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MegaZeroX posted:So now that the seasons over I'm curious what people's final episode rankings are. going by imdb, best to worst -- which is about where I'd rank them personally, tbqh (4, 7, and 2 stand out as my personal favorites): Episode 4 - The Dragon Reborn - 8.9 Episode 7 - The Dark Along the Ways - 8.4 Episode 2 - Shadow's Waiting - 8.0 Episode 3 - A Place of Safety - 7.9 Episode 6 - The Flame of Tar Valon - 7.8 Episode 5 - Blood Calls Blood - 7.7 Episode 1 - Leavetaking - 7.5 Episode 8 - The Eye of the World - 7.1
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Dec 24, 2021 06:16
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Hughmoris posted:That finale was poop from butt. If you told me this show was on the CW I'd believe you. Yeah the plot changes are largely unnecessary and baffling. I can understand needing to take some narrative shortcuts in places but it seems like they just changed a bunch of poo poo for no reason, or vastly accelerated things that are drawn out more in the books and completely robbed them of their impact. I'll give the second season a chance but I'm not excited for it. For contrast, Game of Thrones was a great adaptation, especially early on. It was true to the original material and when they did deviate, I could immediately understand why they made that choice. It lost its way when they ran out of source material but that's GRRM's fault.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:19
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: Tag me fam
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Dec 24, 2021 06:23
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Ishamael is great. I agree he tricked Rand into breaking one of the Dark One's seals. They're leaning into the third age Aes Sedai not really knowing anything about how that all works. Feels like the showrunners thought the AoL cold open would be really neat to see, but I don't know what it accomplished beyond introducing Lews Therin's actor. The vibe was also not that this society had been at war with Satan for a couple of centuries, but I guess they wanted to communicate the former magic sci-fi world to the audience. Fain and two Fades stabbing Loial and Uno but leaving them alive (he'd better have!) is weird. Definitely feels like Mat was supposed to be in that scene. The battle was... fine, it's neat that TV can do stuff like that these days but it wasn't actually all that interesting. But I'm guessing that's where a lot of money went. It also feels like a lot of resources went into the Seanchan which are just a teaser for next season. Was that oddly-edited shot of Mat back in Tar Valon? It looked like Shadar Logoth to me. It's weird watching this at the same time as the Witcher this week. WoT is condensing and rearranging a massive amount of source material, while Witcher needs to pad out some fairly slight and meandering books with a lot of extra fluff. I give the season a B+, I'm curious enough to keep me watching but if I wasn't a reader I probably wouldn't stick with it. I guess the most optimistic thing I can say is that they really seem to be playing the long game here.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:29
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Episode was ok. I'm not sure I liked everything, but I'm ready for season 2. Where is Texas Seanchan though? Rip
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Dec 24, 2021 06:32
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alcaras posted:going by imdb, best to worst -- which is about where I'd rank them personally, tbqh (4, 7, and 2 stand out as my personal favorites): Yeah, IMDB is basically the bookreader ratings because they are the majority of people bothering to rate individual episodes. My understanding is the average show-watcher ranking (before episode 8) was something like 4 > 1 > 6 ~= 5 ~= 7 > 2 ~= 3. This what I observed in friend group, my family, and random show-watchers online.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:32
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Omnomnomnivore posted:Was that oddly-edited shot of Mat back in Tar Valon? It looked like Shadar Logoth to me. Honestly, since they appeared, I've thought that Greater Tar Valon was a redress of Shadar Logoth. Feels like similar architecture for the parts that would be set, they're both made of narrow streets, just without all the colour saturation pulled out. Somewhere - I think it was in an answer about why Caemlyn isn't around - they said they only really had the budget for one city this season, so it would make sense to me if there's some reuse there.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:41
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New Yorp New Yorp posted:Yeah the plot changes are largely unnecessary and baffling. How can you know what is necessary or unnecessary without knowing what's coming next?
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Dec 24, 2021 06:51
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: I'd like a new gangtag. Cheers.
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Dec 24, 2021 06:56
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Seems the cold open existed specifically so someone could point this out in a tweet: https://twitter.com/Nakomi14/status/1474200901862764549
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Dec 24, 2021 06:57
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Yeah like even without knowing what's next Moraine being stilled/shielded is important to give some sense of loss as an outcome since no one dieing would feel cheap. I'm guessing the horn being in Fal Dara was for a Mat plot that got yeeted, which also involved Fain. The B plot was probably supposed to be more epic but COVID restrictions screwed them on that one. The actual confrontation at the Eye of the Word was way better
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Dec 24, 2021 06:57
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I really liked parts of the episode and was baffled by other decisions. I feel like Loial has been done dirty ever since he appeared. I almost thought killing him unceremoniously was an admission that they had no idea what to do with him, but apparently he'll be back. Perrin is also just not working for me. Rand vs Ishmael loving ruled. I love that brief smirk right before Rand evaporates him.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:02
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Atlas Hugged posted:I really liked parts of the episode and was baffled by other decisions. I feel like Loial has been done dirty ever since he appeared. I almost thought killing him unceremoniously was an admission that they had no idea what to do with him, but apparently he'll be back. Perrin is also just not working for me. Rand vs Ishmael loving ruled. I love that brief smirk right before Rand evaporates him. Loial being stabbed was to replace a Mat plot, I am extremely convinced. Maybe not the neatest but they had to work with what they had and what they have to do going forward.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:03
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season basically fell off a cliff after episode 4 imo. all the time spent on that nobody warder would have had some payoff if moirane had 'died', but she's ended the season shielded (with her bond masked!), so it's just inexplicable instead. i'm sure the reason was "rosamund pike is famous so we're making her the main character", but it's a shame they didn't make her and lan (and the aes sedai generally) seem more aloof and all-knowing to the viewer, before unpacking the myth and exposing their divisions/fallabilities in later seasons. introducing the white tower half-assedly was a mistake, to me, especially since egwene and nynaeve are presumably going to be doing harry potter stuff in s2 anyway. also, a nitpick: the weaving looks like rear end. outside of the shields, it's just a bunch of light tentacles floating around. i want multilayered spirograph-looking bullshit. exmarx fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Dec 24, 2021 |
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Dec 24, 2021 07:12
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exmarx posted:also, a nitpick: the weaving looks like rear end. outside of the shields, it's just a bunch of light tentacles floating around. i want multilayered spirograph-looking bullshit. It isn't until later in the series that we get a more detailed accounting at all about channeling. As Nynaeve/Egwene learn more, we can see what they see and understand a bit about it, but for the first twoish books, magic is best described as "a wizard did it." Hell, we have poo poo in the first book that we never, ever really encounter again, including Rand's weird teleport (clearly not the same as Travelling later on), those bizarre cords, and Moiraine's stepping-over-a-wall illusion. The Eye confrontation in ep 8 was much truer in tone to the latter books than it was book 1--and I'm completely OK with that. The biggest issues I have with events are how they were framed, and didn't feel as impactful as they probably should have. A quick shot of Rand telling Moiraine that "Shai'tan is dead!" followed shortly by some gnarly lurch would have been welcome, for example. A few seconds here or there to extend a scene would have made a world of difference.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:21
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: I've never had a gang tag. This seems like a swell place to start! The pacifiers were very strange.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:29
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Sublimer posted:No way did they actually kill Loial but if they did I’m gonna be PISSED. Im gonna be contrary here and say, “gently caress him. Cut the character.” Don’t get me wrong. I love book-Loial, I do. Show Loial?? The actor is fine, I don’t care that they didn’t CGI him to be huge or whatever. Hate the hair and beard, but that’s neither here nor there. Problem is…he’s unnecessary. He doesn’t do a whole lot except close waygates that’s crucial to the plot. He absolutely has some badass moments and lines, but if I’m trying to justify the actor’s salary and FX makeup costs? I can’t do it. Pour one out for Treebrother, but the actor should now be available for other roles. Balefire me, cowards.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:32
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navyjack posted:Im gonna be contrary here and say, “gently caress him. Cut the character.” most show watchers really love loial though, as far as i can tell at least
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Dec 24, 2021 07:34
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Seeing as how only 1 half-trained ex-Accepted and 2, possibly 4 untrained wilders managed to take out several thousand trollocs and a couple dozen fades, the bigger channeler battle scenes like Dumai's Wells are gonna be wild.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:37
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navyjack posted:Im gonna be contrary here and say, “gently caress him. Cut the character.” Nah Loial was great and he'll be fine.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:37
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The little bits of Loial we’ve had have been great, and I hope that we get more of him in the next season.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:38
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I think the actor is fine but that makeup is godawful.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:42
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Synastren posted:It isn't until later in the series that we get a more detailed accounting at all about channeling. As Nynaeve/Egwene learn more, we can see what they see and understand a bit about it, but for the first twoish books, magic is best described as "a wizard did it." Hell, we have poo poo in the first book that we never, ever really encounter again, including Rand's weird teleport (clearly not the same as Travelling later on), those bizarre cords, and Moiraine's stepping-over-a-wall illusion. Noticed two things related to this: 1. In the flashback they call the Dark One Shai Hulud. I guess they can’t use Shai’Tan because that’s literally Satan in Arabic and might… cause some issues with international audiences? (Even though the land is technically Earth) 2. I wonder if that’s the same reason they didn’t make a mention of using the Dark One’s proper name? At least, I don’t remember then mentioning it at all.
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Dec 24, 2021 07:50
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Goreld posted:1. In the flashback they call the Dark One Shai Hulud. I guess they can’t use Shai’Tan because that’s literally Satan in Arabic and might… cause some issues with international audiences? (Even though the land is technically Earth)
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Dec 24, 2021 07:55
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I know things get weird with publicly-available casting knowledge like that, but it's kind of a loving bizarre choice not to at least try and not spoil the Ishmael reveal in the x-ray info?
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Dec 24, 2021 07:57
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CainFortea posted:How can you know what is necessary or unnecessary without knowing what's coming next? Because they have literally 10,000 pages of already written content to draw from. The first book is not particularly expansive or far-ranging; it could have been adapted pretty much as written and been fine. I can understand skipping Baerlon and Caemlyn to compress things a bit and leave out characters that are minor initially but become major later on. I can even forgive giving Perrin a wife for 5 seconds so he could kill her -- it's a convenient narrative shortcut for his endless internal monologue about choosing the hammer over the axe. I was hoping for a faithful adaptation with the extraneous/tedious stuff cut out, but that's not what I'm seeing so far. The problem is that the changes they're making are only going to snowball from here. I'm expecting it to be pretty far off the rails by the end of the second season.
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Dec 24, 2021 08:09
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Man, throughout the entire episode I was thinking "you cut the prologue at Dragonmount for this?" Age of Legends opener was pretty bad and pointless. Now, I will admit I got super hyped seeing our boy LTT because I thought we were getting the prologue, but we seem to have reduced the entire thing to Lews Therin Telamon randomly deciding to go put Satan in Satan jail for no reason instead of, you know, Lanfear digging a big hole and letting him out. I guess that would detract from Perrin whinging about his wife? Speaking of which, I'm not sure why Perrin is in this show at all or why we got flashbacks to him hanging out with wolves because he sure as hell doesn't do anything. It's been years since I last reread Eye of the World in full, but I don't remember Perrin ever hesitating to fight Trollocs and whatnot. People, sure, Trollocs, no. Nynaeve undying like Angry Bob and the whole scene where Agelmar's sister got too hot and bothered to cut the circle sure was a plot point we needed added to distract us from boring plotlines like Jesus in the desert. I came very close to bursting out in laughter. Bonus points for the seal prop looking like a random rock some dude found at a gift shop, or Moiraine getting stilled/perma-shielded? for extra drama. I did like Ishamael and him tempting Rand was definitely the highlight among the mediocre nonsense.
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Dec 24, 2021 08:17
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More I think about the finale, the more disappointed I am. More of a whimper than a bang.
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Dec 24, 2021 08:21
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I want a gang tag please. Show is good. Changes work, more or less. I would like, going forward, for them being okay with Rand being so overpowered and actually show him flexing, when that happens naturally in the story. LionArcher fucked around with this message at 08:29 on Dec 24, 2021 |
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Dec 24, 2021 08:23
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: tug tug tug smoothe smoothe smoothe
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Dec 24, 2021 08:39
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile:
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Dec 24, 2021 08:41
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My biggest complaint about the episode is that Ishamael calls him just "Lews" at one point, not "Lews Therin," which I don't think happens at all ever a single time in the entire book series!!! I think season 2 should be pretty good with what they've set up and with a season of experience under them (storytelling, editing, and just pure production work) and a lot of world building out of the way (I say this knowing they've only introduced like 2 countries and 3 cities and 15 characters out of... so so much). Maybe they'll even get more episodes! It's not the series I wanted as a book adaptation, but it is a series in the world of The Wheel of Time and will likely hit most of the same beats so I'll watch it and be happy  but for real what's up with the damane costumes
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Dec 24, 2021 08:49
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*Fain is in Tar Valon* *Moiraine breaks Mat from the dagger in Tar Valon* *Fain shows up in Fal Dara with the dagger* I have no idea how this chain of events could have possibly happened exmarx posted:all the time spent on that nobody warder would have had some payoff if moirane had 'died' If only this were to happen at some later point in the series 
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Dec 24, 2021 09:03
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baffled how they're treating the forsaken and baffled this episode is like 53 minutes. will non book readers think ishamael was the dark one for the next year and think the forsaken are bullshit when it's revealed? as soon as the seal broke i was expecting the barest minimum of 90 seconds given to a couple forsaken being released from the prison or hanging out in some parisian cafe illusion and saying "drat ishy done got blasted huh" and clinking wine glasses. then i saw the coastline and knew that that was it. ugh i liked eps 6 and 7 so much and finally had expectations for this one lol
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Dec 24, 2021 09:24
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: 
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Dec 24, 2021 09:26
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I would love to see the original script for this episode. I bet it would have been much stronger since 7 and 8 had to be written in much shorter time.
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Dec 24, 2021 09:28
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major rewrites to turn rand back into the dragon from mat
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Dec 24, 2021 09:29
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: Yes please!
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Dec 24, 2021 09:40
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, quote this post by midnight Christmas EST if you want this gangtag added to your profile: Tug for this gangtag
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Dec 24, 2021 09:53
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I know where this is all going but I'm interested to see how it's going to get there. The adaptational changes have been pragmatic and I can sense the payoff coming. I feel like the parts of the show that have been less than I hoped for - and there haven't been many of those! - were a consequence not of incompetence, but of production challenges, like an actor's sudden departure or too few episodes, that are likely to be less of a problem as the show is found to be empirically popular. When's season 2? Oh god, this is going to be waiting for the next book all over again.
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Dec 24, 2021 10:18
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