The Wheel of Time

:

Season 2
Season #: 3, 2, 1
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10

Critic Reviews

  1. IGN
    Reviewed by: Samantha Nelson
    Aug 31, 2023
    60
    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.
  2. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Aug 31, 2023
    60
    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.
  3. We Got This Covered
    Reviewed by: Scott Campbell
    Aug 31, 2023
    60
    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.
  5. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Ben Travers
    Sep 19, 2023
    42
    Season 1 felt like it was moving. Season 2 feels like someone jammed a stick in its spokes.
  6. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Clint Worthington
    Aug 31, 2023
    40
    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

14
#14 Most Discussed TV Season of 2023

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 48
  3. Negative: 18 out of 48
  1. tamashy
    Sep 1, 2023
    9
    Much better than season 1. Pacing, VFX and writing are superior. genuinely good TV
  2. pritrai75
    Sep 1, 2023
    10
    More character-driven, detailed & vaster with better writing, world-building, cinematography, action & VFX, Wheel of Time S2 outdoes itsMore character-driven, detailed & vaster with better writing, world-building, cinematography, action & VFX, Wheel of Time S2 outdoes its precursor in all departments. A considerable achievement making it a contender to be one of the best fantasy shows in recent times.… Full Review »
  3. Waylander21
    Sep 2, 2023
    5
    Decided to give it another chance after being very disappointed with season 1 and I am not seeing the improvement I have seen mentioned inDecided to give it another chance after being very disappointed with season 1 and I am not seeing the improvement I have seen mentioned in multiple places. Changes aside for the moment, as a standalone piece of media, the show is average at best. The cast are generally very good and are probably the only purely good decision the showrunners have made, they are almost all very good in their roles. The writing however is sloppy, clichéd and poorly paced. Some of the dialogue is also very clunky. The sets, costumes and over-all cinematography are fine, some great use of colour and cool designs balanced by boring composition and strange editing choices. And finally, I can't resist talking about the changes.

    The changes made in season 1 from the source material continue to ripple out and change even more things. Changes were always necessary for this and they are not all bad but there are too many baffling, enormous changes that have not served any purpose in condensing the story or making it more tv friendly, just random deviations. Over-all as a person who loved the books (flawed as they are) I can't give this series the 6 it probably deserves so I've met myself in the middle and given it a 5.    … Full Review »
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