Since the final episode of Game Of Thrones aired in 2019, numerous magazines have been clamoring for the next big thing. Similar to the mid-2000s “next great LOST” mania, catching that elusive lightning in a bottle is the current fantasy fad.
While The Witcher was launched on Netflix and did an excellent job adapting both the book and game, forming a sort of Frankenstein’s monster of the two, rumors regarding The Wheel Of Time were constantly in the background for many genre fans. With the might of Amazon Studios and an eye-popping budget of $90 million, Robert Jordan’s fantasy epic was poised to shine brightly on the platform.
In 2004, Universal Studios intended to adapt The Wheel of Time into a film. Since then, this intellectual property hot potato has been passed between studios, eventually settling at Amazon as an eight-episode series.
At its finest, The Wheel Of Time faithfully portrays the magic and aesthetic splendor of fantasy worlds; distant regions appear both alluring and replete with legend. This first season, at its worst, makes Season 8 of Game of Thrones look like a masterpiece.
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The Wheel Of Time is generally satisfactory. It is neither appallingly awful nor exceptionally good. It’s a mute shrug among an otherwise vibrant crowd; a fantasy program that exists and accomplishes its aim of entertaining, but falls short of the cultural impact on the medium that many anticipated.
As someone who has read half of the first book and actively engaged with many avid book readers and fans of the genre, I can say that The Wheel Of Time essentially strips the essence of Robert Jordan’s novels and replaces it with generic fantasy fluff and large narrative, structural, and character changes that do nothing but harm the story.
Aside from worldbuilding, the finale is a textbook illustration of how not to write fantasy, and it is a very terrible way to cap an otherwise perfectly excellent season of entertainment.
This first season was certain to be compared to Lord of the Rings due to the structural similarities between The Eye of the World (Book 1) and Fellowship of the Ring. For this reason, some leeway can be shown about the primary narrative pull of this one.
At the center of this is the Dark One, a formidable force that threatens to envelop the world in darkness unless the Dragon Reborn — a prophetic magic user in a world ruled by Aes Sedai mages – can restore equilibrium and vanquish the shadows. Five young men and women, Mat, Rand, Perrin, Nyn, and Egwene, serve as our primary characters. One among them will become the Dragon Reborn. Which, then?
Moiraine, an Aes Sedai, travels to Two Rivers to recruit people for the arduous trek to the White Tower. This question serves as the series’ unifying theme.
The narrative pacing of The Wheel of Time leaves much to be desired. After tearing through the first chapter at a breakneck pace, the succeeding four episodes come to a standstill as they attempt to establish a connection with these individuals.
Nonetheless, new races, concepts, locales, and mythology are continually introduced. There is also a funeral for a character we’ve rarely interacted with, and the whole of that episode is devoted to mourning this stranger. There are some truly weird decisions made in this case.
While the images are beautiful and the costume is exquisite, the essential elements of this story, such as empathizing with characters, becoming invested in this universe, and experiencing genuine danger for these characters, are utterly absent. By the end of the first season, there is no reason to worry about Perrin, who has done nothing noteworthy throughout the entire season.
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Similarly, the series employs a last-minute deus ex machina method that not only undermines the preceding events but also eliminates the possibility of death. I’m attempting to avoid spoilers here, but it’s truly terrible.
Not to mention the problematic manner in which the season’s primary villains are handled. Trollocs and Fades are supposedly world-ending threats, but unskilled magic wielders easily dispatch them, wipe out their legions, and disregard their danger.
Nonetheless, an episode on either side of this chapter may depict one or two as sufficiently dangerous to wipe out an entire human army. This contradiction haunts all eight episodes of the drama, resulting in a terrible and unsatisfactory conclusion.
The Wheel Of Time is a 90-million-dollar endeavor that should have performed significantly better. If this had been a low-budget production like The Shannara Chronicles, the flaws may have been overlooked, but Wheel Of Time is a costly production that fails to climb above mediocrity.
Despite my major complaints, there is a lot to appreciate about this. The setting looks great, the acting is decent, and the tale takes you to a variety of locations. Occasionally, the pacing helps to gloss over some of the flaws, and binge-watching rather than dwelling on the events of one or two episodes does assist.
However, as we’ve seen with Foundation earlier this year, gorgeous visuals and a competent story aren’t enough to stand out among the many outstanding shows currently airing on television.
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The Wheel will continue to turn, and fanciful endeavors will come and go. The Wheel Of Time is not a show that will be sadly missed, but it will certainly generate excitement for a second season.
This hype will be generated primarily by fans eager to see if this series can repair the harm caused by its truly awful conclusion. A final episode that is somehow inferior to Season 8 of Game of Thrones? That is certainly difficult!
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FAQs
Why Does the Wheel of Time Appear Strange?
Strangely, The Wheel of Time’s creators and producers have given the show its own version of the soap opera effect, which makes everything appear too vivid and false. I do believe that without this effect, the elaborate sets and costumes would not have been as effective.
What is the Source of the Wheel of Time Controversy?
Numerous individuals have stated that the Wheel of Time’s age determination was an error. The greatest issue is that the journeys of the main protagonists will not be plausible, as adult persons cannot be as naive as the youngsters who abandon their home in Two Rivers with an army of Trollocs in pursuit.