Review: 'The Wheel Of Time' a Sweeping Epic Fantasy

The search for the next "Game of Thrones" continues with the sweeping, woman-centered Amazon Studios series "The Wheel of Time."

We've seen plenty of epic fantasy on the small screen since "GoT" captured the imaginations of millions of viewers around the world, but "The Wheel of Time" is the most ambitious and fully realized so far in the new wave of magic-infused, nether-Earth-set series.

Based on the fantasy novels of Robert Jordan, the series centers on five youthful villagers from a rural mountain town called Two Rivers, and their mentor, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the powerful Aes Sedai, an ancient order of women gifted with an ability to "channel" a supernatural force called "The One Power."

"The Wheel of Time" draws its name from the spiritual beliefs of the world in which it is set: Time is cyclical, and supreme forces govern its rhythms and patterns. Human souls are reborn throughout eternity, while universal dualities – Good and Evil, Male and Female, Light and Darkness – complete, and combine, to shape historical events. Three thousand years ago that history was written in the form of a catastrophe brought down by "The Dragon," a channeler who "broke the world."

Moiraine has come looking for the reincarnation of The Dragon, prophesied to have been born twenty years ago and now coming into his or her own. The stakes are high: If the exiled "Dark One" (the show's magical Big Bad) has his way, The Dragon will be seduced to the dark side. If the forces of good (principally, the Aes Sedai) prevail, The Dragon may prove to be the salvation, rather than the destoryer of the world this time around. Moraine has traced The Dragon's new incarnation to Two Rivers, but the problem is she doesn't know which young person out of four potential candidates might prove to be the Dragon reborn.

What's a noblewoman-slash-sorceress errant to do? For Moiraine, the answer becomes obvious when an army of trollocs attack Two Rivers (right in the middle of a festival – rude!). In order to save their friends and families (and, ultimately, the whole world), the young candidates – including Rand (Josha Stradowski), his beloved Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and best friend Mat (Barney Harris), and village blacksmith Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) – must depart their home and accompany Moiraine and her warder, Lan (Daniel Henney), to the seat of power of the Aes Sedai, with the Dark One and his trollocs in pursuit.

Along the way they'll encounter abandoned, malevolent cities, wolf packs, and, worst of all, an all-male order of religious zealots led by a sadistic "questioner" named Valda (Abdul Salis) who is dedicated to the idea of tracking down Aes Sedai and burning them at the stake. (Like they say, "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!," and yet here it is, dressed all in white and beaming smugly.) Luckily, our young heroes also meet up with a few allies, including a nomadic tribe of cheerful, pacifistic "tinkers" whose outlook is a stark contrast to the hostile world through which they migrate.

But dangers lie ahead as well as behind: The city run by the Aes Sedai isn't a shining citadel of selflessness and reason. It's rife with jostling, ambitious power players, including the demagogic Leane (Jennifer Cheon Garcia), whose crimson ensemble is the haute couture equivalent to a scarlet letter indicating (to the viewer, at least) the depth of her cruelty and corruption. (That feels like an oddly sexist note in a series that otherwise so effectively, and enthusiastically, puts the spotlight on female characters, but it works.)

In its narrative complexity, inherent political commentary, peripatetic action, and large cast, "The Wheel of Time" really does feel cut from the "Game of Thrones" cloth, but the world building here is complete and distinctive enough that this epic feels fresh, rather than derivative (the obvious... sometimes too-obvious... influences of "The Lord of the Rings," granddaddy of the modern high fantasy genre, notwithstanding).

Rosamund Pike brings the star power the series needs (behind the camera as a producer, as well as in front of it), but the cast of young unknowns she leads are quickly going to become favorites, if not genre icons. Gratifyingly diverse, and even offering a few morsels of LGBTQ+ intrigue, this new series is – from technical and narrative standpoints alike – thrilling and full of promise.

"The Wheel of Time" streams on Amazon Prime starting Nov. 19.