Casting

Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum

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I agree, Aintza. They’ve gotten good picks so far. :pleased-1:
 

Jocasta Braithe

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I wonder if that means they will be incorporating New Spring material, maybe do flashbacks?

Also, I love Sophie Okonedo, and I'm going to have to settle into the idea of Kae Alexander as Min. From the picture they chose, she felt too... mature to be Min. I know they'll do great with hair and make up, though, so I'm not too worried.
I saw somewhere that they'd cast a young Siuan, so I'm hoping there are copious flashbacks!
 

Aintza Bisera

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A case for Sophie as Siuan. I liked her before but this video made me love her more. Thank you Reddit.

 
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Is Min Asian in the books? Or is that a change?

I did not read her as Asian at all. Way off in my head if that’s how it is.
 
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I think the working philosophy of the showrunners is that Jordan left enough ambiguity in the text to do an interpretation where the Two Rivers area is a melting pot settled by people from all varieties of what our Age would consider different ethnic groups.
 

Aduiavas Ida

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I thought the point was that the Two Rivers is the place where the Old Blood was still strong? So+ they would look fairly alike, though not necessarily white ;)

Min though, is from Baerlon, so she could be more mixed ;)
 

Dnae Ila

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Min isn't described as unmistakably Asian, but she's not exactly *not* Asian, either. Much of her description was focused on her build and clothing, but she was described as having brown hair and dark eyes.
 
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Apointment firts book: "The eye of the world" Chapter 15:

(Min description)
Rand se puso en pie, sobresaltado. Era la joven de pelo corto que se encontraba junto a Moraine cuando salieron del cuarto de baño, todavía ataviada con chaqueta y pantalones de hombre. Era algo mayor que él, le pareció; sus ojos oscuros, aún más grandes que los de Egwene, poseían una mirada extrañamente inquisitiva.

The characters in the books are different from those chosen for the TV series. it's a fact, not an opinion. But this is not important as long as it does not affect the plot of the story.

In the case of the "Two Rivers" actors, they should have all been the same, except Rand. That's not the case and it can affect history. "Two Rivers" is an ancient village away from the rest of the world. It is not possible that there is mixing of races and different accents. That's not true to the history of books.
 

Dnae Ila

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Having large eyes does not preclude being Asian. Casting for eye size would be ridiculously granular.
 
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I think the working philosophy of the showrunners is that Jordan left enough ambiguity in the text to do an interpretation where the Two Rivers area is a melting pot settled by people from all varieties of what our Age would consider different ethnic groups.

But they're not a melting pot. They talk a lot about how far away it is from everywhere and no one leaves the area much further than the other towns in the Two Rivers. It's was a big story that Rands mother was an outlander and he is made fun of for his eye color being different than everyone elses.
 

Dnae Ila

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I think they meant at the time of settling, long before even the grandparents of those in the book were born. Various cultures met at the two rivers, decided it would be a good place to settle, and then never left.
 
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I think they meant at the time of settling, long before even the grandparents of those in the book were born. Various cultures met at the two rivers, decided it would be a good place to settle, and then never left.

But after thousands of years or even hundreds of years of interbreeding or breeding with only a few local villages, they would become homogenous again.

The character's traits are described in the books. Egwene is described as getting almost as dark as the sun darken (Tanned) Aiel in her time in the waste. With such a diverse world of nations, I dont think the casting choices make sense. Read the beginning of this thread and see where people's heads are at for our Edmond Fielders.
 

Marivea al'Corriyi

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Yeah I agree with this. It would be nice if they looked "right" but how they carry themselves and act are more important than height or coloring.

Sweet!! I'm so excited now. :D :joy Loving this casting so far.

I'm In, @Atarah al'Norahn. I won't lie I'm kinda misty-eyed right now.

I'm in, Atarah! :D I am over the moon right now. :joy I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait. :yes

PERFECT EGWENE. Holy moly these are all incredible.

I'm SCREAMING, These are amazing choices and I'm excited about all of this.

I'm also looking forward to seeing who they cast as Lan, and Thom.

*garbled keymashing*

I am actually excited now. These are so perfect. <3

When I saw Egwene I almost died of happiness. She is perfect. They all are.

So excited that I'm slightly nauseous.

Okayyyyy, I like this (ETA: Rand's casting I mean. Didn't get that quote in here.)



He's going to be drop dead gorgeous with those golden eyes :waggle

I AM LIVING FOR THIS!!! :tug Yessss!! Her face is a perfect Nynaeve! I'll bet she scowls magnificently :laugh:


Oh he's perfect :laugh:

I have a love/hate relationship with Egwene as a character, but Oh my Word, she's perfect!!

And I love how little known these actors are, and how pleased everyone is with them :joy
This is exciting!!!!

TBH, I was really worried that the two rivers people were going to get whitewashed. I've always read them as sort of ethnically mixed. I am so pleased, because I think it shows that the showrunners are actually going deep enough into the material to get those kinds of subtle clues. I'm hoping that the borderlanders will be asian actors too!

Same!! I was really worried about this, which is one reason why I am so beyond happy and excited with these reveals. I really trust now that they are going to do their best with this show.

They're all so gorgeouuuuuuus!! :embarassed:mg

I'm really glad they didn't go with a "token diversity" situation where just one of them was a person of color. I'm sooooo excited!!

My reactions:
Rand: Hmm, yeah, okay, I can get behind that.
Perrin: YES. HELL YES. Not how I'd always pictured him, but this is so much better!
Nynaeve: Yaaaasssssssssssss
Matt: Yup. That's Matt. No question.
Egwene: Light bless Rand, she's going to be merciless to that poor woolhead.

Also

Those people can St-right-the-FU as far as I'm concerned. Nothing says Emonds Fielders all have to be white. Yes, I did imagine them white and, embarrassingly, I never thought of them casting actors of color, but when I saw those pictures, I was blown away by just how much *better* they are than the bland fantasy stereotypes I had in my head.

As I see more pictures of them and not just their professional headshots, I get more and more excited. I was already on board with all the castings, but seeing pictures that are less "posed," they're even more perfect.

As you can see, Kil, these first reactions to the Emonds Fields folks being cast are almost universally excited. Please don't project your feelings about the races of the actors onto this site as a whole.
 

Elia LePhant

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Yeah I was (and am) super psyched. :D I love the casting, and it's the main reason I'm excited for the show.
 

Aintza Bisera

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Yeah I was (and am) super psyched. :D I love the casting, and it's the main reason I'm excited for the show.

Same. It is similar to me to the casting of Bridgerton.

If they are good and help diversify the super White fantasy worlds, who cares? Oh yeah the little boys and girls (err teens really) that aren't white reading/who have read who imagine their favorite characters looking like them.

It will never be 100% because they are FAKE people.
 
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Thaddius al'Guy

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But they're not a melting pot. They talk a lot about how far away it is from everywhere and no one leaves the area much further than the other towns in the Two Rivers. It's was a big story that Rands mother was an outlander and he is made fun of for his eye color being different than everyone elses.

You're gonna die on this hill, huh? You're being one of those "Well actually" people that everyone hates.
 

Cinna Vrammar

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I'm just also going to put out there that blue eyes in an area with diverse racial backgrounds/skin tones could STILL be unusual. Brown eyes are the dominant eye color in humans. The other characters don't need to be white for Rand's eye color to be commented on.
 

Jaryd Kosari

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It takes a profound amount of existential insecurity to feel so threatened by diverse casting in an objectively niche streaming series that you choose to criticize it on a private forum, on a privately owned site, while speaking to a wildly diverse group of people. Like. Did that opinion actually need to be addressed at all? What is the point?

"But the books say-" is not and never has been a valid excuse for this particular behavior. The contents of the original text of any adaptation is a reference only, and is frequently changed to suit screen pacing, meet production budget, clean up muddied story lines, and, yes, allow for more diversity in casting so people from different backgrounds can finally feel represented by the media we all consume.

Citing the original text of any adaptation to prove a point like this is nothing more than a convenient pillar for the person doing the criticism to point to (for validation or blame) when they rightfully get called out for whatever -ism they're currently throwing around with their objections.

If you don't like how diverse the cast is, then own it. But don't try to sneak around the social consequences of having that opinion by framing your dislike as a matter of "canon accuracy." It's an old trick, my dude, and it doesn't work anymore.
 
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