Well, it has been a while since we had a by the book fantasy show. I don't just mean that it is based on a book, which it is. Wheel of Time is based on a series books called "The Wheel of Time" written by Robert Jordan. Robert Jordan passed away before he finished all of the books so Brandon Sanderson was brought in to finish the last three books of the series. What I mean is that the show follows the usual flow of fantasy. Good vs. ultimate bad. It really reminded of "Lord of the Rings" and that's not a bad thing.
In the show there are the forces of good and forces of darkness. The special twist is that only women can serve the light and use it as a special power. They serve the "Creator" and the light and use its power. There are forces of darkness that serve "The Dark One" who wants to burn the world down to the ground. "The Dark One" is served by humans and all sorts of monsters. Some have original designs which is cool, and some seem very familiar looks. Like a slightly different version of the mouth of Sauron.
Our main character is Moiraine Aes Sedai who is played by Rosamund Pike who finally managed to land a significant role after Gone Girl. She's really great in this show, although brown hair doesn't really compliment her. She is part of the Aes Sedai a sisterhood of women who channel the one power and use it to protect humanity. Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney) is her trusted companion. And Egwene Al'Vere (Madeleine Madden), Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) and Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris) play our other four lead characters. They are all friends and partly more than that from a small forgotten town and find themselves all entangled with ancient prophecies and powers that are beyond them. Which really gets in the way of their slightly complicated personal lives.
The first three episodes of the show were released together. Which is good because the first episode is not that impressive. I mean sure we meet our characters and get to know who they are and we get pretty cool world building and background of the story and amazingly beautiful landscapes (filmed mainly in East Europe in case you are wondering), but it just didn't capture me. It felt a little too familiar and not interesting despite the action. Also the one power doesn't look good at all in the show in my opinion, just like poor CGI. But the second and third episodes really gripped me. I binged them back to back after taking a long break after the first episode. Sure, it still feels a little generic, but the scope of the story and the way it is presented become much more substantial. The dangers become more real and we actually get to meet some grey character and the plot actually becomes more complicated. Everything just feels plused and more.
In the end I really liked the show and will continue to watch it. It didn't make me want to read the books because there is no way I am committing to read book series with 15 books in it. It is too much even for me. I am sticking to the show. So if you are looking for a fantasy show that is pure fantasy, as some people describe it as a wonder D&D game on screen, then this is the show for you. It is old school in a good way in my opinion.
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