Top 10 Worst Changes The Wheel of Time TV Show Made Compared to the Books
The poor guy suffers plenty in the books. You didn't need to give him a wife out of nowhere, and then have him kill her by accident. Then try to pretend that his character is in love with Egwene, and that the only reason he married his made up wife was because he couldn't have his best friend's girl. Stupid and insulting to a great guy like Perrin and flat out preposterous!
What happened to Hopper! This was such an unnecessary and useless change!
Anyone who has read the books knows that the 5 Emonds Fielders are Caucasian, and that they are from an isolated out of the way village that hasn't been seen a tax collector in hundreds of years, let alone a influx of outsiders. A melting pot it is not. Plus every race is already covered in the books. The most powerful person in the world is a Black Woman (The Amyrlin Seat). This destroys the essence of how each country is primarily populated by different races and will make the scenes where they are traveling to different parts of the world, and their cultures, seem lessened to me. If those people were Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Hispanic, Native American, Eskimo, or any other race you can think of in the book - And they were changed to be Caucasian, I would be just as pissed.
Again - small town of wholesome sheltered people, and their of version cursing sounds nothing like ours. They aren't hopping into bed with anyone for awhile, and they are not so jaded and dark. Having Egwene and Rand sleep together in episode one is a betrayal of the books , because they NEVER sleep together in ANY of the books. Having them do it in her parents inn where they would easily be caught is tragically stupid and unrealistic. If they were caught they would be dragged outside and married on the spot, whether they wanted it or not. Not to mention that Nynaeve would box the ears of both of them. All 5 of the Emonds fielders are virgins when they leave the village . Matt was the first to start getting laid in the books, when he started fooling around with older women when they separated in Tar Valon . None of the rest of them have sex until Rand hooks up with Aviendha in book 4 , and that's about a year later. In fact none of them except Matt sleep with anyone that they aren't in love with anywhere in the books. I get that they are trying to make it more dark and gritty, but there was no need. The books were about as close to perfect as you can get, and there is plenty of , tragedy, and grim dark realism in the books. This show should be more like "The Lord Of The Rings" instead of "Game of Thrones" if you read the books. I read these books to my kids, but I can't let them watch the TV show they were looking forward to.
You find out very early in the first book when Tam al'Thor is having a fever dream on the way to Emond's Field after their farm is attacked, and it should have been in the first episode. Instead , they reveal it in episode seven of the show. Plus, pretending that it might be a woman is sexist. Not only is The Dragon Reborn always a man, but most of the really powerful people in the world are already women. The Aes Sedai are all women, and before the Dragon is reborn they are the only ones allowed to channel The One Power! Also, part of the fear of The Dragon Reborn is that he is "A dreaded man who can channel", and the male half of the true Source is tainted by the Dark one. Plus as I said before The most powerful person already in the world is A BLACK WOMAN ! So trying to act like one really powerful person can't be a is male doubly sexist.
I am pretty Rafe Judkins made a post saying that the "only way" to respond to people attacking his orientation is by turning their favorite characters gay. He literally admitted that Moiraine and Siuan never were in a romantic relationship.
Their are already a LOT of gay people in the books, especially among the ALL powerful Aes Sedai. The next Amylin in the books is gay! What happens to Gareth Bryne and Thom Merrilin now? They ended up marrying those 2 ladies in the books, and the courtship between Siuan & Gareth is hilarious in the books!. Do they die alone, or worse do you make them gay with each other too?
On the show he is a sketchy pretty boy thief, with a horrible home life. In the books he's just clever and mischievous. His father is NOT a womanizer, and his mother is NOT a drunk. The village council and the women's circle wouldn't stand for either. Plus, they would take the kids away from them if they were the horrible parents the show makes them out to be. Implying that Matt sleeps around with older women while he's in Emonds Field, that he already has a gambling problem before he is healed from the dagger from Shadar Logoth, and making him out to be a thief ruins the spirit & likeability of his character. Almost every time that guys on the screen I want to punch him in the face! The only time I didn't want to slug him was when he was with his sisters, and that was obviously a contrived overcorrection to the showrunner making Matt & his parents so blatantly unlikeable. Matt is the main comic relief in the books, and nothing about this TV jerk even makes me smile.
Where is Nynaeve's temper, comedy, and signature lines? I want to see her tug on her braid, call someone a "Lightblinded fool," or "Woolhead," and threaten to "box their ears" while waving her fist under their nose. Why give her some mysterious backstory? She was born in Emond's Field in the books and was orphaned at 14, then apprenticed to the previous Wisdom. Part of the reason that she is so prickly is that she is young for a Wisdom, doesn't get a Wisdom's usual respect because of it, and therefore has a huge chip on her shoulder. This tragic mysterious backstory is unnecessary. Then having her just hop into bed with Lan right after meeting him. LUDICROUS! They don't end up together until the 7th book, and a whole lot of stuff had to happen for that to fall in place. Then having her heal a whole bunch of people WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM! Not only does that defy the magic of The One Power in the books, but she reveals her power to a large number of Aes Sedai!
Mike's Book Reviews made a good plan on how the show should be split across the 8 seasons, with the 8 episodes it has in each. Rafe Judkins followed it when it said to include part of the Great Hunt in the first season, but left out important chunks that there won't be time for in the next 7 seasons and 13 books.
The whole show seems rushed. Major sub plots, missing characters, experiences of these small town people, and the wonders they discover in the wider world are lost. They never even give a detailed explanation of what a Ta'veren is. They also never explain about the Forsaken.
Maybe instead of less slow dialogue and unnecessary focus on minor characters they could have done Caemlyn, an important part of the story.
That's where Rand & Matt meet Elayne, Gawyn, Morgase, Gareth Bryne, and Galad. That's where Elaida drops a foretelling on Rand. These are crucial storytelling components and character introductions, and the throne of Andor also ties in with Rand's mother.
She is from Baerlon, not Fal Dara. She is 3 years older than Rand, instead of the 10 she looks like on the show. Her knowing sense of humor is missing, and in the books she is a tomboy. Plus, she isn't Asian. Min is short for Elmindreda Farshaw. Does that sound Asian to you? Lan is Asian in the books and on the show. I would have been mad if they made him Irish looking like a Aielman.
More unnecessary changes. Great. What is this, a fan fiction!