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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video was supposed to be the great event series of 2022, costing in excess of $500 million. It was promoted as “the next Game of Thrones.” Instead, it failed to impress reviewers and customers alike.
Despite having a great story to tell and a cast of believable actors, the film fell short of being truly great because of its lack of visual grandeur and attention to detail. Meanwhile, the same streaming service premiered an adaptation of another popular fantasy novel, The Wheel of Time, a year earlier. The series, adapted by Rafe Judkins, is a better fantasy saga than its predecessor, The Rings of Power.
Characters in both The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power are well-rounded and easy to identify with. These worlds and the inhabitants’ varied and interesting histories are familiar to the reading public. The Rings of Power, like The Wheel of Time and similar series, was based on a variety of Tolkien’s works rather than a single novel or short tale, but it still had to make the case for why the story deserved to be brought to the big screen.
Television, with its combination of moving images and sound, provides an experience that can’t be found in a book. The ability to pour intent into the screen and demonstrate how the creators may breathe greater life into these worlds is what elevates an excellent adaptation.
The Wheel of Time is a dense story, but the adaptation makes it more digestible for the small screen. Despite several problems (most notably a green cast who have matured into their roles in season two), the first season of The Wheel of Time managed to recreate and sustain the charm of the novels.
Overall, though, it was successful in constructing the vast world and enriching it through design (mostly through costumes and sets) and by including a diverse cast that more accurately reflects the world in which the series is situated.
When can we expect to see the next installment of “The Wheel of Time?”
On September 8, 2023, the next installment of The Wheel of Time will be made available to the public.
The first 3 episodes of βTHE WHEEL OF TIMEβ season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/u4a6Mj6AyG
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 1, 2023
Important Roles Are Accurately Played in Season 2 of “The Wheel of Time”
Meanwhile, The Wheel of Time goes above and beyond mere economics to show its appreciation for the source material. Most notably, in Season 2, we meet the Seanchan, a culture that will become one of the show’s primary adversaries.
They come from across the ocean, so it’s easy to tell them apart from the other people we’ve met because their culture is so different from our own. The Seanchan believe in enslaved weavers (channelers of the One Power), whom they refer to as “damage” and treat with cruelty.
The outfits represent the idea. Those in authority, such as the Empress, are required to wear eye protection but are permitted to talk freely, in contrast to the captured channelers whose lips are taped shut.
It’s both a satire on the phrase “see no evil” (because they don’t consider the enslavement of women to be bad) and a stark reminder of their power and depravity (since they consider channelers to be beneath them). The impact is stunningly frightening, especially in light of the brutality they show toward any and all deserters.
Both they and the Aiel, the other major new race to be introduced this season, drew cultural inspiration from various points in human history. When you combine the fantasy setting with the historical allusions, you get an unnerving, otherworldly atmosphere.
The post-apocalyptic setting of The Wheel of Time is often overlooked in favor of the more traditional “pre-modern” interpretation. Cultures, social hierarchies, physical systems, and buildings are all purposefully blended together. The attire is a mishmash of many styles and eras.
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