Sanderson enjoyed Rand, Ishamael, Egwene and Nynaeve this season
Brandon Sanderson did have plenty of nice things to say about The Wheel of Time season 2. He pointed to Rand’s stay in Cairhien as a “tweak” to the story that he enjoyed. He explained why it worked to have Rand walk away from his friends at the end of season 1:
"We have to kind of accept that as the Rand who walked away from his friends in book three. And I can make that tweak. That Rand did exist in the books, he just exists earlier [in the show] and it does fit."
Sanderson also had glowing words for the show’s interpretation of Ishamael, played by Fares Fares. “By the way I love him, just…I love him. I love everything they’ve done with him,” he said. “They took what I did with him in the last books and brought it forward, and I really like that.”
Seconded, Sanderson. The show has a really interesting take on Ishamael, and showrunner Rafe Judkins has said that he and his team moved some of Ishamael’s character development from near the end of the series to the beginning to give him a bit more texture.
Continuing with the compliments, Sanderson named Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) as two of his favorite characters this season. He still had issues with some of their material in the finale, but on the whole he praised how the show brought them to life:
"I was really pleased in the scripts for Egwene all the way through, and Nynaeve all the way through. This is the most we’ve gotten, I feel, of the books since like Episode 1, is the Egwene-Nynaeve throughline in this whole season. And I had almost no notes. I was just like ‘this is great.’"
Sanderson was also a fan of a particular change to Perrin’s storyline. In The Great Hunt, Perrin searches for the Horn of Valere with Rand and Mat. Then, in the following book, he meets an Aiel named Gaul and frees him from a cage. The show combined these ideas, with Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) hunting for the Horn and freeing the Aiel warrior Aviendha, who becomes an important character later on, along the way. She then becomes a part of Perrin’s journey to save his companions in Falme. Gaul’s role is cut, unless the show introduces him differently in a later season.
“I like this change,” Sanderson said. “I like giving Perrin something to do by finding the Aiel. I like how Aviendha shows up.” In general, he feels the “Aiel are appropriately Aiel. Doing a good job with them.”
Brandon Sanderson: Padan Fain is one of the “weaker characters” from The Wheel of Time
Sanderson also talked a bit about Padan Fain. In the books, Fain is a wildcard villain who is feared by Darkfriends and our heroes alike. He plays a large role in The Great Hunt in particular, but had relatively little screentime in season 2.
“He’s so good,” Sanderson said of Padan Fain actor Johann Myers. When Daniel Greene pointed out how different the version of Fain is in the show from the books, since “book Fain” is far too attached to the ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth to ever leave it with Mat like he does in the show, Sanderson agreed, with a caveat.
"Let’s be honest, book Fain is one of [Robert Jordan’s] weaker characters. Like, a lot of the Forsaken, they’re stronger than book Forsaken only because they have the actors to make good on what Jim did with them, right? And I think seeing them in real life just makes it pop so much more. I think he did a fantastic job with them, but Fain is a little bit weaker. And I’ll say, I was weak with Fain too. I had no idea what to do with Fain. And so, one of the valid criticisms [of my Wheel of Time books]…is ‘Brandon what are you doing with Fain?’ I have no idea what to do with this guy. Did my best, but there are better things I could have done."
Side bar: if you’re confused about who Brandon Sanderson is referring to when he says “Jim,” he’s talking about The Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan. “Robert Jordan” was his pen name. Jordan’s real name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr., Jim for short.
Now, on to more criticisms: