Non-Book Reader Review | The Wheel of Time S2 Episodes 4-5 *spoilers*
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- Perrin and Elyas take a trip to the Lake District, Liandrin has a risky plan to take down the Seanchan, and Rand is playing an undercover lover in Lanfear's kinky dreams. What does a non-book reader think of episodes 4 & 5 of season 2?
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Fun fashion fact: Ishy is wearing thigh high boots in the prologue of the eye of the world so thigh highs are perhaps just the fashion of those days. 😂🤷🏻♀️
It truly was an age full of legends! 🤣
Also, Lanfear is merged with Semirhage a very sadistic Forsaken in the book, who kept people as pets ...
@@Berndr graendal is the one who kept pets. Semirhage was the sadist torture specialist
@@Berndr that is speculation
S2 is a huge improvement from s1. I'm so excited and anticipating how each story unravel, waiting to find out what happens next 😊
I'm also loving the feeling of not knowing what exactly will happen next! Fun for book readers and non-book readers alike
On Seanchan nails There's a conflict on whether there is a strict numerical rise in parallel to higher rank, one page said member of the Low Blood could lacquer one or two nails (pinky and ring finger), another said they were only allowed one (the pinky). Color was not mentioned. Similarly, a page said the High Blood lacquered two fingers, while another claimed that one or two could be lacquered depending on rank (presumably depending on rank internally in the High or Low Blood, respectively.)
- High Lord Turak was mentioned on the pages as having two blue nails on each hand. Similarly, High Lady Suroth was mentioned as having two fingernails blue. This supports the claim that all member of the High Blood have two fingernails lacquered, however, I wasn't able to find more info.
- Lastly, the Imperial family is said to lacquer three fingernails, and the color black was mentioned - this makes sense, since black is generally associated with the imperial family (or at least a very dark green). The Empress herself lacquers all fingernails, and again black was mentioned.
Brilliant! Thank you. I'll make sure Caitlin sees this so she can finally stop asking what's up with the nails (I act annoyed, but secretly, I love that she's asking about the lore).
@@ElliotEdits hope it helps clear things up for her a bit.
The fingernails are real and when he said she can’t come to court until she’s presentable it meant , until they grow back.
Thank you! I'll let Caitlin know 👍
They are real but they have a shield over them so that they aren't broken easily, so it makes it look like they are some Lee Press On's
@@EtchAGetch 🤣 thanks!
Breaking the nails didn't seem to matter much though... 🤔
@@bidossessi A powerful Damane > nails on fleek
3000 years ago, a conqueror took most of the Westland and sent his son to the west with troops and were never heard of. In the westlands, the empire collapse and separated in the many countries we see now. In reality the fleet arrived to a new continent and they conquered it and created the Seanchan empire, so all the people descendant of this conqueror make the the Empress and her family and the High Blood (high nobility) and those from the fleet are the low blood (lower Nobility). They mark their status by shaving their hair and growing their nails. Now they are coming back to their ancestor's land to conquered them back.
Thank you! Praise the Empress, may she live forever!
In the Seanchan nobility, longer and more numerous fingernails symbolize higher social standing. This peculiar tradition underscores the nobility's embrace of impracticality, emphasizing their dependence on servants for everyday tasks as a privilege of their elevated status. It serves as a visible manifestation of their entitlement, luxury, and excess, with an intricate hierarchy based on nail length. Rituals and ceremonies further emphasize the importance of these extravagant nails, solidifying their place as a defining feature of Seanchan nobility.
Very nicely put. Thank you. Just think of the back scratched too!
Liandrin went from unlikable good guy to likable bad guy in this episode.
But which is better? 🤔
such an improvement over the books. love what they've done with Liandrin and the actress is killing it
I did love the Moiraine scenes on episodes 4&5.
Liandrin and Selene have been great
No arguments here! I hope we'll get a bit more if Liandrin's backstory, even after her reveal 😳
as an establishment shot, I thought the very opening shot of Falme overlooking port in the very first scene of the cold opening was amazing
Both were amazing! It's making me wonder if they are combining Falme and the Stone of Tear. They definitely made Falme more than a fishing town 🤔
Since variety is the spice of life, I'll highlight a Rosamund Pike (Moiraine) acting highlight - her scene with Logain in e4 (keeping in mind that she herself has lost her connection to the One Power) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rosamund Pike is absolutely killing it this season. I don't blame the writers for wanting to give her more to play with by taking her powers away
Wolves can't be too cute! Agree, no more pissing on trees. That gets soooo old. Can't believe they there.
Cute or not, I wouldn't have the confidence to relieve myself on a tree with those wolves nearby, just in case they mistakenly spy a sausage 😳
@@ElliotEdits LOL 😂 Love your sense of humor!
@@jodiz5901 😅 thanks!
The Seanchan blood have the long nails, lacquered fingernails and yeah they are actual nails - maybe like 2-3 inches from memory for the highest but not like, a foot and a half lol.
Thank you! It is a cool bit of costume design making them longer in the show
@@ElliotEdits yeah i wasnt a fan in the leadup but they have an effect in the show which is probably what they are going for - it does present a bit of a problem for Turak using his sword however, ngl.
Popping is a superb choice of words 😂
The Whitecloaks don’t do it for C anymore RIP.
Her snood I’m dying 😂
Nynaeve is a bomb to kill the Seanchan I’m completely on board.
The snood comment killed me!
Why did they replace Gaul with Aviendha? I don’t think she has ever talked to Perrin in the books and won’t be with him next season. They could have introduced her in Season 3 as they introduced Elayne in Season 2 when she is important to the story.
Because Gaul is a minor character without relevance to the overrall story that is very useless. Thus having Aviendha merged with the tiny roll of Gaul and being introduce there makes more sense since a show format.
I think Aviendha is a character that everybody is excited to see, so making her our first main Aiel character and proper introduction to their culture makes a lot of sense. Can always expand the number of Aiel characters later on.
Gaul is only relevant to Perrin's story around the Two Rivers arc, Avi becomes immediately relevant almost from the start, and this way we get her introduced to Rand early on.
I loved episode 5. It finally gave me a WoT feeling again. Happy with what we've got. I didn't notice your points (Elliot's) about the wolves nature reserve, but you are right! They had the 'clean' problem more in S1, more dirty people now, but this is obviously one aspect they'd forgotten to fix. Probably because it was easier to film here than in foliage covered areas.
That said, favorite Moraine moments... well, she's not my favorite (sorry!) neither in the books nor the show. I felt her shtick with moping Lan really dragged the start of the season down & I'm still not over he overshadowing the boys in S1. That said, she's a good character (and actress) and it shows. I am happy that she's a bit more humble now. It's a good look! I love that we've got icons like Hopper and Aviendha....
SPOILERS
...think that Dain will get Galad's story and very psyched for Egwene's arc. Rand will remain my favorite so I'm really hoping he'll finally get that Dragon moment that he was denied in S1. Waiting for bad assesery here! A bit bummed out that Lanfear is now Lanmiraghe, because she seemed a bit to bloodthirsty psycho instead of stalker ex (I'll assume they merged the two). I get they had to cut Forsaken though...
And? You, Elliot?
I am enjoying season 2 a lot more than the first (which I did enjoy but did feel slightly held back).
You make an interesting point about Galad and Dain being combined. I guess I don't have too much of a problem with that, but Galad was one of my low-key favourites from the books. I was hoping he'd be developed more for the show, but I can understand the decision to cut/combine him.
@@ElliotEditsGalad is already in the show, he was casted back in July
@trashak3 that brings up the merge between Gaul and Aviendha. What I don't know is which storyline she'll follow in Season 3's take on TSR. Because both characters are wonderful and they both have cool stories, about as far apart as you can get on the continent.
@@ElliotEdits It would make things easier to understand for non-readers and Valda already has the 'insane white cloak vibe'. Dain was shown to be a 'better' whitecloak, but... we'll see I guess;-)
I agree about S2. Here's hoping the trend upwards continues it it will become a strong show that will reach season 8 in style!
What did you think about the axing of Gaul?
@@Wouldyoukindly4545 I'll assume Aviendha will become Perrin's friend and will meet Rand at Falme. Beyond that your guess is as good as mine! Would be interesting if she'd go to Two Rivers instead of becoming a Wise One. Not sure how I'd feel about that...
Regarding costume remember Lanfear is merged with another very sadistic Forsaken Semirhage... and that explains all her behavior in the show!
Semigarde is not merged with Lanfear... more probably into Moghedien or Graendal.
I have heard this a lot. I really think Semirhage's storyline would be a better reincarnation for Lanfear than Cyndane
Fingernail lore 😂: The rank system is a combination of hair styling (similar to Han- or Qin-era China?) and nail lacquering.
- There's a conflict on whether there is a strict numerical rise in parallel to higher rank, one page said member of the Low Blood could lacquer one or two nails (pinky and ring finger), another said they were only allowed one (the pinky). Color was not mentioned. Similarly, a page said the High Blood lacquered two fingers, while another claimed that one or two could be lacquered depending on rank (presumably depending on rank internally in the High or Low Blood, respectively.)
- High Lord Turak was mentioned on the pages as having two blue nails on each hand. Similarly, High Lady Suroth was mentioned as having two fingernails blue. This supports the claim that all member of the High Blood have two fingernails lacquered, however, I wasn't able to find more info.
- Lastly, the Imperial family is said to lacquer three fingernails, and the color black was mentioned - this makes sense, since black is generally associated with the imperial family (or at least a very dark green). The Empress herself lacquers all fingernails, and again black was mentioned.
This is the info I was able to gather from looking at a wiki - so of course, the info is subject to scrutiny, wikis being as open-sourced as they are
Thank you for gathering the data! Caitlin is becoming increasingly obsessed with the Seanchan. I worry she might try to grow her two fingernails out 😳
@@ElliotEdits I can’t take credit, I searched it and copy pasted the entire thing. I’m glad she’s enjoying it, the next episode looks like it’ll be a big seanchan one, looks pretty dark too which would be decent as it pretty brutal in the books too.
Urbandictionary should have an entry for "moiraineing" someone at this point
100%! I'm gonna start using it 😅
i like that also none book readers dont like this Lan trash in the Show, but everyhting else i like, Epsiode 5 is my favorite of all so far. My favorite Scene is Lanfear and Ishy in the dream World.
That was my favourite scene from episode 5 as well! Perfect combination of menacing and playful, just like the Forsaken should be.
I just stumbled on your channel while looking up WOT stuff and I think you are both great! I’m not a book reader (yet lol) so it’s great to have a review from that viewpoint. You have a new subscriber! Keep up the great work!
Welcome! Thank you, really glad you enjoy the content. No plans to stop anytime soon 😅
loved it :) you guys are great, keep positive :D
Thank you!
Now that you mention it, it looks like Perrin and Elyas are walking though a Centre Parcs!
I wonder if there's a Butlins nearby 🤔
Think if you had fingernails like that you couldn’t do anything for yourself. So it’s a sign of wealth and nobility cause it means you have hella servants and slaves to do everything for you.
Very good point. They would be highly impractical. Seanchan comment sections must be all servants.
forget the fingernails! justice for lady suroth's eyebrows! where have they gone?!
🤣🤣 the Seanchan are really harsh about disobeying orders
The last episode gave me a lot of hope for the rest of the season, but I have not idea how they can do grand finale in three episodes, and I've barely seen Mat.
There's a lot to wrap up, but the episodes are a bit longer than season 2. They could do a lot in 3.5 hours. Fingers crossed there's more Mat in episode 6 🤞
Best ep of the show!
Definitely the episode that feels the most like The Wheel of Time. The Forsaken interaction was perfect
Okay hear me out: It would be better to stay on the well work road where lots of people travel and go in either this direction or that direction.
Okay, your logic is irrefutable
I agree the lan arc is boring, no idea why they have spent so much time on him moping around. Loved E5 however, i still think we may have gaul! but wont explain why as i dont want to spoiler anyone.
I hope you are right about Gaul! Rafe really loves his sad warder storylines aye 😅
@@ElliotEdits Without spoilering-- if you think of when gaul is in the two rivers, aviendha is somewhere a very long way away involved in a major part of the story... hence why i think we will have them both.
💕💕
Yeah that Lan scene was painful. I feel bad for Daniel Henney. He finally gets the epic Asian warrior in fantasy role and he’s done nothing interesting in season two other than the fade bAttle in episode one
True, I hope Lan gets a bit more action towards the end of this season!
I read that scene at the tree as he can't even go take a piss without someone hovering over him. He's being coddled and atm he can't do much about that. I'm good with having him take some contemplative moments and conversations with peers to figure out what he wants to do now that Moiraine isn't keeping him in confidence anymore. That, to me, is just as interesting as battle scenes. Since Lan wasn't even in book 2 much other than to be in conflict with Moiraine as she's doing her research, I wasn't expecting this first half of the season to give him some crazy action filled story line - getting some good character motivation scenes is nice foundation building.
I’m in the minority about both Episodes 4 & 5.
Loved bits of Episode 4 because they gave me real hope the Series finally found its adaptive feet.
Enjoyed how they established Perrin as a Wolfbrother and with basically 2 scenes tied it all together and back to basically everything he has gone through.
They’ve neatly positioned Perrin about where he was after freeing the Wolfman with Moiraine’s help in Jarra, early on in The Dragon Reborn.
And it only took 2 scenes! I was genuinely excited at this stage.
I ought to have listened to that Richard Marx song again… Should’ve Known better.
Also in Episode 4, I think we saw the results of The Producers’ best pre-production decision- not to go after the Ageless look as a plank of their presentation of Aes Sedai. Instead they chose to emphasise and reinforce the reality of Agelessness with some excellent Show & Tell, bookended by Moiraine and her sister & given some gut wrenching soul by Liandrin at her duplicitous best, when she sat Nynaeve down like Sir Alex might have a prospective high priced recruit for Man Utd.
Episode 5 was a major disappointment.
I was as devastated as Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest fan, when he realised going back to Man Utd was breaking your teeth on fool’s gold.
This could have been genuinely Great TV!
Seanchan beginning was very good… until Fain showed up like a dangling participle (evil in name only). What a waste of a genuine alternative Evil Wildcard so far he has been!
I don’t get all this excitement about the Lanfear Chase.
By the end of the Episode even the TV Show itself has exposed it for the scriptwriting gear grind that it was.
Forsaken don’t Chase people. They have a Talent for showing up where they know they will find them… or they delegate menial pursuits to various beasts (human or otherwise) at their disposal.
Any chance of a Darkhound… since we know Draghkar are persona non grata for TV purposes.
I enjoyed how they echoed a spine tingling scene between Ishamael & Lanfear in the World of Dreams from the books (Perrin’s POV in TDR iirc)
However, that Lanfear dialogue about ‘The Boys’ almost ruined it for me.
Lanfear’s costume at the end was good comedy, made better by your observation Elliot. I thought she looked like she’d been dunked in a jar of Vegemite, but I like your Power Ranger Villain analogy much better.
And now we come to the most disappointing moment of all.
I already thought Aviendha was miscast. Now I know I was right.
Anytime you got a clear look at her in that terribly staged, dismally shot fight scene (ripping off one of my favourite moments in the books) she looked like frozen peas bouncing off the kitchen bench after the uncooperative bag finally rips open in your now sweaty hands.
And Perrin goes from the epitome of sharp adaptation in Episode 4, to a scriptwriting tool whose actions are determined only by what Producers want to happen next, instead of an organic unfolding of the Story.
And poor Uno… still unburied. No Last embrace of the Mother for him, but he did yeoman’s work in getting Perrin into the village.
Having vented that out refreshingly, I hope at the very least, the setup between Perrin & Bornhald is explored intelligently next Season. There is real potential there for some saving grace.
My favourite Moiraine moments are, from Episode 4, when she is emotionally struck (quietly but powerfully) by seeing her sister and the Head Servant conferring and noticing how old they look. RP really emotes the emptiness of Time Past when juxtaposed with the immediate needs of the Now and the Demands of the Future.
They all (actors & filmmakers alike) achieve so much by doing so little. Very impressive!
And Episode 5, it was Moiraine and her sister again. Bathing and actually talking. Giving us a story instead of expositing dialogue for the sake of hitting plot points.
Thank You both for some more great work.
Here’s hoping the curve keeps that upward gradient for your enjoyment.
I look forward to checking in with you from my roller coaster next Episode!
Thank you for the detailed comment! Particularly enjoyed the Manchester United analogies. Not the best start for us this season, but hopefully it will result in the Glazers finally selling the club.
Agree with you about the subtle moments with Moiraine being the highlights that show a good level of storytelling understanding. I can't agree with you about Aviendha. I really enjoyed Ayoola Smart's introduction. I hope she can convince you in future episodes.
" since we know Draghkar are persona non grata for TV purposes."
Why do we "know" this?
Are they replacing Gaul with Aviendha?
I hope there's room for both
👍👍👍🎡🎡🎡⌚️⌚️⌚️
Nice review. Lots of heartwarming candour.
This show really highlights how there's no accounting for taste. A good tale is not necessarily one that has no mistakes, but rather one where you're willing to ignore them in exchange for immersion. I guess a lot of people are willing to do that for WoT. Good for the showrunners, I guess, because I'm struggling to _not_ see the mistakes.
Good thing for the show that so many book readers are ready and willing to pick up its slack. 😉
Thank you!
When it comes to TV I'm always reminded of this quote from Abed in Community... "...it has to be joyful, effortless, fun. TV defeats its own purpose when it's pushing an agenda, or trying to defeat other TV or being proud or ashamed of itself for existing. It's TV; it's comfort. It's a friend you've known so well, and for so long you just let it be with you, and it needs to be okay for it to have a bad day..."
It is difficult to show the wolf sequences without CGI. People think WOT ripped off plot lines from Game of Thrones, but it may be the other way around. The Eye of the World and Great Hunt were published 10 years before Song of Ice and Fire. Anyway I liked the Hopper name reveal
I agree, I don't envy the task of the producers deciding how to do the wolves. I did like the visions Perin sees. Slightly less cheesy than a voice in his head.
Almost nothing from GOT is taken from the WOT, let's not forget that most of the WOT (specially Eye of the World) is HEAVILY inspired and taken from Lord of the Rings (Said by Jordan himself). The similarity in plots is because fantasy in a medieval world has a lot of constraints about what happens or not, so the idea the author has can coincide with what some other fantasy author did already even if they are unknown of each others book, which is the case here with GOT and WOT.
After seeing more reactions, it is clear they are merging Semirhage with Lanfear, but there was literally 0 indication of this personality trait ahead of time. Maybe if they made Selene kinky it would be more believable. But this is a huge miss from me.
This was actually my theory in my 'WoT if you could only have 7 Forsaken' video. Not saying Rafe watched it or anything but... 😅
I think it could work if she's reborn as Semirhage after events the events of Fires of Heaven
@@ElliotEdits It actually works BETTER that they didn't like each other as much in the books as they don't share page time
@@rainbowsprinklez Exactly! I really hope Semirhage isn't cut completely. She was the scariest and most effective in my opinion
@@ElliotEdits I think we are just getting what Lanfear said, Moghedien, Graendal, and 3 boys + Lanfear and Ishy = 7.
I predict the boys are Sammael, Rhavin, and Asmodean. Sammael is 100, but Rahvin or Asmodean could be Demandred.
@@rainbowsprinklez Good picks, but need Demandred to shut Gawyn up for good ;)