What's the Tomatometer?

® RT Critics

Search movies, TV, actors, more...  MOVIES TV SHOWS NEWS TICKETS & SHOWTIMES

TRENDING ON RT One Piece The Equalizer 3 The Killer Ahsoka Past Lives

Home News & Guides Premiere Dates Renewed & Cancelled

NEWS MOVIE & TV NEWS

FEATURED ON RT
THE WHEEL OF TIME SEASON 2 FIRST REVIEWS: 'MORE ASSURED,'
'MORE EPIC,' 'FINDS ITS FOOTING,' CRITICS SAY
"THE WHEEL WEAVES AS THE WHEEL WILLS," MOIRAINE SAYS. CRITICS SAY THE WHEEL HAS
WOVEN AN IMPROVED SEASON 2 (EVEN IF ITS EARLY TOMATOMETER SCORE DOESN'T EXACTLY
REFLECT IT).
by Debbie Day | August 31, 2023 |  Comments

TV Premiere Dates 2023

September 1, 2023

TAGGED AS: FANTASY, PRIME VIDEO, STREAMING, TELEVISION, TV

The 5 Most Anticipated Movies

of September
September 1, 2023

Poor Things First Reviews: A

Flawless Emma Stone Powers a
Yorgos Lanthimos Masterpiece
September 1, 2023

Though season 1 of Prime Video’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy book series has a Certified
Fresh 81% Tomatometer score, early takes from critics are that The Wheel of Time season 2 improves on
the first, despite debuting with a 63% score on its eight first reviews.

Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) returns to guide her five young charges from the Two
Rivers in the new season, but she’s been cut o from the magical One Power and they’re scattered. In
Special Ops: Lioness Finale
season 1, Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) discovered he is the Dragon Reborn, a powerful figure destined
Exclusive Sneak Peek: ‘Execute
to either save or break their world. Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoë
the Mission’
Robins) found themselves in training among the Aes Sedai in the White Tower of Tar Valon. Perrin Aybara
September 1, 2023
(Marcus Rutherford) and Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn, who replaced season 1’s Barney Harris) are on their
own paths, while Moiraine’s Warder, Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney), faces a crisis in their relationship.
More Featured on RT >
Season 2 finds them all hunted by inner demons and real ones.
TOP HEADLINES
Read on to find out what critics are saying about season 2 of The Wheel of Time. • 60 Best Concert Movies of All Time
–
• Netflix’s 100 Best Movies Right Now
(September 2023)
–
• 100 Best Netflix Series To Watch Right
Now (September 2023)
–
• Worst Blockbusters of All Time Ranked
–
• Summer Movie Scorecard 2023
–
• 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now:
What to Watch In Theaters and
Streaming
–

More Top Headlines >

(Photo by Prime Video)

To put it bluntly, the second season is an improvement on the first, not least of all
because it feels more assured.
—Kayleigh Dray, AV Club

Wheel of Time struggles to pull itself back into focus, & while it manages to find its
footing, it is plagued by the same issues it faced in season 1.
—Graeme Guttmann, Screen Rant

A stellar example of fantasy at its most spectacular.

—Sabrina Barr, metro.co.uk

The show’s strange reluctance to let its characters become more than people-shaped
plot points is so frustrating precisely because it’s so darn easy to see how much more it
could become.
—Lacy Baugher, Paste Magazine

While The Wheel of Time’s first season started o unevenly and improved steadily
throughout, Season 2 finds its footing right from the get-go. The gears are greased, the
wheels are turning, and the epic fantasy show has settled into itself.
—Belen Edwards, Mashable

It all feels expectedly more epic, but that scale hasn’t come at the cost of production
design, creature design or costuming, the latter of which in particular continues to be
stunning.
—Amy West, Total Film

Despite elaborate costumes, brilliant VFX, and a visually arresting physical world to the
Aes Sedai, this show doesn’t sustain interest because of its over-serious tone and
overdone detailing.
—Abhishek Srivastava, The Times of India

The costumes still look fake, the sets have a cardboard sheen, and the pacing is all over
the place.
—Ed Power, Daily Telegraph (UK)

The Wheel of Time Season 2 continues to embrace the riches of its source material’s lore
and worldbuilding, diverting from the books when it makes the most sense to but never
sacrificing depth of character and overarching plot.
—Carly Lane, Collider

The cast seem more comfortable now and the stakes ever higher in a smart, complicated
adaptation that is taking worthwhile risks, while still holding on to what fans love about
the books.
—Helen O’Hara, Empire Magazine

76% The Wheel of Time: Season 2 (2023) premieres Friday, September 1 on Prime Video.

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.

RELATED NEWS

TV Premiere Dates 2023 Special Ops: Lioness Finale Dark Winds Season 2 Finale
Exclusive Sneak Peek: Exclusive Sneak Peek:
‘Execute the Mission’ ‘You’re a Witch’

More Related News

MORE NEWS

TV Premiere Dates 2023 The 5 Most Anticipated Poor Things First Reviews: A
Movies of September Flawless Emma Stone
Powers a Yorgos Lanthimos
Masterpiece

More News

Help Critic Submission FOLLOW US

About Rotten Tomatoes Licensing
What's the Tomatometer®? Advertise
Careers

Copyright © Fandango. All rights reserved. V3.1

Privacy Policy | Terms and Policies | Cookie Preferences | California Notice | Ad Choices | Accessibility