I admit, I am a newb when it comes to the world that Robert Jordan created in his 'The Wheel of Time' series. I have always been a huge fantasy nerd but hadn't really delved into many adult series other than 'Lord of the Rings' and Sanderson novels before attempting to pick up 'The Eye of the World'. It's fair to say that I struggled through the first couple of books. I couldn't connect with many of the characters and very annoyed at some of the women portrayals. I did end up getting through the first eight books and really started to like the worldbuilding and magic system. I have been told that I am in the "middle of the slog" but I definitely plan on continuing to finish the series.
I was excited, to say the least, when I heard there was going to be an adaptation of the series. Not only is Rosamund Pike playing one of the main characters (and she kills it in just about every role I've seen her in), but I would get to see another fantasy world come to life. I'm not one of those readers that likes to nitpick every single detail and tear apart things that don't perfectly match with the book. I may not like certain aspects of an adaptation, but I still end up enjoying them for the most part.
These first four episodes I really liked. I found the main cast very true to their characters in the book, and in Nynaeve's case, I actually liked more. I thought her character in, from what I've read so far, to be quite annoying and there was far too much "hair twirling" for my liking. In the show Zoe Robins does a fantastic job of portraying Nynaeve's strength and protective nature.
My favorite portrayal is Barney Harris' Mat Cauthon. He does an amazing job with both the humor and sneakiness and thoroughly embodies the character. Sadly, he won't be returning to the role and while the next actor does have big shoes to fill, I hope he does just as good of a job.
Now there will be mild spoilers in this next part, but I thought the fact that the show runners decided to give Perrin a wife only to fridge her in the very first episode was such an unnecessary change. They are really driving home the hammer vs the axe thing.
Episode four was probably my favorite so far. The Logain storyline was amazing, but maybe a bit too rushed. But given that there are only eight episodes in this first season, I'm not mad about it because it showed how serious The Dragon Reborn is to the Aes Sadai. Episode three was my second favorite simply because of the Mat and Rand arc.
I am loving the world-building that the show is doing. I think it is an accurate portrayal of the largeness of this world and it truly does feel real. I think my favorite "villain" portrayal are the Whitecloaks, and in particular, Eamon. Abdul Salis makes this character feel incredibly dangerous and menacing. Bravo for this portrayal.
I know some people have issues with the costuming in this show, but I always have trouble visualizing clothes while reading so I'm usually happy with any costume as long as it looks well made. So far, I am going to be giving this series a solid A. I love when there are fantasy and sci-fi adaptations and I am so glad that others seem to be enjoying them as well. I hope we get plenty more and I really can't wait to continue with the episodes as they are released weekly.
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