The WHEEL OF TIME episode 5 FULL REVIEW, it's a disaster. . .

[@fullpowercollectibles5861]

It’s strikes me as funny that I refuse to watch an hour long episode of wheel of time, but I will gladly watch these reviews no matter how long they are. 😂 Gone are the days of good writing in television… just read the books people! Btw Love your book Shad! I’ve listened to the Audible version at least 4 times now and it is such a great story with amazing characters, in a fantastic world! 10/10

[@musiccraftsman2192]

Same!!!

[@talkingmudcrab718]

Amen. If a good film adaptation comes along for a book or game or whatever franchise you like then cherish but never get your hopes up to expect it. always expect the worst. Studios are 75% more concerned about money, 20% concerned about personal ideological messaging, and 5% concerned about quality. Look at Viileneuve's adaptation of Dune. He was extremely passionate about the project and still had to fight tooth and nail to get what he got out of Part 1 and it probably still fell short of what he really wanted to do because of studio execs. He wanted to do a 5 hour long film just for one part. By the Grace of the Box Office he is getting a Part 2. Ask David Lynch how he felt about his adaptation and what the studio did to him.

[@le_bouvier]

that makes at least 2 of us :)

[@insensitive919]

Yeah, it was great stuff! He needs to hurry up and make a sequel!

[@dawall3732]

I too have not watched a single episode of the show. Yes I have all of the wheel of time books except for the new version they made which is basically just the show. I have also watched all of these episodes of game nights and the nights watch now. It is really saying something when I would rather watch a 2 hour and 45 minute video breaking down a one hour show episode then actually watch the show episode itself. I also have Shad's book. I'm hoping for a second book before too long :)

[@lastimosaz]

"There are people who are not watching the show but are watching the reviews of it." *Raises hand*

[@gokbay3057]

I am watching this particular show, but there are many shows where I do do that.

[@alexanderm8880]

I read the books and I liked them even if I disliked most of the female characters. I liked it enough that I can't subject myself to this show, I gotta let Shad suffer for me. :p

[@johanjarvinen]

Only because I couldn't get through the episodes. I'm a massive fan and I've been waiting for an adaptation for over two decades, and yet the writing is so bad I can't watch more than minutes at a time before I have to turn it off.

[@gavinfreenone6626]

I don't know wtf this book or show is even about but I'm here for the boys lol

[@malevolent7650]

@@alexanderm8880 Many of the characters were intentionally unlikable, it's a testament to the author's ability evoke such strong emotions in the reader. It's the same for actors, some actors portray an evil character so well that you can't even see them in another role without hating them. There are definitely flaws with the books but I don't think the characters were one of them, almost without exception they were unique and interesting.

[@AgonyAlienai]

Shad: I'm heartbroken seeing WoT being butchered. Me: Just wait until Amazon butchers Tolkien in their upcoming series.

[@wolfereignowns1154]

For me it wont be as bad because I feel the Lord of the rings trilogy at least got a faithful attempt at an adaptation not perfect imo but next to This show damn near perfect.

[@starfreek101]

@@wolfereignowns1154 the first trilogy is the best book adaptation I have seen so far of any book. I wish the wheel of time got that treatment. Peter Jackson did such a good job. You could tell he actually appreciated the source material.

[@TheTinLion]

Black elves & hobbits.... they're literally going to diversify a SPECIFICALLY Eurocentric vision.

[@eugeneflores6153]

We wuz Ainurs, elves, dwarves, hobbiz and shizz~

[@dariyanvalentine3564]

or the Dragonlance Chronicles. or Enders quartet... oh wait...

[@T3DRAGOON]

"Shad did not give the show the benefit of the doubt. " -Ba'alzamon 2021

[@357Dejavu]

You had me laughing with that one!

[@LevenScholar]

Father of Lies!!

[@DameTara]

Right on

[@Sleepless4Life]

Rafe confirmed Ba'alzamon! F

[@richardhockey8442]

I think the forsaken must be masquerading as the show's writers

[@lolroflundxd]

It really feels like we had more time spend on that warder, then on Mat and Rand over the whole 5 episodes...

[@hanklewis769]

exactly

[@haqq1]

they skipped the encounter of Rand with Elayne, Galad and Gwayne over some no-name warder.

[@ignacius8466]

They had to really emphasize the emasculation of Lan's alpha male book character.

[@Sleepless4Life]

Exactly! Now they wants us to believe that in an hour and a half before the season finale they'll (the EF 5) be ready for whatever awaits them at the Eye of the world. When they have done nothing at all for their development through 6 episodes. Instead they wasted time on nonsensical OC stuff. Press F for this show. They wanna be GoT, when GoT had phenomenal actin', but not realizing they're not on the same level of actin' as GoT. Even if GoT wasn't true to the books, they had me hooked for the first 4 seasons because all characters were so well acted and developed. WoT is just a mixed bag of shit. I'll keep watching till the end of this pilot season. I owe Robert Jordan that much at least. But if nothing changes, I just don't see myself keepin' up with the show.

[@franciscoquintana2017]

@@Sleepless4Life To be fair (character development aside), they were just as unprepared for the Eye of the World in the book...

[@timcotton1782]

"Death is lighter than a feather; duty is heavier than a mountain."

[@marcobhuachalla9814]

Not with this version of Lan. :(

[@dylantowers9367]

@@marcobhuachalla9814 And not with Amazon's writers either.

[@al-imranadore1182]

Not with Feminists and SJWs.

[@jackrose6996]

Duty is definitely too heavy for whomever is writing this show, unless they think their duty is to make the series into something it was never meant to be.

[@sigmundferd1359]

"Death is heavier than a mountain, duty is a heavier mountain"

[@A76noname]

Even Tam was nerfed *a lot* from how he was in the books. In the show he barely manages to hold his own against a single trolloc and doesn't even get the kill, but in the books he takes down several before finally getting injured himself, he jumps out of the window and is about to circle around the house to the backdoor because he thought Rand would be there. All of that was thrown out in the show, you didn't get the feeling that he was a blademaster at all.

[@gokbay3057]

I mean, yes. But tbf by all indications he hadn't practiced for more than a decade.

[@arronjerden915]

@@gokbay3057 The point is that in the books he hadn't picked up a sword in almost 20 years and was STILL good enough to take on half a dozen trollocs, it is all in the flame and the void man. Be one with the blade.

[@tilemacro]

@@arronjerden915 The flame and the void is also out of the show.

[@arronjerden915]

@@tilemacro You dont say? I hadn't noticed!

[@tilemacro]

@@arronjerden915 What is it with internet chat and people assuming every comment is aggressive, dunno. Its a mystery i want solved at some point. 😁

[@macejaso]

You have made a place in my heart where I thought there was no room for anything else. You have made flowers grow where I cultivated dust and stones. - Lan

[@Warlocke000]

Kind of loses its impact when he drops to his knees, rends his garments, and bawls over a warder we don't know, doesn't it?

[@Robisme]

@@Warlocke000 Yep there goes that arc.

[@Chambers_90]

These words lose much of their impact when coming from this version of Lan.

[@momofpandj]

I started reading this series in response to how much someone I love loves the books. Now I too am loving the story. To say that we are both disappointed in the tv adaptation would be the understatement of the year. So awful.

[@huaquita22]

I agree very disappointing adaptation.. Love the books..read all of them.

[@kevinjust6740]

Just an FYI, but the Wheel of Time book was altered in later years slightly, it use to be the prologue then chapter 1 with Rand going to town with his father. I was told buy a coworker that they added some sort of short story about them being kids and some stuff with Egwene, in the more recent books, that was inserted before Rand heading to town. But I have the older hardback and paperback and it's not in ether.

[@nate2838]

@@kevinjust6740 Makes me glad i have the original.

[@kamion53]

I don't follow the tv serie, but started to read the books again to get the pictures more firm settled in my mind. turned out that having 6 books with the cover art by Darrell K. Sweet, I stopped in book 2. Even with some info from the fansite I think it is still a tough cookie.

[@LiterateHare]

Another thing that I thought about with the whole men and women differences is that Jordan often made the different characters remark on the other gender quite humourously. Like, I think it was Tam that warned Rand that women are horrible gossips and in another part Nyneave said the same thing about men. The one gender was constantly making small comments like that throughout the story, yet they would always bring up the besr part of each other, making it kinda sweet and romantic.

[@kc0dawnte]

Don’t forget the time with the Tinkers where Perrin asks Egwene what she talked to Ilia about so much. “She was giving me advice on being a woman.” “Advise? Men don’t need advice to be men, we just are.” “And that’s why you do such a horrible job at it.” I loved that line.

[@lazyassassin267]

One I loved on my recent rereads was after the Mat/Galad/Gawan fight. When the green sisters are all fawning over Galad, the warder had an aside with the boys about how they're no better than the accepted. It's such a great moment, especially from a gaidiin, especially after several chapters following egwane and nyneave saying the same shit about men. It's not a mater of hate, since again, it's a gaidiin saying it, it s just stating the obvious/ giving the usually stoic warders some personality.

[@Amokra]

@@norcalbowhunter3264 I wouldn't doubt it I can't wait till they get to the reborn guy/girl that should be fun

[@Jimi-Check]

@@norcalbowhunter3264 oh I don't know if you guys noticed it. But did you see the effeminate white cloak in the background in first scenes of them? I don't know why but I thought that was the weirdest change Of the show so far.. If seeing somebody twice makes them a dark friend, I can't imagine what that walk would make them in the eyes of purist

[@indianajeremy5491]

In The Eye of the World there's a great scene with Lan where he hears about a losing battle the Border Landers are about to fight, and that if he announced he would be there thousands more men would join them to help fight and that could change the outcome of the battle. But Lan knows he has to travel into the Blight with Moraine and the others and can't stay and fight. Lan shows no visible change of emotion, but crushes the cup he's holding with his hand, which reveals how much he's struggling inside. That's the most emotion he shows the entire book.

[@donaldgooch7869]

I don't think he's Vulcan level - but yes - he's stoic. You need an actor who has very expressive eyes - his emotions can be apparent from his look and subtle facial expressions - but not whatever the heck we got in ep 5.

[@theawebster1505]

@@donaldgooch7869 totally on board with you on this. Book Lan would never show such emotions in such a way. But I guess that sells and also appeals to the weakened state of humanity right now.

[@JoelAdamson]

Correction: the most emotion he shows is when he reveals his true feelings for Nynaeve, but he does so privately when he knows no one but Nynaeve can hear him, and he clearly tells her that his feelings for her cannot matter more than the war he's fighting. And it takes twelve books for this to get resolved; that's the right way to do Lan.

[@waifuhunter9709]

@@theawebster1505 " having emotions and showing it in such a way appeals to weakened state of humanity" This is only weak mentality i can see here 🤦‍♂️

[@GiSoxfan]

@@theawebster1505 bad take. In my experience, if any weakness comes from emotion, it's from one of two places. 1) Not allowing yourself to experience your emotion fully, bottling it up, and allowing it to fester inside like a cancer. 2) Allowing emotion to justify poor behavior rather than practicing disciplin and dealing with it in a healthy way so that we are in a better place in the future.

[@senseimatt3097]

Not only does Rand not react to Loial calling him Aiel, Loial did not seem all that surprised to find an Aielman with a SWORD!

[@alucard374]

why would he react? The writers didn't bother to set any of that up via delirious Tam's murmurings, as Rand dragged him to Emond's field

[@childrenoftolkien]

Loial looks like a character from The Wiz.

[@chaz9808]

Yeah and it’s a very special sword too a sword he would definitely comment on after seeing it

[@matthewhunter1970]

The most accurate part of loial was the voice XD. The fact the the sword wasn't brought up makes me think aiel will not have any stigma about swords which well is rather important you know. At this point I actually think they haven't read the books and are using the wheel of time wiki as a source. Or maybe book reviews and summaries? Reddit comment sections? Eragons movie was more accurate to the book....at least it had a cool dragon and sword! This has nether XD (Book spoilers?) The best think they could really do is probably throw out the books its not like they are keeping to it anyway. Make Logan or the other false dragon in the books the actual dragon and go from there.

[@junglejoe40]

@@childrenoftolkien or a German shepherd dog

[@gamagarn]

I feel your frustration deeply. We lost Elyas Machera in favor of a second rate warder that was no more than a name mentioned in the books. Oh, and we ruined Lan's legendary stoicism by him wailing and weeping.

[@TheJordanK]

We can still get Elyas. But also he’s really not that important tbh. His main purpose is to drop exposition on what is happening with Perrin, then he bounces. But I still think we will get him cause him explaining what’s happening would be very helpful because everything in the books happens in Perrin’s head and we can’t have that in the show. So I think we will still get him.

[@meithstorm7662]

the actor was pretty darn good though.

[@ignacius8466]

@@meithstorm7662 such a waste too. He could have been cast in a more important role than that sad warder.

[@wolfereignowns1154]

@@meithstorm7662 Cool have him play Elyas.

[@Sleepless4Life]

Wait so you're sayin' Elyas was cut? No mentor for Perrin? Wtf! I thought they'd leave him for later on. Not cut entirely! Thought the warder was just a foreshadowing for Elyas. Just F. Just F man!

[@Sleeptastic]

The thing is Egwene is unbreakable. At the end of a long multibook arc. Which now can't exist cause she's already unbreakable

[@jayclearmen411]

Nah I’d say that’s more lans character he oozes stoicism not taking anything from egwene because she was a badass in her own right!! An she earned that shit her progression her journey trials & tribulations etc… that’s what make it so worthwhile.

[@Echidna23Gaming]

I see what you're saying, but similar to how this episode was a test of her will, so will the Falme Arc, CW Arc, etc and we'll see her break and develop over time

[@Henbot]

The show isn't going to have ten years to make characters a certain way considering how big the books are

[@solindasedai2252]

@@Henbot but they are putting in a ton of new stuff that isn’t in the books. They only have the excuse of not having enough space/time to develop characters like they were in the books if they weren’t filling literally hours of screen time with irrelevant non-book stuff and throwaway (steppen, karene) or secondary characters(siuan, logain, alanna).

[@Sleepless4Life]

Aahh... the old story ARC but without the ARC part. Classic story telling!

[@Dhowlan]

I thought Perrin meeting Elyas Machera was crucial in the books. As a side note, Elyas has a very interesting background, which is never revealed in the books.

[@rhuiden4086]

Lol. If Elyas secret background was not revealed in the books where was it revealed.

[@nathanw1010]

@@rhuiden4086 it's hinted at in the books, but they never reveal it.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

@@rhuiden4086 Robert Jordan had a lot of notes that had to be cut to finish the series. Sanderson said there was easily 14 more books worth of story in them.

[@out_spocken]

of course it is. it literally explains the entirety of the wolves and how it fits in. It's incredible. the tv series literally cuts the most important bits and fills it with useless shlt like lan having a cry over a warder that killed himself. Eh.

[@rhuiden4086]

I read the books years ago, do remember Elyas and that he was a rather mysterious figure.

[@craiggallagher4461]

2:05:04 You forgot to mention Shad how he also goes on about how terrible his father was to which another Warder then says something like “at least a yours didn’t try to kill you”. Along with Mat Cauthon’s father, are all fathers in this show going to be portrayed as the most despicable examples of what in real life is a tiny minority of males? At least Rand’s father was depicted pretty honourably but at the same time he couldn’t even kill 1 Trolloc in the show when he kills multiple Trollocs with relative ease in the book in the opening seconds of the attack at their house.

[@sigmundferd1359]

Thom and Tam are the only non-castrated and at least of average intelligence men jn the show. I genuinely don't think I've missed anyone. They combine for about 15m of screen time...... but "men were mean to us forever so our sexism is allowed"

[@SpiderboyN2Jesus]

I actually laughed out loud when Thom said that Mat "has all the signs" of channeling. No. No he doesn't. He has NONE of the signs. None. ...Granted neither does Rand, but... yeah, still...

[@richardhockey8442]

the writers misdirecting attention way from 'the other guy' Rand yet again

[@lore_shards]

I felt like that was justifiable honestly from Thoms perspective

[@Nik2251]

As big as dumpster fire GoT season 8 was, WoT managed to surpass it in just a few episodes, witch is an astonishing achievement I did not think was possible.

[@ianvera4299]

GOT season 8 is a masterpiece next to the entirety of WOT season 1

[@SarahDuke01]

And at least they had the excuse of not knowing how the series ends! What’s Rafe’s!?! 😡

[@9148H2]

I've been saying for years. Studios really need to invest in high-quality Animation for Fantasy, especially if you are adapting a series of fourteen Fantasy books. It's the perfect medium to use than having an actor stand in front of a green screen.

[@shadowofhawk55]

See, the film industry is terrified of that. Why? Cause eventually animation WILL replace actors. Why waste time having those massive set pieces and all the infrastructure behind it when you can do everything in a single building with a team of like thirty people and instead of paying millions for actors pay a few thousand for voice actors.

[@al-imranadore1182]

@@shadowofhawk55 Voice actors and motion capture(facial expression and stuntmen) might start asking for more money and that will increase the overall cost of operation, the act of acting will definitely be divided into a person giving voice and facial expression and another doing physical movements and nobody will see the faces of all the "Future Actors" unless thier incredibly famous and super fans really pry into it to fish out thier personal info, for example we all know who Tom Cruise looks like right!!! but future equivalent of Tom Cruise who will either give voice and face or motion capture for a famous character in one of his movies, will not have to hide his identity or have bodyguards keeping the weirdos away cause most people wouldn't know or care what he looks like!!!! and only a few crazed fans with keen hearing power will recognize him!!!!!

[@AnotherHistorianWargamer]

Yep it's like when sound came to movies and some studios and people strongly resisted it because they felt it would kill their art. Extremely realistic CGI and facial replication software will eventually replace the modern actors and sets.

[@nadiatappous802]

100%! It’s the only way to adapt it well - please see anime for reference. It would be perfect.

[@remixisthis]

The WOT Originals are really good. They immediately give a weight to the world that’s not as apparent in the live action. I’m hoping one of the Sanderson series does this, especially after watching Arcane

[@RuneEyeMage]

"I have won again, Lews Therin" - The Dark One every time an episode comes out.

[@larsandrune]

Have Not read the books but hear they are good. Ep 5 show is feminized, beta males with stereotypical gays and other creatures or characters you don't really care about. There's also a couple of contradictions in the storyline. Its just awful to watch.

[@HoHhoch]

@@larsandrune I mean, the books are pretty progressive themselves. Women basically run the world. There are gay folks, non-traditional relationships, and tons of different cultures represented. But all of the characters aren't just those aspects, but rather they're an aspect of them. Like any normal gay person isn't just gay.

[@Typexviiib]

@@HoHhoch which all the more confusing why the show runners decided to inject massive amounts of identity politics. I was really enjoying 1-4, but 5 was trash. Hopefully they got it out of their systems

[@shanejarry1978]

So accurate.

[@brednbudr2406]

You win it all.

[@chubbyninja842]

I've come to realize there are two kinds of scenes in the WoT show: Scenes that never even remotely happened in the source material and scenes that sh*t all over the source material while presenting the worst possible version of it. They've done the same thing with the casting. For example, why is Perin just as tall as Rand?! Rand is supposed to be absurdly tall for his village ... but if other people are just as tall, that plot point is destroyed. Then there's the "diverse" cast of Emmond's Field. This is supposed to be a geographically isolated village where it's so rare to see outsiders that it's a big deal with the trader comes to town, and he's just one guy! This is actually another plot point that they touch on in the first episode, which is that "the old blood runs strong" in the two rivers. If newcomers are always coming and going in intermarrying with the locals, how is that old blood supposed to be preserved?! Just from a logical perspective, the people of the two rivers have basically been inbreeding for over a thousand years. That should be a very homogenous population. I'm not saying they need to be white. They just need to be homogenous. They could all be Asian or Hispanic or Armenian or whatever. It doesn't matter as long as they're homogenous. And don't even get me started on Loial! This character is supposed to be a literal giant, but the actor is only one inch taller than Rand's actor, and that guy is only 6'2". One inch does not a giant make! They could have at least found a guy who was 6'5"! And let's don't forget how the character design of Loial is such a poor substitute for how he is in the books. In the books he has articulating ears with tufts of hair that droop or stand up or quiver depending on how he's emoting. In the show, the guy just has regular human ears. He's basically just a somewhat tall (though not terribly), thick human in the show. Overall, this show is just the worst possible version they could have made. At best, most of it is just wrong. At worst, it takes a great big steaming unapologetic dump on the source material and the fans who love it.

[@Sleepless4Life]

This right here! The show in a nutshell. I hate it! The OC stuff would have been fine (and is fine) on it's own if it wasn't WoT books related. But then they just rush or brush off stuff that makes WoT WoT and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and all the points they earned with OC stuff from me is just wasted again.

[@courier7049]

I guess is like with cowboy bebop actress explanation "they just couldn't find someone even close to original description"

[@richardhockey8442]

I'm suprised they don't have 'Bad Hair Day' Loial tell corny jokes or do silly tricks, his appearance is so comical

[@saysHotdogs]

They need appeal with TV shows. That doesn’t happen with racially homogeneous casts anymore. I just expect it now. I’m a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire and all of its lore, and seeing as how spin-offs of a Game of Thrones are coming out I’m imagining some pretty surprising racial substitutions in a universe where most (possibly all) of our real life races have counterparts. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is representation and it’s valid so concessions have to be made. There’s no live action TV show yet to properly tell a story with source material anyway. It’s fun to watch the adaptations if you just kinda let ‘em happen

[@buttkingsley1403]

@@saysHotdogs why is it valid?

[@c2099]

I never had hope for this series, seeing Amazon was making it. I will just reread the series again for the umpteenth time, and laugh angrily at the Knights tearing this show a new sheath-hole.

[@reclaimerbear6760]

I've started that exact thing this week lol

[@reclaimerbear6760]

@@ICBMSteve I just finished the prequel

[@tropik5724]

I started today to reread them.

[@arridhaiosbuyesti7914]

I just found out that the rest of my family likes to wait and watch me rage like Shad after each episode. I haven't read the books in almost 20 years and yet the inconsistencies has driven me to near madness.

[@NathanTenney]

The one good thing that this show has done is made me want to re-read the entire series again.

[@mindartis4081]

Same here so off course. Terrible show

[@egadzitsme]

Amazon: We need our own Game of Thrones. WoT Show: Reading you loud and clear. We will deviate from the source material and fill in the gaps with our own storytelling. Everyone loved that in GoT. Amazon: Genius!

[@rams3955]

Wtf the problem with GoT wasn't deviating from the books it was once they caught up to the books having no idea where to go with the story. Why do people think the show is a 1 for 1 adaptation of the books they changed alot. They aged up characters changed characters entirely created new characters and plotlines and the fact is most of the changes worked until D&D got lazy starting with season 6. Honestly book readers are so weird. The show has been really good so far sorry it's not page for page what you remember reading. And an edit one of the reasons GoT is so Infuriating is that D&D actually proved early on the show with genuinely phenomenal scenes like tywin and Aryas interactions that they didn't need the books to write great shit. But the show ultimately became a victim of its own success and popularity

[@jpb2366]

underated joke lol

[@chrismath149]

@@rams3955 The characters in GoT remained true to their literal self. While changes were noticeable the motivations, cores and flaws did stay in line.

[@rams3955]

@@chrismath149 What you are explaining here is 90% of the complaints I've seen from book readers for WoT who don't like the show lol. And imo this isn't actually true for a decent amount of characters.

[@abuabdullah9878]

@@rams3955 The ending for GoT was mostly good and in line with the vision of the books. The only problem I had with S8 was how they ended the Nightking like he was a joke. Other than that, Daenerys buring King's Landing, Jaime running back to and dying with Cersei, and the rest was all in line with their characters.

[@brednbudr2406]

Well look at that. A youtuber that didn't utterly sellout to ride the show hype. You guys are absolutely right, and episode 6 was somehow EVEN WORSE. Looking forward to your breakdown of 6. My wife and I are both huge book fans and we were practically out of our chairs raging. Paused multiple times just to reiterate how stupid the scenes were.

[@eddragon2264]

Lol basically the same thing Iv been doing with my friends over discord. Since the first 5 mins of the show where they say Perrin has a wife. Literally had to rewind to make sure we heard currently. The yelling of WHAT! And WHY! Has not stopped throughout.

[@sionaramel746]

So I just thought of this but Moiraine intentionally brought the candidates for the Dragon Reborn into Tar Freaking Valon, some of whom are men, into a place where there are Sisters who can pick out Ta'veren by sight with their Gifts and thought that it was the best course of action?!? If the Dragon has a Channeling fit it's game over, Caemlyn made much more sense in the books and there the Dragon Reborn just happened to run into Elaida which set off the Tower chain of events. There was a reason Robert Jordan kept the Dragon as far away from the city as possible until he was established.

[@matthewhunter1970]

To be fair. In eye of the world she was trying to take them all to tar valon because the dark one wanted them. But they had to go to well the eye of the world instead. The bigger issue is moiraine wasn't panicking and searching for the rest of the company just walking to tar valon for a mouth. when in the books that was her soul aim to everything she did was find them and keep them safe.

[@hapablap2088]

Caemlyn was one of the best parts of eotw. Wtf would they cut it for? Just the gay warders or pointless logaine.

[@realnickmasters]

It’s really sad but I feel like your video reviews are the only place where I can honestly express my feelings and opinions about this show because everywhere else if you have a dissenting opinion from this show is amazing and perfection you will be attacked. I felt like this episode was a complete waste of time. The moment this episode was over my immediate reaction was that at least half of the episode was wasted on characters that are not even a part of the main story. But I actually feel like this has been the case for all of the episodes. There has been new side stories which they used to explain things within the books that are already explained within the books through the direct plot. And they can’t even say these side stories were done to save time because they are nearly as time-consuming but make the story objectively worse.

[@SilverSidedSquirrel]

Yep! Amazon has the banhammer out and they are going apeshit.

[@TheJordanK]

The problem with dissenting opinions and what a lot of people who don’t like it do is they quickly take criticisms into insults or gatekeeping. That will always be shut down or ignored in the larger conversation. What your comment does is perfectly fine however. People can actually address you statements and discuss. But just scrolling through these comments here half of them are insults or gatekeeping. That’s impossible to engage with. Keep doing what you did in this comment and you’re golden! Thanks for the comments.

[@realnickmasters]

@@TheJordanK Being a content creator myself (On a different channel) I like criticism because I want to be steered in the direction that pushes me to bring the best product forward. But I agree insults and gatekeeping don’t do anything except create enemies.

[@nadiatappous802]

I completely empathise and agree, I feel the same way. You aren’t allowed to dislike the show or point out its numerous flaws. Blind worship of plain shit. That’s okay, it will be cancelled by the end of season 2 or by mid season 2. As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t exist it’s just a woke cash cow. It’s not the wheel of time. It’s the waste of time. (Credits to my friend who dubbed that name that wasn’t me 😂, but it’s apt ). It makes me want to hurl. My favourite series ever. It should be animated and follow the books honourably.

[@gogroxandurrac]

16:50 more than that, it means that you have a clearer perspective for what they're trying to achieve. You can see the bias of the showrunners because you know the book and what they chose to change. If you have the original and their garbage at the same time, it's a lot easier to see exactly what they're trying to say by the changes they make.

[@youngro3244]

Totally agree!

[@cabel000]

When I was a teenager I talked to my grandmother about how grandpa made all of the decisions on their farm. She just smiled and said, "Men rule the world, and women rule men." I didn't get it right away but a couple years later I met my future wife and immediately understood. Anyone who thinks that the way to be a powerful woman is to act like a man, doesn't get it.

[@EndlessMystify]

Oh, and a note on Lan and his emotional outburst. Page 4 of The Great Hunt: "Warders, those half-legendary warriors who served the Aes Sedai, seldom showed emotion, and Lan showed little even for a Warder." Perfect fit with how he behaved in this episode, right?

[@biggidousthethird2672]

Don't even see the difference lol

[@kaladongstormguy]

My take is that Lan chooses to not show emotion, not that he's incapable. He was asked to be the lead mourner for the funeral, so he was the only one allowed to openly grieve. So he decided that this would be a good time to openly show how he felt. I really liked it. We even got to see Moiraine look really surprised by how strong his emotions were and that really highlighted how he's so stoic usually (and their bond for those less familiar with it).

[@jamesf2743]

@@kaladongstormguy Ah, he did something completely out of character because of something the writers invented that wasn't in the books. It would have been fine for him to twerk over the body too, right, as long as he was the designated tweker?

[@dionshaewishum4179]

Totally blew it. I was pissed

[@kaladongstormguy]

@@jamesf2743 If Lan were given the duty of twerking, I 100% think he would do it. The core of his character (way more important than his stoicism) is his sense of duty. Don't you agree? Lan isn't afraid or incapable of showing emotion, he just chooses not too. But when it comes to duty, he will do it.

[@frankie3010]

Don't worry Shad. No matter how bad it gets, they can't take the books from us.

[@shawnm1902]

Are you sure?

[@benjaminwhitehead4050]

@@shawnm1902 Immana buy a whole lot of copies to give away later just in case XD

[@TechnoMinarchist]

@@shawnm1902 So long as you got your copies it's safe. I got physical and digital copies.

[@RyanFieldHuzzah]

They can give normies the impression that the books are like the show.

[@brakdanych4329]

in theory, yes, they can't but now wheel of time will always have the image of the show, fanarts, discussions, new content they all will have a deep shadow made by the show on them

[@kc0dawnte]

00:42:14 that line “Duty heavier than a mountain, Death lighter than a feather” actually saved my life when I was young. And here they are butchering these characters. Lan is a rock and while I can see him having a private moment of weakness, he makes sure to keep up his front. Even when *REDACTED* happens and he is adrift he poops (EDIT: yay autocorrect, poops is throws) himself into practicing to stop his grief for the other one to the point of making Sword Masters scared of him.

[@Sleepless4Life]

👍

[@22ronco22]

No man can walk so long in the Shadow that he cannot come again to the Light. I hope that more and more people walk in the light. So that one day we can have a true adaptation of Wot, preferably an animation.

[@blueeyed5074]

Yep... and made by the japanese :))

[@BaldyAngry]

@@blueeyed5074 not need to be by the japonese , only by competent people who are not woke , just that.

[@LOWBORN-the-LOATHSOME]

The "writers" of this weaving of the Pattern are most likely Darkfriends that thought only of their own glory, and not salvation.

[@blueeyed5074]

@@BaldyAngry Pff, in America that's really hard ro find.

[@nathanmorgan3647]

@@blueeyed5074 Doesn't need to be Japanese, though it could be. The important thing is to make sure it never, ever, ever falls again into the hand of a Western Democracy.

[@dd11111]

So, just as I really notice that shad is truly becoming INCANDESCENT with rage. My eyes wander to the left and I burst out with laughter as I see Oz's devilish grin. Clearly enjoying this. Never change Oz. Edit: I too do not watch the show but enjoy watching your breakdowns (pun intended)

[@bigadam]

If only we all could be so grossly incandescent

[@TheREALSimagination]

Oz tends to have that effect on people under certain circumstances

[@al-imranadore1182]

Oz's red scarf is kinda incandescent 🤔

[@gunblade7610]

Yep Oz has the best "I told you so" grin 🤣🤣🤣

[@beauchandler4271]

Wheel of time has been my favorite series for many years. The interplay between the genders, the romance scenes and the adventure shaped part of who i am growing up. Thank you guys for watching it so that i dont have to. And thanks for saying what needs said in a more eloquent manner than i can.

[@hankwebb3891]

Thank you so much for this review. I needed the laugh after I finished throwing up all over myself watching this disgraceful misrepresentation of WOT. My wife hasn't read the books, but even she said she was embarrassed for everyone involved in that last scene. This episode officially separated the adaptation from the books for me. I am joining your crusade in whatever capacity I can.

[@craiggallagher4461]

1:26:23 Perrin actually kills 2 Whitecloaks WITH his battle axe that he has carried all the way since Edmonds Field that his blacksmith Master Luhan made for a merchant guard that never paid up. Like I said in a comment on another video, this isn’t WoT but like a really bad parody..

[@jonsimpson6240]

@@norcalbowhunter3264 jebus. That is absolutely going to happen...

[@BillyBasd]

In the stupid show Perrin doesn't bring the battleaxe when he leaves

[@craiggallagher4461]

@@BillyBasd It wasn’t even a battle axe he used to kill the Trollocs, more like a wood cutters axe and not at all as described in the book. If you watch Shad’s video on the heron marked sword Rand gets from Tam, it’s a pretty shitty representation as well of both them type of sword and as described in the book.

[@Argamep]

Their insistence on trying to "subvert expectations" on who the main character/Dragon is; plot, consistency and character arcs be damned, is the most mind buggling thing I ever seen. It's like watching a child bulldozing through a dessert buffet destroying everything in their path towards one particular cake which, while noteworthy, isn't even the best one in the room.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

It's honestly bizarre tbh. Who was the Dragon was never really in question in the books from the reader's pov. It's a layer of tension that was never there and the writers cannot write it properly if they tried.

[@danielsaines602]

When it's revealed the show fans are going to be angry. Like "what happened to the rug I was standing on!? This hasn't been set up at all! I don't even care about this character, since they have had like 30 minutes of screen time this whole series!"

[@polishFantasyEN]

@@danielsaines602 The writers are clearly inspired there by Dragon Reborn book, where Dragon Reborn himself also gets like 30 pages at best.

[@danielsaines602]

@@polishFantasyEN Makes sense, just like "the dragon reborn" episode they did. Pretty sure that was my least favourite of all the books.

[@jadenkorr32]

Mind boggling for sure. But even more so that this ‘creative approach’ has been the norm for several years now.

[@snarkywriter1317]

If I remember right, when it comes to shielding a man who can channel in the books, the White Tower has an SOP where they always use a full linked circle of 13 sisters for the initial capture, and never go below 6 linked sisters when maintaining a shield that's already in place.

[@snarkywriter1317]

@@grazzitdvram Yeah, that's fair. The wife and I have stopped trying to compare the show and the books since the show seems to be more a pastiche now than an adaptation, and to your point even Jordan and Sanderson sometimes played fast and loose with the specifics. I would say, though, that I interpreted the scene you describe as a symbol of the sisters disdaining the boy in the box and letting their feelings of superiority make them complacent (hence why said boy was able to escape the first time and, even fully shielded, kill at least one Warder with his bare hands, and even after *that* incident the sisters were still tying off weaves, though in the end that was due to admittedly understandable distractions).

[@EndlessMystify]

@@snarkywriter1317 It was long ago that I read the books so I may be completely wrong here, but I always imagined the box scene as the sisters having tied off their shield (hence why there was a knot to unravel) and the boy not-quite-so-simply figuring out how to use those knots to break out of the shield from the inside. Someone else in the comments mentioned a tube-like thing connecting the channeler to the source when they are siezing it and I always imagined the boy threading this tube along the gaps in the shield created by the knots and then streightening the tube by reaching out for the source through it, thus bursting the knot it had gone through. But maybe I am wrong on that interpretation. It was very long ago that I read that book last and I don't have my copy available for reference when I am right now.

[@snarkywriter1317]

@@EndlessMystify Indeed. That's an excellent point, and that's how I envision it as well. I think of it like a metaphysical thread that "links you to the Pattern", and a shield is like crimping a multi-dimensional metaphysical garden hose. My reply above was more focused on the more meta-textual "why did they write it that way" bits, i.e. what I consider the odd approach the show has taken to how they were writing Logain's capture and shielding. My apologies for being oblique (the books are very meaningful to me and I have *a lot* of feelings about the show, and it's hard for me to put them into words effectively). For me it's a general feeling that there were perfectly usable scenes and lore in the books they could have used, and I don't entirely understand why they didn't. I feel like the procedure from the books for handling a male channeler is an (admittedly fairly minor) example.

[@LordLewsTheDragon]

@@snarkywriter1317 don't forget that people only tied the shield weaves after a certain other group showed up and started making it a little dicey around so they needed to pay attention to other things.

[@snarkywriter1317]

@@LordLewsTheDragon Yeap, those were the "admittedly understandable distractions" I was referring to. :)

[@TheCreatorII]

The way I always imagined drawing on the power and shielding in the books was like it is described in the eye of the world, where there is a...tendril?...of the power, like a rope, or a pipe, that connects the channeler to the one power. So the shield is like a sluicegate that closes and cuts of the flow, like a gate would cut off the flow of water. Which is why if someone is already holding the power, it is harder to shield them because you're effectively trying to close a gate on a pipe full of water, rather than an empty pipe.

[@TeslaRifle]

I think the tendril is the connection of the forsaken to the dark one

[@steves578]

its more of thread, or a conduit, which only grows with more thread and weaves together almost seamlessly as it flows more and more.

[@TheCreatorII]

I believe in in EotW, the dark tendril is mentioned, but also a bright tendril connecting our aforementioned dragon while he was fighting the forsaken.

[@steves578]

@@TheCreatorII I believe the tendrils were more describing the taint than the power itself.

[@TheCreatorII]

@@steves578 maybe I used the wrong word. I think our tendency is to associate tendril with something sinister. Here's the quote from the ch 51 Against the Shadow: "Beyond the doorway was stil the black of nothing, split by the shining thread that ran from his body. And out there, Ba'alzamon's heavier cord ran as well, so black that it stood out in the dark as if against snow." As far as I recall, the only other time "cords" are mentioned to indicate a connection to the power are in....Shadow Rising I wanna say...when the Dragon fights a certain forsaken and cuts him off from the Dark One's protection.

[@kendallvision]

Morraine's "eyes and ears" didn't see Rand & Matt because, in this show, only the girls are important.

[@sigmundferd1359]

*strong genius women

[@BarokaiRein]

We're getting close to 3 hours,lads! I expect season finale to be 4 hours long,make it happen.

[@scottkrametbauer90]

Nah It'll be 6hrs with only 90 minutes of on topic content

[@JewishFrog]

I'd love Shad to make EFAP long podcasts.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

@@JewishFrog I'd love for a Longman series review. But I'm not sure if Longman has read WoT.

[@JewishFrog]

@@TechnoMinarchist They could still review the show on it's own, it would be more reflective of the show's quality rather than how it compares to source material. I think I've heard one of the hosts or regular guests on EFAP mentioning that they're familiar with WoT.

[@DaviHorner]

@@JewishFrog I would actually love to see maybe a Mauler or Efap special with Shad ripping this series apart.

[@jesse123185]

I never knew Shad was so based he gets my respect for being honest and saying what he thinks because he's certainty going to get crapped on for it.

[@BloodnSteel]

"But mah bum!" - omg, you killed me Oz lmao. My lungs hurt.

[@philipcollier4883]

It's a shame because there are legit good elements in the show. I like the subtle way they show the animal corpese to establish trollics in the area and the rising dread because none of the characters see it yet(maybe setting up Aram's arc) I don't see a problem with Child Valdir wanting to question Perrin and Egwene, they are out of place. Finding them there doesn't match up with the narrative Moraine gave him on their first meeting. Questioners have detained people for less.

[@chrismath149]

A lot can happen on the road, especially with bands of Trollocs attacking travellers. It is not far fetched that a group is split up.

[@dargoz8]

Child Valdir doesnt say that. So although that would be a good explination, its still head cannon. So until something else is stated by him then his reason is because he saw them twice.

[@HoHhoch]

@@dargoz8 I mean, that would still be weird given that it's an entire land they're traveling, and Moraine said they were going to Whitebridge or some such. Awfully strange to find yourself near Tar Valon instead.

[@philipcollier4883]

@@dargoz8 yea true. My actual head canon is in the first encounter Moraine barely passes her diplomacy check. The whitecloak commander is convinced but Valdir is sus. He can't act on Moraine now because its too risky. If one or both the women in the group are channellers he doesn't have surprise or manpower to subdue them. Next encounter, Perrin and Egwene absolutely BOTCH their disguise checks. Valdir assumes they have some connection to the White tower and since they are hiding among Tinkers, they wont be missed.

[@dargoz8]

@@philipcollier4883 i would throw in a nat 20 insight or sense motive check from Valdir when looking at Egwain

[@charlestruppi7793]

“If Mat & Rand weren’t there I wouldn’t care”. That’s a feature for the writers, not a bug.

[@wyrdthane]

I LOVE THE RANT, And your two voices of reason. "You have to approach the show runners with an open heart." "I have."

[@solindasedai2252]

To be fair that’s true of the books too- mat and Rand are by far the best characters with the most interesting story arcs. Which is why it is a tragedy that they are not focusing on them more

[@hankwebb3891]

That statement was the most damning description anyone could give to this show. Sad, but so true.

[@theradioactiveplayer3461]

I'm curious as to several of the changes made to characters. Take Perrin, for example. _MUCH LATER_ in the books, he develops something of a bloodlust in battle. In the show, they foreshadow this with killing his wife. Because, naturally, that's what relatable characters do. Kill their significant other in a fit of uncontrollable rage. Makes total sense. You should all heavily imply your main characters are the abuser in a relationship, it'll definitely not send the wrong message, not at all. In the books, he is a calm guy who is scared of hurting anyone. What the showrunners seem to have missed is that after discovering one is less than a decade away from a tangible apocalypse brought about by the primordial pre-universal darkness given form; getting ruthlessly hunted by eleven-foot-tall flesh eating monsters with swords large enough to cut a horse in twain, as well as by pale-skinned eyeless lads that find dying real hard to do, *and* humans in the service of the Dark One, for over two years; having several hundred foreign minds pass through your own; having one's home village burn down; discovering one's friend is practically guaranteed to go insane and die horribly; getting on the bad side of some religious fanatics who think you're some kind of demon-worshipper because of - I shit you not - _the colour of your eyes_ and have now decided they need to kill you and all of your associates; and getting hounded by a group of virtually inhuman sorceresses who want to study you, ideally through dissection of magical or practical form... well, one is likely to be quite emotional in such a situation. Perhaps even a touch prone to anger. Which would be fine to express in the show except HE IS NEVER SHOWN TO HAVE ANGER ISSUES IN THE BOOKS. WHAT THE FUCK IS _WRONG_ WITH THESE PEOPLE?

[@mr.mccainsmonologue1456]

Hahahahaahaaa HEEE’S ANGRYY!! I don’t delight in seeing people angry but Shad is just so great in general lol

[@shawnm1902]

He didn't break out the almighty stick to right the wrong though

[@JewishFrog]

Aaangy Sheeed

[@jonl316]

His anger is focused though, it's not pointless anger. It's anger at people trying to fundamentally change this series and doing a really crappy job of it.

[@freakinmorons3282]

Oz is absolutely hilarious in this being the little devil urging shad on..

[@jeffreytroublefield4265]

He's like the Emperor.... embrace the dark side Shad

[@youngtally2677]

he's more like the voice of reason id say

[@Errycane]

Oz is Shad's Shadar Logoth dagger

[@StonedDragons]

Some men just like to watch the world burn. :-p

[@teddyharvester]

He was onto this show's bullshit from the start. Surprised at his restraint thus far, to be honest.

[@LOWBORN-the-LOATHSOME]

Loial: "Red hair is one of the few physical traits that can tell you where a human is from." But no other physical traits than that, according to the writers of this show. 🙄🙄🙄

[@alucard374]

Helps them to explain their ham fisted attempt to force diversity. When they could have just honored the diverse nature of the world Jordan created.

[@braveconcepts]

Rand & Mat enter the city and casually walk past a CAMEL. No stare, no pointing, no open mouth. As if it's a chicken passing by. Mat only snaps as Nynaeve wants to touch him but never says the famous words: "You've changed Nynaeve" in that malicious tone. (major miss of an open goal) 10 million dollars per episode but they couldn't TELL A STORY to save their lives. Big studios suck.

[@chadhill6831]

nail meet hammer👍

[@Jimi-Check]

10 million per episode, and rafe is probably paid 9,300,000 per episode and everyone behind the scenes are volunteers.

[@lecabillaud6060]

In a fantasy setting, camels get punched, it's mandatory !

[@TheSilverOrn]

I'm reminded of the Red Letter Media clip of what a "strong female character" is nowadays. Used to be a female character was someone like Ripley, The Bride, or etc, but now a "strong female character" has to be on a motorcycle chase with the bad guys, then she jumps off the bike into a bus filled with villains, beating them all up while the bus hits a tanker, then puts a flame retardant suit on while midair as she heads into the flames, only to have her land on the other side of the inferno perfectly fine without a scratch on her and her hair even looks amazing...

[@marcogenovesi8570]

that would still be better than the level of inconsistent dumpster fire that most "strong female characters" are shown as

[@dirkbsilver9260]

With her nonbinary partner waiting eagerly to be saved from the Toxic Male that just did exactly as the strong female lead without a thought to how it makes him look evil. Truth is people are people and making Mary Sue's out of every female lead only weakens the stories built around flawed people. To these modern screen play writers all RJ wrote was a pro TERF story. Truth that they miss is that it is a story showing how even a seeming matriarchy will be flawed and bigoted because people are just people.

[@blm6683]

How is the Bride different than that? She kills dozens of guys with ease.

[@disruptive_innovator]

couple that with insufferable character traits that are treated as virtues instead of flaws or vices

[@-logic6654]

@@blm6683 her opposition punishes her for her mistakes.

[@vincentsdrigotti1693]

I believe the books clearly state that 13 weak people linked together could shield a forsaken.

[@KCSamurai]

Yeah the Magic Number 13

[@indianajeremy5491]

13 together can overpower and cut even the strongest channeler from the true source. It was common knowledge to the Aes Sedai and presumably SOP when hunting a man who could channel. Except in this dumb show.

[@dylantowers9367]

It's been a while, but isn't 13 the biggest a circle can get before you need to get a male channeller involved?

[@KCSamurai]

@@dylantowers9367 Ooooh yeah there is something about that it might be 13

[@TheJordanK]

And hiring so many extra ppl just to hold a shield is not a good move. Especially if you have to have them all on screen. When you can get the same result with barely any loss to the storyline this decision specifically is exactly what adaptions should do.

[@Arassar]

Anyone saying "you can't compare it to the book" is just admitting defeat. If they paid to adapt the books, why would they change things if it was going to make it worse? Answer: because they don't care about the books and just want to use it as a vehicle to inject their message. Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, et cetera. They're all like this.

[@danielsaines602]

They bought it so they can vandalize it.

[@The_Friendly_Fire]

If "you can't compare it to the book", then why adapt it in the first place?

[@Sleepless4Life]

Amen!

[@krs4395]

Lets break this down properly - Female Leadership - Tar Varlon, Andor, Ghealdan, Mayene, Saldaea (Tenobia), Cairhein, SEANCHAN, Kandor, Tremalking, Tarabon, Altara Male leadership - Shienar, Cairhein, Tarabon, Arad Doman, Murandy, Illian, Tear, Amadacia, Arafel, Aiel, SHARA Female Leaders 11 - Male Leaders 11 (both Tarabon and Cairhein have both genders leading)

[@TheRussBus94]

The Merchant Council of Arad Doman are all women and the choose the King

[@richardhockey8442]

Aiel is debatable, since its a foolish clan chief who'd ignore or discount his Wise Ones

[@Aikurisu]

Hide your sheep, folks! Shad is about to reveal himself as the dragon! Just give him a couple more episodes for the rage to fully kick in...

[@nicolasvillasecaali7662]

He will awaken his draconic wrath by flipping the table while listing all the continuity errors of this series from start to finish.

[@balrog262]

HE'S THE DRAGON REBORN.

[@svensorensen7693]

After a few more episodes like this, the Shadlands will be replaced by a massive volcano

[@thegreenxeno9430]

@@svensorensen7693 Shadowmount

[@balrog262]

@@thegreenxeno9430 No. SHADIMOUNT.

[@Arassar]

Yeah, in the books it's pretty obvious that Logain is very powerful, on par with the Forsaken.

[@danielsaines602]

He's about the 4th most powerful channeller in the world. So he's weaker than two, on par with two more, and more powerful than the rest. The Wheel of time companion book gives a detailed list of who ranks where in the series.

[@TheNordhammer]

In the books Logain is a minor side character,that not till the end becomes a...minor side character.

[@ChickenBiscuits]

Yep. He is nearly as strong as Rand. The reason Nynaeve was able to shield Logain after she healed him (book 5?) is that she put everything into the shield just before he realized what she had done. Once he found out, he almost broke free and Nynaeve wouldn't have been able to hold the shield that long.

[@danielsaines602]

@@TheNordhammer Logain a minor character? The sealbreaker Logain. The Light's leader of the Black Tower Logain. The Dragons envoy to the Seanchan, and the sea folk Logain. Commander of two of the largest victories against the shadow spawn, one near Cairhein, the other at Pendaloan Manor. I'll grant you he's a side character, but he's not a minor one.

[@hopefulmayhem5744]

@@danielsaines602 he is pretty minor and he literally disappeared for 6 books. You can't really do that in a show if you want the actors to come back.

[@peopleschampiii584]

They could have easily made Perrin attack the whitecloaks to protect the tinkers, Valda has instant cause....

[@DoggyP00]

That would be an even bigger deviation from the books than the show lol. Given the different way Perrin's group encountered the white cloaks, it just wouldn't make any sense.

[@peopleschampiii584]

@@DoggyP00 would be better than what's on the show

[@DoggyP00]

@@peopleschampiii584 that's a very low bar

[@NateDecker1982]

But the white cloaks were only harassing the Tinkers because of Perrin and Egwene in the first place.

[@kronos1794]

Not giving Rand, Perrin, and Matt adequate screen time is a mistake. Every character is solid in their own way but the dynamic of the 3 are huge for the first book. Eegweyn and Naineive (sorry for spelling) get more to do once they get to the tower so artificially inflating their parts now is unnecessary.

[@dylantowers9367]

The entire adaptation is a mistake. Shai'tan take Amazon and its script writers.

[@bunscita]

I thought the same, they spent ~15-20 mins on a warder's depression and about 5 minutes on Rand who barely speaks.

[@tiagodagostini]

@@dylantowers9367 Well said, but even the Dark one does not deserve that indigestion.

[@malcolm_in_the_middle]

Nynaeve.

[@Jaykane456]

I started watching the show just so I can appreicate some of Shads angry Logic xD Love it. Oz keep up the fine trolling, and Nathan don't let those rascals push you around!

[@Peregrin3]

In the Books, Lan has a thing when he is feeling too much emotion where he Imagines a flame and feeds all his emotions to the flame. Even if you can't show what he is thinking they could have had a scene where he explains this to someone like Rand.

[@Ashtor1337]

It's not a lan thing. It's a warder/sword master thing.

[@lordofthepizzapie9319]

Not "they could", they _MUST_ have that scene. 'The flame and the void' is incredibly important for the story as that becomes the method good male channelers use to seize saidin, including the dragon reborn. It's their equivalent to the Aes sedai's rosebud.

[@patricklee8088]

In the books, we first learn about the Void from Rand who is told it from Tam al'Thor.

[@erikrungemadsen2081]

It is sort of the equivalent to the litany of fear in Dune, it is very central to the story.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

The flame and the void are one of the first things we get introduced to in the books. Literally chapter 1 and the first thing the narration focuses on after the environment has been described. And it holds a lot of significance for the Dragon later on. To not include it only shows the showrunners don't know what they're doing.

[@NathanTenney]

Ok one other thing that bothered me about this episode. A lot of warders, when their Aes Sedai dies will pack up their stuff and head to the border and fight the shadow until they die (which, they haven't event touched on the border yet in the show. Will they?). Instead, they made this guy out to be super weepy and mope around. Totally not what I'd expect from a warder. They could have shown the warder just start heading out as soon as the battle was over, and Lan try to stop him to show how affected he was by his warders passing. But no, they had to have half an episode and then have him commit pointless suicide (going to the border was suicide too, but at least he'd take some shadowspawn with him).

[@rhuiden4086]

What! A man capable of making the ultimate self sacrifice by going on his own into the borderlands? A man who refuses to mope and slit his wrists over a woman? Thats toxic masculinity dont you know.

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

He's described in New Spring as being sad.

[@awilson5684]

Didn't Aiel male Wilders do the same thing, or am I mistaken?

[@TheJordanK]

Can you point me to where they talk about that? I only can remember Warders charging into suicide in a rage. But I’d like to re read about it.

[@abigailslade3824]

You are mixing two points the Aiel males who learn they can channel do this, this becomes important later. Warders go into a kind of suicidal rage that almost always leads to their death.

[@steakdriven]

I've seen enough. I am now convinced that I do not want to give the Wheel of Time show even the barest of chances. Your vigilance is appreciated, Sir Shad

[@sirdiealott]

Lan needs to be EXTRA stoic and "toxic masculinity" THAT IS PART OF HIS CHARACTER ARC! He is MEANT to be toxic, and he does not know the cost of being near suicidal. This leads to Rand making some bad decisions by sacrificing when he should not, because he has given up and accepted his "fate." This leads to Lan making bad decisions by sacrificing when he should not, and accepting his "fate." This is why when him and Nynaeve are finally joined, her cracking through that ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING. NOT TO MENTION WHAT EVENTUALLY HAPPENS TO RAND AT THE END OF THE STORY! Writers do not understand how these books actually share a lot of their own views, but understand them better and tell them better.

[@melanatedqueen6662]

If you haven’t learned film adaptations are usually vastly different from written work by now, it’s gonna be a looooong painful journey for you. I learned this crucial lesson at 6 y/o when the animated version of sleeping beauty was MUCH different than the story my Mama read me every night. Y’all sound like Linus clinging to his blankie. It’s funny to me watching a bunch of white men cry about things not going their way. Y’all are big mad and it’s funny AF 😂

[@Xentillus]

@@melanatedqueen6662 This is not about things "not going their way". They've said many, many times, that they'd be happy for changes as long as they're still well written and meaningful. But when you throw out great writing and replace it with something objectively worse, that's something else entirely. Yes there are problems with the Wheel of Time, but these changes are not improvements on those flaws.

[@laurapossenti3007]

I don't know wether I'd call Lan's attitude toxic or not, but I agree with you. I think he is depected as a man whose background has forged towards a sense of duty, of necessity. He's stoic because he has accepted his own role in the "turn of the wheel", he's embraced it and used it as an armor. He's a "man of duty" who does what must be done, but there is also a kindness to him (unfortunately as you said his words are not always a "good" advice for Rand), a strong pride and melancholy. Somehow he's a man of his time, bound to his traditions and faith, to a world which could have been, but never was, which he lost before even knowing. Jordan himself was a man of his time. The show is something too modern in concept to make any comparison, and the characters are totally different. Personally I find Mat even more changed than Lan. He's basically an other character (not a bad one, but definetely not the kinda childish prankster who looses his innocence and must grow up as in the books). I'm watching it as a different turn of the wheel, as explained by Sanderson. One of the "possible" worlds.

[@laurapossenti3007]

@@melanatedqueen6662 They are overly dramatic on purpose, it's meant to be funny.

[@sirdiealott]

@@laurapossenti3007 I don't consider it toxic, and Jordan played this end of "balance" exceptionally well, but what do I call this thing when I want to communicate what I'm talking about? I don't mind using other's language when I can use it to dismantle their crap. :)

[@UmbraBlades]

Some additional things done in the books that were butchered in ep 5: • Kerene Nagashi, the Green Aes Sedai that was killed by Logain in ep 4 isn't some random Sister. In the series Amazon altered her background and ultimate fate entirely, but in the books and in the two comic book adaptations of EotW and NS she is mentioned to be the Captain-General of the Green Ajah, killed off in the background via "accidentally" falling off a ship in the River Alguenya during a storm and drowning, but in truth she was assassinated by the Black Ajah. • The Whitecloaks arrested Perrin not only for killing one of theirs and allegedly controlling the wolves, but also due to Perrin having already manifested the yellow eyes so the Whitecloaks were suspicious and yelled 'arrest the Darkfriend !' when they spotted him and Egwene. Finally, just as Shad mentioned I fear that they are clearly trying to fuse Elaida and Liandrin together, but the reason may be that the name 'Elaida' is phonetically similar to 'Elayne' and they want the viewers not get confused between the two characters. Elayne is confirmed to be portrayed by actress Ceara Coveney in later episodes.

[@out_spocken]

There is literally no legit link to why Perrin has gold eyes. That whole interlude of his developing sense of wolves, and wolf guy...forgot his name....help us accept Perrin when he finally does....not suddenly realising wolves can talk to him...and they wont attack them lol. This show is a joke.

[@gildor8866]

@@out_spocken Yep, Perrin meeting Elyas before meeting the tinkers would have made a lot of things fit better. While I don't think the warder plot in this episode is bad, reducing its time by 15 minutes to give time to Elyas would have been much preferable.

[@gildor8866]

If they are worried about Elayne and Elaida just wait till we get to Salidar with Leane (Sharif) and Lelaine (Akashi) - I already had a difficult time keeping those apart in the books. No, I think the reason why they will be merging Liandrin and Elaida is that they have too many similarities in their roles in the story - both are antagonists, both are from the red ajah. And additionally they share little common screen time, as Liandrin is reduced to cameos after the second book and Elaida really starts to become a major actor only in books four. For a bookreader those are two vastly different personalities (most importantly one is a darkfriend, one isn't), but if you only watch the show you could be forgiven to think "The wrote Liandrin out of the story just to intoduce another red sister with a slightly different background to do what she did. Did they want to get rid of the actress or why did they replace Liandrin?". While I am not a fan of this merge I can get why it has a certain appeal for the showrunners.

[@bishop2286]

I hate to see what will happen to Reene and Reane then, especially since they normally interact with each other

[@bludfyre]

Here's the biggest thing that stuck out to me from this episode as a problem (Shad will probably spend 30 minutes ranting about this, haven't watched it yet just scrolling the comments): Loial knows so much about the Aiel that he calls Rand an Aiel because of his red hair, and knows they have red hair. But he doesn't comment about an AIEL WITH A SWORD!?! And not only a sword, but a HERON-MARKED SWORD?!? Aiel, culturally, will not touch a sword.

[@davidjohnson6665]

Hot Take: Aram, the Tinker, acts like how I imagine Mat should be acting without the effects of the dagger.

[@mindartis4081]

I think you are correct

[@nathanmorgan3647]

"Why do you guys make us do this??." Because this is far more entertaining than the show we've waited decades for. It's therapeutic.

[@danielschroder5733]

And because duty is heavier than a mountain

[@noneed4me2n7]

Yes, I voiced the exact same sentiment just not as concisely.

[@mindartis4081]

Cathartic is correct. I can’t see how anyone thinks this show is good compared to the books.

[@Annatar]

I knew from the first two episodes it would get worse from there. Episode 4 was like a kidnapper giving me a bit of warm food and the promise of release only to lead me to a torture chamber in ep 5

[@WolfintheMeadow]

Shad, there is an official power scale by RJ - Logain was 7 levels above Nynaeve. Women are way more deft, men are stronger, but they're capable of equal things as a result. The best female and male is on the same level in terms of what they can accomplish. One uses brute strength, and the other finnesse. Different, but equal... and better together.

[@frking100]

While they could both accomplish the same thing it would look different. Ninaeve used raw power to heal in episode 4, to someone like logain that amount of raw power would have seemed laughable. Because as you stated she is a whole 7 levels behind. Logain is power wise one of the top 10 channelers of all time and probably the strongest channeler born in the third age (if you don't count the dragon). Logain wouldn't call a display of the power a "raging sun" unless the channeler was leagues above him power wise and the only people who fit this criteria are the dragon and the forsaken.

[@KaNoMikoProductions]

@@frking100 M'Hael?

[@frking100]

@@KaNoMikoProductions I place Logain higher than taim in my headcanon. They are both in the same power level so you could make an argument for either. But the point still stands that taim and logain are the most powerful channelers born in the 3rd age (not counting the dragon) and they wouldn't be awed by the raw power of someone 7 levels below them.

[@svendragon8139]

It's also said that men are better with 🌎 and 🔥 and women are better with air☁️ and 💧. And then spirit is kind of the same for either.

[@KramDratta]

@@svendragon8139 Yes, which is why the opening scene of Episode 1 when Liandrin closed that gap by bringing down rocks felt off to me.

[@nate2838]

Oz's smug expression of "I told your so" throughout the show is freaking priceless!

[@scottdouglass2]

"Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather." -Lan

[@theupperechelon7634]

Book Lan. TV Lan isn't quotable.

[@mr_noob5931]

42:17 Duty is heavier then mountain, Death lighter then feather. it is what guides every Boderlander. Something that Lan teaches Rand, and sticks with him till the very end.

[@HerraTohtori]

Interestingly, it's originally from the 1882 Japanese Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, which Jordan borrowed as it suits the Eastern type culture of the Borderlands.

[@DEUS_VULT_INFIDEL]

Apparently Dragonmount is barring usage of the word woke, and reading posts prior to approval to ensure "appropriate tone" or whether it deserves disciplinary action. Suppose they think their users have had a bit too much to think.

[@donnieates]

As a lover of the books, with multiple read throughs, I despise this show. That said, I would be interested to know what the huge budget for this show got spent on. Where’s the Trolloc and Whitecloak armor? Fur suits and robes? Why does Loial look so ridiculous? Ive seen better attempts by E3 attendees. And to answer your question of why they made the men look like cowards; It serves their intent to further their real-world narrative that all the world’s problems can be laid at the feet of men.

[@atomicamerican7]

I watch WoT JUST so I can more fully enjoy shad's rants.

[@dargoz8]

Something i almost forgot about in the books, didn't Moraine give the kids a special tar volan coin that acted as a tracker?

[@beardybeardface]

yes. Rand and mat gave theirs to cap. domon so she tracks Perrin and eguane.

[@BillyBasd]

Yep sure does. Wtf did they drop that of all things? Doing so makes Moraine seem much less powerful. She has a mystique of being almost all powerful and all knowing in the books that is slowly chipped away through books 1-3. This show destroyed that mystique in the first episode

[@BillyBasd]

Yep sure does. Wtf did they drop that of all things? Doing so makes Moraine seem much less powerful. She has a mystique of being almost all powerful and all knowing in the books that is slowly chipped away through books 1-3. This show destroyed that mystique in the first episode

[@Sleepless4Life]

Yep! That was cut cuz it would take too much airtime from more important things.

[@dargoz8]

@@Sleepless4Life (in the drinker voice.) Like "The Message."

[@bahamutkaiser]

I didn't care much about their new plot line, but now that you raise how much they omitted for their fanfiction... That does annoy.

[@theupperechelon7634]

I think episode 5 clearly shows that we cannot trust anything Rafe says.

[@Sleepless4Life]

Or we can trust anything he's said. Cuz he was very out spoken before this show was filmed and were still shopping around for it to get picked up about his wokeness and what he'd like to change from the books. Now we see all on screen what's he's been preaching since he was assigned to project.

[@Mjolnir007]

They fridged two characters and use half of the episode to make Lan emotional - where Lan would be the last character we as book fans would like to see getting emotional. Because he is described as stoic, hard like Iron, tough as steel, strong, ready to leap into action, prowling like a predator and solid like a rock on every second page of the books at least once.

[@apollohateshisdayjob9606]

So, I had guessed at it, but another source confirmed that is a cultural funeral rite, and it comes from the actor the plays Lans nation. Basically, one who was close to the person that dies acts as a mourner to shoulder the grief of the others who present themselves as stoic by nature, expressing the emotion of the group. Basically they take on the burden of expressing the emotion for the group as a whole for a time, while the rest remain stoic. "Duty is heavy as a mountain, death as light as a feather" I did not like how much of the story was devoted to it, but because of how the brotherhood of warders are stoic by nature, I actually didn't mind this interpretation also tied to the actors culture, because it did seem a respectable way to show how Warders mourn.

[@frking100]

I'm OK with Lan showing more emotion but they went overboard. I would have been OK with lan mourning a brother who took his own life since this would resonate with a lot of veterans. But again they went to extreme emotion which you'd never see from lan.

[@apollohateshisdayjob9606]

@@frking100 again, culture thing where one 'carries the burden of the others grief' where they do over act emotionally as symbolic representation for the grief of all while the rest remain stoic. If he acts depressed at all next episode, I will agree with you, but this is from the culture of the actor that plays Lan, so I trust his interpretation of this. To be clear, that is All I'm forgiving of this episode, because that stoic culture's funeral rites seem fitting for Warders, Just would have been better if they had someone whisper an explanation to Nyneave or something so the audience understood that is not just him having an emotional breakdown from a comrade dying

[@loudsoup9185]

someone needs to make "Patron Saint Oz" with eyes that see truth, and feet that remain in the Based, in his right hand he holds a red pill, and in his left he holds his double edged axe of edginess; sharpened evermore by the beliefs of his enemies, etc.

[@gogroxandurrac]

1:30:20 they also catch him in a lie, or a very unconvincing truth. Borhald asks them what they're doing where they are, and they're in the middle of nowhere so it's a legitimate query, and Perrin mentions them coming via Aridhol (Shadar Logoth) from the Two Rivers and Borhald knows that Aridhol is not a name farmers would ever know.

[@johntoskas]

But if he named the city Shadar Logoth it would again a problem since only Aes Sedai use that name.

[@gogroxandurrac]

@@johntoskas Correct. Knowing what the creepy city is that kills everyone who enters is called is a sign that you're not a farmer. A farmer far from home.

[@donnieates]

“I do question how much you love the books if you are ok with all of these changes...” Looking at you Daniel Green 🤨

[@jonnygranville281]

I got to where I could not watch anymore Daniel Green. He refuses to critique in an honest way if it's WOT Amazon.

[@bishopthefool]

yeah, Daniel Greene is a shill and his videos are very disapointing

[@FJaypewpew]

@@poppag8281 rainbow guy

[@myaccountisntthisone]

@@poppag8281 KZbinr who supposedly is a massive fan of wheel of time and critical of good and bad writing who seems to have nothing negative to say about this series butchering the story he supposedly loves with horrid writing that destroys Jordan's masterfully crafted world with endless tweaks that undermine the immersion in Jordan's painstakingly realistic creation.

[@Briansgate]

46:26 Exactly. I watched another reviewer, and I left my opinion on how bad things are, and I was told that I probably hate the race changes. THEY brought race into it, not me, because THEY wanted it to be about me hating race. The thing is, I attack the show. They attacked ME. And apparently in this day and age, that's ok to do and get away with it, no problem.5

[@moma-b]

Shad says the warders are gay and Stepin was considering to change his sexual orientation. Meanwhile the show rather indicated bisexuality and Stepin and Lan were joking about sex between men. Stepin never considered changing his sexual orientation. Most probably those who thought you hate race changes were thinking exactly that way. It's so common. People do not pay attention to details and/or they are ignorant.

[@gokbay3057]

​@@moma-b I agree. To me it seemed pretty clear. Alanna's warders are bi and in a poly relationship with her, and Stepin is considering (or at the very least was offered) to become Alanna's warder as well. So he and Lan were just joking about it.

[@moma-b]

@@gokbay3057 Well, I would hope Shad was joking but it seemed pretty real to me that he had a total misinterpretation of all this and was triggered by it. 😐

[@Henbot]

Black characters don't ruin anything or downgrade it though

[@cpt.riptide473]

@@Henbot I don’t think many people have issues with black characters. The issue is when you change a pre-existing characters race for literally no reason. An example I have is with the new halo tv show that’s coming out. I’m hoping it’s good, but I’m already seeing some warning signs. One of them is that they’ve changed two white characters black. For no reason at all. These are two extremely important characters from the games and books too, I’d be a little more forgiving if it was some random background character, but it’s not

[@finrodbrs]

In my imagination, the "ageless face" of an Aes Sedai would look something like this: a woman has a face with no wrinkles or maybe very light smile/frown lines (depending on the person). She would look somewhere between 30 and 50 but you can never quite place her age exactly, and her face would ever so slightly glow or shine. I'm certain they could have pulled that off with makeup.

[@Carabas72]

What you are describing is using make-up to make actors look like bad CGI.

[@finrodbrs]

@@Carabas72 Not really. Just as an example, in Mrs. Doubtfire Robin Williams used makeup to convincingly make himself look like an old woman. In other works, I have seen actors convincingly de-aged or aged-up for various roles. Basically, you just use make up to hide/lessen heavy wrinkles and then make the skin a little bit glossy. To be fair, that's what I said I "imagined" the ageless face looked like. I can't remember if the books ever gave an in-depth description.

[@Carabas72]

@@finrodbrs Aes Sedai don't look older or younger. They look without age. That's not something that exists, and if you try to do that it'll go very uncanny valley.

[@donaldcatanzaro5318]

I always envisioned it as a good facelift. Bad facelifts look horrible but a good facelift can look amazing.

[@lionheart343LOL]

@@norcalbowhunter3264 The ones who got cut off are said to look younger because their appearance literally changes. They are said to look ageless not young, if they simply looked young then that's what RJ would of written. Its one thing you can't really blame amazon for not doing.

[@AegisAegus]

Thank you Shad. I feel so vindicated having watched this, because Episode 5 is what broke me from the series as well. I tried so hard to stomach the changes, the new interpretation and vision, but it was just too much. It hurts, but thank you for sharing that hurt with us.

[@mindartis4081]

Agreed

[@shanejarry1978]

In reference to Lan calling Tar Valon home: that was yet another switcheroo between Warder and Aes Sedai. Lan's home was destroyed and does not believe it can be reclaimed and spent next to no time at the tower. Moiraine spent years and years there training to be Aes Sedai. The line where she tells him her home is him and her horse and blah blah "Man Shit" should have been his. Lmao

[@deadskinrippers]

Moraine was VAGesplaining much😂

[@haku8135]

She studied there for SIX years, pissed off immediately to find the Dragon Reborn, and met Lan outside the Tower. She specifically has avoided the White Tower because she RAN AWAY because the Tower wanted to put her on Cairhien's Throne and she was like "Nope, not dealing with that shit, I got work to do." She was basically ordered by her leader to stay in the tower, and she ran away from the tower. She is NOT going back there unless she ABSOLUTELY has to. So in the almost 2 decades between her leaving and finding Rand, I'd be surprised if she went back to the Tower ONCE. So Lan seeing it as his home, assuming he's EVER even seen it before then, is just amazingly retarded. Like Lan doesn't like the Tower either, he DOESN'T LIKE AES SEDAI! He's only with Moiraine because of his personal investment with her, these morons needed to read New Spring.

[@shanejarry1978]

@@haku8135 that's a good point. She really did despise being there. I wasn't aware she was only there for 6 years studying though, hahaha. That makes this garbage even worse.

[@haku8135]

@@shanejarry1978 3 years as a novice, and 3 as an accepted. Siuane got there at the same time and was raised at the same time, within hours of each other. The only reason Siuane stayed at the tower was because the head of the Blue's information network got her hooks in her and wanted to train her to take over. She only manages to briefly get out to find Moiraine and warn her about something, then she had to go back and eventually becomes Amyrlin after like 10 years. Turns out, READING THE BOOKS IS VERY HELPFUL!

[@shanejarry1978]

@@haku8135 100% agree. New spring is the only one I haven't read yet, but that's mostly because I didn't even know the damn thing existed for the longest time. Haha

[@krissaunders6418]

One thing you missed in this discussion. The wolves are Deus ex Machina in the show. Where did they come from? In the book, they have been following the Whitecloaks because they captured Perrin.

[@edwardguest1404]

The soles have been following Perrin since before they met the tinkers?

[@krissaunders6418]

@@edwardguest1404 The wolves are a plot device. They show up to chase Perrin to the Tinkers then disappear until they attack the white cloaks. Unless I missed the howling in the background as Perrin and Egwene traveled with the tinkers.

[@aaxelc]

Couldn't agree more. And lets not even forget that they cut out ALL of why Loial joins the group... again all that taken out for more of Sad Warder!.... ugh.

[@moma-b]

First I was very annoyed by this crying warders scene too, but then I realized they made this as a ritual for a reason. Just like the totally stupid lamp floating ritual in the Two Rivers for Bel Tine was made only to explain the lore to the audience. They really force a lot of religious rituals into the show. :/ In the books some people didn't even believe in the Wheel. Imo this crying warders scene is most probably foreshadowing why Moiraine will release Lan's bond instead of passing it over (book version). So Lan will not feel the pain which is obviously important to Moiraine. This way they can shortcut Lan's story. Reasonable change, imo.

[@childrenoftolkien]

Thank God someone is being honest and not paid schills like the other review channels.

[@carterdahl9654]

Just because someone has a different opinion doesn't mean they're being paid

[@abigailslade3824]

@@carterdahl9654 true but for such Huge wheel of time fans it is certainly suspicious that they magically seem to ignore obvious flaws in the narrative.

[@tehmediasource]

@@carterdahl9654 when nearly other review is “there are a few changes but overall its wonderful” it really makes you wonder

[@dannicatzer305]

@@carterdahl9654 True, be I'm mighty suspicious of book reader reviewers who seem utterly oblivious to the huge changes in the characters and plot.. I've seen some say yeah this has strayed waaaay of the books the characters are unrecognizable but I still enjoy the show..

[@forsaken7976]

@@carterdahl9654 that’s true but most of the top 5 WoT channels are shills. Dusty Wheel, WoT Up, Naeblis, and the one with woman. You don’t get exclusive news and interviews without shilling. Not to mention is utterly obvious by just watching a couple videos

[@leewat3742]

29:30 start of best rant ever, a few seconds of calmishness explaining then right back into it. I nearly choked on my beer laughing..... Awesome.

[@Songfugel]

One second in, seeing Shad's pose and looked at the video duration... I broke down laughing out loud xDDD this is going to be epic! Men usually have more raw power, but yes, are less adept in using them in subtle ways, and most importantly, men can't link without women, which is a HUGE advantage the women have. Men and women are also not equally strong in the elements, the book makes blatantly clear men are far far stronger with fire and earth and women with wind and water. A huge role in the skill and power is actually personality and personal talents. Each channeller is unique, and has unique strengths, weaknesses and special skills/talents. About the power making objects, cuendillar is unbreakable material made during the Age of Legends * * * spoilers * * * Cuendillar isn't actually unbreakable Later on, they discover that the longer Aes Sedai live and the longer they use skills, even if their strength is weak, their skill and affinity can compensate WAY more than Aes Sedai think. Nynaeve and Elayne realize this when one extremely weak Kinswoman channeler is able to shield them both completely with almost no effort, by making the shield elastic and soft like a balloon expanding with the attempts to break it, instead of hard and brittle solid shield. This point is also taught to Rand by Lews Therin when he is in the box. The Aes Sedai have a huge army and garrisons of warders they are training at Tar Valon, they need them, because of the three oaths. Sadly, if white cloaks would decide to massacre the whole city, capture the tower and kill all the wardens, the Aes Sedai could do nothing against them, as long as the White Cloaks wouldn't threaten any Aes Sedai, and would just ignore them. So that is one reason, it is not unthinkable the white cloaks would be semi-hostile to them instead of full hostile, since they actually hate Aes Sedai because they DON'T think they serve the light and they think the three oats are a hoax. In the book series however, the white cloaks and Aes Sedai are not enemies, they might not like each other, and there is a constant tension between them, they are both huge powers in the World and are both serving the light. The main difference is, white cloak leadership don't actually be Aes Sedai do not need any gestures for weaving in the books, but they still do it and they think they are required, since that is how they they were thought, and aren't able to weave it without those gestures, if they learned that particular weave like that. Also, they aren't able to change how they do a weave after they have learned it, that is why the Wisdoms, Wave Mistresses, Damane and the Aes Sedai, have such different ways of doing even similar things, that Aes Sedai hand waving handicap being one of them. In Varen's storyline, this is explained in meticulous detail in the books, and she speculates, that unlearning and relearning the same weave in a different way, is the main reason Wilders are so frowned upon, and why Aes Sedai can actually identify the teacher of that particular Weave by the way the person casts it, since they way it was originally taught is stuck in their minds permanently. Egewene's super affinity with Earth as a women, is thus an even more notable feat, a feat that her former slaver keeps reminiscing fondly, thinking back on how she can't get over losing that one with the extremely rare and strong affinity with Earth If I remember correctly, Egewene's, Elayne's and Rand's ability to effortlessly wield multiple complex weaves simultaneously, was what gave them such huge power compared to others. Particularly Rand, who seemed to have no apparent limit to how many weaves and at what power he was unconsciously weaving without really understanding what he was even doing, but it was apparent, it was far beyond what anyone else could do, and he didn't even seem to realize there should have been a difficulty. Nynaeve's insane power level is due her affinity with Rand, all five elements, rage and most notably the absolutely ultra op SET of ter'angreal she wields. The most powerful one she receives from Rand (which was the 2nd most ter'angreal ever made) and the one she is given by Elaine from the king's vault hoard from Ebu Dar. The Chosen were extremely deprived of powerful ter'angreal, which gave the good guys such a huge edge. Also, her abilities seemed to grow significantly when she was angry, even after her block was removed, and like Rand, the complexity and amount of weaves she used during healing, while using all of the elements, made all other Aes Sedai always muted from shock, even Egewene noted she couldn't even see half of the weaves Nynaeve was using, let alone replicate them. Also, while Nynaeve had a very debilitating anger issue, and self-blocked source, in the books it was clearly mentioned, that if she saw a weave just a few times, she could instinctively repeat it almost identically. She does this against many opponents, suddenly turning their own stuff against them, and even does it to the Amyrlin seat herself in the beginning of the story. Rand and Elayne however, needed to see the weave only once, to be able to replicate it, an extremely powerful talent used constantly in the show * * * HUGE spoilers, seriously * * * Egeweine actually has the extremely rare talent of making cuendillar, linked to her mineral affinity Oh yeah, most of the white cloak leadership has been either infiltrated or are being manipulated by dark friends and worse, much worse. That is why many of their top level behaviour seems so irrational and evil at times, also why they have allowed some absolute mental cases to be raised into such high positions. However, the layman white cloaks genuinely think they are doing the lights work, and that they are the good guys. What Shad is alluding with Liandra is true, for her, they actually aren't doing a big disservice with their current portrayal, she actually was that horrible of a person, however, if they combine Elaida (the advisor to Morgaise and future Amyrlen) there will be huge huge huge problems, since Liandrin also happens to be a member of the Black Ajah, which means Aes Sedai dark friend who has removed the three oaths and replaced them with new ones for Shaitan. Elaida on the other hand is being played like a puppet by another member of the Black Ajah, but while she is a disgusting person, she absolutely is not a dark friend, and even covertly starts the hunt for the Black Ajah inside the tower. Liandrin also has many of the most critical roles in the plot to start up storylines that are absolutely crucial to the story! Also, both Liandrin and Elaida are physically tied to events happening at completely different parts of the World at their most crucial time later in the story. I am afraid, they haven't actually even read that far, and will just think those are two easy characters to combine. The books version of Loghain's shielding doesn't actually contain plot-holes. When you are already channeling, it is far harder to shield someone, especially if they are stronger, like Loghain was. Aes Sedai don't actually link as much that you'd think they'd do, since it means having to trust the other person, since you are giving them control of your power. The shield can be tied off, to become static, but it will be extremely easy to break out then. Rand, even when extremely weakened, rips through and stills several Aes Sedai shielding him, the instant their full focus went of the shield. The biggest reason is, Loghain's actions were supported and guided by the Red and Black Ajah, allowing him to evade capture and outmaneuver his opponents. This is clearly explained in the books after the rebellion happens

[@arthurvyrin3431]

love this! WoT was the first book i ever read. lol everyone thought i couldnt read until then. hate the show, the rage is funny thogh

[@trusttheuniverse9589]

Idk, the first book was kinda boring for me. Nothing overly major happened until the last few pages. The stuff your talking about would have bored non-book readers and turned away new viewers. The main plot points are there and will be touched on. The book can’t be transcribed 1:1 because it needs to relate to new viewers as well. I am loving the show and I love the books, I think a lot of what they are doing this season is purely set up for later seasons and story’s. they need to change stuff to introduce and visually show the lore and the heart of the series. As Sedia and there bond with awardees is an important part to introduce, did I think it went into ok long, yes. But I get episodes 5 importance and the changes why. I think most of the stuff the dude is getting made about are minor things. Idk I like the show. Entitled to their opinion but the story is being told for the medium and the time.

[@bartlettwesley]

Thank you for putting in the spoiler warning. Planning on reading all the books. On the first one right now . You're a Legend!

[@adeptronic]

I knew this show was woke trash as soon as I saw what they did to the Two Rivers. The people of the Two Rivers are racially homogenous white people with brown eyes and brown hair. If you wanted a culturally diverse area in late medieval/early renaissance period it needs to be a port city not a landlocked village. Even in a port city most of your diversity is going to be transitory, consisting of sailors and merchants who are in a foreign land to trade not to settle down.

[@trusttheuniverse9589]

@@adeptronic they are never referred to as white, always dark haired and dark eyed. it also shouldn't matter about the skin colour of characters. Each actor and actress so far on this show has been amazing and for me has embodied these characters. there's been skit shifting and braid pulling and little mannerisms I have read in the books shown in these actors portrayals. so at the end of the day they could be Blue for all I care, the acting and characterisations are there

[@spacezoo5079]

The problem with this episode wasn't their little end funeral ritual, it was that it wasn't earned

[@Springheel01]

The whole time I was watching it, I was thinking "why are we spending so much time on the death of a secondary character"? The main characters are teleporting around (what was that library Rand appeared in? How did that girl get out of the tower?) but we spend half an episode on a minor character we only met an episode ago?

[@steveroderick338]

Thank God I found these reviews. I thought I was going insane.

[@aaronbarnett9723]

If you notice, even the opening credits scene with the loom weaving and the Aes Sedai, there is no dragon symbology at all. The Wheel of Time series is supposed to center around the Dragon Reborn and the Dragon's importance, but it seems like the show runner is trying to make the Aes Sedai more important

[@TheSentry66]

Yep- Step committed seppuku rather than spend the rest of his life dodging broke back mountain warder sausages.

[@musashi.miyamoyo]

I think Shad loved it, hard to tell.

[@JewishFrog]

Yeeee the messages were rather unclear 🤔

[@shawnm1902]

He needs to tell us how he really feels

[@michaelavery5618]

He probably liked it as much as the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

[@michaelavery5618]

Which do not exist

[@ctarneson]

It was hard waiting for this one, looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks for posting.

[@airithon2219]

Here’s a fun comparison, wheel of time books = saidin, show= the taint, people making the show= the dark one and forsaken

[@Kale13000]

“Expect the worst, and you will never be disappointed” - a lot of wise people probably

[@vishnu79]

I have found, in my 44 years, that expecting the worst often means that when bad things DO happen, you are at least somewhat prepared (understanding that we are not clairvoyant, and thus will never be completely prepared) to deal with the situation when it DOES eventually arise. I have also found that expecting the worst often leads to pleasant surprises when the situation or event turns out better than expected, thus making my day a bit brighter than it was before.

[@TechnoMinarchist]

"Excepting for when your imagination of what is the worst ends up being exceeded by reality."

[@brakdanych4329]

saddly wheel of time in some aspect managed to vastly surpass by worst expectation

[@CharlesZane_]

That was Floki.

[@Halo_Legend]

Never say never - a lot of other people

[@joshuascott5814]

I suspect I will be just like Shad when Amazon puts out their Lord of the Rings show next year.