I’ve read the books a couple of times. Enjoy the first half of them a lot.
The changes don’t bother me in and of themselves, as tv is a different medium to a book, so the show is a separate thing to the novels in my mind.
What has started to really bug me by the end of ep 5 is that it is becoming apparent that every change is going to push it towards misery and torment and then wallow in it. Maybe throw some slow motion at it - which is a bugbear of mine. Like many a show taking the wrong lessons from the success of GoT. Do they forget that GoT was immensely funny and enjoyable when it wasn’t breaking your heart?
E5 was a bit of a slow episode, every show has such an episode or two in a season so not really complaining too much, but definitely a step down compared to the previous episodes.
I think the point of that episode was to highlight the closeness between Warders and the Aes Sedai that they’re bonded to and the bleakness that happens to them when they lose their Aes Sedai. This is something that’s explained in the books.
The show is also bringing the Edmond’s Fielders together again to setup for the season finale, when the Dragon Reborn will finally be revealed.
There’s actually a few key characters introduced in the first book that look to have been moved to Season 2. I think that’s a good idea in the sense that the cast is already quite big in this season.
EDIT - spoilers
Mention was also made in the episode about the Forsaken, who I’m sure will be there in the season finale. They also briefly showed Padan Fain during the parade of Logain, hopefully he will continue to have as important a role in the show as he did in the books.
I didn’t see the second appearance, only read about it on a Facebook group.
I have a feeling they will drop the whole Mordeth part with Fain (since they didn’t show it with Mat) and just have Fain as a specially chosen Darkfriend to hunt them.
It’s extraordinarily difficult on every level . Not least because in my mind Tolkien’s shadow is cast long over the entire genre and I’ve no idea if Jordan made attempts to get away from it. There certainly feels like a lot of Tolkien in the way that it’s shot. That’s on me though, my preconceived ideas that I’m battling.
Basically, I’m struggling to work out what’s actually going on, let alone form theories on various characters. I can’t even recall who some are, lol. There’s too much that I don’t understand. And it irked me that Child Valda seemed to be operating with impunity within sight of the White Tower and his apparently most bitterest - and powerful - of foes. He’s chopping off hands and collecting Aes Sedai rings like a puritanical Cromwell and they’re just sitting around?! Wtf ?
I’m starting to think I need the back stories here and it may actually remove me from the show. I struggle to immerse myself in stuff I don’t understand.
The Children of the Light are canonically a very interesting antagonist during the series. You probably picked up that men that can channel are driven mad by the Dark One’s corruption of their half of the Power.
The Children’s (Whitecloaks) belief is that essentially anyone that can channel is a friend of the Dark One, including Aes Sedai. They are kind of a pseudo Spanish Inquisition in that sense because politically they are extremely powerful.
Important to note that Aes Sedai are not any sort of head of governance and are viewed with disdain, hate and fear for a large portion of the continent. The show doesn’t do a good job of communicating that though; think of the White Tower as similar to the Vatican.
You probably don’t need the backstory outside of snippets here and there, it definitely helps though if you’re a bit of a lore fiend
The Children of Light operating with, as you rightly say, “impunity within sight of the White Tower” is not what should be happening but seems a byproduct of where they need those characters to be a few minutes of screen time later. Definitely one victim of the adaption @saladin
doesnt ??Bornhald?? have camps at the bridges to the city until he has to move his troops to Falme. may be getting myself confused but they at least have it blocked at some point.
Yes, the first book is very Tolkienesque in how the story goes, where the main characters start in a small village and have to escape from evil monsters chasing them, and there is a world saving destiny for one of them and having to travel to a far-off land to achieve that… etc etc.
But Jordan does get away from it in Book 2 onwards and he actually creates a very different and detailed world, which is perhaps the strong point of the book series. I also expect the show to get even better once it starts adapting Book 2 onwards.
The Aes Sedai are certainly treated with a high level of fear by the general populace but they also have been involved in ending wars and getting treaties in place.
I disagree with the idea that they are treated with disdain (except by Nynaeve and the Whitecloaks).
I think that character could make an appearance as it would be way to deliver exposition about a rather confusing concept. Similar to the book, appear, explain the ideas to the reader, leave. It’ll take valuable screen minutes, but I think it’s needed.
