[WhiteMountain65]

First off, I hope I have the right channel for this thread, if not, please feel free to move it where it's supposed to be, and give me a heads up.

Now, back on topic. I went to bed, watching episode 1 last night (who'm I kidding? it was 3AM this morning) and got about a third into it before I had to actually try for some sleep prior to work. I must say that the production quality is first rate, which was only to be expected, but I do have a few bones to pick with the alterations I came across in that short time.

#1 - What's this felgercarb about "We don't even know if it's a man or a woman"?

The whole point of the books is that The Dragon is a man, and it's men's use of Saidin that's been corrupted and broke the world. Besides, if you've read the books, it's stated flat out that they're seeking a male child for twenty years, from the prequel, onwards.

#2 - Why is Perin married, straight off the bat?

I simply don't get the thinking behind that. In the books he doesn't get married until "The Shadow Rising". Perhaps it'll become clearer as time goes on. For now, I'll reserve judgement and see what happens both later in the episode and on into the series.

#3 - Why do they paint Mat as a thief, and therefor, imo, what amounts to a border-line dark friend, which in turn (#4) outs Padan Fain as an actual dark friend from day one? Mat is a gamester, trickster and sometimes a troublemaker, not a thief. Yes, he's treasure-hungry, but that's no reason to portray him as a no-good schmuck. Besides, doing both these things screw up the story line where we're supposed to only slowly discover that Padan Fain really is the cause/agent of the troubles in The Two Rivers and just how corrupt and dangerous he is. They chucked the mystery right out the window with that move.

I'll surely have more to add to this once I'm done going home, fixing dinner and finally watching the rest of the show, but for now, I think I've got enough to get things rolling.

May the Schwartz be with you.

[Sul-Matuul]

I watched the first episode last night.

Now I have never read the books so I'm going in totally blind, but I do like my fantasy books and was therefore already aware of just how large the series could potentially be.

Production values are super-high, and it looks amazing. The landscapes, the props, the set pieces, the FX on the "bad guys"; it's all top notch.
I'm aware there's a few changes to the book so far, making The Dragon be either man or woman and having the blacksmith be married? TBH neither seemed to really alter the story that I could notice in a big way. The blacksmith just ends up in a bad place for killing his wife and I guess this accelerates his storyline slightly by creating a trauma for him to deal with earlier than in the book?
As to the male/female thing with the Dragon; I'm guessing it's been changed to add a bit more uncertainty to the plot and leave viewers guessing who it is. Me and the wife certainly had a few guesses about which of the four leads seemed to be most likely as the one being sought after.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, and having just re-watched The Witcher as well I'm happy to see deeper fantasy works getting some decent screen time.
Everyone cites GoT as the bar to be met but I feel that was more political and trying to shock viewers every week than serious fantasy. As good as it was it was overrated and ruined itself in the final few seasons.

[WhiteMountain65]

Thank you for your input, Sul-Matuul. I agree with you 100% on the production value. They have gone all out, it seems, and that's a good sign for the future of the series.

Personally, I don't really see the value in adding the gender question to the equation, as it seems to simply being a means of, pardon the expression, pandering to the politicly correct minded people, which I seriously doubt the author was even considering when he wrote the series. He made things very clear that Saidar (Female manipulation of the One Power) was good and untainted while Saidin (Male manipulation of same) was corrupted in The Breaking of The World, therefor dangerous if left unchecked. The Dragon has always been a man, each False Dragon, as well. There is no reason to question that. I'm sorry if it seems silly to me to do so. I have no problem with strong female leads in stories, but they should remain females, or males, as the author dictated. Harriet Potter, anyone? Please!

With regard to making Perin not only a widow, but a wife-killer (yes, I know it was an accident), as a means of making him pre-traumatized even before he started wolfing out, so to speak, is an interesting direction. I wish to see if they ever do anything with that to justify it.

Now, it's 2:30 AM and my brains are fried, so I'll sign off here and probably continue this discussion tomorrow, after I watch the next episode.

Party on

[Sul-Matuul]

Just watched episode 4 and it really lit things up nicely! Some great fx used in the combat and various magic usage.

The guy who plays Perin seems to be perfect for the part as he’s able to convey so much feeling with his facial expressions. It adds a lot to his whole character basis I think that he can show us the uncertainty within the character without even speaking.

The male/female dragon thing I can see could be an issue for those who’ve read the book. I’m happy enough with the series so far to forgive them this change and see where it leads to. I think there’s enough strong points elsewhere that they will still be able to tell a very good story even if they have altered some aspects.