Just watched S03E04 as a non-book reader…

Let me preface this by saying that I haven’t read the books, and my only knowledge of Wheel of Time before the show was that it was a famous fantasy book series.

I also want to say that I thought Season 1 was sloppy - it felt derivative in a bad way, lacked cohesiveness, and ultimately was quite lackluster, but it did have moments that I thought were actually strong. I felt Season 2 was an improvement - not night and day, but clearly heading in the right direction - and I think they ended it with a strong final episode. However, overall, I would say that I was still pretty indifferent to the show.

With that said, having just watched S03E04… I’m so freaking in! I thought the episode was genuinely excellent, and for the first time, it actually felt like the show was trying to say something unique. Based on this episode, if the story is going in the direction I think it is, and it’s trying to explore the themes/ideas I believe it’s hinting at, this show has just jumped to a day-one viewing for me. Furthermore, Season 3 so far has really been a considerable step up from the previous seasons - the show looks better, the costumes are better, the set designs are better, and even some of the dialogue is quite snappy and catchy.

The principal cast still leaves much to be desired in terms of acting (although I think the actor who plays Rand really stepped up in this episode), but I can overlook that because Rosamund Pike is always excellent, and the actors who play Lan, Lanfear, and the general Aes Sedai ensemble are great.

Side note: Am I crazy for seeing heavy Dune inspiration in this show? I’d even add The Expanse (though I’m aware this predates that) after S03E04.