> they try to straddle too many competing priorities and it just kinda doesn't make anyone happy

Great point

One of the oddest creative choices was making the main characters older and promiscuous. Of course, sex sells, but they never show anything particularly titillating, so they ended up alienating purist fans without getting the payoff for doing so. 

Undisciplined

BooksAndArticles

What is the Wheel of Time tv series?

I think the creators of these projects could avoid a lot of grief if they picked one modernization philosophy, advertised it, and stuck with it.

For example, if they announced "We are updating this for a modern audience and don't intend to stay particularly true to the original", or "We want to create as faithful of an adaption of the originals as possible".

Then people know what to expect going in.  The way things are, I think they try to straddle too many competing priorities and it just kinda doesn't make anyone happy.

That being said, I am firmly on the side of "stay true to the originals".  If people wanted a story more tailored to modern audiences they should just write one.