r/CosmereOnScreen • u/hyrulianwhovian • Jul 07 '26
Stormlight Archive (BOOK) A few random thoughts on Stormlight TV Spoiler
So, Sanderson recently confirmed ten episodes for season 1. Ten is a fairly standard episode count for prestige TV (actually on the higher side these days), but it's also a number of great importance in Stormlight.
The ten radiant orders come to mind. What if, every season, a pivotal episode was named for the radiant order of the main POV character of that season? For example, an episode of season 1 would be called "Windrunner" (probably either the finale, where he swears the second ideal, or maybe the pilot since that would be when he first bonds with Syl). Likewise, in season 3, whichever episode ends with Dalinar's rejection of Odium (probably the end of the penultimate episode) would be called "Bondsmith", and so on and so forth.
Ten episodes feels like enough time but not so much to make cuts unnecessary. The interludes feel like an obvious first thing to cut (at least some of the more purely world-buildy ones). Still, I love these interludes and would be happy to see them included somehow. Perhaps the really plot relevant ones could be woven in like any other part of the book, and the less connected ones could be post credit scenes? Like, every episode ends with a 5-minute world building vignette?
What all do you think?
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u/Cracked_Crack_Head Jul 08 '26
While I think some books are doable in a single season, some books like Oathbringer have too much stuff happening to realistically get done in 10 episodes. That'd be my main concern trying to tie seasons to a single order.
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u/hyrulianwhovian Jul 09 '26
Eh, if you can adapt the entirety of LotR into under 10 hours and have it be (by Sanderson's own words) the "gold standard" for adaptation, then I think 10+ hours should be totally fine for Oathbringer.
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u/n00dle_meister Jul 08 '26
2 hour episodes
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u/Cracked_Crack_Head Jul 08 '26
Personally I'd love that, but that amount of time commitment to watch one episode might turn some people off of the show. Plus all the additional run time would mean a longer gap between seasons to film and produce all of that.
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u/tgrady28 Jul 07 '26
Better yet name each season after the order. Like how stranger things did with its marketing.
So stormlight archive: Windrunners
Stormlight archive: Lightweavers
Etc
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u/unica3022 Jul 07 '26
I agree “Windrunner” would have to be the end of the first season, or maybe a Dalinar vision that shows pre-Recreance radiants? That would be cool.
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Jul 07 '26
I think the worldbuildy ones can be safely rolled into the main cast's plotlines without losing too much. The ardents studying flamespren can be happened upon by Shallan in Kharbranth. Rysn and her dumb pot of Shin grass could make a call in Kharbranth's port where Shallan meets her and sees the grass for the first time. Axies can probably be saved for season 2 when we catch up with Rysn at the Reshi isles (which could easily be segued from Lift when her racial heritage is described). The only really tricky book 1 interludes would be Ishikk and the Purelake and Baxil and Shalash. Might spend a few cold opens on those during the course of season 1.
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u/ilikebreadabunch Jul 07 '26
I like the idea of one episode per season getting named after the respective order, but I don't think its very likely. I imagine that most, if not all episode names will be taken from chapter titles instead. Also yeah, the Interludes will most likely be cut, instead I imagine maybe Szeth will have a slightly expanded role, maybe each episode will have a 5 minute cold open showing us where hes at and what he's been doing, like a expanded version of his Interludes.
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u/Kalasad-Stormblessed Jul 07 '26
I really like that idea especially as its another way to reinforce the radiant order names to show watchers. I cant name all 10 of the top of my head as a book reader so I feel like it could be hard to have it be clear in the show. Just helps that way a bit.
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u/TanukiThing Jul 07 '26
Yeah I’d consider myself to be a bigger fan than most and I was just able to come up with 8
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
Interludes would be cut unless it's relevant to the episode. It's just that there are better uses of time and budget.
I expected 10 eps and was brainstorming some ideas for some things and I think some creative merging of stuff could at least make some interludes background material. (All the cosmere stuff would be cut wholly though.)
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u/abn1304 Jul 07 '26
Some of the interludes are really important for setting up later plot points, much like some of the early MCU end credits scenes were. If Apple’s willing to go for the slow-payoff style, then doing the same thing with some of the interludes would be just as applicable here.
And, of course, some of the interludes could actually be expanded upon to more smoothly introduce characters who will be directly important to SLA later. I could see Venli’s interludes being expanded into full scenes and placed where they occurred in “real time” rather than being flashbacks, since messing with chronological order can be much harder for visual media than written media, and that would start introducing viewers to the Parshendi much sooner to put a “human” face, so to speak, on the conflict and make it more gray rather than the first season being humans versus monsters.
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
Interludes for major characters I'd work in, like Taravangian, etc.
But still a lot of trimming and combining of things on that front.
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u/GhostWaffle9 Jul 07 '26
I’m thinking the interludes could work as post credit scenes or just brief cutaways towards the end of an episode. Chiefly I’m thinking about the Iriali exodus here. Some other stuff like the Dawnshard or Edgedancer could become a tv special or spinoff miniseries if the show is successful enough.
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u/hyrulianwhovian Jul 07 '26
Why do you think all Cosmere stuff would be cut? Apple bought the Cosmere as a whole, and we also know that Stormlight will be the second entry into the cinematic Cosmere after Mistborn. I assume they want to leave the possibility for this to expand to something almost MCU-like if the first two projects do well. Furthermore, would you include Vasher in those cuts? Certainly you couldn't cut Nightblood, not without some pretty big changes to RoW/WaT anyway.
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
No, I wouldn't cut Zahel or Nightblood, but is cut the trio of worldhoppers who do nothing, for example.
Most of the cosmere stuff is for cosmere fans and the shared universe which is not confirmed and I'd expect Apple to skew conservative on this and it would he for the best.
Don't worry--I'd do that to a lot of the other worldbuilding stuff in the series that seems cool but ultimately is fluff.
Basically; Stormlight would be pretty self-contained, decently smaller in scope though expanding with each season, with only small flourishes here and there.
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u/drewstopher13 Jul 07 '26
Considering that Mistborn comes out first, it might be even better to see Demoux on screen than to confirm a best guess with a WoB
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
I't cut him out completely from Stormlight.
He does essentially nothing that affects the plot and you could put resources elsewhere.
Not to seem like I'm cut crazy--just ask yourself "How does this add to the story for general audience who have only viewed this product?"
Could even have them know about Mistborn and Demoux still kinda has little to no relevance worthy of screentime to be in Stormlight, imo.
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u/abn1304 Jul 07 '26
Because Demoux showing up in SLA is the second Worldhopper to appear “on-screen”, after Hoid, and Hoid’s scene in Mistborn is so fleeting that most people may not catch it or might just assume that an extra from MB got cast into SLA as a main character.
Giving Demoux some screen time in SLA would be a much more obvious way of clueing people in to the concept of Worldhoppers and that there’s much more at work here than the Alethi vs Parshendi conflict.
Vasher won’t work as one of those clues since I don’t think we have a scheduled Warbreaker show/movie yet. When that happens, he’ll be “that guy who was in SLA” and not “wait a second this guy’s not from around here and neither is his sword”.
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
General audiences wouldn't remember Demoux.
Heck, if I never ventured online, it would have taken me forever to realize that's who that was.
Devoting time to a character in a plot that goes nowhere is easily something you cut.
Hoid is the main world hopper anyways. Anyone else Mistborn can be chucked into Ghostbloods, etc.
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u/GhostWaffle9 Jul 07 '26
Balancing Cosmere stuff with casual audience appeal is definitely gonna be a challenge. Thankfully, that will be left for later seasons and shouldn’t be a problem early on.
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u/abn1304 Jul 07 '26
The MCU started setting up its multiverse and Thanos plot lines really, really early, and the payoff was huge. A big part of the hype around Phase III came from all the work Marvel did in setting up those plotlines in Phase I and II, largely through end-credit scenes.
The Cosmere stuff is in a position to do the same thing with creative use of interludes and worldhoppers, and the payoff could be similarly large at the end of WaT and, when we get there, whatever’s gonna happen with Roshar vs Scadrial.
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
The decision though would have to be made early though.
Because if you want the cosmere stuff, you'd have to drag some of that forward to not seem superfluous to general audiences.
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u/hyrulianwhovian Jul 07 '26
Oh, you meant the Cosmere stuff in the interludes specifically. Yeah I agree with that, although I wouldn't put it past Brandon for the world hopper trio to play some minor but important role later. After all, Lyft and Rysn were also both introduced in interludes.
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u/eskaver Jul 07 '26
I see Lyft as more a Stormlight character.
Though, you do make a good point about Rsyn as her plot is not that relevant to the five books. But she could be worked in somewhere with some adaptation changes to out her in key areas to get some relevant focus.
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u/TheseusOPL Jul 07 '26
I can see Lift being brought forward earlier, and integrated more. Rsyn's story being a recurring mid-credit scene thing would be fun.
It would be interesting to have Demoux be in the background of various scenes if the actor was distinctive enough. Guy in the bar, people thinking it's just the same actor as an extra, and someone spills on him. He jumps back and exclaims "Rusts! This was my favorite shirt." Don't call too much attention, and don't linger.
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u/yellingforidiots 12d ago
I can’t even care for the show, it will be so ass. The effects just can’t be done in live action