Figs and Mice

Anyway we will see over the next two weeks just what they can fit in to the time remaining. I do expect the 2 Rivers battle to take up rather a lot of the running time so doing full justice to the Tanchico confrontation and the hugely important scenes at Alcair Dal feels to me in a bit of danger . Hopefully they can nail both ; but fitting anything else (like Red Door action) in strikes me as highly improbable. WAFO , eh ?

Time zones , eh ? I had already watched ep 6 when I posted...

Not really the issue , though... The question was whether Ishy should have been free to touch the world at all in that time frame. He wouldn't have been in the books ; but a lot of the detail as to his ability to partially escape his captivity isn't made altogether clear so I will give them a pass - more or less. As they are clearly intent on continuing to expand the Liandrin arc I don't mind the scene. The other thing about it is that seeing the actor back - even briefly - gives me hope that we may yet see Ishy back (even as "Moridin" , though having the same appearance may be a problem !)

Except with only two episodes left adapting those three events is going to be awfully compressed even if we don't have any other "additions" taking up precious time. Hoping they don't make a mess of the finale but not betting my house on them nailing it.

OK I enjoyed some parts of that one , with the proviso that the whole healing thing has got out of hand. (And I agree the Alanna stuff continues to be pretty ropey) . As expected , the Aiel girl stood in for the unfortunate casualty in Tear so that important scene for Rand has been executed. Moggy was fun , as was the "music" scene in Tanchico ... and glad to see Thom back at last. Not so happy with what they have done with Faile's backstory (unless that was indeed her giving out more BS ?) . And I have never liked the Egwene/Rand/Lanfear "triangle" stuff so hopefully this episode has ended that altogether. Still reckon most of the changes they've made are far from being improvements to the story , and in many cases render it a lot weaker. But on the other hand at least it gives those of us hardened book fans a bit of a bonus in that we never quite know what is going to happen next so an element of surprise has been added to the viewing experience 🙂 Two episodes to go. 2 Rivers battle to take up most of one , I guess . Going to be a bit crowded fitting the rest of book 4 in ...

Just on my third full reread and currently approaching the "slog" so I will wait until I have fresher recall before commenting in detail . But I think I remember generally enjoying all the books , even if one or two plot lines seemed to drag on a bit further than would have been ideal. Don't think I was too bothered about different characters' timelines getting out of synch ? They were all operating fairly detached anyway for a lot of the time and they didn't have smart phones so I guess what happened in one country wasn't going to be known elsewhere overnight 🙂 At least we got to view the whole picture by the time we finished each volume...

Can't see them getting all that done in three episodes. 2 rivers battle certainly ; Rand will surely have to set the Aiel off in all directions (and subdue Asmodean ?) ; and the characters in Tanchico will have to do something... Will that be any kind of resolution or could that be left as something of a cliff hanger ? But I reckon the Tower split - and whatever they do with Moiraine/Lanfear - will indeed have to wait for next season. Which makes sense anyway. And yes : the limited screen time for each season has been a problem from the start. Apparently not something that is going to change...

Corum Jhaelen Irsei from Michael Moorcock's "Swords" trilogy . He has a few things in common with Rand , (apart from losing a hand quite early in the story - he also loses an eye , but gets "magical" replacements for both) being something of a reluctant hero. And I have perhaps an even greater affection for his companion in much of his saga , Jhary a Conel - who also appears accompanying other heroes in Moorcock's multiverse. An always cheerful and self deprecating "companion to heroes" who wears a hat similar to Mat's but disdains any armour or military garb...oh and always carries a small cat (with flying abilities) on his shoulder 🙂 A fun pair to follow.

My wife has not read the books , and she appreciated a little explanation from me as to what exactly was going on . Devilishly difficult to depict all the stuff about the columns and rings on screen (hence the need to introduce a brief instruction from the Wise One before they entered). But I reckon they did a splendid job on this pivotal part of the story 👏 Overall , best episode in the whole series so far. And vital that they did in fact nail it as a "fail" here would have just about finally turned off a lot of us. Can't stress too much the importance of getting some of these key details right as they are far more essential than a lot of the minor irritations over more "disposable" changes. Feeling a lot more confident now looking forward 👍

And looking back to that incident in series one (since it seems to have rather taken over this thread 🙂) I had more or less forgotten about it (the FFH) - like a lot of the stuff in those underwhelming early episodes. Didn't seem to lead anywhere : but of course it does raise questions about the availability of "magical" means of travel - all of which had more or less been lost to the world at this point in time. Which is probably why it was subsequently " forgotten about" in the show too : the writers realised themselves that it hadn't really been properly thought out in the first place and was best ignored going forward. Just put it down to bad writing and move on , eh ?

Bit of a low bar to clear 🙂 But yes , I do reckon it is picking up a lot - despite , as DreadLord31 said above , having plenty of details we book purists can nit pick if we wish. So the only things I would really nit pick about the first three episodes are : the Morgase out-of-character brutality on her ascension to the throne (I presume that was intended to be actual history and not Gaebril messing with our memories !) ; and the rather unnecessarily violent arrival of the Blacks into Tanchico : both strike me as "shock spectacles" which make little sense and add nothing to the plot... For all they are shuffling the order of events about , they do seem to be moving closer to the main book themes. The dark characters are all good (getting more prominence than they did on the page , which is fine). It has meant Liandrin and Lanfear have arguably taken a lot of the focus off our heroes so far but again that is OK as long as they handle all the main arcs properly over succeeding episodes. And liking Faile's arrival (Mandarb joke and all ) But I am still missing Thom !

I get the cruelty and Semirhage connection : but I think the sneaky "effectively invisible" aspect of the grey men rather screams Made by Moggy , does it not ?

Probably best not to over analyse the fight scenes : they are intended to be spectacular but obviously not too bothered about being realistic. Can live with that in context of a "magic" tale. Though I must admit I do have a little trouble with seeing someone getting two swords stuck right through them , presumably collecting vital organs on the way , but emerging intact with a little magical help from her friends 🙂 That plot armour is powerful stuff...

Generally a quite entertaining episode...the show is getting better as it goes on (though it is pretty clear they are keeping only the bones of RJ's story and basically writing their own narrative ; probably going to wind up in the same place , more or less) Not that this is awful in itself : as long as it results in a compelling TV show that is fine - even if a lot of it disappoints many of us who were hoping for something a bit closer to the original. But I really didn't like the Morgase as brutal killer queen opening : unnecessary at best and surely undermines the whole business of a once much loved queen with a reputation for benevolent rule over a happy populace ... until suddenly this is overturned when she falls under the malign influence of Rahvin and acts in a manner that swiftly alienates supportive houses and general population alike . As others have said , looks like a cheap shock scene to inject a bit of GOT into the show. Gaebril messing with everyone's heads so he's seen as being around for ten years also seems a bit of an unnecessary complication but it is quite a cool idea so I don't have a problem with it. Expected to see a bit more of Egwene's trip through the Arches ? Maybe will do so later in flashbacks ? Or not... I didn't much care for her rudeness to the Amyrlin on the way out either ; but since she was my least-favourite major book character and hasn't won me any more in the TV show I won't lose any sleep over that 🙂 I am still in the category of only about... oh , 45% happy with the show (up from 40) but if they continue to improve will keep watching with renewed hopes...

Bit pointless taking a boat from Falme via Tear to TV ; only to sail back to Tear immediately though ? I guess plans change ; but still...

She is certainly an "interesting" character. And more nuanced than the other Forsaken. But tragic ? I mean , a lot of serial killers have messed up childhoods...but I wouldn't say that makes them tragic. Except in so far as any human failing that leads to widespread harm to innocents is tragic in itself. Depends how you define it , I guess.

I think we need Asmodean : can't imagine any of the others acting , even under duress , as any sort of mentor to Rand. Sammael/Rahvin/Demandred are all pretty much interchangeable really. Need one of them to be Gaebril but don't need all three. Be'lal Balthamel Aginor all get killed off early without doing much so unless the show wants to embrace the complicated reincarnation stuff with the latter pair (unlikely since they never appeared in the first place ) we can forget them. Mesaana does perform eventually but only very late in the story. Not sure she is needed ? And Semirhage seems to mainly be in the story as a striking demonstration of Ultimate Nastiness rather than a big plot mover 🙂 With Graendal already on board we probably only need one of them ? My guess : The five already confirmed/shown ; Asmo ; Rahvin and one of the other females , depending on what they want to do with the story down the track.

Well if Ishy doesn't come back it will mean they have totally lost the plot - and much of the point of the whole story ! Apart from depriving us of a charismatic actor... So I imagine they will somehow re-introduce him , still in the same body , in good time for the final confrontation at the Last Battle. Agree the body/name changing stuff is unnecessary for the show. Though I suppose one final "body switch" will be required , right at the end 🙂 But then again they may totally change the ending ... if we ever get that far.

Blimey ...this one is apparently going to run and run...Is it really worth all this argument ? I tend to agree with expat that it just isn't worth getting excited over some details of an "action" sequence (which we probably haven't seen in full yet) , even if some aspects do appear a little unrealistic. "Battles" on screen often have to be allowed a bit of poetic licence , no ? I have generally noted widespread approval of a particular scene already shown - indeed it is often held to be one of the best sequences of the TV show so far. But how realistic is it to expect a woman , not only heavily pregnant but actually about to give birth and suffering labour pains , to singlehandedly dispose of half a dozen well armed and armoured soldiers ? ( She is Aiel so a free pass ?) But it doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the show... To be honest I have a number of aspects of the TV show with which I am less than delighted ; but nit-picking over details in a scene designed primarily for spectacle isn't something I want to bother with. More interested in how they go forward with the story : and the way they have chosen to kick off this third season actually has me hopeful that the improvement that was made in season two (with the exception of that rather clumsy last episode !) might flow through to this one. I'm giving the Sneak Preview a tick 👍

Well , up to a point. Moiraine doesn't seem to be too bad at combat despite being a Blue. Not that it all matters much - however unlikely the outcome of the punch-up it serves to reveal a bunch of Blacks and get them exiting the Tower : though I will be intrigued to see what one Green is going to do to stop them in the streets as the episode continues...

Plenty of action ! OK nothing like the books but we are getting used to that. Will be interesting to see what follows from this for the White Tower . If the 8.38 shot (which I confess I failed to spot) indicates the Finn are actually on for an appearance I will be very glad as I reckon the story - especially around Mat , but later Moiraine - loses too much if they are not part of it. Will wait and see.

Aside from the current issues... I am now four episodes into a first season rewatch. Can't say it has improved my general feeling of disappointment with the show (not total disaster by any means ; but I think it could have been done much better) but at the same time I can appreciate some of what they were doing. Unlike many , I really like the casting for Lan : nothing much like the book physical description but he seems to me perfect for the character. Also approve of the Tinkers 👋 Less so the casting of Thom who just doesn't look or sound right at all. Not too bothered with many of the minor differences. Just vexed by the silly idea to raise the chance of the Dragon being a woman , in order to feed the "who is the Dragon ?" question . The whole idea behind the fear that is felt across the land about the Dragon's rebirth is that because he is a man he is going to go mad and destroy everything ! Kind of lost if he were reborn female , no ?

As I said , opinions will vary. Perhaps I should have said "unnecessary".

Confess I do like the way some of the villains are being portrayed - a plus for the show. On the other hand , I think the gags on the Damane look pretty stupid. And basically pointless. Opinions as usual will vary...