01-13-2022, 11:13 AM
Thanks CK.
I thought the paint scene we saw in the teaser was beautiful, but the women's ceremony in this script feels unnecessary. It doesn't really add anything. I'm fine with what we got there.
I agree with you both about the sex scenes.
Most of the other cuts I imagine were due to amazon not allowing extra time. Some of it would have been nice to see, but ultimately it doesn't make that much difference -- people seem to have stuck with the series as far as the released stats and things show, and that's what amazon will care about. I'm fairly certain I remember Rafe giving something like that as the reason amazon wouldn't okay the longer pilot he wanted -- like it literally came down to audience retention and reactions from test groups. I feel like the final cut was probably geared more towards retaining viewers who haven't read the books which is why things like the black rider sighting was left out; the build up doesn't matter because there's no real time for it, but the gist is still there. I don't think it was a huge mistake. I would have preferred it left in though. I would love to see an extended cut one day. I hope they do that at some point rather than just release the deleted scenes.
Not that we'll ever know, but I wonder if it's possible the whole "who is the dragon" spin came out of discussion over how to make the script fit into the hour slot. You can definitely see Egwene as a potential in this version, but Rand is in no way hidden. It's pretty obviously him by the time we get to the fever dream.
Another possibility as to why they cut Gitara might be that it generally confused test audiences? Assuming they even filmed it. Gitara's monologue is heavy on the kind of abstract philosophy that makes thematic sense if you know WoT but would just be heavy waffle if you don't. And it explains nothing about who or what the dragon is. Maybe the overly graphic nature (a distressing birth scene and Gitara's painful seeming death) turned audiences off from watching more. Could be as simple as that. My money's on it being cut due to a bit of both those reasons -- it's essentially a "shock" scene with little to no context.
I thought the rumoured actress was Selene rather than Lanfear (though it also looks to me like they will probably keep the same actress for both). I reckon she'll be one of the first people Rand meets now he's off on his own.
I thought the paint scene we saw in the teaser was beautiful, but the women's ceremony in this script feels unnecessary. It doesn't really add anything. I'm fine with what we got there.
I agree with you both about the sex scenes.
Most of the other cuts I imagine were due to amazon not allowing extra time. Some of it would have been nice to see, but ultimately it doesn't make that much difference -- people seem to have stuck with the series as far as the released stats and things show, and that's what amazon will care about. I'm fairly certain I remember Rafe giving something like that as the reason amazon wouldn't okay the longer pilot he wanted -- like it literally came down to audience retention and reactions from test groups. I feel like the final cut was probably geared more towards retaining viewers who haven't read the books which is why things like the black rider sighting was left out; the build up doesn't matter because there's no real time for it, but the gist is still there. I don't think it was a huge mistake. I would have preferred it left in though. I would love to see an extended cut one day. I hope they do that at some point rather than just release the deleted scenes.
Not that we'll ever know, but I wonder if it's possible the whole "who is the dragon" spin came out of discussion over how to make the script fit into the hour slot. You can definitely see Egwene as a potential in this version, but Rand is in no way hidden. It's pretty obviously him by the time we get to the fever dream.
Another possibility as to why they cut Gitara might be that it generally confused test audiences? Assuming they even filmed it. Gitara's monologue is heavy on the kind of abstract philosophy that makes thematic sense if you know WoT but would just be heavy waffle if you don't. And it explains nothing about who or what the dragon is. Maybe the overly graphic nature (a distressing birth scene and Gitara's painful seeming death) turned audiences off from watching more. Could be as simple as that. My money's on it being cut due to a bit of both those reasons -- it's essentially a "shock" scene with little to no context.
I thought the rumoured actress was Selene rather than Lanfear (though it also looks to me like they will probably keep the same actress for both). I reckon she'll be one of the first people Rand meets now he's off on his own.
![[Image: thal-banner-scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thal-banner-scaled.jpg)