The Wheel of Time TV Show: My Thoughts…
Well, I've watched the first two episodes of Amazon Prime's new The Wheel of Time series. And, given my love of the series and my thoughts on the importance of change in book-to-film adaptations, I thought I should give my opinion.
Which comes in with a resounding... meh.
What showrunner Rafe Judkins has given us isn't bad. I can't say I disliked the show. I just didn't like it, either. I think this comes down to my feelings about a lot of his creative decisions, most of which I don't agree with.
So, having spent a couple of days thinking it over, I have broken down my thoughts into what I thought was really good and what left me feeling decidedly underwhelmed.
(And then, as a bonus, I'll also tell you which two elements literally had me yelling at the TV in anger.)
The Good
The one thing I loved about the show, and have done with each production or publicity photo, is the look they have gone for.
Now, that doesn't mean I think it looks "right". We all have ideas in our heads about what things look like in our favourite books. And almost none of the elements of the show look like what's in my head when I read the books. But I still love them. Judkins and his design team had settled on a look and gone with it, and I think it works. For the most part.
What I particularly like is how they've avoided a lot of the standard tropes of what "fantasy" looks like. From the multicultural casting - which fits the world's backstory perfectly - to the clothing, the show doesn't look like any other epic fantasy show. No one is going to get confused between this and Game of Thrones.
The Middling
Okay, so that was the Good. But with my review amounting to "Meh", what exactly is it that left me feeling this way?
Let me start off by saying I believe that the adaptation of a novel requires change. You can't simply film the action as it is on the page. Literature and Film are two different mediums, and what works for one will not necessarily work for the other. For example, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films are perfect adaptations of the books because they make so many changes; changes that make the story work on film without losing anything from the spirit of the original.
I say this to clarify that I'm not one of those people complaining the TV Show is not a perfect copy of the books. I'm fine with the idea of Rand and Egwene... let's say being a lot closer than they are in the book. It's a way to get their relationship across without being inside their heads like you are in the book. And I don't mind Moiraine considering Egwene as one of the options for the Dragon Reborn, as the original series will have a lot of gender divide issues to address along the way.
However, most of the changes they have made simply don't work for me. I had no problem with t But Matt having a broken family adds nothing to his character. Nor does Perrin having a wife. These changes add nothing. The only reason I can see for them is an attempt to give them both sympathy from the audience that they don't need.
I also didn't see the point in showing the Trolloc attack on the town. It's too much too soon. The way the book does it, showing the smaller attack on Rand's farm, is a much more interesting way of seeing the action unfold. It also would have allowed us to get to know Rand a bit more, rather than throwing all the characters in at once.
I can see the direction Rafe Judkins is taking, and I don't necessarily think he's wrong per se. It's just that, for me, what they've done is take away the soul and depth of the original story, leaving not so much with "I don't like this" as "I don't know why I should bother watching."
The Bad
Oh yes, the Bad. While mostly I was left unengaged with the show, two points literally had me either yelling at the scream or laughing at it.
Firstly, the unnecessary Fridging of Laila.
So you're all aware, there is no Laila in the original book. Perrin is not married. Therefore he had no wife to be Fridged. Robert Jordan had issues with women in his writing, but he was better than this.
Not counting that Perrin and Faile are my favourite couple from the series, and not counting that giving Perrin this storyline adds nothing to his characters, the fact that this is 2021 and they are adding female characters just to Fridge them is absolutely ridiculous.
Dear Rafe Judkins, you didn't need to kill a woman to make Perrin sympathetic. Yours sincerely, the entire world.
Secondly, the Trollocs.
Oh, dear lord, the Trollocs.
I can't find a definitive budget for the show, but reports are something in the ballpark of $10 million per episode. Amazon Prime is reportedly pouring money into this and their upcoming Lord of the Rings show to drive up their subscriptions with prestige television.
So why do the Trollocs look like they wouldn't have looked out of place in an episode of Buffy or Charmed? I'm sorry, but it was very hard to feel any kind of threat for the characters when all I could do every time I saw a Trolloc was laugh.
I tried to find am official production image of the Trollocs to share here, but I can’t find any. I think that says enough about the marketing team’s thoughts on how the look.
So there you have it. Three episodes were released on the first day, and by the end of the second, I knew I wouldn't be watching the rest.
But, as I said, I'd be very curious to hear feedback from anyone who has come to this show without having read the books. I think there is definitely something here, and I have a feeling showrunner Rafe Judkins may have been a lot smarter in his adaptation than I anticipated. I'll still be paying attention to the show as it continues, just to see what he ends up doing with it.
So, go and watch he show. You may love it. Or you may feel as ambivalent as I do. I'd like to know either way.
