The Wheel of Time

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Season 1
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 459 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 290 out of 459
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 459
  3. Negative: 148 out of 459
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User Reviews

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  1. csdcpdx
    Sep 8, 2023
    8
    An imperfect adaptation of my absolute favorite piece of fiction of all time.

    The TV show struggles in places (the world feels smaller than it does in the books, the number of extras feels weirdly sparse, the sets feel like they're not lived in, the clothes seem to clean). On the other hand, I felt the sense of awe I was hoping for when I saw the Two Rivers brought to life. I loved    An imperfect adaptation of my absolute favorite piece of fiction of all time.

    The TV show struggles in places (the world feels smaller than it does in the books, the number of extras feels weirdly sparse, the sets feel like they're not lived in, the clothes seem to clean). On the other hand, I felt the sense of awe I was hoping for when I saw the Two Rivers brought to life. I loved this version of the White Tower. I'm intrigued by the portrayal of the Aes Sedai.

    It's not perfect, but it is solid TV and does justice to RJ's legacy.    … Expand
  2. RhandAltor
    Sep 5, 2023
    8
    Season 1 has some serious issues near the end, but up until that point it's a good series. Changes from the books are expected and necessary to adapt a story this size, but are hit and miss. Casting, costumes really good and the cold open to E7 is fantastic!
  3. Palanders
    Sep 3, 2023
    7
    This season was a surprising mix of clear strengths and weaknesses. I think the show has clear potential to improve into a great show - we'll have to wait and see with s2.
  4. Gutzu
    Sep 1, 2023
    10
    I Love it! Big fat Epic Fantasy!
    I Loved the Characters and the world building
  5. woollyshaft
    Jun 27, 2023
    8
    I'm so happy with how this turned out. I was worried that the quality would be lacking based on some of the previews, but they really did a great job with it overall.

    You know it's a good show, when the negative reviews focus on ethnic casting of characters they imagined as being white.
  6. LordBelrick
    Aug 22, 2022
    0
    Very disappointed in the casting, writing, acting and overall execution. This project was run by a super woke crowd that does not understand what true fans want. True fans want the story to be faithfully followed. Stick to the source material with casting and story line and you will have a success story here instead of.......whatever the hell this is.

    This product does not follow the    Very disappointed in the casting, writing, acting and overall execution. This project was run by a super woke crowd that does not understand what true fans want. True fans want the story to be faithfully followed. Stick to the source material with casting and story line and you will have a success story here instead of.......whatever the hell this is.

    This product does not follow the books with any credibility. Don't waste you time with this garbage, Read the books instead, its time well spent.    … Expand
  7. ncsuandrew
    Jun 11, 2022
    2
    Completely butchered the worldbuilding and story of the books. Assassinated or butchered most of the characters. Schizophrenic pacing. Good Trolloc/Myrddraal designs ruined by lighting, atmosphere, and cinematography. One of the worst season finales in history.

    Incredibly annoying omnipresent "music" vocalizations. Terrible sound mixing. Seems to demonstrate active hatred for many book    Completely butchered the worldbuilding and story of the books. Assassinated or butchered most of the characters. Schizophrenic pacing. Good Trolloc/Myrddraal designs ruined by lighting, atmosphere, and cinematography. One of the worst season finales in history.

    Incredibly annoying omnipresent "music" vocalizations. Terrible sound mixing.

    Seems to demonstrate active hatred for many book characters and themes beyond basic incompetence.

    Actors are generally competent, and some of the sets are notable. But the costumes are mediocre and the direction, writing, and editing are mind-numbingingly bad.    … Expand
  8. dkamanae
    May 5, 2022
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Could have been it's own ok action fantasy show, but is a poor adaptation of the book series. The actors are almost universally great, but the writing and story structure can't be fixed by that. Yet another generic "mystery" box story where the so-called mystery is actually just hiding information from the audience. Showing different edits/fx of prior scenes in later episodes as flashbacks or skipping parts of pov characters' stories until a flashback do not a mystery make.
    I was still holding out hope that they would turn things around, until the final episode, which is the worst of the season.    … Expand
  9. zarifebolsu49
    Apr 8, 2022
    0
    this series really sucks. far from the books. egotistical screenwriters have destroyed yet another legendary series. Costumes, effects, acting are also bad.
  10. mwilke13
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    As a fantasy series this does not at all disappoint, however, for anyone looking for a faithful adaptation of Jordan's book this is likely to leave you wanting. The show is visually stunning, develops the characters in a compelling manner, and leaves you wanting more after each episode. If there is one critique the writers added some elements of social progressivism and certain feministAs a fantasy series this does not at all disappoint, however, for anyone looking for a faithful adaptation of Jordan's book this is likely to leave you wanting. The show is visually stunning, develops the characters in a compelling manner, and leaves you wanting more after each episode. If there is one critique the writers added some elements of social progressivism and certain feminist tendencies absent from the book. With that in mind purists may find themselves scratching their head at the 5 potential dragons rather than 3.… Expand
  11. bac2sq1
    Jan 30, 2022
    8
    I actually enjoy a good "fantasy" genre series and this one boasts to becoming one. The 1st season was entertaining, however I have yet to read the book versions so have nothing to compare it with. Typically, most series or movies originating from books rarely depict them verbatim as production oftentimes doesn't have the "time/budget" for everything and simply tries to focus on the moreI actually enjoy a good "fantasy" genre series and this one boasts to becoming one. The 1st season was entertaining, however I have yet to read the book versions so have nothing to compare it with. Typically, most series or movies originating from books rarely depict them verbatim as production oftentimes doesn't have the "time/budget" for everything and simply tries to focus on the more important story lines, that make the most sense in the telling. That said, if it could stand on it's own merits, and not in comparison to the book series, I'd say this series is watch-worthy!

    The acting is "believable" and the characters seem to blend well together, however the relationships can be a tad confusing at times. The series does occasionally lack "context" but overall, very watchable!    … Expand
  12. sirdiddymus
    Jan 25, 2022
    0
    I started off trying to forgive change after change from the books but the show just asks too much in the end. I don't need a one for one adaption but when you change all the core themes of the show & characters then i do have a problem. This all culminates in that absolute travesty to Robert Jordan's legacy; episode 8. Completely changed everything I enjoyed about the characters & story.I started off trying to forgive change after change from the books but the show just asks too much in the end. I don't need a one for one adaption but when you change all the core themes of the show & characters then i do have a problem. This all culminates in that absolute travesty to Robert Jordan's legacy; episode 8. Completely changed everything I enjoyed about the characters & story. While episode 8 just threw any hope or want i had left to continue to watch. First witcher, now wheel of time. Really hurts to see these beautiful stories dissected apart & turned into husks of their former selves by people who have no love or respect of the material. LOTR & Game of Thrones season 1-6 were as popular as popular gets & they dine it by respecting the source material & making a recognisable adaption. Both Wheel of Time & The Witcher spit in the face of the material & it shows in the quality of the production. Won't be watching season 2.… Expand
  13. joeyjoe123456
    Jan 24, 2022
    0
    I understand that you need to condense source material and leave things out for the sake of taking a book to the big screen, but this adaptation completely ignores the source material. Not only does it leave tons of lore and worldbuilding out (as well as losing all the comedy relief) it totally changes the relationships between characters, the way the power works, and most major plotI understand that you need to condense source material and leave things out for the sake of taking a book to the big screen, but this adaptation completely ignores the source material. Not only does it leave tons of lore and worldbuilding out (as well as losing all the comedy relief) it totally changes the relationships between characters, the way the power works, and most major plot points. On top of that, this completely 'NEW' story is boring rushed and makes no sense. Loved the books hate this show.… Expand
  14. infin
    Jan 16, 2022
    10
    I read the books and really enjoyed the TV series. It's a shame it doesn't go into a little more detail, the books' details were always delicious.
  15. Gcampo
    Jan 11, 2022
    1
    I'm not sure if the screenwriter didn't read the books or was in a hurry to finish the story. He didn't develop any of the characters or the story, he took a collection of events from the book and put it in anyway. It's a sin what they did to history.
  16. Exceladeogun
    Jan 9, 2022
    7
    The wheel of time

    High budget series with a composite universe. The action and special effects are delightful. I especially loved the performances from Rosamund Pike and Daniel Henney.

    As someone who hasn't read the book, I can't draw comparisons between the book and the tv adaptation.
  17. Roshimbo
    Jan 8, 2022
    0
    The story is nothing like the books. Poorly written and paced. All male charecters have been relegated to the bench instead of being used properly. Rafe Judkins should be fired and his entire team.
  18. j_man
    Jan 6, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Extremely disappoint dumpster fire of the best selling book series. Calling it based on or an adaptation is just a lie.… Expand
  19. magalimeydav
    Jan 6, 2022
    10
    I watched every episode about 2-4 times. I am going to binge it again a few times. I love the casting and I feel very happy with this adaptation of this book series I love so much. They had difficulty in the end of the season because of COVID but they did a great job to overcome it. I wish wewillhave more episodes per season!
  20. RationalNerd
    Jan 5, 2022
    10
    Great season! tEotW isn't the easiest book to adapt, and the Covid situation definitely impacted the last two episodes, but overall it gave us some very good basis for following seasons! Ep8 clearly sets up some plots points of TGH and TDR, characters were moving, Rosamund Pike is absolutely amazing...
  21. GhostMaker1
    Jan 5, 2022
    2
    I was excited about this adaptation of my favorite fantasy series of all time. However this show is a train wreck. Does not address thr main world building themes at all in order to not offend. There are key elements that have to be maintained or the heart and soul of the series is lost and this series is dead. It is only Wheel of Time in name and character names. The charactersI was excited about this adaptation of my favorite fantasy series of all time. However this show is a train wreck. Does not address thr main world building themes at all in order to not offend. There are key elements that have to be maintained or the heart and soul of the series is lost and this series is dead. It is only Wheel of Time in name and character names. The characters themselves barely match what is found in the books. It is as if the writes attempted to make their version of WoT better than the original creator Robert Jordan. Game of Thrones and The Witcher are so much better done it is pathetic in comparison. If you have never read the Wheel of Time and truly want an epic fantasy series please buy the books or borrow them from your local library, but this TV 'adaptation' is a poor attempt at bringing this world to life and I wish anyone else would have made it instead of Amazon amd its awesome writers amd Show Runner., I have no doubt they would have made a more true to the original adaptation.… Expand
  22. cmurray1357
    Jan 4, 2022
    0
    The book series was amazing. Amazon's show is not a faithful adaptation whatsoever. Absolute garbage. It's like they hired Rafe Judkins to neuter all male characters, "empower" all the female characters and try to copy Game of Thrones as much as possible. There are so many liberties taken, book scenes removed, characters removed, and changes that don't make sense. You can no longer callThe book series was amazing. Amazon's show is not a faithful adaptation whatsoever. Absolute garbage. It's like they hired Rafe Judkins to neuter all male characters, "empower" all the female characters and try to copy Game of Thrones as much as possible. There are so many liberties taken, book scenes removed, characters removed, and changes that don't make sense. You can no longer call this The Wheel of Time.
    This show has no hope of coming back on track and being anything close to Robert Jordan's original series. Too far gone.    … Expand
  23. DasBearJuden
    Jan 2, 2022
    1
    1. Bad editing.
    2. Awful casting (Why is Matt 30?! They're like 17 in the books for good reason!)
    3. Completely don't grasp fantasy. Why is Rand's hair cut and styled? He's a peasant farmer. 4. Woke garbage. Why is there a hard feminist agenda present immediately? Especially since the female characters in the story are already kick-ass awesome! Don't shove the feminist crap down    1. Bad editing.
    2. Awful casting (Why is Matt 30?! They're like 17 in the books for good reason!)
    3. Completely don't grasp fantasy. Why is Rand's hair cut and styled? He's a peasant farmer.
    4. Woke garbage. Why is there a hard feminist agenda present immediately? Especially since the female characters in the story are already kick-ass awesome! Don't shove the feminist crap down our throat.
    5. Not at ALL faithful to the source material. Perrins wife?!! Are you @$@#! crazy?!    … Expand
  24. internetporn
    Jan 1, 2022
    0
    Super disappointed - it's clear that Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan's widow were not involved in this. The hubris of the showrunners to think that they will make a better story than Robert Jordan. So many changes which at first were acceptable to maybe streamline the story a bit, became truly unacceptable changes whose repercussions are inevitable. What a waste of talent and money and time
  25. Starkkid
    Dec 31, 2021
    2
    Very poorly written. Full of inconsistent dialogues, no fantasy rules, no world building, poor lightning, no stakes, loose plot, focus, and no immersion.
  26. WatchinMovies
    Dec 30, 2021
    5
    This is a very slow and plodding series. The selection of scenes to represent the book theme was confusing. The visuals seemed lacking, like they skimped on the budget. All in all I was disappointed.
  27. mikeyislost
    Dec 28, 2021
    10
    This series gets better a few episodes in. I think it's a beautiful adaptation of the WoT books. I absolutely love it!!
  28. HeyNow
    Dec 26, 2021
    6
    The book story has a passionate following, and there are changes in the TV version that have thrown people off. If you've never read the books or read them a long time ago then you might like this. I made the mistake of starting a "re-read" before the show came out. The differences are so jarring that it pulls you out of the story. The episodes are also hit-and-miss. I really liked 4The book story has a passionate following, and there are changes in the TV version that have thrown people off. If you've never read the books or read them a long time ago then you might like this. I made the mistake of starting a "re-read" before the show came out. The differences are so jarring that it pulls you out of the story. The episodes are also hit-and-miss. I really liked 4 and 7, for instance, but 5 and 8 were terrible. I think I'll end up sticking with this but all the excitement I had for this series has evaporated.… Expand
  29. Rosseyn
    Dec 24, 2021
    1
    After a slow start, the show settled into a great sequence, and promptly threw away all goodwill earned in a terrible finale.
  30. Tiger13LHMK
    Dec 24, 2021
    6
    Edit Episode 8: I enjoyed it, but... :)) Yeah, too little consistency overall, too little explanation, a lot of the logic is wrong... and too little focus on the men and boys... It's a somewhat dumb show, but I shamelessly enjoyed it :) 6/10 last scoring
    Edit Episode 7: This one was great :). Back to the standard that the 6th episode lacked. Can't wait for the last episode :D. It didn't    Edit Episode 8: I enjoyed it, but... :)) Yeah, too little consistency overall, too little explanation, a lot of the logic is wrong... and too little focus on the men and boys... It's a somewhat dumb show, but I shamelessly enjoyed it :) 6/10 last scoring
    Edit Episode 7: This one was great :). Back to the standard that the 6th episode lacked. Can't wait for the last episode :D. It didn't resolve everything that was "weird" in the 6th episode, but it started to. Increasing my rating.
    2nd Edit Episode 6: Thought more about this, about the things that made me feel cold. I can't find any explanation for some of the things happening in this episode... so it's an episode full of plot holes and I think it expands to past and will expands to future episodes... So yeah. Still curios, but it's turning morbid :( Decreasing my rating.
    Edit Episode 6: I generally loved this episode, but the ending and the thing that Moiraine used to meet with you know who, those two things left me a bit cold, hmm. Also the EOTW explanation, but that did not last. Still extremely curious :D :)
    Edit Episode 5: I really love what they are doing... So many scenes that do multiple things (lore building, relationship expansion, foreshadowing, character development)... I loved the pacing and the themes in this episode a lot :D
    Episode 4: This is amazing and I want more of it :). The unreliable narrator (or whatever is called for Videos) is very strong here :D.
    Review after 3 episodes:
    Not perfect, but I am hooked. I really want to see what they do with story. I found the acting (almost) perfect to what I had in mind while reading the books.
    Writing was fine or better than fine most of the time, but I think the delivery of some things/ideas of the story was rather clunky (the Red Ajah chasing scene, the Moraine/Lan arrival at the inn scene).
    Special effects were pretty good (quite amazing half the time), but it's early in the season.
    Pacing was perfect for me (maybe a little slow in the second and third episodes)... don't know quite why :).    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. i
    Reviewed by: Emily Baker
    Dec 3, 2021
    40
    For such a potentially rich series, The Wheel of Time is curiously flat. Little time is spent on character development or exploring the politics, social hierarchy and cultural touchstones of its world. Instead, there are many beautiful, but unnecessary, sweeping shots of scenery and overdramatic, overextended fight scenes.
    Read full review
  2. Slate
    Reviewed by: Rebecca Long
    Dec 2, 2021
    85
    Wheel of Time succeeds in retaining the earnestness and hope that characterize the novels, and which Game of Thrones lacked. But it also offers viewers something new. ... Wheel of Time is more soft touches and sweeping landscapes.
    Read full review
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Nov 22, 2021
    50
    While the lavish first season is eventful, it's burdened with clunky exposition, a deficit of whimsy and wonder, and thinly developed characters. [22 Nov - 5 Dec 2021, p.9]
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