Today's Entertainment

August 28 - September 3, 2023 Page 3 By Dana Simpson Within the realm of the fantastic, several novels, movies, video games and series exist to tickle the adven- ture bone. However, despite the plethora of content, few franchises have the hold that Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings do. One series that has re- cently re-entered the chat, however, is "The Wheel of Time," which is about to begin its second season on Prime Video. First written by Robert Jordan beginning in 1990, the 15-book series was expected to comprise just six novels. In 2009, the book series was taken over by fellow fan- tasy writing powerhouse Brandon Sanderson, following Jordan's death two years earlier. As time progressed and more books emerged, fans of high fantasy craved a TV or film adaptation that would do the then- still-growing book series justice. Fi- nally, in 2018, following nearly two decades of rights disputes, low-bud- get pilots and controversy, it was announced that Amazon Studios would partner with Sony Pictures Television to make everyone's other- worldly dreams come true. Now, following further setbacks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and more, "The Wheel of Time" Season 2 premieres Friday, Sept. 1, on Prime Video. When Season 1 began, viewers met Moiraine (Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl," 2014) as she began her quest to find the Dragon Reborn in the Two Rivers. As a member of the powerful Aes Sedai, an order of women with the ability to channel a form of elemental magic called the One Power, Moiraine has been called upon to find a kind of "cho- sen one," the reincarnation of a channeller called the Dragon, who once destroyed the world. After gathering a small group — any of whom could possibly be the Dragon Reborn — Moiraine, her Warder, Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney, "Big Hero 6," 2014), and the four new candidates — Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford, "Bulletproof "), Mat Cauthon (played by "Clique's" Barney Harris in Season 1 and replaced by "The Witcher's" Dónal Finn in Season 2), Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski, "High Flyers") and Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden, "Dora and the Lost City of Gold," 2019) — begin their quest to defeat a primordial evil known as the Dark One. ACROSS 1 singer k.d. ___ 5 Flit (about) 8 "Hulk" (2004) star Eric 12 machu picchu builder 13 "Fresh Air" airer 14 plays for a fool 15 Hang over one's head 16 Vein stuff 17 Air conditioner meas. 18 Clothing line 20 Workplace comedy "___ Elementary" 22 be in the red 23 Chem. unit 24 Former "scrubs" star Zach 27 Actress Zellweger 31 African language 32 "my stars!" 33 Lesley of "60 min- utes" 34 Compositions for two 35 "Treasure Island" au- thor's inits. 37 Commercial music 38 Desert gully 41 musical drama that starred Taraji p. Hen- son 45 Light on broadway 46 N.Y.C. airport 48 Kelly Clarkson is one 49 French clergyman 50 Drop the ball 51 "Luther: The Fallen s un" (2023) star Idris 52 soviet news agency 53 Costa del ___ 54 "As ___ on TV!" DOWN 1 "American Crime" and "The Conjuring" (2013) star Taylor 2 Auth. unknown 3 sgts. and cpls. 4 HbO's mega-hit fanta- sy franchise 5 garden decoration 6 spring mo. 7 Classic sitcom "I ___ of Jeannie" 8 Animated preschool- ers' series that fea- tures talking fish 9 Concerning 10 Neither masc. nor fem. 11 mgr.'s aide 19 Apallingly 21 Tedium 24 Air rifle ammo 25 snitch 26 It makes men mean 28 Highlands negative 29 D.C. summer setting 30 Road curve 36 shoe bottoms 37 gem from the sea 38 med. school class 39 Country name 40 Holds up 42 monty python mem- ber Eric 43 After-bath wear 44 panache 47 miracle-___ (garden- ing fertilizer) CoverStory 'The Wheel of Time' returns for Season 2 Solution is on page 2. Ayoola Smart and Marcus Rutherford in "The Wheel of Time"

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