That snippet of Selene snuggling up to Rand. I am SO shipping that (if you know, you know).
But I think what gets my blood pumping the most is that last snippet of Rand standing off the soldiers. We know what scene that is, and it's a badass setting for it.
The whole thing feels like it has much more...integrity...than S1. Not that they are following the book more closely, but that it has more internal consistency and prominent touch points. It clearly will be different than the books, but this trailer makes it feel more familiar to book readers.
I'm one of those diehard readers who turned into a diehard show fan, so I don't exactly see a lack of "integrity" in season 1... but I'm deeply in tune with the fact they are rapidly going to the dark horrific side where the Wheel of Time really thrives.
The reason I think WoT ultimately outshone RoP in viewers (e8 actually winning in a straight count) was because despite all the 1-star reviews before E1 even aired, and the COVID issues, the casting was spectacular and every single actor (and hopefully Donal Finn) can quickly become our headcanon of themselves even on rereads.
My Rand will forever be Josha, now. And my Moiraine, Rosamund.
Oh yeah, haha, that shot of Selene against his chest gave me chills! I look forward to seeing how they handle their time together on screen. It would be interesting if the show alters the relationship dynamic a bit to add some more reciprocation (from Rand) and overall nuance to it. In the books the dramatic potential felt very underutilized, and just kind of 'haha, look at this naive farmboy not knowing how to handle a woman that knows what she wants' - which to me just seems so cliche and uninteresting.
Love the trailer! I've probably seen it 10-15 times now between my own views and watching others react or live stream to it.
I am incredibly hyped to see Nynaeve's episode dealing with those arches; it looks like she comes out of it with two wounds in her abdomen and I can't wait to see how that goes down. Also, Perrin fighting Whitecloaks - it's going to be badass to see the antagonism between he and they ratchet up a notch.
Other highlights/observations
No sign of Padan Fain (unless it was super subtle)
Turak v. Rand is going to be epic
Dude with flaming sword killing a fade, wtf is going on there (I need to know)!?!?
Egwene's face @1:02 in the trailer, she's wearing some unfortunate neckwear and looks in bad shape
Whitecloaks or Heroes riding through the dust/smoke @1:22???
Rand meeting Siuan (so glad we're getting this scene!) - does Lan teach him Cat Crosses the Courtyard?
Aviendha looks deadly as hell in combat from the brief glimpses
Very excited to see what the great writers, actors, and other crew members have put together for us lucky fans. I hope they get what they've rightfully earned by their hard work, solidarity with WGA and SAG-AFTRA all day.
Large consensus says he’s a specific person at the table at the Social.
Of course, how did I not think of that! Thanks, I was thinking about Bors and some of the other characters that might have been there, but totally forgot Fain. Time to zoom in on that shot to see some more details, lol.
My latest thought is: what scenes shown in the trailer are more TDR than TGH? That scene near the end with Mat driving his spear into something (or someone) is immediately followed by an explosion at what looks like a castle or fortress - if those shots are actually connected, then this is very reminiscent of his activities near the end of TDR. But other than that, most every scene I recognized looked to be from TGH (which is not necessarily a bad thing, since I think TGH has more television-friendly moments in it throughout than TDR does).