Fiona_12

Thanks for sharing the link! I never would have thought to look for a specific clip like that. And I really love that scene. I love Mat's reactions - first he kind of gasp/scoffs when he realizes Elayne really can sing, and then he's like "Wow, I can't believe she's actually singing this, but I like it!" Thom is clearly pleased she really can sing. And I like that he has a kind of beat up guitar. It goes better with his rougher nature. Side note - it will be interesting to see what they do with his character. He mentions having been in the court of Andor, so it will not be unbelievable if he shows himself to be savvy about politics among the upper classes. I love how Elayne just goes with it once she understands what the song is about. Very Elayne. I also like the pirate port of call vibe in the pub scenes. I keep remembering Pirates of the Caribbean. 😄

That kind of stuff is like mindless action flicks where they don't care if stuff makes sense. It really cheapens the show. The battle of Emond's Field is one of my favorite parts of the books. If they blow it, I'll be very upset.

I just started following this forum as of Ep5, so I don't know what their takes on the first 4 episodes were, but no one is forcing you to read their posts. When you see their name, just move on.

I don't think most people would be that easily convinced either, but maybe she already has a sense of Perrin's honest nature? What do you mean about book beat theft? Don't we want the show to be as faithful to the books as possible?

I think they could both be equally traumatic. Imagine learning that your mother is a darkfriend and she killed your brother. IRL, that would like learning your mother is a Satan worshipper and she sacrificed your brother in a Satanic ritual.

It's not likely to be made clear in regards to specific time frames because this way they can just make it up as they go. If they are to go with that bit of lore from the books, they do need to make it clear that he was able to partially escape. I think show only viewers would be rather confused, otherwise.

It wasn't awful, but I wasn't terribly impressed either. Moghedien's compulsion of Elayne and Nyaneave was great, until she scratched Nyaneave. That felt totally out of character for her. I enjoyed Elayne's singing, and like others, I was very amused when she understood the meaning of the song! But she quickly overcomes it. Maybe the show will have her learning as many bawdy songs as she can instead of swear words. I really couldn't care less about Liandrin's history. We learned enough about her motivation for being a dark friend already. I enjoyed seeing the garden at Cold Rocks Hold. It's minor, but it was a good culture building scene. The little girl getting angry at Rand for touching her spear and telling him he dishonored her felt over the top though. It was good to hear that Saidar and Saidin are different, and what Rand said sounded like it came straight out of the books, but the context didn't make sense. Moiraine would not go to him for advice on handling the OP. I have hated the love triangle the entire time and am so glad that's over. I really didn't like that they made Rand a cheater, but I was glad he pointed out to Egwene that he was never enough for her. At the beginning of S1, she dumps him to train with Nyaneave. The fight scene with Sammael was mostly lame, except for seeing just how strong in the OP Rand is. Many people have already said it, but the Caution girls healing Alanna was just awful. The entire arc with Alanna and Maksim has been awful, and it ticks me off because I really loved Alanna up until now. They should have killed off Maksim and kept Ihvon, and he and Alanna could still have gone to the TR for the same reason, but without the pointless contrived drama. Perrin and Faile - ugh. Faile's mother was a darkfriend? Double ugh. She lied about her family and background in the books, but if that's supposed to be what she's doing here, it's a ridiculous story to make up. More likely it's to give her some trauma that will affect their relationship. This is the first time I did not laugh at something Mat said it did. 😞 Did anyone else notice that Egwene did not get in trouble for disobeying the Wise Ones about T'A'R? Just a mild scolding. Big surprise. Overall, 6 out of 10 for me.

That's probably right. I didn't think of it as her sucking their souls out. We were told earlier that they give up their souls, weren't we, not that their souls are taken. So I guess she is like a drahgkar.

That jumped out at me immediately! Moghedien is supposed to be all about caution, and that was just reckless. Or she thinks they are really stupid and won't realize something fishy went down. They giggled a little too much, which was a very strange thing to hear Nyaneave doing, but the way they answered her questions so eagerly was right on point. Best scene of the show IMO. Moghedien is beyond creepy! Has the actress played this kind of part before? Does anyone know why her fingers are black?

What the heck was that supposed to be? It looked kind of like a OP version on Thor's Hammer. And he wasn't even effective with it.

Or here's an idea - they could have left out the contrived conflict between Alanna and Maksim, he would never have left her, and she would not have taken so many injuries.

That's all the more reason to NOT give it a pass. By the time they're done, we may barely recognize the magic system in the show as the OP from the books.

Just keep changing how the OP works depending on what they want to do in that episode.

Yes, the events in the books occur in just over 2 years. The show is doing a particularly bad job at demonstrating the passage of time. Oops. Obviously I am making my way through the comments for Ep5. It's hard to keep track!

Moiraine and Siuan at least had a history of being pillow friends although they left that behind when raised to Aes Sedai. It doesn't do anything to move the story forward, but it doesn't detract either. Elayne and Aviendha? Nada. Someone once tried to tell me that they were gay because they took baths at the same time (but in different tubs). The Sea Folk were insulted that they were not invited to bathe with Elayne, indicating it was some sort of social ritual among them. So does that mean all Sea Folk women were gay? Aside from the lack of evidence, there is the fact that they are magically born again as sisters. Then it becomes akin to invest which I'm pretty sure even in today's woke environment is still frowned upon.

I can't agree with this. Siuan is played by a black actress, Nyaneave, Egwene, and Perrin are all brown skinned. Ihvon was black (and we know why he was killed off instead of Maksim). What difference does it make that Ishamael is Lebanese? All of the other Forsaken so far are white.

Do you think, in today's political and social climate, that they would admit it if they disagreed? The fact that they are all fine with the changes does not equate to Rafe's personal interpretation being accurate based on what actually happens in the books. This is evidenced by his intentional misrepresentation of the first sister ceremony and the the bond it creates.

Actually, DaddyFinn asked which changes specifically, and AMOW listed legitimate instances from the episode that were not from the books. There's nothing wrong with their reply. I don't agree that they're all bad just because they're not taken straight from the books. The Tower scenes with Siuan and Elaida were excellent. Alanna's reason for being in the TR is half book accurate. Perhaps the other changes will lead to substantial and meaningful plot points. There have been changes previously that have not, while others I had to reevaluate after watching this season. Only time will tell.

I agree, good, not great. But there was a lot of set up. The horror of Natti's burned face was enough for me! On my rewatch I closed my eyes, opened them, and what? is not over yet? That was a real gut punch. Although I should have seen it coming after what we saw in S1E2. And Valda, man he gives me the creeps! Elaida and Siuan were great. Venim just dripped from Elaida when she was talking to Siuan. I wanted to throw something at the TV. She's gonna be my Cersei for WoT. Did you notice Siuan called her sister instead of daughter after she healed her? I love Elayne in the books, and I really love her in the show. The dynamics between her, Mat, and Nyaneave are great. And between Mat and Min. I was surprised to see the Sea Folk too. They made very good use of the conversation between the Sail Mistress and Nyaneave. Of course Egwene hasn't failed at anything. I'll be surprised if the Wise Ones even learn that Egwene disobeyed them. TV and movies are terrible at establishing the passage of time, but I think we are supposed to think a couple of years have gone by, because one of Mat's sisters said she could barely remember Perrin. Or she could have just be lying. Who knows with these writers.

I didn't think it would last because they've let us down in the past. No matter how good an episode is, I always go into the next one with cautious optimism. But I didn't dislike this episode. TV shows/movies in general are bad about giving you a sense of the passage of time. It's a huge pet piece of mine. All Egwene had to say to Moraine was "I've only been studying with the Wise Ones for X amount of time". One line, 5-10 seconds. If you know they've made it clear that distinct races aren't a thing in the show, why are you surprised to see a non-Asian blonde from Malkier, or Sea Folk that are not all very dark skinned? I agree with you about the accents, though. In S1, Thom told Mat there are 2 ways to tell where someone is from, clothing styles and accents, but accents are all over the place. Perhaps with the EF kids, they are too young to have the experience to speak with an accent that is not native to them, but what about everyone else? I thought the actress who played Moiraine's sister was great, but she and Moraine sound nothing alike. If they weren't going to strive for consistent accents based on locations, they shouldn't have had Thom say that to Mat. On the subject of Mat though, I love Donal Finn! I didn't notice the continuity errors you mentioned. Fortunately, those aren't the things I focus on, but there have been plenty of other continuity errors. For instance, when Moiraine told Egwene the exact wording of the 3 Oaths, she omitted darkfriends (and shadow spawn). Now I'm this episode we see Elaida kill a Black Ajah sister in cold blood.

I don't think these are examples of the madness beginning to manifest. I think these scenes were demonstrating how addictive the OP is, even with the taint.

He's not in control of his dreams in the show. Lanfear keeps entering them. So he's not technically cheating, although it could be argued that the fact he doesn't just tell her to go away, and that he says he sees the woman she used to be implies those are his true feelings. I've had dreams that made me think "where did that come from?", but I've never dreamed I had sex with someone I hate IRL. I don't like this being the reason Rand and Egwene break up, instead of the way it happens in the book.

I think it's both. I don't watch a lot of TV/movies, but my husband does, and it's rare to not have at least one sex scene. When romance serves the story, I'm fine with it. Otherwise, I couldn't care less. Romantic relationships are a part of life, though, so it would be unrealistic to never have them in a story. As to whether the show has improved on the romance, mostly I'd have to say no. Nyaneave and Lan are good.