That is a very interesting idea. I mean, they've established that multiple Aes Sedai were looking for the Dragon Reborn. Would it have made sense to open with that Aes Sedai that ended up being burnt alive, talking to those 5 random nobodies, and explaining a bit to them about the prophecy, only to have their camp ambushed by those white cloak guys killing them all and then further expand on the prophecy during the scene before he lights her on fire. Or would that have been totally out of character for the White Cloaks? They clearly have no qualms killing or torturing if they think Magic is involved.
The way I would have set up the "hook" would be to have the village know that some will be chosen out of many ( I recognize this starts to shift from canon, but there are some things you need to do for TV) so the characters know and some are preparing for a higher station in their world. Have five cameo actors who are somewhat names. Like a Kal Penn or a Thora Birch type. Just enough of name where you think they will be a cast regular.
Have the bodyguard character, Lan Mandragon ( Daniel Henney as the quasi samurai) do something to trigger a repair mission far from town. And then the town's leader could send Perrin ( blacksmith), Rand, Mat and the two quasi young witches as they are the most expendable and least likely to be chosen. Just make them mediocre and losers and not focus on them too much. Make it a point that in the town's hierarchy, that they are losers.
Have Rosamund Pikes character show up as if she's going to take careful scrutiny to pick out the candidates and spend some times with the cameo characters. Have her play it up to the merchant, Fain, that she sees great potential in the Five most considerd by the village itself to be their best and brightest.
Once the attack is triggered, show all five of the cameo characters die and Pike and Mandragon fighting as shown to try to save them. Have them flee. Have the five outcasts watch from a mountaintop or some distance reach that their entire village was slaughtered. Then have Pike reveal that they are the real candidates and their village was sacrificed to make all their enemies believe that they had succeeded in killing the potentials. And now they have to run before it's all figured out.
To me, that's a much more condensed pilot. There's some slight misdirection, but you are attuned immediately that Pike's character will sacrifice anyone, she's a zealot. And now you have natural conflict as the surviving candidates know she used their families and loved ones as bait and set them up to die. But since they are being hunted, they don't have a choice but to keep following her. You want a relationship where the candidates are clear that Pike is on their side and not on their side at the same time.
It's nonsensical to have people on the run because a wave of enemies will attack and kill everyone in their village because that's already happened. That's what the show right now is trying to sell. You can't sell a threat that's been fulfilled.
The next five episodes could operate with the intro teaser scene to cover a candidate's backstory in the village and their individual conflicts, one character per episode. The audience knows their families are dead so that heightens the tension in what the survivors cannot say nor do for their families to save them. Their families died because they might have a gift, but only one of them has that gift. So each wonders if all their friends suffered because of them.
It's just more compact and it keeps the major battle scene.
Adding in the witches too soon in the pilot is just too much narrative all at once. So you don't know enough about each candidate to truly feel their loss, but you can tie the audience into their confused guilt. The candidates only know they are the reason their families are all dead. And now they blame Pike but need Pike and thus you have the kind of conflict that you can write around.
My take on it.
I said I was going to tap out when I started reading the books but I've watched the episodes. They have had to combine so much for the sake of time and changed storylines enough that reading the books and watching the show hasn't really been as difficult as I thought it would be. Also helps to be able to pronounce some of the cities and characters. I was kinda scared about starting the series given how large it is but I've enjoyed it so far. Book 2 starting this week.
