EVERY WOT TEASER SO FAR!!

Don't want to read the article? Watch the video instead:

The following article is the script that was used for the above video with some minor edits:

Amazon Prime has once again teased us, this time with a reveal of an iconic weapon from the books that will make an appearance in the upcoming Wheel of Time TV Show. The Ruby-hilted Dagger. Let’s get right into it.

But first, SPOILER WARNING! This article will discuss plot elements related to the first three books (The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn) of the Wheel of Time series and will also discuss potential spoilers for the upcoming WoTonPrime TV Show. If you wish to remain completely spoiler free before the TV show release, this article is definitely not for you! You have been warned!

Okay, watch the original teaser here:

My initial reaction right out of the gate was, “AWESOME! This is our first look at what appears to be ACTUAL footage from the show!”

Now, I could be wrong about this, but let’s review briefly the other teasers we’ve received so far:

First we got an animated still image of The Winespring Inn set.

I unraveled this at length in a video where I think I proved that this was not actual footage.

Then there was an audio teaser with an animated graphic.

I unraveled that as well.

A prop reveal of the Heron-marked sword came next.

The shot in that teaser seems to be more of a promotional shot and is not likely actual footage from the show. I actually did two videos about the heron-marked sword, and I unraveled the teaser in the middle of the “spoiler” video.

There was another prop reveal teaser of Thom’s guitar which is not in the books and which I did not create a breakdown for; though I plan on discussing this in some detail in an upcoming video all about changes that we can expect in the tv show. The setting in the background of this clip is likely a real set from the show and is clearly footage, but, like the heron-marked sword teaser, it feels more like a promotional ad and not a real shot from the show.

The last teaser before this one included a series of animated concept art images, which I absolutely loved and discussed in detail as well!

Here's my breakdown of that teaser:

And now, this ruby-hilted dagger teaser! Actual footage of Barney Harris, the actor who plays Mat Cauthon, opening a mysterious box and picking up the ruby-encrusted dagger! We also get a little line of dialogue of Mat saying, “Alright, let’s make a deal.”

In my opinion WoTonPrime has knocked it out of the park, once again, by not only giving us fans awesome teasers to discuss, but by also making their teasers and announcements very accessible to all people, by including subtitles and video descriptions in their twitter announcements.

The initial tweet with the video says “Where the Shadow waits.” This gave me chills, because the name of the chapter in the Eye of the World where this scene happens in Shadar Logoth is called “Shadow’s Waiting.” We also know that the second episode of the TV show is entitled “Shadow’s Waiting.”

Okay, the first video description says:

Video Description (1/3): The video starts with ominous sounds over a black screen, then a script page that’s mostly blurred appears. The visible line reads “And inside, he sees something protected from the ravages of time - a ruby-encrusted dagger"

So far all of Amazon’s WoT teasers except for the audio teaser have started with a blurred image or video of text from either the books or from the scripts of the show. I love this tradition as it shows that all of the visual elements of the show are inspired by the writing.

Actually, in this clip, there is more text visible than just what is mentioned in WoTonPrime’s tweet.

The camera depth of field shifts in this opening scene, first revealing a paragraph that says, “He moves toward it, blowing dust away. The iron is rusted and decayed, and CRACKS away as he OPENS the case --”

Then the following text is revealed, “-- and inside, he sees something protected from the ravages of time -- a RUBY-ENCRUSTED DAGGER. It must be worth more than anything he’s seen before. He picks it up, looks at it, and then --”

Now, typically when something appears in ALL CAPS in a screenplay, that means that it is an important action or that the prop or item is appearing in the script for the first time. It is very likely that this is the first time that we see the Ruby-hilted dagger.

A few things are interesting to me about this script description.

First, this is not a scene from the book, or at least, the focus on how Mat obtains the dagger is very different from the book. Let’s recap the scene as it happens in chapter 19 of The Eye of the World.

The following description is from Rand’s point-of-view.

“Here, too, light came from a few torches staining the ceiling with their smoke and giving everyone more than one shadow, but that light was reflected a thousand times by the gems and gold piled on the floor, mounds of coins and jewelry, goblets and plates and platters, gilded, gem-encrusted swords and daggers, all heaped together carelessly in waist-high mounds.”

Notice that there were many gem-encrusted swords and daggers, all heaped together carelessly.

Mat practically dives into one of the piles of treasure and begins digging around, saying they need sacs to carry everything.

Rand notes out loud that Mordeth doesn’t have a shadow. The book says,

“A goblet fell from Mat’s hand with a crash.”

So, at this point, Mat still doesn’t have the dagger in his hand.

Then Mordeth fre