#The wheel of time pilot plus

But Jordan wasn’t a generic fantasy writer. Martin’s Game of Thrones (whose TV adaptation The Wheel of Time is inevitably compared to). It’s easy to write off the books as a generic fantasy adventure, another Lord of the Rings knockoff without the deconstruction of George R.R.

On paper, The Wheel of Time is a fantasy series in which a chosen one is expected to return to fight the “Dark One” with magic. But some alterations in plot and direction leave parts of the mythos unfocused-which is a shame because the strongest moments come when those elements come to the forefront.

As of the fifth episode, it’s clear Judkins isn’t going for an exact translation from page to screen. And for the most part, showrunner Rafe Judkins and the crew have done so. Book readers such as myself have to accept that things will be condensed and altered, but the hope is that it still feels like The Wheel of Time, rather than a show with the occasional forced reference to the books. But it also has to thread the needle of being true to the books’ main themes and thrust while also doing what is best for the medium of television, and likely won’t please anyone in the process-it’s 2021 and people are still mad Tom Bombadil was cut out of The Lord of the Rings films. The show wants to set up its characters first, since without internal thoughts that emotional attachment is harder to create. So far though, the show’s caution in diving into the greater mythos and world of the series is leaving it feeling indistinct. With a sprawling cast, intricate rules for magic and a detailed world, it does not lend itself well to the screen.

#The wheel of time pilot plus

Robert Jordan’s sweeping fantasy series (completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s death) ran 14 books, plus a prequel novel, each one hundreds of pages. Adapting The Wheel of Time to the screen was always going to be an uphill battle.