I Had No Idea It Was This Bad | Rings of Power Recap Before Season 2

[@gregowen2022]

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[@andyrios214]

Hey Greg, how is the acolyte video and also congratulations for getting 60,800 subscribers.😏

[@Thoseeyesozise]

Are you a counting crows fan, you have that vibe about you. It was only two words but I heard it.

[@andyrios214]

@@Thoseeyesozise hey there, it was more of “oh my favorite KZbinr pass 60,000 subscribers”

[@lukeluke333lukeluke]

As a long time Tolkien fan. I had to stop after episode 5. I just couldn't watch it any more. I watched reviews to see if anything improved. Which it didn't. The show was boring and insulting. I have no trust or interest on the second season. Will check reviews to see if its any better but i have doubts. I still don't understand the choices that were made for this show. I also don't understand how they gave this show to two people that had little to no experience.

[@Makkaru112]

@@lukeluke333lukelukeyou’ll love SirBookSage’s deep dive series into ROP. Was hilarious and informative. Especially his post mortum video that goes into even deeper details after season one finished. ❤

[@j.springer1496]

G: "You have not seen what I have seen." E: "I have seen my share." G: "You have NOT seen what I have seen." E: "OMGod, fine. So what have you seen?" G: "I have seen some stuff which you have not seen." - Shakespeare, Sauron & Cressida, 1602.

[@JK-cd6zr]

"Yes, I have" "No, you haven't" "Have too" "Have not" ...

[@justicevanpool9025]

​@@JK-cd6zr Guyladriel: Nuh-uh Ehlrond: Yuh-huh. Guyladriel: Says who Ehlrond: Evrybudy Ad infinitum, ad nauseum

[@greg_in_oz8429]

@@j.springer1496 Shakespeare’s “The Tempest in Me” surely 😏

[@GusMcGuire]

@@JK-cd6zr "No, you haven't" "Yes, I have" "No, you haven't" "Yes, I have" "No, you-..." "YES I HAVE - INFINITY!!!" "......Damn it!"

[@PhillipMelanchthon]

A woeful Cressid, 'mongst the merry Elves.

[@GLJosh]

As a Lord of the Rings fan, I listened to the actorvists that told me that "this show isn't for you!" Thus, I saved some time related to direct viewing but fully supported those that watched to "critique" for my entertainment.

[@chrissmith7669]

As a long time fan of the books and not so much the beautifully film movies, I forced myself to watch. There is nothing redeeming about this series to fan of Tolkien’s work.

[@donkeywithascarf2435]

Same here. They told me, a Tolkien enthusiast, that it wasn't for me. So, I didn't watch it. Glad I didn't too. 😀

[@marqod1437]

It really is amazing how a corporation could spend a billion dollars to make a 5 season series so a bunch of KZbinrs could make a few thousand dollars apiece.

[@chrissmith7669]

@@marqod1437 lol. Pretty much

[@eldane-1]

@@marqod1437 Wait, 5 SEASONS!?

[@silverscorpio24]

I like how the show, unintentionally but hilariously, blatantly tells us that everything that happens in the Third Age is Galadrrriel's fault. You missed explaining it, but Halbrand tells Galadrrrriel he's Sauron, leaves, SHE DOESN'T TELL ANYONE and *MAKES HIS RINGS ANYWAY!!!*

[@gregowen2022]

Right?! Somehow knowing it was him made her want to make EVEN MORE of them? I’m so confused. It’s like they forgot the two stories were intertwined until the end of writing and just gave up trying to make it make sense

[@juusovuolle8251]

They wanted a hot forbidden romance no matter if it made sense​@@gregowen2022

[@zoebaggins90]

@@gregowen2022 In the trailer for season 2, Galadriel actually says he fooled her!

[@marqod1437]

@@zoebaggins90 So they are hoping to get back the people that didn't watch the final episode and gaslight the ones that did in one fell swoop. I'm beginning to wonder if my packages are safe with these people. This level of dishonesty is probably contagious.

[@KororaPenguin]

​@@gregowen2022 The real Galadriel would have warned the others, just as in _The Acolyte_ the real Yoda would have told Vernestra point blank, "Much deception I sense in you. Blameless, Sol is. Take over this investigation I shall; no longer a Jedi you are."

[@Krunt9789]

Nerdrotic called that terrible little fight in the shoddy little town with a single tower; "The Battle of Balls Deep" I laughed for probably far too long.

[@sonichog]

I'm still laughing 🤣

[@Señor-Donjusticia]

26:25 Thing is, I get that Sauron could survive a gut wound while riding on a horse for 6 days. But the fact that NOBODY in the show thought it was weird for a MORTAL MAN to have done so is baffling!

[@gregowen2022]

Excellent point. Either way you look at it, it’s a trash setup, but they didn’t give a crap. It’s so lazy, all around

[@victorcates9330]

It might make sense if he had wounded himself off-screen to get to the next port of call for his plan, but if memory serves, I think they had Sauron just doing his own thing until the happenstance of running into Galadriel while she was midway swimming between continents. Even after that, he doesn't embrace the King thing. It feels like a mistake. It feels like they had a plot based on Sauron being a puppet master and then came up with the idea of making him be a result of Galadriel creating him through her incompetence and hatred. It feels like a script that was midway through an update and caught between versions. Sauron loitering on a raft in the middle of the ocean until he's plucked and converted into a dark lord by Galadriel is weird. Like the fates were engaged in some kind of cosmic joke. Sauron moving people around the chess board clinically would be fine. Galadriel being a screw-up needing redemption is interesting but lost in the shuffle of contradiction. She veers between moral saint and maniac. They don't seem to understand their own story. If a good detail is lost amidst a sea of mistakes, it's not the audience's fault if they struggle with interpretation.

[@agiksf.8998]

Oh my goodness. You are applying logic, reason and consequences to the Rings of Poower? Bless you.

[@KororaPenguin]

And the ghosts of the Pompeiians would like a word with the writing team as well.

[@Señor-Donjusticia]

@@KororaPenguin Come on, we’ve all been in pyroclastic flows! It’s like a trip to the sauna. Very relaxing.

[@bryanwigmore7224]

"Have you tried doing it in a way that *would* work?" Best laugh I've had all week.

[@gregowen2022]

I’m still in disbelief that it really went down like that! Sauron would make an amazing sports coach. “Ok, everyone go out there are play *better* than the other team. On three!…”

[@Noqtis]

I made the experience it works best if you just destroy a chair. My american football coach would always do that when he wanted us to win but we sucked the first half. Imagine a bunch of kids going nervously into a room, coach is waiting at the board. All kids sit on chairs around him expect him to explain what they could do better in the second half, basically how they are going to win against an enemy that seems undefeatable. Without saying a single word of explanation dude goes full berserk mode, destroying a chair, which isn't even his property. In a heartbeat it's over just like the break xD As a kid, you kinda know he will not beat the shit out of you but the adrenaline experiencing the scene makes your blood pumping. You go out there and know there are worst things out there than your foes on the field. You give your best and win. I won some games like that I wouldn't thought were win-able but it's not iust you. The whole team is like new, working as a single entity to achieve a goal. That's literally the only thing I loved about that sport. When all clickes together like an engine. Best matches where when both teams were like that. 90er, good old times. We were safe but not protected. I could have slept in the woods and my parents would have just went: that's actually very healthy as long as a bear doesn't fuck you up. XD

[@WildVoltorb]

Very solid writing

[@flabbergast_se]

@@Noqtis Now try that with a physics teacher. He gives a test over your entire class level. After correcting it he destroys a chair and then hands out the same test again. And now you score a 100%

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

@@gregowen2022 It reminds me of the SNL sketch where Bob Saget is a track coach and all he does is tell his athletes to run really fast.

[@greg_in_oz8429]

My favourite part of RoP was the time after surviving a pyroclastic flow to the face when Guyladriel ignored the screams of dying children and wounded soldiers and wandered off into the wilderness with a kid she’d never met so that exposition could happen 10/10

[@Hlbkomer]

She just casually kidnaps a kid for a short therapy session about her maybe ex husband in the middle of a catastrophe. And then goes and saves the life of her new boyfriend Sauron. Such a G.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

Greg, there was also the fact they claim "the story Tolkein didn't write" that's code for "this is our fanfiction" it was clearly made by people who didn't understand the source material fully, only skimmed for the best parts

[@gregowen2022]

Exactly. They grabbed some names everyone knew and that was that. So gross

[@svetlanaandrasova6086]

Also why dont they just write new original characters in new world? Oh wait. Noone would care about that. This way it has Tolkien name on it and at least some attention.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

@@svetlanaandrasova6086 instead of trying to copy (badly) from good work, they could just instead study it and make their own work to see how it all worked.

[@agiksf.8998]

The problem with this premise is that usually fanfic writers know the source very well (at least that was my experienc with HP fanfics). They spent a lot of time wondering what their fav character would do, following the events of the original. This and the Mouse's Stark Wars is a bad fanfiction.

[@chrissmith7669]

Not even fan fiction. There is good Tolkien fan fiction but this ain’t it.

[@30noir]

Remember: The scariest thing about the stranger is NOT that he's Gandalf or that he's not Gandalf - the scariest thing about his character is that the writers have not DECIDED if he is or not yet (they have admitted this in an interview). This is NOT how you write a story.

[@chrissmith7669]

@@30noir that character has zip to do with the Silmarilian Gandalf

[@belegur8108]

@@chrissmith7669 you mean the guy, that arrived at the Grey Havens by boat from Valinor, met by Cirdan, got his Ring of Power and all this 1.000 years into third age?

[@chrissmith7669]

@@belegur8108 to me he was the over worked assistant to Manwë always being sent out to take care of something. As i recall he arrived back exhausted from his last mission when told to hot foot it to back to middle earth in the third age. He wouldn’t have had time to waste blundering around

[@belegur8108]

@@chrissmith7669 burn out syndrom in the making 😁

[@chrissmith7669]

@@belegur8108 lol. Was just thinking even after his bodies death during the battle with the Balrog he couldn’t get a break. He was sent right back into the fray after thinking his mission complete.

[@cmosser144]

23:45 she didn’t leap into the middle of the ocean, she waited til she got all the way across to jump out!

[@flabbergast_se]

It's like going on a cruise from France to USA and jumping off outside New York because you decide to swim home again.

[@danbongard3226]

I told asked my mom to guess what Galadriel did upon reaching Valinor and deciding she needed to stay in Middle Earth. The only hint I gave her was "it is the stupidest thing you can think of". She guessed "try to swim back" and then burst out laughing when I told her she got it right.

[@mycroft3322]

Sounds like I’ll be watching season 2 the same way I watched season 1: through the KZbin reviews

[@laurenanderson61]

They're certainly more entertaining than the show.

[@kirstyholmes9318]

That’s exactly what I did. I watched review episodes longer than actual episodes too 🤣

[@MrSloth-sy3rh]

That's the best way to watch 😅

[@Michael_CDK]

That whole period of the year was absolutely wild. Rings of Power, She-Hulk, that Witcher prequel, that He-Man show, I think that Resident Evil show... and the now-deceased Willow to cap things off. And something... so much worse... was soon to come early in the new year. There has been a lot of bad media over the last several years, but 2022 stands out to me. Hope you're doing well, Greg.

[@wombatillo]

These clowns are destroying everything. I think it's both incompetence and spite.

[@gregowen2022]

Yeah, I think part of the reason I skipped it is because I had just watched too much She-Hulk. I was at my garbage quota. It’s been a pretty bad few years of trashing established properties. It’s starting to feel like a weird conquest for some folks

[@LP-mh6ri]

@@wombatillo people who´s main focus is intersectionality and adhering to D.E.I hiring quotas aren´t good at making entertainment , who could have guessed.

[@bowserbreaker2515]

At least we got The Last Wish in 2022. That's (in my opinion) one of the greatest movies ever made.

[@bekscha579]

That whole period of time broke my ability to watch new things.

[@PetraNaefcke]

This recap was gold and much more entertaining than the whole series ever will be.

[@KororaPenguin]

The Rube Goldberg volcano contraption was actually creative--one of the few bursts of genuine creativity in the story. But the logistics and impracticality make it little more than yet another plot hole.

[@mikemorris8424]

The only thing I truly remember is that I found out why a boat floats and a rock sinks.

[@gregowen2022]

Oh crap, I forgot about that, and I just watched it a week or so ago. That might be the best line of the show

[@mikemorris8424]

@@gregowen2022 I mean to be fair when you're bombarded with nonsensical writing all at once it's a lot to process. I've had nearly 2 years to try and push it out of my mind and that line likes to pop up once in a while.

[@MrGamman3yt]

I have to say it: You know what else floats? A Witch.

[@deannaprince7954]

​@@MrGamman3yt That may be the hardest I've laughed at an online joke in weeks. Thank you -- I did not see that coming!

[@kari8187]

The Sea knows 😂😂😂

[@logansgun]

I did not watch that drek. I have no desire to ever watch it. However I do thoroughly enjoy watching others talk about how atrocious it is! Thanks for taking that bullet for me, Greg! 😂

[@gregowen2022]

I appreciate you hanging out with me, instead! Looking forward to more laughs with season 2

[@BRIDINC1972]

DITTO. 😂😂😂

[@scottdean2199]

I'm one of those who have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion multiple times. I love Peter Jackson's movies, but still cringe at some of the changes he made. After months of pre-press saying they went "back to the books, back to the books, back to the books" only to see blatant contradictions just before release, I knew I couldn't watch it without going into a blind rage. When they said Galadriel was the Commander of the Northern Armies and Elrond was a diplomat, I knew I couldn't even rage-watch it. Everything I've heard since has reinforced that assessment!

[@gregowen2022]

I am currently loving the Witcher books, and now I really get the show hate. Same thing for this show. For once, being late to something has actually helped me, because I didn’t have dreams for these productions to destroy, but I still get to enjoy the great literature after!

[@christophertaylor9100]

Yeah Jackson made some inexcusable changes that are buried in the great acting, effects, and casting. It was beautiful and well delivered but particularly the two towers was an abomination.

[@theWebWizrd]

​@@christophertaylor9100 In this modern era of complete trash adaptions it is easy to ignore it or overlook it by comparison, but I agree that there are some choices made in especially Two Towers that are horrible, agreed. Faramir comes to mind.

[@agiksf.8998]

@@theWebWizrd What they did to Faramir is my personal gripe with the movies. He was my favourite guy in LotR and the Jackson crew character assassinated my man 😭

[@ShatteredIce]

​@theWebWizrd I disagree. I'm fine with what they did with Faramir. Makes him more sympathetic and doesn't diminish the effects of the ring, which are a bit hard to make scary on screen in the first place. Having someone able to so easily ignore it ruins that.

[@aesiddoway]

Greg: “the costumes were beautiful!” The Numenorian’s plastic moob armor and Queen’s polyester blend chain mail printed tshirt: “Am I a joke to you?”

[@DUKEzors]

Smurftaugh Marxfoots Greg doesn't miss.

[@RoseBaggins]

No he does not ... and I'm here for it. 🤣🤣🤣

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you! I strive for fun names. It’s one of the my favorite parts

[@EarlHildebrandt]

​@@gregowen2022Even on a rough day, "Black-tain America" popping into my head never fails to make me smile. Thank you for that, Greg.

[@maniravsadhur8409]

"I would love to hear the ideas they rejected" - ah well, that is the secret of the show and the reason why it's so awesome: they reject no idea at all. They put into the scenario everything that first came to their minds, and voilà. Magic.

[@krnatsu]

Ah Rings Of Power, one of now countless examples of spectacle over substance. As Greg says, "this show desperately WANTS to be LOTR", there is just one big problem, the writers and Amazon, don't understand LOTR. They can not accept criticism or understand the hate they have received, because they don't get the love many have for Tolkien's work. Kramer of Living Anachronism said it best when he said "they don't like LOTR, they like the IDEA of liking LOTR". They only see the franchise from a surface level concept and appeal, and as a result, they fundamentally change characters and storylines, because they don't see why they were written that way to begin with. And to those who argue "we just need to look at ROP as its own thing", if thats the case why is it LOTR? Because monitary gain. This is Amazon we're talking about, I doubt Jeff put his "hard earned cash" into this show because he was passionate about Middle Earth. By itself, the show is a generic fantasy, with boring, arrogant, childish or obnoxious characters, plotlines there so we gave a plot and set pieces that, whilst they look nice, mean nothing because the actual content of the show is garbage, a polished turd is still a turd after all. But the fact this claims to be "the book that Tolkien never wrote" is both aggregious and hilarious. Aggregious because it shows how little they actual appreciate Tolkien's work and why so many do. But laughable, because its essentially an embedded confession. The confession being that Tolkien didn't write this, because what writer as eloquent and respectable as him would write something as terrible, boring, trite and insultling to the intellect of audiences as this

[@gregowen2022]

The “liking the idea of liking it” is so spot on. These people aren’t cosplaying as fans, which is such a strange headspace. They share NOTHING with Tolkien’s worldview, how could they possibly capture the themes he was expressing?

[@krnatsu]

@@gregowen2022 I believe the "aren't cosplaying" was a typo lol. But I agree, they are literally doing precisely what Sauron did to gain Numinor's trust, putting on a false facade before slowly but surely unveiling their true intentions. As for your latter question I believer there are two explanations. The first is that they THINK Tolkien agrees with their worldview, using his hatred of Apartheid as the main example, and thus have a false sense of what he actually believed. Or, and the more common explanation, is that they despise what Tolkien wrote, and wish to change it to be there own. "It could've been mine, it should be mine, GIVE IT TO ME!" They pretty much are like those who fall for the One Ring's influence, except these people aren't under any spells, this is simply who they are

[@RoseBaggins]

Very well put.

[@majkus]

Even if all the Tolkien serial numbers were filed off and Season One had been presented as a generic fantasy, it was still a very poor job. No understanding or portrayal of time and distance. Plots that 'go nowhere and end in the air' as Mark Twain put it. Characters who are, with exceptions, unlikable and unengaging. World building that makes no sense (does Númenor have any settlements on the mainland? Where do their ships go? Why do they hate Elves?). Physical absurdities. And the whole 'mithril' plot which was a convoluted and improbable mess.

[@krnatsu]

@@majkus agreed, the greatest difference between the Jackson trilogy and the Rings Of Power, is one is special because its LOTR, the other is NOTHING without LOTR

[@cosmickeys5766]

One thing that particularly stood out about this show was how tiny it felt almost like a 70's or 80's tv show where you have the grand establishing shots in the opening credits and then the entire thing takes place in one or two rooms on a sound stage set. The opening shots of Moria look amazing, but then we never see that again, not in the background of a conversation nothing. All the scenes are in tiny cave rooms.

[@astrojudebob]

I saw 'strong female character #1' and 'strong female character #2' tell each other. "You're amazing." "No, you're amazing." Ugh. Couldn't stop laughing.

[@belegur8108]

yeah... there is only one person, who can deliver such a conversation in a believable way and Keanu Reeves is not in this show 🤣

[@robonator2945]

the part I'm surprised didn't get mentioned is that Not-Sauron literally says something along the lines of "I just wanted to leave, I was done with war and confllict, you dragged me back into this" (in a moment which there isn't any real reason to believe was deception) meaning that SHE is the sole reason for the entirety of The Lord of The Rings movies' conflict. The big bad was literally pulling a thanos and just going off somewhere to live quietly and then she basically reignited the conflict.

[@firefox6285]

True - not that this conveys Sauron whatsoever. However this dude is not the Maiar demigod Sauron so who cares, literal imposter.

[@belegur8108]

even worse... if she would not have jumped the boat, not only would Halbrand ( the most obvious mystery box since the conception of Jar Jar Abrams - Looks can be deceiving? ) never return, BUT she would have met her reborn brother back in the Halls of Mandos and with this killing every reason to go on the whole revenge spree...

[@robonator2945]

​@@firefox6285 yeah, to be honest I find it to be an interesting idea personally, but it's definitely not what Sauron was supposed to be. (note : "interesting" =/= "well executed") Personally I tend to prefer stories that lean into that angle of people not being de-facto good or de-facto bad but just people who make choices and have impacts, but that's not really what LOTR was ever supposed to be. LOTR was always very intentionally designed to have characters fit and fill fairly standard archetypes in service of grand adventures and historical moments, so adding in the minor detail that "oh by the way, Sauron never asked for any of this, he just wanted to become a blacksmith" kinda breaks a lot of the narrative structure. Even if they can twist it to not be a direct plot hole, it breaks major parts of the story on a narrative level. Sauron being driven to evil by a vengeful elf on a crusade trying to stop him against his will can be an interesting story premise, but it's telling the opposite story that it's supposed to. It's no longer about good fighting against evil, it's about good *_creating_* evil against the evil-doer's will because they refused to back down. Honestly it's kinda weird because it feels like it's the opposite of a more common mistake you see where writers write a simple moral dichotomy, even when it doesn't make sense and/or fit. (whereas here they wrote a more complex moral situation where it doesn't make sense/fit) An example would be when Dr. Strange 'learned' that saving the universe is bad and instead he should just rely on plot armor to do it for him. Even though not only is the person *_telling him_* that he needs to kill her to save the multiverse and she understands, *_but he is also currently using forbidden magic to save the multiverse._* Another (bit more niche) example would be dark magic in The Dragon Prince which is constantly talked about like some great intrinsic evil, but is repeatedly shown doing massive good for functionally zero cost. TLDR : "primal" magic is the good magic that uses base elements, dark magic is more your constantine-esque "drop of blood, roots, ear of deer, drink it, then say the incantation". So it *_can_* be extreme like sacrificng a human heart, but it can also just be no different than a hunter killing a deer to feed his family, except that deer was a rampaging beast rather than passive wildlife and it's feeding entire nations for seasons rather than one family for a week. It's treated like some intrinsically evil original-sin type thing with really no reason other than "well we find it immoral!". In The Dragon Prince especially it's weird since several characters even make this point, and we see dark magic repeatedly used for entirely altruistic purposes to save countless lives, yet the show is like 6 or 7 seasons in and never addresses the point *_it's_* repeatedly raising. They even have your average hippie-dippie wood-elf character being in a relationship with a dark-mage, and even *_he_* never sees it as some great evil. Why this "be at peace with nature" "the forest is your friend" wood elf doesn't take even a passing issue with this original-sin forbidden dark-magic seems like it'd come up, but no, no-one ever asks, he never makes a point of explaining, nothing. The issue of writers acting like they're writing a moral-dichotomy while the situation they've actually written is more complex is typically the more common thing you see, (granted TDP is definitely unique in just how obvious it is) so it's weird that this goes the opposite way and they've written a morally complex situation and tried shoving it into an intentionally simplified moral framework.

[@Shockguey]

Those McMansions feel like cargo cult temples. Whereas the Rich people who started those trends have long dropped them and moved onto other aesthetics, the "rich" still hold obsessions over the flashiness.

[@gregowen2022]

It really does. They are mismatched collages of what “rich people stuff” is

[@KororaPenguin]

@@gregowen2022 I'm guessing that the Sixth Doctor's coat was, in-universe, from the estate sale of one of those nouveau riche types?

[@nebohtes]

"You don't always have to forge them hard, In fact sometimes that's not right -- to do." Subbed.

[@citizensnips2348]

Sometime you gotta make sum love

[@lrsiv]

I love that you and others watch shows like this so we don’t have to.

[@Oudeis000]

Amazon writers are visionaries who can truly think outside of the box. For centuries, sages have counseled that one cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear; but the talents at Amazons unprecedentedly turned the saying on its head and succeeded in making a sow's ear out of a silk purse. Bravo, Amazon!

[@justthinkingoutloud2538]

The only thing I'd disagree with you on is when you said that the costumes and props were good. Sets and CGI were decent, but I've seen homemade LARP costumes that look twice as good as the cheap rubber crap the Numenorians call armor, and the prop weapon are just ridiculous.

[@Makkaru112]

Actually they weren’t decent. Look at all the copy paste crowds of the same people lol. Angry Mexa did a fun and in depth comparison to ROP to crouching tiger hidden dragon etc.

[@wolfsruhm]

*cough* golden chainmail T-shirt *cough*

[@Skaldzerker]

​@wolfsruhm I stopped the video to see if anyone else mentioned this. JFC, 95% of the costuming was awful, especially when you look back at the PJ trilogy. Even the extras in those movies had hand-made clothes and accessories.

[@maudyg_22]

"scamdalf"... 😂 Love it!

[@ian-flanagan]

For me, “Knife ears” was always a divider between LOTR and D&D. Dropping it in LOTR feels like someone who stumbled accidentally both in a few intro videos and thought they’re basically the same thing

[@KoongYe]

I am immensely sorry that you have to watch two seasons of that god-awful show. It's a sacrifice I wouldn't dare take.

[@gregowen2022]

I’m not entirely sure I’ll watch all of season 2. We’ll see how the first three episodes go, and how their review goes. If I hate it AND no one wants to watch videos about it, then I’d be crazy to keep going.

[@melrakan]

@@gregowen2022 I think there is definitely an audience for critical videos about Rings of Power that aren't cheap rage-baiting or straight up racist rants about the skin color of characters. I'm a part of that audience, so I'll definitely watch these! Keep it up, I thought that this video was pretty good.

[@KristopherPrime]

@@melrakanto be honest, those aren’t accurate descriptions of the show’s “haters”. It’s reasonable to cititicize the needlessly logical forced racial “diversity” of the show when it makes no sense to do so, such as “black Legolas”.

[@melrakan]

@@KristopherPrime Why do all of the actors need to be white, then? Why not have them all be black? That would also be not diverse... my point is that with you people it all boils down to wanting an all-white cast in the end.

[@flabbergast_se]

@@melrakan Yes... the mythology Tolkien wrote for England since he felt it lacked a mythology seems to be very white. I wonder why. I hope that when someone writes a modern mythology for a country in the middle east or about Mesoamerica that they randomly throw in a tall blue eyed blonde man with no explanation. Or better yet, make them all tall, blonde and blue eyed. No questions allowed because that is racist.

[@emissarial6598]

I was *not* expecting that Patton voice over of Galadriel. Damn that was funny. 😅

[@Makkaru112]

Galadriel & her elder brother Finrod Felagund were best friends with the dwarves. Named Felagund by the dwarves meaning “Earth Hewer” from the fact he helped them build the great fortress called Nargothrond of which he was the elven lord that ruled there justly. Was the same for Celebrimbor and the dwarves of Eregion especially the guild called Gwaith Í Mirdain. His bestie was Narvi the dwarf. Narvi and Celebrimbor created the doors of Moria. Moria is also the elvish name for Khazad Dûm. This gift for Gimli set it into imperishable Crystal and would be the only thing left in middle earth that holds the light of the two trees of Valinor (Valanor by the Eldar). It’s basically the uncursed version of the Nauglamir. He named it The Galadramir. ❤ - Actually Gimli attacking the ring shows it has no hold over him just like the Dwarvish rings out of the 16 meant to go to the elves had no hold over them. So technically they could easily be used offensively & defensively but many disappeared over the ages mainly due to Sauron collecting them back again over the last few thousand years. One or two eaten by dragons (not simple minded beasts here. They were twisted and enhanced beings by Melkor/Morgoth(Saurons Upperclassman as far as the Ainur face goes.). There were only a few of them and their offspring are lesser drakes throughout middle earth. Most recent one you’ll see in The Hobbit movie and one other most recent dragon left of the originally created dragons was Scatha, of which I don’t think Scatha even has wings or could fly in any permanent sort of way. “Evil cannot create. Only twist and warp what is already natural to the world” - “Nobody Trust An Elf” The thing is with a certain clan of dwarves: A giant set of events throughout the ages caused a huge rift between dwarves and elves since before any elf ever saw a dwarf. Elves are the firstborn. Men are the secondborn. Dwarvish forefathers were created by the hands of one of the Valar named Aulë, then essentially Eru Îlluvatar(AllFather) breathed life into them to later wake up at a later date since Aulë was still excited to create things of his very own. It’s also why dwarves overall can resist the rings power and so forth. There were these beings became known as Petty Dwarves in the books where these beings were super hostile and the elves thought it was just another spawn of Melkor (now Morgoth) so when they finally did see actual dwarves they killed them on site. That and dwarves were keen on chopping down trees by huge amounts so you can kind of see why… but this was only the beginning. But it’s not a very good start. Buuut not all dwarvish clans share this rift as the creator of the 16 rings was an elf named Celebrimbor and is one of the best characters ever. His main smithery guild in Eregion was full of dwarves and elves called the “Gwaith Ír Mirdain”. Even Gimli’s father was really close to a certain male Elf’s father. If you search for ‘victorian hair art' then you can see what amazing things people created with hair in the past. Craftsmen as dwarfs were, I imagine that Gimli must have created something beyond exquisite! This gift for Gimli set it into imperishable Crystal and would be the only thing left in middle earth that holds the light of the two trees of Valinor (Valanor by the Eldar). It’s basically the uncursed version of the Nauglamir. He named it The Galadramir. ❤ Gimli said it’d be an heirloom of his people til the ending of the world. Not all dwarves were enemies to elves. Galadriel and her brother were best friends with dwarves. Famously the fortress of Nargothrond was built by Finrod Felagund with the dwarves! It was only a certain clan that killed Elu Thingol! (Elwë)

[@costarich8029]

I lost all respect for Galadriel in the scene with the snow troll, her team has just been brutally outmatched, yet she recklessly leaps into the fight, casually turning her back on this deadly creature multiple times. She then delivers a lethal blow, letting it die behind her without a second glance, as she looks straight into the camera. What on earth made her so arrogantly confident that this wasn’t a serious threat?

[@wolfsruhm]

well the answer is easy, she is only surviving Highelf(aka Noldor) in Middleearth (everyone either died or went away), she is literally AGES old (came to middle earth about 5000 years ago, and was already pretty much an adult when she went over), fought in the Wars of Old, and as said survived. But all that should not make her as smug and uncaring as she is portraited in this scene. And it also makes no sense why she would soround her apparently complete imbeciles when it comes to fighting. Why does she even have these goons (for a lack of a better word) with her, as they contribute to nothing?

[@flabbergast_se]

@@wolfsruhm According to the series the elves around her have been fighting by her side for years. Yet she does not care when they get injured or die. And she acts like she is 10 times better at everything than them and it's quite easy for her. Then why is she bringing these people along? For them to die? Or carry her luggage?

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

@@wolfsruhm Nothing you just said is from Tolkien. None of it. Tolkien never wrote a single solitary word claiming Galadriel was anything like a warrior, ever. EVER. TWO GENERATIONS of this family spent NEARLY A CENTURY writing TEN THOUSAND PAGES of history. Meanwhile you and Jeff Bezos over here like "HURR DURR GALADREAL GURL BOSS NINJA SUPER POWERS." Cate Blanchett's portrayal of this character was *so perfect*, she was so coy, so evocative, so deep and mysterious. You felt like every second she was on screen she was exuding power and wisdom, like she just knew things that no one else ever could. Then YOU come along, with your Amazon Basics Galadriel knock-off girl-boss that no one likes, no one respects, no one wants to even hear about.

[@hylianchriss]

@@wolfsruhm Galadriel isn't supposed to be a sword fighter. The Peter Jackson version would never lower her to even touch a sword. Yet they conveyed it very clearly that she is the most powerful being, the most intimidating creature, in that whole kingdom. She is beloved, yet feared. Charming and charismatic, but you knows she can see right through your soul, and speak privately to everyone inside their heads, at the same time, about their deepest secrets. She is very old. The oldest elf in all of Middle Earth. She is the most powerful one, by far. She doesn't need a sword. Amazon tried to hard to make her a strong girlboss by being the best sword fighter, they ironically ended up nerfing the original version of her. They made her less powerful. At the same time as removing all the charm and the mysterious aura around her, making her utterly unlikable.

[@lamichka]

they turn into ring wraights.......before the rings were forged..... qua qua quaaaa.... :D

[@ayotundeayoko5861]

😂😂

[@KororaPenguin]

More like "Quid? Quid? Quid?"

[@prochinczyk2]

Fun fact: Galadriel didn't actually swim towards the land. According to maps presented on the show she swimmed from the middle-north of continent to its middle-west side. Basically she travelled quarter of continent circumference distance BY F****** SWIMMING. Slight oversight from screenwriters.

[@cameronpetie8318]

Great breakdown Greg. I like how you bring clarity and reason to what is obviously bad.

[@justthinkingoutloud2538]

22:00 This is why I say I'm actually glad the show is as poorly written as it is, because it's so obvious to the viewers who don't know the lore that it's not what Tolkien wrote. Had they been equally unfaithful but half decent at crafting a story, everyone might just gobble it up and assume this is what the Silmarillion is all about. They did the actual work a favor by doing such a lazy job at butchering it.

[@majkus]

We have already seen the fresh horrors of Season Two. Tom Bombadil. Saruman. Entwives who are nothing like Treebeard's description of entwives. Barrow-wights. Evil Durin. And the Last Ballad of Damrod, a troll with the same name as a Third-age Ranger. Fascinating like a train wreck, but not, alas, bad enough to be unintentionally funny.

[@KororaPenguin]

A satire site jokingly predicted that Tom Bombadil was going to be turned into an angsty Goth type.

[@littlejimmy7402]

The whole staff was pumping each other up over how easy it would be. The night before the final they cracked the study guide and realized their horrible mistake. I think the T.V. industry is on the arc to the creation of "Ow! My Balls". It's on the way, and I'm kinda here for it.

[@gregowen2022]

I think the only thing off in your prediction is who will be making Ow! My Balls! These big studios are going to die and TikTok will be the place for all brain rot. It’s darn near the ‘terbation network as it is. I’m starting to join the Sweet Meteor of Death 20XX crowd

[@ASpooneyBard]

I still watch a lot of Jackass and Bevis & Butthead, so honestly, I almost prefer that. At least lowbrow garbage isn't insulting me to my face for daring to want to be entertained. Stupid fun is still fun, and that's more than I can say for this junk.

[@joelvannatta3266]

I was watching idiocracy just yesterday, and it is scary how we actually are moving in that direction.

[@timbothejedi4146]

Best new movie of 2034. Ass!

[@danbongard3226]

I'm pretty sure "Ow! My Balls" has already been made under the title of "Jackass".

[@sandoristar7597]

They took a literally strong, respected ( and feared ) female character and made her a Karen Girlbarian First of her name idiot and made the right hand of Melkor a simp, the Rammstein's Sonne is more faithful adoptation of Snow-white than Amzon's RoP of anything Tolkien. BTW Silmarillion is a great, dark book enjoy :)

[@uzimonkey]

Galadriel acts like a teenager throughout the whole show, but she's.... Yeah, she's almost 3,500 years old at this time. She should be impossibly old and wise and patient, but that would have been difficult to write, so she fights with everyone and runs around doing a lot of stupid stuff because that was easy to write.

[@Skabanis]

Exactly she know of the battles the elves lost over and over in the first age gondolin, of the children of Hurin of Beren and tinuviel the beautiful writing of master Tolkien. She is married with a kid and acts like a loony 13 year old.

[@SaiDeLaRai]

Problem solved!🙃

[@Makkaru112]

5000 actually & elf years are not the same as many years.Galadriel's daughter should be bordering 1000 by this point. Gal is born in YT 1362, older than Celebrimbor who was born in YT 1495. But you mist also remember that years under the Trees passed differently to years under the Sun and 100 years on the Tree calendar is 958 years on the Sun calendar, making Galadriel almost 1300 years older than him. Elrond is the youngest of the three though, being born somewhere between 530 and 620 years after Celebrimbor, but given how their age gap is shown in the series and given that Celebrimbor's age gap with Galadriel is twice as large its kind of ridiculous

[@Makkaru112]

@@Skabanismany were won in fact. Just in different ways and lead to some major wins sooner or later. Too long to list here outside of my fun LOTR server that I created.

[@MrsMacLover]

So happy you're back, Greg

[@gregowen2022]

Me too! I overcommitted on The Acolyte, but I’m happy to say I’m going to live premiere it next Friday. And then I can get back to regular programming

[@MrDj232]

How could the elves not know about mithril? Mithril is an elven name that combines the words for gray and glitter.

[@MaraJadeSkky]

Your dry sarcasm is some of my favorite type of humor.😂

[@landwand]

This is the funniest video I've seen in a long time. I love your wit and sarcasm!

[@bluelaser1012]

LOVE the black mage light in the background. Final Fantasy forever!

[@gregowen2022]

He’s hands down my favorite part of the set. Long live the black mage! And long live Vivi!

[@bluelaser1012]

@@gregowen2022 Can you possibly tell me where you bought him?

[@gregowen2022]

@@bluelaser1012 Amazon had him, unexpectedly enough. I have an Amazon affiliate storefront thing I had him listed on, but now it says he's unavailable. However if you search Black Mage Neon Light on amazon, I just saw a different one that is in the shape of Vivi! Well, they're all really LED now, but they do a good job of looking like neon. Plus they are pretty cheap, that Vivi one is $30, which is about what I recall paying for mine

[@misterfevillord1588]

@@gregowen2022 Do a video analysis about vivi, or ff in general, the good ones

[@parapendejadas4913]

"KARENdriel wants to speak to the manager, my Lord"... _______________ Random Ork

[@BRIDINC1972]

😂😂😂

[@crazyralph6386]

Yeeeewah, why can’t we have some meats😂

[@tabithachen2912]

I have to disagree on the costumes. I'm done costuming for theater, I caused play, and I just have a general passion for costuming and fashion design so I've spent a lot of time studying the topic and the costumes aren't ugly, but they're not particularly good. The designs aren't super memorable, they're kind of muddled. Lord of the rings had distinct design styles for each race which these costumes lack completely. Not to mention a lot of the fabrics look like stuff that I can pick up at Joanne's for only a few bucks a yard. They don't have the weight or the texture that I would expect to see in a production of this alleged scale. Not to mention the LOTR costumes had tons of detailed embroidery and trim work. Most of these costumes have what looks to be a screen printed design that just looks so modern and out of place

[@dancedancelauren]

Thank you! The designs in Jackson's LOTR are beautifully intricate and culturally unique. There's no confusing Gondor or Rohan (or even the Southrons) based on their armor designs alone. Elvish and dwarvish designs are distinct again. Everyone's clothes look lived in and speak to the character of those wearing them. It was amazing world building through costuming. TROP flattened every design and made everything look...samey and dull by comparison.

[@krnatsu]

@@tabithachen2912 the biggest difference between the costumes for the Jackson movies and ROP. Is the former looks like actual clothing that the characters would and do wear. The latter is a costume, nothing more. One is specifically crafted for the characters they're made for and the other is just generic and focuses more on form than function

[@gregowen2022]

Hmmm, looks like I'm lacking in knowledge in this area. Lots of folks echoing this sentiment. I suppose my "looks good" really should translate to "wasn't bad enough to stand out to me". I appreciate the perspective!

[@krnatsu]

@@gregowen2022 in your defence, the whole point of these types of shows, what I would call "poor man's fantasy", are meant to "look nice". So if you're not paying attention to it, it SEEMS like it's fine, but if you think about it or you feel like something is off, you can tell immediately what the issues are. The easiest way to describe it to you, or anyone else who may not have a lot of knowledge in this area (which is fully understandable as I myself didn't notice this until seeing others discuss it), is that ROP just looks like the most rough approximation of fantasy attire, whilst Peter Jackson's films look like the characters. One is simply to remind people of the genre, the other is to remind people of the story

[@neliaferreira9983]

*cos-play

[@creaturefeaturecosplay]

Gandalf was just the Iron Giant. Fell from the sky, doesn't remember why he was sent, can't talk, doesn't understand death at first, accidentally causes problems with his powers, and then when the climactic moment happens, he goes "I'm Superman".

[@wohargRadu]

Amazon corrupted and desecrated virtually everything in Tolkien's work. Time scale contracted from 3500 years to 1 week, space scales contracted from 1000 km to 10 km, good turned to bad and bad turned to good, wisdom turned in arrogance and craziness, Elves lost their beauty and majesty, Hobbits became small vicious murderous creatures, Sauron became a nice guy who just wants to be left alone and do some creative smithing .... This is too much to admit that it has happened by accident or incompetence, it must have been done on purpose out of spite, hate and hubris. Hence the producers and writers are pure evil. QED.

[@hyvakoira]

hank you for the best laugh for weeks! The gut wounded guy forced to spend 6 days on horseback and Shatner jokes :))))

[@Edd25164605]

'You're holding the map upside down!'. Damn that made me laugh 🤣 😆

[@burtreynoldz6308]

Got this video as a random recommendation and greatly enjoyed it.

[@brianbaker5671]

I’m 57 I read LOTR 1st at 13. Loved it. Re-read it and all JRR’s works many times. Quite enjoyed Jackson’s adaptation, especially the extended version. 2 1/2 episodes was all I could stand of season one GREAT JOB JEFF!!😢

[@LittlePhizDorrit]

I noped out after the first episode. I almost shut it off after the whole "boats look up" conversation. It was so dumb it broke me. I continued for a bit to verify that there would be more awful dialogue, characters, modern day ideology and girl bosses...the first episode did NOT disappoint. I relied on KZbin people like Mauler to finish it off for me. He makes money watching this S#!7, I don't. (Like you, I read the Silmarillion to make myself feel better)

[@RoseBaggins]

All the Lord of the Rings audio books are on sale this month, get them and listen to them!! I am!!

[@gregowen2022]

I actually forgot about the boats look up conversation. There was so much trash for the rest of the season, it pushed that hilarious line out of my head. I can only hold so much junk at a time!

[@zoebaggins90]

THE SEA IS ALWAYS RIGHT!

[@StorminATube]

I made it about 3/4 of the way through the first episode. And then found out that Amazon did not have the rights to the Silmarillion or anything except LOTR and The Hobbit. I’ll be forever grateful for that revelation because it meant I just straight up stopped watching and never went back.

[@omegaman2846]

This show is yet another modern example that mainstream entertainment has largely forgotten why people enjoy stories. Rings of Power is a show that’s ultimately so self indulgent from its creators perspective that it is useless to anyone who doesn’t think exactly like them or has an identical personal experience. The vanity of thinking you are so interesting that people will be entertained by your half-baked concepts permeates this series.

[@gregowen2022]

Bullseye. These folks are insanely egotistical, and their interviews are nauseating. They refuse to be entertainers

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

"They refuse to be entertainers" sounds right. And they're offended that people think that they should go out of their way (aka expend any effort) to be entertaining to someone who doesn't think like them, who isn't entertained by the exact same things... when they're the ones who went into the *entertainment business* and demanded our attention in the first place!

[@KororaPenguin]

@@gregowen2022 On the bright side, you could get clean, renewable energy for the whole of Tol Luinhoth--England, Wales, and Scotland alike--by hooking a drive belt to Tolkien in his grave.

[@diacor4life489]

I hope they continue to explain more about why ships float and rock sink

[@MrDeothor]

8:05 i had problems with my gallbladder. At one point i felt like i had stab wound. The pain was impeding my ability to talk coherently. When i saw how the dude is supposedly chilling hile being pierced by a blade... i got really annoyed.

[@NicholasCancelliere]

The Rings of Power feels more like Amazon's fan fiction than a faithful adaptation of Tolkien's work. It deviates significantly from the established lore: the Istari weren't present in the Second Age, the Rings are created out of order, and Galadriel's portrayal as a warrior woman and her relationship with Sauron don't align with Tolkien's writings.

[@oldbittercraig3513]

Greg, if I hadn't of subbed months ago, and I were drinking coffee, I would have simultaneously subbed and billed you for damaged laptop for the "she belongs in the Hunter's Dream" bit. A Hoonter Must Hoont!

[@knightterror8489]

I'm glad to see this channel in my feed again.

[@Jaasau]

This is the single greatest review of this show I have seen. Hilarious. You earned a sub. And no, you aren’t missing anything in Tolkien’s work about nonsensical engineering in Mordor. They made it up.

[@db.1304]

I just tried doing everything I couldn't but in a way that would work, and it changed my life!! Thank you Greg and Rings of Power for imparting such wisdom!!

[@WeakestAvenger]

Celebrimbor isn't the greatest smith to ever live. That would be Feanor (unless you count Aule, though I'm sure some argue Feanor is still better). Although, he was Celebrimbor's grandfather.

[@fractalfae5418]

In the show Celebrimbor looks like a grandfather. The show doesn't get Tolkien's elves at all.

[@Maryondo]

​Celebrimbors Grandfather tried to date Galadriel. Keep that in mind when you look at the age difference in the show ^^

[@zoebaggins90]

@@Maryondo Yes, Galadriel is supposed to be 3500 years old already in the show.

[@missAlice1990]

@@fractalfae5418 More like a grandmother to me but yeah.

[@wolfsruhm]

@@Maryondo no he did not. She was his niece, and was born after Feanor already had a family of his own, being the ELDER brother of her father. And albeit elves not being to picky about their relationships, she and her family weren't too fond of Feanor, as they deemed him a bit too arrogant and full of his status as the eldest son of the first King of the Noldor. Though the were swayed by his impassioned speech about going back to middleearth and make war against Morgoth who just had killed said King (aka Galadriels Grandfather) and stolen the great4est of al elven works, the Simirils

[@GaioSamurai]

Oh no, Greg... not the Nouveau Riche analogy. Are we really dropping back 100 years to explain hack writers? It's so accurate too...

[@agrocreepers]

yes i to love being able to stand in pryclastic flow that travels a speed between 100kmh- 700kmh and temperatures that reach up to 1800degrees celsius

[@KororaPenguin]

With apologies to Mark Twain: The volcano sword is really a sublime burst of invention; but it does not thrill, because the inaccuracy of details throws a sort of air of fictitiousness and general improbability over it.

[@gcjproductions6789]

We demand the Owens Cut of the Acolyte review!!! I don't care how long the video is 😂

[@gregowen2022]

Hahaha. I bit off sooooo much more than I could chew. But I’ve been taking small bites. Current cut is about 2h20m, and I feel like the first hour and half could go live right now. So I’m going to try a live premiere next Friday!

[@gcjproductions6789]

@@gregowen2022 🙌

[@joelvannatta3266]

The reason that I can just laugh at rings of power instead of getting angry is because the Canon of middle-earth is finished. It starts and ends with tolkien. There is no one who can add to or take away from that in the same way as other franchises, like star trek, star wars, or doctor who. Whether it is rings of power, shadow of mordor, or even the Peter Jackson films, they are merely fanfictions (of various quality) of the official Canon.

[@OverthinkingStories]

Thank you for your sacrifice in watching this for us and "The Croods" clip. Maybe you can talk about why the book is good later?

[@hue_jazz59]

Feels like it has been weeks since ya uploaded . Good to see ya back, Mr Owen . Have a great day

[@gregowen2022]

Whew, it really has. I bit off too much on the Acolyte, but I’m going to premiere that bad boy next Friday and I’ll feel like Frodo after tossing that ring in

[@hue_jazz59]

@gregowen2022 marking my calender Get it going, Owen !✊️✊️

[@GErkens-z8p]

I had strong doubts about The Rings of Power before it was released. I watched a couple critics on KZbin savage it, and I thought, "It can't be THAT bad." Then I watched the first 1.75 episodes, and it wasn't as bad as people said it was. I was actually worse, and it got even worse as the series went on. During the initial episodes I found myself laughing during scenes that I know they were not intending to be funny.

[@queenzelda1221]

Scamdolf hahaha xD I love this name for him xD you did an amazing job!

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you so much!

[@Ladykyra101]

OMG, Meryl ate that role. Loved Maranda. Now could never work for a boss like that, but still doesn't detract from the fact that Sis worked it. "Devil Wears Prada" and "13 Going on 30" were two of my favorite movies. 👌🏾

[@davidbernhardt8634]

Thank you, laughed out loud at least 5 times. Good stuff.

[@gregowen2022]

Success!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you

[@KineticCode]

babbling oaf gandalf suddenly remembers how to think and speak for no reason, then after regaining all of his eloquence he screams "i'm good". god this show is good

[@gregowen2022]

Linguist Tolkien would be rage crying right now. Seeing what was made of his work would be his own personal Ludovico torture

[@cameronpetie8318]

You would think with the budget they had for this show that they would have hired a metallurgist, a medieval war expert, a Tolkien expert... oh yeah he left/ was fired! Money spent on the wrong things.

[@belegur8108]

Tom Shippey, the fired Tolkien expert, had an unsanctioned interview with a German fan-site, stating his concerns, that with the limited rights to the source material, Amazon would be hard pressed to depict the second age in a way that was respectful to the lore... and my oh my was he right with his fears... oh, and he was gone 1 week after the interview...

[@Veylon]

I think the worst expense was the quarter billion spent on the partial rights. They could've bought the entire rights to multiple franchises with that kind of money with millions left over. They clearly weren't interested in following Tolkien's vision, so why not buy a much cheaper IP that's already in line with what they want?

[@Sketch_XR]

*internal hollering as I remember all the ridiculous beyond parody scenes from Season 1*

[@MumRah]

We've got a "couple" friends that are like this. They have legit the worst taste in things. ex: they bought a giant house in the country on a massive and mostly unusable lot then proceeded to remodel and furnish it with super modern furniture and a giant marble fire place mantle that I can only describe as the monolith from 2001 A Space Odyssey. 🤣

[@ArcaneZippity]

Thanks for the video commentary/review... Your stuff is always hilarious as well as informative and honest... I tried watching the series, but after episode 2 I had to call it quits... It was not capturing my interest, plus it felt artificial... They wanted us to think it was on par with Peter's Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the way they did the visuals to sort of match up... But because they do not own the rights to any real story elements from Tolkien's works, they are pretty much making everything up, outside of names from the appendices and some member-berries... There is A LOT of this going on in Hollywood, where writers/directors/producers want to inject themselves and their personal ideologies and stories into an IP they truly do not understand or are passionate about... They can claim they are passionate about staying true to Tolkien till the cows comes home, but it shows up instead as fanfiction instead... They have agendas on top of having the wrong people, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, so we end up with a wrong show... Supposedly, they are adding a bunch of war/battle scenes in season 2, in order to add more action, which the 1st season didn't have... Treating all of season 1 as just some sort of prelude and/or introduction season... I wish these people would stop this nonsense, and just give us full stories in a season if it is not going to be episodic in nature... The next seasons can be expanding stories, each unique to the next... The whole TV Series being a super long movie crap is so tiresome... The TV Show "24" started this whole trend, and I can't stand it... But that is a different issue...

[@BiriBiri925]

While watching Rings of Power, I actually felt like I was transported to Idiocracy. Truly this movie is prophetic.

[@taylorbaggins0922]

Funny you should say televised sleep-aid because I actually fell asleep trying to watch the first season 😂

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

Imagine spending A BILLION DOLLARS to make a piece of art and the audience is falling asleep while watching it.

[@timwhite5562]

"when Amazon pitched the Rings of Power loaf onto the TV lawn." 😂 Preach on! That was awesome. 🤣

[@Philistine47]

I knew I would skip this show when it was revealed, pretty early on IIRC, that they were planning to base an entire multi-season show on - not _The Silmarillion,_ but *PART* of *ONE* of the *APPENDICES* of LoTR. Obviously there was no way that was ever going to work. Every subsequent press release confirmed that decision - even before... and then the reviews started coming in. And the best part? As I understand it, they're contractually obligated to turn this LOLcow into something ridiculous like *5 seasons'* worth of episodic content.

[@gregowen2022]

Yeah, I think Amazon is fully committed to 5 seasons. Yikes. I had heard the same stuff, that they only had the rights to some vague appendix entries, so they had less than a skeleton and had to construct the story whole cloth. It shows. It shows so hard

[@christophercatiller2422]

“The Ben Shapiro listening face” I will never see her any differently now. Thanks. Lol

[@xelaander8429]

The Jay Lo clip insert is killign me, never change my guy, never change

[@Chili1179]

You know what's really funny? I don't watch a lot of the shows you do these reviews on nor do I really care if they succeed or fail but I watch your reviews of them (and Pitch Meeting's) and enjoy getting a perspective that doesn't feel like a fangirl reviewer, professional media reviewer nor a hate watch reviewer. Love your reviews, you're underrated.

[@jonathanbowling3129]

Excellent synopsis! Hitting the subscribe button!

[@Vandal1985]

I watched this still born production and came away super unimpressed - but, I couldn’t figure out why. Everything you said explains my sentiments lol

[@chadpt]

Thanks!

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you so much!

[@randymagnum8178]

I would be down for an entire video of you pronouncing names and locations in the most pretentious way possible. You are gifted .

[@JackChurchill101]

I always assumed that Sauron made mount doom burst into fire with magic, or something, as it happens at key military cycles. Then it covers the area with smoke, which means orcs can work 24/7. Actually it was an intricate geological engineering, which requires a dam of water to recharge - anyone with the blueprints can activate mount doom, so long as they have the key.

[@ClaymoreLinx]

22:54 - Excellent Bloodborne reference 10/10

[@JonSnow-YThandle]

BenShapiroListeningFace! 😂nice one!

[@sheadoolittle]

I actually did turn it off at about the same point you said we should. Galadriel jumping off the boat was the end for me. I think I saw her go over a shark…in the first episode.

[@elbanditouk]

My GF and I are Gregulars - keep up the good work. Your videos are super entertaining and really insightful - some of the best content I've ever seen on The Tubes. 👍👍

[@BrightVictory308]

Love the Tenacious D reference 😂 "This is an alloy...for the ladies..."

[@battra92]

Ben Shapiro listening face is a phrase I didn't know I needed.

[@solicitr666]

Well, I'm glad you have the stomach to pay attention to this tripe. Somebody has to.