12-24-2021, 05:21 PM
Well fuck. That’s where all the budget went then!
Mostly I just thoroughly enjoyed it. I squee’d A LOT. I wasn’t bothered by the changes. Kinda loved that the Eye was the location of the original 3d trailer in fact. Not sure the pacing was always on point, it felt a little slow to begin with (the E5 left behind in Fal Dara flailed quite a bit before deciding what the hell to do with themselves, and Rand & Moiraine’s journey through the Blight was a little easy/boring), but that’s being nitpicky I think.
LOVED our glimpse of the AoL (though not so keen on the costumes personally) and that they translated the entire scene into old tongue. I’ve never been that keen on the White Tower’s design, it looks like it’s a work in construction to me, literally surrounded by scaffolding, but from the AoL landscape I thought you could clearly see what the Aes Sedai after the breaking had tried to emulate. So in a design sense it totally makes sense, even if it’s not as flowy and pretty as the one in my head.
LAN SAID THE LINES!!
Was Amalisa wearing her father’s armour? If she was, that was a nice touch. As was one of the channeling women being the Malkier lady from the family Lan visited.
My biggest quibble was Nynaeve being healed by Egwene after being burned out and apparently quite dead, which I just found a meh insertion purely for tension (not sure how Nynaeve actually protected her either?), but other than that the whole linking scene was intense and amazing. Likewise enjoyed Amalisa talking about the beauty in the moment it killed her. And the exploding trollocs, oh my!
Who is in charge of Fal Dara now?
I know the Aes Sedai are thin in number and Shienar never asked for aid, but seriously, WHERE WERE THE GREEN AJAH. I know it wouldn’t have worked for the plot, plus they were supposed to stay out of politics, but you’d think they’d have some kinda borderland presence.
Why oh why did Ishy look ready for a night at the opera? XD The DJ type combo was odd, though I guess it helped make it clear he’s dressed from another time for anyone paying attention; his outfit was clearly supposed to be reminiscent of the clothes LTT and Latra were wearing. Interesting that they didn’t reveal who he actually is yet. Loved the little smile at the end, once he’s managed to trick Rand into breaking the first seal.
Is Moiraine stilled or shielded? Presumably the latter if the bond still exists but is just masked? I assume Lan would be able to tell the difference.
Found it bizarre that Ishy used subtle hand motions to channel after Valda saying they were an Aes Sedai crutch though.
Fain has the dagger! They did a good job of the re-edit on Mat in this episode imo, though I have a feeling people are going to HATE the inference that he’s turned to the shadow. I also thought the payoff was quite nice for Perrin’s hammer/axe thing during his confrontation with Padan Fain, especially the reference back to the way of the leaf and Perrin’s frustration with doing nothing (and yet still not being able to attack Fain in the moment).
The Seanchan look insane. Love what they’ve done with damane/sul’dam (the damane look terrifying 0.0). I was pretty sure we’d see the ships because imdb has had “little girl on western shore” as a credit for ep 8. That we saw more did not disappoint!
We never saw Egwene in the coloured pool, which is weird since they used it in so much promo. I wonder if it was something cut because of having to adjust things to explain Mat’s absence?
Mostly I just thoroughly enjoyed it. I squee’d A LOT. I wasn’t bothered by the changes. Kinda loved that the Eye was the location of the original 3d trailer in fact. Not sure the pacing was always on point, it felt a little slow to begin with (the E5 left behind in Fal Dara flailed quite a bit before deciding what the hell to do with themselves, and Rand & Moiraine’s journey through the Blight was a little easy/boring), but that’s being nitpicky I think.
LOVED our glimpse of the AoL (though not so keen on the costumes personally) and that they translated the entire scene into old tongue. I’ve never been that keen on the White Tower’s design, it looks like it’s a work in construction to me, literally surrounded by scaffolding, but from the AoL landscape I thought you could clearly see what the Aes Sedai after the breaking had tried to emulate. So in a design sense it totally makes sense, even if it’s not as flowy and pretty as the one in my head.
LAN SAID THE LINES!!
Was Amalisa wearing her father’s armour? If she was, that was a nice touch. As was one of the channeling women being the Malkier lady from the family Lan visited.
My biggest quibble was Nynaeve being healed by Egwene after being burned out and apparently quite dead, which I just found a meh insertion purely for tension (not sure how Nynaeve actually protected her either?), but other than that the whole linking scene was intense and amazing. Likewise enjoyed Amalisa talking about the beauty in the moment it killed her. And the exploding trollocs, oh my!
Who is in charge of Fal Dara now?
I know the Aes Sedai are thin in number and Shienar never asked for aid, but seriously, WHERE WERE THE GREEN AJAH. I know it wouldn’t have worked for the plot, plus they were supposed to stay out of politics, but you’d think they’d have some kinda borderland presence.
Why oh why did Ishy look ready for a night at the opera? XD The DJ type combo was odd, though I guess it helped make it clear he’s dressed from another time for anyone paying attention; his outfit was clearly supposed to be reminiscent of the clothes LTT and Latra were wearing. Interesting that they didn’t reveal who he actually is yet. Loved the little smile at the end, once he’s managed to trick Rand into breaking the first seal.
Is Moiraine stilled or shielded? Presumably the latter if the bond still exists but is just masked? I assume Lan would be able to tell the difference.
Found it bizarre that Ishy used subtle hand motions to channel after Valda saying they were an Aes Sedai crutch though.
Fain has the dagger! They did a good job of the re-edit on Mat in this episode imo, though I have a feeling people are going to HATE the inference that he’s turned to the shadow. I also thought the payoff was quite nice for Perrin’s hammer/axe thing during his confrontation with Padan Fain, especially the reference back to the way of the leaf and Perrin’s frustration with doing nothing (and yet still not being able to attack Fain in the moment).
The Seanchan look insane. Love what they’ve done with damane/sul’dam (the damane look terrifying 0.0). I was pretty sure we’d see the ships because imdb has had “little girl on western shore” as a credit for ep 8. That we saw more did not disappoint!
We never saw Egwene in the coloured pool, which is weird since they used it in so much promo. I wonder if it was something cut because of having to adjust things to explain Mat’s absence?
![[Image: thal-banner-scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thal-banner-scaled.jpg)