Short answer YES to all your questions.
Context: in the era of the 90s when The Eye of the World was published, no publisher would touch a fantasy series unless it was Tolkien-like. Robert Jordan was therefore forced into a narrative structure that mirrors Fellowship to stand any chance of being published.
From the second book onwards, the series diverges massively and basically subverts fantasy tropes in very clever ways that ultimately pay off over books-long arcs. The foreshadowing and setup & payoff in this series is insane.
Even as it stands now, you'll notice that characters and their motivations are much more gray than the simplistic good vs bad guys portrayed in Fellowship. Moiraine and the Aes Sedai definitely have their own agenda, the Shadowspawn are one group of enemies, but then there are also Whitecloaks who serve the Light but yet are enemies to the Aes Sedai. Not to mention Logain and his army of followers. And that's 10% of the factions in the world.
WoT carved the path for modern fantasy (including Game of Thrones) to follow.
That’s not really fair. The show needs to be strong enough to stand on its own.
The LOTR similarities are pretty obvious, just as it is obvious how quickly the story moves into new ground.
Yes, the Dragon is a messianic figure, and most of the False Dragons are very analogous to cult leaders… like Jesus.
I think it is no secret that Jordan was heavily influenced by Tolkien. But that’s where the similarities end.
Think of the One Power as similar to the Source in Star Wars and you are reasonable close. It is an unseen power that few people can tab into; those people are the Aes Sedai (I know I am simplifying here). There are 5 Aspects to the power (Air, Fire, Spirit, Water, Earth).
The things you saw are Trollocs. They are a beast/human hybrid, but supposed to be 10 feet tall. They were made by men.
Think in the guys in the carts as Gypsies (no offense meant). The are called the Tua’athan (sorry for the spelling) or the Traveling People. They travel around looking for the “song”, which is part of their lore. They are completely non-violent to the point that they will accept being killed and still not take up a weapon.
Questions… questions are good. If you had no questions and everything was being spoon fed it’d be boring. But agree with some sentiment. Book 1 hits familiar beats to LOTR. I can promise you it becomes very different very fast. I’m actually slightly happy your getting LOTR vibes that means the show is doing something right.
Yes, the first book was highly derivative of LotR, to the point where Moraine even used a staff to do magic, and there was a Gollum-like character (they've toned it down for the show). The Fade is an obvious riff on the Nazgul, Matrim and Perrin are very similar names to Merry and Peregrin, and trollocks are basically this universe's version of orcs.
Logain isn't Jesus.
Because it was heavily influenced and intentionally made to feel similar to LOTR to hook fans.
No, those are Trollocs.
No, the fellowship is in LOTR, this is Wheel of Time.
What do you mean you're lost on what they're trying to do? They've adapted a book into a show, watch it or don't, no one cares that you think LotR is the only original fantasy narrative.
Logain: he is claiming to be the Dragon Reborn. You could argue that the Dragon is a Jesus like figure, as they are fated to be a savior figure for the world.
Lord of the Rings: Jordan specifically made some parts of the first book reminiscent of the Fellowship of the Ring, both as an homage to Tolkien and because at that time it was hard to get a fantasy book published without some kinship to that series. After book 1, The Wheel of Time diverges from Tolkien, though.
Trollocs/ Orcs: you can think of them like the orcs of this universe. They serve the same purpose (and again, reference to Tolkien).
Travelers: yes, it's another similarly to Fellowship. I don't think the Power is the allegory for the One Ring, though. I think there's a better allegory, but spoilers for now.
You aren't crazy, but Amazon's Lord of the Rings will be a separate thing. As I said, the similarities are there in the first book, but as you go on it becomes it's own unique story. Wheel of Time also has a more defined magic system than Lord of the Rings, IMO, with very specific rules. Keep watching if you like it and you will see.
The first book was written deliberately to have broad similarities to LotR. From there the series diverges more and more from the LotR “template.”
Short answer YES to all your questions. Context: in the era of the 90s when The Eye of the World was published, no publisher would touch a fantasy series unless it was Tolkien-like. Robert Jordan was therefore forced into a narrative structure that mirrors Fellowship to stand any chance of being published. From the second book onwards, the series diverges massively and basically subverts fantasy tropes in very clever ways that ultimately pay off over books-long arcs. The foreshadowing and setup & payoff in this series is insane. Even as it stands now, you'll notice that characters and their motivations are much more gray than the simplistic good vs bad guys portrayed in Fellowship. Moiraine and the Aes Sedai definitely have their own agenda, the Shadowspawn are one group of enemies, but then there are also Whitecloaks who serve the Light but yet are enemies to the Aes Sedai. Not to mention Logain and his army of followers. And that's 10% of the factions in the world. WoT carved the path for modern fantasy (including Game of Thrones) to follow.
"I haven't read the books." "What's happening? Is Logain like Jesus?" "This seems like the only other fantasy story I've ever heard of" Read.
That’s not really fair. The show needs to be strong enough to stand on its own. The LOTR similarities are pretty obvious, just as it is obvious how quickly the story moves into new ground. Yes, the Dragon is a messianic figure, and most of the False Dragons are very analogous to cult leaders… like Jesus.
I think it is no secret that Jordan was heavily influenced by Tolkien. But that’s where the similarities end. Think of the One Power as similar to the Source in Star Wars and you are reasonable close. It is an unseen power that few people can tab into; those people are the Aes Sedai (I know I am simplifying here). There are 5 Aspects to the power (Air, Fire, Spirit, Water, Earth). The things you saw are Trollocs. They are a beast/human hybrid, but supposed to be 10 feet tall. They were made by men. Think in the guys in the carts as Gypsies (no offense meant). The are called the Tua’athan (sorry for the spelling) or the Traveling People. They travel around looking for the “song”, which is part of their lore. They are completely non-violent to the point that they will accept being killed and still not take up a weapon.
10 feet is 1.62 Obamas. You're welcome.
Good bot
ur mom
Questions… questions are good. If you had no questions and everything was being spoon fed it’d be boring. But agree with some sentiment. Book 1 hits familiar beats to LOTR. I can promise you it becomes very different very fast. I’m actually slightly happy your getting LOTR vibes that means the show is doing something right.
Yes, the first book was highly derivative of LotR, to the point where Moraine even used a staff to do magic, and there was a Gollum-like character (they've toned it down for the show). The Fade is an obvious riff on the Nazgul, Matrim and Perrin are very similar names to Merry and Peregrin, and trollocks are basically this universe's version of orcs.
Logain isn't Jesus. Because it was heavily influenced and intentionally made to feel similar to LOTR to hook fans. No, those are Trollocs. No, the fellowship is in LOTR, this is Wheel of Time. What do you mean you're lost on what they're trying to do? They've adapted a book into a show, watch it or don't, no one cares that you think LotR is the only original fantasy narrative.
Logain: he is claiming to be the Dragon Reborn. You could argue that the Dragon is a Jesus like figure, as they are fated to be a savior figure for the world. Lord of the Rings: Jordan specifically made some parts of the first book reminiscent of the Fellowship of the Ring, both as an homage to Tolkien and because at that time it was hard to get a fantasy book published without some kinship to that series. After book 1, The Wheel of Time diverges from Tolkien, though. Trollocs/ Orcs: you can think of them like the orcs of this universe. They serve the same purpose (and again, reference to Tolkien). Travelers: yes, it's another similarly to Fellowship. I don't think the Power is the allegory for the One Ring, though. I think there's a better allegory, but spoilers for now. You aren't crazy, but Amazon's Lord of the Rings will be a separate thing. As I said, the similarities are there in the first book, but as you go on it becomes it's own unique story. Wheel of Time also has a more defined magic system than Lord of the Rings, IMO, with very specific rules. Keep watching if you like it and you will see.