The Wheel of Time was intended to whet the appetite of fantasy fans before Lord of the Rings prequel. I even heard the opinion that it was supposed to be the spiritual heir of LOTR. Which only proves how stupid the critics on Youtube can be. At the outset, it is worth noting that I have not read the books by Robert Jordan – yet. Nevertheless, I will look at them to see how much blame is on the showrunners’ side, and how much is on the bad source material. At this moment, I’m betting on showrunners.
Really I have so much bad to say about this show that I don’t even know where to start. The heroes are completely colorless. None of them has even a shadow of character. They’re just numbered main characters and side characters. The plot revolves around a group of teenagers (they are supposed to be adults but they act like they have 15 yrs), one of which is to be the chosen one – the one who will defeat “Black”. Whatever / whoever “Black” is – the show never exactly explains it. They include Rand, a redhead with good aim with a bow, Mat – a rogue and a scoundrel, Egwane – the prettiest girl in the village, and Perrin – a silent giant. They are also accompanied by Nynaeve, the wisewoman from the village and one of the most irritating female characters I have seen on the screen for a long time.
Each of these characters is boring and clichéd. The series tries to convince us that they are friends, but it does it so awkwardly that I’m not the least bit convinced that they even like each other at all. Rand and Egwane are quasi-couple, but there is no chemistry at all between them. As for the rest of them, whatever dilemmas they had during their journey, they were so pale that I don’t remember them anymore. The plot begins when Aes Sedai – Moiraine arrives in the heroes’ village. She is something between a sorceress and an avatar, and she aims to bring all five of them to the White Tower.
Unfortunately, there are more holes in the plot and in the entire wheel of swiss cheese. For example, Moiraine takes teenagers to the White Tower, initially to escape the Trollocs that are chasing them. But as soon as the Trollocs give up – because they cannot cross the rivers – it turns out that the heroes are divided into three groups and each of them has to get there on their own. And that would be fine, if it weren’t for the fact that absolutely nothing is happening in the White Tower. It’s as if the action has moved there just to explain who the Aes Sedai are.
And in this world only women can wield power. Men are not worthy – why, it is not known. They are said to be unstable. Well, apparently all people of the same sex share the same character traits in this universe… By the way, the name Trollok, oh god. When I heard it for the first time, I immediately lost interest. I really don’t understand why these creatures could not be called “monsters”. Why would someone come up with such a bizarre name as “Trollok” for a monster that doesn’t even look like a troll? And if he has to come up with a name, why is he trying to copy the name of an existing monster that has been described in dozens of fantasy universes. And apparently this world has hippies who travel in large groups without any weapons, but they are carring food, clothes and women. At least the bandits in this world have a lot of money to make a living.
As for the environment, CGI, and nature, everything is pretty and nice – too pretty. The cities look freshly cleaned, everyone is clean and have nice clothes, even after a week of hiking. Egwane jumps into the river in full makeup and even her mascara does not smudge it. This really is a very pure interpretation of medieval fantasy. Just look like crafty they wear their hair in spite of weeks of travel. It must be magic.
I would have forgotten the epicly stupid city defense in the final episode. The defenders, instead of creating an avalanche that would fall on the Trollocks walking comfortably along the bottom of the ravine, climbed some absurd fortification / wall and started shooting at them. There were no guards in the ravine to warn the city of the danger. Of course, the trollocs took advantage of their opponents’ stupidity and quickly made their way over the wall. And that’s just one minor aspect of the stupidity of this battle.
Another thing is the perception of distance in this show. In one second, everything tells us that the heroes are to arrive somewhere in a 5 week’s journey. And in the next episode they are already there. This way, everyone is conveniently and quickly transferred exactly where and when the script needs it.
Overall, the whole series is just absurd. It does not bring anything interesting to our lives. The heroes are boring, the environment is common, and the plot is secondary. The series definitely requires the higher brain functions to be turned off in order to be watched. It also leaves a certain embarrassment as after watching a series for teens, even though it was supposed to be an epic fantasy. The emotional charge does not exist, I did not care about the fate of the characters so much that when I understood how stupid decisions were made, I started to cheer for the Trollocs. Overall, I do not recommend it and rate it poor 3/10.
PS: There are also Ogirs in the series – not Ogres – Ogirs. Let me just leave it here.
