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Reviews
The Wheel of Time: Daes Dae'Mar (2023)
It was going so well...
** Contains mild book spoilers for books 3 up until 6**
This episode was competent, although perhaps not as much so as the previous 2 episodes. There is a good flow to the story, and a consistency that means this episode will be well received by non-book readers.
However, it runs into problems as an adaptation. I am well aware that it isn't a 1 to 1 or even close (new turning of the wheel or whatever) and I have tried to be fair to the show in isolation from the books (I would have considered episodes 1 through 6 to be a collective 7/10), and until now this has worked and I've enjoyed the episodes. Unfortunately this episode presented a major change that could have catastrophic knock-on effects on the rest of the show.
First, the good. The Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene arcs have been very well portrayed, as has the Perrin and Aviendha et al. Arc. Mat's struggles have been well presented, and as long as the writers don't take him in the direction of being darkfriend this arc is well done.
The big issue with this episode in relation to the overall story is Siuan's decision to imprison Rand in Cairhien. This has come much too soon, and the wrong person is the driving force behind it. Furthermore, this could affect events in future seasons enough to require extensive re-writes of some of the best events in the entire book series. I know that most book readers have made their peace with the show direction and that the improved story telling means the non-book readers won't care, but I just wanted to give my thoughts.
I am intrigued to find out how this season ends, and to anyone who has been enjoying it and doesn't care about book this or that, I am happy you are enjoying it.
The Wheel of Time: Damane (2023)
Doing reasonably well so far
This season so far has all the things season 1 was supposed to have but didn't: gravity, high stakes, and focus. The character interactions and scene setting has been much improved barring a couple of minor quibbles. This episode was the best in terms of engagement (in my opinion), and I find myself invested in the story despite my misgivings going into this season. However, this episode dropped a real clanger with the flight of Nynaeve and. Elayne from the Seanchan. In The Great Hunt, the reason Nynaeve and Elayne got away is because Nynaeve was angry enough to channel very aggressively, enough to fight off her Seanchan equivalents. In this episode, they just.... ran way? And the Seanchan let them? This paints the Seanchan as incompetent which was one thing they were not in the books. This was a big disappointment to me as I otherwise found the episode very enjoyable, especially the amount of menace that Suroth exudes in every scene.
The Witcher: The Art of the Illusion (2023)
Too much retro-fitted exposition
This season has really struggled so far with holding my attention, mostly because it seems focused on retconning some of the major plot points from season 2, and therefore requires plenty of exposition that shouldn't have been needed.
It goes back to not overcomplicating the story from the books; if Blood of Elves had been adapted more faithfully, there wouldn't have been any "Yennefer tries to kidnap Ciri to get her magic back" arc, or "the elves are our allies but lets kill their kid" arc. This would have made the need for the current exposition much less, and the story in season 3 could have been progressing in a much more engaging manner.
As a counterpoint, Time of Contempt (the main source for season 3) was quite boring anyway so maybe it wouldn't have been possible for this season to be engaging - it's a pity that Cavill is going before arguably the best out of the opening 5 books in the series gets adapted.
House of the Dragon: The Lord of the Tides (2022)
Aemond is awesome
Not so sure about the aging up of Aegon though. He looks shorter to me, and has an uncanny resemblance to Gerard Way. But at least now we get a (potential) antagonist with a punchable face.
Props to Paddy Consadine, his Viserys portrayal is awesome, and I'll miss him. I won't go so far as to say he has carried this show, as all of the actors have been good, but as the only real constant (due to the time jumps and character aging ups etc.) he has been the glue that held the story together and kept me coming back for more.
Hopefully the time jumps are over now, as those were the only real detraction from what has been quite good tv. I'm especially looking forward to the mischief Aemond gets up to.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Great Wave (2022)
Schadenfreude
Dear Miriel,
Thank you for putting Galadriel in her place.
Kind regards,
Real Tolkien fans.
At least this episode didn't have the Harfoots. The Adar angle was interesting, and Theo's avoiding the orcs was genuinely hair raising (not so keen on Orcs speaking in English when not conversing with humans or elves though, surely they have their own language?). Bronwyn being in her position I do not believe at all, but I guess those humans are all aimless so whatever. And Galadriel was doing Galadriel things again. At least she finally showed some humility in Miriel's fathers' chambers. Khazad-dum looked good again too (especially the new metal angle), though Elrond is a bit odd.
Numenor looked good as always, though Miriel going with Galadriel and the ship is a recipe for Pharazon to take over, and should begin the decadence that leads to Numenor getting destroyed (finally got something right Amazon).
Overall, best episode so far but that isn't saying much. The lack of Harfoots working here shows the mistake of having them in the first place.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Elves were a disappointment
There has been a lot of discourse over the last week or so since the first episodes dropped, with bad faith arguments from both sides.
As one reviewer I watched said, a good film/tv show is a different prospect from a good adaptation (his example was The Shining). Therefore I will try to comment on the show on its own merits before getting into any lore. I will also be the first to admit that I am no expert, but I do know enough to notice some interesting choices.
Firstly, it is hard to really root for any of the characters in this series. The lead character (Galadriel) is unlikeable. It is fine to have unlikeable characters, but one needs something to feel invested in their story, and it is hard to find anything for Galadriel. She talks and acts like she's better than everyone, and she's right. Unfortunately, none of this is shown at all; she comes off as annoying, overly arrogant, and without the ability to be grateful for anything, and there is no good reason for any of it. Secondly, the elves don't look much like elves (a minor complaint as my personal imagination may not be accurate), and they don't act like elves either. They're just humans with pointy ears, there is literally nothing else to distinguish them. Thirdly, the Harfoots seem completely unnecessary to the story other than to introduce us to The Stranger (probably Gandalf). Lastly, while the dwarves were entertaining at times, their storyline feels a little bit flat.
In terms of positives, Numenor looked fantastic, and the Numenoreans themselves were a breath of fresh air because they were so disconnected from events in episodes 1 and 2 and so were able to call Galadriel on her bulls*** without her being able to do anything about it. The show in general looks fantastic, and the score is pretty good.
For my concluding thoughts, the dialogue didn't fit with what I had expected, and the lore (to my limited knowledge) was basically ignored. Characters doing things they weren't supposed to, entire races acting differently to the authors vision, and a tonal inconsistency that bugs the hell out of me. The show seems to veer between being for all ages and for older viewers, and it needs to make its mind up, or risk alienating people who haven't already been alienated. With the budget Amazon have, I am unsure if Amazon be able to continue to make this show once the viewership inevitably drops off when people like me who are just losing interest stop watching.
Invincible (2021)
Is that you Grog?
I had episode 1 spoiled for me, but the conclusion was still a shock (and I still had no idea why it had happened). Learning over the course of the season was an experience. I do like how people figured it out over time, because it wasn't exactly a masterful plan in terms of keeping the culprit a secret.
Regarding the rest of the story, the characters all felt real and relatable (even Amber, who was a bit preachy at times). The high school drama stuff wasn't to my taste but that shows my age rather than the quality of the storytelling. The heroes were cool, the villains were cool, the demon detective was cool, and the sinking feeling once it all came into the open was well done.
Finally, looks like they pinched Grog from Legend of Vox Machina as the blue hulk twins, which cracked me up.
The Boys: The Instant White-Hot Wild (2022)
Enjoyable, but concerned for next season
Overall this was an enjoyable episode, with Butcher helping out Homelander to protect Ryan being the standout for me. However, nothing seems to have been resolved from last season. Soldier Boy seems like he was a distraction; Neumann's story was more or less shelved especially considering the reveal to Hughie was in episode 1, Homelander (while shown to not be invincible) is still his unstable self, and The Boys still have much the same targets. I can see next season bringing out even more visible violence from Homelander and his crowd of followers growing bigger in an attempt to bring the Capitol Riots into the story, which could be done meaningfully but would be tricky to approach well. Hopefully the show can continue to deliver no matter what direction it goes.
The Last Kingdom: Episode #5.10 (2022)
Uhtred you dirty dog
Wow. Phenomenal ending to the show. Uhtred being a thorn in Albert The Great's side once again, typical. The journey also showed immense growth in Uhtred, from a greedy and vengeful nobleman without lands to someone who genuinely cared about the fate of people not his own. No longer shall he wander.
The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World (2021)
Ending clearer, but show direction muddy
This episode cleared up the ending when compared to the book. A certain event by a certain someone now makes some sense (for book readers), though it will take until next season for non book readers to understand it fully.
However, yet again I believe the changes from the book go too far. It's okay to change some events for screen adaptations, and some changes are fine, but some are completely unnecessary. Changing the location of the Horn of Valere is okay. Placing the untainted male Power into a device rather than the Eye of the World itself is something I don't enjoy, but I can live with. Changing how the Trollocs at Tarwin's Gap get defeated from Rand doing some weird sky battles to Egwene, Nynaeve, and some random channellers? Not so okay. It's like this show has gone all out to elevate the women who already are far more prominent in the books compared with many other series' at the expense of important male characters, just because the women (other than Moiraine) don't get said prominent roles until later. And speaking of Moiraine, stilling her is a slap in the face (don't even get me started on Padan Fain stabbing Loial). Plenty of stillings and plenty of stabbings to come, I promise you.
Ultimately, the changes are what are grinding my gears and reduce this show from what it could have been with a little more book faithfulness to a rather average story with too much modern cultural involvement, from the language being modified to snarky feminist lines to the point I made in the previous paragraph. Stick a bit closer to the books would be my advice for the future, because the planning of the book series is very well done and has a satisfying conclusion, which is currently in the process of being trashed in this show in my opinion. Overall, this season gets a 6/10 from me.
The Wheel of Time: The Dark Along the Ways (2021)
This is more flaming like it!
But we only saw Uno for about 5 seconds sadly. No mind, this episode is brilliant! It is a little bit slow in the middle but the soul of the story feels more alive than in any other episode, and the beginning in particular was spectacular. Everything is leading nicely toward the closer, and I am bloody excited for it.
The Wheel of Time: The Flame of Tar Valon (2021)
The Critics were Right
After pre-release viewings, one thing the critics seemed to agree upon is that The Wheel of Time got really good at this juncture, episode 6. After viewing the episode myself, I 100% agree. It is definitely the best episode so far, and drawing from both the first and second books it portrays events seamlessly.
I am not the biggest fan of some portrayals but ultimately the story is what matters to me, and this episode fits the bill. For me what drags my rating down to 8 stars are 2 (maybe 3) events differing from the books that will (and already have) not insignificantly alter(ed) the story. Call me a purist with no soul all you like, but my opinion is that changes aren't always good, and changing a story later on to fit earlier changes is a tricky business to get right. I hope they can get it right, but for now I'm on the fence.
The Wheel of Time: Blood Calls Blood (2021)
Blood and Ashes!
I think I've come to terms with this not being a particularly faithful adaptation of the books, for better or worse, and this was probably the best episode so far.
I was pleased to finally get some actual in world lingo (rather than this modern cursing which brings me out of the world), and I can understand cutting out Caemlyn in favour of Tar Valon given that "all roads lead to Tar Valon" and it really was a bit surprising that the first book didn't take us there. Having said that, I do wonder how certain events will be explained with the changes that exist.
Ewgene and Perrin with the Whitecloaks was much more foreboding than in the book, and I'm all for that. What is poorly explained is how they ended up there. There is no Perrin killing two of them in a rage, I guess that has been replaced by Laila (RIP). It is well established that Aes Sedai are obvious visually unless they disguise themselves so Egwene really should not have aroused Valda's suspicions but whatever. Mat and Rand meeting Loial would have been great, and they certainly captured Loial's attitude, but c'mon producers CGI exists for a reason, Loial should have been taller.
As for Moiraine, Lan, and poor Stepin, that sequence was well done, and it did add something to the story. However, given the problem of cutting a lot of material to make into a tv series, adding a lot of stuff is a strange decision.
Finally, I am interested to see how they portray the flight of the Emond's Field 5. Obviously it will be Liandrin after them, but this is where I get confused. The book establishes that more than just Moiraine can tell a ta'veren or otherwise important person, so if there are multitudes of Aes Sedai after them (and if there are not I call bs especially in a city full of them), how are they going to escape?
Ah well, that's for another week. I just hope there is a flight, it worked really well in the books and it would be a shame not to include it here. Decent effort all up.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
The future of this show will be interesting
The Wheel of Time suffers from pacing issues, and my opinion is that they don't represent the tone of the book at all. Aside from that, it's an okay beginning.
I wasn't happy at all with many changes when I watched it, but having reflected somewhat over the last couple of days I have come to an understanding that most of the changes, while not the ones I would have made, are neither here nor there in the short term at least. The obvious examples of changes that don't work short term are Perrin being married then killing his wife and Mat having bad parents. These changes will have an impact down the line that I will be intrigued to see done, because it will take a lot of creativity to do so. The only changes I think are good are Egwene as ta'veren, and the women's clothing not being all divided skirts (a major bugbear of mine and many others from the books).
There are, however, a lot of small things that have a cumulative effect on the worldbuilding. Worldbuilding isn't just scenery and setting, it is also culture and dress, language and hierarchy etc., and a lot of the changes to this were quite jarring. The cursing used is too modern (where is Woolhead, Blood and Ashes etc.), and I don't think any Whitecloak was ever sensible enough to suggest seeing an Aes Sedai. The change in the social structure of Emond's field works but isn't justified in my opinion. These are just examples, there are many more things that can be found.
However, I have decided to just take the rest of the series for what it is an not nitpick too much. Overall I give it 7/10 for story, 6/10 for pacing, 6/10 for scenery, and 4/10 for culture.
Foundation (2021)
Fantastic premise, confusing plot
I have not read the source material, so I don't have the issues it seems some others have. Having said that, I can't but help being a bit confused at some events. The premise is fantastic, but the rules are not always properly explained, and events seem to be a bit rushed, which is surprising considering how slow it has been overall. I am cautiously optimistic that events will resolve into something more cohesive, so I do recommend this, but perhaps go into it with a little bit of suspension of belief to enjoy it.