If you find that you like something that most people don't it's generally best to just leave it alone and be happy you enjoyed it. If you try to delve into why so many people don't like the thing you like then either they will manage to convince you the thing you like is actually bad, which doesn't benefit you, or you'll start to question whether or not your taste in media is bad, which doesn't benefit you.
> they will manage to convince you the thing you like is actually bad, which doesn't benefit you
I'd argue that there is benefit to re-evaluating one's tastes based on new information. It's always good to think critically of the content you consume.
EDIT: Wow. Can't even post comments on a new account. Not gonna beg dang for approval in his e-mail so I guess that's it for me and anyone else who's privacy-aware.
Most people who watched it enjoyed it. Jordan fans were big on it (at least from what I saw at JordanCon and WoTCon). Will people not like certain things, sure. The issue is that YouTubers will complain about anything these days and rage videos get more traction, so it's easier to pile on, and people who wouldn't watch it complain about how bad it is.
I wouldn't put to much weight on someone not liking something. After all, either they haven't watched it all, or they are watching something they don't like. And that's not someone's taste I trust.
One can enjoy the show as a kind of trashy fanfiction while still finding it terribly unfaithful to the original story and characters. We're only two seasons in and massive changes have been made that invalidate character arcs in the original, so I expect we'll continue to see greater and greater divergence in plot points.
Having said that, what do you think of people like GRRM (wrt House of the Dragon) and Brandon Sanderson critiquing these adaptations? Your last paragraph seems to imply there's no value to someone dislike something.
> I wouldn't put to much weight on someone not liking something. After all, either they haven't watched it all, or they are watching something they don't like. And that's not someone's taste I trust.
That's some very "heads I win, tails you lose" logic right there.
Just chipping in as someone who is a tremendous fan of the books (I've read all of them 4 or 5 times and listened to the audio books twice). I _hated_ the series, I was very excited for it, watched Season 1, was blown away by how awful the changes were and won't be watching more.
It honestly baffles me that anyone who liked the books is able to enjoy the TV show, it feels like bad fan fiction.
WoT was very much not well received by fans, mainly because it is so disrespectful to the source material that you would think the showrunner actively hates it. You asked for specifics, so:
* Rand and Egwene's relationship going from "they like each other but are kind of hesitant" to "sneaking away to have sex in the woods". Not only is this completely unnecessary, it's completely at odds with the moral values of Two Rivers culture for them to be doing that.
* Perrin being married (WTF), and then killing his wife by accident (WTF squared). In the books Perrin is very careful to not accidentally hurt people as he is conscious of his strength.
* In general, trying to change the Two Rivers to have the diversity of modern day NYC. A region so far off the beaten path that even their de jure queen doesn't remember they exist is simply not going to have a broad selection of races. This isn't as big of a sin as the character changes, but it's also completely free to have this bit of worldbuilding via character casting. There is no good reason whatsoever to give it up.
* Generally changing relationships in ways that just aren't supported by the books. Like, Siuan and Moiraine aren't in a sexual relationship at that point in the story so it's idiotic to depict them as such.
* Trying to act as though the Dragon could be any of the Emond's Field kids is against the very metaphysical foundations of the WoT universe. The Dragon could only be a boy, and Moiraine would know this damn well. And while we're at it, Moiraine had no idea that there were ta'veren in the Two Rivers at all, certainly not more than one, unlike what the show claims.
* Aging up Min severely and making her a Darkfriend. Just WTF.
* At one point Nynaeve heals death, which is again completely impossible in this universe.
* The damane costumes... so bad it's laughable. What on earth were they thinking? How could they get it so wrong? How you go from collars (in the books) to ball gags in the show is utterly beyond my ability to even imagine.
Those are the main things I can think of, and that's just season 1. I didn't even bother trying to hate read about season 2 after how bad season 1 was, but from what I heard it wasn't better (like apparently Rand bangs Lanfear, which he absolutely would never do). I understand that adaptations need to change things. But the changes they made to WoT aren't necessary, and often make the story worse than what Jordan wrote.
It all shows a grave disrespect for the source material, contrary to the staff's claims that they love the books so much (bullshit). As far as I can tell, Rafe didn't want to do an adaptation of Jordan's story, he wanted to tell his own story. Which is fine, but then tell your own fucking story, don't take a massive dump all over someone else's work which many people love.
The Witcher books are great. A refreshing take on fantasy from an entirely different set of folklore, and the English translation was done so well that you can't even tell.
I also played the games (which take place after the books) and loved them - although despite having a great story, the first game was really rough. Witcher 3 is in my top 10 games of all time, and it rewards you for playing all three by letting you carry over your saves and seeing your impact on the world. I hear they're remaking the first game as well as a fourth, so there's a lot to look forward to there.
I'm surprised to hear that. I've genuinely never held so much disdain for a TV show (season 1) in my life. But when season 2 hit I was too apathetic to even bother watching.
They made so many changes (mostly shit) that it was hard to even see it as an adaptation. The official statement (mental gymnastics) was that it's "another turning of the wheel".
In the fandom, it's fairly well received. JordanCon/WoTCon had everyone loving it. Sure, some people might not like it, but the majority of people who watched it loved it.
Martin's criticism of HoD is silly considering he still hasn't stuck the landing on his original series, and I imagine is holding back because people didn't like his resolution and is now stuck. Regardless, lots of people love these things. That you don't is fine. Not everything needs to be for you.
I didn't like Witcher 3. Overrated lame open world with boring stories and poor combat. Never finished it. So I had zero interest with any of the Witcher shows. But I also realize that a lot of people love it. I'm happy those people have something they enjoy.
No it isn't. On Reddit, people are extremely critical of the show. And outside of Reddit, I literally do not know one fan of WoT who actually enjoyed that monstrosity.
What makes you think ".. had everyone loving it" and "the majority of people who watched it loved it"? Was there a study done? I don't know either way, and am genuinely curious what that distribution looks like. I suspect nobody knows the answer but you seem confident in your assertion.
As an aside, I imagine the commenter you're replying to will find "That you don't [love these things] is fine. Not everything needs to be for you." to be patronizing.
> What makes you think ".. had everyone loving it" and "the majority of people who watched it loved it"?
"the majority of people who watched it loved it"
Because why someone who doesn't like something watch it all the way through. The majority of people who watched Wheel of Time loved it. Sure, some people who disliked it or weren't interested would have watched it all the way through, but most people don't. Did the majority of people who watched only an episode or two love it? I don't know. But that was never my claim.
Maybe you can share why you think people, outside of being reviewers, will watch things they don't like? Am I the odd one out? Seriously, if I don't like a book I stop reading it. If I don't like a show I stop watching.
"JordanCon/WoTCon had everyone loving it." (completely different from saying "everyone loving it")
Because I attended them, and everyone there was loving it. Judging by the cheers and the interest at the associated panels, and well everyone I spoke with.
> I imagine the commenter you're replying to will find "That you don't [love these things] is fine. Not everything needs to be for you." to be patronizing
I would hazard most shows that people watch, they don't love. Indeed, when it comes to movies, books, and shows there are only a few that I love. Nevertheless I continue to watch and read various content because it's fun, doesn't mean I love it, and sometimes in the end I'll decide I didn't like it.