La Rueda del Tiempo

I never read the books for The Wheels of Time so I had no idea what to expect but I have to say that I've truly enjoyed it so far. This show hooked me from the first episode and held my attention to the last. I binged the first two seasons in less than a week and was still hoping for more episodes when I was done so I'm glad season 3 is finally here. It seems like some of the people who read the books didn't like it as much but as long as you try not to compare it to the book and just enjoy it for what it is...and that's an entertaining fantasy series. The series should be judged on its own and not compared to the book. I'm not saying it's the best show I've ever seen but it's definitely worth watching. The world building and cast are the best things about the show and I can't wait for more.

There are a lot of people reviewing this series that say they haven't read the books. That's probably a good thing for them, as it seems that the writers of the series haven't read the books either. Just in the first couple of episodes, I found myself saying, "This didn't happen in the books!" Characters are mis-represented, given different backgrounds, follow story lines completely out of sync with the books, etc. This might make sense if they were making a 3 hour movie, or even trying to fit the massive books into a short mini-series, but to completely re-write an otherwise fantastic story with just enough similarities to produce a true series and call it by the same name is ridiculous.

Some of the changes were likely to "modernize" a story that was written only 30 years, and to appeal to a broader fan base, but those were trivial changes - sex between characters and a bit of a nod to the LGBTQ community, with no hint of either in the books, for example. Other changes were shocking in their complete disregard for the story the show is based on.

The scenery is well done, and the acting has been fine so far, if not a little dull at times. The action scenes have been done quite well for a small-screen production. It is honestly hard though to get past the substantial changes to the storyline itself. I plan to continue watching - now that I've seen the first season, I feel like I need to see where the de-railed train ends up. Will it survive the changes enough to hold any similarities to the ongoing story, or will it crash and burn and go up in a fiery pile of ashes?

Waited until last episode to review, if you have read the books this show will be painful to watch. Might be mildly enjoyable if you haven't read them but you'll probably be confused as they cram a lot of details in without fully explaining. They've taken the world and characters and then pretty much just made up a story. You get characters that never existed, storylines that never happened, completely made up dialogue. When you have 4.4 million words of quality source material you might try using some of it? Cinematography is top notch with some beautiful landscapes, but special effects look like early 2000's. Cast is okay, some strong performances and some weak ones. Unfortunately actor playing Matt had to leave the show, he was one of the highlights. Perrin is almost unwatchable.

The Wheel of Time is one of those rare shows where every season gets better and better. It's a show where you can't be playing on your phone, cooking dinner or doing something else, it requires your undivided attention. It's a show that never gets stale. I can't remember ever being bored, even for one episode. I loved every second of every episode and I think you will to if you give it a chance. The entire cast has been fantastic. With season 3 coming out I just rewatched the first two seasons from beginning to end. I saw that it's already been renewed for a fourth season and I'm sure it'll be just as good as the first three.

The acting is actually very good but they can only do so much when the writing is aweful.

Some of the story changes are understandable, but most times the changes are nearly incomprehensible don't seem to serve a purpose. Additionally, there are a couple of moments that the writers make very poor story choices resulting in at least one instance of using the sin of "Deus Ex Machina" to escape their own story traps. This is lazy writing at its worst.

There are also fundamental changes to the main and side characters along with fundamental changes in relationships between people and organizations. This is another major writing sin and seriously jeopardizes eliminating or watering down both major and minor themes of the original story. Inexcusable.

There are other issues with poor site locations. A good example of this is picking a river next to a cliff to represent a part of a river delta for the largest river in the world. REALLY?

I gutted this season out and watched every episode from beginning to end so I could give the show an honest shot and not be one of tgose people that posts an opinion based on ignorance.

Season 1 did have a few moments that were at least decent, but not enough to make up for the rest of its considerable flaws and sins, therefore, I will NOT be watching season 2.