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Reviews
The Wheel of Time: Strangers and Friends (2023)
Keep the essence while making the characters more real
Episode 202 was solid. I enjoyed Elayne's and Selene's introductions the most. Book Elayne can sometimes be annoying, and I was pleased with her portrayal. Somehow, even though she repeats she is the daughter heir a couple of times and calls Egwene her subject, the way Elayne took having her luxuries away and accepting the punishment was great to make it clear that she is more than meet the eyes and not an out-of-touch princess.
I also enjoyed show Selene more. While I'm glad most people I spoke to about the show agree she is not to be trusted, the show's version is excellent mainly because Selene is out of the bat, more believable, mature, and interesting than in the damsel in distress stereotype she is in books.
In conclusion, both characters are in a way upgrades from their book versions while still recognizable and familiar. I can't wait to see more of their story in the show.
The Wheel of Time: A Taste of Solitude (2023)
Terrific episode to restore hope in the series
After the bit of a mess that was episode 108, it was reassuring to be back in the Westlands and see that the producers and the showrunner have made significant improvements on almost every aspect and every complaint about the show. The show's pacing, VFX, costumes, and dialogue are better than in season 1, and the acting continues to be fantastic. Also, a big complaint I had last season was the perceived size of The White Tower. This season, it feels larger in scale, more lived in, more majestic -- and every place we saw was like that.
The first episode did an excellent job immersing us into the world and updating us on where friends are without unnecessary explanation or wasted time and was so engaging that I only realized Rand's (my favorite character) absence later. I suspect that is because while Rand is arguably the main character, book readers (and Padan Fain) know the story in truth requires an ensemble cast because they all play a role.
Now that there is no mystery of who the dragon reborn is, each of the characters start shining for who they are, and this episode gave me hope that is/will be the case going forward; particularly for Perrin whose character development suffered from last season's mystery.
The Wheel of Time: What Might Be (2023)
An engrossing episode
This episode is fantastic. It had moments when I gasped, laughed, jumped out of my seat, and went, "Wait, what? What happened?"
It was so good that I wanted to watch it again after a few hours. By itself a compliment because I don't rewatch (or reread) most shows. Still, Wheel of Time can do that to you. It can potentially be your "comfort" type of show, not because it's rainbows and flowers but because it truly transports you to the Westlands (or Randland, as fans would affectionately say).
This episode certainly isn't all flowers -it has a shocking moment that I wasn't expecting (even as a book reader), but it was on point to start on the right foot and show the Seanchan are terrifying. They gave me nightmares with the books, and might give me nightmares with the show.