The Wheel of Time co-author Brandon Sanderson harshly criticizes season 2 finale

Was this Wheel of Time stream disrespectful or refreshingly honest?

I’ve rounded up a lot of Brandon Sanderson’s biggest comments about The Wheel of Time season 2 finale here, and as you can see, the guy had a lot of thoughts. I’ll admit, when I first watched this stream I was in total shock. A quick scroll through the comments on the video is all it takes to see that a lot of people were pretty upset to hear Sanderson talk so much smack about the finale, but honestly I do think that a large part of that was the way the thing was presented. It was marketed as a live first-watch and reaction video, but it’s very clear that Sanderson had already thought about a lot of what he said, since he had already read the scripts, while Greene and Hatch were processing as they went. It’s kind of an odd premise.

Sanderson later explained on Reddit that Hatch pushed to do the video in this fashion knowing that he wouldn’t have a chance to watch ahead of time, but the freeness and confidence with which Sanderson spoke on some subjects — including some where he very clearly didn’t have all the information, such as the ashandarei — was still surprising. Comments like this one come off as strangely disrespectful to the team of the TV show:

"I want to love it, and I like it. I think people are gonna enjoy watching this, I don’t think they’ll come back for it. Cause what brings you back are those moments where things culminate. You don’t come back for cool scenes."

That’s not to say he may not have a point; time will tell, I suppose. But in all my time reporting on TV shows, I struggle to think of a time when a producer on a series was more candidly harsh about their own series while it was still on the air, especially when they hadn’t even watched it all. Many commenters have pointed out that Sanderson read scripts and therefore has insights into the series, and sure, that’s true. But it’s hard to truly appreciate a show from scripts alone. Natasha O’Keeffe’s performance as Lanfear is a perfect example; no matter how well the scripts conveyed her character, you don’t get the full effect without seeing the actor onscreen doing her thing in full costume.

The Wheel of Time season 2 is “hands down” better than The Rings of Power season 1

Let’s end with a few nice comments for the road. Despite his criticisms, Sanderson also praised plenty of things about the show as a whole. He described feeling torn about how the first season of The Wheel of Time stacked up to the first season of Amazon’s other big fantasy show, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. However, he feels The Wheel of Time season 2 is “hands down” better than The Rings of Power season 1. He also had glowing words for the casting of the show, which he called “so fantastic.”

Ultimately, it seems like a lot of the problems Sanderson points out have their root in the fact that the show is trying to adapt an enormously long and complex fantasy series with a relatively truncated episode count. “They really needed, like, double the number of episodes. Then they could spend entire episodes with Moiraine and her family,” Sanderson said. This is a lesson the author is taking to heart for his own series The Stormlight Archive, which it sounds like he’s in the process of trying to get adapted for the screen. “Wheel of Time has taught me, when it comes time for Stormlight, I’m not doing this in 6 or 8 episodes.”

"Good job to the team, by the way, who are making [The Wheel of Time]. This is an extremely hard story to adapt. There’s a lot going on, they only have eight episodes. For me, I’m complaining because I feel like it’s illustrative of my philosophy on storytelling. But at the same time, it’s amazing that The Wheel of Time can be adapted and be this good."

Brandon Sanderson doesn’t think fans will “come back” to watch The Wheel of Time season 2 finale again

What are your thoughts on all of this? Do you agree with Brandon Sanderson’s criticisms for The Wheel of Time season 2 finale, or did you enjoy it? Let’s discuss in the comments!

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels