Non-Spoiler Initial Thoughts:

For those that are new here, the Credible Nerds have been talking about the upcoming Wheel of Time streaming series ever since it was announced about two years ago. Now the show has finally premiered and can be seen on Amazon Prime!

Not only has the show premiered, the first three episodes are out to watch back to back to back! Reactions to the show’s announcement, casting choices, story choices, and pretty much everything else have been polarizing from the get go. Now that the show is officially out some of the rumors are shown to be true, while others not.

As a long time fan of the book series, I knew there would be changes. I knew there would be adaptations, I knew there would be storylines and scenes cut from the show. And this indeed has happened.

I have seen the first three episodes and am still processing what I’ve seen to determine how much I line it. Because I do like it, but it’s different than what I initially expected it to be and that takes time to adjust to and that doesn’t make someone racist, sexist, ageist, or whatever else people are throwing out there to discredit those that disagree with certain show decisions. I like some things, I’m bewildered by other things, and I downright disagree with some parts too.

I feel like the production value is about what I expected it to be, higher end TV show level. The acting is good and some of the younger actors are impressing me and the seasoned actors are bright spots in the show as well. The writing is average though, which is disappointing for having such rich, detailed, and expansive source texts (the 15 book Wheel of Time series and two expansive encyclopedia type books), the story is not reflecting that - yet. The show has potential and I hope it delivers as it goes on and finds its footing.

I encourage everyone to see the show and form your own opinion. If you love it - great! If you hate it - I can understand why. I imagine most people will be like me, somewhere in the middle liking some things and not liking other things.

Time will tell if the series can make it or not, which is good as there is plenty of time in The Wheel of Time.

We will be reviewing each episode of the show on our podcast, as well as in depth written reviews for the TCN blog. Check back for those starting next week!