Jason Dillinger

Much better than Willow or The Shannara Chronicles. In Lord of the Rings the wardrobe was really authentic, and Willow and Shannara both they used modern day stylized and unrealistic clothing for the era. Acting is good, and the special effects are awesome. And the sets and backdrops are sometimes borderline jaw dropping. They have deviated from the novels a little, already, but nothing to drastic or dramatic. Considering the length of the novels... it's pretty justified. I think the acting would be better if the writing per episode was a little better, but it's based off of a famous series of fantasy novels that always rated well. Nevertheless, I believe the acting has been very well done to date. The novels stressed scenery and visuals, so I think they have the visuals well done. They would have failed to live up to the fans if they didn't work really hard to get that right. So I don't believe that the creators overstepped their bounds with the visuals and are using them "as a crutch" for the actors. All television series acting and direction starts off a bit shaky untill everyone learns their roles and learns to work together as a team better, so in my mind... hats off to the cast and crew. I think that Rosamund Pike was a solid choice, and brings a LOT of authenticity to the show, as she struggled to gain footing in the industry early in her career, and then proceeded to be such a great actor. So I think it works well as they have so many fresh faces added to the cast. Their all in good company. I believe the weakest part of the show is the series writers, but it's not bad. Still very much worth a watch and hopefully they will depend less on over dramatized closing moments towards the end of an episode and work more on character building and dialogue. If your into "woke" television, this at least, seems "woke light". It should still be enjoyable for those that prefer that genre of television. I hate politics ruining a great series of novels, television, etc. Still, it's a show that's clearly written for a broader base of fans and people, so even if your not a fan of "woke television", it's worth a watch. So far, it seems their here to do their jobs and entertain, not play politics. Technically speaking, the books have elements of polygamy in it, but in this context I don't consider it "woke" in the sense that this is a medieval piece, and polygamy was very common back then. One could argue the point, but what's the point when it's a MEDIEVAL book/movie. They may "wokefy" it (I hope they don't), and in MOST modern perspectives polygamy is just another form of exploitation. And usually of a particular gender. The book makes it more of a cultural phenomenon specific to the fantasy novel, and not something "evil". It's uncomfortable, in it's literal sense for some, but, these are a medieval people. Let them have their medieval ways. So this doesn't have to be a situation where you endorse any particular behavior by enjoying the series. One thing I like about Jordan's work is that everyone has to face their demons in one form or another in the storyline. But this is just me, and everybody's a critic. 4 stars, worth a watch. Lots of potential. I'll update to 5 if the writing gets better in the future.