After months (no, years) of horny fanfare, Amazon's big-budget fantasy show The Wheel of Time is finally coming to Prime Video this weekend.
An adaptation of Robert Jordan's hit novel series, it follows the adventures of five young men as they battle the forces of evil in a nameless world set simultaneously in Earth's distant past and future. One of these teenagers is also believed to be the reincarnation of the Dragon, a powerful individual who prophesied to save or destroy humanity.
All the typical fantastic antics, then. And at the show's world premiere this week, LaComparacion got a preview of its first two episodes. We'll post our spoiler-free review very soon, along with an interview with the cast and crew. But for now, here are five things we learned about The Wheel of Time ahead of its November 19 release.
1. It's not Game of Thrones
Okay, this may seem obvious, but headlines and conversations about The Wheel of Time quickly made comparisons between Jordan's work and rival George RR Martin's fantasy series, which in turn became a hit show. HBO television.
Depending on your perspective, you'll be happy to hear that these comparisons are, for the most part, superficial. Yes, The Wheel of Time is an expensive live-action series based on an extensive collection of fantasy literature, but the similarities really end there. While Game of Thrones focuses more on multi-house political warfare, beyond its dragons the show could, in theory, be historically accurate, The Wheel of Time is much more deeply rooted in high fantasy. This means you can expect magic, witches, and wizards instead of silver-tongued charlatans and incestuous siblings.
However, if reductive comparisons are your thing, the Amazon series is more like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy - it has orcs (referred to here as Trollocs), cute wooded villages, and a full search narrative, to begin with. Once it begins, contemporary influences like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner also show their teeth in The Wheel of Time, as its gang of sympathetic young men are forced to navigate a series of hostile environments.
2. It is not family
Those who feared that the show's grand fantasy equates to a low death toll need not fear. The Wheel of Time is very, very violent, but in a good way (you know what we mean). Only in the first two episodes, we are treated (or subjected?) To beheadings, amputated limbs, blood gargles and burned flesh. Hell, in one scene our hero literally regurgitates a bat.
This level of blood and blood will not be to everyone's liking, of course, but we thought it offered a nice contrast to, and added to reality, the silliest elements in history. As the stakes rise in the series' later episodes, we expect the deaths to get even more gruesome.
On the violence side, therefore: yes, The Wheel of Time is comparable to Game of Thrones (are you happy now?).
3. It is full of future stars
Beyond Rosamund Pike, who plays Aes Sedai Moraine in the series, most of the cast of The Wheel of Time are newcomers. There are a handful of familiar faces, including Sophie Okonedo and Michael McElhatton (the latter, by the way, played the role of Roose Bolton on Game of Thrones). But his gang of young people, who occupy most of the time in front of the screen, are in fact young adults, which is a good thing.
Josha Stradowski, Madeleine Madden, Zoe Robins, Barney Harris and Marcus Rutherford, artists from around the world, add true authenticity to the conflicts of the central characters of the series, and are not paralyzed by the familiarity of the roles they play. I have played elsewhere. To be sure, each will deliver a different kind of performance as the show progresses, but as confused teens grappling with the weight of expectations, they are a perfect fit.
Side note: If something were to happen to Hayden Christensen on the set of Disney's Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Stradowski could step in as Anakin and no one would notice the change.
4. It seems expensive
Like Game of Thrones comparisons, much of the tempting budget Amazon spent, and continues to spend, on The Wheel of Time has largely been. Reports suggest that season 1 cost the studio more than € 10 million per episode (there are eight in total), with a total bill reaching just under € 100 million.
Of course, Amazon has set aside € 250 million just for the rights to its upcoming series The Lord of the Rings, but € 10 million per episode is no small change for a multi-season adaptation of a relatively unknown IP (filming for the season 2 is currently in progress).
Fortunately, expenses pay dividends. Panoramic photos of the mountainous Czech Republic could give David Lowery's The Green Knight a hard time, and the costumes, sets and visuals from the show are some of the best in the business. We didn't really like the moody camera work and squint-inducing lighting in an early battle sequence, but it's a crime committed by many big-budget historical productions these days.
5. It is accessible to newcomers.
Perhaps the most impressive element of The Wheel of Time, however, is its accessibility. For those entering its first episode with almost no knowledge of the source material, the series does a great job of translating the most crucial parts of Robert Jordan's story to screen, and new audiences will find as much to admire here as they do. I have waited years to see his extensive vision come to life.
Unknown viewers looking for a robust and complex political epic may be disappointed, but The Wheel of Time will undoubtedly prove to be a journey worth taking for fans of old-school fantasy, as well as those who just can't. wait for The Witcher. season. 2.
The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time will be released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 19.
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