I really struggled with putting a number on my feelings about this show. I had read most of the Wheel of Time books in middle school and high school, but I didn't finish them because there were only 8 or so out and I got busy. But I loved those I read. Enough that when I heard Amazon was making a live action adaptation I started a re-read of the whole series. Now that Season 1 is over, I'm just sad and disappointed.
The show runner, Rafe, really seems to have open disdain for the source material. There are so many changes, and nothing is sacred. Compared to the books, the show violates the essential lore and world building, completely changes critical plot points, and morphs characters' motivations and back story to the point they become unrecognizable.
Truly, I wanted to like this show. Chances are, it's the only live action "Wheel of Time" I'll ever see. But this isn't the Wheel of Time as I know it. It's like bad fan fic from someone who mostly disliked the original.
Among the most critical flaws are the ways the show destroys the diversity of the books. The books dealt with gender roles and race in deep and meaningful ways that challenged conventional thinking. The show undermines this in favor of "check the box" representation and in your face wokism.
Several of the main characters are made unlikeable and a world so rich it rivals Tolkien is reduced to a generic CW fantasy show that doesn't feel like a real world.
I'm just sad. And disappointed. I don't know if this show can course correct at this point, but I know I can't do so under the current show runner who seems to hate the books.
Edit: I'm adding in some positives. The reason I didn't give it a 1 out of 10. I think if you hadn't read the books, it could be as good as 4 or 5 out of 10 as a generic fantasy series with decent visuals and action. Sometimes, magic use is bad ass. A couple times, sword play is well done.
