'm way ahead of ya 😜 After watching the first 4 eps of season 2, I was considering how to manipulate the eagle screech to sound like it's falling apart.

[@xYalahx]

@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Dying eagle screech coming for season 2 reviews? :D

[@SilveryRow]

​@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSGoose honk

[@RuailleBuaille]

1:42:00 Please, please listen to your family always. They were so very right 😂 This was the cherry on top of an already fantastic video!

[@Mjolnir007]

Agelmar in the books is one of my favourite characters. Look how they massacred my boy. 😢

[@smwad7103]

I thought it was profoundly stupid that they changed Machin Shin from a sentient evil roaming the ways and sucking out souls to a cloud of black fog that tells you uncomfortable life truths about yourself.

[@ThumbMerrilin]

Well, it kinda sys a lot that the writers think a voice that tells you hard truths about your personal failings and faults without sugar coating it is the most terrifying Machin Shin they could think of. The worst thing they can think of is someone they can’t see being mean to them, by telling them some hard truths e.g. social media. It’s just one of a few examples of the writers’ inner demons being projected into their scripts. Another is the overt daddy issues being projected into the scripts from the writing room - Abel the drunk lecher and deadbeat dad, warders talking about their drunken and violent dads, Siuan’s dad abandoning her up the river etc. One mention of a bad father you might expect, but over and over from multiple characters?

[@mjbull5156]

Machin Shin in the books seems a distillation of every sadistic psychopathic serial killer, what it "says" is bloodcurdling, not a font of personal insight.

[@EmberAwoken]

I am so excited you have put worrying about run time out the window! We’re here for you voice; don’t cut yourself short!

[@TheNightrider88]

I was trying hard to came up with any reasonable... reason to "reinventing" Min from an attractive young tomboy into vague-aged unattractive bartender. I failed. I was trying hard to came up with any reasonable... reason to "reinventing" Fal Dara from a large fortified city in snowy northern mountains into tiny bastion in the middle of a desert. I failed.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

1:41:28 in the book, he lived for fighting against the Blight and shadowspawn. He would roam the blight and the borderlands stopping the Dark One however he could. That's what killed his parents and destroyed his kingdom. Moiraine simply provided him a more focused direction to achieve that goal. He had something to live for, and even more something to die for. In the show, they've taken his core motivation and given it to Moiraine, who then "generously" 🙄 gives back to him.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Ugh. If I have to endure any more diminishing of Lan in the show, it's gonna be hard to keep enjoying him.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS "sounds of screeching eagle"

[@IamVendel]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS *Laughs in season 2*

[@fistovuzi]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS in case you don't know. when he was alive, Jordan was asked who he pictures his characters as looking like. he listed some actors, Egwene, I THINK, he said was young Audrey Hepburn, not sure. but Lan, according to Jordan looks like a young Liam Neeson. tall, imposing, stone-faced, silent. EDIT, it may have been Lanfear who looked like Hepburn. i just seem to remember Hepburn in there somewhere. the only one i vividly remember is Lan/Neeson. i am POSITIVE Jason Momoa's name was quickly brought up in casting Lan. for whatever reason, he wasn't used. thank Heavens. he wouldn't have been able to save this pile.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@fistovuzi Yes, Audrey Hepburn was brought as reference for Egwene. There was whole discussion on Shadiversity channel.

[@schitzoflink8612]

My theory is that bad writing is like a sunburn. You have a little once and awhile and it's not an issue. Repeated bad exposure makes you more sensitive to the little bits

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha. Nice. WoT seems to be experiencing 2nd degree blistering at this poiny.

[@philipgriessel5315]

The show is no longer dealing with the butterfly effect, they have turned it into the Mothra effect.

[@ploptimusgrime332]

It devolved into 95% fan fiction in the blink of an eye.

[@stephengrant4841]

Mothra effect is hilarious and aptly said, too, because the weight of these changes to plot and character will make enormous waves down the line.

[@SarahFearnley958]

I thought it was hilarious that the scary, evil, terrifying Machin Shin just told the characters the truth. 🤣 Are there any characters they haven’t assassinated?

[@TheNightrider88]

Even horses!

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

28:58 the logical issue here is that Lan saw something following them even though he was at the head of the pack and watching the way they were going. And Perrin noticed something ahead of them even though he was watching their rear. If Perrin can see and smell really well, he would have noticed something following them - they had his ability written into the situation but then flipped it for no reason.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Lol. Good point.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

13:09 I think you're very likely right. Matt left the show before they were able to film the Ways, so this was their way of writing Matt off the show while telling us about the *looming threat* so we're supposed to feel tension that just doesn't exist. And as you called out, the number of plot holes here... It's so holy it might as well be the pope himself 😂

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

This whole show should be nominated for sainthood. 😋

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS 😂 I love it!

[@jonevansauthor]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS you have to die to qualify for that. Wait, that's a good thing, right? But I kind of want to see them finish it, because that's how you get more completed shows in the future and will guide The Wheel of Time TV Show 2/reboot, in what not to do. And by the third or fourth version we'll finally get everything done right.

[@urfaes6878]

True, but the three most common reasons are : not wanting a long term contract (I mean, come on, Wheel of Time? The most long winded series ever?), scheduling conflicts (also, really?) and coof related issues (quasi-believable). Personal suspicion? They realized how much they ruined his character, they'd rather replace him for The Great Hunt.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@urfaes6878 exactly!

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

34:56 you're spot on here. I do think it's been discussed, but Warders and Aes Sedai can sense shadowspawn, as well as darkfriends that have gone super super dark for a long time. Just like Fades can sense Aes Sedai and channeling to some degree. This makes Egwene noticing the whistling while she had been asleep, and the trolloc just insane. It's even more ridiculous when you realize the trolloc came from in front while Fain's whistling was from behind. Also, why did Lan have his hood up? Maybe his peripheral vision and hearing were just too blocked to be able to hear or see anything? 🤷‍♂️

[@jasonbrown9142]

He was going for style points clearly.

[@valandiltasheth]

honestly I feel like every single character gets character assassinated in this show. Like they went out of their way to make every single one of them unlikeable.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

Worse... I don't think that they INTENDED to make the women unlikable. That was, IMO, just an unintended consequence of not being able to resist humiliating the men.

[@mattwilson1490]

"I bet the Eye of the World is just a hole in the ground." Well done! It's like you're Min. By that, I mean book Min, obviously. I am glad you survived. I hope you had a stiffer drink before Episode 8.

[@Ellis_Hugh]

It seems like they've decided that there aren't male or female halves to the power, so the male half isn't externally tainted, instead there's only one power but men themselves are inherently tainted, that their use of the power is what taints it. It's a convenient way to get around the binary nature of men and women while continuing the show's theme of taking whatever male character accomplish and giving it to the female characters instead. It's just terrible fan fiction written by people who hated the books expressly for people who never read the books. This is what happens when you openly and deliberately set out to 'fix the author's problematic writing', reject the binary nature of men and women upon which the foundation of the entire series is based, decide that DEI is more important than the story actually making any sense, hire an inexperienced showrunner who's giddy about male nudity but wants to reduce the actual male characters of the series to afterthoughts and actively hate the fanbase who loved and cherished this series for generations. You end up with utter, abject crap and a complete perversion or outright abandonment of the original material.

[@johndunn1625]

"Loial and Perrin would be good friends" Yup. No spoilers, but him and Perrin do a lot together in the next few books and is a pretty fun team up

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I am so excited. I also want Loial and Thom to meet.

[@TheMythMachine461]

Yeah, Aiel *only* fight veiled. But Rafe doesn't respect a single culture in this world, so we shouldnt be surprised he doesnt care about that either. 😢

[@WhitecloaksPips]

YES! thank you. Show canon: no Saidin/Saidar and men are tainted themselves, the power is not tainted. LITERALLY made Toxic Masculinity the problem 😆

[@TheNightrider88]

And that means, that saidin can't be cleansed. But how they would deal with male channeler madness? Are the men supposed to kneel before girlboss power and ask for forgiveness?

[@galetempus1979]

​@@TheNightrider88all signs point to YES

[@TheNightrider88]

@@galetempus1979 Creator save me.

[@janaanklassen87]

​@@TheNightrider88why do you think they are doing all the feefee talks. The taint will be removed in a feedee therapy session

[@TheNightrider88]

In case of Min, they totally wasted her viewings as a tool of foreshadowing. I mean, in the book she dropped vast amount of spoilers for a books yet to come. here, half of what she said was the things already known by viewer.

[@kristiannicholson5893]

"Y'know, Loiall and Perrin could be good buddies." She says off handedly...

[@davidlavin4774]

2:01:40 I think my biggest gripe regarding the magic system in the show is that they are not being clear about it. Robert Jordan's entire world lore is so tightly bound to the separate male/female halves of the one power. The show seems to be wanting to not do that (gender binaries not being popular these days or whatever), but they're not being clear about it. It's like they want to de-emphasize the two halves but not fully commit to them being gone. And so it gets unclear. But wit the lore so dependent on that structure it just cuts the legs out from under the whole thing, IMO.

[@TheNightrider88]

And throwing away the idea of two halves of the One Power basically destroys theme of synergy of interacting opposites from the books. Because who cares about such a themes.

[@jsbrads1]

I’m not defending the show, but the magic mechanics gets explained better over time.

[@davidlavin4774]

@jsbrads1 perhaps, I just think the show has already skipped some important info. In the first book, Moraine explains very clearly about wilders and how 3 in 4 die. They haven't touched on that at all. And in S1:E8 when Rand asks Moraine to teach him, that was a perfect opportunity to pull out the birds and fish analogy. Instead we get some stupid speech about her getting beaten in the White Tower to help her learn.

[@joshuatempleton9556]

Nynaeve father was still alive in the books and was a tabac farmer. elnore, nynaeve mother died when she was young and her father raised her as a boy but she kept her femininity. she used her fathers teachings to track them down in the books. she was born and raised in the two rivers and learned her trade from the previous wisdom etc being alone is the last of her worries.

[@jmalonemyth]

You didn't miss anything. Nynaeve didn't knowingly channel in book 1 but I believe Moiraine knew she had channeled. She is a wilder. She used the power for healing but didn't know she was using the power. They severely downgraded the power of Manchin Shin. Instead of insanity and death you get a little nightmare. You recall correctly. He was super positive and then he wanted to send a chunk of his army to help at the Eye.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

Yeah, machin shin was little more than someone with depression on any normal day.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I definitely over dramatized who Agalmar was in the book, but I hope the point was clear. Compared to who Agalmar was in the show, Book Agalmar was charming and a little pitiable.

[@wighty5860]

They nerfed nearly every threat they ran in to. Whitecloaks: chop off hands and burn you alive. Unless the MC's are there, then Valda pisses himself when Perrin's eyes change color. Machin Shin: Talks lies and steals souls. Unless the MC's are there, then it's probably pretty good tough love therapy. Battle at the Eye: Anyone not the Dragon will be killed. With the MC's, Rand takes a nap, Moiraine gets shielded, maybe. Actual main confrontation is a bright burst of light. The only thing that really lived up to its billing was Mashadar.

[@jmalonemyth]

They really did take away all of the REAL tension and replaced it with the nonsense that everyone would die at the Eye. @@wighty5860

[@stephengrant4841]

I actually thought Mashadar was cooler in the show, personally. The one thing it's done better. In the book it just kills people, but in this it almost makes them dissolve.@@wighty5860

[@damianhill6704]

My best mate past away in 2020. We both read the books together from the mid 90's.... we even got matching dragon tattoos (the black header one from Rand chapters.) I'm glad he never got to see this series.

[@TheNightrider88]

My condolences. George V had a dragon tattoo on his arm. I guess he wanted to be an Aiel chief.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. He (or she? usually "best mate" is a dude, right?) will be immortal in your memories whenever you re-read the books, though 😇 Have you ever read Inkheart? I only read the first one, and I loved the idea of memories being implanted into the pages of a book. You read Wheel of Time with your best mate, and now, every time you read certain chapters, you relive moments with your friend that happened the first time you read those chapters together. I have pieces of music, movies, and books that all do these things.

[@damianhill6704]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS yes there are certainly implanted memories. We were both lord of the rings fans in our youth and when we went to see the first film ( in our early twenties) at the cinema, we were dreading the Tom Bombadil (I've never met anyone who has read his chapters twice) chapters. Later on the drive back home we discussed how Glorfindle turned into Arwyn to take Frodo to Rivendell. And agreed we could accept it.... When he passed away (a long illness) I sat and watched all 3 directors cuts of LotR back to back to say my goodbyes. He fought like Boromir till the end. Non spoilers, but yes discussing the books with him was great. There are so many good scenes/chapters. Matt with the trainee warders and Dumai's wells.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@damianhill6704 you actually raised a good point here. Exclusion of Glorfindel was a matter of excluding an extra in order to give more presence to the prominent character. Because, face it, Arwen is treated as prominent character but she don't have much scenes in the book. You can see the reason behind this change. And here... you can't.

[@philnorfleet1371]

Isn't it sad that Machin Shin has been turned into the characters' fee-fees being hurt by hard truths? Can't get more 2023 than that. I actually had issues with the opening. A woman going through labor is not going to be able to move like this. I think it would have made a LOT more sense if "Shaiel" (Rand's mom) was just going through labor and possibly trying to crawl away, while a couple of other Maidens of the Spear are fighting a desperate holding action INCLUDING against Tam. Kill off all of the Maidens and the Illian soldiers, leaving only Tam. In fact, stick to the story he told and HIDE "Shaiel" until after the battle, so Tam survives the fight (but hide his identity if you must), and have him react to a woman screaming. Have him approach (with the camera maybe behind him so you don't see his face) and then discover "Shaiel" going through labor... As to Mat, couldn't they have just had him still be bedridden following the so-called Healing? So he COULDN'T go with them? But otherwise, the show remains a dumpster fire filled with napalm and explosives. Such hot garbage. And it just gets worse IMO...

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I definitely felt that a woman in labor couldn't fight like this, but the impression the show is giving is that the Aiel are somewhat superhuman. How accurate this is to the books is another story.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Aiel are more in line with "somewhat well-trained and well-motivated assault infantry")

[@philnorfleet1371]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS From memory, there's nothing that says "Shaiel" actually participated in the battle. I seem to recall Tam saying in his fever dream early in book 1 that he stumbled upon her AFTER she gave birth (and presumably died of blood loss), but there's nothing there saying she did or didn't actually participate. I think there might be a reference in one of the later books that she shouldn't have even been there due to the pregnancy, but ... otherwise, the AIel are just basically bad ass human fighters. Nothing superhuman about them; they're just more highly trained than most of the people they fought in the Aiel War.

[@Revoe3]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS First things first, I'm enjoying your reviews, please carry on!! Also, i'm glad you made this comment here because i wasn't sure if it was already included in the review. Apologies if it was. The idea that a woman who is literally about to give birth at any moment can move around like Trinity from The Matrix is laughable. I have no problem with maidens of the spear being depicted as lethal warriors - they, like male aiel, dedicate their time to physical/martial training, but this scene took it to a ridiculous level. The Aiel are as superhuman as you might reasonably expect from a culture which devotes itself to these types of activities, but they're not superheroes. The show writers, and i use that term loosely, have turned this into a scene from a marvel movie, without any nuance or subtlety. The other main issue i had with this scene, apart from the soldiers having heavy armour which doesn't actually appear to do much to protect them aswell as Shaiel (the pregnant partner of an Aiel clan chief) being on her own without any friends around her, is i was asking myself 'Why?' Why are these soldiers (they're elite soldiers by the way, the Companions from Illian, with blademasters like Tam in their ranks) desperate to kill this lone not just pregnant woman but a woman who is literally about to give birth. Why? Are they just assholes? They're in the middle of a battle and i'm sure there are lots of Aiel all around, so plenty of enemies available, but for some reason they all decide to target this lone woman. Why? Tam doesn't, he tries to help her. So why do the others first try to kill her? There's no context or explanation. In relation to this scene, and the show in general, the 'writers' are so fixated on what they think looks cool visually that logic goes completely out of the window. We know from the books that Shaiel was there, she was injured, she died after giving birth and Tam found the child. That is not this farce of a scene.

[@ThumbMerrilin]

'The Eye is probably just going to be a hole in the ground...' Nice prediction. LOL, the show is that predictable in how awful it will be. Keep up the good work.

[@TheNightrider88]

The Hole of the World would be a more appropriate term.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

3:56 this actor - Magdalena sittova - is actually primarily a stunt actor. Despite not being a huge fan of the show, I absolutely loved her performance and the camera work here! I agree that there were a few problems upon closer inspection, but it didn't bother me at all while first watching. And I believe this is only one of three projects she's not been exclusively a stunt actor for.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

The lady's a badass, and she is a decent actor, too.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I totally agree!

[@bohort]

in the books sensing the trollocs and fades is a 'power' given by the warder bond, when emonds field is attacked lan knows it is coming but is too late to make a huge difference (i think he got a couple of minutes which he used to find Moiraine)

[@davidlavin4774]

55:00 Yeah, I don't get why they felt the need to change Lord Algemar like this. It's like the male characters aren't allowed to be good, strong, smart, and capable in this show for some reason. And I'll never forgive them for not including Algemar telling the whole group Lan's backstory - instead they threw it away on some pillow talk w/ Nynaeve. Again, it just diminishes the character of Lan.

[@TheNightrider88]

But hey, they expanded the Liandrin role instead!

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@TheNightrider88 Yeah... and the actress is doing a good job... but I also don't GAF about Liandrin, and she's taking time away from the main characters that are NEEDED.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@Nyet-Zdyes What I meant is that show defenders insist that expanding Liandrin role is a hghlight. Like she isn't taking time away from he main characters or even more prominent chaacters. Strange logic.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@TheNightrider88 Yes... and also, all of the teen drama crap is taking time and other resources away from developing far more important stuff.

[@charleshartley9597]

I'm sorry, but I so very much enjoy these, and the longer the better. I say I'm sorry because this means that you torture yourself for our "viewing pleasure". That said, you also seem to enjoy it as one enjoys a grisly car accident. Anyway, I hate to say it, but I can't help but think that Agalmar's portrayal in this show is another "make men look incompetent and/or assholes" move by the writers. Also known as "make women girl bosses" by changing male characters as written. Its sad. There are so many ways to show (show, not tell) women being the badasses they are or can be without following this lowbrow technique which seems to be infecting visual media lately. I just want good writing, good characters. Is that too much to ask for? /exit soapbox

[@jmalonemyth]

Matt is a favorite. Making him evil is terrible writing. Dumb writing. Makes no sense at all to take the lovable rogue and turn him into an evil character at heart. As you said, he is just a lovable prankster at worst. Not a mean thought in his mind and soul. Thus when the dagger corrupts him, you understand the evil power of Shadar Logoth. And not just book 1. Matt is NEVER inherently evil. This is a remarkably dumb character assassination. I guess in the writer's brain, if you like gambling and hot women, you are inherently evil.

[@skillcapt6427]

The relationship between Lan and Morraine in the books is a partnership. Their Aes Sedai / Warder relationship is different than most. Lan's back story sets him on an endless battle against the Dark One / Blight / Trollocs and in Morraine he finds a partner in that fight. Her task in finding the dragon reborn falls in line with his destiny to continue the battle against the Dark One. The book partnership is sooooo different than that portrayed in Amazon's WoT show. Another blunder that strays from the source material.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

39:21 that line was in the books and the show... But the context is completely different. In the books, Moiraine directly tells the boys that she'll kill them before she lets the Dark One have them. She's not threatening the Dragon at this point... She's threatening a group of kids whom she knows will play a big part in the last battle because they're ta'veren. Her killing the dragon is nonsensical, because no dragon means no saving the world. That's crucial to the story. It's also important that she tells the boys directly so they're aware of the threat and are pushed to make the right decision. In the show she says it to Siuan in Tear (when they bang). And she says it explicitly about the Dragon. And she says it behind their backs... So it's almost like she's creating this "you can go your own way," situation, but then if they do, she'll knife them... Instead of telling them how important it is that they make the right choice so she doesn't needlessly kill a potential huge asset to the forces of the Light.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Great point here. I think the show folks made Moiraine say this because they thought it would make her seem more decisive... but it just makes her more reckless, really.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS thanks!

[@colmobrien9558]

These videos have gone from a curio that I randomly clicked on to something that I am checking the channel three or four times a week to make sure that I haven't missed anything.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! 😊 Thank you. But I think, if you click the bell for notifications, the notifications of new content will come to you. 😋

[@colmobrien9558]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Thank you for the tip, but actually I live a meaningless existence and checking for your new videos is the only thing that gives my life purpose. No pressure though. Disparu is also doing breakdowns and they're interesting companion pieces to yours, sometimes you talk about the same things and answer each other's questions or points. It's like you are in conversation. Anywho, keep up the good work, I'm impressed with the level of your content

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

16:19 I actually had the perfect solution using only what they shot plus two lines with a new audio recording. In the last episode, Moiraine asks Lan if Mat is up to the trip. Lan says something about "he's drunk, but he'll be there." Change that to a shot following Lan where he says "he won't recover in time. We have to go on without him." And Moiraine say, "then tell the others." 3 shots cut from the scene at the waygate, and a very little bit of vfx to cleanplate Mat out (not super cheap, but still relatively inexpensive), and they'd have a reason for him to stay without making him into a terrible person at his core.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

That could've worked. Or maybe just that he is still too sick from his possession. He was down with a fever, if I recall.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS yeah, that's kind of what I mean. Find a quick way to say "he's not up for the journey, and we need to go now. And if he could channel, he would have."

[@stephencruickshank3868]

Or just Darth Sidius him. Oh, healing him of the dagger has left scars, etc that I can’t heal by myself. New Actor. And then he gets healed properly for season 2 and no problem.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@stephencruickshank3868 exactly. That's likely how I would continue it from the explanation that he had to stay at the White Tower.

[@Cassandra112]

"it makes him look incompetent." well he IS a man. of course his sister needs to be right about everything, be a better leader, and solve all his MAN mistakes. "moiraine saying she's sorry". aes-sedai can't lie. would be even more chilling if she refuses to say she's sorry, because she knows what she has to do.

[@arleenm7367]

I don't understand it. They could have had the next Game of Thrones series if only they had stuck to the book story.

[@urfaes6878]

Nynaeve : I shall spy upon my new potential love! Pepe Le Pew : Hello! Nynaeve : D:

[@darkmiles22]

The show is bad on a lot of levels. It is somehow inconsistent and predictable at the same time. The gender politics is perplexing though, which is to say it's also bad but at least it's interesting. There are lots of instances of men deferring to women instinctively / women casually dominating men in a way that gives this topsy-turvy feeling. It's a portrayal of Matriarchy as a mirror image of Patriarchy. The only characters that don't accept female domination are the dragons, and they are (correctly) universally seen as threats to the world order. The plot revolves around how the dragons threaten to break the world and implicitly remake it ushering in the dawning of a new age. Are the dragons a parallel for feminists in our world? Like one view of feminism is a movement to break the Patriarchy and remake the world ushering in the dawning of a new age. I don't think the show writers are intending this parallel between the dragons and feminism exactly because they are obviously just going for a representation-style feminism where women get to be badasses. The writers have basically said as much and the male characters are becoming increasingly useless*. The dragon-feminism parallel just happens to fall out of those elements as a result which is interesting at least. It's the reason I keep watching. That and making fun of the romance, action, dialogue, costuming, and set design. * Loial isn't an expert guide of the Ways. Lan can't guard or be a convincingly mysterious love interest. AFAICT Lan's main function is to make the kids look relatively mature. Perrin has a wife in the show - which he kills in ep 1! His role in the show is to be horrifically incompetent and traumatized and struggle with the ethics of violence (while the girls are too busy acting on the world to dwell on ethics). In the books Perrin struggles with whether to be a wolf full time or not because the wolves are badass and totally accepting of him, but being a human also has advantages. Also show Perrin is weirdly into Egwene despite her being in a relationship and him also being in mourning. Mat is reduced from lovable scoundrel whose worst sin is gambling to thieving rogue who constantly steals and struggles with inner darkness. Rand has his specialness as Ta'veren and the Dragon Reborn diluted and given to the girls, or at least it is heavily teased that way for most of season 1. Rand is moody and uncertain (like all the men tbh). Thom barely exists in the show. The men are bloody useless because all their badass moments are stolen by the girls.

[@TheNightrider88]

If Dragon as collective image of messianic figures is replaced with parallel for feminists - then you know that something went downhill and deeper.

[@gadflyfiction]

I very much disagree with the "blood snow" scene. It is incredibly idiotic, the guys are wearing papier mache armour, flying around while not just pregnant but in labour, the choreography is really bad, fast cuts and close shots try to hide it but fail horribly. Despite being a world of magic and monsters the Wheel of Time is very realistic in its portrayal of human capabilities and this is reflected in the arms and armour of the world. But also, this scene is removed of all drama within the story, if it had been interspersed with Rand's trek through the forest with Tam's voice in the background with Rand's confusion and denial would have been a lot more dramatic and heart tugging, but of course the writers wanted their mystery box story of "who is the Dragon Reborn?"

[@TheNightrider88]

And they definitely not wanted Rand having an arc.

[@velinion1]

I have _no_ idea what they're doing with a Perrin/Egwane thing. That is never even implied in the books. It's stupid, unnecessary, adds nothing but melodrama, and doesn't even do _that_ because they refuse to put the time/effort into it to sell it. The biggest question is what they thought it _added_ to to the story....

[@TheNightrider88]

This is how they imagine interpersonal dynamics among close friends. Apparently.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

Just about to watch... But oh my gosh yes! Over 2 hours. I love it! Also, I did try to give you a heads up 😉

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

Also, I'm sorry for all the comments. I can clear them out if you'd prefer. I just got really excited to watch your review, and thought the bits of insight from a long time reader might be appreciated.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I read all the comments, but try only the give hearts to the ones I have time to respond to... maybe I should change that and give hearts to all the comments I read. But no way! Your comments are all very insightful, and help fill in the gaps that I keep running into. And people like to engage with them (which helps boost my videos, too). So keep at it. 😋

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS will do 😊 thanks!

[@cinnamongeeksout]

Matt and Min are my 2 favorite characters in the books, and they are sadly unrecognizable in the show. Shame Shame

[@mattmatthewmatchuu]

warders and aes sedai sense shadow spawn, they cant be snuck up on. its part of the bond, egwene keeps noticing everything and is just part of the brazen toxic male bashing

[@tylinspiglet4676]

"They're too many freaking names!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Yep. Over 2,700 named characters in the whole series 🤣

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Nice.... My aging brain it probably only capable of remembering a dozen at a time.

[@MrWebweaver]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who hated all these characters by the end of this season.

[@jmalonemyth]

It is funny how agitated you get by the terrible writing because I know the ripple effects. You might have to completely revisit the show when you are done with the books because you are going to be so much angrier by the changes when you see how much they destroyed. And it will be comedy gold! Gold, Jerry, gold!

[@briane8627]

🍿

[@MrKlarc19]

I think the problem with this show is the writers think Moiraine is the main character.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

That's certainly one of the problems...

[@TheNightrider88]

@@Nyet-Zdyes Come to think of it, show that would depict only canonical Moiraine exploits still would be better that this one.

[@MrKlarc19]

@@Nyet-Zdyes Sorry, one of the main problems from the show.

[@janaanklassen87]

53:39 Agelmar is shown this way to valudate liandrins episode 5 line about men having power. This flies in the face of raen being ousted by Ayla And Bran be ousted by mistress alvere

[@alontsin]

Great review! Small nitpick - Emond's Field, not Edmond's Field 😊

[@patrickhill8494]

Love this video. This episode deserves to be shredded mercilessly. The contrived drama with Egwene, Rand, and Perrin is soooooo fucking dumb. Welcome to the "They Character Assassinated Matt" club! God, the whole Ways clusterfuck was so frustrating. Loial is such a great and useful and interesting character in the book, and he's reduced to only exposition dump (though he does lore dump a lot in the books too) trucking. That Lan/Nyneave scene and your reaction = 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Spoiler: Machin'Chin does leave people an empty, soulless husk if it doesn't kill them outright. In Book 2, the gang is shown an Ogier who got caught by the wind and is a husk.

[@Raven9940]

Thank you for the Invader Zim reference. One of my fav shows of all time!

[@galetempus1979]

The surprise love triangle is just so stupid. It makes all the characters seem more immature then they were in the books and it makes Perrin look even worse then he already is. I honestly don't buy that any of these characters actually like each other.

[@velinion1]

As for how _aware_ Aes Sedai are of their Warder's lovelife, so to speak, _minor_ spoilers follow. . . . . The Aes Sedai can choose to temporarily mask the link to deaden the sensational feed. This means they can opt out of the inherant voyeurism/involuntary participation.

[@jmalonemyth]

So they changed all of Min's viewings. Trash. Pure trash. "A sword that isn't a sword, a golden crown of laurel leaves, a beggar's staff, you pouring water on sand, a bloody hand and white-hot iron, three women standing over a funeral bier with you on it, black rock wet with blood, lightning around you, some striking at you, some coming out of you. You and I will meet again." Min's first reading of Rand. I already knew they were going to change the story. Can't have a man with more than one woman in love with him. A baby? Really?

[@TheNightrider88]

Min's viewings are powerful foreshadowing tool that got wasted. Like, what she said about Perrin:" a wolf, and a broken crown". Wolfs would appear in the same book, but we will not learn about broken crown until much. much later. Here, she reveals his wolfbrother abilities... when viewer already saw it. How? Just... how?

[@Gunleaver]

Moiraine would not send a message to the Red Ajah, even if there was a male channeler on the loose. Contrary to what a lot of shallow fans, and apparently the showrunners, believe, they are not the man-hunting department of the Tower. All Aes Sedai do whatever the Tower needs done. That's why Moiraine is a competent Healer, fighter and researcher, without being a member of the Yellow, Green or Brown Ajahs. The Red Ajah also does the same sort of thing. The Ajahs are like clubs or political parties. You join an Ajah based on your personality and beliefs, not the particular skillset you employ. If Moiraine wants someone to be aware of Mat and take steps, she would be telling her own Ajah to pass up the line to the powers that be, or if she wants to be more discreet, her close friends within the Tower, like Anaiya. The only reason Moiraine would send a message to the Red Ajah would be if she was plotting something with them, and it would almost certainly be some sort of Tower politics, because that's the only thing that interests the Ajah as a whole. It would be like notifying the Republican Party of a national security threat, because Republicans make that one of their campaign issues, instead of the FBI. In the books, if Moiraine DID encounter a male channeler or was aware of the movements of one and could not be bothered to handle it herself, or had a more important mission, she would again, tell the Tower as a whole, or she might ONLY tell her OWN Ajah and their allies, because if THEY capture a male channeler and bring him in for gentling, it makes the Reds look bad and gives the Blues and friends a leg up on their political squabbles.

[@thordomr]

When watching this show just whisper to yourself after each episode, "I have won again, Lews Therin." You are just watching one of the alternate realities where the dark one wins. When they finally cancel this show I hope they fade to black with someone saying that quote.

[@heniv181]

No sorry. Not even the portal stones can lead to this a Cronenberg world of WoT. 😅

[@grittynerd]

They spent so much show time in these episodes with people arguing, not trust themselves and so on, even repeating the same topics of discussions multiple times and i feel like they could have built much more by having the main group of characters doing "things" instead of this kind of "emo" chatting. I think you can care what they argue about if you care about them.. but if they do it from the START, without proving themselves on video with something? A movie cannot use that ammount of time, at least at the start, with people just complaining about thing. Cut even more dialogs from the original work and move into the main events, the interesting places and world building from the books. Hardships bring more connections between characters from the viewer perspective, instead of this constant disjointed set of conversations that rarely went nowhere and it's even boring. I can say this series is 80% of people talking about their doubts, 20% of events with some degree of change for the same of shock value just for the sake of moving on a bit with (probably) little idea of where they want to go compared to the original work.

[@zaccthegreat]

lol, 2 hours talking about a show I'll never watch, but your long-form videos are still so enjoyable to watch!

[@TheNightrider88]

You shouldn't watch itt, it's shite)

[@Gunleaver]

Aiel do fight with the mask up, but also they don't allow pregnant women to join the army. An Aiel woman who wants to be a fighter joins a society of female fighters, as Elyas explained to Perrin in the book, but she has to take a leave of absence if she gets pregnant. Our protagonist is thus something of a rebel anyway, and given she was going into labor, not remotely interested in following customs and rules that might impede her breathing. My mother gave birth seven times and I showed her this fight, to which her response was that she was curious to see the rest of the show, but did not believe the fight scene at all. She says that when you are in labor, it's not something you can tough your way through, it takes EVERYTHING your body has, and your whole body is doing nothing but trying to push this baby out. It's not a matter of strength or pain tolerance, your body is NOT going to obey your commands to do backflips and combat moves.

[@MoeMoeKyun206]

1:42:00 your family were right, this is my favorite part of the video lmao 🤣🤣🤣 your laughter is ridiculously contagious 😂

[@saviourself687]

Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the long form excoriation of this abortion of a television show, but I'm not sure it's good for your mental well being to try and work out what motivates the writers of the show. The pure "point and laugh" reaction later in the vid seems like a much better way to deal with this show... X D

[@Perry_Wolf]

I may be off here, but anyone else find it odd that when Lan's eating with this family, the old guy and the lady look Eastern in nationality, the one guy looks full on Asian, but...the little girl is full on dark skinned African/African-American. ????? Maybe she's adopted. We'll go with that. (Diversity, for diversity's sake).

[@TheNightrider88]

" Racially, he's pretty cool?" (c) Dude

[@jsbrads1]

They did the same thing with the Grinwell’s apparently, prioritizing blended families, adoption…

[@dalehenrickson6243]

I am up to season two episode four. I’ve given up. I no longer want to watch the show anymore. I’ve read all the books that’s all I need. Good luck.