Say what you will about how Kate sucks the air out of the room, I will never ever get tired of those specific-commercial sketches with Aidy (or Billie in this case). Every one of them lands for me.

I think it’s much deeper than that; ASOIAF subverts the heroic expectations created by the previously-dominant branch of the genre. It’s not much about sex - lots of fantasy novels had sex in them before that - and it’s certainly not about violence (a lot of fantasy was far more gruesome before that). It’s about…

The whole show was way too planet-bound. I gave it much more of a chance than the purists but it *did* bug me that they tried so hard to avoid space.

It’s nowhere near his best but it isn’t his worst. It’s weird the hate this thing has picked up in recent years, be it an overcorrection to the nostalgia for it from some or just not being the intended audience.

I think that would be a mistake. They both move in pretty distinct directions, and I think it would rob Elaida of a lot of what’s to come.

It’s worth mentioning that the conversation in the Hall makes it clear that the show has changed the Blue’s remit to being the spymasters. It’s a good change, because when the show debuted I tested myself on whether I could still remember all 7 Ajahs. The only one that stumped me was Blue, because all I could think…

I think it’s ok that Moiraine is the lead and I hope they keep it that way. It offers a new and fresh perspective for non-book readers and readers themselves! We’ve sort of seen the story before of the young underdogs in fantasies done again and again, let’s see the perspective told from a veteran in magic for a…

The Eye serves its purpose very well, even if it’s not relevant after it’s finished. Although I expect any AoL flashbacks we get will probably be brief and we’ll lose the bit about the creation of the Eye, I think the books do a very good job of drawing out its significance. Thematically, the three showdowns at the…

I wish people could do what I started doing a few years ago--try to engage primarily in things you like and don’t waste headspace on things you don’t. I have a friend who posts either directly about or references to how much he hated TLJ. Like, dude, get over it. Meanwhile I haaaated TROS but I mostly put it out of my…

Yeah, I agree. Maybe it will cause a huge problem down the line, or maybe it won’t, but Judkins was upfront about this first season making Moiraine the main character, and that’s what he’s done. Personally, I don’t see how that creates a problem for season two, where the kids all start to develop their own storylines,…

I’m on book 4 of my re-read right now and I had somehow managed to forget how much I hate Elaida, so the Umbridge comparison is quite apt.

The primary problem with the show is also the strength of the show so far.

Liandrin in the books always reminded me of an evil sorority sister.

The books are very oblique about non-heterosexual appearing relationships, and the only explicit reference I can remember involved it being shameful.

The Narrative seems to be setting up Liandrin as the replacement.

Yeah, I always felt like the whole first book was written as a bare bones standalone fantasy story that could serve as a basis for a series, if the publisher were so inclined. The Eye was set up as this climactic spectacle, but then kinda retconned into not being so important once it’s clear the series is going to go…

Pike pays off! Now you know why she’s a producer on the the show.

“Speaking of, did Moraine’s oath to the Amyrlin feel a little too specific? It’s possible I missed something, but while I understand that it’s important to try and come up with a promise you can work with, there were some personal comments in there about Siuan that sounded like they might give the game away.”

Two…

Book spoilers below...

The tower is divided up into 7 Ajahs, which are basically just factions or groups. There are internecine conflicts between them and each has its own leaders. It can basically be summed up as: