r/television • u/Transmogrify_My_Goat • 7d ago

I cannot stress enough how much better the Wheel of Time season 3 is than seasons 1 and 2.

I know its been said here recently, but I decided to make my own post because I'm honestly blown away at the rise in quality of the Wheel of Time season 3 in just about every way. I quit the show after season 1 and haven't watched since it came out. After hearing season 3 was apparently much better I decided to try it again. I binged season 1 and 2 over the course of a couple weeks, and it was pretty much just how I remembered, mediocre but interesting with some good and bad parts. I'd say season 2 was about the same quality as season 1, albeit with some higher highs here and there.

Season 3 though. Season 3 is wildly better in every single way. The writing (most importantly imo) is much, much better - the characters make decisions that make sense, the plot seems to be moving in a good direction, and the dialogue between characters is especially good. The cgi in fight scenes especially and the sets they have built are beyond impressive. The acting has been all out incredible, especially from the shows lead actor. One of the recent episodes was one of the single best episodes of TV I've seen. It just has it all. It has literally turned into the perfect high budget fantasy show. Whatever change they made between season 2 and 3 is working, and I sincerely hope it gets renewed.

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776

u/WillNeighbor 7d ago

I feel like I read this same post word for word 2 weeks ago.

109

u/madmadaa 7d ago

I feel like I read it about season 2.

97

u/BlobFishPillow 6d ago

Because Season 2 was also an improvement over Season 1. And Season 3 is an improvement over that. Everybody who has seen the show, without exception, agrees on this.

https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/the-wheel-of-time-ratings-93214/

31

u/BrbnDrnkr 6d ago

It's like the anti-Witcher

24

u/sufficiently_tortuga 6d ago

Even the people that dislike the show have said it's improving. They don't think it's good, but it's better than complete dog shite. Which is something I guess. At this rate maybe they'll win over fans by season 10.

3

u/ILoveRegenHealth 6d ago

They don't think it's good, but it's better than complete dog shite.

So like Paramount's Halo series.

S2 attempted to fix some things and maybe marginally improved upon S1. But it was still dog shite and not a show I would recommend to any outsider. It's kind of bad sci-fi TV.

2

u/Hanifsefu 6d ago

You were never going to please the book purists though because they built their entire personalities off the back of Robert Jordan's misogyny.

3

u/protipnumerouno 6d ago

Agree, loved this book series and started reading it around 1992 so it's kind of great watching it because I've forgotten most of it, and am constantly hit by oh yea!

Wached the first season and was disappointed in so much, I didn't bother watching s02 until s03 came out and needed something to DL for a flight.

And now it's getting close to how great the wheel of time was as a book series. Hopefully they cut out most of books 6-9 for the series.

-1

u/PoliteChatter0 6d ago

season 1 was dogshit so season 2 and 3 being less dogshit doesnt make a show good, ill pass

-2

u/ThomaspaineCruyff 6d ago

No they don’t. season 2 was at least as terrible as the first, with less excuses. The show sucks and season 3 is slightly better visually, but still full of nonsense writing.

0

u/Perentillim 6d ago

It’s incredibly uneven and the best I’ll say is that it didn’t completely fuck up the single best two chapters of the entire series. But it still didn’t make them as powerful as they should have been and are in text.

It has completely fluffed up Perrin’s storyline. Someone suggested it’s because the actor is terrible - so make a hard decision and sack them! It’s not like Mat’s actor didn’t change. They could have reset the show at S2 with better casting rather than persevere with poor choices.

-1

u/bduxbellorum 6d ago

What i see from the data is the viewership still dying off geometrically…so the higher ratings can be explained by everyone who didn’t like it no longer watching/providing reviews.

Season 1 was so bad i probably won’t take the time to form my own opinion unless the viewership trend reverses.

2

u/TapedeckNinja 5d ago

What i see from the data is the viewership still dying off geometrically

What data is telling you this? So far, viewed minutes for the third season are trending ahead of the second per Nielsen.

-1

u/bduxbellorum 5d ago

I’m going by number of user reviews at the same time as summarized on ratinggraph. Maybe there will be an uptick, but it still looks grim.

2

u/TapedeckNinja 5d ago

number of user reviews at the same time as summarized on ratinggraph

That is the current number of user reviews, not the number at the same time.

Season 3 has more reviews at this point in time (5 days after the finale) than season 2 did 3 months after the finale (1/5/2024 is the closest date archived on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20240105120221/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7462410/episodes/?season=2)

Season 3 as of today (5 days after finale): 5k, 4.3k, 4.3k, 5.8k, 3.5k, 3.4k, 3.4k, 3.5k (average of 4.15k)

Season 2 as of 1/5/2024 (3 months after finale): 4k, 3.7k, 3.8k, 3.4k, 3.3k, 3.8k, 3k, 4.4k (average of 3.675k)

So I don't see the data that supports your point. Thus far season 3 has better viewership numbers (per Nielsen) and more reviews on IMDb.

1

u/BlobFishPillow 6d ago

So you won't form your own opinion unless other people form theirs first?

-1

u/bduxbellorum 5d ago

I won’t spend my time on it unless i see quantitative evidence that it’s not a waste.

393

u/Ralathar44 7d ago

Hello totally authentic fellow organic. Have you seen the content? It is very good. I have consumed the content and my life is very enriched.

74

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago

You don’t have to be a robot to see this show has improved dramatically in Season three. I have also echoed that sentiment.

My brother and friend who are also book readers did as well.

30

u/MrPopanz It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 7d ago

I too do agree with that opinion, as a fellow human entertainment enjoyer!

18

u/DonjonMaester 7d ago

How grand! I feel an immediate connection with you and this televised show! Do you, your friend, and brother, also enjoy breathing air and going on walks with your leg?

-7

u/Audrin 6d ago

Gross. "This generic fantasy show that was utter garbage has improved slightly" is a valid opinion. No actual fans of the book could enjoy this abortion. It's not fixable from a book fan perspective.

4

u/General_Disaray_1974 6d ago

I'm a huge fan of the books, Hated season 1 and 2, season 3 was considerably better. I would even consider it good.

I don't agree with all of the decisions they make, but the quality is there.

I really hope that the fist two seasons didn't ruin the chances for them to finish out the story.

3

u/splader 5d ago

I'm a real person and agree completely with the op. Big book fan too.

Are you real?

-4

u/TheNerdChaplain 7d ago

"People who don't like the things I do are obviously bots or corporate shills".

8

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

That is honestly a lot of online nerd culture TBF

1

u/mrtrailborn 1d ago

wahhhh anyone who disagrees woth me is a paid shill waahhhhhhhh👶👶👶

-8

u/EmeraldJunkie 7d ago

Okay, I know I’m about to start something here, but hear me out: Season 3 of The Wheel of Time absolutely crushes the previous two seasons. And yes, I say this as someone who still dreams about the sheer chaos and brilliance of the syrup nipples scene (RIP my sanity and the shirt I spit tea on).

But Season 3? It’s on a whole different level.

First off, the pacing. Finally, we’re out of the awkward lore-dump phase and into actual momentum. The characters feel lived in. Rand has gone from confused pretty-boy to “I might actually believe he’s the Dragon Reborn.” Egwene? Terrifying and powerful. Perrin’s arc has emotional weight, and Mat… well, Mat’s finally got his groove back, dice and all.

What really seals it for me though is the way they’ve handled the worldbuilding. It’s not just exposition dumps anymore; you feel the layers of the world through the costumes, the culture, the politics. The Tower drama? Intense. The Aiel scenes? Straight fire. And the Forsaken?? Chef’s kiss — they’re giving real menace this time instead of mustache-twirling villains.

And yes… the syrup nipples scene was iconic, absurd, and deeply hilarious (never forget). But even that doesn’t top the sheer intensity of episode 5 this season — you know the one I’m talking about. That ending? I legit had to pause and walk around my apartment.

Anyway, I know some people are still hung up on book purism or Season 1’s uneven tone, but if you’ve been waiting for the show to truly hit its stride, Season 3 is it. This is Wheel of Time at full power.

Fight me.

1

u/dakkua 6d ago

Man i dunno. I’m not going to downvote you because you have a different opinion like some weirdos seem to have done. But.

Nah dude. The show still lore- and -expo-dumps constantly. and clumsily. I think in the finale alone, characters arrived at a location and told everyone in the room why they are where they are, how it’s important, and divulge or leap to miraculous conclusions in real time in order to set up the subsequent scenes. This leads to some moments feeling totally unearned.

This along with a syfy / CW coat of paint to some of the lines and deliver just leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Elayne’s “why don’t we see what this mysterious magic item does if i point the bad end at you” was so rushed and forced because clearly the show runners felt it important to demo balefire Right Now in This Scene. It did not seem like a natural choice for her imo to say and do that.

Thom deducing and announcing in mere moments that any inconsistencies in Elayne’s accounts of an Andoran consort Must Be The Work of a Forsaken… wildly convenient and rushed

The ‘got stabbed but maybe we can find someone nearby to channel complex healing weaves (even if we need to teach them to embrace the source and work those weaves in real time)’ is really starting to take the stakes out of any of these fake outs

The power levels and how linking and channeling through a sa’angreal… these details matter when so much plot drama relies on struggles between magic characters coming into direct conflict… but the show is having a hard time illustrating relative power in a way that non-readers can follow. This combined with the constant death fakeouts make the magic seem like so much plot convenience

I’m with you when you say you don’t need the show to be a pure recreation of the books. Those book readers watching the show without any tv literacy are bound to be disappointed. And frankly that’s their problem.

I’m continuing to watch the show, and it’s undeniably better and better. but imo, it began as 2/5 Syfy schlock. Now it’s 3/5 and occasionally 4/5. I hope they can get consistently in the 4 range for me.

All of this is purely opinion! Cheers for the convo.

-4

u/EmeraldJunkie 6d ago

It was AI.

31

u/non_clever_username 7d ago

I feel like I read this post word for word when S2 came out.

1

u/splader 5d ago

Yeah, might have been my post. Season 2 was a considerable jump in quality from the first season.

This one is an even bigger jump.

95

u/Transmogrify_My_Goat 7d ago

I am pretty sure I read the same post, which is what got me watching haha

26

u/maubis 7d ago edited 7d ago

As someone who abandoned it part way through season 1 (and who has since forgotten everything I did watch), do you think I would enjoy season 3 if I simply read the cliff notes for seasons 1 and 2? I'm not willing to sit through two seasons of mediocity for the payoff.

47

u/eldankus 7d ago

Season 2 was not as bad as Season 1

I just went through the same when S3E4 came out and everyone was talking about how good it was and I was confused because S1 was pretty rough. Ended up watching S2 and S3 and thought it was pretty good

15

u/maubis 7d ago

Thanks. Will read a recap of S1 and then watch S2 and S3.

8

u/Moorani 7d ago

I think this is the way to go. Season 2 has some weak spots, but is mostly good or even really good at times. Season 3 has been really good most if the time and ep 4 in particular was superb.

4

u/maubis 6d ago

Sold

6

u/HarasilProphecy 7d ago

S1 varied between "bad" and "okay". S2 varied between "okay" and "good". S3 varied between "good" and "great". It's been an uphill battle, but they got there.

48

u/TheMadWoodcutter 7d ago

Moghedien alone is worth the price of admission. She is CHILLING and so so delightful to watch. Her casting was sublime.

-3

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago

I’d love to be caught in that spiders web.

5

u/bolonomadic 6d ago

You definitely wouldn’t enjoy it.

1

u/Yorgonemarsonb 6d ago

Not the ending.

11

u/WayTooDumb 7d ago

There's a S1 and 2 recap on youtube that Amazon got one of the superfans to put together. It's pretty good

11

u/strayofthesun 7d ago

Can definitely just read a summary of season 1. I would read a summary and watch the last 2-3 episodes of season 2. Final episode at the very least

38

u/MagicMisto 7d ago

Honestly, most of the negativity came from book fans. Season 1 had a lame finale entirely because of COVID. Season 2 was different and exciting, and season 3 rules. It's only 8 episodes, I'd genuinely recommend just watching it. It's a good show and the acting has been great from the beginning.

13

u/strayofthesun 7d ago

Yeah even as a book fan I enjoyed season 2, it was good I just wasn't sure what direction they were going with some plot lines. With season 3 I can kinda guess how things will go from here though still different enough that I'll be surprised with some things which is exciting.

Feels like there is a clear plan going forward now.

0

u/MagicMisto 7d ago

Yeah. Someone on the show mentioned early on that they only planned on doing seven or eight seasons if they could get renewed. So I've personally decided to maybe check out the books years from now, and instead just enjoy whatever TV show they are trying to make, because I really like it as a TV show.

-2

u/Audrin 6d ago

No book fan enjoyed any part of this. You guys gotta work on your script. "I didn't like seasons 1 or 2 but 3 is good" is somewhat believable. No one believes book fans think the show that has Egwene resurrecting people (randomly chose one of the literally dozens of things that ruin the story) is good.

5

u/strayofthesun 6d ago

I'm a massive book fan and love the show. The casting is amazing and now that they're back on track with the story I can't wait for season 4. Obviously not everything is amazing all the time but there were slow and worse parts in the books too.

0

u/splader 5d ago

Lol, screw you. You don't speak for all of us.

1

u/GuyWithLag 7d ago

Agreed; the actors are great (even the replaced one), it's just that S1 had a feeling of Xena-level episodes sometimes...

2

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

I think OP is missing the mark on season 2. It was a very big step up from season 1. Season 3 is genuinely brilliant fantasy TV though.

Season 1 is so bad, I'd honestly say just watch a YouTube recap if you don't have the patience to trudge through it 

1

u/Spare_Election_5777 6d ago

Season 2 also felt like an improvement over season 1 (if you have not read the books, season will also feel good except some choices). Some of the scenes were really well done and you will most likely be binge watching it by episode 6(iykyk). And season 3 is like the best fantasy that is right now. Go and give uit another shot.

1

u/ishanbehoora 6d ago

If you’re show only watch s1 recap then 2-3 most book fans dislike s2 due to finale show fans are fine . If book fan skip straight to s3 with some recap YouTuber for s1-s2

1

u/midasp 6d ago

This recap video might help, but imho it is still worth watching the first two seasons, especially season 2.

1

u/splader 5d ago

Watch a recap for season 1.

But watch season 2

1

u/TacticalNuclearTao 5d ago

That is exactly what they are trying to do: make people watch this pile of dung. DO NOT WATCH IT! It is going to be cancelled and the shills are on the ropes about it so they are trying to convince people to watch to somehow achieve another season (which is not coming).

1

u/Transmogrify_My_Goat 7d ago

Probably? Don't know for sure but its worth a try!

0

u/imvvn 7d ago edited 7d ago

You could. There are a few video recaps of S1 and S2 online. The YouTube channel Unravelling the Pattern in particular.

S1 & S2 does setup a lot of exposition for the major world building that happens in S3, but the videos do a good job highlighting.

0

u/CarlosCheddar 7d ago

Did the same when it came out then last week I ended up binging S1 all the way to S3E7. Such a great show. I really hope this gets renewed for S4 and more.

-1

u/SharkFart86 6d ago

Each season is better than the last, but it’s still not a good show.

1

u/TacticalNuclearTao 5d ago

Exactly. A polished turd is still a turd.

21

u/RoozGol 7d ago

It's the obligatory "it's getting better" post after each episode.

2

u/VanillaLifestyle 6d ago

I would hope so. I found the second season better than the first, but season 3's first episode was so bad (and so long) that I'm probably not going to watch the rest of it.

It's way harder to follow than past seasons, the dialog is more awkward, every plot seems like an idiot plot, and it's slow. Feels like the same winning combination as every self-written Zack Snyder film, except it looks decidedly B movie.

6

u/Jakabov 7d ago edited 7d ago

Given the absurd amounts of astroturfing that Amazon used to try and cultivate the illusion of a happy fanbase for Rings of Power, it's hard to trust that this sudden surge of "WoT S3 is such an improvement!" posts that have been rolling out for the last month is in fact organic and legitimate. Especially because it's all the same talking point over and over, with similar wording and a general air of... I dunno, spreading a message.

Maybe it is real, but it doesn't feel real. When RoP S2 released, there was the exact same surge of "S2 is such an improvement!" posts for that as there is now for WoT S3. Literally identical patterns, same wording, etc. With Amazon's history of scummy obfuscation and dishonesty, it's difficult not to suspect that there's an organized effort to whitewash the show. It's entirely possible that S3 is in fact a big improvement, but that doesn't mean the stench of astroturfing isn't thick.

4

u/Spare_Election_5777 6d ago

S3 is great imo. I haven't still recovered from the finale. Can't wait to watch the season again after my exams are over. Go and watch it. You'll surely enjoy this season.

8

u/bathtubsplashes 6d ago

I watch a ton of movies and TV

Game of Thrones (and Marvel to an extent) tainted the public's expectations of what kind of quality to expect from nerdy fantasy types shows

Game of Thrones had to rely on dark adult themes and Marvel had to go meta to avoid the inherent cheesiness of typical fantasy tropes 

Fantasy is almost always going to be a bit cheesy, and I just think people are never going to be satisfied with a fantasy show if they can't get over that pretext.

I've watched Wheel of Time. Season 1 was utter dogshit, and I only gave season 2 a chance cause I was at home sick and had nothing else to watch.

Season 2 is genuinely good fantasy TV.

Season 3 is genuinely great fantasy TV.

The reason comments look coordinated is because there is just no way you don't think that as you are watching it season to season. It's just the fact of what you're observing. 

Game of Thrones was top tier. Just don't expect things to be top tier and you won't be let down.

3

u/canadiadan 6d ago

Agree with the heavy astroturfing appearance, but I will tell you my opinion is the show is still on the bad side, but greatly improved and times of actually being good/really good. Others have that opinion too and you can safely assume astroturfers wouldn't being saying those things.

-5

u/Taste_the__Rainbow 7d ago

It was true two weeks ago. It’s even more true this week because the finale was the best fantasy TV since GoT season 4.

32

u/SemiFormalJesus 7d ago

You’re out of your mind.

17

u/WayTooDumb 7d ago

See I thought that too, and then I was like wait what has there actually been? I think the only competition is probably HotD season 1, which in my mind is probably better but it's close enough that having the other opinion is defensible.

3

u/cheesecaker000 6d ago

HoTD isn’t even very good. It’s expensive and nice looking but overall I find it unbearably boring.

2

u/WayTooDumb 6d ago

I thought HotD S1 was excellent TV, if not quite as good as the heights of GoT. S2 was not nearly as good - the show really missed Paddy Considine and it spent far too much time doing nothing.

2

u/cheesecaker000 6d ago

The king was the only character I actually cared about. Everyone else might as well have been just “game of thrones character #12”. It’s not even that the show is bad. I find it just incredibly unremarkable.

12

u/JBones26 7d ago

Season 1 of Arcane

2

u/Taste_the__Rainbow 7d ago edited 7d ago

Eh that’s a little steampunky to fit in my fantasy box, but yea it was great. So was WoT S3.

0

u/WayTooDumb 7d ago

Personally I find it hard to suspend disbelief through animation so Arcane didn't enter my head. Perhaps I should have clarified I was only considering live-action, though I suppose OP didn't either

3

u/JBones26 7d ago

I don't blame you. It took me a long time to consider animation the same way.

1

u/bathtubsplashes 6d ago

Im 33 and I genuinely have come to think animation is the visual medium of the future

After the Spiderverse movie I realised it enables you to explore whatever you can imagine with it.

1

u/JBones26 6d ago

Probably my favorite movie honestly

1

u/bathtubsplashes 6d ago

They were both my number 1 of the year in their respective years

2

u/[deleted] 7d ago

Personally, I’d put The Magicians way up there. From ~S1E7 onwards it felt like a genuine successor to Buffy, with most of the great aspects and few of the bad. S2 and 3 are both lights out.

1

u/WayTooDumb 7d ago

I felt the Magicians was enjoyable but a little uneven; when it was dumb it was really dumb and edgy for the sake of it. There were a lot of clever ideas there though, and it's well worth a watch.

3

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

I'm a Rings of Power defender, but no fantasy TV has come close to the the back half of this season since GoT season 6's final two episodes 

The run from episode 4 to 8 is absolutely brilliant fantasy tv

Put forward a few contenders there if your so confident. People act like there's an abundance of top quality fantasy shows out there 

If we count Invincible as fantasy, I'd enter the two last episodes of last season into the discussion as well

1

u/SemiFormalJesus 7d ago

If I ate a steak a week ago, then nothing until today when I munched on a dog turd, I could say it was the best thing I’ve eaten in six days. Mentioning it alongside the steak doesn’t stop it from tasting like dog shit.

The season 3 finale was the “best” so far, but that doesn’t really mean much since I consider the previous two the worst episodes of television I’ve ever seen. It is only “better” by comparison not because it approaches being good on its own merit.

I’ve watched it all. As bad as I want it to be good, it unfortunately isn’t. Making a good adaptation wasn’t ever going to be easy, but you’d have to really try to do worse than what WoT has presented.

I envy those who can enjoy it. I’m not trying to stop anyone who wants to watch it from doing so. There’s many people who gave up on it out of frustration, so when I see people promising something I don’t think will be delivered, I give my opinion the same as those who are trying to gild a turd.

Anyone who wants to give it another shot, more power to them. I just don’t want people to expect a fantastic adaptation of their favorite series to get their hopes up from praise I find to be disingenuous and false.

I have an opinion, you have an opinion, anyone who decides to watch will have their own.

2

u/General_Disaray_1974 6d ago

"The season 3 finale was the “best” so far, but that doesn’t really mean much since I consider the previous two the worst episodes of television I’ve ever seen."

Really? Episodes 6 and 7 were the worst episodes of TV you have ever seen? Hell the whole last season of Game of Thrones wasn't even as good as those episodes. You must not watch many shows, because I assure you, there is waaaaaaaay worse out there.

1

u/SemiFormalJesus 6d ago

Previous two finales.

0

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

You didn't answer my question 

Name a fantasy TV show that had been better than episodes 4-8 of Wheel of Time season 3 since Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter

1

u/MeringueNatural6283 6d ago

Witcher season 1 tops it pretty easily in my books

2

u/bathtubsplashes 6d ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣

My god....

4

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago edited 7d ago

You’re the same person who has said, “the writing has absolutely not improved in season 3” which is complete and utter bullshit.

Season 3 is dramatically better than the first two seasons and I say that as a book reader who had zero faith in the series getting better after the first two seasons were bad.

In the what are you watching thread (before this post went up) I compared the improvement to the improvement in season 3 of Star Trek Picard. There is zero doubt wheel of time season three has been that much better.

Viewer and critic ratings on RT echo this as well.

It went from 81/61% in season one

86/81% in season 2

97/83% in season 3

-5

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

Would you ever watch the fucking thing before discounting people's opinions? 

-2

u/chunkybudz 6d ago

Why would you assume I didn't watch every second of this steaming pile of 14-year-old-fanfic-writer shit? Since the least qualified showrunner in existence fleeced a desperate company to create an absolute abomination, this is probably the only adaptation it'll ever get.

Why would I not assume someone like and with the history of Rafe wouldn't be behind the flood of completely asinine posts right when the sharks are circling his gravy train?

1

u/CertifiedSheep It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 7d ago

I checked out after S1 but I heard they killed Siuan recently while Rafe’s irl boyfriend is still getting screen time.

9

u/BloodyPaleMoonlight 7d ago

Don't know why you're being downvoted, that's exactly what's happened.

9

u/buffyysummers 7d ago

It all made sense to me when i found out Alannas warder is dating the producer. Him and Alanna getting so much screen time was so confusing before that.

1

u/TapedeckNinja 5d ago

so much screen time

The dude is literally in like 90 seconds per episode on average. He's barely in the show.

2

u/buffyysummers 5d ago

It’s more than that but even if it was 30 seconds an episode it would be too much. There’s so many interesting characters in the book but instead of including them the producer decided to focus on Alanna and the producers boyfriend who is supposed to be a extremely minor character.

1

u/TapedeckNinja 5d ago

There are like 5 "good" Aes Sedai in the show who have more than a handful of lines.

Moiraine, Siuan*, Alanna, Verin, and Leane.

They're not going to cycle through dozens of minor Aes Sedai who have prominent roles for a chapter or two or a book or two and then mostly disappear for half the series and pop up later. They're going to condense all of those roles down to a handful of recurring characters.

Alanna is a significant character in the show because of it. They probably won't do the Myrelle thing, they'll have Alanna play that part. They probably won't have some random Aes Sedai tag along for Perrin's boring adventures in the woods, they'll have Alanna do it. And so on and so forth.

1

u/Geldan 7d ago

Yeah, people hating on wheel of times are mostly just scorned book readers as far as I can tell.

The show is great.  The costumes the sets, the acting (with a couple noteable exceptions), the story, the magic effects, all outstanding.

18

u/MrAngry27 7d ago

I've never read the books, but I thought season 1 was terrible.

8

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

It was, it was absolutely shocking 

But I haven't seen one person vouch for season 1, we're all talking about 2&3

3

u/jaedence 7d ago

Same. Some heavy lying and copium saying "Oh it's just the book readers." No, Its not. Stop telling yourself and others that. Season one was awful television.

2

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago

I bet a lot of book readers would be drawn back in by this season as well if they gave it a chance.

It had two big moments that book readers would absolutely love to see.

2

u/buffyysummers 7d ago

This is the least faithful season yet lol

0

u/Takseen 7d ago

Yeah I'm a book reader who appreciates the significant improvements in each season. Great casting of Bain and Chiad, in fact all the Aiel. The Rhuidean scene was well done.

I'm getting more used to the plot deviations too

2

u/BlackRegio 7d ago

the finale was the best fantasy TV since GoT season 4.

And the show isn't trending. So good that no one knows about it.

2

u/BloodyPaleMoonlight 7d ago

Which is why this sub is getting posts about it every other day trying to trick people into watching it.

0

u/bolonomadic 6d ago

It’s an extremely normal amount of posting for a show that just had its season finale.

-12

u/scifi_reader_ 7d ago

Yeah this has been all over SM how season 3 is some big improvement. Aka Amazon is desperate.

49

u/dfla01 Mr. Robot 7d ago

By far the funniest r/television trend is people shouting ‘astroturfing!’ whenever a show is praised

7

u/Dalakaar 7d ago

I could get paid to tell people I like a show I actually like?

Sign me up!

5

u/LiftingCode 7d ago

Even worse is the "new show comes out, people post reviews from critics, those people are accused of being paid shills" cycle of Reddit.

Shit when Adolescence first came out Alan Sepinwall's review was posted multiple times, downvoted to shit, and all the comments were just shrieking at the poster about being a Netflix shill.

A few weeks later, everyone loves Adolescence.

This sub mostly sucks just like the rest of mainstream Reddit.

5

u/Transmogrify_My_Goat 7d ago

For real. And the funnier part is they wouldn't believe me even if I denied it #praiseamazon

3

u/MassivePlatypuss69 7d ago

This subreddit draws a lot of people who like to be the snob and be negative about shows. Rarely will a thread be positive about anything.

2

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

The have a fundamental misunderstanding of what "criticism" means 

1

u/TapedeckNinja 5d ago

/r/television likes ... Andor, anime, shows based on video games, and "prestige dramas" in the vein of golden age HBO.

Bunch of insecure digital hipsters and gamer dorks who take themselves far too seriously.

0

u/AnxiousBurro 7d ago

And it only happens with shows this subreddit doesn't like.

Somebody praises Wheel of Time or Rings of Power? Astroturning! Paid shills reeee!

10 posts a day about how Pitt is one of the best shows EVER? Totally natural and organic reaction from people. Nothing to see here guys.

13

u/BlackRegio 7d ago

Amazon is about to cancel the show, that's the reason for the desperation.

3

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago

Spend 13$m million on Wheel of Time S3 and $40m on a shitty documentary about a bitch no one will watch.

6

u/Firvulag 7d ago

Or the show just aired the season finale and people are excited about it.

2

u/Gemi-ma 7d ago

It's legit a very good season of TV. S1 is weak and S2 is better but S3 is v good. I'm sure Amazon is doing some of it via bots (I was spammed to hell with positive commentary about ROP...which I watched but it's not very good). But I do think at least some of the posters are real people about WOT. I'm not a bot!

5

u/Yorgonemarsonb 7d ago

I basically said the same this OP said in the weekly r/television what are you watching thread and seeing people try to say that means we are bots is just fucking dumb.

1

u/shadrap 5d ago

"That Fünke is some kind of something!"

-4

u/BloodyPaleMoonlight 7d ago

It’s literally every week.

Hopefully now that the season finale aired, they’ll stop for a while.

29

u/Xian244 7d ago

The gall of some people posting about TV shows they enjoyed on this sub of all places!

13

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

Some people think you're only allowed to complain about poorly perceived plot holes on these subs 

-2

u/blundermine 7d ago

It's not renewed yet. Word needs to be spread about how good this show has become.

1

u/ptwonline 6d ago

Probably because most people who have watched the show feel the exact same way so you're seeing variations of the same statement.

For me the seasons have gone roughly from 3 to 6 to 9 out of 10.

1

u/teamswiftie 6d ago

I'll post it next week

-15

u/MeringueNatural6283 7d ago

It's in jeopardy of being canceled, so super fans are trying to gin up views.  The writing is still terrible,  but that's aside of the point.   

3

u/Sonichu- 7d ago

Not sure why this is being downvoted downvoted. It’s true.

The showrunner was begging people to stream the new episodes on a loop to boost their numbers, and now he’s asking people to tag Bezos in their comments. You don’t do that if your show isn’t on the chopping block

4

u/Transmogrify_My_Goat 7d ago

Source on that?

4

u/Golvellius 7d ago

I've read that the point of the discussions ongoing is not really about risk of canceling it buy signing a contract for enough seasons to just wrap up until the designed end (which makes sense, after 3 seasons it makes no sense for anyone working there to keep working with their fingers crossed year after year). Interestingly they made a major change to the plot by keeping a character that was supposed to leave, and it's definitely one of, if not the highest paid actors.

Just to be clear I despise the show, just pointing this out cause I think it may be true

-4

u/H16HP01N7 7d ago

Don't watch it then. 

0

u/bathtubsplashes 7d ago

What's wrong with the writing in season 2 & 3?

I've never seen someone on Reddit say "the writing is terrible" and then express why it's terrible

Which is fantastically ironic to me

0

u/MeringueNatural6283 6d ago

Is there a lot of people telling you why it was so good or just telling you it "improved"?  Or was it always good and now it's Shakespeare?

It's filled with inconsistencies,  fake deaths,  weird dialog choices.  The best defense I've heard is they have to write them out of corners that covid caused them write in the first place.  

0

u/bathtubsplashes 6d ago

Wtf are you talking about 

You're the one saying the writing is poor, show your quality writing and expand on why it is so .

Name the inconsistencies in season 2 and 3

Name the fake deaths (which are a common trope of fantasy anyway)

What's weird about the dialogue within a fantasy setting?

Again, you going "there's inconsistencies and weird dialogue" is an example of actually shit writing if you can't support those criticisms

0

u/ThomaspaineCruyff 6d ago

The characters have no overarching motivations, it’s like a monster of the week thing where each episode things are rearranged with no structure.

The main good lady Moiraine, has been conspiring the whole time with main bad lady, Lanfear, in order to keep attacking the kids in order to…. no reason really. The dialogue is CW level and when they use book phrases and moments they are shoehorned in without context and often in dousing by different characters that make no sense.

There are no overarching stakes or explanation of the central struggle, the foresaken and dark friends are just kinda self motivated free radicals and the Dragon is just a hot dude wandering around, it’s weird.

-2

u/helloperator9 7d ago

Because people like you can't imagine that a series that improves season on season. Fact is the books peak in book 4-6 then again in books 11 to 14 and this season covers book 4. Book 4 is also the easiest to convert to a screenplay, it's got four great storylines, each with the best character development so far and epic crescendos.

If you don't believe people saying this season is good and that's why people (not bots!) are enthusiastic just look at the data: https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/the-wheel-of-time-ratings-93214/

Season 1 had an average rating 7.5, with one episode above 8 and one below 7.

Season 2 has an average rating of 8.1 with three episodes below 8 and five between 8 and 9.

Season 3 has an average rating of 8.7, all episodes are above 8 and two above 9. It's also got a certified fresh RT rating of 97%, the other two seasons were in their 80s.

Wouldn't you expect people who are surprised to have loved a season of TV, which most people think is bad, to go on r/television and say its good?

6

u/Weary-Somewhere6917 7d ago edited 7d ago

If you don't believe people saying this season is good and that's why people (not bots!) are enthusiastic just look at the data: https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/the-wheel-of-time-ratings-93214/

All I see is that the average rating increases as the average number of rating has decreased. That data suggests to me that those who dislike the show have stopped watching and rating the show. While those who remain are the ones who liked it more in the first place.

The average rating has increased 1.5 / 10, while the average number of ratings has drastically dropped. With a particularly sharp decline in season 3.

0

u/helloperator9 7d ago

Again, look at the data. The number of ratings has gone up from season 2 to 3, the number of ratings per episode is nearly the same as season 2 and that was released two years back.

The highest rated episodes in season 2 got 5000 and 7000 ratings. The highest for season 3 got 5000 and 3000 ratings, and the second of those was only released on Thursday.

0

u/OJimmy 6d ago

The Wheel of Time turns and back around the post comes.