Wheel Of Time S3E1 Review – Starts With A Bang

Here’s my The Wheel of Time S3E1 review and let’s just say Season 3 starts with a bang and does not let up till the closing credits. Like thousands of other fans I watched the global fan event showing of Episode 1 this past Saturday. I’ll talk about the general reactions of my fellow fans in a bit. I’ll instead start with my thoughts and the fact this is a no-spoilers review.

I may get into the weeds a little more come my review for Episodes 2/3, we shall see.

Pacing and Power

The best compliment I can give Episode 1 is that the pacing is simply perfect. A 69 minute runtime feels like it just whizzes past. There’s so much happens in this opening episode that some shows would struggle. However, enough time is allowed for some quieter moments in between all the chaos as well.

Without a doubt this is the strongest opening Episode of any of Wheel of Time‘s Seasons so far, but a long, long way. There are some difference from the events of the book, however they work better here than they have previously. Some of the decisions made are subtle and chosen with care to enhance a book situation rather than rewrite it.

I’m sure many readers will have seen the opening 11 minutes which were released early. Well, That battle sequence has a few more minutes to go. There’s some cool moments most people have yet to see. There’s also a really cool late action sequence lifted straight from the books. But… with a twist for the show, which I actually appreciated.

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Episode 1 is also great for getting almost all of the main cast in the same place at the same time. Anyone who has seen the trailers probably knows they will all tread upon different paths this season. But Episode 1 gives the cast time together. It’s fast paced, it’s bookended by cool action sequences and full of little nods and fun moments. At times Episode 1 is brutal and the stakes are raised fir the season ahead.

There are one or two very small things, choice wise, I’m less sure about. I don’t want to get into specifics, but as always, there’s going to be changes. Some I loved and think they’re excellent choices. Some, I may not yet fully understand, others I care less for. Realistically though, this is a great opening Episode for an important Season.

It looks great, the writing is on point, the VFX seems to have finally settled on some cool palettes costuming is excellent and the chemistry of the cast is improving all the time.

GRADE: A

It was really, very good folks.

I’ll also say amongst the show’s and the books fans this Episode went down really well. Book fans who didn’t care for the show so far were saying they loved it, show already fans were hailing it as the best episode to date. I won’t go that far, but it was a great, pacey start. Can’t wait for Episode 2 and 3 later this week.

Let me know what you thoughts of my Wheel of Time S3E1 review, did you catch the fan event? Are you excited to see the show starting March 13 on Amazon Prime? Thoughts below.

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