This is how I will be releasing my longer reviews from now on. Especially for shows that have multiple storylines. I'll release a "stitched together" version of the whole episode shortly after that episode's final character arc video. This will hopefully allow me to increase my publishing frequency and please the algorithm. I hope folks are okay with that. I'm still learning, and I'll revert back to the old way if it doesn't help the channel. 😬
Were this a better adaptation I'd understand removing Galad but not Gawyn - he's too important. I don't even care to speculate how they'll fill in the holes because this show has lost the plot.
Nynaeve and her block is a wonderful story arc that lasts for multiple books and has a fantastic payoff which ties into one of the great themes of the Wheel of Time. This show forgot she even had a block in Season 1, introduced it in Season 2, and just ignored it in this episode, only to remember it for the finale, so she has to push an arrow through Elayne's knee with the FLETCHING STILL ATTACHED.
Its actually an abomination. I understand lots of people dont enjoy or understand Nyneaves character in the books. And i dont make excuses for her. But for me she gets so mad all the time because she cares so so much!! She holds herself to such a high standard, she just wants eveyone to be good. They lhaso leave out the reputation the one power and aes sedia have in the world which is why, with wanting to be the best she can to help as many people as she can, she chose to block out that prt of her. But her power is always there for her when she feels the most hopeless and angry at her shortcomings. So it's a difficult thing for her to reconcile in her own mind. Also Nyneave is not a surrenderer. She's a fight kick punch spit right till the end type of person so her power also manifests itself like that. And literally destroys because she super sayan badass. But she does actually want to be angry all the time, angry people dont usually and she does learn how not to be reactionary and to trust people and how to just hope for the best. So ya... They really f!&*ed her in the show. Absolutely zero nuance. Absolutely zero character work. I mean seriously Nyneave using a sword, when all they're good for is killing people and she's vowed to learn to heal people from even that.
Like many wilders, she has a block and can only channel when angry … enraged. The show did not change this. That’s why she couldn’t heal Rand & needed Elayne to. That’s why she drank the dirty water that she couldn’t purify w/ weaves. That’s why Liandrin visited her and enraged her then said “there she is..” when she finally channeled. Ur not even paying attention lmao. And…in season 1….they first arrive at the WT…I think at the very end. Her block wouldn’t have come up yet, dude. The girl JUST was thrown into this entire world & fiasco. Heck, I don’t think her issue is even referred to as a “block” in the books until Salidar. Like 8 books in … maybe more. Ofc she just magically overcame her block after Moghedian balefired her boat and she sunk to the river’s floor in a tiny air bubble 🤣🤣🤣 Wonderful arc? Lmao And on that note, funny how balefire the width of a twig makes an entire human disappear … even an entire palace … when the one that struck that boat just put a hole in the boat … and returned the whole boat downriver LMFAO. If u wanna nit-pick, the source material can keep u busy for weeks 🤣🙂🤣🤡
@@NicoleStevensHays11x you’ve clearly never read the books, or my comment. Or seen the show. Because Nynaeve clearly didn’t have a block when she mass-healed everyone in S1E4, or when she drove off the mean girls wind in E6. Or how she linked with Amalisa, Egwene, and 2 randos in E8. As for the plot arc, her boat was cut in half, not a small hole. Two of Mat’s redarms died. And if you read the actual text, what happens is that Nynaeve does something she’s never done before in her life, and she surrenders. This show is trash, the books are great, and you need to learn how to read.
Is doesn't break the magic system for a warder to kill his Aes Sedai. In fact, she could have forced him to obey that order with the bond between them. The compulsion is the dark side of the Warder bond Aes Sedai don't like to talk about, that becomes more important in later books.
Regarding the rules and limitations of the Bond between Aes Sedai and Warder: Her being killed by her Warder is technically possible so this is a rare instance of them not neccessarily breaking the rules of the magic system.
@@theashrook6129 without more context, I don't know what you mean, sorry. I wouldn't use Rand as a good argument in general because of his unique disposition. SPOILERS: The compulsion component of the bond could be used to make a Warder do it. That's more or less my reasoning for this, I'm not quite sure if I forgot some additional thing that would forbid such a command. It's been a while since I read the books. The only obstacle I could see is if the Aes Sedai considers using the bond like that as a use of the One Power. Because of the nature of the Oath and the importance of your mindset regarding it, that could be an issue.
@ReaverXXI I didn't read the spoiler, but I would agree that Rand is a singular case in every regard, and so he cannot be used to determine any standards.
I just realized that the main thing I'm looking forward to is the hints about you reading through the series. So while you were talking about the three oaths, I thought that you'd like what Jordan did with that concept. How it's done and undone, and what the consequences are. I found all that pretty satisfying. No idea what they did with it in the series, not that I care (any more).
@@cobba42 yeah just seeing her workout just how much is missing and mismanaged in the show have been my favorite part out of all of this. She is definitely getting more irritated the more she reads which is even better.
Glad to see you still putting out the reviews still even though the YT algorithm. Have to get around to re-reading the books from Dragon Reborn on, though I've just started Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, so it'll probably be a long time.
I'm happy to be back. It'll be a little bit before the channel bounces back, but I'm gonna just keep going until it's on track again. I am almost done with Fires of Heaven, now. I've started WoK a couple times, but I keep getting distracted from the project around the halfway point of the first book.
Thing about Elayne. In the books she's extremely adept at feeling the mood of the people around her and working with it. This makes her good mediator between Nynaeve and Egwene as well as good in dealing with internal affairs later during her thorne ascencion. Not to mention that she turnes out to be the proverbial pragmatic politician that directly involved in day-to-day governance and perfectly knowing what to expect from politics. In the show... well, there is somebody privileged, pampered and whoefull unprepared for the world around. Much more like Sansa, I dare to say.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I really can't unsee that Sansa thing and I have no idea why they did it. Because the idea of girl who are literally raised to become a stateswoman is... not good?
@@TheNightrider88I think it has more to do with the modern view of wealth pushed onto the story and history. Most of us, if thrown into even a 12 year olds life even aristocracy in this setting are going struggle to survive.
she was trained her entire life to rule, and to deal with people who believed they had the upper hand, it's a shame the show writers decided she was just 'rich girl' remember when a boy fell from the wall in her garden and she insisted of treating his wounds... 'cos she cared about some random nobody in pain. I 'member
Nice to see these back. Not sure what I think about the new setting. Too soon to decide. My initial reaction is almost always, change bad. But trying to work on that, so I will give this some time. Plus, I listen more than watch, though I do have to watch when text comes up.
The beauty of Nynaeve and Elayne's relationship is how complementary their natures and personalities are. Nynaeve is very observant and intuitive and connect well with people, while Elayne is very rational and analytical, and skilled at diplomacy and politics. Elayne always knows the courteous thing to do, and Nynaeve is a straight shooter with no time for your bullshit. But Nynaeve is not PERSONALLY rude, she just short circuits conventions she sees as useless. Actual quote from Nynaeve's stream of consciousness "She did not care much for rules, at least for other people's rules - other people rarely saw the situation as clearly as she did, and thus made stupid rules;" But she tries to be polite, she's just abrupt at times and Elayne usually swoops in with her tact to smooth things over. They NEVER fight about who is in charge, although in certain circumstances they will bicker. But they respect each other's judgment and trust each other. Their arrival on Tomon Head was a great example of the pattern with them. Elayne knew all about the local fashions and customs, but didn't have any idea of the relative worth of their clothing or how much common clothing cost. Nynaeve knew nothing about the region, but she had enough experience and understanding of human nature, to understand that their fancy silk riding dresses would be valuable enough to trade to a common woman for several ordinary garments. Sometimes Elayne's education gets them through a situation and sometimes it's Nynaeve's common sense. Sometimes it's Elayne's tact and sometimes it's Nynaeve candor. They quite naturally fall into a good cop, bad cop routine when they need to (and sometimes Nynaeve is the good cop & Elayne the bad). These two characters have my favorite relationship in the whole series, and the show is butchering them.
Thanks for taking the time to review WoT - if I could sum it up quickly, I would say they had some of the best storytelling, from one of the best writers, who developed this intricate, balanced story with hidden meanings and reveals that don’t happen for 6, 8, 10 books down the line - and they said “I know what this needs… we can write it better”! I stay hopeful that now they’re in it - they will recognize the best story has already been written for them. Adapt it as needed for the format, but the less they change the better it will work out for them (and for us)…
I wish I could hope that they would do this... but I really don't see how it's possible anymore. They have lost so much of the audience. They will surely not make it to Season 5, and Season 4 will only happen if they start production before releasing Season 3, as they did for Seasons 2 and 3.
Nothing literally stops a Warder from killing their Aes Sedai, though they would feel a (lessened) version of their death and be plunged into the same hopeless depression other Warders experience when their Aes Sedai passes. I _think_ one of the books mentions a Warder that tried to do exactly that after finding out their Aes Sedai was Black Ajah.
Elayne has a talent where she can see a weave only once or twice and then be able to replicate it perfectly. Another interesting thing with Elayne is that she helps to rediscover the process of creating ter'angreal so they perhaps wanted to emphasise her connection with ter'angreal's.
@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS these are Elayne's talents. Nynaeve's main talents are being able to use all 5 of the powers with equal proficiency which helps her healing abilities and she ends up being able to heal people who have been severed from the one power allowing them to be able to channel once again. Logain being one of them.
Nope. Nyneave is definitely the one who only needs to see a weave once and she's got it. That how she had suian in the boat during one of their lessons Eleayne does rediscover how to make terangreal. But avienda is the one whi cam read terangreal (know what their purpose is) so in the hunt they'd guessed that it was terangreal necause they have learnt of them at school. It was about fine tuning spirit to break it open.. Its also about Nyneave realising she can do this, especially that she can trust her instinctive use of her power, that she doesnt have to just take direction on how to use it but to come up with her own answers and that she has her own answers. But also that adds to her wanting to learn and that she is actually learning at the tower. And for us its another Nyneave being absolte bomb!!!!!
@yogurl6004 haha you've just told me nope with such confidence when Elayne definitely has the "fast learner" talent. Nynaeve will have it as well as most strong channelers do, this isn't a unique talent. Rand and Alivia only need to see the weave once to be able to replicate. All the other stuff is irrelevant as my initial comment is related to this episode and the scene in the attic with ter'an'greal
Ooh! The outside setting makes this feel like some sort of science documentary thing. If you had been speaking in a stage whisper, the illusion would have been complete! Anyway, the show seems to have a particular vendetta against Nynave. It seems like they've gone out of their way to make her comparatively dumb or incompetent.
Funny that they spent whole 1st season telling us how improbably awesome their Nynaeve is, nd then suddenly pushed her in the dirt. Even funnier is that had nothing to do with book' Nynaeve character arcs.
@jmatos316 Hahaha🤣 pretty sure I remember the skit you are talking about. Yeah. I'm delicious to mosquitoes. In a room with 100 people, I'll be the only one to get bitten.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS As a kid I always had the little scabs everywhere from scratching so much 😰 yeah I always have mosquitoes chasing me. … lol my dad swears by garlic- heal have a raw garlic clove mashed on to toast with a little oil for breakfast and says the mosquitoes never get near -- but neither does anyone else!
@jmatos316 I've heard the garlic thing, too.... but I just can't. I've found that cedar, lavender, and Citronella oil mixed with water and rose witchhazel works, too, and smells better than bug repellant.
A smart character as written by a smart person, Sherlock Holmes as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A smart character as written by a dumb person, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock in the BBC show. There's a story told of Robert A. Heinlein writing The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. He needed orbital calculations, so he spent three days working them out on paper, and then his wife, who was a very smart woman in her own right, spent three days checking his numbers. When someone later asked him, "Why didn't you just use a calculator?" He responded, "They hadn't been invented then."
@freman007 This Heinlein story is fantastic! Today, with internet access, there are no excuses for writers who want to make characters smarter than they are.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I always love the villains who plan everything. But I’m a terrible planner and I hate stories where the bad guy leaves 8 million things to chance
@Raven9940 in that case, I would work backwards. Look at what needs to happen to get the result you want. Then go back one step and ask yourself what could be done to get to THAT place. Then go back another step and repeat and repeat and repeat.
Re: Nynaeve's block, given her inability to weave during the finale when she was right and proper angry, I don't know if we should expect it to follow the same rules in TV land. The fight was cool, but "introduce a character, tell the party the exact thing they shouldn't do, party does that thing, new character dies for it, party somehow avoids descending into a black hole of guilt and despair and instead resolves to redouble their efforts, all in the span of a single episode" is not a trope I enjoy. Also I find the idea of medieval wizards putting a sniper on a neighboring rooftop like a modern SWAT team to be kinda hilarious, but for all i know that's SOP in the Empire.
I would expect that Nynaeve's block can be reinterpreted as something in "she didn't loved herself enough and thus got the block, she should embrace her gurl powa".
@@Lunarectic That's a good point. I suppose I always thought of those snipers being far away, rather than on rooftops (since from a rooftop there's a real risk the "witch" would kill you with her last breath [I'm reminded of how, in the Dresden Files, the best way to kill a wizard is with a sniper rifle from several miles away.]).
The backgrounds are STUNNING. Wow. Love it! Also, another great review. I think your points are spot-on. It's a shame what they did with Nynaeve in this episode. The entire episode feels off to me (and that's saying something).
Nynaeve in the show should have gone home, what does she actually contribute? she does one thing, she helps Elayne limp to Rand.
Other than that she does stupid things: over channels so that yellow gets captured, mutilates Elayne's leg by not removing the fletching, constantly gives the worst advice. Nynaeve should break down If Egwene ever describes how being collared feels, because she knows she is the reason the yellow is captured. A fate worse than death.
The obnoxious thing about Nynaeve trusting Liandrin, is that in the book, when Liandrin is inviting/ordering them to accompany her to Falme, Nynaeve is the one suspicious and questioning her, but she is undermined by Egwene leaping to agree to Liandrin's proposal and talking over Nynaeve. Egwene is the blindly trusting one, who is full of herself and finds it entirely believable that she is the center of attention or the key to solving problems. The most true-to-the-book moment of Egwene's characterization on the show is in season 1 when they are meeting the Amyrlin and Siuan starts talking about how strong and powerful she is, and then names Nynaeve, and Egwene visibly deflates, having thought Siuan was talking to her. That is 100% Egwene. On the road to the Tower, when Verin comes to their tent to offer channeling lessons, Egwene asks if she has come to bring them to the Amyrlin Seat. When Liandrin comes and says she needs them to save the Two Rivers boys, Egwene never questions this, because she is the protagonist, in her mind and of course she is important. Nynaeve, with her experience and intuition about people (Egwene is HORRIBLE at figuring out what is going on with people under the surface), smells something fishy, but because Egwene undermines her efforts to question Liandrin by simply agreeing with everything the Red/Black sister demands, Nynaeve's questions get nowhere. When they arrive at Falme, when the Seanchan approach with leashes in hand, Egwene is asking "Are these people here to help Rand, too?" as they put the collar around her neck. Nynaeve and Elayne, having actual brains, recognized the danger and fled, managing to escape. Min was also with them, and fought back, but couldn't get away. Everyone recognized the bad situation in time to at least resist, except for Egwene. Also, Elayne says she broke every one of the Three Oaths, but that is not true. She never lies to them, she never makes any weapons, and the closest she comes to using the Power as a weapon is the thing she did to knock them out, but that was more or less what she did to Nynaeve in the kitchen as a lesson (and what Siuan did to Nynaeve for the same purpose in the book - it is clearly not a weapon). In the book, even though Liandrin is capable of lying, she doesn't, because being caught in a lie would, of course, expose her. If you pay attention, every word she says to Amalisa and to the girls in the Tower and on their journey, is technically, literally, true.
Love your reviews, no matter the way you relese them! To be honest, I saw only the first two episodes of the first season and couldn't continue. I'm a long time fan, since I was a teen (i'm almost 40 now 😳) and i just couldn't watch it, but i really enjoy seconed hand watching through your reviews. So keep up the good work, and as you like to say "just shut up and enjoy the show"!
@HaploIL haha. Thank you. I'll always be sure to summarize the events in the episode so folks who aren't watching can know what the show did. I'm amazed at how many people in my comments tell me they just cant make themselves watch anymore.
The problem with the a'dam scene with Ryma, Nynaeve and Elayne, is that once again, they are taking Nynaeve's accomplishments from the book away from her. She was not allowed to be a leader of the village and a healer everyone counted on. Instead, they had her standing off to the side while other people took charge in town, and she failed to save either of the people she tried to treat during the Trolloc attack. She was not allowed to follow the trail of an expert tracker, instead it is revealed she followed the trail of his companion, who leaves an easy-to-spot tell. She was not allowed to have Moiraine ask her for help coping with weakness her powers could not fix, nor was Nynaeve allowed to assert medical ethics, that she would help anyone, no matter what she thinks of them, and would NEVER harm a patient and also tells her patients exactly what she is giving them. Instead, she extorts promises from Lan for her help treating Moiraine's wound, refuses to tell him what she is doing and it doesn't matter, because they take Moiraine to Aes Sedai to be Healed anyway. She is not recruited to help rescue captives because Lan respects her skills, and she is constantly talked down to by the authority figures. In the books, she argued with Moiraine, the Writers' Pet, and so they make her into a rude and obtuse contrarian who argues and snaps at everyone, because everyone's character is summed up by their relationship with Moiraine. In the books, Nynaeve figured out the Seanchan were hostile and defended herself and escaped. Alone, in a foreign country with only a sheltered princess for company, she knew how to find clothes to blend in with the locals, infiltrated the town where the enemy was based, figured out on her own how to open the a'dam (hey, how did our Aes Sedai friend get her hands on a collar she can't open? She would have had to dismember a damane to get it) and made the arrangements with a ship captain herself, overcoming his doubts and fears of the Seanchan. Nynaeve argues with, and criticizes, Moiraine, and goes through a period where Egwene, another Writer's Pet, perceives her as a stifling and bossy colleague, and resents Nynaeve acting like she is in charge (book 3, where Egwene is working through the trauma of her captivity and does so by overcompensating in asserting her own agency). For this reason, the writers hate her or at the very least, dismiss her and systematically strip her of all her book accomplishments.
Nynaeve did channel in the arches. That's how she got out of the third one. I get why they put her being to channel at that moment because in the book we know when she was frustrated about someone not getting better, she would unknowingly channel. What doesn't make sense is how a Wisdom who is a healer can't heal it. Which also makes me think about how they knew she only channeled when she's angry when that was not in the show. That means they were only supposed to find out when she became a novice. There are all these little details that someone just watching the show wouldn't understand. There are things we can excuse but that's only because we read the books.
Yeah. Nynaeve channeling in the arches, to me, was an indication that there is something extra special about her. Nynaeve being able to open the collar, with the collar being a similar device to the arches, made sense to me. But yeah, the show is doing so many things that people who haven't read the books are confused about. I watch the show with my mom, and she is constantly asking me "Why is she able to do that?!" and "Wait, doesn't this break such-and-such rule?" and, my favorite, "who is this lady? did I miss an episode where she was introduced?"
Woah, a deep cut there with the clip from Murder at 1600. Bravo! Another awesome video. The shorter video format is pretty good. I like the longer ones, but I recognize it must take a really long time to edit those. Do you do all that by yourself???
Such a sad scene with the Aes Sedai eating the Warders death while getting collared. Shame Moraine murders her like the rest with the massive fire weave. Comedy gold, that.
So glad you are back! Any way you put the videos out is fine by me. Ps. A'dam actually is a ter'angreal, and it is Elayne who will discover it.... After spending numerous evenings exploring it...
@Anna-bm5hq But did she discover it in this moment? When she and nynaeve were trying to unlock it? Or was it later? I honestly cannot recall when that theory was first stated.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSno, she discovered it later, book 5, if I remember correctly. After they had left Falme, Elayne kept the a'dam and kept studying it...
People who read the books would’ve been interested in the series - anyone who has seen the series will have no interest in the books, hire activist writers win activist prizes
And I find it funny how the retcon the books to having “strong independent woman” and either fridges characters that never existed or just making them dumb or incompetent or both. And while I only read the first two books and somewhat reading the third, the books make them far more interesting and unique.
Haha. So true! It's at a point where I am serious considering the possibility it's all intentional.... I mean, making the characters stupid is intentional 😬
The block is a survival mechanism that wilders develop when teaching themselves how to channel with out burning out or dying. However, once someone breaks them of the habit of using the block even once they never have to do it that way ever again. In the scene where the Aes Sedai gets her to channel without being angry Nyneave should never have to be angry again to do so. Pissing all over the story and thinking they are just watering the plants. Some have to close an their left eye to be able to channel at all. Others have to mumble. Nyneave has to be angry. It is never said directly in the books but the only emotion Nyneave would let herself surrender to was anger. So that is why I believe she started being able to channel without being calm.
@ More importantly, the “power of two” never actually came into play at the resolution of the story. All of these shows have serious setup and payoff problems.
Ur literally online telling the world how u have a whole collection of shows u think are sh!tty yet continue watching. Not to mention then going on YT to watch videos abt them … comment … etc. continue announcing what a no life and loser u are lolol
I think the writers must have realized that they made Nynaeve into such an overpowering Mary Sue in the first season that they'd better back off with her. Otherwise why would they even need a Dragon? She could just solve all the problems in the world herself.
That's a fancy green screen you got there! jk I know it's real but it looks nice. Thanks for doing these it's more enjoyable than watching the show LOL
The problem with the fight of Ryma and her warder against the damane is A. an Aes Sedai can only use the Power in the last extreme of defending her life or her warder. Once her warder is dead, Ryma CANNOT use the Power as a weapon against people she KNOWS are trying to take her alive! B. It's pointless and stupid for her to walk out and die like that. If her warder hides, and she surrenders, the warder will be able to lead Nynaeve and Elayne or, failing them, a White Tower rescue party right to her location. The books on more than one occasion take advantage of a Warder bond to guide a rescue effort. Ryma and Basan were plotting a rescue attempt with Nynaeve & Elayne. Once she is a captive, Ryma has a good chance of being placed near Egwene to assist them finding her as well. The writers inserted a scene of badassery in a time and place where it is uncalled for and ill-suited and where the Aes Sedai herself should have known better. Regarding Basan killing Ryma, an Aes Sedai and warder who had worked together long enough to have their sort of reaction, would understand the other's wishes, and respect them. For a warder to falter as he does, when her wishes are known, is unheard of. FWIW, there is no restriction on a Warder killing his Aes Sedai, though Aes Sedai can compel their Warder's actions with the bond and prevent a Warder from doing so. In an interview, Robert Jordan said the Aes Sedai used to bond men by force, but stopped doing it because it was too much effort to fight with their warders and maintain the compulsions on them and a willing subject was just more efficient. There is mention in the books of a Black Ajah sister whose warder is not a Darkfriend and when he discovers what she is, tries to hunt her down and kill her, even though he knows the cost to himself. Rather than force him not to, she finds it easier to mask the bond so he cannot sense where she is, or what she is feeling, and thus avoid him. Killing him will be extremely unpleasant for her. Aes Sedai feel the effects of a dead warder for quite a while and it takes more than a year to get over it. Some sisters never bond a second warder because the effect of his death is so bad. Aes Sedai can undo the bond, although I think the warder needs to be physically present, but this is strongly against Tower custom. It is something like a Victorian era divorce - although possible, everyone is going to judge you for getting into a relationship that failed, in the first place. The only acceptable use for releasing the warder bond is if the Aes Sedai is about to die and wants to spare him the effects of her death. Releasing him to spare herself the effect of his death is VERY much Not Done, and considered an affront to his memory and service. The Warder does not get insta-killed from the death of his Aes Sedai, however, the effect of a broken bond on his psyche generally means he will get himself killed shortly after. Interestingly, at no point in the series do we see a Warder drop dead when his Aes Sedai is killed, though it is theoretically possible. What we see more than one instance of, is Warders suddenly dropping dead when their Aes Sedai is stilled or her ability is burned out! Like Moiraine supposedly is at the end of last season? Trust me, almost nothing we see of Moiraine's & Lan's bond is consistent with anything in the books. Based on everything depicted this season, I could not have told you what was the status of Lan's bond or Moiraine's channeling ability, because everything that was said about either situation contradicted something with the other's depiction. *An Aes Sedai being shielded* - no effect on the Warder bond. The Warder can still sense her perfectly. *An Aes Sedai masking her bond* - the Warder cannot feel her location or emotions or physical sensations (nor she sense his), but is aware that she is alive. No effect from the One Power, as it is purely a mental exercise. *An Aes Sedai being stilled* - extremely traumatic for the Warder, and the bond is broken, often killing him from the shock. *An Aes Sedai being dead* - similarly traumatic for the Warder, who becomes violent and filled with self-destructive rage. Theoretically can be rehabilitated, but is extremely difficult, requiring a lot of effort from someone with a (mundane) skill at doing so. None of those things match what Lan is going through in Season Two. I should also note that all the time given to Steppin in Season One seemed like it was setting up for Lan to cope with something similar, given Moiraine's condition at the end of the season, was utterly wasted. Also, Steppin's behavior is more like a man who has had his channeling ability removed, a la Logain, whereas the behavior he described after his father's death, before Kerene saved him, is more like a Warder who has lost his Aes Sedai.
There isn’t anything in the bond that makes a warder feel a need to not hurt their Aes Sedai directly. It make them fully aware of each other, heightens their senses, and allows them to feel what the Aes Sedai is feeling but it isn’t a compulsion like the collars are. It is just, usually, a love and kinship to each other that make them want what is best for each other. If anything, I think that the bond would make the warder’s duty to mercy kill their Aes Sedai easier. The Warder would feel that same sense of terror, need to escape, and knowledge that they have no escape that the Aes Sedai was feeling.
It is disheartening that most of the characters on the show have mostly different personalities than in the books. The foundational changes that Rafe Judkins has made, changes the story drastically. Aging them up a decade was a blunder. Robert Jordan wrote a 'coming of age' story, but Jeff Bezos wanted more Game of Thrones. The Wheel of Time story has a different tone and tenor than GOT. I read the books many times before the show came out and had the pleasure of being a superfan for seventeen years while Jordan was alive. What was done to RJ's epic saga showed such a disrespect for the source material. Judkins has shown a rabid narcissism and tribalism for his ideology, where everything needed to be changed to fit into his world view. Thus, everything in the show takes you further away from the story that's in the books.
Agree Agree Agree! It's baffling that studios don't understand that the preexisting audience wants a faithful adaptation, and the less faithful it is, the more it will anger the fans.... because a good story usually has characters, plot, and settings tailored to specific themes. Change any of that, and it can screw up the whole.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS they pay millions for a baked in audience then deliberately annoy them by making something they could have put out with out the 'wheel of time' (or lotr, or halo, or witcher...) name. they have no confidence in their own work standing on it's merit and no respect for anyone else's work somewhere there is a head of licencing praying their boss never figures this out
Hollywood is deathly afraid of trying original things. Much easier to build hype with an existing brand as adaptation. That's a lot of free word-of-mouth advertising blowing up everywhere, and guaranteed base to try it out. Just look at how many things came out recently as a new IP, eh? But if you fail to deliver, it's all for naught. They can just eat this because its a 'Streaming Thing' even though it's also a Steaming Thing (if you get my meaning). That being said, holy hell, couldn't they have found something edgier?! The series was an absolutely awful target to try and turn into GoT. They could've you know, asked around and found something closer.
@@bohort Brandon Sanderson (I believe) recently discussed why these things happen. Basically, scriptwriters can't get funding or support for their OWN projects, so they try to pick up established IPs and then shoehorn in their own ideas and characters, simply stealing the names and asthetic of the established IP. Essentially, investors are morons and many scriptwriters are delusional about their own talent. (they SHOULDN'T be getting funding for their own projects without proving themselves first. Plenty of creators have done that, very notably Kevin Smith with Clerks, or Edgar Wright, whom you may know from Shaun of the Dead)
It was so pretty! I wish I could have gotten them on camera, but there were Trumpeter swans and River otters swimming around. They got shy of my while I was setting up the camera (Which was on an extra tall tripod in the middle of the water).
Also, about Elayne, Nynaeve and a'dam. Remember that quote? "Nynaeve realized something. She could never make Elayne wear that collar. “Best we get on with it,” Elayne said firmly. She was down to her shift, too, now. “Give me a moment to put this other dress on, and-” “Put your own clothes back on,” Nynaeve said. “Someone has to pretend to be a damane,” Elayne said, “or we will never reach Egwene. That dress fits you, and it cannot be Min. That leaves me.” Nynaeve actually cares about people, so much that she decides ti change plan at once, just to save Elayne from that suffering. And Elayne, for her part, is perfectly willing to take the hit, as she *didn't* gladly agrees with changing the plan.
Regarding the caption at about 11:26, Elayne can identify the a'dam as a ter'angreal, because, in the books, after a great deal more experience and study and at a higher rank, much further along in the series, Elayne examines an a'dam and determines it is a ter'angreal. This show does NOT believe in earning developments or growth in their characters.
The Aes Sedai and Warder bond is a modified compulsion weave. If the Aes Sedai orders is the Warder to do something, he can't disobey unless he can channel. He should've killed her then spat on her corpse for making him do it. Then attacked the Domani until they killed him.
Is it a modified compulsion weave? I know that part of the bond can be used to compel a Warder, but most Aes Sedai find it distasteful and don't use it. But I remember Moridin being distinctly annoyed that these 'primitives' have come up with something never seen before in the Age of Legends. If it was only modified compulsion, he'd have recognised it, I think.
@@Lunarectic You are half right. Compulsiuon and the Warder bond weaves are the same category but aren't related in a modified weave way. Otherwise a certain other weave wouldn't be possible. I forgot thanks. ----don't read after this @TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS--- I believe that is a technique not a weave he hadn't seen before. Also about not needing a certain bowl.
I don't know what the deal is, but UA-cam is sorta inconsistent. I have definitely done a few things on here since that update. Not as many as before I got sick, but I'm back in AZ and getting things under control again. Hoping to be uploading regularly again soon.
Hey, S&PR... along about 22:00... I think you've got book-Nynaeve and show-Ninny intermingled in your head-canon... not confused, but mixed/combined. WHICH IS ENTIRELY UNDERSTANDABLE. Nynaeve is hard to like... at least in the first few books... but she is 100% trustworthy... Remember, the entire reason that she went after Egwene and the boys was to RESCUE them... and the reason that she made that sacrifice in her Accepted Test was to become a better healer... not for glory or status... or personal ambition... but just to serve her people better AS a healer. You can't quite say that she's "got a heart of gold"... but her heart is in the right place... It's just that she has poor interpersonal skills... and her anger management issues.
Having all three of them channel slightly into the a'dam to avoid detection never made sense to me. First off, it's another massive change they've made to the source material. Any damane nearby should be able to sense them even if only one of them is channeling slightly. If they'd actually keep the magic system accurate to the books, a damane would be about to detect them just by being close enough. When you have all three, discounting Nynaeve's burst of power, should only make it easier for them to be detected. As for Elayne's motivation for helping Egwene, I can see what they were trying to do, but in my opinion it still feels forced. In the books, Elayne is already at the Tower and is essentially Egwene's mentor when she and Nynaeve arrive. Due to the time skip when Rand transported everyone from Cairhien to Falme using a portal stone, we know that Egwene and Elayne have spent months together. They've become very close friends in that time. Furthermore, the reason for Elayne's inclusion in the trip to Falme is better explained in the source material. First off, she's already crushing on Rand. Second, because she's now one of Egwene's closest friends, and because she has a infatuation with adventure, she and Min seize the opportunity to help out. Finally, her continued presence makes sense in the book. She and Nynaeve are alone in Falme trying to figure out how to rescue Egwene. They don't have the crutch of an Aes Sedai to help them, they only have each other. (As a personal note, I think the show should have cut back on the Egwene pour the bloody water schtick and actually shown Nynaeve and Elayne studying the sul'dam and damane in order to rescue Egwene. Sadly, that's not what this show does. Instead it takes minute sections of the book and expands them to take up significant run time). And finally, the scene between Ryma, her warder, and the Seanchan. No offense to anyone, but this is just idiotic. Ryma is a full fledged Aes Sedai, she has the ring and the shawl, and you're going to tell me that she doesn't have a contingency plan set up in case she's detected by the Seanchan. Hell, in the book, Nynaeve and Elayne were able to escape the Seanchan after one of them channel and they were detected. My only thought is this fight scene was done because they had written themselves into a corner. Ryma needed to be captured. As for a warder being able to kill his Aes Sedai, there is nothing in the bond that would prevent that, except that the warder would then be consumed by their Aes Sedai's death and go on a rampage seeking vengence for her death. In this particular situation, it makes perfect sense for her warder to kill her. Both know, or at least suspect, what awaits her if she's is captured and collared, and death would be preferable. And as it's unlikely the Seanchan would leave the warder alive afterward, the negative effect of her dying is essentially moot. Also the pacifiers the damane have are just idiotic and I cannot understand the point of them, considering what Egwene does in a later episode.
I have an idea. They already filled the world with dysfunctional families, outsiders and underdogs, o take a look at girls' trio with this in mind. In the show both Egwene and Nynaeve are essentially working-class minorities from the backwater slums. And Elayne is rich, priveleged and white. Of course she is going to be in the weakest position!
all Excellent points. There is so much that this show is doing poorly, if I mentioned all of them, my videos would be 6 hours long. Haha! And yeah... a gag is only useful if you cant take it out. Egwene just hawk tuahs that thang like it was nothing.
A little constructive criticism regarding shooting with two cameras: Keep in mind, you're having a conversation with us, your audience. Eye contact is important, in this case, with the camera lens, because that's us. You do a great job of this with camera #1. I know you used the second camera because it was a great shot of you and the surrounding scenery, which was great, but whenever you switched to the second camera it almost jars us out of the conversation because your then speaking to someone off screen... the other camera. In the future, consider while shooting, switching your focus to each camera throughout your conversation. Then, in post editing, cut it so you're only showing that camera's view when your focused on it. It will create a much more personal experience for your viewers. In my opinion, anyway. Great video, excellent commentary as usual. I tremendously appreciate the efforts and trials you went through to bring us video from your time in Alaska, using it's beautiful natural scenery as your backdrop! Thank you!
Disagree completely. She's not a newsreader. Multiple times the video cuts to other scenes and images while she's talking and that doesn't jar me out of the video so why would a wide shot of her talking do that?
At this point the Aes Sedai wouldn't have asked to be killed because she would not and could not have known to consequences of getting captured. Only someone who wore the collar could know the consequences. And an Aes Sedai would think that she would be in control of any situation that she found herself in. And that she would get the upper hand in time
@ethanmacdonald7859 Haha. Exactly. If only I could have stood 8 feet further back from the closeup camera. It would have put me in the perfect spot for the wide angle camera, too (on the left side, creating a nice frame around the lake and mountains in thw background). Alas.... about 4 inches behind me is a drop off into the lake. My actions camera is on a 6 ft tripod in the water. Haha! But I was determined to get the view of the lake and mountains from this spot. So I had to stand and face awkwardly to the right. Next time, I'll just bring waders and stand in the water. Haha!
I don't want to spoil but the a'dam in the books are closed by a latch. They can be opened manually without use of the one power. The show however is obviously different in some respects.
Hmm... Just started the video, but in the video you are talking about Season 2 Episode 6, while the title of the video is Season 2 Episode 5. I hope it's the video title that is wrong, because that is an easy fix.
Firstly, ooh once again what a backdrop. You sure that's not painted? Secondly I was taken a back with that Tina Fey insert because I didn't immediately realise that it wasn't yourself. I had to go search via the quote to find out who it was as I've never watched 30 Rock. Lastly, yes I agree. It is so weird how they appear to be trying to destroy Nynaeve's character. She could be stubborn and annoying at times, but I still liked her as a character because I knew she was capable. I'm struggling to think of one thing in the show that she did well, all the way through to the end of season 2. She had one silly power burst that healed people around her, but that was some silly fluke that didn't make sense and wasn't intentional. Where it ends in season 2, the book equivalent Nynaeve has helped rescue Perrin and Egwene from White Cloaks, fought off pursuing Seanchan allowing herself and Elayne to escape capture, and helps rescue Egwene from her tortuous experience at the hands of Renna. I can only conclude that Raif hates Nynaeve because she doesn't always treat his beloved Egwene with the respect he thinks she deserves, so this is a purposeful character assassination. There, I said it 😉
@Marwolaeth01 Haha. You said it right. And about Tina Fey.... yeah, I get that I look like her from folks sometimes. This lake was so cool. I wish some of the wild trumpeter swans, bald eagles, or river otters got in the shot, but I didnt see them anywhere. On the screen. They were all hanging around and I was hoping one might get into one of the camera's fields of view.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS okay. First: Egwene never was my favorite character. I mean, she had brilliant moments but she was least interesting one. Second: once I came across.. reader who insisted that Egwene would make a great Forsaken (and it was supposed to be a compliment), and once I found an article claiming that Egwene is only one truly strong woman in the whole series. So I asked myself: what if Egwene have some qualities that resonate with people like these but failed to connect with me? And I think I found answer. Egwene is selfish. Not in bad way, after all, she is quite selective in her means, does not step on others, is quite honest and ultimately a good pesron. But she lacks any set of ideas that would make her inferior to the greater cause. Like, Nynaeve would always put the wellbeing of others befor hers. For Elayne. Andor would be the first priority. Egwene is not attached to any culture or tradition and reall ydoesn't want to be. So... she is closest to the idea of person who does what she wants. And they feel and like it)
@TheNightrider88 hmmmm.... this really is interesting. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for it now. I did pick up on her self interest. Your specificity is an intriguing perspective of her character. Like.... is she the forsaken alternative?
I was trying to rewatch LoTR movies and once again noticed, that almost all changes to the books can be reasonably explained either by streamlining the plot without sacrificing important details, or by the fact that some scenes, if recreated word-for-word, would look poor in visual medium, without Tolkien language to support it. They don't make adaptations like this anymore)
I'd say Dune took more liberties, but was exceptional quality.... but you are right. In terms of faithfulness, no one has come quite as close and still maintained quality. Oh wait! Life of Pi was also pretty close to the source material. Not many people think of it as fantasy, though, even though that's exactly what it is. And it's gorgeous.
"Some of their damane can sense when a woman is channeling." Some? She means all, right? Any woman who can channel can sense when a woman is channeling. But who cares about lore?
Man, every time I see the collars for the Suldam and Damane in this show...I cringe. In the books, it was a SILVER collar, connected by a chainwork so fine as to look like a silver rope to the bracelet of the master. There was no invisible chain for it. It didn't suddenly expand to cover more of their body, and there was no binky/pacifier. And in the books it was SO much worse because of it, because you encounter Aei Sedai who had been SO mentally broken that they forgot their names, and acted like the animals they were made to think they were. They were pets. On a side note, it really is sad when the BEST parts of reviews for this show is "Well, they made me NOT hate them" and comments on things one would thing would just be expected for a show with this level of funding.
The answer for anything with the Seanchan is that the writers are Aes Sedai simps and anyone opposed to their darlings is EVIL, and cannot be allowed to be competent or have good qualities or have a point. The emphasis of the Children of the Light in the books was on hunting Darkfriends, and according to the Aes Sedai & their friends, were more like Salem witch prosecutors. On the other hand, we never actually SEE them harming innocent people, just people they catch in extremely suspicious circumstances (remember, Perrin assaulted and murdered two Children, because a wolf attacked them and they killed the wolf in self-defense - Perrin & Egwene were NOT innocents being persecuted, they were a murderer and his accomplice). They also believe that anyone who channels is evil and must be a Darkfriend, but it's important to remember that the Aes Sedai trample over national government and there is nothing as feared in their world as a male channeler. Rand saved Agelmar & his army in Tarwin's Gap at the end of book one, and Agelmar saw a man was behind it and he is still horrified at the thought of a male channeler out there, even one who is clearly fighting the Shadow and saving him & his men. The Two Rivers folk are extremely loyal to one another and will always have each other's back, but Mat and Perrin, on learning that Rand can channel, want nothing to do with him. It takes some time for their affection to overcome that visceral revulsion. So the antipathy that the Children have toward channeling is not such an extremist position in the setting. But they turned the Children into anti-channeler Klansmen in Season 1, because all that matters to the writers is that they oppose the Aes Sedai, and so they make the Children somehow a serious threat (whereas in Book 1 & 3 Aes Sedai treat them dismissively, and scare them off with little effort, and the Seanchan massacre Bornhald's force outside Falme), so they can have themselves a persecution narrative and depict the Children as more evil. Likewise the Seanchan, who believe that channelers are no better than animals and should be collared for the greater good. They treat them like animals, for good as well as for ill. They are affectionate and indulgent as people are with well-behaved animals. It's not malice or bigotry as we associate with American slavery, it's based on a real difference and a real problem that channelers pose to normal humans. Furthermore, despite having a slave society and a rigid class system, the Seanchan are the most meritocratic group or culture in all the known world. They are extremely competent, militarily speaking and extremely efficient rulers and governors, because they have institutionalized and organized bureaucracy and military support systems. They have much higher standards for public works, law enforcement and social services and hold their nobles and leaders to very high standards of responsibility. But we will never see any of that in the show. They will be incompetent and cartoonishly evil, except the sul'dam and damane will be an existential threat whenever the plot calls for it, and anything done to them will be justified. It should be noted in the books, that a major theme throughout the story is that all of humanity has to put aside their differences to fight the Dark One. Nations that are archrivals are forced to work together, and barbarian clans have to patch over their blood feuds, and the main characters are all behind this, and the readers approve ... until we get to the end of the series, and suddenly the story is making the point that the Seanchan and Children of the Light are human, too, that they oppose the Dark One and are damn good soldiers, and so some of the characters actually start inviting them into the big tent of the Forces of the Light and a lot of readers throw hissy fits and accuse RJ of being pro-slavery and start speculating about the fact that he is from South Carolina. Because the wars between Tear and Illian or the history of bad blood between Andor and Cairhien or the grievances between the Shaarad and Goshien don't mean anything to a reader in real life, so it is easy to view the conflict as objectively unimportant in the big picture. But when it comes to something that they DO have an investment in, like their vicarious identification with their favorite character, which extends to their Aes Sedai membership, or the fact that the Seanchan practice slavery, oh, suddenly, it's a different story! And I would be dollars to doughnuts, the writers of the show fall squarely into that segment of the fandom.
@TheNightrider88 I like it! I like the idea that their history was kept secret and that Rand exposing them is what "destroyed" them. I'd love to see some Aeil seeking to restore their honor by taking up their ancient roles again. See the struggle, that is. I'm wondering if we will get that at all with Aviendah.
@@TheNightrider88 I noticed that Moiraine seemed to be altering her strategy with Rand. And I'm not entirely convinced that it's because she just realized that her old manipulative ways weren't working. I do suspect that something big happened to her when she went into Rhuidean. She came out of that a different person. What was she told there? I'm guessing it was something big.
I think it will happen. The first person to do it and go through and edit everything so that it looks visually pleasing and doesn't have characters with 12 fingers, will make a bundle.
Re: The collar needing a woman to be healed/complete - this is something they've added for the show, I don't like it because it gives the A'dam intent of sorts & having Nynaeve say it just seems a little cheesy. As for the Yellow Sister being captured, it's not a bad scene, but at the same time there's no chance they Seanchan would just leave after than they would have searched the whole area anyway because her just stepping out and announcing herself is suspicious. That's not even considering they Damane should be able to sense Nynaeve by the window at that distance. I know the writers wanted Elayne & Nynaeve to witness the fight, but it's still annoying.
Does ShowNynaeve looks and behaves like a person who already occupied an important position and was genuinely respected? Does ShowElayne looks like a young lady who can carry herself with regal grace? No. They both are your average gilrs from the block.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Elayne in the show came across unintentionally sympathetic but I can't imagine her calmly assessing perspectives of people uprising (while in rioting city) or personally studying reports regarding functioning of Caemlyn sewers.
About the Warder killing his Aes Sedai. I don't think it would break any rules. I think it'd be something of an impressive feat but the warder bond isn't like the three oaths so there shouldn't be anything saying it's impossible.
I don't think they broke any parts of the magic system, but they would have had to be very, very careful if he actually successfully killed her to not break any rules afterwards. She absolutely could prevent him from killing her if she wanted and if he had been successful things would have happened afterwards, but I don't think the bond prevents it if she's not trying to prevent it.
Nynaeve is one of my favourite characters of all time, but I gave all my books to a library for their book sale because I hated the last book too much.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS disregard this. I can name more than two people who were absolutely staggered by overall resolution. Not to mention that books ending is actually what RJ did when he was still alive.
@PotzerTheMan I learned many years ago how to put aside the bad parts of stories, so I could get some enjoyment out of the parts that are good.... but this show has nothing in it I really like.... literally nothing. Even Lan isn't so hot to me anymore.
So there is a Black sister's (one of hte Liandrian 13) whose warders are hunting her down to kill her knowing this will be a death sentence for them. So a warder can kill his Aes Sedai and he will experience the consequences of it.
That Aes Sedai looks shockingly out of place in the show. Like, she actually looks young, if not "ageless", and not definitely middle-aged! She and her Warder care for each other and act like true fireteam. It is especially shocking after all that useless warders (especially lan) in earlier episodes. No wonder they got killed.
In the books the collar just has an internal latch that if the Domani try to touch their hand cramps shut and goes numb. Egwene figures out a weave to undo it but misses and her Suldam comes in so she doesn't get another chance.
Nyneave opens it. But Egwene realizes that suldam are women whi can leran to channel. That why suldam can independently sense channeling sometimes, they call it an affinity something that just happens after long use but some can even feel/see the weave from the damane. Then they used being "complete" wrong as if the adam has an agenda 🙄🙄 butbits actually the suldam who crave being "complete" with the damane because using the one power is super addictive and they do it unknowingly through the adam.
I found Nynaeve annoying the in the books (before eventually becoming likable) but they somehow managed to make her worse. Book Nynaeve was stubborn and assertive but still civil. Show Nynaeve is just rude and abrasive.
Without spoiling anything- the decision to have Nynaeve “let go” here is another example of the show runners destroying a character’s long term story to get past a scene that they don’t know how to write. See Perrin’s fridge wife, Matt the scummy thief, and Egwene who can overcome physics with the power of girl boss.
@johnpierce7551 In the book, it is so clear that Nynaeve is unable to Channel without being angry. I cannot help but think it's super important for some special reason.
@ Yeah- it really is. I can’t talk about it without spoilers, so I’ll illustrate with something else. I know you are in book 4 and have finished watching this season, so this won’t be spoilery. The way the show had Egwene save herself didn’t just break a carefully crafted magic system, but it also robbed Egwene of her future growth and agency. The fact that she needed to be saved gave her some humility that was needed for her to learn from the wise ones. The fact that the Seanchen almost broke her and would have broken her leaves scars on her. She hates them because deep down she still fears them. All of this is super important later on. My favorite character changed over time with rereads, but it finally settled on Egwene. Rand is the protagonist, but he is a creature of fate and destiny. Egwene chooses to be the hero.
@johnpierce7551 I am almost done with book 5 (I filmed this video over a month ago). I absolutely see how Egwene's humility gets her through her shaming and the pressure put on her by the Aeil wise ones.
I really hate how they portray Nynaeve in the show… but this goes back to my comment once on what I think the writers did with Morraine- focused on one or two traits from the beginning of the book and made that her… no growth no development… just stubborn suspicion of anyone not two rivers…
Great stuff and exactly my thoughts about poor show Nynaeve. Not that it would matter because I can't see the actress as her (like so many characters). Not to say the actress isn't doing well with what she's given. On the plus, side, Elayne works okay and yay, I guess, she isn't treated like Nynaeve. I wonder if you'd get the same viewership simply reviewing things in WoT as you read. If your WoT stuff is higher count it might be worth considering, and you know... less aggravating lol. Plus, you're already reading ahead, eh? Eh? Final point: I'm glad the lake didn't take you. We prefer you as the Lady of the Sword and Pen on UA-cam, not the Lady of the Lake. And speaking of (giant nerd that I am), were you aware of the Nynaeve lake connection?! The WoT Wiki (and I know, it would be super spoilery in general for you) points it out: 'Nyneve' is one of the names of the Lady of the Lake. An Arthurian legend, and then you have Lan as Lord of the Lakes from his homeland. Meara is also a Gaelic name meaning 'pool' or 'lake.'
I am so glad I stopped watching and cancelled my prime sub after the first season. I gave it a chance of the entire first season and am currently re-reading the searies for at least the 8th time. I was so excited when the show was announced but now wish that nothing else that I have read is ever turned into a live action show or even an animated series because for the most part the majority of them are total crap.
As much as i love your critiques andnive beeeeeeeeeeeen waiting. I can actually see how draining it is for you. At thus piont i would ven be mad of you just made this abot the books with a few show comments here and there.
My one hope is that it brings more people to the books and that they enjoy the real Wheel of Time story. Good luck and I will remain subbed to you and watch your content.
@yogurl6004 it was draining when I was at thw point that I realized I have nothing good to say anymore because the bad stuff was so egregious. But now I literally don't care. So I just have fun with it.
There is an inherent limitation in story-telling. The characters can't be any smarter than the writer(s)... ... and the guy running this show (into the ground)... SMH.
@@iamdave4426 so, they keep starting production on the next season before releasing the previous. S3 is due to come out soon. 🤦🏻♀️ I will be shocked if they get an S4.
Yes! Let the disappointment flow through you. Silly shells of characters that have no progression, flat stories that contradict themselves. 800 page books worth of build up wasted. Unique cultures that show the beauty of diversity and the natural conflict that everyone overcomes as all borders are shattered by the dragon? No, the writers know better. They make spaghetti story, yes yes.
And we will never ever catch a glimpse of overland trains powered by steam tractors."Four of them hitched together, one behind the other, pulled a hundred wagons all the way from Cairhien" (c)
@ in the books there are is a ton of character progression and development. We see a well throughout world with cultures (sea folk, domani, etc). It’s a shame the show decided to just rush through everything. The dragon shattering all borders is a prophecy. We see the sea folk coming on land. And borders disappear as he conquers kingdoms and the aiel coming from out of the wastes. I can’t say anything else or it would be a spoiler. It feels like they have spoiled a lot of stuff before they got to build it up. I don’t think they believe anyone would actually watch the show if they followed the books.
I loath the adaption to a show. Sort of put up with season one and tied to think okay a different turning of the wheel during a first viewing but on a second viewing just could stand it. Lost a bet and had to watch the second season that is ten times worse. Know folks never read the book that enjoyed it for season nine and half of season two before turning sour on it. Got them to read the books and now they are really upset at the show. Enjoy the reviews as you point out flaws and what could have been done to improve it. Won’t watch season three but bet I watch your reviews of it! Until they full reboot the show just can’t watch it and prefer reading the series over and over to watching it
I have heard similar things in the comments of my videos (about people liking the show until they read the books). I will keep going with the show and summarizing the scenes, so folks who aren't watching it can still catch what's going on. Thanks for keeping up with me 😊
I read all of "The Wheel of Time" books. I hated the first season so much that I didn't even know there was a second season. I'm not even going to waste my time with season 2. And I'm blocking all channels that even acknowledge it's existance. Sorry nothing personal. I hope you find a better way to spend your time... bye...
This is how I will be releasing my longer reviews from now on. Especially for shows that have multiple storylines. I'll release a "stitched together" version of the whole episode shortly after that episode's final character arc video. This will hopefully allow me to increase my publishing frequency and please the algorithm. I hope folks are okay with that. I'm still learning, and I'll revert back to the old way if it doesn't help the channel. 😬
Hey, whatever works!
Your tactic sounds _sound_ [[ ...But I'm just a dusty, crusty Gen-X'r, so take my opinion accordingly... 🤷🏽♂️ ]] ...I hope it yields the best results
I'm just happy that you didn't give up on the show entirely (for which I would not have blamed you).
@BuddyGrizzard Never give up! Never surrender!
I'll be riding this out to the bitter end.
@@b_g_c3281 I, too, am on Gen X. This is also a way for me to cope with how terrible the writing is. Take smaller bites.
The yellow sister was more Moiraine in her few scenes than Moiraine has been in the entire show
@@theashrook6129 Haha! ☝🏻 truth!
Oh yes. Definitely.
Also, notice how the sudden emphasis on Elayne being friendless for her life coincides with lack of her brothers around.
Oof. Well said.
Were this a better adaptation I'd understand removing Galad but not Gawyn - he's too important. I don't even care to speculate how they'll fill in the holes because this show has lost the plot.
@@play_history They already made Whitecloaks so horrible, that Galad wiil be unable to turn them in right direction, either he became bad guy too.
Nynaeve and her block is a wonderful story arc that lasts for multiple books and has a fantastic payoff which ties into one of the great themes of the Wheel of Time. This show forgot she even had a block in Season 1, introduced it in Season 2, and just ignored it in this episode, only to remember it for the finale, so she has to push an arrow through Elayne's knee with the FLETCHING STILL ATTACHED.
Nynaeve in the books had serious mediacl skill besides her healing talents. In the show she obviously hadn't because... because!
Its actually an abomination. I understand lots of people dont enjoy or understand Nyneaves character in the books. And i dont make excuses for her. But for me she gets so mad all the time because she cares so so much!! She holds herself to such a high standard, she just wants eveyone to be good. They lhaso leave out the reputation the one power and aes sedia have in the world which is why, with wanting to be the best she can to help as many people as she can, she chose to block out that prt of her. But her power is always there for her when she feels the most hopeless and angry at her shortcomings. So it's a difficult thing for her to reconcile in her own mind. Also Nyneave is not a surrenderer. She's a fight kick punch spit right till the end type of person so her power also manifests itself like that. And literally destroys because she super sayan badass. But she does actually want to be angry all the time, angry people dont usually and she does learn how not to be reactionary and to trust people and how to just hope for the best. So ya... They really f!&*ed her in the show. Absolutely zero nuance. Absolutely zero character work. I mean seriously Nyneave using a sword, when all they're good for is killing people and she's vowed to learn to heal people from even that.
@@yogurl6004 I agree, Nynaeve is such an interesting character because of her faults they make her unique as a character
Like many wilders, she has a block and can only channel when angry … enraged. The show did not change this. That’s why she couldn’t heal Rand & needed Elayne to. That’s why she drank the dirty water that she couldn’t purify w/ weaves. That’s why Liandrin visited her and enraged her then said “there she is..” when she finally channeled. Ur not even paying attention lmao. And…in season 1….they first arrive at the WT…I think at the very end. Her block wouldn’t have come up yet, dude. The girl JUST was thrown into this entire world & fiasco. Heck, I don’t think her issue is even referred to as a “block” in the books until Salidar. Like 8 books in … maybe more.
Ofc she just magically overcame her block after Moghedian balefired her boat and she sunk to the river’s floor in a tiny air bubble 🤣🤣🤣 Wonderful arc? Lmao
And on that note, funny how balefire the width of a twig makes an entire human disappear … even an entire palace … when the one that struck that boat just put a hole in the boat … and returned the whole boat downriver LMFAO. If u wanna nit-pick, the source material can keep u busy for weeks 🤣🙂🤣🤡
@@NicoleStevensHays11x you’ve clearly never read the books, or my comment. Or seen the show. Because Nynaeve clearly didn’t have a block when she mass-healed everyone in S1E4, or when she drove off the mean girls wind in E6. Or how she linked with Amalisa, Egwene, and 2 randos in E8. As for the plot arc, her boat was cut in half, not a small hole. Two of Mat’s redarms died. And if you read the actual text, what happens is that Nynaeve does something she’s never done before in her life, and she surrenders. This show is trash, the books are great, and you need to learn how to read.
Thank you for coming back :)
@@abhajn was never really gone. 😉 Just had to deal with some setbacks.
I missed these videos! The best breakdown of the show
@Stevandoren1003 🥰🥰🥰 thank you. I try
Is doesn't break the magic system for a warder to kill his Aes Sedai. In fact, she could have forced him to obey that order with the bond between them. The compulsion is the dark side of the Warder bond Aes Sedai don't like to talk about, that becomes more important in later books.
Regarding the rules and limitations of the Bond between Aes Sedai and Warder: Her being killed by her Warder is technically possible so this is a rare instance of them not neccessarily breaking the rules of the magic system.
I was thinking about Alanna’s admission to the Verin after Rand storms out of the inn he found them in. This would make me think differently.
@@theashrook6129 without more context, I don't know what you mean, sorry. I wouldn't use Rand as a good argument in general because of his unique disposition.
SPOILERS:
The compulsion component of the bond could be used to make a Warder do it. That's more or less my reasoning for this, I'm not quite sure if I forgot some additional thing that would forbid such a command. It's been a while since I read the books. The only obstacle I could see is if the Aes Sedai considers using the bond like that as a use of the One Power. Because of the nature of the Oath and the importance of your mindset regarding it, that could be an issue.
@@theashrook6129 are you gin and make me leaf back that far? 😜
@ReaverXXI I didn't read the spoiler, but I would agree that Rand is a singular case in every regard, and so he cannot be used to determine any standards.
@@ReaverXXI OK. Cool. And yeah... a rare instance.
I just realized that the main thing I'm looking forward to is the hints about you reading through the series.
So while you were talking about the three oaths, I thought that you'd like what Jordan did with that concept. How it's done and undone, and what the consequences are. I found all that pretty satisfying.
No idea what they did with it in the series, not that I care (any more).
@@cobba42 yeah just seeing her workout just how much is missing and mismanaged in the show have been my favorite part out of all of this. She is definitely getting more irritated the more she reads which is even better.
Glad to see you still putting out the reviews still even though the YT algorithm. Have to get around to re-reading the books from Dragon Reborn on, though I've just started Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, so it'll probably be a long time.
I'm happy to be back. It'll be a little bit before the channel bounces back, but I'm gonna just keep going until it's on track again.
I am almost done with Fires of Heaven, now. I've started WoK a couple times, but I keep getting distracted from the project around the halfway point of the first book.
Seems like a nice tranquil spot. Whatever you need to do to get through breaking this show down.
@IamVendel Haha. If I did what I really needed to do to get through this show, I'd be passed out drunk at the start of every episode. 🤪
Thing about Elayne. In the books she's extremely adept at feeling the mood of the people around her and working with it. This makes her good mediator between Nynaeve and Egwene as well as good in dealing with internal affairs later during her thorne ascencion. Not to mention that she turnes out to be the proverbial pragmatic politician that directly involved in day-to-day governance and perfectly knowing what to expect from politics.
In the show... well, there is somebody privileged, pampered and whoefull unprepared for the world around. Much more like Sansa, I dare to say.
@@TheNightrider88 oooh! The comparison to Sansa is good. And yeah. Elayne in the show is definitely less tactful.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I really can't unsee that Sansa thing and I have no idea why they did it. Because the idea of girl who are literally raised to become a stateswoman is... not good?
@@TheNightrider88I think it has more to do with the modern view of wealth pushed onto the story and history. Most of us, if thrown into even a 12 year olds life even aristocracy in this setting are going struggle to survive.
she was trained her entire life to rule, and to deal with people who believed they had the upper hand, it's a shame the show writers decided she was just 'rich girl'
remember when a boy fell from the wall in her garden and she insisted of treating his wounds... 'cos she cared about some random nobody in pain. I 'member
@@bohort never happened… someone said something about brothers… again never…
Nice to see these back. Not sure what I think about the new setting. Too soon to decide. My initial reaction is almost always, change bad. But trying to work on that, so I will give this some time. Plus, I listen more than watch, though I do have to watch when text comes up.
Not to worry about the "new setting". That was in Alaska, Amber is back in Arizona now.
One day we will have a nice Wheel of Time adaptation... unfortunately today is not that day.
Have a happy Thanksgiving.
The beauty of Nynaeve and Elayne's relationship is how complementary their natures and personalities are. Nynaeve is very observant and intuitive and connect well with people, while Elayne is very rational and analytical, and skilled at diplomacy and politics. Elayne always knows the courteous thing to do, and Nynaeve is a straight shooter with no time for your bullshit. But Nynaeve is not PERSONALLY rude, she just short circuits conventions she sees as useless. Actual quote from Nynaeve's stream of consciousness "She did not care much for rules, at least for other people's rules - other people rarely saw the situation as clearly as she did, and thus made stupid rules;" But she tries to be polite, she's just abrupt at times and Elayne usually swoops in with her tact to smooth things over. They NEVER fight about who is in charge, although in certain circumstances they will bicker. But they respect each other's judgment and trust each other. Their arrival on Tomon Head was a great example of the pattern with them. Elayne knew all about the local fashions and customs, but didn't have any idea of the relative worth of their clothing or how much common clothing cost. Nynaeve knew nothing about the region, but she had enough experience and understanding of human nature, to understand that their fancy silk riding dresses would be valuable enough to trade to a common woman for several ordinary garments. Sometimes Elayne's education gets them through a situation and sometimes it's Nynaeve's common sense. Sometimes it's Elayne's tact and sometimes it's Nynaeve candor. They quite naturally fall into a good cop, bad cop routine when they need to (and sometimes Nynaeve is the good cop & Elayne the bad).
These two characters have my favorite relationship in the whole series, and the show is butchering them.
Thanks for taking the time to review WoT - if I could sum it up quickly, I would say they had some of the best storytelling, from one of the best writers, who developed this intricate, balanced story with hidden meanings and reveals that don’t happen for 6, 8, 10 books down the line - and they said “I know what this needs… we can write it better”!
I stay hopeful that now they’re in it - they will recognize the best story has already been written for them. Adapt it as needed for the format, but the less they change the better it will work out for them (and for us)…
I bet that if anyone would ask them to sum up Rand's journey they would fail.
I wish I could hope that they would do this... but I really don't see how it's possible anymore. They have lost so much of the audience. They will surely not make it to Season 5, and Season 4 will only happen if they start production before releasing Season 3, as they did for Seasons 2 and 3.
Nothing literally stops a Warder from killing their Aes Sedai, though they would feel a (lessened) version of their death and be plunged into the same hopeless depression other Warders experience when their Aes Sedai passes. I _think_ one of the books mentions a Warder that tried to do exactly that after finding out their Aes Sedai was Black Ajah.
I appreciate the wit and understated passion imbuing your work. Thank you.
Thanks! Fixing stories usually energizes me. WoT is past the stage of caring, and now I just have fun with it.
Elayne has a talent where she can see a weave only once or twice and then be able to replicate it perfectly. Another interesting thing with Elayne is that she helps to rediscover the process of creating ter'angreal so they perhaps wanted to emphasise her connection with ter'angreal's.
Did you mean Nynaeve? These sound like Nynaeve things.
@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS these are Elayne's talents. Nynaeve's main talents are being able to use all 5 of the powers with equal proficiency which helps her healing abilities and she ends up being able to heal people who have been severed from the one power allowing them to be able to channel once again. Logain being one of them.
Nope. Nyneave is definitely the one who only needs to see a weave once and she's got it. That how she had suian in the boat during one of their lessons
Eleayne does rediscover how to make terangreal. But avienda is the one whi cam read terangreal (know what their purpose is) so in the hunt they'd guessed that it was terangreal necause they have learnt of them at school. It was about fine tuning spirit to break it open.. Its also about Nyneave realising she can do this, especially that she can trust her instinctive use of her power, that she doesnt have to just take direction on how to use it but to come up with her own answers and that she has her own answers. But also that adds to her wanting to learn and that she is actually learning at the tower. And for us its another Nyneave being absolte bomb!!!!!
@yogurl6004 haha you've just told me nope with such confidence when Elayne definitely has the "fast learner" talent. Nynaeve will have it as well as most strong channelers do, this isn't a unique talent. Rand and Alivia only need to see the weave once to be able to replicate. All the other stuff is irrelevant as my initial comment is related to this episode and the scene in the attic with ter'an'greal
@yogurl6004 oh yes! That makes sense.
Glad you're back!!!
Ooh! The outside setting makes this feel like some sort of science documentary thing. If you had been speaking in a stage whisper, the illusion would have been complete!
Anyway, the show seems to have a particular vendetta against Nynave. It seems like they've gone out of their way to make her comparatively dumb or incompetent.
@@spacedoyster7686 Haha! That would be so funny! Note to self: speak in whisper next time.
😝
And yeah. At this point, it seems deliberate.
Funny that they spent whole 1st season telling us how improbably awesome their Nynaeve is, nd then suddenly pushed her in the dirt.
Even funnier is that had nothing to do with book' Nynaeve character arcs.
lol your struggle with the bug made me think of an old muppet show version of the carpenters’ “Close to you” 😂
@jmatos316 Hahaha🤣 pretty sure I remember the skit you are talking about. Yeah. I'm delicious to mosquitoes. In a room with 100 people, I'll be the only one to get bitten.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS As a kid I always had the little scabs everywhere from scratching so much 😰 yeah I always have mosquitoes chasing me. … lol my dad swears by garlic- heal have a raw garlic clove mashed on to toast with a little oil for breakfast and says the mosquitoes never get near -- but neither does anyone else!
@jmatos316 I've heard the garlic thing, too.... but I just can't.
I've found that cedar, lavender, and Citronella oil mixed with water and rose witchhazel works, too, and smells better than bug repellant.
How you write a character who’s smarter than you has always eluded me
It's a fun subject. Lots of ways to go about it, depending on the type of smart your character is.
A smart character as written by a smart person, Sherlock Holmes as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
A smart character as written by a dumb person, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock in the BBC show.
There's a story told of Robert A. Heinlein writing The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. He needed orbital calculations, so he spent three days working them out on paper, and then his wife, who was a very smart woman in her own right, spent three days checking his numbers.
When someone later asked him, "Why didn't you just use a calculator?" He responded, "They hadn't been invented then."
@freman007 This Heinlein story is fantastic!
Today, with internet access, there are no excuses for writers who want to make characters smarter than they are.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I always love the villains who plan everything. But I’m a terrible planner and I hate stories where the bad guy leaves 8 million things to chance
@Raven9940 in that case, I would work backwards. Look at what needs to happen to get the result you want. Then go back one step and ask yourself what could be done to get to THAT place. Then go back another step and repeat and repeat and repeat.
Thanks for the shoutout Amber, and it's my pleasure. I love your work and I'm more than happy to continue being Patronising 😉😂
@jeffturner2975 😅 I could never say thank you enough. This channel only exists because of you and the other patrons.
Re: Nynaeve's block, given her inability to weave during the finale when she was right and proper angry, I don't know if we should expect it to follow the same rules in TV land.
The fight was cool, but "introduce a character, tell the party the exact thing they shouldn't do, party does that thing, new character dies for it, party somehow avoids descending into a black hole of guilt and despair and instead resolves to redouble their efforts, all in the span of a single episode" is not a trope I enjoy. Also I find the idea of medieval wizards putting a sniper on a neighboring rooftop like a modern SWAT team to be kinda hilarious, but for all i know that's SOP in the Empire.
I would expect that Nynaeve's block can be reinterpreted as something in "she didn't loved herself enough and thus got the block, she should embrace her gurl powa".
...You're probably right and I hate it.
It's definitely SOP for the Whitecloaks in the book. Best way to kill a channeler is when they don't know you're there.
@@Lunarectic That's a good point. I suppose I always thought of those snipers being far away, rather than on rooftops (since from a rooftop there's a real risk the "witch" would kill you with her last breath [I'm reminded of how, in the Dresden Files, the best way to kill a wizard is with a sniper rifle from several miles away.]).
The backgrounds are STUNNING. Wow. Love it! Also, another great review. I think your points are spot-on. It's a shame what they did with Nynaeve in this episode. The entire episode feels off to me (and that's saying something).
@@redbeard365 Nynaeve was a disaster since the beginning. I really am starting to think it is deliberate.
Nynaeve in the show should have gone home, what does she actually contribute? she does one thing, she helps Elayne limp to Rand.
Other than that she does stupid things: over channels so that yellow gets captured, mutilates Elayne's leg by not removing the fletching, constantly gives the worst advice. Nynaeve should break down If Egwene ever describes how being collared feels, because she knows she is the reason the yellow is captured. A fate worse than death.
@TriggEttan She really us a complete waste if screentime after she escapes the handover (leaving Egwene behind.... lol).
She did those things and the characters will still look at each and say "She's ready."
The obnoxious thing about Nynaeve trusting Liandrin, is that in the book, when Liandrin is inviting/ordering them to accompany her to Falme, Nynaeve is the one suspicious and questioning her, but she is undermined by Egwene leaping to agree to Liandrin's proposal and talking over Nynaeve. Egwene is the blindly trusting one, who is full of herself and finds it entirely believable that she is the center of attention or the key to solving problems. The most true-to-the-book moment of Egwene's characterization on the show is in season 1 when they are meeting the Amyrlin and Siuan starts talking about how strong and powerful she is, and then names Nynaeve, and Egwene visibly deflates, having thought Siuan was talking to her. That is 100% Egwene. On the road to the Tower, when Verin comes to their tent to offer channeling lessons, Egwene asks if she has come to bring them to the Amyrlin Seat. When Liandrin comes and says she needs them to save the Two Rivers boys, Egwene never questions this, because she is the protagonist, in her mind and of course she is important. Nynaeve, with her experience and intuition about people (Egwene is HORRIBLE at figuring out what is going on with people under the surface), smells something fishy, but because Egwene undermines her efforts to question Liandrin by simply agreeing with everything the Red/Black sister demands, Nynaeve's questions get nowhere. When they arrive at Falme, when the Seanchan approach with leashes in hand, Egwene is asking "Are these people here to help Rand, too?" as they put the collar around her neck. Nynaeve and Elayne, having actual brains, recognized the danger and fled, managing to escape. Min was also with them, and fought back, but couldn't get away. Everyone recognized the bad situation in time to at least resist, except for Egwene.
Also, Elayne says she broke every one of the Three Oaths, but that is not true. She never lies to them, she never makes any weapons, and the closest she comes to using the Power as a weapon is the thing she did to knock them out, but that was more or less what she did to Nynaeve in the kitchen as a lesson (and what Siuan did to Nynaeve for the same purpose in the book - it is clearly not a weapon). In the book, even though Liandrin is capable of lying, she doesn't, because being caught in a lie would, of course, expose her. If you pay attention, every word she says to Amalisa and to the girls in the Tower and on their journey, is technically, literally, true.
Love your reviews, no matter the way you relese them!
To be honest, I saw only the first two episodes of the first season and couldn't continue. I'm a long time fan, since I was a teen (i'm almost 40 now 😳) and i just couldn't watch it, but i really enjoy seconed hand watching through your reviews. So keep up the good work, and as you like to say "just shut up and enjoy the show"!
@HaploIL haha. Thank you. I'll always be sure to summarize the events in the episode so folks who aren't watching can know what the show did. I'm amazed at how many people in my comments tell me they just cant make themselves watch anymore.
The problem with the a'dam scene with Ryma, Nynaeve and Elayne, is that once again, they are taking Nynaeve's accomplishments from the book away from her. She was not allowed to be a leader of the village and a healer everyone counted on. Instead, they had her standing off to the side while other people took charge in town, and she failed to save either of the people she tried to treat during the Trolloc attack. She was not allowed to follow the trail of an expert tracker, instead it is revealed she followed the trail of his companion, who leaves an easy-to-spot tell. She was not allowed to have Moiraine ask her for help coping with weakness her powers could not fix, nor was Nynaeve allowed to assert medical ethics, that she would help anyone, no matter what she thinks of them, and would NEVER harm a patient and also tells her patients exactly what she is giving them. Instead, she extorts promises from Lan for her help treating Moiraine's wound, refuses to tell him what she is doing and it doesn't matter, because they take Moiraine to Aes Sedai to be Healed anyway. She is not recruited to help rescue captives because Lan respects her skills, and she is constantly talked down to by the authority figures. In the books, she argued with Moiraine, the Writers' Pet, and so they make her into a rude and obtuse contrarian who argues and snaps at everyone, because everyone's character is summed up by their relationship with Moiraine.
In the books, Nynaeve figured out the Seanchan were hostile and defended herself and escaped. Alone, in a foreign country with only a sheltered princess for company, she knew how to find clothes to blend in with the locals, infiltrated the town where the enemy was based, figured out on her own how to open the a'dam (hey, how did our Aes Sedai friend get her hands on a collar she can't open? She would have had to dismember a damane to get it) and made the arrangements with a ship captain herself, overcoming his doubts and fears of the Seanchan.
Nynaeve argues with, and criticizes, Moiraine, and goes through a period where Egwene, another Writer's Pet, perceives her as a stifling and bossy colleague, and resents Nynaeve acting like she is in charge (book 3, where Egwene is working through the trauma of her captivity and does so by overcompensating in asserting her own agency). For this reason, the writers hate her or at the very least, dismiss her and systematically strip her of all her book accomplishments.
Nynaeve did channel in the arches. That's how she got out of the third one.
I get why they put her being to channel at that moment because in the book we know when she was frustrated about someone not getting better, she would unknowingly channel. What doesn't make sense is how a Wisdom who is a healer can't heal it. Which also makes me think about how they knew she only channeled when she's angry when that was not in the show. That means they were only supposed to find out when she became a novice.
There are all these little details that someone just watching the show wouldn't understand. There are things we can excuse but that's only because we read the books.
Yeah. Nynaeve channeling in the arches, to me, was an indication that there is something extra special about her. Nynaeve being able to open the collar, with the collar being a similar device to the arches, made sense to me.
But yeah, the show is doing so many things that people who haven't read the books are confused about. I watch the show with my mom, and she is constantly asking me "Why is she able to do that?!" and "Wait, doesn't this break such-and-such rule?" and, my favorite, "who is this lady? did I miss an episode where she was introduced?"
Woah, a deep cut there with the clip from Murder at 1600. Bravo!
Another awesome video. The shorter video format is pretty good. I like the longer ones, but I recognize it must take a really long time to edit those. Do you do all that by yourself???
I really do have to dig deep sometimes for that perfect clip. I'll tell ya, tho, it wasn't easy finding that movie online.
Such a sad scene with the Aes Sedai eating the Warders death while getting collared. Shame Moraine murders her like the rest with the massive fire weave. Comedy gold, that.
I'm not looking forward to dissecting that finale. Ugh
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I do not blame you. But I do look forward to watching it.
So glad you are back! Any way you put the videos out is fine by me. Ps. A'dam actually is a ter'angreal, and it is Elayne who will discover it.... After spending numerous evenings exploring it...
@Anna-bm5hq But did she discover it in this moment? When she and nynaeve were trying to unlock it? Or was it later? I honestly cannot recall when that theory was first stated.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSno, she discovered it later, book 5, if I remember correctly. After they had left Falme, Elayne kept the a'dam and kept studying it...
I didn’t realise this show was even still going lol
@Darren-f3g they keep starting production on the next season before the previous one is released. Not sure when S3 comes out, but probably soon.
People who read the books would’ve been interested in the series - anyone who has seen the series will have no interest in the books, hire activist writers win activist prizes
😂☝🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
And I find it funny how the retcon the books to having “strong independent woman” and either fridges characters that never existed or just making them dumb or incompetent or both. And while I only read the first two books and somewhat reading the third, the books make them far more interesting and unique.
Haha. So true!
It's at a point where I am serious considering the possibility it's all intentional.... I mean, making the characters stupid is intentional 😬
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Indeed
i hope you finish the series. Many of the people i introduced to it preferred the audiobooks.
@@BelMarduksBizarreBazaar Indeed
@BelMarduksBizarreBazaar I am fully committed. Almost done with Book 5.
The block is a survival mechanism that wilders develop when teaching themselves how to channel with out burning out or dying. However, once someone breaks them of the habit of using the block even once they never have to do it that way ever again. In the scene where the Aes Sedai gets her to channel without being angry Nyneave should never have to be angry again to do so. Pissing all over the story and thinking they are just watering the plants.
Some have to close an their left eye to be able to channel at all. Others have to mumble. Nyneave has to be angry. It is never said directly in the books but the only emotion Nyneave would let herself surrender to was anger. So that is why I believe she started being able to channel without being calm.
I like that. That the block is preservation instinct. Rather than a state of mind when first chaneling reaction.
Kind of mad UA-cam notifications didn’t notify me this had dropped 😢
@jmatos316 I don't know why that has happened to so many people, lately.
After The Acolyte and Rings of Power, I literally forgot how frustrated I was with this show. Thank you for reminding me, Amber.
The Power of One The Power of Two The Power of Many!
Lol. Sorry 😋
Oh gosh! That was so friggin' cringe!
@ More importantly, the “power of two” never actually came into play at the resolution of the story. All of these shows have serious setup and payoff problems.
Ur literally online telling the world how u have a whole collection of shows u think are sh!tty yet continue watching. Not to mention then going on YT to watch videos abt them … comment … etc. continue announcing what a no life and loser u are lolol
I think the writers must have realized that they made Nynaeve into such an overpowering Mary Sue in the first season that they'd better back off with her. Otherwise why would they even need a Dragon? She could just solve all the problems in the world herself.
Well, now they have Egwene to turn her into an overpowering Mary Sue and proclaim her the Dragon.
@@TheNightrider88 Yep, such a shame what the writers have done to this story.
That's a fancy green screen you got there! jk I know it's real but it looks nice. Thanks for doing these it's more enjoyable than watching the show LOL
Perseverance should be rewarded 😂
@@bigjonS4 🤩 Wow! Thank you! But I'm not certain it's perseverance. More likely, it's stubbornness 🤪
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONSThat's what got me through grad school, so yeah nothing wrong with that!
oh god you are back
😶 I'm gonna tell myself that was meant to say "oh *good*". 😛
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Sorry. It was a very short comment. I meant to say, "Oh god you are back, that is wonderful!" :D
@nicodemogawronski2052 😅 Thank you. It was a fun comment for me to try to sort out, anyway 😜
The problem with the fight of Ryma and her warder against the damane is
A. an Aes Sedai can only use the Power in the last extreme of defending her life or her warder. Once her warder is dead, Ryma CANNOT use the Power as a weapon against people she KNOWS are trying to take her alive!
B. It's pointless and stupid for her to walk out and die like that. If her warder hides, and she surrenders, the warder will be able to lead Nynaeve and Elayne or, failing them, a White Tower rescue party right to her location. The books on more than one occasion take advantage of a Warder bond to guide a rescue effort. Ryma and Basan were plotting a rescue attempt with Nynaeve & Elayne. Once she is a captive, Ryma has a good chance of being placed near Egwene to assist them finding her as well.
The writers inserted a scene of badassery in a time and place where it is uncalled for and ill-suited and where the Aes Sedai herself should have known better.
Regarding Basan killing Ryma, an Aes Sedai and warder who had worked together long enough to have their sort of reaction, would understand the other's wishes, and respect them. For a warder to falter as he does, when her wishes are known, is unheard of. FWIW, there is no restriction on a Warder killing his Aes Sedai, though Aes Sedai can compel their Warder's actions with the bond and prevent a Warder from doing so. In an interview, Robert Jordan said the Aes Sedai used to bond men by force, but stopped doing it because it was too much effort to fight with their warders and maintain the compulsions on them and a willing subject was just more efficient. There is mention in the books of a Black Ajah sister whose warder is not a Darkfriend and when he discovers what she is, tries to hunt her down and kill her, even though he knows the cost to himself. Rather than force him not to, she finds it easier to mask the bond so he cannot sense where she is, or what she is feeling, and thus avoid him. Killing him will be extremely unpleasant for her. Aes Sedai feel the effects of a dead warder for quite a while and it takes more than a year to get over it. Some sisters never bond a second warder because the effect of his death is so bad. Aes Sedai can undo the bond, although I think the warder needs to be physically present, but this is strongly against Tower custom. It is something like a Victorian era divorce - although possible, everyone is going to judge you for getting into a relationship that failed, in the first place. The only acceptable use for releasing the warder bond is if the Aes Sedai is about to die and wants to spare him the effects of her death. Releasing him to spare herself the effect of his death is VERY much Not Done, and considered an affront to his memory and service.
The Warder does not get insta-killed from the death of his Aes Sedai, however, the effect of a broken bond on his psyche generally means he will get himself killed shortly after. Interestingly, at no point in the series do we see a Warder drop dead when his Aes Sedai is killed, though it is theoretically possible. What we see more than one instance of, is Warders suddenly dropping dead when their Aes Sedai is stilled or her ability is burned out! Like Moiraine supposedly is at the end of last season? Trust me, almost nothing we see of Moiraine's & Lan's bond is consistent with anything in the books. Based on everything depicted this season, I could not have told you what was the status of Lan's bond or Moiraine's channeling ability, because everything that was said about either situation contradicted something with the other's depiction.
*An Aes Sedai being shielded* - no effect on the Warder bond. The Warder can still sense her perfectly.
*An Aes Sedai masking her bond* - the Warder cannot feel her location or emotions or physical sensations (nor she sense his), but is aware that she is alive. No effect from the One Power, as it is purely a mental exercise.
*An Aes Sedai being stilled* - extremely traumatic for the Warder, and the bond is broken, often killing him from the shock.
*An Aes Sedai being dead* - similarly traumatic for the Warder, who becomes violent and filled with self-destructive rage. Theoretically can be rehabilitated, but is extremely difficult, requiring a lot of effort from someone with a (mundane) skill at doing so.
None of those things match what Lan is going through in Season Two.
I should also note that all the time given to Steppin in Season One seemed like it was setting up for Lan to cope with something similar, given Moiraine's condition at the end of the season, was utterly wasted. Also, Steppin's behavior is more like a man who has had his channeling ability removed, a la Logain, whereas the behavior he described after his father's death, before Kerene saved him, is more like a Warder who has lost his Aes Sedai.
There isn’t anything in the bond that makes a warder feel a need to not hurt their Aes Sedai directly. It make them fully aware of each other, heightens their senses, and allows them to feel what the Aes Sedai is feeling but it isn’t a compulsion like the collars are. It is just, usually, a love and kinship to each other that make them want what is best for each other.
If anything, I think that the bond would make the warder’s duty to mercy kill their Aes Sedai easier. The Warder would feel that same sense of terror, need to escape, and knowledge that they have no escape that the Aes Sedai was feeling.
@@joystickgenie that makes sense. Except the bit about making it easier to mercy kill. I don't know about that.
It is disheartening that most of the characters on the show have mostly different personalities than in the books. The foundational changes that Rafe Judkins has made, changes the story drastically. Aging them up a decade was a blunder. Robert Jordan wrote a 'coming of age' story, but Jeff Bezos wanted more Game of Thrones. The Wheel of Time story has a different tone and tenor than GOT. I read the books many times before the show came out and had the pleasure of being a superfan for seventeen years while Jordan was alive. What was done to RJ's epic saga showed such a disrespect for the source material. Judkins has shown a rabid narcissism and tribalism for his ideology, where everything needed to be changed to fit into his world view. Thus, everything in the show takes you further away from the story that's in the books.
Agree Agree Agree!
It's baffling that studios don't understand that the preexisting audience wants a faithful adaptation, and the less faithful it is, the more it will anger the fans.... because a good story usually has characters, plot, and settings tailored to specific themes. Change any of that, and it can screw up the whole.
Aging them up turned them into adult guys who for some reasons still don't have their own families and households.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS they pay millions for a baked in audience then deliberately annoy them by making something they could have put out with out the 'wheel of time' (or lotr, or halo, or witcher...) name.
they have no confidence in their own work standing on it's merit and no respect for anyone else's work
somewhere there is a head of licencing praying their boss never figures this out
Hollywood is deathly afraid of trying original things. Much easier to build hype with an existing brand as adaptation. That's a lot of free word-of-mouth advertising blowing up everywhere, and guaranteed base to try it out. Just look at how many things came out recently as a new IP, eh? But if you fail to deliver, it's all for naught. They can just eat this because its a 'Streaming Thing' even though it's also a Steaming Thing (if you get my meaning).
That being said, holy hell, couldn't they have found something edgier?! The series was an absolutely awful target to try and turn into GoT. They could've you know, asked around and found something closer.
@@bohort
Brandon Sanderson (I believe) recently discussed why these things happen.
Basically, scriptwriters can't get funding or support for their OWN projects, so they try to pick up established IPs and then shoehorn in their own ideas and characters, simply stealing the names and asthetic of the established IP.
Essentially, investors are morons and many scriptwriters are delusional about their own talent. (they SHOULDN'T be getting funding for their own projects without proving themselves first. Plenty of creators have done that, very notably Kevin Smith with Clerks, or Edgar Wright, whom you may know from Shaun of the Dead)
This outdoor setting though??!!??!
It was so pretty! I wish I could have gotten them on camera, but there were Trumpeter swans and River otters swimming around. They got shy of my while I was setting up the camera (Which was on an extra tall tripod in the middle of the water).
Also, about Elayne, Nynaeve and a'dam. Remember that quote?
"Nynaeve realized something. She could never make Elayne wear that collar.
“Best we get on with it,” Elayne said firmly. She was down to her shift, too, now. “Give me a moment to put this other dress on, and-”
“Put your own clothes back on,” Nynaeve said.
“Someone has to pretend to be a damane,” Elayne said, “or we will never reach Egwene. That dress fits you, and it cannot be Min. That leaves me.”
Nynaeve actually cares about people, so much that she decides ti change plan at once, just to save Elayne from that suffering. And Elayne, for her part, is perfectly willing to take the hit, as she *didn't* gladly agrees with changing the plan.
@TheNightrider88 ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻 They really have diminished Nynaeve so much.
They took Nynaeve from the books and dialed her up to 11. Lan falling for her now seems absolutely ridiculous.
Hahah! you nailed it!
Regarding the caption at about 11:26, Elayne can identify the a'dam as a ter'angreal, because, in the books, after a great deal more experience and study and at a higher rank, much further along in the series, Elayne examines an a'dam and determines it is a ter'angreal. This show does NOT believe in earning developments or growth in their characters.
Any bets that instead of Elaine and and Rand hooking up in season 4 it will be Elaine and Egwene?
BAHAHAHA!
It will HAVE to be a joke if they do that.
The Aes Sedai and Warder bond is a modified compulsion weave. If the Aes Sedai orders is the Warder to do something, he can't disobey unless he can channel. He should've killed her then spat on her corpse for making him do it. Then attacked the Domani until they killed him.
Is it a modified compulsion weave? I know that part of the bond can be used to compel a Warder, but most Aes Sedai find it distasteful and don't use it. But I remember Moridin being distinctly annoyed that these 'primitives' have come up with something never seen before in the Age of Legends. If it was only modified compulsion, he'd have recognised it, I think.
Lol! That's extreme.
I stopped reading your message when it mentioned a name I didn't recognize. I am trying hard to avoid spoilers 😋
@@Lunarectic You are half right. Compulsiuon and the Warder bond weaves are the same category but aren't related in a modified weave way. Otherwise a certain other weave wouldn't be possible. I forgot thanks.
----don't read after this @TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS---
I believe that is a technique not a weave he hadn't seen before. Also about not needing a certain bowl.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS The Warder bond brings out the extremes in people when it snaps.
I haven't gotten a notification from this channel since "Alaska Update". Fyi.
Also....Yay!
I don't know what the deal is, but UA-cam is sorta inconsistent. I have definitely done a few things on here since that update. Not as many as before I got sick, but I'm back in AZ and getting things under control again. Hoping to be uploading regularly again soon.
😊
I think they are establishing the relationship between Elaine and Nyneave to make sense of their next plot to Tanchico
@@thomaskretzmer7953 I get that.... but why did they have to sacrifice Nynaeve's brain?! And break the rules of her block?
Hey, S&PR... along about 22:00... I think you've got book-Nynaeve and show-Ninny intermingled in your head-canon... not confused, but mixed/combined.
WHICH IS ENTIRELY UNDERSTANDABLE.
Nynaeve is hard to like... at least in the first few books... but she is 100% trustworthy...
Remember, the entire reason that she went after Egwene and the boys was to RESCUE them... and the reason that she made that sacrifice in her Accepted Test was to become a better healer... not for glory or status... or personal ambition... but just to serve her people better AS a healer.
You can't quite say that she's "got a heart of gold"... but her heart is in the right place...
It's just that she has poor interpersonal skills... and her anger management issues.
Oh no! I was totally talking about not trusting Show Nynaeve. I just didn't mark it, at that point, because I got tired of putting the marker in. haha
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS I get it.
Remind me? Didn't you start watching the show BEFORE you started the books?
Having all three of them channel slightly into the a'dam to avoid detection never made sense to me. First off, it's another massive change they've made to the source material. Any damane nearby should be able to sense them even if only one of them is channeling slightly. If they'd actually keep the magic system accurate to the books, a damane would be about to detect them just by being close enough. When you have all three, discounting Nynaeve's burst of power, should only make it easier for them to be detected.
As for Elayne's motivation for helping Egwene, I can see what they were trying to do, but in my opinion it still feels forced. In the books, Elayne is already at the Tower and is essentially Egwene's mentor when she and Nynaeve arrive. Due to the time skip when Rand transported everyone from Cairhien to Falme using a portal stone, we know that Egwene and Elayne have spent months together. They've become very close friends in that time. Furthermore, the reason for Elayne's inclusion in the trip to Falme is better explained in the source material. First off, she's already crushing on Rand. Second, because she's now one of Egwene's closest friends, and because she has a infatuation with adventure, she and Min seize the opportunity to help out. Finally, her continued presence makes sense in the book. She and Nynaeve are alone in Falme trying to figure out how to rescue Egwene. They don't have the crutch of an Aes Sedai to help them, they only have each other. (As a personal note, I think the show should have cut back on the Egwene pour the bloody water schtick and actually shown Nynaeve and Elayne studying the sul'dam and damane in order to rescue Egwene. Sadly, that's not what this show does. Instead it takes minute sections of the book and expands them to take up significant run time).
And finally, the scene between Ryma, her warder, and the Seanchan. No offense to anyone, but this is just idiotic. Ryma is a full fledged Aes Sedai, she has the ring and the shawl, and you're going to tell me that she doesn't have a contingency plan set up in case she's detected by the Seanchan. Hell, in the book, Nynaeve and Elayne were able to escape the Seanchan after one of them channel and they were detected. My only thought is this fight scene was done because they had written themselves into a corner. Ryma needed to be captured. As for a warder being able to kill his Aes Sedai, there is nothing in the bond that would prevent that, except that the warder would then be consumed by their Aes Sedai's death and go on a rampage seeking vengence for her death. In this particular situation, it makes perfect sense for her warder to kill her. Both know, or at least suspect, what awaits her if she's is captured and collared, and death would be preferable. And as it's unlikely the Seanchan would leave the warder alive afterward, the negative effect of her dying is essentially moot. Also the pacifiers the damane have are just idiotic and I cannot understand the point of them, considering what Egwene does in a later episode.
I have an idea. They already filled the world with dysfunctional families, outsiders and underdogs, o take a look at girls' trio with this in mind. In the show both Egwene and Nynaeve are essentially working-class minorities from the backwater slums. And Elayne is rich, priveleged and white. Of course she is going to be in the weakest position!
To be fair, Ryma's capture is described after the fact in the books. Though that was an ambush by the Seanchan. Less time to plan for that.
all Excellent points. There is so much that this show is doing poorly, if I mentioned all of them, my videos would be 6 hours long. Haha!
And yeah... a gag is only useful if you cant take it out. Egwene just hawk tuahs that thang like it was nothing.
A little constructive criticism regarding shooting with two cameras:
Keep in mind, you're having a conversation with us, your audience. Eye contact is important, in this case, with the camera lens, because that's us. You do a great job of this with camera #1.
I know you used the second camera because it was a great shot of you and the surrounding scenery, which was great, but whenever you switched to the second camera it almost jars us out of the conversation because your then speaking to someone off screen... the other camera.
In the future, consider while shooting, switching your focus to each camera throughout your conversation. Then, in post editing, cut it so you're only showing that camera's view when your focused on it. It will create a much more personal experience for your viewers. In my opinion, anyway.
Great video, excellent commentary as usual. I tremendously appreciate the efforts and trials you went through to bring us video from your time in Alaska, using it's beautiful natural scenery as your backdrop! Thank you!
Disagree completely. She's not a newsreader. Multiple times the video cuts to other scenes and images while she's talking and that doesn't jar me out of the video so why would a wide shot of her talking do that?
@@GingerBeardedGeek86 I didn't have a problem with it. Just down to personal taste, I guess.
You are right. She needs to be angry/furious. It is that simple
And the collar 'needs to be healed' is made up by the writers. Like most of the show
At this point the Aes Sedai wouldn't have asked to be killed because she would not and could not have known to consequences of getting captured. Only someone who wore the collar could know the consequences. And an Aes Sedai would think that she would be in control of any situation that she found herself in. And that she would get the upper hand in time
Okayyyy production value
@ethanmacdonald7859 Haha. Exactly. If only I could have stood 8 feet further back from the closeup camera. It would have put me in the perfect spot for the wide angle camera, too (on the left side, creating a nice frame around the lake and mountains in thw background). Alas.... about 4 inches behind me is a drop off into the lake. My actions camera is on a 6 ft tripod in the water. Haha! But I was determined to get the view of the lake and mountains from this spot. So I had to stand and face awkwardly to the right. Next time, I'll just bring waders and stand in the water. Haha!
I don't want to spoil but the a'dam in the books are closed by a latch. They can be opened manually without use of the one power. The show however is obviously different in some respects.
Matt figures it out.
@@DanWheeler9000 In around 30 seconds too.
Hmm... Just started the video, but in the video you are talking about Season 2 Episode 6, while the title of the video is Season 2 Episode 5. I hope it's the video title that is wrong, because that is an easy fix.
Firstly, ooh once again what a backdrop. You sure that's not painted?
Secondly I was taken a back with that Tina Fey insert because I didn't immediately realise that it wasn't yourself. I had to go search via the quote to find out who it was as I've never watched 30 Rock.
Lastly, yes I agree. It is so weird how they appear to be trying to destroy Nynaeve's character. She could be stubborn and annoying at times, but I still liked her as a character because I knew she was capable. I'm struggling to think of one thing in the show that she did well, all the way through to the end of season 2. She had one silly power burst that healed people around her, but that was some silly fluke that didn't make sense and wasn't intentional. Where it ends in season 2, the book equivalent Nynaeve has helped rescue Perrin and Egwene from White Cloaks, fought off pursuing Seanchan allowing herself and Elayne to escape capture, and helps rescue Egwene from her tortuous experience at the hands of Renna. I can only conclude that Raif hates Nynaeve because she doesn't always treat his beloved Egwene with the respect he thinks she deserves, so this is a purposeful character assassination. There, I said it 😉
@Marwolaeth01 Haha. You said it right.
And about Tina Fey.... yeah, I get that I look like her from folks sometimes.
This lake was so cool. I wish some of the wild trumpeter swans, bald eagles, or river otters got in the shot, but I didnt see them anywhere. On the screen. They were all hanging around and I was hoping one might get into one of the camera's fields of view.
You know, I've got some not-that-serious theory about why they apparently like Egwene so much.
@TheNightrider88 I'm all ears.... or, I guess, eyeballs, since I'm reading these comments, not listening to them.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS okay. First: Egwene never was my favorite character. I mean, she had brilliant moments but she was least interesting one. Second: once I came across.. reader who insisted that Egwene would make a great Forsaken (and it was supposed to be a compliment), and once I found an article claiming that Egwene is only one truly strong woman in the whole series. So I asked myself: what if Egwene have some qualities that resonate with people like these but failed to connect with me? And I think I found answer. Egwene is selfish. Not in bad way, after all, she is quite selective in her means, does not step on others, is quite honest and ultimately a good pesron. But she lacks any set of ideas that would make her inferior to the greater cause. Like, Nynaeve would always put the wellbeing of others befor hers. For Elayne. Andor would be the first priority. Egwene is not attached to any culture or tradition and reall ydoesn't want to be. So... she is closest to the idea of person who does what she wants. And they feel and like it)
@TheNightrider88 hmmmm.... this really is interesting. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for it now. I did pick up on her self interest. Your specificity is an intriguing perspective of her character. Like.... is she the forsaken alternative?
I was trying to rewatch LoTR movies and once again noticed, that almost all changes to the books can be reasonably explained either by streamlining the plot without sacrificing important details, or by the fact that some scenes, if recreated word-for-word, would look poor in visual medium, without Tolkien language to support it.
They don't make adaptations like this anymore)
I'd say Dune took more liberties, but was exceptional quality.... but you are right. In terms of faithfulness, no one has come quite as close and still maintained quality.
Oh wait!
Life of Pi was also pretty close to the source material. Not many people think of it as fantasy, though, even though that's exactly what it is. And it's gorgeous.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS By the way, what would be your dream WoT casting?)
"Some of their damane can sense when a woman is channeling." Some? She means all, right? Any woman who can channel can sense when a woman is channeling. But who cares about lore?
@@Guairedarksbane lol. I complained about that in episode 4 of season 1. All the Aes Swdai should have sensed that Nynaeve could channel, but nope!
Man, every time I see the collars for the Suldam and Damane in this show...I cringe. In the books, it was a SILVER collar, connected by a chainwork so fine as to look like a silver rope to the bracelet of the master. There was no invisible chain for it. It didn't suddenly expand to cover more of their body, and there was no binky/pacifier. And in the books it was SO much worse because of it, because you encounter Aei Sedai who had been SO mentally broken that they forgot their names, and acted like the animals they were made to think they were. They were pets.
On a side note, it really is sad when the BEST parts of reviews for this show is "Well, they made me NOT hate them" and comments on things one would thing would just be expected for a show with this level of funding.
The answer for anything with the Seanchan is that the writers are Aes Sedai simps and anyone opposed to their darlings is EVIL, and cannot be allowed to be competent or have good qualities or have a point. The emphasis of the Children of the Light in the books was on hunting Darkfriends, and according to the Aes Sedai & their friends, were more like Salem witch prosecutors. On the other hand, we never actually SEE them harming innocent people, just people they catch in extremely suspicious circumstances (remember, Perrin assaulted and murdered two Children, because a wolf attacked them and they killed the wolf in self-defense - Perrin & Egwene were NOT innocents being persecuted, they were a murderer and his accomplice). They also believe that anyone who channels is evil and must be a Darkfriend, but it's important to remember that the Aes Sedai trample over national government and there is nothing as feared in their world as a male channeler. Rand saved Agelmar & his army in Tarwin's Gap at the end of book one, and Agelmar saw a man was behind it and he is still horrified at the thought of a male channeler out there, even one who is clearly fighting the Shadow and saving him & his men. The Two Rivers folk are extremely loyal to one another and will always have each other's back, but Mat and Perrin, on learning that Rand can channel, want nothing to do with him. It takes some time for their affection to overcome that visceral revulsion. So the antipathy that the Children have toward channeling is not such an extremist position in the setting. But they turned the Children into anti-channeler Klansmen in Season 1, because all that matters to the writers is that they oppose the Aes Sedai, and so they make the Children somehow a serious threat (whereas in Book 1 & 3 Aes Sedai treat them dismissively, and scare them off with little effort, and the Seanchan massacre Bornhald's force outside Falme), so they can have themselves a persecution narrative and depict the Children as more evil.
Likewise the Seanchan, who believe that channelers are no better than animals and should be collared for the greater good. They treat them like animals, for good as well as for ill. They are affectionate and indulgent as people are with well-behaved animals. It's not malice or bigotry as we associate with American slavery, it's based on a real difference and a real problem that channelers pose to normal humans. Furthermore, despite having a slave society and a rigid class system, the Seanchan are the most meritocratic group or culture in all the known world. They are extremely competent, militarily speaking and extremely efficient rulers and governors, because they have institutionalized and organized bureaucracy and military support systems. They have much higher standards for public works, law enforcement and social services and hold their nobles and leaders to very high standards of responsibility. But we will never see any of that in the show. They will be incompetent and cartoonishly evil, except the sul'dam and damane will be an existential threat whenever the plot calls for it, and anything done to them will be justified.
It should be noted in the books, that a major theme throughout the story is that all of humanity has to put aside their differences to fight the Dark One. Nations that are archrivals are forced to work together, and barbarian clans have to patch over their blood feuds, and the main characters are all behind this, and the readers approve ... until we get to the end of the series, and suddenly the story is making the point that the Seanchan and Children of the Light are human, too, that they oppose the Dark One and are damn good soldiers, and so some of the characters actually start inviting them into the big tent of the Forces of the Light and a lot of readers throw hissy fits and accuse RJ of being pro-slavery and start speculating about the fact that he is from South Carolina. Because the wars between Tear and Illian or the history of bad blood between Andor and Cairhien or the grievances between the Shaarad and Goshien don't mean anything to a reader in real life, so it is easy to view the conflict as objectively unimportant in the big picture. But when it comes to something that they DO have an investment in, like their vicarious identification with their favorite character, which extends to their Aes Sedai membership, or the fact that the Seanchan practice slavery, oh, suddenly, it's a different story! And I would be dollars to doughnuts, the writers of the show fall squarely into that segment of the fandom.
BTW, Amber, as you already in book 5, what do you think about Aiel backstory?
@TheNightrider88 I like it! I like the idea that their history was kept secret and that Rand exposing them is what "destroyed" them. I'd love to see some Aeil seeking to restore their honor by taking up their ancient roles again. See the struggle, that is. I'm wondering if we will get that at all with Aviendah.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS to avoid spoilers, Aviendha *will* play a key role in preparing Aiel for a future.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS It's also quite interesting to think that Tinkers, despite maintaining pacifistic worldview, became less of an Aiel)
Also, I that that you noticed something off about Moiraine in the Book 5)
@@TheNightrider88 I noticed that Moiraine seemed to be altering her strategy with Rand. And I'm not entirely convinced that it's because she just realized that her old manipulative ways weren't working. I do suspect that something big happened to her when she went into Rhuidean. She came out of that a different person. What was she told there? I'm guessing it was something big.
Hopefully in the future we can drop all the books in an AI machine and a movie will pop out.
I think it will happen. The first person to do it and go through and edit everything so that it looks visually pleasing and doesn't have characters with 12 fingers, will make a bundle.
❤
😍
Re: The collar needing a woman to be healed/complete - this is something they've added for the show, I don't like it because it gives the A'dam intent of sorts & having Nynaeve say it just seems a little cheesy.
As for the Yellow Sister being captured, it's not a bad scene, but at the same time there's no chance they Seanchan would just leave after than they would have searched the whole area anyway because her just stepping out and announcing herself is suspicious. That's not even considering they Damane should be able to sense Nynaeve by the window at that distance. I know the writers wanted Elayne & Nynaeve to witness the fight, but it's still annoying.
Does ShowNynaeve looks and behaves like a person who already occupied an important position and was genuinely respected? Does ShowElayne looks like a young lady who can carry herself with regal grace? No. They both are your average gilrs from the block.
@@TheNightrider88 Elayne's portrayal hasn't bugged me too much, but Nynaeve's character sucks so much.... I genuinely feel bad for the actress.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Elayne in the show came across unintentionally sympathetic but I can't imagine her calmly assessing perspectives of people uprising (while in rioting city) or personally studying reports regarding functioning of Caemlyn sewers.
About the Warder killing his Aes Sedai. I don't think it would break any rules. I think it'd be something of an impressive feat but the warder bond isn't like the three oaths so there shouldn't be anything saying it's impossible.
@@Crossaix ok. I can see that.
I don't think they broke any parts of the magic system, but they would have had to be very, very careful if he actually successfully killed her to not break any rules afterwards. She absolutely could prevent him from killing her if she wanted and if he had been successful things would have happened afterwards, but I don't think the bond prevents it if she's not trying to prevent it.
Nynaeve is one of my favourite characters of all time, but I gave all my books to a library for their book sale because I hated the last book too much.
@viperswhip oh no! 😳 I haven't gotten there, yet.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS disregard this. I can name more than two people who were absolutely staggered by overall resolution. Not to mention that books ending is actually what RJ did when he was still alive.
@TheNightrider88 ok. I will finish on my own and, who knows, I might hate it, too.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS At least there will be the reason for a good discussion)
@TheNightrider88 that's basically my reason for watching the show, at this point.
8:45 - You just showed more intelligence in that one comment than the writers of this dumpster fire have ever shown. I admire your persistence. 😀
@@briankinsey3339 ooooh! Sounds like you are saying that my theory is correct! 😁
Sadly, I don't even want to consume wheel of prime takedown's. I just want this nightmare to flicker.
@PotzerTheMan I learned many years ago how to put aside the bad parts of stories, so I could get some enjoyment out of the parts that are good.... but this show has nothing in it I really like.... literally nothing. Even Lan isn't so hot to me anymore.
So there is a Black sister's (one of hte Liandrian 13) whose warders are hunting her down to kill her knowing this will be a death sentence for them. So a warder can kill his Aes Sedai and he will experience the consequences of it.
@@Seomus oh cool! I haven't gotten to that part yet, but I can't wait!
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS That Black Ajah dilemma. Can you trust your warder that you're a darkfriend?
@Seomus I'm guessing this is a big reason for why the Red Aja are more frequently bad guys.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@@CristalPNL 🥰🥰🥰
That Aes Sedai looks shockingly out of place in the show. Like, she actually looks young, if not "ageless", and not definitely middle-aged! She and her Warder care for each other and act like true fireteam. It is especially shocking after all that useless warders (especially lan) in earlier episodes. No wonder they got killed.
In the books the collar just has an internal latch that if the Domani try to touch their hand cramps shut and goes numb. Egwene figures out a weave to undo it but misses and her Suldam comes in so she doesn't get another chance.
In the end, I recall that Nynaeve figured out how to open it, and I loved the rescue story. I can't believe they killed that plot in the show.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS It killed so many plotlines that now just don't work or can't happen now.
Nyneave opens it. But Egwene realizes that suldam are women whi can leran to channel. That why suldam can independently sense channeling sometimes, they call it an affinity something that just happens after long use but some can even feel/see the weave from the damane. Then they used being "complete" wrong as if the adam has an agenda 🙄🙄 butbits actually the suldam who crave being "complete" with the damane because using the one power is super addictive and they do it unknowingly through the adam.
@yogurl6004 ok. That bit about the Suldam craving to be complete makes way more sense, now.
Has The Wheel of Trainwrecks been renewed for a third season?
@@ramonacosta2647 it was filming S3 before S2 came out 🤦🏻♀️🤣
they literally had no idea how to use an actual strong female character in the show.
They truly don't know. The finale confirms this in so many ways.
I hope you keep going with videos on the Wheel of Time when this shitshow of tv eventually gets cancelled.
I will. I'm committed. But it might just turn into commentary on chapters as I read them.
🌼
😍 No one evergive me flowers! Thasnk you!
I found Nynaeve annoying the in the books (before eventually becoming likable) but they somehow managed to make her worse. Book Nynaeve was stubborn and assertive but still civil. Show Nynaeve is just rude and abrasive.
Without spoiling anything- the decision to have Nynaeve “let go” here is another example of the show runners destroying a character’s long term story to get past a scene that they don’t know how to write. See Perrin’s fridge wife, Matt the scummy thief, and Egwene who can overcome physics with the power of girl boss.
@johnpierce7551 In the book, it is so clear that Nynaeve is unable to Channel without being angry. I cannot help but think it's super important for some special reason.
@ Yeah- it really is. I can’t talk about it without spoilers, so I’ll illustrate with something else. I know you are in book 4 and have finished watching this season, so this won’t be spoilery. The way the show had Egwene save herself didn’t just break a carefully crafted magic system, but it also robbed Egwene of her future growth and agency. The fact that she needed to be saved gave her some humility that was needed for her to learn from the wise ones. The fact that the Seanchen almost broke her and would have broken her leaves scars on her. She hates them because deep down she still fears them. All of this is super important later on. My favorite character changed over time with rereads, but it finally settled on Egwene. Rand is the protagonist, but he is a creature of fate and destiny. Egwene chooses to be the hero.
@johnpierce7551 I am almost done with book 5 (I filmed this video over a month ago). I absolutely see how Egwene's humility gets her through her shaming and the pressure put on her by the Aeil wise ones.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS White Tower is Catholic boarding school. Aiel Wise Ones is special forces training camp.
@TheNightrider88 😂😂😂 great analogy
After the abomination of season 1 I refused to watch season 2 😢
I wasn't going to. But i dont like gaps when i watch the reaction shows. So yeah it sucks tho.
I really hate how they portray Nynaeve in the show… but this goes back to my comment once on what I think the writers did with Morraine- focused on one or two traits from the beginning of the book and made that her… no growth no development… just stubborn suspicion of anyone not two rivers…
@@jmatos316 I feel like they've tried to humble her by the end of this season.... but it feels unearned and unrealistic.
More WoT content! Even more pleasant for being unexpected 🙂
Great stuff and exactly my thoughts about poor show Nynaeve. Not that it would matter because I can't see the actress as her (like so many characters). Not to say the actress isn't doing well with what she's given. On the plus, side, Elayne works okay and yay, I guess, she isn't treated like Nynaeve.
I wonder if you'd get the same viewership simply reviewing things in WoT as you read. If your WoT stuff is higher count it might be worth considering, and you know... less aggravating lol. Plus, you're already reading ahead, eh? Eh?
Final point: I'm glad the lake didn't take you. We prefer you as the Lady of the Sword and Pen on UA-cam, not the Lady of the Lake. And speaking of (giant nerd that I am), were you aware of the Nynaeve lake connection?! The WoT Wiki (and I know, it would be super spoilery in general for you) points it out: 'Nyneve' is one of the names of the Lady of the Lake. An Arthurian legend, and then you have Lan as Lord of the Lakes from his homeland. Meara is also a Gaelic name meaning 'pool' or 'lake.'
And this is why Elayne special talent is making ter'angreals. Because she is Lady of the Grail.
Damn that is great. You learn something new everday!!!!
@@TheNightrider88 Nice! 😃
@@yogurl6004 Always, and glad to facilitate! Cheers!
@@ShoMorphias well, I know thing or two about internal Arthurian framework of WoT too)
I am so glad I stopped watching and cancelled my prime sub after the first season. I gave it a chance of the entire first season and am currently re-reading the searies for at least the 8th time. I was so excited when the show was announced but now wish that nothing else that I have read is ever turned into a live action show or even an animated series because for the most part the majority of them are total crap.
I somewhat regret taking on this project because the show is way worse than I thought it would be when I start this.
As much as i love your critiques andnive beeeeeeeeeeeen waiting. I can actually see how draining it is for you. At thus piont i would ven be mad of you just made this abot the books with a few show comments here and there.
My one hope is that it brings more people to the books and that they enjoy the real Wheel of Time story. Good luck and I will remain subbed to you and watch your content.
@yogurl6004 it was draining when I was at thw point that I realized I have nothing good to say anymore because the bad stuff was so egregious. But now I literally don't care. So I just have fun with it.
@garguntoter I already get a bunch of comments fri. people who watched the show before reading the books, and now they are apauled at the show.
You are too hard on yourself- we get what you mean about the pain amplified
I'm an editor. Hyper-self-criticism comes with the job. 😅
There is an inherent limitation in story-telling.
The characters can't be any smarter than the writer(s)...
... and the guy running this show (into the ground)... SMH.
No throughout the show she never channeled.
I think the only channeling she's done in S2 is when she repelled Liandrin.... and when she does that flashy thing at the damane collar.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Granted I maybe misremembering but in my defence the show has a lot of issues trying to get through it was a slog
Cannot stomach the TV series. Its not Robert Jordans Wheel Of Time, its Rafe Judkins wheel of woke
And bad aligned wheel at that,
@@scott4482 by the end of this season, it has strayed so far that I struggle to fathom how they plan to bring it back.
@@TheNightrider88 🤣
Remember, it's very hard to write characters significantly smarter than yourself, and the writers of Wheel of Time are very not-smart themselves.
@@freman007 It's not exactly hard.... but it is definitely time-consuming and requires resourcefulness.
Sorry, Rando here. They didn't cancel this show? Why? Did God, Why?
@@iamdave4426 so, they keep starting production on the next season before releasing the previous. S3 is due to come out soon. 🤦🏻♀️ I will be shocked if they get an S4.
Yes! Let the disappointment flow through you. Silly shells of characters that have no progression, flat stories that contradict themselves. 800 page books worth of build up wasted. Unique cultures that show the beauty of diversity and the natural conflict that everyone overcomes as all borders are shattered by the dragon? No, the writers know better. They make spaghetti story, yes yes.
And we will never ever catch a glimpse of overland trains powered by steam tractors."Four of them hitched together, one behind the other, pulled a hundred wagons all the way from Cairhien" (c)
@@Torresgamingchannel 🤣🤣🤣
@TheNightrider88 did... did I read that part yet? I'm in book 5.
@@TheSwordAndThePenREFLECTIONS Consider this a teaser)
@ in the books there are is a ton of character progression and development. We see a well throughout world with cultures (sea folk, domani, etc). It’s a shame the show decided to just rush through everything. The dragon shattering all borders is a prophecy. We see the sea folk coming on land. And borders disappear as he conquers kingdoms and the aiel coming from out of the wastes. I can’t say anything else or it would be a spoiler. It feels like they have spoiled a lot of stuff before they got to build it up. I don’t think they believe anyone would actually watch the show if they followed the books.
I loath the adaption to a show. Sort of put up with season one and tied to think okay a different turning of the wheel during a first viewing but on a second viewing just could stand it. Lost a bet and had to watch the second season that is ten times worse.
Know folks never read the book that enjoyed it for season nine and half of season two before turning sour on it. Got them to read the books and now they are really upset at the show.
Enjoy the reviews as you point out flaws and what could have been done to improve it. Won’t watch season three but bet I watch your reviews of it!
Until they full reboot the show just can’t watch it and prefer reading the series over and over to watching it
I have heard similar things in the comments of my videos (about people liking the show until they read the books).
I will keep going with the show and summarizing the scenes, so folks who aren't watching it can still catch what's going on.
Thanks for keeping up with me 😊
I read all of "The Wheel of Time" books. I hated the first season so much that I didn't even know there was a second season. I'm not even going to waste my time with season 2. And I'm blocking all channels that even acknowledge it's existance. Sorry nothing personal. I hope you find a better way to spend your time... bye...
@@kamojet ok
Thanks for commenting anyway 😊