![]() ![]() With Starfield being the center of the Xbox 2023 Showcase last week, Bethesda gave us a deep dive into one of the biggest games this generation. This “action first, explanations later” approach works incredibly well as a way to maintain the momentum without a need to try to keep audiences entertained with Game of Thrones’ notorious sexposition. The young heroes, and through them the viewers, rarely understand just how dangerous this world is until they’re being faced with rampaging monsters, dark magic, or lurking traitors. That results in purposefully jarring shifts in action and tone as a beautiful celebration turns into a bloody battle or an intimate moment becomes something far more threatening. The Wheel of Time manages to thread the needle by showing a group or power in action, allowing us to enjoy a bit of wonder or mystery, and then using the relatively sheltered denizens of Two Rivers as audience stand-ins who can be told what’s really going on. It’s no small task to introduce so many characters and explain all the factions, history, and magical rules of the setting in a way that won’t lose newcomers or bore fans of the books. Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume) feels like an older and wiser version of The Witcher’s Jaskier as he soberly sings a ballad about the Dragon in a voice reminiscent of Chris Cornell or Eddie Vedder. Pike brings a perfect stoic gravitas to Moiraine while Josha Stradowski is an amusingly earnest and mopey Rand al’Thor, pining after his childhood sweetheart Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) even as she makes it perfectly clear she’d rather have power than his love. The show has an excellent ensemble bringing the heroes and villains to life. These additions work well for the most part, though one unfortunately involves introducing a new character just to fridge her. The writers of the show have fleshed out its protagonists a bit more, giving each one additional pathos and reason to adventure. She takes them on a journey far from home to uncover their destinies and face the coming battle for the fate of the world. That quest leads her to the pastoral region of Two Rivers where she finds four 20-year-olds who potentially fit the bill of the Dragon Reborn. When entirely new scenes and characters are introduced, they largely feel like they fit well into the world and help further develop it. Parts of the first three episodes are taken directly from Jordan’s first The Wheel of Time novel, The Eye of the World, but the writers have also scrambled segments of the plot and brought in characters that didn’t appear until much later in the series. Every aspect of the production is lushly realized, from the intricate armors and costumes to the way Aes Sedai and their Warder guardians fight in concert with a beauty reminiscent of wuxia films.īut showrunner Rafe Judkins (Chuck, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and his team are delivering more than just peak-TV spectacle, showing a deep understanding of the source material without being afraid to change things to better suit the medium. This is a series that really could only be adapted by a studio with the ambitions and budget of Amazon, which is reportedly spending $10 million per episode to build and destroy elaborate sets and fuse CGI with practical effects to make its magic and monsters come to life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |