The Wheel of Time season 2 episodes 1-3 review: Visually stunning but crippled by its convoluted storylines

2.5/5

Story: The story picks off from where season one concluded with Moraine (Rosamund Pike) and the rest of the heroes scattered across the continent. Rand (Josha Stradowski) is presumed dead by his friends, while Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) have joined the Aes Sedai at the White Tower of Tar. Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) has joined with a few Shienarans, still struggling to grapple with his powers. Whereas, the whereabouts of Mat (Dónal Finn; previously played by Barney Harris in season one) remains a mystery. The exiled Moraine believes that the war against the Dark One has only begun and that there is great danger on the horizon.

Review: The fantasy period drama or sci-fi fantasy has piqued the interest of several major studios and streaming platforms in recent years, in the hopes of replicating HBO’s unprecedented success with Game of Thrones. Netflix invested heavily in The Witcher, and despite its evidently high production value, the series struggled with poor writing and controversial changes to Andrzej Sapkowski’s original novels. And to make matters worse for the Netflix production, its lead star and lifelong fan of the franchise, Henry Cavill, walked away from the series before its fourth season. Amazon Prime Video on the other hand greenlit two projects that could’ve easily rivalled Game of Thrones – TV adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. Unfortunately, both TV shows, despite their obvious appeal and moments of bright spots, have failed to match the lofty standards set by Game of Thrones.

For fans of these iconic novels, the most baffling and often frustrating aspect of the adaptations is the fact that showrunners and writers feel the necessity to make several alterations to the source material. While it is certainly reasonable that changes will be required to seamlessly translate complex stories from the pages to the screens, drastically changing character arcs and needlessly altering crucial plot lines have unsurprisingly dragged down the quality of these adaptations. The Wheel of Time TV series, just like The Witcher, has been altered almost to the point where the stories have become unrecognisable.

The first three episodes, of the second season of The Wheel of Time, focus on multiple storylines of the scattered heroes. While these branched-out storylines do offer a sense of intrigue, they lack the gravitas or the finesse to keep one invested in these plot lines. Moraine's desperate ploy to separate from Lan (Daniel Henney), presumably for his own good, is tiring. Whereas Rand, the Dragon Reborn, has arguably the dullest subplots. While it does hint at Rand’s potential dark side, the scenes and tropes used in them are cliches, and the mystery surrounding the subplot grows stale very quickly. Elsewhere at the White Tower, Nynaeve and Egwene, grapple with the challenges of becoming part of the Aes Sedai. Their subplot also leans on familiar tropes and the pay-off is predictable and uninspired. While there is certainly no harm in relying on such tropes, it should ideally feature a gripping screenplay to elevate these scenes to make them compelling. Unfortunately, these episodes fall short of delivering a captivating screenplay.

Perrin’s subplot leads to some of the more captivating sequences in these episodes. While the story itself is far from what one would describe as engrossing, the introduction of the Seanchan makes for a few interesting scenes. Showrunner Rafe Judkins and the costume designers deserve credit for their reimagining of these mysterious characters for television. They are intimidating and menacing, and they provide a brief respite away from the mediocrity that is shackling the series. Ultimately, the writing lacks the nuance to keep the audience invested in the branched-out storylines. The biggest disappointment is arguably the Dark One’s chief lieutenant Ishmael. The performance by Fares Fares is certainly commendable, but he has been handed the monumental task of delivering a menacing villain, considering the wafer-thin material he has been provided.

The most rudimentary way to assess the quality of a TV series is it examine its ability to keep the audience wanting more at the end of each episode. If the ending of an episode fails to muster enough intrigue about the preceding episode it reflects poorly on the said TV series. Unfortunately, The Wheel of Time falls into this category, just three episodes into the new season. This is disappointing considering Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time is widely regarded as one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time.

Verdict: The Wheel of Time season 2 boasts excellent production value and a few memorable sequences. However, these sequences are few and far between, and the writing lacks the nuance to tell a coherent and compelling story. It is not outside the realm of possibility that the remainder of the season could deliver on the story’s immense potential, but the series would have to improve leaps and bounds from the first three episodes.