Book vs Show | The Wheel of Time | Season 2 Episode 1

[@williams456]

Lan and moraine have been lockstep on the same mission for 20 years, they practically share a brain, her being shitty to him and keeping so much from him is character breaking

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Agreeeeee!!!! 👆🏻

[@Alexanderrr3r]

AFAIR In book she gave her bond to Myrelle, Ais Sedai who was known for her ability to save lost Warders from death. This is as far from shitting on Lan as one can imagine.

[@Gunleaver]

"I don't know what the show is trying to do with this" The motto of all insightful, critical readers.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Lol

[@stephanieneal5942]

I know adding the clips takes forever, but I absolutely love them! Just wanted to say thank you for taking so much time filming and editing these. I appreciate you!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

🥺 Thank you. This means a lot to me 😁

[@Peranor79]

Wait a moment. Did Moiraine kill a fade by just stabbing it through the jaw? A fade that can keep on fighting even after being beheaded?

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

O......M......G..... 😶😶😶😶 You're RIGHT! Holy Moley! But wait... are those BOOK fades? or SHOW Fades? I don't think they ever specified in the show that this can happen.

[@ReaverXXI]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I admit I'm too lazy to check myself, but I am almost sure that they mentioned that fades are very tough to kill in episode one or the last two episodes in one of the Fal Dara scenes. I don't know if they specifically mentioned that beheading isn't enough to kill them, though.

[@shukarion6677]

It seems the Show Fades are rather incompetent compared to the Book Fades (Myrddral). In the books you earned the title of "Dreadbane" if you killed one, ref Talmanes in Towers of Midnight. Even the Aiel expected to loose several algai'd'siswai (warriors) to take down a single Fade.

[@theupperechelon7634]

@@shukarion6677 It fits the theme. Show writers are also incompetent compared to the book author.

[@michaelclements547]

What would the books know about how to kill a fade. Pfft , obviously Jordan had know idea.

[@klompb]

I love this series. Its so cathartic for me to see a professional, going in without any personal history with the books, confirm my thoughts and feelings. I couldnt bring myself to watch the second season. The abuse to my favourite bookseries hurts too much. But this way i still get to be entertained while also learning more about writing skills. Thank you for enduring this sh1tshow for the rest of us. 🙏

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! You're welcome (I can't say "My pleasure"). I was a bit "Meh" in this review, but I expect that certain feelings will grow as I continue with season 2.

[@theupperechelon7634]

I agree this is very well done. I can also save you from viewing the second season. The only really good part of season 2 is how well the acting was from the woman playing Lanfear. The rest might look nicer but the lore breaking, continuity breaking, logic breaking, and inconsistent things they do makes the show thoroughly unenjoyable. Everything is low brow, spectacle over story, and rookie level. The Rafe of Prime team doesn't know the fantasy genre and it shows in everything they do.

[@Gunleaver]

Actually, in the books, Nynaeve's STATED reason for going to the Tower is to accompany Egwene. Her unspoken one is to learn to use the Power to resist Aes Sedai bullying, or more specifically, against Moiraine. Moiraine even acknowledges this by encouraging Nynaeve to go to the Tower saying "if you don't, how will you learn to use the Power against me?" Because Nynaeve is not super-good at hiding her motivations at this stage.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Oh yeah. Good point. Yeah, the show really should have taken more queues from the book in this respect.

[@JoelAdamson]

Yeah, the dynamic between Nynaeve and Moiraine is something the showrunners just couldn't appreciate.

[@chadwhitfield6946]

The idea that Moraine without the power and just with a knife stands any chance against a fade is laughable.

[@colmobrien9558]

Only ten minutes in but I can already see that this is the usual, high quality video that is typical for this channel.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

😅 Thank you! This means a lot.

[@mgntstr]

yes ten minutes in and we see more professionalism than in the entire runtime of the hundred million dollar show

[@Gunleaver]

The thing about the Dragon is a bit tricky. In the theorizing online between books, we used to sometimes refer to the role of the Champion of the Pattern and the Light and humanity, reborn through the Ages as "the Dragon", but it's also not really accurate, thematically speaking, because it takes away attention from the point that Rand is Lews Therin Telamon Reborn, not simply the latest incarnation of the guy who saves existence. To people in the setting, Rand is the rebirth of guy who murdered his wife and family, whose actions led to the taint on saidin, and the Breaking of the World, who many people believe set the Dark One free in the first place, and dated Lanfear. Lews Therin was given the name "Dragon" because in the Age of Legends, a post-scarcity utopia, you were rewarded by being given a cognomen in recognition of your accomplishments in service to society. Lews Therin and Elan Morin are the names they have naturally. "Telamon" and "Tedronai" were rewards bestowed on them for the accomplishments in the world before the Dark One broke free. Then, in the war against the Shadow, for betraying the side of the Light and going to the Dark, Elan Morin Tedronai was called "Betrayer of Hope" (Ishamael) and for his leadership in fighting the Shadow and reversing the dwindling fortunes of the Light, Lews Therin was named the Dragon. Then, after killing his whole family, the appellation of Kinslayer stuck with him. But the main point is that "Dragon" refers specifically to Lews Therin Telamon, and "Dragon Reborn" focuses on being the reincarnation of a man who was, at best, a tragic hero and is more commonly believed to have been a villain. Now Baalzamon saying in the book that Rand is not yet the Dragon might be a bit of early installment weirdness, but it could also be an Age of Legends perspective. We don't know why they chose "Dragon" as the title to bestow on Lews Therin for his leadership, and for all we know, it could be that they recognized him as the reincarnation of the Champion spun out by the Pattern to stop the Dark One, so Baalzamon, with that Age of Legends mentality could be thinking of the Dragon as synonymous with the Champion. In a much later event, the Dark One refers to Rand as "my ancient enemy, the one called Dragon", again, suggesting that Dragon is only a reference to a very specific reincarnation of this individual in the endless turnings of the Wheel. Later, when directly addressing Rand, the Dark One calls him "Adversary." So Baalzamon in the books, might mean that Rand, although the reincarnation of Lews Therin and thus the Dragon Reborn, could still fail to become the Adversary to the Dark One, by refusing to proclaim himself. (interestingly Rand does not directly or obviously proclaim himself by saying "I am the Dragon Reborn" or anything like you might expect, given the importance Moiraine & Siuan place on him proclaiming himself in their plans; in hindsight, he does so through an action or a choice that affirms his opposition to the Shadow - if he ever does make the direct statement, it is off the page, after the book ends, just because the Aes Sedai were nagging him to say something in order to check off their list, but was not shown to the reader, because that verbal statement was not consequential) Needless to say, Latra Posae addressing Lews Therin as "Dragon Reborn" in the cold open to the finale of season 1, was pure bullshit.

[@chadwhitfield6946]

You're giving the writers way too much credit.

[@magister343]

It might be worth noting that "Adversary" is the literal meaning of Satan/Shai'tan, the true name of the Dark One himself.

[@Starganderfish]

I just assume that "not yet the Dragon" means he hasn't fully come into his power and ability. He's clearly still an unskilled farmboy with enormous potential but little actual skill or knowledge. He hasn't fulfilled the prophecies, he barely knows how to channel. It's not saying "he might not end up being the Dragon" it's saying "he hasn't YET levelled up to Dragon."

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

It took way too long to edit this.... I'm sorry, guys. To be fair to myself, I filmed a 4-hour review (after cutting out silent parts) and edited it for 5 days before quitting to refilm. But the reshoot was drull, so I knew I needed to add a crap ton of clips, this time, to keep it interesting. Then, I went out of town and my laptop wouldn't let me hear sounds... so that's 12 days editing. 54:12 "these bit"????!!!!! WTF! I hate self-editing! Something always gets through!

[@DanWheeler9000]

Thank you for your Hard work.

[@jeremyn8562]

Post the 4 hour Snyder Cut!

[@bidossessi]

This was worth it. You killed it, as usual. So much better than the show!!!

[@alanhyland5697]

That's okay. I was looking for it and found it only a few minutes after you dropped it.

[@chrisf2636]

You’re opening made it worth it.

[@TheNightrider88]

Not only Elyas functionally replaced Hurin, his original role of Perrin's mentor seens to be... reinvented. Elyas never was about tempting Perrin to live as wolf.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Oh! You're right! Thanks for pointing this out. See, this is why, for big IPs, you should always have a team of editors and experts in the original story.

[@Seomus]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSThey actually have one. Sarah Nakamura. I'm not sure what qualifies her as an expert but she seems to be fully onboard with the changes. Not saying she isn't an expert, but I don't know who she is. But I've also been out of the fandom for a decade.

[@DanWheeler9000]

I thought that was a vampire.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@DanWheeler9000 🤣

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

@@Seomus From what I've heard from someone who knows her in the community, she's not onboard; as I understand it, she'll be given a question, like "What does it affect if we change this?", she'll run down all the ways things fall apart, and then the showrunners will do it anyway.

[@AcceptableEffort]

I was expecting a bloodbath, but you were more restrained in your analysis than I was and made me re-evaluate my own thoughts a bit. Though after watching the rest of the season, we'll see if the unbridled rage comes out! Keep up the good work.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Don't doubt yourself too much. Remember that this was originally 4 hours long. 👀 I cut it down by over half, and reshot the whole thing because it was taking too long to edit. I had to leave out so much, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I literally go by memory for about 99% of this video.

[@monkeyznknotz]

Commenting to say I LOVE your edits on the videos. I refuse to watch season 2 after not liking season 1. I'm on book 4 currently and I'll just stick with the books. I love your opinions on the show and it pretty much aligned with mine. Had to redo my comment before but just wanted to say thank you a bunch for the hard work you put in the videos!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Thank YOU! I really hope I can keep pleasing people. I'm gonna try to just stay honest with my opinion. Hopefully that keeps things consistent. Now, if only I could edit about 5 times faster.

[@davidrobertson5996]

Ahhh, we're back to quality content, which is more than I can say for the TV series 🙂Welcome back!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

😅 Thank you... and thank you 😋

[@TheNightrider88]

As you remember from the books, Rand was officialy made Ingtar's deputy, so Shienar soldiers will answer to him in Ingtar abscence. But why would they allow Perrin to tag along if there was no Rand as figure of authority, and basically nobody to order them to took Perrin and Loial with them?

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

It makes about as much sense as Three men being risen from the dead. We will never know.

[@gildor8866]

Why would they mind having two extra men as long they don't hold them up?

[@TheNightrider88]

@@gildor8866 and why they would want to have them? Are they combat-capable? Are they properly disciplined? Can they be trusted?

[@jonevansauthor]

@@TheNightrider88 fair points. If wolf sniffer boy had told them, 'This dullard is my apprentice, he's also a wolf sniffer boy, plus Moraine likes him.' or someone had said, 'You're here because Moraine ordered it, try to be helpful.' that'd help. They do seem unwilling to use entire lines of dialogue just to explain a thing and have it make sense, but perfectly happy to waste time vacantly staring off into the distance, which a lot of shows do now.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@jonevansauthor also, show just threw away all transitional stuff that would explain how the characters "got here".

[@abhajn]

Holy shit I physically could not watch the second season because of how much they messed up the finale of the first season. Thank you for making this series as now I can actually watch the series without losing my mind over the changes :)

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I got you covered. I lost my mind for ya.

[@atomicxblue]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I've never enjoyed seeing someone descend into giggling madness as I did over you with teleporting Lan saying hello.

[@AcmeWingbaby]

I couldn’t even force myself to finish the first season. That seems to have been the correct call.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Well... season 2 is off to a "meh" start, in my gradebook, so probably.

[@adamfabian9398]

S2 is massively improved but going from 5 to 20 still leaves 80 🤷‍♂️

[@EmberAwoken]

I’m not sure if it’s already been explained in the comments because that’s a lot of skimming 😂 but the reason Egwene doesn’t want to use her hands is because of the imprisonment by Valda in season 1 where he talked about the AES Sedai needing hand movements as a weakness to exploit.

[@benalo13]

I think this may be the only good thing the show has added to the story and I like it thank you for pointing it out.

[@knp814]

I came to write this!!

[@jarock-wh9lj]

And if Egwene had made mention of this, the scene would have made a ton more sense. As it is, it's too disconnected for any but the most perceptive and the fact that The Sword and Pen missed it tells you a ton. I specifically came looking for this pt in the comments and am happy I'm not the only one who saw it.

[@Guairedarksbane]

In the scene where Lan is practising the sword forms, he is visibly emotional. I guess the Flame and the Void isn't a thing in this production.

[@PhilipePXF]

Considering how important the Flame and the Void is to Rand, Rand's dad and Lan, obviously they cut it out....

[@Gealaiche]

Of all the sins of the show, the character assassination of Matt Cauthon has got to be the worst. Matt in the books in my opinion is actually the best of them and you can see this in the way that pretty much everybody likes him because they see him for who he really is okay. He pretends to be a wastrel, spendthrift and a lay about gambling and womanising a classic rogue. But the Amerillin seat had him pegged when she said he reminded her of her uncle, who sacrificed himself to save children for a burning building. Because that is Matt, Matt is the one to make the sacrifice play more than any of them. and honestly that is what’s wrong with this show that one thing they do not understand any of the characters or their place in the story. They’ve simply not taken the time and it’s why I am not gonna watch the second season. I will, however keep watching your reviews. You are awesome and you rock 👍😁👍

[@jtillman8251]

I was telling my wife during the finale how weird it was that they spent two seasons creating a non-book canon character arc where Moiraine learns to trust Lan when her role in the story is that of the guiding wisdom/mentor. It would be like if Peter Jackson had felt the need to tack on a three movie arc where Gandalf learns the importance of self esteem. Completely pointless, and clearly intended solely to give their one big star more screen time-and when you consider the amount of screentime they spent on this it's even more absurd. That out-of-place episode about a suicidal warder from season 1?-That was an entire episode just to lay groundwork for a season two Moiraine twist that's not even in the books, for an arc that's counter to her character and which goes nowhere but re-establishing the status quo vis a vis Moiraine and Lan as of the start of the story and that episode is sadly just the tip of the iceburg of wasted scenes/episodes worth of precious runtime in a show with far too much plot to hope to pack into 8 hours of runtime a season. The showrunners are totally in the league of the clowns who botched GOT IMO.

[@TheNightrider88]

GoT still was lightyears ahead of this shitshow in terms of acting and directing.

[@jtillman8251]

@@TheNightrider88Fair enough but in terms of writing the last 4 seasons were a steady slide into WOT level nonsense.

[@Gunleaver]

Keep in mind the Tan Warder is played by Rafe Judkin's boyfriend. They celebrated their tenth anniversary while shooting season 2. Just something to remember when you contemplate what purpose this (not in the books - Alanna never has a Warder named Maksim, just Ihvon) character serves, and whether or not he and his companions deserve the screentime they get.

[@gildor8866]

Alanna has two warders in the books: Ihvon and Owein. Alledgedly Owein was renamed to Maksim to avoid confusion with Owyn Merrilin, Thoms nephew which he talks about in the same episode Maksim is introduced. Should they follow the books with Owein/Maksims storyline (battle of the Two Rivers is supposed to be in season 3) giving him some screentime makes sense.

[@Gunleaver]

@@gildor8866 Why? Robert Jordan didn't think he needed to be introduced until after his death, and Robert Jordan was smart enough about such decisions to sell 100 million copies of his work. From the perspective of building up Maksim as a character, yes, these decisions make sense. But you know what does not make sense? Building Maksim up as a character at ALL!! This is a huge story, told in a series of 14 doorstopper novels, with dozens of important characters with significant arcs. The showrunners and shills are constantly excusing egregious cuts and changes on the basis of not having time in their 8-episode seasons to do it right. So if you don't have time for Thom, or Elaida or Bayle Domon or Morgase & her sons, you don't need to be building up Alanna's other warder.

[@gildor8866]

@@Gunleaver They also didn't have time to introduce Harald Luhan, Brandon Al' Vere and a lot of other characters in the Two Rivers. Tam Al' Thor is a distant memory at this point. So if the trollocs come to burn down Emonds Field and kill everybody why should the audience care? We know they won't kill Perrin. Robert Jordan spent time to introduce us to Dailien, had Nynaeve heal her, just to kill her off shortly afterwards by a Myrdraal. He did that because her death was to mean something, because the Myrdraal are supposed to be dangerous. And having them kill random NPC doesn't make them dangerous. If you want people to care you have to give them the sense that something is at stake. Proven by Ahsoka, which was boring because all the good guys had plot-amor. Counterexample Andor, which got people invested by taking the time to properly introduce the characters which put their life on the line. If the Trollocs and Myrdraal are supposed to be a threat then defeating should come at a cost other than that of a random NPC dying.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@gildor8866 Besides, Emonds Field was all but destroyed and left without authorities back in the season 1, so one would assume, that it already nonexistent. Also, when in the books Maidens are seen attacking Myrdraal, you realize that they are at least above-average fighters by default. When Rand stops to consider Fades as serious threat you realize that he *is* exeptionally powerful. Here... well, we aren't going in that direction.

[@Gunleaver]

@@gildor8866 I agree with all of this. My contention is that the efforts to buff Maksim are better directed elsewhere. Dailin was not just about making them care about her, it was about giving Aviendha & co a reason to trust Nynaeve & co, and a motive to help, giving the girls, in turn, a reason to trust Aiel, which would be extremely important for two of them going forward. It would be about giving Bain & Chiad a reason to like and trust wetlanders, and become friends with Faile. It was opportunities to infodump about the Aiel and introduce Rhuarc. The peripheral opportunities we have had with Maksim are a lot of Ahsoka-like sound and fury that adds up to nothing and does not advance the plot. There is no real arc for Lan this season, with all his time in their company. At the end, he is back with Moiraine, their relationship repaired, except we never knew the stakes of the quarrel, and Moiraine was sending him away for no good, sensible or intelligible reason. They were never clear on the status of Lan's bond, or Moiraine's channeling problem, which would, in turn, explain what happened with the bond and thus clarifies exactly what is going on with Lan. How did Maksim's blather about having his bond masked affect Lan's choices going forward? What did his threesome with Egwene walking in accomplish other than to set up a "humorous" misunderstanding between Egwene & Alanna? And instead of building up characters who will be important going forward, or establishing the rules of the setting or stakes of the main conflict the show is wasting time with Maksim, just like it did with Steppin the Tragic Warder and Dana the Dumpy Darkfriend. We did not need to know anything about Owein to grasp the unwise choices Alanna would eventually make when she was not at her best following his loss. We did not need any dialogue from Aviendha's cousin, or knowledge of her sexual history or relationship difficulties. We don't need this crap from Maksim, and the fact that his actor is sleeping with the showrunner gives an additional suspect motive and the appearance of personal choices driving what are supposed to be creative decisions.

[@bidossessi]

Of all the things that went wrong in this episode, I got stuck on a trivial one: Aes Sedai novices are STUDENTS with actual structured classes in the One Power, history, politics, philosophy, etc... that are _still_ expected to do menial chores whenever they are not in class. What they are NOT is scullions who occasionally get a lesson whenever and wherever an Aes Sedai feels like it. It's a small detail, but it bugged me to no end... Oh, and by the way, 1:13:25 ? You sweet summer child 😏

[@TheNightrider88]

Rand as a protagonist is basically nonexistetent. He is somehow even more of a bumbling idiotic side character that also happened to be a plot device. But seeing Moiraine wallowing in self-pity is even larger red flag.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Moiraine can spend the rest of her days carrying water up that mountain, for all I care. She was SO annoying in this episode.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS And as I always saying, canonical Moiraine is so ruthless and dedicated that even being stilled would not stop her.

[@Hangry_Sasquatch]

Moiraine is a dark friend @@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS

[@Marwolaeth01]

He does seem to be more a chore to the writers than the main hero of the tale. "ok, throw Rand in here so that he's there for this important scene since I suppose he should be there... but make sure someone else does the cool shit"

[@TheNightrider88]

@@Marwolaeth01 Rand in book 2: Ingtar's deputy, trained with sword, easily mistaken for a noble in Cairhien. Rand in season 2: orderly in asylum.

[@DamirSpoljarec]

Nynaeve , WISDOM , drinks slop water... and behaves like a teen. These showrunners incompetence knows no bounds.

[@Sleeptastic]

In the books, when Rand sees the visions of horrible violence, Rand was the target of an ability not the person using an ability...

[@Gunleaver]

When an Aes Sedai is shielded from the One Power, it is frustrating, because she can sense the Power, but can't touch it, and long-term, could be a problem, because every channeler really, really likes touching it. When she is severed (stilled if done by another, burned out if done by accident) it is the same as a man being gentled, the channeler often loses the will to live. Some contemplate suicide, but most seem to just fall into depression and give up on their life, unless they can find another purpose. When a Warder's bond with his Aes Sedai is severed by her death or other such circumstances (it is strongly implied, without being directly addressed, that her being burned out or still has a similar effect on her warder as her death would - at one point a Green sister is stilled by an enemy and her warders keel over dead from the shock), he becomes psychotic. His priority is killing whomever he can blame for her death, and upon doing so, or failing to do so, in the absence of any other strong motivation, he will next seek to commit suicide by combat, fighting anyone and anything that might lead to his death. Steppin's behavior in season 1 is much more like that of a severed channel than a Warder who lost his Aes Sedai. Interestingly, the behavior and mental state he describes himself in when he met Kerene, was much more like that of a cut off Warder. As far as masking goes, there are no deleterious effects that we know of. It is described (verbally, not through a PoV) of the Warder as if "she vanishes from my head." It is a simple mental exercise by the Aes Sedai, not unlike the flame and the void that Rand and Tam use to concentrate at archery and swordfighting. Warders don't like it, because they take their duties seriously and those duties become more difficult to accomplish if they can't feel where their Aes Sedai is or if they are hurt or afraid. But there are no long-term effects on the Warder. A Warder who is estranged from his Aes Sedai reveals that it has been several years since he could feel her, because she has masked the bond, and he is no worse for the wear. He says that all he knows is that she is alive, and he knows that anyway, because he hasn't gone all psycho. The explicitly given reasons for masking the bond in the books are because the Warder & Aes Sedai become enemies (such as his being revealed to be a wolfbrother in the case of Elyas, or because the sister herself is discovered to be a Darkfriend) and the sister wants to cut him out to deprive him of any advantage from being able to sense her, or because one or the other wants to have sex and the Aes Sedai wants privacy/does not want to feel him getting it on (in the books, at least one Warder had no idea that his Aes Sedai masked the bonded whenever he was having sex, because during the sex, he was completely unaware of the bond - it is unclear whether this is normal or simply an indication of his absorption with his lovers). It should be noted that the majority of Aes Sedai/Warder relationships are explicitly stated in the books to be chaste. Greens are the ones most likely to marry, any Aes Sedai who marries, either marries her Warder or bonds her husband, and the only Greens with a single Warder are married to him or have lost one or more Warders or are still looking for a second. In other words, the Warder bond is not a sex thing and is very much separate from their sex lives. This is basically the "Who is the Dragon?" Mystery all over again. The show is deliberately messing with the information we are given to make it unclear whether Moiraine was stilled by the Bad Guy at the Eye of the World, or merely shielded, and whether or not Lan's bond was broken by her severing/shielding, or if it is just stuck on being masked, which Moiraine seems to have done before leaving for the Eye of the World, to prevent Lan following her. If she is stilled, which is deeply traumatic, those in the know might excuse a lot of her behavior (though most Aes Sedai would not consider her welcome in their house - Verin being a bit unorthodox might be an exception, but she would be very interested in gleaning whatever information about the experience she could), but on the other hand, it does not explain Lan's lack of psychosis. Some contend that maybe the Bad Guy merely shielded her, which would explain Lan simply being annoyed at her and not dead or homicidally violent, but does not excuse her behavior.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

No matter what... this "forced mystery" is a really cheap and unbelievable way of trying to trick the audience. No intelligent person would tollerate this. I don't know who they made this show for. Thanks for the info on shielding and stilling. Yeah. If this was competent storytelling, no one who pays close attention to the show should be having these questions.

[@philnorfleet1371]

I'm super impressed that you've managed to get through this without disgust. I grew up with WOT - first read TEOTW in 1990 right before Army Basic Training, and then bought TGH right before my unit was sent to Desert Shield in December - so I was so super stoked to about there being a live-action adaption ... but my disgust with what they did resulted in me walking away from it after 1.03. This channel and a couple of others is the only way I'm up to date with what these ... "writers" have done to the story. I'll stick to re-reading the books and letting people like you jump on the Amazon's "Waste of Time" grenade for me. LOL

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Thanks for your service, sir! 🏴‍☠ (wow! No American flag emoji in KZbin.... anyway, here's a pirate flag. Because pirates are fun.) No need to watch the show. The books are way better so far.

[@Guardian582]

yeah i 'walked poout' around the middle of ep 4 because i wanted to give it a chance but 'by the dragons fang', its horrible

[@shukarion6677]

I lasted until episode 5 of the first season, and then I cancelled my Prime subsciption. I started reading the book series back in '93 when I was serving my 12 months of compulsory military service (Norwegian Armed Forces).

[@philnorfleet1371]

@shukarion6677 Yeah, I canceled Prime myself. Had been thinking about it beforehand but that was the straw that broke the camels back.

[@primarybufferpanel9939]

🇺🇲 There you go

[@medienberauscht]

Thank you for your wonderful videos. I am the expert consultant of the German dubbing of the second season of the series. And I too was completely lost. Many points of the original are so different that I had trouble making proper corrections. This project has been an enormous challenge for me as a book connoisseur. Especially the issue you mentioned between Lan and Moiraine. But something is much more exciting. You, I and many other viewers are bothered by the "this is not comprehensible", "this is not logical" moments. The perception really seems to be different for many viewers. Do you see a change in perception and a change in viewing habits here, triggered by social media?

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Wow! I would love to chat more with you about the show. Shoot me an email ([e-mail]). As for the social media influencing a lack of need for logic. Yes. I have noticed it and I find it rather unfulfilling. I think it has to do with growing accustomed to instant gratification and nuggets of pleasure, as opposed to earned pleasure. If a large portion of your intended audience is accustomed to this kind of entertainment, you don't have to try as hard to produce logical entertainment. I don't know what the future will look like, but I think shows that DO strive for good and logical storytelling will always exist. When they come along, the BIG crowds flock in. One Piece has proven this.

[@mattpotter8725]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Whilst I agree with everything you suggest here I don't see how this works in the long term, i.e. getting repeat viewers and new viewers years after the show has first gone out. Surely if you make a quality, comprehensible, well made TV show that lasts the test of time having many fans pointing people in its direction and being acclaimed as it's the case with the first 4 or 5 GoT series, maybe them all because of this, as well as shows like The Sopranos, then you are much more likely to be onto a winner. Surely this would promote the showrunner to a much higher level in his career, and give him a shot at much more ambitious projects in the future, and more money and fame as well. I think all this shows that he's just not good enough in his job to adapt this material for TV, no?

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@mattpotter8725 I think you just repeated/expanded what I was saying. I agree with all of this.

[@orion00]

I love how the WoT world postal service is so efficient. If they can get a letter (or a dozen according to Liandrin) from Perrin in the wilderness all the way to Tar Valon in such short order, surely Amazon can get my orders in before Christmas.

[@TheNightrider88]

Perrin just constantly asking Ingtar to make a stop in the town with Pony Express office.

[@rodneytrotter3725]

Adeleas is one of the older Aes Sedai around, and her sister is actually Vandene. And in the books, Lan is one of the best swordsman in the land and there was a scene where the easily takes on two Myrdrall and doesnt get hurt. But again we cant have toxic males, so we needs the chicks to the rescue.

[@BeholderThe1st]

One of my favorite recastings of all time, actually happened in the middle of an episode, in fact mid scene. It happened in the soap opera Santa Barbara, which my parents watched religiously. One of the characters punches Mason, who goes down. When he stands back up, different actor. It was epic.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

That is fantastic! I've gotta see this! I'm off to google it, now. If I can't find my way back here (sometimes I can't find comments a second time... it's annoying), you will know that I went off to see this epicnes!

[@TheNightrider88]

No way. There is a first time in my life when an actual American mentions Santa Barbara. I thought it is already forgotten in its homeland!

[@sonjak3359]

I remember that! 😆

[@joesmutz9287]

Remember the confusion between being cut off and shielded. And remember how we saw what shielding was during S1E4 when we saw the shield around Logain. Remember how these are two different things And keep an eye out for later in the season

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Your warning has been heard 😎

[@WatanukiProductions]

I mean, not having seen season 2 she can't be shielded... after all if a male channeler shielded her Rand would have seen the shield. She'd also be able to tell the difference according to the books. Though she can't be stilled either. So no matter what the reveal is(I'm guessing shielded) it doesn't make sense and Morraine should know better. It wouldn't be the first time they artificially created a overarching mystery that doesn't align with the magic system because they thought it wouldn't be compelling if the audience knew what was happening.

[@johndunn1625]

​@@WatanukiProductionsbookwise, inverting the weave would make it so that he wouldn't be able to see it, so there would be precedent. No idea if Rafe and company would have remembered that though

[@gildor8866]

@@WatanukiProductions IIRC in the books you can mask a weave so it can't be seen, though I don't know if it could be done on a shield. In the show Rand can actually see the shield once he has been told (by Lan of all people) what he has to look for. As with many things in this show I am ok with the concept (power is one thing, but you need experience), not so much the execution.

[@Darm0k]

Hurin can smell violence, not just murder, and not evil intent. Things like a fist fight would smell a little bit to him, but a mass murder would stink really badly. The more violence that was done, the more he smells it.

[@samsherrington7423]

Ughhhh noooo. None of it makes sense, its such bad fanfiction. I honestly am starting to hate Rafe Judkins at this point. Not gonna hide it, its fucking hate.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

Loial was only lightly stabbed with a super-cursed dagger of evil evilness. It's like a shaving cut, except you walk it off between the sink and the toilet paper. I thought everyone knew that.

[@kragary]

Absolutely, just ask Rand.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Lol

[@Tom-bs3zh]

I don't think the dagger holds the same power as it did in the books. Since Mordeth has seemly been removed from the show so the showrunners can introduce characters who aren't relevant to the plot of the story. Thus demotimg Padan Fain to the position of simple dark friend in doing so. The concept of Mordeth and Fain was such an intriguing aspect of the book series, I have no idea why that would be cut from the show.

[@TheNightrider88]

@@Tom-bs3zh Well, Thom was arguably most important supporting character, but he was reduced to one-scene clown. Elaida was major antagonist but she was cut. But hey, instaed we got Dana the Darkfriend, Steppin the Poor Warder, moiraine' younger elderly sister... can't you appreciate that?

[@velinion1]

Me, remembering what a tiny cut with the Shadar-Logoth dagger does to someone in the book: *_shudder_* yeah... Totally oozing away from that.

[@Gunleaver]

The Egwene-Alanna scene is there ONLY for the "comedy" of the double-entendre. Egwene came in asking "How can I handle two things at once" which is the excuse for Alanna to start talking sex. Then Alanna's channeling advice is "Don't try to handle hundreds of things, just try to handle two." That is exactly what Egwene was asking her *how* to handle! The conversation went nowhere! The answer did not match the question! The characterization I am taking away from this is, is that Alanna is one of those people involved in something not-conventional and is desperately eager to talk about it, and flaunts it so people will ask her questions and give her the excuse. Or maybe she wants to bring in more people. The whole thing with her lounging in a robe that is open in the back, and the way she was eating the fruit all seem calculated to set up a sexy scene. My headcancon is that Liandrin is not only interested in trying some tough love on Nynaeve, she is trying to extricate her from Alanna's grossly inappropriate behavior toward her students. Needless to say, none of this bullshit would have passed muster in the books. Nynaeve training with the Warders would not be tolerated (in fact, girls who spend time just watching the sparring are considered slackers, especially by the protagonist student characters), especially if she was so far behind in her proper studies. They would never let a student get away with pulling a technicality on a teacher as Nynaeve did with the water. Especially since Alanna didn't say "Drink the water and you can go" that is, making departure a reward for drinking, she simply made drinking a precondition for departure. The point of the Aes Sedai training is to break the students of other loyalties, habits and ties. They want them utterly obedient to their teachers so they don't go off channeling on their own, as Verin explains to them in the tents before arriving in Tar Valon, and also to -indoctrinate them into their cult- win their loyalties to the White Tower above anything else. From a character perspective, the problem Nynaeve has channeling is that it requires surrendering to the One Power and Nynaeve is constitutionally incapable of surrendering unless she is too angry to hold up her defenses against the Power taking over. Her inability to surrender or give up, however, means that she never actually stops trying to learn, even when she is disheartened from months of failure. She'll be talking about how impossible and hopeless it is, while still running through the exercises and trying the extreme conditions prescribed by her teachers. She also understands the point of the Tower's methods, and is generally good about following the rules, even if she does not agree with them, out of principles of playing by the rules to get along. She'll toss the rules in a heartbeat if there is a moral reason (e.g. a friend in danger, or a superior who nominally deserves respect failing to do her own duty), but never just because she thinks she is better or they don't apply to her. Egwene, on the other hand, might pay lip service to the rules where a teacher can hear her or to be contrary if she's squabbling with Nynaeve, but ignores them whenever it is convenient and she thinks she can get away with them. A good chunk of the conflict between the two Emond's Field women in Book 3 (which Judkins claims season 2 is covering - he stated that at the end of season 2, they will be in position to start their book 4 stories) has to do with Nynaeve's adherence to the Tower's rules, and Egwene wanting to blow them off as too restrictive. There is even a time where Egwene pushes back when an Aes Sedai comes into the kitchens where they are working and starts talking, and Nynaeve is trying to signal her to shush, thinking "No, Egwene, can't you see the point she is trying to make?" It has been clear since they repurposed the story about Nynaeve's first ever channeling moment to be all about how Egwene as a child willed herself through a fatal illness, refusing her pain/euthanasia meds, that they don't get, or actively hate, Nynaeve. Egwene is clearly their favorite of the Two Rivers crew, and will get all the narrative priority, and they will gleefully strip accomplishments from Nynaeve and give them to Egwene.

[@LordLewsTheDragon]

A pretty lady who walks in the Light. What more could you want?

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

😅 Haha! Wow! Thanks 😅

[@xYalahx]

I think I'm reaching my comment limit for a single video, but I wanted to say, it was worth the wait. Great commentary, good insight, lots of laughs. Thanks for doing it!

[@lapizzuli]

"Let's move on...I've gotta get through this" was exactly what I was thinking while watching this shit show 😄 I started reading the books around 1998 and my heart is breaking watching this adaption. But you make it interesting and also teaching more about how to write and edit so thank you! ❤️

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Thanks! I hope I can keep making good content that folks enjoy.

[@saberint]

I always laugh when we see the warders training yard… it can fit 10 warders in it… but the white tower was meant to have had hundreds if not thousands of warders. Maybe it is a magically shrinking training yard😂😂

[@Gunleaver]

Another one for the "We Writers Are Pretending the Finale Did Not Happen" segment: The Shienaran men they find are supposedly the Darkfriends who let Fain into Fal Dara to steal the Horn. Except in episode 1.08, we saw how Fain got in. He gave the password, the FEMALE (since all the men were allegedly with Agelmar at the wall of pointless cavalry charging) guards let him in, and his Fade companions promptly killed the guards. No man was involved in letting him in, and those who did let him in were instantly beheaded. Note how in the book, they make a thing of burying Shienarans naked, because they go to "the last embrace of the mother (Earth)", and probably more practically, to speed decomposition in a country where Trollocs might want to come along and dig up the grave for a snack but cremation is not always practicable. "May the last embrace of the Mother welcome you home" becomes a powerful quote in at least two different books in the series. They brownbag 'em on the show. And as in Season 1, the graves are as shallow as the characterization.

[@gildor8866]

Still somebody must have given Fain the password.

[@TheNightrider88]

Bingo. I'm glad that you bring it up. Book had brief description of Shienaran funeral rites and symbolic meaning behind it. Show left you wondering why the graves should be placed to form a circular shape...

[@chadwhitfield6946]

They're right in the end that they're not dark friends. Mordeth corrupted them without them even realizing it.

[@TheArakan94]

Moiraine and Siuan are actually very young for Aes Sedai (around 40) - they were teenage girls and Accepted when Rand was born and Rand is supposed to be barely adult.. They achieved high status in the tower because they are very strong in the Power (nowhere near Egwene though) when compared to other Aes Sedai.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I dont' get it... age up Moiraine, but make her more immature..... Where is the logic?!

[@TheArakan94]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS that's how I feel about the whole show.. I don't know if I'll even finish the second season.. it just leaves bad taste and I simply don't look forward to it.. In fact, I just began rewatching good ol' Stargate SG-1 :D

[@ReaverXXI]

I don't even quite remember if Padan Fain outright admitted to Perrin that he brought the Trollocs to the Two Rivers, but if not, what even would his revenge be? Supposing he doesn't know(I can't be bothered to check, sorry ^^), all the others that died digging out the Horn of Valere miraculously survived or ressurrected anyway, so it should be fine. His motivation is kinda weak at that point. Which kinda plays into Ingtars words, but it begs the question what he's even doing there...

[@sieuzice]

I'm more excited for new episodes to be released here than I was for the official WoT episodes! Amazing editing too, I'm curious how long it takes you to create one of these videos. If you will be able to prepare and release a video in 1-2 weeks of the release of an official tv show episode, this channel will explode in views while pumped by the alrorythm. Hell you'll definitely be able to find a video editor to help you for free with your suggestions and corrections until the channel blows up. I would offer if I wasn't just a newbie starting out. :(

[@wtel9536]

Moiraine and Lan's relationship is meant to be settled and mature at this point. I think in their novella they had some of this highschool drama, but by the time of the main series they're adults and sources of stability for the Two Rivers kids. That and you're absolutely right about the showrunners cashing out on the emotional payoffs too early. Both of them start to crack and strain in later books and the show is absolutely doing a disservice to itself portraying them as maladjusted teenagers.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Ugh.... you mean there are more crashes to come? This is disappointing as hell.

[@wtel9536]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I'll try to avoid spoilers, but Lan's bond to Moiraine is a plot point that comes up later in the books and is done far better by Robert Jordan.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS THIS post contains a minor, but important prequel spoiler... something revealed in the prequel novella... !!!SPOILER!!!! You know who Lan is... One of the reasons that Moiraine makes him her Warder is to keep him alive. BOOK-Moiraine sacrifices her own most intimate privacy in order to keep HIM alive, because she knows he is important. Contrast book-Moiraine with show-Moron.

[@DmGray]

Had that argument about these scenes. In the books the dispute between the two is founded on your spoiler. On Moiraine preventing Lan from doing as he might wish without her intervention. In the show, it seems Moiraine wants to DRIVE him to that destiny. @@Nyet-Zdyes

[@chadwhitfield6946]

​@@wtel9536she's probably already there in the books. It's in book 3.

[@asanovernest23]

Thanks for deep dives and insights! Been eagerly waiting for your season 2 reflections! Btw... Liandrin just outright lied about the letters not mentioning Mat.

[@joshwarden9508]

After rereading book one and two Nynaeve greatly dislikes sword because her character is all about healing. Also Nynaeve is the healer in the book and healed a bunch of people in the show once and then theres no other lessons on healing and Nynaeve doesn't heal anyone again even in a pivotal moment.

[@xYalahx]

I think the prologue was a mix between "oh this kinda happened in the book," and "everyone loved that Game of Thrones explored 'grey' morality so lets do some 'grey' morality!" I do agree that S2 is a clear improvement over S1 (while needing viewers to pretend like a bunch of things didn't happen in S1).

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I think too many people assume that no one is interested in a paragon character. This is not true. It's all in the technique, and in the surroundings. Jon Snow was a paragon in the GoT gang. Gray is fine, too, but we always need something likeable to latch onto.

[@angelavm84]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I adore paragon characters, they are my favorites. I don't view them as 'boring'. They're 'edgy' in their own way! Give me a shiny paladin any day.

[@bidossessi]

Their inevitable corruption is all the more fun to watch 😈

[@TheNightrider88]

@@bidossessi Canonical Rand in his darkest moments is at colonel Kurtz' levels of darkness. Show will not be able to handle this.

[@bidossessi]

@@TheNightrider88 by book 3 Rand is already quite far from a paragon 😏. But we may yet begin the next show season by learning that Rand just spent 6 months murdering puppies with some lady from Cairhien, so he's got his badass certificate now.

[@abhajn]

Great video as always! Pleas continue this series as just the book reviews after the series is finished as this is very entertaining to watch :)

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I will likely finish the whole series, but will take a break sometime soon... after book 4, I imagine.

[@SummitSummit]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I would recommend reading through book 6. I don't want to spoil so that's all I will say.

[@xYalahx]

(No spoilers in this comment) 33:08 Having watched the entire second season, If you offered me a million dollars, I couldn't explain to you how the show defines what happens to a Warder if an Aes Sedai dies, becomes masked, gets shielded, is stilled/cutoff, or any combination of the above. I don't think the show knows or cares (they sure aren't consistent with any of it).

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

For fantasy fans, this is critical info.

[@Gunleaver]

The whole thing about breaking with the lore early on setting off warning bells, is in the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire into the TV show Game of Thrones. Many people would say that the early seasons were a reasonably faithful adaptation of the first three books in the series. But the very first SCENE of the show was wrong. In both the first scene and the prologue to book one, we had three Nights Watch men ride out and encounter dead wildlings and then, discover that the ice demons, known as the Others and White Walkers, in the books and show, respectively, of ancient myth were real and they were back. Two of Nights Watch are slaughtered, and one flees, to end up being executed for desertion by Ned Stark. Same story, right? Except in the books, the leader of the group, an arrogant young nobleman, who, despite his family wealth and expensive gear, is not as practically prepared for the realities of ranging beyond the Wall, is seen as a boy playing at being a man, and not as competent as his subordinates. Nonetheless, when facing the Others, he stands his ground and fights, however futilely. He faces a literal fairy tale come to life and shouts a battlecry and raises his sword, and in the words of the PoV character, who had previously been scornful of him "he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Watch." Despite his immediately subsequent death, that young man won an existential victory and the story recognizes him for that. He died young, he did not make much of a difference, but he died bravely. As Gandalf might say, he did the best he could with the time he was given. On "Game of Thrones" all we get is that same character being snotty and sarcastic, and then a White Walker appears behind him, he snottily asks "What?" of the man facing him, whose expression grows terrified, and turns around, to presumably be killed as the scene cuts to another character. In other words, the show tossed Ser Waymar Royce's moment of heroism, of bravery, his existential victory in which he kept his oaths as a knight and a man of the Night's Watch. They did not understand the characters, they did not understand the themes or the message of the story. It's no wonder that the show went off the rails when they no longer felt constrained to closely follow Martin's plots. The Show, in neither case, understands what Martin and Jordan were trying to do. Neither man was trying to tear down fairy tales and mythology and Tolkienesque fantasy, they were simply trying to bring a new perspective to appreciate it. Jordan, Martin, Tolkien, Grimm and Anderson believed in right and wrong and good triumphing over evil and doing the right thing over the selfish thing, in morality over political experience, and wrote it into their stories. The TV shows just care about getting recognition for being artsy or shocking and still think they are being clever when they trot out the same old adolescent "Well, akshually, isn't it more effective to be ruthless and feared? Akshully, monsters are people too, wouldn't it be cool to humanize the monsters?" It goes right over their heads that Tolkien's orcs and Jordan's trollocs are the physical embodiment of the worst traits of humanity, they are artificial creatures, bred by the villains solely to do harm. It went right over their heads that the nobleman in the prologue to A Game of Thrones was a person, who faced down something scary and did better than most people would - all they see is that he died and did not have any material gain to show for it (wait until you see how they handle a heroic stand from The Great Hunt in the season 2 finale!). if they were to be asked to think about him, all they would be able to tell you is that he is an aristocrat, and therefore despicable by modern political perspectives. These cretins want to humanize the inhuman, and demonize humans for political reasons. That they utterly fail to capture on-screen two stories whose theme is "political differences don't matter; what matters is that we are all human beings, and when the choice is good versus evil, we all have to stand together, regardless of class or caste, religion or politics, nationality or institution."

[@DmGray]

Nice post, though I still think it's fair to hold GoT up as a GOOD example of adaptation. Perhaps with flaws that foreshadowed worse to come. But honestly, similar criticisms can be levelled at LoTR (making Gimli into pure comic relief, Pippin and Merry being FAR less heroic etc)

[@Gunleaver]

@@DmGray That the guy in charge of the Hobbit trilogy also made mistakes does not alleviate the criticism against Benioff and Weiss. Making Gimli into comic relief (not pure comic relief, they kept in his moments of badassery and left him some gravitas when it mattered, and kept some of Merry & Pippin's bigger accomplishments - they actually gave them a greater share of the credit for the Ents marching on Isengard) is not the same as completely missing the tone and ideals of the story. GRRM was saying "Being good and doing the right thing is hard, and unlike the fairy tales, will not necessarily have an immediate payoff, but it's still worth doing anyway." He was saying "Chivalric behavior and heroism were not nearly so common in knights as the stories would have you believe, nor were kings good and wise nearly as often. Here is why circumstances and human nature conspire against that, but here is what is GOOD about knightly virtues and THIS is what it means to be a good king." The Show turned that into "Honor is for chumps, and self-serving behavior while outwitting others to take advantage of them is the best way to do things, and it will make you a more powerful character, and that it what is best suited to save the most people. You can't save anyone if your honor gets you killed." For Peter Jackson to fuck up that badly, Boromir would have to slap Frodo silly and take the Ring to turn it against the power of Mordor, Denethor would be ousted by a political coup with Faramir taking advantage of their relationship to lull him into a false trust, and Eowyn would use Grima's lust for her to facilitate Saruman's assassination, and then Gandalf would give Frodo Sting to assassinate Boromir at the victory celebration because he is corrupted by the Ring, and then Sam is elected Emperor of Middle Earth because anyone who read the books can tell you he was the True Hero, so he deserves it.

[@Gunleaver]

What Rand saw in the book, where the scene replayed, was an effect of Fain. It happens another time later in the series at the scene of one of his crimes. IDK if he does it deliberately to Rand (there seems to be no motive to do so in tGH) or if it is a side effect of his weirdness. But it was not super clear what happened in the book and by not clarifying on the show, they seem to be leaning on book knowledge, which IMO, they violate far too often to expect readers to rely on that as an explanation. By contrast, I think what Perrin & Elyas see with the Tinker massacre is the memory of the event from wolves who witnessed it. This is merely going by future depictions of the wolf stuff; when I first watched it, I assumed it was a visual shorthand for showing all the clues, such as what they smelled and read in the tracks and whatnot. And for course, any book reader would know this is arrant nonsense, because wolves would not merely watch Fain or Shadowspawn do something, they hate them and would go up against anything to kill them. They hate Fain even worse and the only thing that stops them from attacking Fain's party is Perrin's request, because he fears a regular Darkfriend fleeing with the Horn while the wolves massacre the rest. So again, relying on book lore and violating book lore.

[@Gunleaver]

There is no indication that Perrin made any sort of choice in the Whitecloak tent. It more seemed like he was in some mindless state. All he did was growl and move slowly toward Valda, until Egwene stabbed him.

[@theprips]

Rand is largely ignored throughout this entire show. His significant character moments largely never happen at all. Where events are hinted at, it mostly happens off-screen and then people tell us it has happened. He has no agency, he is constantly under the thumb of another character or characters, and does nothing to earn his place as the Dragon. I would suggest he probably gets less airtime than anyone except, 1:44:19 perhaps Perrin and May (you know; the other two main characters from the book). Rafe should have stopped pretending he had any interest in being remotely faithful to the books from the very beginning and just made Egwene the Dragon, like he clearly wishes Robert Jordan did. Then everyone would have been crystal clear on what this show really was and who it was really for, and we could have moved on. As it is, this story is like a stone skipping across a lake; every now and then it touches on real elements of the narrative, and then just bounces off again to do its own thing. If I were you, I’d forget about expecting growth or big things from Rand, because you will not get it.

[@Gunleaver]

Things We Forgot From Season One: Liandrin says that most Warders are forgotten and only the Aes Sedai is remembered. In season one, she was showing Nynaeve giant statues built to honor the thousands of men who bonded themselves to her sisters. Also Steppin got a much more elaborate funeral than Kerene, with no sisters showing up at her ring-melting, but quite a few at Steppin's service. Also, Nynaeve should not need the lesson about the superiority of the Power over weapons, since she was THERE when Logain's people attacked and a Warder going psycho and attacking Logain failed to help the situation, and actually helped him break free. And ultimately, the One Power solved those problems. And she was there when her own channeling was all that saved them from the Regina George Wind in the Ways, and when all the soldiers failed to stop the Trollocs and five women channeling wiped them out. As far as the conduct of the lesson goes, I am pretty certain that they think Liandrin is being an abusive bully and that the real way to teach is through endless positivity, encouragement and participation trophies. I believe this is also the reason for the greatly reduced discipline of the White Tower and lack of structure being imposed on Nynaeve and Egwene throughout the season. This episode is, I believe, the last time we see them acting as if they are under any sort of constraints like a schedule or a to-do list of chores to complete.

[@gildor8866]

Maybe Nynaeve shouldn't need that lesson, but given she is spending time learning how two fight with a sword (as I understand due to frustration at failing to overcome her block) I get that Liandrin might think she needs a reminder.

[@Gunleaver]

@@gildor8866 Basically, they made a stupid change, and now include more stupid changes to accommodate and recover from the stupid changes.

[@arleenm7367]

Great review thanks! The only way to watch this show is to not think about it too much. They really shouldn't call it Wheel of Time but instead say it was "inspired by" because it's so different from the books.

[@goofywarriorguy2439]

1:11:00 They are more clear in the books that when you use gestures while you learn a weave it sort of cements it in your mind that you need those gestures in order to make the weave. When Egwene was captured by Valda her hands are tied and Valda makes reference to Aes Sedai being limited when they cannot use their hands. So Egwene is trying to make sure she is not held back if she is ever restrained in the future by making sure she learns to do weaves without gestures. Since this is never explained or made clear by the TV show writing (big surprise) this is more of an Easter egg for readers who know.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

It's just poor storytelling. Imagine if the only way to enjoy a movie was to hit pause every few minutes to search Google for the bit kf information the show neglects to include. I still don't think Egwene is handling the situation well. If it's truly impossible to channel without your hands if you start out by using your hands, then that should also be explained.... but since it isn't, there is no reason for Egwebe not to follow her teacher's instructions.

[@chadwhitfield6946]

Thing is Egwene never taught herself this. It was a thing about wise ones (spoiler). They showed her this.

[@teamdinosaurs999]

I'm a simple guy, I see a sword and pen vid, I hit like.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

🥰 Oh saweet! Thank you 😁

[@TheNightrider88]

I sincerely hope that you"ll be able to finish reading the books. They're worth it) Just days ago I found video called "channeling and quantum mechanics" that sheds a light on how the One Power works... from a perspective of physics) I guess it is not applicable to the show)

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Oh cool! I'll have to take a look at that. I do plan to finish the series. I'm probably going to zing through book 3 and 4 before taking a break.

[@Gunleaver]

Note that this is Bel Tine, which means 1 year after Season 1, episode 1. Did we get the sense that a year has past? Dialogue in the episode indicates it has been about half a year since the end of season 1. Meanwhile, the journey to Tar Valon took 1 month from when the Aes Sedai fended off the attack by Logain's followers, Thom fought the Fade to let Rand & Mat run away like cowardly little bitches from something a middle-aged woman killed with a dagger, and Perrin & Egwene got taken in by the Tinkers. So Moiraine took five months to succumb to Trolloc poison and Nynaeve took five months to catch up to the gang, or it took five months to get to Shadar Logoth? Or did they spend five months in Tar Valon? Five months having sex in Fal Dara before going to see the Eye?

[@esterzach]

From Bel Tine till the Aes Sedai camp - 4 days, or 5, a month after that is Tar Valon. They were in Tar Valon for 3 days an left for the Way Gate where they spend seems like a day. In Fal Dara - 2-3 days, 6 months later is Bel Tine again.... Oh, god, Never thought to connect that with the fact that it has been a year... Lol Even if they spend a day or two in the Ways...and time is not the same there- and outside months are passed, which doesn't make much sense. How is that the fastest way to travel when outside time goes much faster than inside? And it's not- Mat says I haven't touched that dagger in 6 months. Where the other 5 months went?

[@TheNightrider88]

@@esterzach And don't forget that Bel Tine is a spring celebration, but whole Season 1 was clearly taking place in the fall. I guess wheel of time just ran away, like 2-stroke diesel.

[@esterzach]

@@TheNightrider88 I don't know. They have an odd relationship with time later on too. I still have problems with certain... age and timeline of certain events. In general I understand many of the choices and enjoying the show. But the pace is off and there is no time between events for the the story to breathe, and when they show something, they sort of don't make a point for the viewers to remember it. Probably because there is no time. Then many people are like "Where did that come from?" because they don't remember it when it was mentioned breefly. At least I didn't for some of the things, and I watched some of the episodes more than once. Minus S1 finale - that was a cringe fest. So was most of the S1E7...

[@ojet013]

I would have liked to see Nyneve punch Liandrin after she shielded her. Would have been a reference to her sword training as well as that you can still be strong without the one power.

[@bookcloaks]

I cannot wait for a season-long string of The Rescuers: Down Under jokes. Bring it on!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! I only had this one in mind, but then... my mind goes all over the place when I'm sitting down and listing to my review.

[@FractalParadox]

1:28:10 Lightsong and blushweaver

[@Uhlbelk]

The best scenes in the show unsurprisingly are ones that come almost directly from the books.

[@joshcowart2446]

Possible spoilers depending on where you’re at in book 2: The egwene blushing scene is common in poor adaptations. They’ll change things for whatever reason but then they want to include some important scene or arc but it contradicts the changes. I don’t think Rand seeing the flashes of other realities is a power of his. I understood this to be some consequence and foreshadowing from lanfear messing with nearby portal stones. I’m okay with them making elyas a sniffer. Though elyas should he faking it. When Hurin, Rand, and loial go to the portal world, Perrin convinces them he’s a sniffer but he’s secretly using wolves and he follows the trail. The next contains a spoiler from future books but it’s just a small irrelevant fact about Alanna. She has two warders in the book named owein and ihvon. Yet in the show one of them is called Maksim. It doesn’t affect the story but why change the name. To me it just shows how little they care. My guess is because of what happens to one of them they don’t even know he exists because he’s barely mentioned in the books. They probably thought they were adding a Warder to her.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

0:14 lol, I love this shot of your face on Cody's 😂 this whole clip is amazing!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Thanks! That took so friggin long to make. 😵‍💫

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I can imagine! If you need any quick little vfx done like this, just let me know. I've been doing it for a while 😊

[@Guairedarksbane]

I find the first scene baffling. Why did someone bring their kid to a secret meeting of Darkfriends? I guess they weren't able to find a sitter. The kid then runs into the meeting, but no one reacts, and they just keep talking about their nefarious plans. It's not as if Darkfriends are a super secret sect who are despised by the general public, so I guess there's no need to keep their plans secret. The worst part was when I paused the show and found out that the meeting took place in Tel'aran'rhiod. It was bad enough that someone brought their child to a secret Darkfriend meeting, but to bring them to a Darkfriend meeting IN THE WORLD OF DREAMS?!... How?! Why!? Did Ishamael bring her in? For what purpose? Plus, why are there Trollocs in the World of Dreams? I don't understand the lore of this show.

[@xYalahx]

Really good points on Moiraine. It's exactly like you stated. They took a handful of her worst traits and turned them up to 11. I guess the show thinks it makes her look more masculine? More in control? I honestly don't know why they this this Moiraine is an improvement. And yea... If you "reward" someone who works for you less than they spent to work for you, they aint gonna be working for you. Domon put time, effort, money, personal risk, and some amount of respect/pride to go out of his way to serve her and the show had her shit on him and laugh in his face about it. Forget bad storytelling, I wonder if the people that wrote this have ANY interpersonal skills whatsoever.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Hahaah! About your final comment... I wonder this all the time about this and many other shows and movies to have come out recently. When not one character is likeable, it makes you wonder what the people who wrote this are like. 😳

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Based on several comments and tweets from the showrunner, he seems to be a genuinely vile person IRL. He ALSO doesn't seem to be aware of what those comments reveal about HIM... which explains this and various other problems with the writing.

[@briant.d.8598]

Be prepared for disappointment. This season has few ups and many downs. Loved that you pointed out Nyneave's fight with the warders. I would also love to know how a letter gets from where ever Perrin is to the White Tower in a few days(?)

[@Goldilockszone123]

Thanks again for doing this. For me it is cathartic to watch your analysis of what is wrong and how to improve the show. I keep feeling bad for the agony you go through for my enjoyment, but also can’t wait for you to go through this again. My bad!

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! It's all good. I'm glad it brings so many people such therapy

[@iogssothoth666]

Welcome to season two of Amazon's "the Waste of Time". We've been expecting you.

[@jeremyvanneman8112]

1:12:28 her mission in the Tower is three-fold. 1) She wants to actively protect Egwene 2) She wants to learn to be an Aes Sedai so she can help Rand (using her ability with the One Power, and limiting the influence other Aes Sedai have on him), and 3) she wants to become stronger than Moiraine to take her revenge on what she sees as the person who threw her life (and the lives of those she cares about) into danger in disarray. That is... In the books.

[@tehsbe7]

I appreciate you sticking with this show, flawed as it is. Hope you stick around with the book series, as I have a very strong feeling that the show will not even come close to covering the full arc of this story. Would love to hear any comments you have about the audiobooks themselves, I've gotten to the point where I'll listen to almost anything Kramer and Reading record, curious to see if you feel the same.

[@liamhemmings9039]

I've avoided season 2. Season 1 was so dreadful to see my favourite books being abused.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

You aren't missing much.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

RE: Nynaeve (Ninny) learning the sword... This is yet another case of "robbing Rand to pay an SFC (Ninny)"... as in S1E8. Don't worry, though... in THIS season, later on, they'll rob Ninny to pay some other SFC('s). It's something to look forward to. 😆

[@roscoe2311]

You really put a lot of work into these videos, it's very appreciated!

[@jmalonemyth]

lol. Wow. I am glad to see Loial back but he was 100% skewered with the most evil dagger on the planet. That is a bold move to just pretend the death didn't happen. But... I'll take it if they actually start to give Loial some of his plot and dialog from the books. If they are going to keep having him do nothing, then it was pointless. Oh boy, and Ingtar..... Lucy, you got some splainin to do!

[@paulrace4339]

I recognize the time and effort you put in create this content. It is time consuming. I love what you do. I'm also frustrated (in a good way) because I have to wait for you to get through all the seasons. This was the same way that I felt waiting for the next Wheel of Time book to come out or the next Harry Potter book to come out. Keep up the good work. That being said, I like season two infinitely better than season 1. But they set such a low bar that was easy to meet. But you are going to laugh at what happens to the dagger. By the way, when I think of Matt, I think Eddie Haskell (leave it to beaver) or Zach (Saved by the bell or Diane from Blackish. Not a guy who steals from others

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! Yes! Zach Moris! That's perfect.

[@Wouldyoukindly4545]

On the Dusty Wheel, Sanderson said Moiraine's arc was reminiscent of issue with Game of Thrones. They have these actors, their main stars, who might not do anything in a book, so the GoT writers had to make stuff up to give them something to do. For Ishy, you really need to read to book 4, because that is when the Ishy as the Dark One is addressed. There are also things from Episode 8 you really need book 4 to have a comparison. Both of these are really early on, so the first third is all you need this season. I really wish Bayle Domon was the introduction to the Seanchan in last season. Have him sail up to Falme and the whole city is smoking with all these weird soldiers everywhere, and then a ship approches and uses the One Power to threaten him. He is boarded, and they find the other seal. Especially if they'd set up that he was being followed by Fades earlier in season 1, like they did in book 1. That is the one thing in your analysis that is better than you think. Moiraine didn't ruin Domon's life, his life was ruined because he found the seal.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I like the rewrite of season 1's ending. But I also get annoyed when a new character is introduced as the end teaser. 😕

[@MrNe0phyte]

Moiraine barely appears in the second book because of the need to let Rand establish himself without the appearance of Tower control. I firmly believe some of the mess created in Season 1 was done strictly to set up more screen time for Rosamund Pike in Season 2, all because she is the big name on the show. Then they mess up one of the best relationships in the books (Moiraine and Lan). As I watched this, I wondered if the writers' goal was to destroy all the best things from the book. I keep watching but only in that way you continue to watch a train wreck - you just can't look away.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I'm nodding to all of this. It's absolutely baffling.

[@MrNe0phyte]

Sorry - you may get running comments as I let this play in the background while I work. LOL Listening to the section on the Bond now and you made me think about something. While we have numerous examples of women Stilled in the books and dig deeply into how this impacts each individual woman, I don't remember the impact on their Warders ever coming up. That makes investigating/explaining this experience in the show even more imperative to me yet it was botched. Something unique to the show that offers great promise and they botched it. Without spoiling anything, this theme is a thing again later in the season and it gets handled better but even that could have been enhanced if this scene had been better written.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@MrNe0phyte I've noticed that a lot of the changed they make that have the potential to do something really cool are..... never get to do that cool something.

[@MrNe0phyte]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS - on Nyneave... Oh Nyneave! I feel this might be the one character that the writers get the most and do the best job with in some ways (but not all). While I understood her in the books, I didn't really start to like her until much later. She had a way of being prickly with just about everyone in the books, even those who were trying to help her. In short, I considered a bitch through Book 4 or 5. But I loved her growth as a person. Now, having said that the scenes with her fighting with the Warders are out of character and ridiculous. Nyneave made almost as many derogatory comments about men thinking with their swords as she did derogatory comments about Aes Sedai. She had zero interest in learning to fight. In fact, I would take it further and say that learning to fight like this is completely counter to driving the force in her life - healing others. I just...I mean...I can't. I feel like the writers have darts with plot ideas on them and they are blindly throwing those darts at a wall covered in photos of the characters. Whichever character gets the dart, gets the plot line - regardless of how stupid it might be.

[@undertone8367]

The actor playing Tomas is Rafe's boyfriend, that's why those scenes exist.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I heard. I can't believe the shamelessness of it. It's so cringe. I might comment on that some time, but it'll need to be relevant to the writing. Other than his character being non-existent in the book, I haven't been too bugged by him.... yet.

[@cobba42]

I consider myself to having a decent grasp of writing, comes at some point when you read enough and/or seen enough stories on screen. But I never took a really critical look at how shots are set up and all that. It's part craft and part art form. And since I am most definitely not an artist in that way, it completely eluded my attention. You explaining a lot of those concepts gives me an opportunity to learn a lot while still enjoying the commentary on this show. So, thank you!

[@fisherkeltath]

Thank you for these analyses. I stopped watching the show after Season 1, but I will gladly watch these videos for as long as you can bear to produce them.

[@Saerwen_Celeste]

I saw "The Art of War" and it made me happy, then the Sunny clip and now I'm drunk on rum ham. None of these characters in the show are recognizable from the books, personality and motivators are completely invented. It will be interesting to see if you make it much further in with these fun analyses... if Moiraine is confusing now and the Bayle Doman exchange didn't make sense to you (or to me!), it only gets weirder.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

Okay... I've just BARELY started your video... but I love the intro!🤣 Edit - Ha! "Wheel of PRIME"! You got another LOL out of me! Thanks, for already making my day better.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Hurray! Another one gets a smile!

[@GingerBeardedGeek]

Woohoo, thanks for all your hard work Amber ❤

[@FractalParadox]

They did a bad job of it, but that scene from the rant was supposed to be the fades travelling trough shadows

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

The writing has, IMO, improved considerably, in numerous ways, during S2. I checked a certain well-known online database about movies and shows... and may have found the reason, or at least a significant part of it. The primary difference in the writing credits, are that EVERY episode from S2 has the same pair of "staff writers". IIRC, each of them are also credited with being the MAIN writer of one episode each. TWO things are the SAME from S1... the main writer of each episode tends to be different... with something like 4-6 different "main" writers throughout each season... which is probably one of the biggest problems with the writing... in both seasons. Secondly, BOTH season finales (S1E8, and S2E8)... unfortunately have the SAME main writer. Back about the time that S2E6 or S2E7 dropped, I made a prediction based on that 2nd observation... which unfortunately turned out to be correct.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I am so glad you posted this. It makes perfect sense!

[@spacedoyster7686]

With Alanna's lesson, if that had happened in the book, Nynave would have been sent to the Mistress of Novices for a firm spanking. Aes Sedai are huge sticklers for rules and formality and if a Novice won't follow those rules, she'll have them beaten into her. Also, I don't recall Egwene's strength ever being used to highlight Nynave's in the book. Both women were considered valuable assets to the Tower because they had the potential to be stronger than every Aes Sedai in a long time.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Oh! Good point about Egwene not being compared to Nynaeve in the books. I think I mentioned it the very first time this happened in season 1, but yeah... they've totally continued this invented stupid drama into season 2. Why are they adding so much unlikability to all the characters?!!!

[@spacedoyster7686]

If I had to take a guess, I'd assume they think giving Egwene this inferiority complex compared to Nynave makes her more likeable. Personally, I enjoy Book Egwene a lot more; her hunger to learn everything she possibly can made her very interesting, and her naivety got her in trouble once or twice at this point, if I remember correctly.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@spacedoyster7686 Jealousy is ugly. It is a touchy thing to try to pull off as a likeable trait.

[@iforgot6088]

Liandrin shouldn't be able to shield Nynaeve while she's holding Saidar. It's significantly harder to shield someone when they're already holding the One Power.

[@bigjonS4]

That’s book lore. In the show, channeling is a deus ex machina which can do whatever is needed at the time. Egwene resisting Ishamael being a case in point; he should’ve been able to crush her like an ant.

[@thesemonies5797]

Siuan did the same thing to Nynaeve in the book.

[@thehoogard]

Regarding Ba'alzamon/Ishamael, I did try to warn you about that, that the show would spoil something for you the books don't reveal until later (book 3/4). I guess they didn't want to drw it out, plus Ishamael in the books is quite mad, literally, and they wanted to utilize their actor, and not spend money on CGI for Ba'alzamon. Still, I think it's a shame.

[@pwaller83]

It’s here, it’s here! 🎉

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

😅

[@memacuz1812]

You’re back!!!! Missed you!!!

[@Lewis-MK-10]

I'd love to see a 4 hour version.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

It would take months to edit, though :p

[@SWTORLOL87]

@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSas an homage to the show you could release it unedited.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

@@SWTORLOL87 Haha! It's a consideration.

[@turnbullterror1666]

I hope you've gotten to Ingtar's "For the Light and House Shinowa!" It hits way better in the books.... They almost set it up in the show and then kinda crapped on it.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I did get to it. And yeah... I thought they were starting it... and then.... they didn't do it. That was a real missed opportunity.

[@galetempus1979]

Well, they turned the hunt for the horn into the C plot for the season

[@RuailleBuaille]

Firstly, thank you once again for not only suffering through the show on our behalf, but for doing it with such flair and wit. I know you've a second (main) channel and you've mentioned you've worked both in editing for books and in some capacity within film/media. Outside of the Wheel of Crime, have you plans to do analyses or discussions on what makes a book, narrative, dialogue, plot etc well-written or how writing for movies/tv and adaptations from other media work? At this point, I think anything you post would be well worth watching, but for all the people out there reacting to or analysing media, there seems to be little in the way of discussing narrative as opposed to direction and editing (which are of course also fascinating). As an aside, don't know what your family's talking about on this one. Bring on the fight scene breakdowns!

[@no-relic]

Seeing how this season ends up handling Ingtar’s character arc is just baffling. It honestly makes me wish they had just left him dead at the end of season 1 if this is all we were gonna get from him. I honestly can’t understand who is making these decisions and what their motivations and reasoning is for any of this. If you’re going to write and film an important character moment that you spend screen time building up to, and then you decide to cut it, why would you decide to leave in all of the foreshadowing and work you put into that moment? How is it that one of the few times the show seems to be properly pulling off set up and payoff with proper writing they just take the ball right up to the end zone and decide “ehh, close enough” and toss aside the ball? We’re pressed for screen time as it is, we can’t be spending all this build up for no payoff like this

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

I agree. I would give anything to be a fly on the wall when these choices are discussed.

[@thomasciuffreda8783]

Great to finally see you first review of S2! Your breakdown of the Fade fight scene was masterclass.

[@jmalonemyth]

You have to marvel at the ability the writers have to take multi-dimensional likable characters and turn them ALL into unlikable whiny CW style caricatures.

[@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS]

Haha! It is a wonder!