by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Each streaming service has been carving out what franchises they’re good at for some time. Paramount+ is the Star Trek service, Disney+ is the MCU and Star Wars service, and Max is the DC service. Others don’t have a particular franchise that they’re good at but excel in certain genres. Apple TV+ is excelling in sci-fi and Netflix is really strong with crime thrillers. Amazon Prime Video has some solid fantasy series going right now, and The Wheel of Time Season Two is another good addition to their portfolio.
The Wheel of Time, adapted from the long-running series of novels by Robert Jordan (and later, Brandon Sanderson), follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), an Aes Sedai, as she continues on her quest to defend the world from the Dark One. Together with a group of four individuals from Emond’s Field, Rand (Josha Stradowski), Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Perrin (Marcus Rutherford), and Mat (Dónal Finn), they will discover their destinies and help in the fight against evil to save the world.
Season One ends with the group splitting up and forging their own paths. I was afraid this would continue into Season Two, because the trouble then becomes multiple stories potentially cannibalizing one another, and some characters potentially getting shorted screen time and development. Even characters that are normally supposed to be together with someone else are split up. Lan (Daniel Henney), a Warder tasked with protecting the Aes Sedai, is separated from Moiraine. The displacement of all these characters is a necessary step in their journey, but as a viewer, the story becomes a little difficult to follow. Mat, unfortunately, is the one whose story doesn’t get enough attention. It does help that the person who originally played Mat in Season One, Barney Harris, didn’t come back for Season Two, and we had to get to know a different performer who put their own spin on the character.
If we take each arc from the season, we have some strong progress in Season Two. Rand is adjusting to his life now that he knows his path forward. This is a growing pains season for Rand. He makes some mistakes, trusts the wrong people, and learns what it takes for his role moving forward, and Stradowski continues to make a strong statement as a performer. We feel the pain the self-doubt that he’s in. It certainly feels like the odds are against him. His arc ends with a great moment of growth and some much-needed assistance from people he knows from his past.
Perrin has had a tough road to get to Season Two, and it’s unfortunately more struggles for him. He’s discovering a new part of himself that he didn’t know was there until Season One. Surrounded by a group of new allies, Perrin’s story is the one I’m most excited about moving forward. While he’ll be looking for some redemption after some of the things he does in Season Two, he also is growing into his own as a leader and skilled warrior. I enjoy what Perrin brings to the table, and he’s the one who has the closest encounter with some of the evils the world is facing now.
If I were to crown a season MVP, though, it would be Egwene. Props go to Madden, Egwene is put through the absolute ringer. She’s training to be an Aes Sedai, along with Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne (Ceara Coveney). All of them have their limits tested, but no one is tested more than Egwene. With a great performance and a strong arc, she is the character I’m rooting for the most going into the next season.
Season Two improves a lot of things from Season One. The mythology, especially with the Dark One and his allies, is explored more. It helps that the season provides more context for the dark side, since we’ve mostly been following those on the side of light for two seasons. In addition, we get to know a little more about Ishamael (Fares Fares). He’s a ruthless schemer who is one of the Forsaken for the Dark One. Fares is outstanding, with his calm demeanor and brutal tactics. Ishamael explains a little more about other Forsaken, and one of them is called the Daughter of the Night. She makes an appearance in this season, and it appears we will be getting more of them in upcoming seasons.
Technically, Season Two is a step up from Season One. The special effects, particularly with the magic, are great. It feels like the filmmakers took time to make the magic look more crisp. Since the gap between production for Seasons One and Two is two years, it shows how much more time and money was invested in making the special effects look better. The action set pieces are getting better, but are still heavily reliant on cuts from editing. This season has far more set pieces than in Season One, including a huge one towards the end. I will give them credit for outstanding fight choreography and for making the final battle of the season truly epic in scope.
The Wheel of Time is already at a tall task at Amazon Prime Video, which is dominated by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. If Amazon had given part of the budget to The Wheel of Time, they should have used it on advertising, because more people should be aware of this series. Rich in world-building, and sporting an outstanding story and wonderful characters that anyone can latch on to, The Wheel of Time is a great story to adapt, even if it can be a little hard to follow at times.
Rating: Liked It
The Wheel of Time is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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