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Time for a TigRANT- My Collection of Thoughts on the Emond's Field 5 Casting - by Tigraine Mantear of the Chumai Sept of the Tardaad Aiel, formerly House Mantear of Andor. Slightly in character, slightly out of character- I do what I want.
First of all- wow. I don't know why it didn't feel real when Rosamund was cast but now it REALLY feels real. This isn't like a hot new YA series that's been riding the best seller wave getting optioned into a show.. this is something many of us have loved and have grown up with
for our entire lives being brought to life. Think of what an emotional roller coaster this fandom has been- from the slog (the long time between books!), to RJ's death and thinking we would never get a finished series, to Brandon Sanderson coming on board to finish it!
It's really incredible to see the power and excitement this series has so many years later.
Ok, the casting. Frankly- I knew there was absolutely no one they could cast that would match perfectly what was in my head. I don't really think of actors or people I know IRL when I read. That being said, I am thrilled with who they chose. Not because they match MY vision
but because after researching and digging into clips etc from their past work, they all look incredibly talented. They seem like down to earth, young, serious actors. They are NOT coming off to me as CW actors at all in the way they carry themselves, nor are they in their clips.
Now, for the naysayers. I get it. Maybe in your head you though EF'ers were tan white people. But it's never specified beyond references to dark skin. If you assumed white, that's fine, but throwing a fit because it's not the type of dark skin you imagined is really
a waste of energy. And to be frank, maybe you should look at the bias in your mind that made you make that assumption in the first place? If you're one of the people that says you're going to leave the fandom- fine. Leave.
For every single person that leaves, a new person will join. A person who maybe took a look at the covers of the books and thought- this series isn't for people like me. Maybe now they will realize that it really was, all along.
For those of you saying it's a betrayal of RJ's wishes: if RJ gave a shit about, for example, Nynaeve's race, wouldn't he have taken the same amount of time to perfectly describe it as he perfectly described literally every single dress she owns?
It's pretty clear to me from what he spends time on describing his priority was creating clear cultures that were NOT based on race, but were based on many other indicators like clothing, hair, attitudes, jewelry, etc.
From Taraboner filmy veils, to Arafellin braids with bells, to Sea Folk piercings, to Ebou Dari marriage knives, to those weird shoes Tairens use to not step in mud... he created such a rich world who's cultures did not revolve on a person's skin colors.
This is where I think the people of the First Age, our world now, are making a mistake. This is a FANTASY world. To try and apply our made up categorizations onto it is a useless and kind of strange endeavor. Don't we read fantasy to get away from the BS of the real world?
On top of that, these books are a recollection of the THIRD AGE. The age following the Age of Legends, which was a time when people could travel to foreign lands in the blink of an eye. You think globalization is crazy now in the first age? just wait until we can TRAVEL.
Of course the races and cultures we know now were mixed and mingled. And then comes the breaking. When the world is shaken up and scattered, when people have to continuously travel and band together to try and find somewhere safe and sheltered away from the madmen going off like
nuclear bombs. Meaning everything was mixed up even more. Which I think is why the characters in WoT just don't give a shit about race. It's not a thing there. Most major countries and cities have a mix and a range of different types of people and none of the characters think
about it or comment about it with the one exception that Rand looks like an Aiel man.. but even then, people also think he looks like the Andoran royal family quite often- meaning that while he stands out in his fly speck village, he really doesn't that much once he gets into
more populated areas. Now, all that being said... for those saying this casting was influenced by current events of the third age... isn't your reaction to it equally as influenced by current events? Isn't the ideal scenario we are casting people based on merit?
Well I can tell you based on the clips these folks were DEFINITELY cast based on merit. Especially Perrin, just wow.
So, overall, I'm happy and hopeful. And I hope the people who are casual fans and who have an image stuck in their heads that doesn't actually truly match what is in the books takes a hard look, maybe does a reread, and realizes that a) there is very good grounds in the source
material that EF'ers are POC and b) this show is only going to be good if the writing and the acting is on POINT and its way more important we have good actors than something that perfectly fits whats in your head
And finally, I hope @rafejudkins @KVHendry @WoTonPrime and all the cast understand that in this age, called the first age by some, social media is a cesspool of darkfriends and to tune it out.
Also, PS naysayers: What in the light makes you think you can do these people's jobs better than them? I'm sure if I gave you one of my spears you'd stab yourself in the foot with it. This is not your battle to lead.
Anyways, I'm happy. I understand some will read this and hear only the wind, and that's ok. Sleep well & wake #TwitterofTime
light--- *first age
