of Time is a very strong start to a much-awaited series and created by someone who has a clear understanding of how adaptations can soar when complementing their source material rather than just copying it." Mini Anthikad Chhibber of The Hindu described watching the first two episodes of the series as "a fun experience", and praised the visuals and action. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone gave the series 2 out of 5, praising the show's visuals and writing that it "may bring in some fantasy fans starved for any morsel of magic and wonder", but added: "the whole thing is empty, if expensive, calories." Fiona Sturges of the Financial Times gave the series 2 out of 5, writing: "While there is enough violence and faux-mysticism to keep genre fans happy, convincing human interactions are harder to find." Chancellor Agard, writing for Entertainment Weekly, noted a lack of character development despite the series' overall watchability. Variety criticized the series for speeding through too much story. Brian Lowry of CNN described the series as "Amazon's poor-man's version of The Lord of the Rings", and wrote: "the characters simply don't possess enough pop to draw in those who don't come immersed in the mythology, and the special effects are uneven." Accolades Spin-offs Wheel of Time: Origins Six animated "Origins" shorts were released alongside the release of season 1 which provide additional context about the show's fictional world. These three-minute videos are titled "The Breaking of the World", "The Fall of Manetheren", "The Greatest Warder", "Saidar, Saidin, Stone", "The White Tower", and "An Ogier's Longing". These shorts were written by Rammy Park and directed by Dan DiFelice with Judkins, Craig Muller, and Mike Weber serving as executive producers. Rupert Degas, Ida May, Steven Hartley, and Evelyn Miller served as narrators. In writing the episodes, Park wanted each to be focused on concepts that tied in thematically with the main show, might be of interest to series newcomers, and that long-time readers of the books might like to see visually. After Muller and Weber approved each script, Judkins gave the final approval, ensuring that an episode did not spoil information the writers intend the main show to convey later on. Director Dan DiFelice said that he wanted to take full advantage of the animated medium and not "just take live action and paint over it", and that he wanted to capture a "certain grittiness, mood,