The First Age

Omfg it looks so good. I’m at work and I can’t think of anything else but the trailer.

Iknowright!?

Did anyone else know we had a Min?? Where have I been?!? 

Min

I did, but only because I've been following wotwednesdays on twitter for a while

I wonder how they will differentiate Min's tomboyishness given how practical a lot of the Aes Sedai costumes are, or maybe they won't worry about it? It's not like she couldn't still dress masculine.

Do we think the clips are all from the first few episodes? I was wondering if things might actually open around the subject of Logain and his dragonsworn army, his capture and subsequent escape (alongside significant Aes Sedai casualty) -- the trailer seems to imply that he escapes anyway, or at least breaks free of his shielding. It looks like Liandrin, Moiraine and Alanna are tasked with hunting him down originally, alongside some other AS (they are all standing before the Amyrlin in the first hall snippet). There's also a short clip where Moiraine leaves the hall alone, Alanna is outside alongside some of the Reds and Greens that were also in the previous hall scene, and you can see in the background that the Sitters have turned their backs, so it would appear she's leaving in disgrace. Not sure what might have caused that other than being held responsible for the death of a sister (my guess is Kerene) and a botched capture of a false dragon. Any ideas?

Originally I wondered if Moiraine's disgrace in the hall amounts to a kind of exile, freeing her up from scrutiny so she can covertly focus on finding and protecting the Dragon/keeping him out the way until there are enough signs the Tower won't risk gentling him. Especially if Kerene dies early, and Moiraine and Siuan realise they are the only ones left who know about the dragon being reborn and suspect the others have been murdered, thus there is conspiracy afoot. Blaming Moiraine for the fuck-up would take the heat away and let the Black Ajah think their cover-up work is done, right? But that all feels like A LOT to squish in before Moiraine even meets the E5, and I can't imagine that meeting won't happen in the first episode (unless Moiraine and Lan's arrival, and the winternight attack/escape are literally the climax/ending of ep1,).

By the way, for anyone who had to look it up like I did, Kerene was in New Spring, she was captain-general of the Greens and one of the original AS instructed to search in secret for the Dragon Reborn after the foretelling that he had been born again. She was murdered by Black Ajah, alongside everyone else who knew about or witnessed the foretelling (apart from Moiraine and Siuan). My guess is that Logain is responsible for her death this time, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed that Liandrin was involved somehow.

So ends today's ramble. Looking forward to finding out in November.

Also, there was an faq yesterday with Rafe and Rosamund. It's on twitter. Some of the things I found interesting were that they finally named the composer for the series: Lorne Balfe, confirmed a second (longer) trailer (no time frame on that), and confirmed that season 1 will cover books 1, 2 and even 3 (adding that some of book 1 will be in season 2).

I had a feeling they were going to cover well into book 2 based off the episode titles released. But I also figured that parts of New Spring were going to need to be shown. They need a way to demonstrate why Moiraine is looking for the DR, hence some sort of referral to the foretelling. Then they need a way to -show- why men who can channel is a terrifying concept. Just talking about it is akin to talking about the boogeyman.. nobody really believes it and even if it was real, it's more like a myth than an actual problem.. not a lot of boogeyman popping up these days.. 

But if on screen we see what a man who can channel can do - just one against a bunch of Aes Sedai - and the referral to the taint/insanity that it brings, Logain is the perfect way to show what one of our 3 beloved boys might turn into - hence raising the stakes and tension about what's going to happen, why they're all freaked out about it, and who it's going to be. Logain killing Kerene would be a perfect way to show how dangerous he is.

I kind of thought that the 'disgrace' of Moiraine in the Hall may be the substitute to her being "punished" in Fal Dara, but otherwise I am not sure what's happening there other than giving her free rein to gallavant across the country looking for the Dragon without anyone questioning what she's doing. 

I read that there was a question about why Suian was so dressed up when she was always humble/practical. But it's gotta be for the visual medium. We have to have a way to show off how powerful and queenly she is. (plus OMG the symbolism of the rainbow stole on her dress is gorgeous). So I wonder if the Hall scene is also doing double duty in Moiraine's story + showing off visually how powerful the WT is.

Yep, completely agree. Logain will illustrate it better than LTT, since the latter won’t mean anything this early on to viewers who haven’t read the books. Plus he’s a staple character with a great arc.

I think the events of New Spring and The Eye of the World will be condensed a bit, not timeline wise, but what happens when, which perhaps explains why Kerene’s still alive (although it does kinda put a spanner in the works of Moiraine being awol for 20 years if there is another AS tasked with the same job -- unless Kerene has also been missing, or perhaps in hiding from the Black Ajah?). We do know we’ll see some flashbacks, though, as they’ve cast a young Moiraine and Siuan. Maybe we’ll see the foretelling itself!

Ah, that makes much more canonical sense as an explanation for disgrace/punishment. Also makes more sense that she gets caught in the Logain stuff after the E5 split up rather than is tasked with it, given that she is supposed to have been away from the Tower so long.

Re: Siuan’s elaborate costume, I agree, it being a formal sitting of the hall and a show of AS power is likely. All the AS there, including Moiraine, are dressed up (spy the kesiera?). I also think it might be to contrast how she will appear when she and Leane are stilled. If they aren’t doing the agelessness they aren’t going to be able to show the actor looking notably young, but they will be able to show her in far more humble and practical garb. I love the tattoo. I think that is probably the nod to her humble beginnings too. Visually it would look super odd if she didn't fit the grand surroundings.

Anyone going to talk about the 2.5 minute C L I P of the show that was released?
1. I think we're in for some sexy scenes with Rand and Egwene. You can cut the sexual tension with a heron-marked sword. Thumbs up for me: sex sells.
2. Moiraine "Sedai"!? The hell?? Guess we're not going to pretend she's Lady Moiraine for a few days before she reveals herself in all her glory. I like it. Cuts to the chase and builds tension early. Anyone see the blue gem in her serpent ring? They're leaning heavy into the visual representation of the ajahs.
3. I think Lan is going to be a fan favorite. He knocked it out of the park just stepping into the room and brooding all over everyone.
4. The music was noticeably good. It made it feel less 'high fantasy' and more ominous.

I agree with all of this. What works for text doesn't necessarily translate. Moraine being known as AS only helps to show HOW people viewed them from the beginning. I like it.

One person noted that in all the scenes of Rand and Egwene, even as he looks moon struck, she already looks like she is emotionally separating. I think this clip showed that as well (tho this is a 2 min clip and we just have thr trailer too. Still it's interesting...)

I am really looking forward to daniel henneys Lan. I liked him quite a bit on Criminal Minds. 

I love seeing the tree boys with their chemistry. Clearly they are friends.

I found the clip a bit meh to be honest. Lan standing in the doorway for so long was a bit cheesy, though I do think it’ll work better in the context of the episode. It’s clear the audience is supposed to think of the creepy cloaked rider, but I think the tension comes at the expense of character integrity -- Lan’s from the borderlands, surely he wouldn’t keep his hood up that long knowing he could be mistaken for a fade, even in a backwater village like Emond’s Field. Nynaeve even reaches for a knife when she demands to know who he is, it’s clear the village is spooked.

I also wondered if maybe the scene was cut for the promo and isn’t exactly how it will be in the episode. In the shot of Rand watching Egwene, you can see an out of focus shot of Perrin chatting with others at a table in the foreground. When the camera cuts closer, Perrin suddenly slides in to stand next to Rand. It isn’t unreasonable to assume he’s just gotten up out of shot, but it looks a little sloppy. So I wondered if things were cut/condensed so as not to linger on characters outside Moiraine, Lan and the E5. I hope that’s the case anyway, rather than they missed it in editing.

Having said that, I really like the costumes and sets we’ve seen so far, it all looks pretty great. I’m a little on the fence still about how the channeling looks so far, but I liked that you can see the taint around Logain’s weaves. I’ve loved the subsequent teasers too (for anyone who hasn’t been keeping up, there are quite a lot now). The trollocs look amazing. The Elayne casting looks spot on. I’m hoping Meera Syal is going to be Verin.

I definitely think there will be sex scenes too, or least the implication that Rand and Egwene’s relationship is more physical. There was a suggestion of it in the first teaser too. Also def agree you can see Egwene’s not entirely in it. She actually looks quite curiously at Moiraine, rather than afraid. 

By the way, Daniel Henney recently mentioned a naked hot tub scene in an interview, I think it was GQ. Assume that’s the baths as Fal Dara or something.

Having M and L as identifiably AS and Warder from the beginning doesn’t bother me either, it cuts to the chase, and there won’t be time for a slower build if ep 1 ends with the Winternight attack. I wonder about the AS rings, mostly about how the girls will be able to pose as AS if the rings have an obvious Ajah affiliation (making the assumption that they’re not handed out to Accepted, and seem to be the main way AS are going to be identified outside Tar Valon).

I LOVE the music. They released one of the tracks a few hours before that clip (al’Naito I think it’s called) and it’s wonderful. The lyrics are old tongue and they have posted a translation.

I agree Lan will probably be a fan favourite, though from the glimpse we’ve had of Thom I think the Gleeman might give him a run for his money...

Apparently MCM (one of the london comicons) showed 4 short clips yesterday, including the farm attack. I’ve stayed away from the discussion but the reaction of those there seemed favourable.