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Inevitably, changes will be made from the source material when adapting a book series for television. I am usually pretty open to those changes so long as it makes for a good story with dynamic and interesting characters. In this case, the changes simply don't make sense and leave a disjointed, boring narrative with flat, uninteresting characters. I've managed to watch through part of the second season, and it appears that the writing is just as low budget as the sets and costumes appear. For example, in The Great Hunt, Rand is continuing to develop as a character from a shepherd to a leader often through necessity and a sense of duty, and with a little Aes Sedai meddling (the coats from Moraine certainly lead others to believe he is a noble and leader). He is forced into a leadership position out of a sense of responsibility to Loial and Hurrin after using the Portal Stone. He is trying to avoid using the Power, but finds himself in situations where he must, and to his own dismay, wants to wield it. Additionally, Perrin finds himself forced to lean into his own abilities and place in the Pattern to help Lord Ingtar find the Horn and Mat's dagger. The dynamic between the boys changes as they are falling into their roles and dealing with having a friend who can channel, and yet you get a sense of their continued loyalty to each other as boyhood friends. All of this is lost in the show. Changes to the plot have made many of these character dynamics impossible to develop. Individual character growth is also stunted by poor writing. Some scenes from the book are difficult to incorporate because of changes made to the plot, but they try to force them in anyway, and in ways that do not make sense. The characters are boring shells of who they were in the books with the exception of Nynaeve, who is the most interesting character in the show, but whose story is again not living up to be anything remarkable in the grand scheme of things. In short, this show is like a bunch of amateurs playing with and bastardizing the work of a master of the craft. They don't know what makes a good story. They don't know how to pace a story. The sets and costumes look low budget. It's just been an overall disappointment. Especially considering this is likely to be the only adaptation to screen this series will ever see. Skip the show; buy the books. You'll have a much more enjoyable experience.