TexasDrunk comments on The Wheel of Time's Rosamund Pike wishes the show could be saved, but believes "we have to accept that it's over”

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I've read them multiple times and agree with your gf. They're two different things with the same characters. I liked the show less than the books but I still liked the show and I'm sad it's gone.

I think part of the problem is that they deviated way too far from the source material so fan favorites never really got their time on screen. Add to that some things they had to do due to covid and losing a great actor (at least my favorite of the EF5) before season 1 episode 8 and having to scramble to fix that mess and they lost a lot of people who would have been their biggest cheerleaders.

These are not complaints of mine, just some observations outside the racist and sexist bullshit rhetoric that surrounded parts of the show fandom.

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[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (5 children)

racist and sexist bullshit rhetoric that surrounded parts of the show fandom.

...dare I ask what this was about?

I don't know anything about the books, but what could it possibly be?

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[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (4 children)

They had brown people for the Emond's Field folks. A group didn't like that. The women were competent in the show (and more competent than the dudes) than in the books (aes sedai notwithstanding). A group didn't like that. Twice a woman did something seemingly impossible based on the rules set forth in the books. I actually agree that one of them was problematic, but not because it was a woman. My issue with it was that it was just a senseless and unnecessary change. But I didn't run to the Internet to talk about how it ruined the show, the world, my faith in humanity, and how it's the worst thing that ever happened to anyone ever.

So there was a split between people who read the books. People who enjoyed it overall (me), people who didn't enjoy it because it changed too much from the source material (a valid stance and I see why they felt that way), and a persistent and loud group who were mad about brown people and women (shitbags).

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[–] Afaithfulnihilist@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's the weirdest complaint to me too because the only character that it really seems like we know has to be white is Rand and that's only because typically only white people have red hair.

When I first read it I thought him being singled out as a white guy with red hair and that being so notable probably meant that tall redheaded white dudes are kind of rare around these parts. People guessed his ethnicity just by looking at him too.

The idea that everyone else would be some other shade of skin makes perfect fucking sense in that context.

I don't like the way that they broke the rules of magic. It changes the stakes in ways that make the story less compelling but all of the racist and sexist nonsense is pathetic and sad. I'm not sure how people could read 14 of these books and come away thinking, "men are like this and women are like that" or some shit.

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[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago

I'm not sure how people could read 14 of these books and come away thinking, "men are like this and women are like that" or some shit.

People that can only understand literature at a surface level, and don't grasp things like nuance, sarcasm, etc. So basically, people who haven't advanced past an elementary reading level.

The irony is that one of the more constant themes in the series is that the men think women are a certain way, and the women think men are a certain way, but those viewpoints are contradicted nearly every other chapter.

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[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I didn't like what they did at the end of season 1. That was a last second rewrite due to covid restrictions and because they were missing an actor. I understand what happened and why but it created two huge problems, one with the way magic worked and the other was a character issue. It didn't kill it for me personally, but I can see why it would turn people off.

But man, I agree. In Eye of the World Elaida pulled up Rand's sleeve to see how white he was without road dust and the kind of sun exposure that comes from farming. She saw how light skinned he was. Which tells me that the two rivers folks were darker than him. And the EF5 had never seen anyone else with his color eyes. Super weird complaint.

Even if that didn't happen, it's a fantasy book. The only real rule was that it's been an isolated village for a while. Not enough time for evolution to entirely homogenize skin color, but quite a large chunk of time. So we're looking for folks that look like they belong in the same country and an outlander who could fit in if he had enough time in the sun.

I also didn't understand why people wanted to make sure that if they didn't enjoy it no one could. I'll never get that. It didn't retroactively change the books. It hurts no one by just existing. And I doubt we're getting another adaptation anytime within the next several decades whether this was finished or not.

And no matter what anyone thinks about anything, Rosamund Pike was fucking amazing. I stand by that no matter what anyone thinks about any of it.

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[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago*

...That's sounds about right :(

TBH I've seen this happen to a lot of fandoms, especially those in 'dry spells' that cling to the first bits of canon a little too hard.

Then someone like me, say, walks in on an Andor dogpile and has no idea what's going on, until I realize "Oh. They changed something." And 'shitbags' complaining about skin color or gender are almost always the loudest, yeah.

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