Amazon Prime Video’s much-awaited fantasy saga, The Wheel of Time, is almost here! The trailer dropped yesterday and with the release date set for November 19th, these might be the longest 20 odd days we’ll be experiencing in a long, long time.
Check out the trailer for the first season of the show.
The two minute long trailer offers us a better glimpse into the show’s overarching narrative, the characters that we’d be getting to know better soon, the lore behind the saga, and true to most fantasy plots, a prophecy driving the entire story. It’s a tightly-cut trailer that shows us just enough material filled with the right balance of action, magic and adventure (the perfect fantasy trifecta), and leaves us wanting for more.
The Wheel of Time stars Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as Moiraine Damodred, a powerful woman who’s a member of an organization known as the Aes Sedai. These are people who have learned how to harness the One Power, something that keeps the Wheel of Time spinning. At the time of the telling of this story, in this universe, only women are allowed to be members of the Aes Sedai. Those who’ve read the books on which the show is based, will know why. Those who haven’t, you’re in for one hell of a ride.
What also sets the show apart from many other popular fantasy franchises, is that it’s set in a post-apocalyptic age that is still trying to catch up with its golden past, and unlike a lot of other stories that mirror our very own medieval norms, this one is set in a world where women are considered equal to men, and at times even superior. Any fan of fantasy will tell you how rare that is, in this genre.
The main plotline of the show also revolves around a prophecy about a Dragon reborn, a person who is destined to not only defeat the Dark One, but who might also end up destroying the world in the process. From the looks of it, The Wheel of Time is not your typical good vs evil story, but it’s more about the struggle to maintain the right balance between the two. We’re not complaining because it’s the grey characters that end up being the most well-written.
The 8-episode first season starts airing on November 19 on Amazon Prime Video. We’re assuming the episodes will air in India the same time they do in the US - so, goodbye sleep I guess! But sleep can wait when the content is great, amirite?
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)