‘The Wheel Of Time’ Season 2 Starts Off Both Better and a Failure
The Wheel of Time Season 2 is here, did it do what it needed to, or is it a failure?
After quite a long wait Season 2 of Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time has arrived. The show dropped its first three episodes all at once to help get you into the season. This was a show with a lot of baggage, after a very mixed first season. After watching the first three episodes I’m left with a very mixed feeling. The show is better, or at least as good as it ever was, but also feels like The Wheel of Time season 2 was a bit of a failure
Season 2 is Better So Far
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The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season 2 were good. Let’s just be upfront about that. Season 1 also had some good episodes despite how it failed overall. These three are on par with if not better than anything season 1 had to offer. They are slower and more character-focused. We get to see different parts of the world and get a little world-building. However, more than anything they focused on the core characters, something season 1 often failed to do.
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I think overall you can see an improvement in writing and some strong acting on display. As it’s building off of season 1 it also doesn’t have to do as much setup. These are characters we mostly know, A lot of them are also pretty complex, we get to see some real depth to some of them, and it’s well done. Standing alone it’s a good three episodes.
Overcoming Season 1 Troubles
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I think it’s also pretty clear that some of the real issues season 1 faced were due to the pandemic and Barney Harris leaving the show. There was a big drop-off in quality in the later episodes because of this. The Wheel of Time Season 2 doesn’t have that issue and looks really good. Not just the effects but the costumes and sets look great. The design of the show is pretty unique and cool and does a great job of blending stuff together just like the books did. That’s all good news.
The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Starts Off a Failure
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That being said while watching the first three episodes I could shake the feeling that it was a bit of a failure. Or at least failing at what it really needed to do. Will these episodes drawback in viewers who didn’t like season 1 and weren’t planning on watching? I don’t know. They are strong character focused yes, but also a bit slow at times. People can find this boring, and the show isn’t offering anything season 1 didn’t.
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On top of that Season 2 of The Wheel of Time is failing to stick to the books. If you didn’t like this about season 1, then you’ll probably hate season 2. Really only one of the four or so storylines we follow is close to what we saw in the book. A ton is being added in and this caused an issue in season 1. A lot. This is particularly aggravating as the season is adapting 2 books.
These seasons aren’t that long and spending three episodes on slow-burn original plots just lets you know up front you aren’t getting a lot of what’s in the books. And hey they might also kill off a fan-favorite character just cus.
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Changes like these have a way of spiraling out and affecting everything. You can already see that some of these changes are a result of changes in season 1, it’s only going to get worse. Now yes, it’s an adaptation and needs to be its own thing. That’s fair. But so far most of the changes the show has made have not been for the best. So I really worry that despite a strong start The Wheel of Time season 2 is going to be a failure. It’s better yes, and I’ll keep watching, but I’m not sure it’s good enough.
Let us know what you think of the episodes down in the comments!
