Ever since I saw the official trailer of TV series The Wheel Of Time (2021), I had been looking forward to the release of its first season. The trailer displayed gripping scenes of magic, action and adventures. As soon as I saw it, I knew I couldn't watch it one episode at a time. The suspense will be too much! So I waited until all eight episodes were aired and binge-watched the first season last weekend.
Fantasy/action-adventures hold a certain appeal for me —from the picturesque scenes of mountains and valleys, the magic displayed, the olden days costumes and lifestyle. Being a fan of Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones and similar epic fantasies, I can say The Wheel Of Time is an amazing epic fantasy series filled with lots of adventures. It is based on a series of novels of the same name by Robert Jordan and co-authored with Brandon Sanderson.
This show reminds me of the folk tales I listened to at my grandmother's feet. As children, we would hear stories of epic adventures embarked upon by warriors who crossed seas and climbed mountains and hills, travelled from one end of the earth to the other on intimidating quests.
This show mimics these stories by creating a fantasy world of people with magical powers tasked to save their world from domination by dark forces. The plot is refreshing, filled with twists and mysteries and built around the theme of reincarnation. That is, the Wheel of Time. It is believed that 'the Wheel' spins and returns souls of dead people back to the world to have another go at life.
This show revolves around a powerful group of women called the Aes Sedai who, after receiving the prophecy of the return of the Dragon through the wheel of time, sent one of its own, Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), on a mission to find the person who was already reborn as the Dragon.
After Moiraine's arrival at a village, she spotted five people who could likely be the reborn Dragon and that was when all hell broke loose as it appeared she was not the only one on a mission to find the reborn person or persons.
This gripping show focuses on the epic journey of discovering which one of the five young people is the reborn, ensuring he or she chooses the path of light instead of darkness and thus save their world.
The stunning and brilliant Rosamund Pike starred as the lead character tasked with finding the reborn and she executed her role outstandingly. After watching her brilliant performance in Gone Girl (2014) alongside Ben Affleck, she has never failed to stun me with outstanding performances in her movies.
The cast of this series is great but I noted a few new faces added as major characters and it's a good move on the part of the filmmakers.
As for the visuals, nothing holds the interest of viewers more than spectacular visuals and action scenes in a film and this show satisfactorily delivered these aspects in my opinion. The displays of magical power confrontations and battle fights with weapons such as arrows and bows were captivating.
Though the show bears some similarities to the famed Game Of Thrones, it's not as bloody or gory. In addition to the adventure scenes, love scenes were included to moderate the show and make the characters relatable.
This first season of Wheel of Time is based on the first installment of the book titled The Eye Of The World and it comprises eight episodes. I can't wait for the second season to commence which I surmise will be based on the second book. Maybe I may read the books before the second season is out but I won't make promises.
Do you love epic fantasies? What series have you binge-watched recently? Thank you for visiting my blog.
Poster source
Official trailer from YouTube
Other images are screenshots from the show