The Life of al'Lan Mandragoran | One Man Alone

[@jamienelson3470]

Well, now I'm crying in public. That was just so beautiful and powerful! ❤

[@bridge4]

yeah, shoutout to Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. they are special! (as is Lan, and Nynaeve, and many others =))

[@staadecker]

When she travels ahead to raise his army, and one becomes two... I'm not crying

[@jamienelson3470]

@@staadecker Right?! ♥

[@shara1979]

Lan is in my top 5. He's so badass!

[@Sppeiderman]

I worked in a bookstore for a long time, and as much as I love science fiction and fantasy, know hardly anything about this series other than what I saw in the TV series and you and others have shared from your examination of the characters and stories. I find myself returning to you again and again just to hear how intelligently you present the material and the obvious love of the characters and stories. Perhaps it's not too late for me to dive into this broad and encompassing fantasy and discover why it is so compelling to such as you. Keep them coming.

[@bridge4]

It's definitely a story worth reading if you enjoy spending a long time in a world with fictional characters personally, Stormlight Archive is my favorite ongoing story. and A Song of Ice and Fire is superb. but in terms of completed stories that I've finished, The Wheel of Time is number 1. the only two that come close for me are Mistborn Era 1 and The First Law. Mistborn has one of the best landings ever, and The First Law is the type of tone and humor that I love best. But it's hard to compare them since The Wheel of Time is so expansive. I'll say this in advance in case you decide to read it. Book 1 is fun. I was all-in with it, but it's far from the best book in the series. Books 2 and 3 are structurally similar to book 1, so I am excited to see how the show condenses them into a single season so that the flow doesnt feel repetitive. Books 4-6 are where its at. That is when the story comes to life Books 7-10 are known as the slog. I could see why those four are considered a slog for those who had to wait years for the next one to be released, but I didnt start reading the books until a few years ago. So I didn't have to wait, and I actually enjoyed 7-9. 10 is the only weak book imo, and even that one has a pretty cool climax. Book 11 is back to being really solid, and 12-14 were written by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan passed away. For the most part, Brandon killed it.

[@Sppeiderman]

@bridge4 Thanks man. You really know your stuff. Will give these recommendations a try.

[@Harldin]

@@bridge4 You are a Stormlight Archive fan, would never have guessed 🤣🤣 It took me a long time to get into Way of Kings, listen to a couple of chapters(Audible), then stop for a couple of months then stop, this went on for about 12 months until I finally got to the chapter where Kaladin decided to go back to the Tower and that is the moment I fell in love with SA. SA has arguably the best "Alien" race ever conceived in Literature.

[@shara1979]

I don't understand why u don't have more views. Your presentations are better than all the others. Thorough, simple to understand, your voice is great, the choices of illustrations match up nice. Definitely the best.

[@bridge4]

i put so much time into this video. probably over a hundred hours for around 3 dollars of revenue lol. so i sincerely appreciate those kind words =)))

[@MsMestrella]

I love this! Thank you for doing this...Lan is one of my favorites "Death is lighter than a feather. Duty is heavier than a mountain"

[@bridge4]

Tai'shar, Malkier!

[@FutureOverYou]

This was beautiful. A fabulous recap of the amazing Lan.

[@feranmiolorundare7351]

The most beautiful tribute ever😭😭😭😭 Thank you

[@bridge4]

he's a great character. love him! thanks!

[@insaneduane]

Al Lan Mandragoran is my favorite character. Thank you for making and sharing this video!!!

[@EAraceliMD]

Amazing simply amazing!!! Thank you so much!

[@bridge4]

all credit to Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanders. thank you though, Chely =)))

[@leafcastbrotherdan725]

Crazy I KNOW I had subscribed to you earlier but I think YT does weird things that can’t be explained. Subbed again 💋thanks for this video, it’s well done and has a really good script, you keep his story compelling.

[@bridge4]

thanks, BrotherDan!

[@rosethorn001]

Thank you, I enjoy listening to you reading. Love both characters. 💗

[@carolbriscoe9337]

I love listening to this. Lan and Nynaeve are the one couple I wanted to live and rebuild his home. I just wish there was an epilogue, maybe 5-10 yrs in the future, updating everyone's lives.

[@conordempsey8854]

The Golden Crane is my favourite chapter in all of fantasy, I cry every time I read it. Nynaeve fully redeemed herself for all those spoilt brat moments in one act

[@bridge4]

haha, Nynaeve was actually my favorite character from the start, but i understand why some people dont like or annoyed by her. For some people, that could blind them to the good stuff, so its pretty cool that you're above that! And i hear ya. its really hard not to love Nynaeve during those scenes! (i also get teary-eyed despite note being a crier in real life for the most part)

[@johnny2003]

“al'Lan Mandragoran rides for Tarwin’s Gap. Towards tarmon gai'don. Will he ride alone?!”

[@carolbriscoe9337]

Oh thank you for putting Lan's history together. I was teary eyed at the end. I can only hope that if any epilogue is wtitten, itwill include the rebirth of Malkieri and Lan's children

[@christianefiorito3204]

This story allways makes me cry

[@jamesdreads7828]

Great video as ever. You deliver with such endearing sincerity, it's lovely. Also background music and volume was perfect, seems minor but really isn't.

[@bridge4]

thanks, James. I appreciate the volume levels feedback too. that is always a big concern and i feel like i never get it right since i have just bad hearing lol

[@jamesdreads7828]

@@bridge4 absolutely smashed it mate 👍❤️

[@veronicamastachi]

Thank you for all the love you put in researching to create this amazing content :) Keep the videos coming!

[@christinearmington]

14 books. I would have liked to hear your voice reading them. Thank you. ❤

[@a-aron9264]

U should write a book. U got a way with words my friend

[@bridge4]

i appreciate that, but the best words in this video were taken directly from the text. so credit to Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson! the only credit i can take is for spending over a hundred hours on the video and finding some of the best words lol

[@Harldin]

"spoilers" Lan was also the most confused person alive at the end, he believed in every part of his being, he was destined to die fighting an unwinnable war. At the end not only was he still alive but they had actually won that unwinnable war. Still the best line in all of WOT, "I didn't come to win, I came to kill you"

[@bridge4]

i know, right!?! pre-empted with a "you didn't listen to me" lol

[@conordempsey8854]

Badass for sure but still gotta give #1 to "kneel and swear to the lord dragon, or you will be knelt"

[@Harldin]

@@conordempsey8854 Very close 2nd

[@sk8thendrum]

What a great character study and history of Lan. Loved it!

[@Apollonufc]

Lan riding alone into trollocs is the most badass thing I’ve ever read

[@bridge4]

for real. and you gotta love Tam al'Thor and his Two Rivers men. ( Thank you, Tam [Lan thought] )

[@nedjohnson4089]

Dude season two was so much better than season one. And the finale was great. Of course they left out alot from the books but wow. I was hoping you did breakdowns of this season. Maybe you will? Lol

[@staadecker]

Will he ride alone? The golden crane flies for Tarmon Gai'don!

[@shara1979]

Great video

[@RiseeRee]

This is wonderful 🥹

[@jakecruz9828]

This is Jon Snow... He's the king of the North. Watched The Last Kingdom series. Great show. A little cringy at times, but all in all, I thought it was great. It would have been better if the movie was a season.

[@ThisIsntClaire]

Agreed, TLK packed so much in that movie, but I enjoyed it nevertheless

[@bridge4]

100%. its not on the level of GOT or HOTD, but i loved hanging out with those boys. and the movie was just meh. i enjoyed it, but a season would've been much more satisfying Shoutout to Ragnar the Younger btw. he was the best

[@bridge4]

side note, the Sihtric actor has been cast as a pretty unique character in The Wheel of Time, beginning Season 2. excited to see how he plays a much different character than Sihtric (did you recognize Baby Monk as Aemond One-Eye? Although I like Baby Monk, he is such a different character. was very impressed with the actor's portrayal of Aemond)

[@ThisIsntClaire]

@@bridge4 I'll look out for him in s2 then! Loved Ragnar's character, hated losing him in the programme. I'm still curious as to why they recast Mat for next season.

[@bridge4]

the actor who played the original Mat didn't show back up for filming the final scenes. i am not sure what happened to him. i was tempted to look it up last week, but i couldnt get myself to even google it since i assume its very personal and none of my business. if i had to guess, some sort of mental breakdown or drugs or something. thats completely speculative though. all i know for sure is that he was originally supposed to go to Fal Dara with them, so they had to pull an audible on him getting left behind at the Way Gate for what its worth, i thought the actor did great. and whatever his reason was for not showing up to filming, i hope he's ok

[@barbieholicable]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@llofdarkwater9152]

Hey, are ya gonna do Season 2? 🤞

[@Hawaiian_Brian]

My favorite book series bastardized for the non-existent, "modern audience". Feels bad man.

[@bridge4]

book 1 made for an interesting book 1 in fantasy, but its not the best story for television, especially since it was intentionally an homage to The Fellowship of the Ring. i can see why they kept the Dragon Reborn thing a mystery though. that was probably fun for non-book readers The end wasn't as strong as it could've been (partially due to some cast issues and covid restrictions), but overall, i enjoyed season 1 a lot. I actually recently rewatched it, and the soundtrack is great. I couldnt help but smile while watching

[@Hawaiian_Brian]

@Boco Corwin well, I fell in love with the WoT books in my teens. And the stoicism and mystery of the warders is gone. They were rocks, unreadable, unnoticeable, almost robotically methodical. Now they scream and cry? No. Totally different species now. The two rivers folk and their "muh diversity" angle is also unnecessary. Geographically, people are homogeneous. That's why when you travel to other places, you have different races, creeds and colors of people...and that is OK! Rand stood out because he was different...darker, taller, almost aiel-like. Not with our new diverse cast though. Relationships between the aisadi being LGBT is fine and dandy, however it wasn't so shoe-horned into the books to appease and pander to that community. "But it's current year!" Sorry, stay true to source material. Moral of the story is this...Rings of Power, WoT, and The Witcher are all clear cut examples of this "modern audience" not existing and this product being ridiculed and rejected. Follow the source material, you had a built in fan base. The writers are to blame for self injecting terrible characters, introduction to identity politics, and changing the source material because their narcissism makes them believe they can improve a story. These examples of 3 amazing franchises ruined.

[@bridge4]

im with ya some stuff, but not everything Lan screaming was a big one, but I actually liked it. The book version of him being all stoic and "Ride on, Moiraine" is pretty gnarly, and the actor is great. So he had the ability to show pain with just his eyes as Lan sometimes did, albeit briefly before he would regather himself but in a visual/audio medium, a phsyical cry could be powerful. i get that when you dont expect Lan to be that way, it probably didnt hit for you. but i didnt mind that one its also worth noting that the show has to deliver information to the audience in a different way than books do. so the Stepin subplot was important in order to establish the impact of an Aes Sedai's death upon her warder in advance of other Aes Sedai and warder deaths that will happen in terms of the Warders, I was surprised by how light-hearted some of them were, specifically Maksim and Ihvon. And that didn't feel right at first. I still don't really like it, but I can live with it in terms of them being bi, i dont recall any of that from the books, and i cant relate to them as much as I can Lan or Stepin, but imagine being a bi dude who loves fantasy. there aren't many bi badaddes that i've come across. so its probably cool for them to have some warders to admire. and i've still got Lan, and he's the best. so that's enough for me lol in terms of the Two Rivers diversity, that one didnt really hit me because - even though i am a very visual learner and thinker - when i read books, my visuals of people arent their physical traits. as an example, when i read about Rand (before the show), i visualized red hair and a sword. when i read about Perrin, i visualized a hammer or battle axe. when i read about Mat, i visualized his ashendarai. when i read about Nynaeve, i visualized "temper" whatever that means lol. i can see where you're coming from in terms of the Two Rivers being a remote location that should be homogonous. but to play devils advocate, Manetheren might not have been homogonous. And although the Two Rivers seems like such a small, remote location, there are thousands and thousands of people spread out among that region. so, the diversity in the Two Rivers didnt really bother me my biggest concern going forward is actually the tone and the maturity level. Shadow and Bone was a fun little light read, but it did nothing for me on screen because it's for kids. And Rings of Power was barely watchable for the same reason. it's not as young, and i enjoyed it, but it was still a little too kidsy for me the tone of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is where its at so far, The Wheel of Time is somewhere between Rings of Power and House of the Dragon in terms of maturity level. so i dig it. but I'm hoping they lean harder into making it more mature. for instance, i realize some may think i'm shallow for this, but i want to see a bunch of naked hotties in the Aiel Waste for no other reason than i love naked hotties lol oh just reread your comment and forgot about the witcher. in terms of the Witcher, im not even sure where i stand. i loooove the source material, and the show has gone a completely different direction. so that stinks. some of my friends believe the Wheel of Time is cimpletely different, but i dont see it that way. the heart of the story so far was the dagger and eye of the world. they hit on those. i have no clue where the witcher is going or if my favorite character (Cahir) is ever going to be like book Cahir (fingers crossed) the show leans too much into the gaming side as opposed to the character story of the books though. (still havent seen the prequel, so i guess i might not like that IP as much as i think i do) with all that said, i still enjoy the witcher. its a shame isnt not a grimmer, character driven story. but ill watch season 3 right away when it drops

[@bridge4]

forgot something i meant to say about lan screaming. in the books, it could be a Nynaeve POV, and we could hear her acknowledge how much he was hurting despite his cold blue eyes. but in the show, its easier to convey that by having him scream, and then Nynaeve over there teary-eyed i hear ya though in that Lan's stoicism being a foundation of who he was in the books. so i understand why that scene might not have felt right

[@Hawaiian_Brian]

@bridge4 this was really insightful. I agree with what you're saying and I think today's media and entertainment is creatively bankrupt, and a lot of it is because of the current geo-political climate. I really don't like when it seeps into movie and book franchises I have a vested interest in. I just wish today's writers wouldn't deviate from the source material and pre-built fan base just to inject their politics into it.

[@SHARKVADERS]

B...

[@carolroberts127]

I tell yu real bad daniel henney their my money surprise show my daughter is cancer now I am upset real shame yu

[@cholericimp1358]

That is not Lan