Alright, I finally watched the last episode. My impression, the short version: Disappointment. I was hoping that this episode would draw together the various threads and tonal qualities of the season, but it actually accentuated my overall problems with the series.
For one, it felt really rushed, like it should have been several episodes but was crammed into one. I know they're dealing with an impossible task: reducing 14 huge books to (probably) 8 seasons with a total of 64 episodes. That means about 4.5 episodes per book on average, which is just absurd. But, this is the task they've set themselves with, and I feel like they're both trying to do too much and doing too little, and the end result is still entertaining, but overall it feels much less than it could be if they had committed to a slower burn.
Connected to that is an ongoing problem I have with the writing and direction, which is a feeling that it is trying to be more dramatic than it actually is. It is almost a variation of "telling" rather than "showing": Rather than showing us stuff that evokes emotion, it feels like they're outright saying, "This is really dramatic - feel emotion now." It just isn't quite working, imo.
A couple other things. The Seanchan just seemed random. I've read the books, so I understand their backstory, but it just felt like a random plot element thrown in, with no context - or at least that's how I imagine a non-book reader would feel.
Finally, as I heard elsewhere, the editing and effects are just uneven, and I can't shake the feeling that it is a low budget show, even though I know its not. he Trollocs looked very video gamey, and some of the scenes looked unfinished. Who knows, maybe Amazon is throwing their bucks into LotR. Or maybe they're rushing it? I don't know. But it isn't as high quality as it should be.
Don't get me wrong: I still like the show. But a lot of that is not because I think it is really well done, but because I like the story and it is, at least, visually appealing (for the most part). But I can't say, at this point at least--things might change once we get into season 2--that they're doing a good job of adapting the books, certainly nowhere nearly as good as Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. I think it is a middling job at best, and in some ways not good at all. And I also can't say that it is a well done show. It is impossible not to compare it to Game of Thrones, and it just looks rather bad, comparatively (and I say this as someone who preferred the Jordan books to the one Martin book I read).
p.s. I will say something good about the episode. I loved the glimpse into the Age of Legends - a very cool set piece, with the towers, flying craft, etc.
