- Network: Prime Video
- Series Premiere Date: Nov 19, 2021
Critic Reviews
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The Wheel of Time Season 2 continues to embrace the riches of its source material's lore and worldbuilding, diverting from the books when it makes the most sense to but never sacrificing depth of character and overarching plot — and continuing to offer one of the best fantasy adaptations on television.
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The cast seem more comfortable now and the stakes ever higher in a smart, complicated adaptation that is taking worthwhile risks, while still holding on to what fans love about the books.
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Only time will tell as to how the rest of the season will play out, but the first four episodes provide a promising start, setting up bigger stakes – not an easy feat when you consider what happened in season 1. Tearing our heroes apart was a risk but it gives them time to shine on their own and even more of a reason to fight – to find their way back to each other.
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The Wheel Of Time may still spin a little too slowly, then, for those unused to the beats of high fantasy. .... On the whole, though, this ambitious TV project makes for a satisfying sit and it’s absolutely piqued our interest for the confirmed third season.
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I want to love The Wheel of Time. There’s so much potential in this world, from its complex history and politics to its unapologetically feminist worldview. The show’s strange reluctance to let its characters become more than people-shaped plot points is so frustrating precisely because it’s so darn easy to see how much more it could become.
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While there are some good performances and promising narrative threads, the season will need to get back on track quickly to live up to the potential it showed in season 1.
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The Wheel of Time goes too far and often obscures much that was great about the original. That said, the cast acquit themselves well. Female characters are especially vividly drawn – including junior Aes Sedai members Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and their new fellow student, Princess Elayne (Ceara Coveney). These performances save Wheel of Time from complete disaster.
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Episode 4 ends on a major cliffhanger that indicates things are poised to kick up several notches once the back half of season 2 begins rolling out, and it’s to the immense credit of the creative team that anybody with even a passing interest in The Wheel of Time will be desperate to see how it all shakes out.
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Season 1 felt like it was moving. Season 2 feels like someone jammed a stick in its spokes.
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It's those conversations, and the nagging feeling these conversations aren’t going anywhere interesting, hamper any momentum “The Wheel of Time” wishes to build. Even at the end of the four episodes provided for review, the characters still seem like they’re licking their wounds from the first season, the writers shuffling characters from place to place in a kind of narrative fantasy limbo.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 28 out of 48
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Mixed: 2 out of 48
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Negative: 18 out of 48
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Sep 1, 2023Much better than season 1. Pacing, VFX and writing are superior. genuinely good TV
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Sep 1, 2023
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Sep 2, 2023