What the HELL was THAT?! RINGS OF POWER episode 5 REVIEW

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

"there is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery" - Treebeard

[@oswaldthatendswald7904]

Are you talking about your life story?

[@Raximus3000]

Wokeness.

[@fantasymusicinmiddleearth]

True dat

[@NovRen19]

Heresy eventually perishes after it's lies are made naked and clear upon the sight of those it hopes to blind! EXSURGE TOLKIEN COUNTER RINGS OF POWER HERESY!

[@NovRen19]

@@Raximus3000 wicked obstinate killjoy extremists...bravo!

[@danielbennett3984]

When Gil-Galad asks Elrond, "Did the dwarves find the magical ore or not?", and Elrond responds, "I swore to Durin I'd never tell!", the High King would already know the answer is obviously YES. If someone answers a yes or no question "I swore I'd never tell!," the answer is obviously NOT "no."

[@haku8135]

Just to add to the list of obvious stupidity. Why were all those barrels tapped? Barrels of wine or ale or..... BLOODY NITROGLYCERINE APPARENTLY, don't go around TAPPED. Taps are things you jab into the barrel when you wish to pour whatever's inside it. So you'd have the barrel, JUST the barrel, deliver it to the tavern or wherever, then the owner would stab a tap into it and start serving. WHY ARE ALL THESE BARRELS OF WINE TAPPED!? DON'T BUY IT! THAT'S LIKE GOING TO THE STORE AND BUYING A JUG OF MILK THAT'S BEEN OPENED!

[@random.3665]

I thinks its more safe to say that "i swore i'd never tell" doesnt always mean "yes", it means whatever would be the answer that justifies deception/secrecy. If you are asked "are the dwarves gonna honor our agreement?", then "i swore i'd never tell" obviously doesnt mean yes, it means "no, they are not, they are planning to cross us. Thats why its a secret". But in general, you are spot on with your analysis ofc. The moment Elrond said that, he definitely gave the truth away, and therefore broke his vow.

[@bigredtlc1828]

Gary was right. Shad's having a heart attack on screen! The sword "play" is absurd!

[@calemorgan3982]

yeah I think these people who care too much about tv shows need some fresh air.. pretty sad

[@Tyarrk]

@@calemorgan3982 tell that to the people who blame movies and video games whenever a school shooting or something similar happens

[@calemorgan3982]

@@Tyarrk school shootings only happen for 1 reason. guns are legal.

[@Tyarrk]

@@calemorgan3982 that doesn´t address my comment at all, but i guess changing the subject is a valid strategy when you do not wish to argue, so well done mate and farewell.

[@MrPsych77]

@@calemorgan3982 yeah killing people is also illegal you think they're gonna care if guns are illegal?

[@MudDragon723]

Shad having conniptions over the sword “training” sequence brings me joy and concern for his health. The autopsy for this is going to be EPIC.

[@Seki09]

Watching the training scene I turned to my friend and asked: "Do you know what I'm looking forward to?" He immediately responded Shad's review :D

[@Kaldeon]

The Fight Scene Autopsy or Shad's post-conniptions autopsy?

[@Mr.PepeSilvia]

​@@Seki09 I paused it midway and had the same thought lol

[@hih2023]

I swear if they try to make a scene later where the "advice" galedriel gave "stab twist gut" apparently helps or saves someone...

[@hermitcard4494]

We're waiting for the documentary of that scene xD

[@MrCartoonCritic]

As a nomadic tribe you'd think the Harfoots would have some kind of pack animal to pull their carts.

[@neku2741]

They have child labor

[@Phanto5692]

What animal would be small enough to carry them though?

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@@Phanto5692 ponies, given their size it would be the equivalent of a horse. In LOTR Sam used a pony, until he had to let him go when entering Moria.

[@scotishpatriot]

Don‘t try to be logical! These are writers from Bad Reboot.

[@noneatall9060]

@@scotishpatriot The rejected writers from Bad Robot (even New Star Trek rejected them...this is not even parody but truth.) OK, this is the third time KZbin quoted this out of context. (Admittedly all 3 times it fit, but DAMN stop doing it. It is CREEPY.) I did not say this 3 times.

[@grantwillis2029]

My favorite part of Episode 5 was knowing Shad was gonna have a lot to say.

[@LivingWateraide]

Lol same here. As soon as I saw that scene where Guyladriel taught the Numenorians how to fight I immediately thought "Shad must be having an Aneurysm right about now" 😆

[@grantwillis2029]

@@LivingWateraide exactly! I know next to nothing about sword fighting and even i could tell it was bad. I am anxiously awaiting Shads analysis.

[@enshala6401]

Interesting ... Well apparently the anti-RoP cult is made up of narcissists who don't care about parents and kids having fun with a show that isn't 100% darkness (like GoT). I'm learning a lot about this cult...

[@nodescriptionavailable3842]

@@enshala6401 I wanted to watch it with my family, especially when they scrapped the sex scenes and went to tv14 or whatever but.. Boring A F Even if you never loved the books or PJs movies, this show sucks, there are fleeting moments that are promising but they do not deliver It's following the streaming series format of 5 minutes content stretched into an hour, 750 million lollll 😔

[@grantwillis2029]

@@enshala6401 huh? What are you even on about? Move along bot.

[@aerk120000]

The fight scene reminds me of the scene in Game of Thrones where Jon Snow bests all of the other recruits. Yet Jon Snow is called out for simply embarrassing the others but does nothing to help them get better. He then uses that reprimand to improve his attitude towards the others and actually make friends while helping them improve. What did she do besides embarrass the young soldiers who were obviously in training. Did she even bother to better teach them how to improve? Not even close.

[@thomasphillips885]

She taught them to fight with their feet and stab orcs, by having them all stand around while she flailed with swords

[@smithgdwg]

She taught them to make sure Guyladriel is there to fight all the enemies while they sit back at bathe in her Awesomeness and applaud her fight against the Patriarchy.

[@danguillou713]

Absolutely right! GoT used all their fight training scenes for cool shit like character development or advancing the plot. And they’re not alone

[@kinagrill]

and she's like 1000 years old or whatnot, so it'd like, from her POV, bullying children.

[@tomhidley6763]

She taught them to stab twist gut 😂

[@edmontonboy99]

Shad: I’m not gonna hurt you, be a good fella now and open the door. Amazon: **releases episode five** Shad: 0:19

[@chriscormac231]

*THE POWER OF CHRIST REPELS YOU* *THE POWER OF CHRIST REPELS YOU*

[@Pavel_Leonov]

his yelling is a bit similar to Mr Rottweiler's yelling from the game neighbours from hell

[@MisteRRYouTuby]

47:45. The moment his soul left the body…

[@tubedude1973]

"Sometimes, to find light, we must first touch the darkness" is exactly the type of thing, the ring would convince you to think. Gandalf wouldn't touch the ring because "I would use it to do good" and was aware of the slippery slope. The rings of power contradicts tolkiens basic morale...

[@troydodson9641]

That's a nice sentiment, but how was I supposed to know that murder was wrong until I murdered him? How was I actually going to be able to understand right from wrong without being wrong? This show is driving me nuts

[@Amokra]

@@troydodson9641 well as a *shudder* advocate this could be how she learns the truth of it after all she was the bearer of one of the Rings of the Elves

[@NoscoSays]

May I just say, props to Nathan. Dude you have gotten way more comfortable in front of the camera and it shows. Well done sir!

[@petriew2018]

I think the real reason morfydd clark needed therapy after this was because she got to see the raw footage of her own fight scenes....

[@mrTannu666]

Now I know what she meant by "You have not seen what I have seen."

[@DonFatherTrump]

@@mrTannu666 She was talking about the casting couch.

[@AliceBowie]

Imagine being an young actor or actress, and finding out you got the main role in a new series based on Lord of the Rings. I imagine you'd think that you've basically got success, money, and most importantly, artistic recognition in the palm of your hand. Then, at some point, you start to realize that the show is doomed, and everyone's gonna blame you. She's got success and money, but the real ego booster isn't there. But whatever, I wish I had her problems. But she's gonna be in the position Christian Henderson found himself in. Or whatever anikin Skywalker's actor was.

[@ajohnymous5699]

Haydin Christenson and I don't think that's a fair comparison, he was hated for emulating an awkward teen with edge perfectly. He got bad dialogue from Lucas but it became a meme after a few years, he started with hate before getting love. If Morfydd told me "maybe I will be like that" I'd say "I don't think that's going to happen. It wasn't particularly silly enough to be oddly charming, not much meme potential. You're going to receive praise for what you are by some, hate by most for what you weren't, and your work will be remembered for it's price tag and poor quality." A few of these people will have careers but they're not going to be great like what the GOT or LOTR cast had. I'd say she's going to be like 6/10 of an Ahmed Best- not universally detested but the hate will outweigh the empty praise. "You were a strong woman who didn't need no man" and descriptors for what her character wasnt can only carry her so far.

[@semtex86]

Galadriel should learn from this quote: “The smallest dog barks the loudest.” A confident man doesn’t feel a need to prove that he’s confident. A rich woman doesn’t feel a need to convince anybody that she’s rich.” - Mark Manson

[@enshala6401]

Nice try. Obviously, you are not a leader in real life.

[@noneatall9060]

@@enshala6401 Pot. Kettle. Black. 'Nuff said.

[@aperson9847]

This quote sums up LOTR Galadriel versus RoP Guyladriel. The real Galadriel just has to walk in a room and everyone around her feels like they should probably be on their knees. Guyladriel's a tryhard who can only earn respect if it's contrived by a writer's room.

[@ian-flanagan]

But can it bring the moon down?

[@Tyarrk]

not sure why, but Mr. Manson´s quote kinda sounds like coping to me.

[@templarwhiskey8167]

Speaking of Guyladriel...I wonder why so many people think angry and loud equates to strength....my father taught me and I learned that it is usually the quiet ones that you have to watch. They have the strength to get things done and the confidence within that they don't need to be angry or loud.

[@semtex86]

“The smallest dog barks the loudest.” A confident man doesn’t feel a need to prove that he’s confident. A rich woman doesn’t feel a need to convince anybody that she’s rich.” - Mark Manson

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

there's a saying in Spain: "a dog that keeps barking, rarely bites" oh, btw, the answer to your question is that they live in social media more than in the real world. But yeah, I still find it baffling too.

[@towelman8589]

Did she use a sword at all in the lore? Obviously I haven't read the books but is she an expert swordsman or more of a mage?

[@Diogolindir]

@@towelman8589 Galadriel's lore is a little bit messy in the first 2 ages but she is described as athletic(that doesnt mean she is a fierce warrior) and she is famous for have the skill to read your intentions/feelings something like that but at the same time she keeps a fair judgement about people (with the exception of Fëanor) she never really liked the guy. It is also implied that she uses magic but magic in Tolkien's world is a very abstract concept so its hard to tell exactly how her powers work

[@towelman8589]

@@Diogolindir Thanks for breaking her lore down for me. She doesn't really sound like she should be portrayed as an expert with a sword.

[@telephoneradio]

Ep 4 Numenor ending: “get the ships ready, let’s sail to middle earth Ep 5 Numenor ending: “get the ships ready, let’s go to middle earth” Ep 4 southlands ending: “the orcs are coming, we should surrender” Ep 5 southlands ending: “the orcs are coming, we should surrender” Ep 3 harfoots ending: “the stranger is mysterious, he does good and bad things” Ep 5 harfoots ending: “The stranger is mysterious, he does good and bad things” This is the most pointless and aimless show ever, this is the last Jedi all over again, a bunch of things happen but at the end we’re at the same spot we started at. The only thing I like is Elrond and Durin, the actors have good chemistry together, the storyline is dumb and full of plot holes but at least their interactions are fun.

[@Tyarrk]

nah, this is worse than TLJ,. There at least a bunch of extras died.

[@Sock-Monster-Simian]

Yeah, that's the real twist. We all thought Halbrand was Sauron, well they sure showed us; it was Galadriel all along.

[@manolgeorgiev9664]

Not Sauron might actually have wanted to not be Sauron, but Galadriel pulled a Sauron on him and gaslight him to become Sauron.

[@chubbyninja89]

@@manolgeorgiev9664 Yeah, that's what I was going to say. He was once evil and decided to forsake his evil ways and live among mortals, but then he met Guyladriel and she manipulated and twisted him back onto the path of evil.

[@Zhiltsova]

Just suffered through 5th Episode, now it's time for real show! :D Thanks for 3 hours of fun!!

[@oswaldthatendswald7904]

Living your life must be a suffering.

[@queenberuthiel5469]

Nah mate. Wait til Season 3. 😉

[@kalebblair4073]

Same

[@Mj0Skyver]

@@oswaldthatendswald7904 Making a good argument must be torment for you. 😉

[@bloodlung4447]

@@oswaldthatendswald7904 💩

[@duke68318]

During the “training” session scenes it would have been nice to see military ranks that are not from our world. Instead of lieutenant they could have used an Elvish word for “battle group leader” considering Numenor has had serious Elven influence since it’s founding. Yet another hole in a Swiss cheese production.

[@Grandwigg]

Even the drunk Antonio Banderas (iirc) in Mask is Zorro had it better- "Stick the pointy end in the other person." I want to watch that movie again, now.

[@matiasluukkanen7718]

And what is worse, they actually have those ranks in the lore. Ohtar/Esquire/warrior/armsman is a young man who has not yet earned the rank of a knight/roquen. Who quite possibly seem to have a similar status as Equites in Rome. Ciryatur means Master of the Ships, and is theorized to have been Numenorian title equivalent of an admiral. Hesto would mean a captain. Another Quenya word is cáno, meaning “commander” or “leader”, but this is associated with social leadership - sort of similar to chieftain or lord. One of Tolkien's note suggests the word originally meant “herald, crier”. So a Cáno would have been the deputy or appointed representative of a leader. I am sure those more knowledgable in the lore would know more titles.

[@fantasywind3923]

@@matiasluukkanen7718 that's a good point! Though I guess it's because the info is in The Unfinished Tales to which they had no rights? Though those are words from elvish languages so they theoretically could use more of that (it's surprising that so far there is so little of elven tongue used in the show!!! Tolkien was a linguist, but since they cannot even follow the lore of the hobbit naming convention, hint: they should not have the surnames YET :) and there would be no Sadoc Burrows especially when the Harfoots who are hole builders in lore ARE NOT BURROWING at all in the show, at best there would be only Sadoc, single name, then there also would be no Elanor, that name is of elvish origin etc.), the rank of the lieutenant does exist in Middle-earth, we know of two famous ones in Mordor armies Lieutenant of Barad-dur, the herald and ambassador, Mouth of Sauron, and the Lieutenant of Morgul, Gothmog, who was Witch-king's second in command in the Battle of Pelennor, but the Numenoreans indeed could have been using those terms like ohtar, roquen etc. but the show apparently makes the Numenor have no army at all! No professional soldiers?! Come on writers! They also could have used terms like Warden, Captain-General, like those in Gondor (Boromir for example was High Warden of the White Tower and Captain-general of Gondor), good example with the admiral Ciryatur we also have the title of the Captain of Ships (in Gondor it was official title rank of Castamir, who later became the usurper king, he seems to have had authority over fleets of Gondor and general power over all maritime matters), Aldarion when he was still heir to the throne of Numenor hold title of Lord of Ships and Havens, and Master of Forests, those titles in particular ventured beyond the militaristic, they included more civilian manner of management (he was commanding all matters regarding the ports and ships in Numenor and managed the wood/timber resources for the shipbuilding industry) with the portrayal of Numenor at this stage it would be problem wiht consistency, as they apparently at this point already banned elvish languages, yet still they have queen regent with elven name so one would think they should still use the elven terms of ranks and offices (it's also interesting to note that in terms of the use of roquen, as knight, in Numenor they had little of horsemen, but still the title would remain vestigial, for Numenor had been rather known for it's infantry, the show wants to make them cavalry, though Numenoreans did have skills as riders and loved horses they rarely used them in war this way, only later with Gondor some evolution of miltiary doctrine sees the Numenorean/Dunedain forming their own mounted forces properly, the horsemen Swan Knights of Dol Amroth).

[@masontrupe9047]

That kind of thing would imply they give a flying fork about world-building and are not simply content with Morgothian levels of corruption of the existing IP.

[@TeutonicKnight92]

It probably should be in Adûnaic as this is kinda supposed to be the latter days of Numenor

[@jt8568]

Anyone get the feeling this was originally supposed to be a Dragon Age TV show, and that mythril was originally Lyrium. It would explain a lot.

[@PatrickCoyle23]

Yes. And this isn’t the first example either. You had the “knife ear” comment which is straight from DA, and you had the allegory for king Marick too

[@jeffcardwell1800]

Well that’s what happens when you just steal a little bit of everything from everywhere

[@PatrickCoyle23]

@@jeffcardwell1800 it really is!

[@RunesandReapers]

Yes! It really feels like DA

[@joehonan1773]

Agee, also leaving food and livestock while going to the tower would make sense if they were infected by the blight

[@MacBorin]

Isildur apparently went to the Ork school of hiding stuff. "Just put some cloth over it and it will never be discovered."

[@Dave3Dman]

During the scene where the 3 harfoot ladies were so awkwardly struggling just to run at a mere snails pace I couldnt stop hearing the voice of Gollum in my head saying "stupid fat hobbit"

[@MacBorin]

This whole: "You have to touch darkness to know light." stick is the very opposite of what Tolkien wrote. I think one of Tolkiens main themes is "It is acts of goodness, that will safe you, even if they seem to be to your disadvantage at the time. Doing bad things out of good intent will destroy you and you will not achieve your original goal." Examples include, but are not limited to: Frodo sparing Gollum, so he falls into mount doom with the one ring in the end. Rohan not allying with Saruman. Rohan coming to the aid of Gondor. Everybody going to the battle at the black gate. Everybody beeing compelled to use the one ring out of a desire to do good (Gandalf, Galadriel, Boromir, Feanor, Aragorn...) Saruman using a palantir, ending up allying with Sauron. Denethor Using a palantir, nearly ending up destroying Gondor out of desperation.

[@LindyLime]

Yes I love that theme in Tolkien's books! Some other examples are when Aragorn chooses to save Merry and Pippin from the orcs instead of tracking down the ring bearer, and Sam choosing to go after Frodo when the orcs capture him instead of finishing the quest himself. And of course this terrible show gets it all wrong.

[@MacBorin]

Brilliant examples! And it has to be intentional. You couldn't miss this theme, even if you only saw the movies, because it's everywhere in Tolkiens story. And the "Touch darkness to know light"-Theme is EVERYWHERE in RoP. It's the very first thing they tell us in the prolog and it dominates all the storylines.

[@christinarusso8303]

You guys literally save my soul. I can always count on these Friday videos to salvage the wreck of the week’s crappiness. I’m just sorry it’s at the expense of your sanity 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

[@enshala6401]

Oh really? And what does your soul crave? GoT?

[@noneatall9060]

@@enshala6401 Your soul's death? I know this is an insult that flies over your head.

[@enshala6401]

@@noneatall9060 I am so not surprised that is your wish. Sociopaths are a thing.

[@Mj0Skyver]

@@enshala6401 Yes, you're a fine example of it. 💜

[@veeclash4157]

The Galadriel 'Instructional Swordplay' scene was on the level of 3rd graders waving around toy swords in the playground. Were they so STUPID they didn't think to hire a professional fight choreographer or were they just so ARROGANT that they thought they could pull it off without bringing in top notch help?! BTW the costumes look cheap and nonauthentic, I felt like they bought the scale mail from the Halloween discount bin at Wal Mart! LOL

[@nerdyempress6745]

Orcs couldn't travel during the day in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, that's why Sauron had to cover the land in Darkness. In the book Minas Tirith was covered in a thick dark, unnatural cloud, indicating that the orcs can now travel at any time. And it also why Saruman's army of Uruk-hai were a thing to be feared because they could travel by the light of day.

[@robertbryant8243]

There was a point in The Two Towers, while the orcs were conveying Merry and Pippin to Isengard, where the Mordor orcs refused to continue because the sun was up, and the Uruk-hai mocked them and left them behind. Orcs get tired and lethargic in sunlight; it doesn't burn them like the predators in Pitch Black.

[@troydodson9641]

Reading comments of lore druids makes me want to read the actual books. That sounds badass as background for the conflict I was seeing in the movies

[@Amokra]

@@troydodson9641 also the fact that the Orcs are tortured elves and the Uruk-hai were tortured orcs

[@ShellBella1012]

I’m rooting for Sauron at this point.

[@Amokra]

Welcome to the Dark Side ... over there are the cookies :)

[@rahn45]

That "sword fight" scene was nothing but a reskinned High School Fist Fight with incredibly bad choreography in where they tried to make it look like the Matrix, but instead had to have their actors keep running into the sword. The only thing they were missing was having her attempt a wall run and flip, but I guess the actress wasn't up for it considering she needed therapy to get through that miserable scene.

[@a_good_rat]

In the Hobbit movies (don't come at me) they switch to Dwarvish whenever they swear, and I liked that idea quite a lot since it communicated rage or frustration with rough Khuzdul sounds but didn't actually put profanity in the films. It's not that hard, folks.

[@toddpacker1015]

Hobbits movies are great aside from the first one. Tauriel is bae 😍

[@kinagrill]

They did the same thing in like, Star Trek TNG - with slurs and such being in klingon or Romulan.

[@rooksed]

Isnt it funny how galadriel rarely smiles while elrond rarely frowns while in the original trilogy its the opposite for both characters? Its as if these writers never saw the OT

[@WoodstarForges]

I mean, character development is a thing.

[@matthijsdresscher8862]

Least they could do was read the books before buying xD

[@Amokra]

Are you saying ... she should smile more (dun dun dunnn) :)

[@KevDaly]

On the Elven afterlife: they go to the Halls of Mandos, but it's not until the last battle, just until they've worked out some rough edges and been healed of the mental scars of life. Then they are re-embodied in Valinor. At least one Elf known by name was killed in Middle Earth and later returned to Middle Earth: Glorfindel, who helped Frodo escape the Ringwraiths in the Fellowship of the Ring (in the film he was replaced by Arwen). He had died back in the First Age slaying a Balrog during the fall of Gondolin. Glorfindel 2.0 is a very powerful Elf lord, almost like a Maia. The one Elf who we are explicitly told *won't* be released from The Halls of Mandos before the Dagor Dagorath is Fëanor, because he has been A Very Bad Boy and has been sent to his room to think about what he did. As for that "armour": I stick with my contention on Shad's armour video that it's hardened layers of discarded fishnet stockings. It's obvious really.

[@ThePopeski]

Elves can be reborn before the Final Battle. there are a few cases attested to in the Silmarillion (pg 176) "but Finrod walks with Finarfin beneath the trees in Eldamar" and since Finarfin did not participate in the flight of the Noldor and did not die, I can only surmise he was reborn in Valinor. as well as Luthien Tinuviel is reborn she sorrows that Beren in not there and so moved by her song of sadness was Mandos that be brought Beren back (glossing over some stuff version), and they both went back to middle-earth for a mortal life. Lastly, Glorfindel dies fighting a Balgrog defending Gondolin and is reborn and even returns to Middle-Earth. EDIT: Glorfindel being the same person is not completely attested too. as far as I understand Tolkien had two versions of Glorfindel and never explicitly stated which was cannon (a common problem, he wrote and edited his work for his whole life, often rewriting parts).

[@Puma5]

That’s really curious that Glorfindel from Rivendell should be the same Glorfindel as the one from Gondolin. Where did you get this info? To my knowledge they are completely different elves sharing nothing but the name.

[@ThePopeski]

@@Puma5 I am looking currently through my book of lost tales with commentary from Christopher, I swear there was a line about how in early adaptations many elves who were valiant were reborn, but again he changed it a lot. I tend to only know what I read as a child "the book of lost tales", "the Silmarillion", and "the Unfinished" I had no Internet to consolidate the changes across each. and again he changed his writings. My 1977 simarillion has older words (gnome) and has Turgon's family tree different from the later ones.

[@ML-cc7gj]

@@ThePopeski Yes, it's been almost 20 years since I read the History of Middle-Earth and Sil and Unfinished Tales, and it was all there. The topic of is Glorfindel 1 and 2 the same or not was a changing one that Tolkien kept editing. I cannot be sure but I think it used to be the same Glorfy before and he edited it to not be so later. Also, Finrod was the first/only Noldor to be released from the Halls of Mandos and being reunited with his love Amarie, who did not go to Middle-earth. But it might have been that in the later edits, Tolkien changed that too and it was that Finrod would be the first to get out but he was not yet. I've yet to get The Nature of Middle-earth, which probably has more about all of this.

[@Amokra]

@@ML-cc7gj which is why Gandalf was able to return as he is an Elf as well; but, speaking of elven history why has no one talked about the fact Orcs are from tortured elves which is why they are hated so much by elves so to compare another elf to an orc would basically to compare them to a horrifical creature not just a inglorious race. Can't believe spell check knew Gandalf

[@bcluett1697]

"not the King you wanted" Feels like they wrote a speech from a widowed parent to a child.

[@braddl9442]

How did she all the sudden become the leader? Also what is with hollywood obsession over the title king. She would be a queen?

[@Amokra]

all I could think was .. these are not the droids you are looking for *shrug*

[@dorvinion]

As absurd as the notion of the Elves needing the light of a Silmaril to survive, every evening the Star of Eärendil, the light of a Silmaril is visible. They have daily access to its light. Galadriel later captures some of its light in a Phial she gave to Frodo.

[@dudemantype]

When I saw that fight scene, I could sense Shad's intense rage all the way here in the UK, booming and ominous, like when the Balrog announces it's presence in Moria.

[@melvinloyalist6758]

Shad’s ballistic outbursts of rage towards this show is therapy for my soul. Godspeed Knight’s Watch and thank you for your efforts.

[@m.b.boyack2228]

2:01:00 Elrond discusses with Celebrimbor how torn he is feeling about breaking his oath with Prince Durin, by revealing the existence of Mithril to others, especially King Gil-galad, who has questioned Elrond about it, all while literally breaking his oath to Durin, by admitting Mithril's existence to Celebrimbor and showing him the sample piece he was permitted to keep. Absolute stellar writing!

[@Olivia-W]

Elrond swearing any kind of oath in the first place was already wtf for me, breaking it so casually was the rotten cherry on top of the spoiled cake..

[@TheStacanova]

When Halbrand tells Galadriel “you don’t know what I’ve done to survive, etc.” what do you think that is? What if Halbrand comes out & says “I’ve lived with the Harfoots & adopted their ways, there’s no coming back from that”?

[@CarrionCrow993]

Master swordswoman and commander Galadriel: Stab, twist, gut. 10 year old Arya Stark (when she gets her first sword from Jon): stick em with the pointy end.

[@RoninDave]

I think the mithril-creation myth coupled with it being needed to save Elves from their cancer is the biggest lore breaker in a show full of lore breaking which will be the finally straw for many Tolkien fans as it breaks fundamental concepts of Tolkien's works. Only the dim-witted casual fans will find this plotline intriguing rather than the forced soap opera medical drama that it is.

[@Olivia-W]

It broke me. It barely makes any sense as a myth, and zero sense said by Elrond, who of all elves, should know better.

[@RoninDave]

@@Olivia-W yeah and it's a further wedge between real Tolkien fans and those who never really understood him. Tolkien wrote myth. He didn't write soap operas or comic books. As such he was very careful in how he wrote things to unfold. Like myths, his heroes don't succeed or fail simply because the story needs dramatic tension or a cheap gimmick to shock the audience. Having a silmaril return and be part of some ridiculous origin myth for mithril which is needed to cure the Elves is a cheap bit of melodramatic writing worthy of a daytime soap opera. It fools the dim-witted into thinking its somehow deep when it's really incredibly shallow and trite.

[@Tyarrk]

just goes to show the writers desperate attempt to hide their lack of talent. These fuckers could try for a hundred years and wouldn´t even come close to Tolkin, and they know it.

[@tomspiegel5322]

Wow, Shad almost died at the beginning there! Good thing he's got Popeye-like strength and fury. He eats his spinach, I take it?

[@mrgrumblebum7613]

How to kill an orc; stab them with the pointy end, but not somewhere vital, not the heart, go for the gut. That was not even the worst of it all for me. One of the greatest annoyances for me in E5 was that the advisor guy would not stop the war for all the salt in the sea in the afternoon but in the evening after losing just two ships to 'an unidentified passing brigand' (gods they are thick), he does a 180 and advises to wait, they declare there will be a court meeting tomorrow to make a final decision and the next scene is them marching to war. What happened at the meeting? we know that most of the court are against the war from a previous scene and now the advisor, the one single person that was holding them to the war, is now against it so the meeting should have overwhelmingly been against sending troops but no, suddenly everyone is off to war being cheered on their way by every soul in Numenor. I can only hope that the missing court scene had a fantastic persuasive argument from the Queen and Galadriel, so cleverly scripted and performed that they turned everyone's opinion from fervent opposition to ardent support, it must have been a truly great scene with powerful well written dialogue and passionate delivery, rich with protestations of shared histories and ancient bonds, stirring up deep seated pride in the shared culture and the honour of Numenor , but sadly it ended up on the cutting room floor since it would have been entirely out of character with every other scene so far.

[@rovhalt6650]

I guess them blowing up the ships sort of became a 9/11, but without all the death.

[@jpeg.jordaan]

Talking about the perils... immediately start loudly singing in terrain where it would echo letting said perils know where you are lol

[@zviratko]

Halbrand is Sauron, who decided to quit and live a peaceful life (or maybe he was trying to get to Valinor?). But Galadriel is such a cow that she forces and manipulates him to return. The reveal of the season will be Halbrand standing on a hill and people welcoming him - "You have returned.... Sauron!" - and Galadriel will be in shock, will do something monumentaly dumb (because she's an idiot) and turn Sauron to evil again. This show has nothing to do with Tolkien anymore. It is pure fiction and it is bad fiction. The plot(s) make no sense. Take the Elrond's oath for example - he did not break it, but it makes no sense. The elves already knew about mithril, Celebrimbor says he studied it (so he must have some), so this whole interrogation of Elrond by Gil-galad makes no sense. What secret is he supposedly keeping now?? Unless there is some massive fakeout coming, like "Ooooh, it was actually 6 separate timelines happening hundreds of years apart! It all makes sense now!" then this show is at best a nonsensical and fragmented fan-fiction stitched together with pretty good CGI. If a fakeout is happening then it's also insulting and thinking it's the cleverest thing no doubt.

[@TRivan-kx2bi]

Or they'll reveal that this entire show is a nightmare that Celeborn was having in the Third Age.

[@thomasphillips885]

I don't see how that can keep Galadriel as a likeable character if she's the one who brought him back.

[@hobbes1887]

@@TRivan-kx2bi "damn batch of bad lembas"

[@TRivan-kx2bi]

@@hobbes1887 Exactly, it caused a tempest in him!

[@kinagrill]

@@thomasphillips885 oh they most likely will, cuz it'd make elf king leader person's 'Galadriel hunting for evil would cause evil to return' or whatever the hell it was.

[@SeantheBawse]

Even the corrected full re-upload isn't safe from me and my quest! SHAD, review A Knight's Tale! Not-yet-over and out!

[@darktenor4967]

The diversity in this series is truly amazing! Who knew Galadriel would be there to represent all of the Amber Heards in the audience! Finally! there is a character who represents manipulative narcissists everywhere, making Tolkien truly accessible for the first time.

[@rovhalt6650]

"There is an Amber Heard in me!"

[@Phanto5692]

Amber-driel.

[@LindyLime]

Does that mean Huan is going to step on a bee? (That's the hound of Valinor from the Silmarillion)

[@darktenor4967]

@@LindyLime I don't know if Huan will step on a bee, but you can bet Galadriel will remind us of the man who made the world believe he had silmarils on his head! And of course, we all know that Angband had parakeeted floors.

[@japanesekoreanfan2]

24:42 I thought it was wine or something alcoholic when he first bashed out the bungs, but if you watch the liquid after the first spurts, it's clearly oil in those barrels. I agree that the explosions would not have happened, but it would explain how quickly the two boats burned.

[@L.Alchemy]

The Best Line In "Rings of Power" (so far): "Give me the meat, and give it to me Raw...because the sea is always right." 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@hoo7797]

The thing that's funniest to me is how often this show mentions Aulë, one of the Valar (and one whose name I feel they don't have the rights to because I don't remember it being in the Appendixes of LotR), and even in this review, you can see Gil-Galad mention him (at 1:23:54). Yet the only people that have mentioned it is fans of the books that picked up on it on a few occasions, and no one else feels like pointing it out. 😂 It's like: Amazon: Hey, we have the rights to the name of one of the Valar! People: People: You said something?

[@daverrinaybara9597]

Even in death Shad’s rage persists. May his tempest lead him to a place with better shows 😢

[@petery6432]

Well, he gets to satiate his desire for a good show with House of the Dragon.

[@aperson9847]

Are you saying there's a tempest in him??

[@toddpacker1015]

The Sea is always right

[@L0rdslashstab]

I want to know what she thought they were going to do with the sword before she gave the amazing advise of stab them

[@anovaguy]

At this point, I am super hyped to watch a behind the scenes or making of documentary of Rings of Power. Please let there be one.

[@mydriasisintensifies6139]

Holy fuck lol. It'll be like that scene in South Park with the beheaded chicken in the bailout wheel

[@thesixth2330]

No mention of the way all dwarves are portrayed as buffoons. The King of the Dwarves has a piece of salad i his beard, pulls it out and then eats it? All the while negotiating with his rival? They just hate LOTR.

[@TheOtherChosenOnes]

This is Peter Jackson’s fault, he started the weird characterisation of Dwarves.

[@rumblehotep4589]

Galadriel: Use the sword part of the sword.

[@tsemayekekema2918]

18:00 they wanted to do a clever member-berry of the Eye of Sauron as part of the homeless-guy-might-be-Sauron mis-direct (other KZbinrs noticed that)

[@TechLeafRanger]

with regards to the orcs in the Peter Jackson movie, the extended version of Return of the King explains it. Sauron is creating a dark cloud cover that he is slowly extending closer and closer towards Minas Tirith from MOrdor. Under this magical cloud cover, the orcs are protected from daylight and thus can move freely in the daytime. This is why we see it being cloudy and stuff the whole time. Now I would need to re-read the books to see if that works with what Talkien said and did, but that at least is waht peter Jackson did. The orcs were still vulnerable in daylight. Though there's also the business in The Two Towers extended version where the Uruk-hai that captured Merry and Pippin run into orcs who are moving in broad daylight, so unless those were also modified orcs, that is an inconsistency.

[@amyb.6503]

I want to say there was a passage in Tolkien's book that said the orcs were being forced to run during the day to escape notice or get somewhere faster... Otherwise, yes.

[@reeve1991]

The great black cloud/shadow coming from Mordor to Minas Tirith is in the books, for exactly that reason: to facilitate the Orcs being able to pull off a multi-day military operation and siege without being compromised during daylight hours. The Mordor Orcs that join up with the Uruk-Hai taking Merry and Pippin back to Isengard is explained a little more thoroughly in the books... since the Uruk-Hai are unaffected by sunlight and have orders to bring Merry and Pippin back to Isengard as quickly as possible, they force the Orcs to march with them during the day, which is one of the major reasons for the discord between the two camps (the movie simplifies this to just being about the poor state of their rations). Though it is weird that in the movie the Mordor Orcs first meet up with the Uruk-Hai in what is clearly broad daylight, but if we really want to be generous to the movie we could say they were forced/threatened to do so because of the urgency of the task. But, based on that, it's pretty clear that while Orcs hate the sun, they don't turn to stone in it like Trolls or burn up like Vampires (which were a thing in the Silmarillion). Which is consistent with the way it's usually described, in terms of Orcs "having no love of daylight" or "seldom would Orcs move under sunlight". Given that Orcs are described as seeing very well in the dark, it can be presumed that their eyes are likely poorly-adapted for well-lit conditions so they probably don't see very well in the sun, but it does seem to go a bit deeper than that. Based on all the available evidence, to me, it seems like it would be best to describe Orcs as having a pathological hatred of the sun that might have psychosomatic bodily effects on them. So they CAN go into sunlight if they absolutely have to (because they're forced/threatened to or they have no other option to survive), but they deeply, instinctively hate every moment of it and will look for any opportunity to get out of it, making them almost certainly minimally-cohesive, disorganized and combat-ineffective while doing so... so, sort of like sending human beings with a deep fear of the dark into an extremely dark environment.

[@TechLeafRanger]

@@reeve1991 Aah, I see then. Well thank you. *Nods*

[@dasc0yne]

"Fight with your feet, not your arms." - Monty Python's Black Knight

[@earnestbrown6524]

47:46 Been waiting for this part. I watched a TheQuartering video earlier and Jeremy said that Shad was going to be pissed with how bad the swordplay was. 🤬👿🤬👿

[@oswaldthatendswald7904]

Both channels should be dismantled and cast into the fire where it came from.

[@zeraphking1407]

So she's going to train a bunch of greens into an army to sail across the ocean to say siege against an army of killer orcs. And do it in a couple of weeks.

[@kalebblair4073]

To play devils advocate for the “harfoots” ( I might barf). If you go back to all those they left behind a lot names sounded similar to names from shire Hobbits. Maybe there insinuating that those that were left behind actually survived and went west? It would both be stupid and giving to much credit but throwing it out there lol.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

TITLE: What the hell was that? ME: Hell on Middle-Earth

[@juanmiguelsebastian1477]

"Fight with your feet, not your arms" -Galadriel My interpretation of this awful quote is "Just run away."

[@MoltenMouseMetal]

My head-canon is that none of the recruits really wanted the burden of leadership, so they'd make a show of a big attack and then fumble about. I get anxious at a $27 an hour job interview, and these inexperienced trainees are being asked to lead platoons of men against an unscouted enemy army that apparently warrants an Elf General. I'd swing at the furniture too 🤺

[@maciejp7829]

if this was normal corporation, the writers would get fired, possibly sued for damages

[@ArdaUnhail]

Remember when people broke their oath to Elendil and fled to mountains and they were trapped in this middle earth as ghosts because they broke their oath? I think oaths will start having some meaning between this time and the war of the last alliance. I am waiting for the episode in which someone says "hey wait, i think from now on we should keep our sacred promises, i have a feeling something changed about them." and Elrond will say, "phew, imagine keeping promises were to be a must back then when i promised to durin on the holy rocks and my sacred father, i would be doomed."

[@robday2859]

I have actually started to enjoy the series!!! The phrase "OMG, Shad is going to totally roast that" has become almost like a mantra during viewings. p.s, the tunnel is finished because they made their TRENCH all the way to the tree that needed to be cut down, so once cut down, mission complete! return to quest giver for reward and +20xp..... I can't wait to see the impact the 3 shiploads of Numenorians will do against the vast hordes of Sauron! Good job writers. Oh, I forgot, the combined farmers/publicans/herbalists of several TINY villages will no doubt swing the balance in their favour, after all they are generations removed from fighting FOR Sauron, so they must be awesome.... Oh, and I also love how Isildur's friends who also got kicked off the boats are allowed to join the army, even so much as to be made Lieutenants just because the bigger idiot "ugh, me got sword, must smash RRRRRRR" managed to cut Galadriel's shirt. I'm sure the rest of the army of one of the mightiest armed forces in Middle-Earth are just ecstatic about that promotion. Eru give me strength!!!

[@PaulLeach123]

I'm a WGA writer with 5 produced movies and from a writing standpoint, there were some horrendous writing 101 issues. 1). Start with ONE storyline and branch out once new characters INTERSECT that first story line (branch out like a tree). 2) every story line has to have a NEED or OBJECTIVE. So Galadriel - what's her objective - find Sauron? How? What breadcrumbs are we following on that journey? None. Arondir - what's his objective? None. The Harfeet - what's their objective? None. Numenor? None. Bronywyn? None. With no objectives, your characters have no engine. 3) every story line needs an ANTAGONIST to create conflict (because they stand in the way of the objective). There are no antagonists. Maybe Sauron, except it's the rumor of Sauron, not actually Sauron. Arondir - the orcs I guess - but it only started being that way in ep 4? Harfeet - none. Numenor - none. Elves - none. Dwarves - none. 4). JJ Abrams "mystery box" only works if it raises the tension by creating high stakes - here they HIDE the stakes so there's no tension for the audience, and the "mystery box" really works best in features where the conclusion is in 90 minutes as opposed to a series where the mystery becomes tiresome and can create apathy

[@EyeOfMagnus4E201]

45:21. The whole problem with “the end justifies the means” is that the means can corrupt the end.

[@jamesdecost6009]

No logical interpretation of that can get you to the ends justify the means though. She didn’t say you have to do whatever it takes to accomplish something, or anything remotely resembling that. He said he had been in darkness, and she said that having been in the darkness should make it were he can see the light all the more clearly. If you used logic and tried to pigeon hole what was said you wouldn’t get the ends justify the means. You would get you have to be evil or see evil to know what good is, but this clearly wasn’t the meaning, but at least this would logically follow if you were trying to force this type of interpretation onto it. The ends justify the means is say stealing from a bank to feed hungry kids, and saying doing the bad thing is justified, because no one got hurt, and a bunch of hungry kids got food. Now the actual analogy that fits is saying I used to be a criminal, and now I’m not a criminal, and I own a successful business that allows me to help feed children, so having been a criminal in the past is justified by me not being a criminal now, and doing good things. Again this clearly isn’t the meaning the meaning is clearly that having done bad stuff in the past doesn’t stop you from doing good in the future. However there is no logical way to get the ends justify the means from this.

[@Amokra]

@@jamesdecost6009 and the word would be counteracted or offset not justified

[@zachfausett3693]

This shows that the writers do not understand the power of oaths in Middle-Earth nor, in fact, what actually constitutes breaking an oath.

[@calumdeighton]

I love the new opening. And I'm laughing with tears here. I'm still struggling to watch the first 20 minutes of episode 5.

[@andythecrimson8877]

🤣, don't fight with your head, fight with your feet.😂

[@oswaldthatendswald7904]

I'm struggling to fathom people like you exist.

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

@@andythecrimson8877 as in: run away from it as far as you can xD

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

@@oswaldthatendswald7904 huh? I don't get the joke, what went over my head?

[@andythecrimson8877]

@@Yarblocosifilitico 🏃😁

[@ElysiaWhitemoonOmega]

minas tirith was attacking daylight, but it was covered by a shadow from mordor, and when the shadow reached the city, the attack begins, as orcs dont like sunlight

[@ayotundeayoko5861]

the Mithril thing with the Elves depending on it to not "fade" away needs to be explained to us plebs by that "Tolkien professor"

[@sophry1]

I’m enjoying the sheer scale of your frustration 😂 look forward to watching the actual episode now!

[@elessarsgirl4883]

And suddenly, after sword practice, there were no longer 50 swordsmen....

[@ainako1010]

Shad losing it is the best thing about Rings of Power. There's a tempest in Shad.

[@dudemantype]

Them showing the burning crater just to let you know what you're looking at is prime evidence of inexperienced writers. A good writer will have set up the crater scene in such a way, through recognisable props or artefacts, that you'll immediately recognise what it is.

[@Amokra]

A good example of flash-backs that work well "Highlander" they keep the story moving forward without slowing it down by to much talking. This show does not understand that. They slow it down and still do to much explaining :)

[@cj-done]

I was looking forward to your review of this episode!

[@davisharper6704]

Shad kind of sounded like the Tazmanian Devil at the beginning.

[@g.t.werber4476]

I literally was crying while laughing, when at the beggining of the video Shad is having "seizures" 😂😂😂

[@Matanexpert]

1. Why not put 4 wheels on hartfoot's carts? Its way more easy and stable. 2. Light and darkness - refference to Ep.1 - Stone and Ships stuff 3. «Piles of helmets» - refference to painting «The Apotheosis of War» done very poorly. 4. For a nocturnal creatures Orc have too much torches. Weird. So they burns in sun and cant see thing in dark. I pity them =( 5. They have tresure room with palantir. Maybe armour was there. 6. So they shipping (to Boston) 500 people. And horses. On three quite not so large ships. Right.

[@baconghoti]

1. 4 wheeled carts are a terrible idea unless you plan on using roads and a powerful haulage animal. 2 wheels are the better design - can turn on the spot, alternate pushing and pulling easily, can crab sideways with short fwd/bwk movements, etc, etc. There's a reason way just 2 wheels are used, even today.

[@nemomarc7841]

I thought of Radagast a clue that reminds me of him, when he looks at his arm that he healed with ice❄ the trees react like a connection with this mage 🌿

[@smwad7103]

After this episode I agree with mauler the Harfoots are cannibals. They discuss taking the wheels from Nori’s family and then another Harfoot shows up saying everyone is hungry. See they don’t kill each other for food they wait till they die then return to “eat the berries”. Cannibalism confirmed

[@oswaldthatendswald7904]

Your life must be boring and uninspiring.

[@smwad7103]

@@oswaldthatendswald7904 lol what

[@Mj0Skyver]

@@smwad7103 It's either a troll or an idiot. 😂

[@PeggyR70]

I'm giving you an upvote just for that first outburst. I know the feeling, mayne. I know the feeling.

[@Pyke_]

I'm not watching this show, but these reviews are a must watch! So much entertaining!

[@Ed__Powell]

“Stick em with the pointy end.” - Arya Stark before GoT became a self-parody.

[@daviddiggens8841]

I have to say that when she said "fight with your feet not your arms" I desperately wanted one ( or all) of them to drop kick her as hard as possible. That would have been comedy gold. Coming from a family with generations of fencing champions and having been taught swordsmanship since before I ever rode a bike this scene caused rage I didn't know I was capable of. My sisters are all better swordsman than me, so could the producers not find a woman who at least could pretend competence rather than actively making the soldiers worse at fighting. Perhaps it is intentional in the show because she hates everyone and everything but that is my own head canon to explain this. As an aside I begin to think the writers are sympathetic to the concept ( at the very least) of evil or are Marxist relativist and show compassion for orcs and psychopathy in hobbits and elves because they despise the idea of good especially the inherent Catholic world view of Tolkien inserted perforce into his work. A Billion dollar deconstructionism of good

[@rovhalt6650]

About the writers being Marxists. Yes. You're most likely right about that. We're supposed to sympathise and feel pity for the Orcs now, because they're not "privilieged" like everyone else. Hobbits and Elves used to be all Good. Orcs used to be blind hatred and Evil. Now they're trying to mix all that up.

[@smaugfrost]

Orcs cannot go in sunlight. Minas Tirith was besieged by Uruk Hai. They were a divergent species created by Saruman and much tougher.

[@stevenmcreynolds4970]

I saw someone else reviewing this episode. As soon as the fight scene started, I thought: "Shad will have words about this..."

[@dwarfy_sweden]

Galadriel: Its not the size of your sword that matters but your motion on the ocean... Everyone: Say what? Galadriel: WHERE IS THE MANAGER!!!!

[@blacksheep9505]

The training seen was like a drunk Jack Sparrow fight seen in the first Pirate’s of the Caribbean movie. Of course that is kinda insulting to Jack Sparrow at least he was playing a drunk.

[@franohmsford7548]

These reviews are so long I'm having to watch them at 1.5x speed because there's not enough hours in the day :) I don't know how Shad does it.

[@peterbennett7176]

The potentially interesting thing about the show is that it really does seem that they are setting up Galadriel to be the one to inadvertently assist Sauron back to middle earth (also proving the elven leaders correct about her actions enflaming the evil she wants to see destroyed). This would at least offer a potential explanation for the change in character between the Galadriel that is being written and the one we know from later in the proper story. It’s her prideful certainty, inability to listen to others, her desire for revenge and eagerness for violence and war and all these traits that make her highly unlikeable are the things that Sauron is using to manipulate her. (It’s also why, if Halbrand is Sauron you should take nothing he says at face value - ie him seeming to be apologetic to Galadriel for her brother and for his past as well. He is playing the part of an Aragorn like reluctant king for his own purposes). It will be interesting to see how they handle it from here. The most tragic route for her would be for others to point out to her that Halbrand is Sauron - maybe she even denies it for while and still fails to see it, continuing to help him until finally it becomes an unavoidable truth. That would certainly explain the massive self reflection that is required at this point for the almost 180 degree character transition to calm, wise, slowly and thoughtfully acting non sword wielding sorcerer that is almost hermitted away if her wood. This would also show the naivety of her brothers advice about in the process of understanding the light that we may end up/ have to touch the darkness. This advice will have yielded untold suffering in the future by helping reintroduce Sauron whilst also retaining a grain of truth over the very long arc - because it is also true that the Galadriel we know does indeed have a greater understanding of the light through this experience - and in the end is partially responsible for helping to destroy Sauron once and for all. What I think is more likely though is that she will probably be the one to figure out he is Sauron, (cue a repeat of her scene deciphering the mark of Sauron map) will maybe have a moment of regret, but without fully understanding the full ramifications of her actions. Possibly she will then instantly go back to being the victimised hero again when she tells everyone what she has discovered and no one believes her. Halbrand, having helped defeat Adar is then accepted by middle earth as an ally, but Galadriel knowing the truth is labelled as being obsessed and envious of Halbrands new hero status. That’s my current best guess. To be fair I think there might be the basic outline of a good story in some of these ideas, but the execution so far is terrible. It’s like the way they come up with one good metaphor, but it gets buried under the five terrible or nonsensical ones where they try to sound to clever - the few good story ideas seem to be getting smothered by the bad ones.

[@rovhalt6650]

I'm grappling with the idea of Sauron nearly giving up on his quest for vengeance only to have his spirit be reinspired by Galadriel. Galadriel: "There is a tempest in ME!" 😠 Sauron: _"Hmm... you know what Gal? You might be onto something there"_ 🤔

[@neatwheat]

Why would Sauron help or even just attempt to inspire the Numenoreans to go fight the orc armees he's just about to raise in secrecy? Because in this show the mighty long-lived Numenoreans are so pathetic he feels confident enough he'll humiliate them with the "mighty" forces of his orc armees?

[@peterbennett7176]

@@rovhalt6650 I don't think there is any way that Sauron would be nearly giving up on his quest for vengeance - that's the one point of genuine contention with the criticism of this episode. I thought it strange a lot of people seem to take halbrand at his word when he appeared to be saying he was sorry for his and Galadriel's past and his wish to not go back - whilst also assuming him to be Sauron. My only point is that if he is Sauron there is no way that you can rely on the truth of anything he says, particularly in disguise as halbrand! He's a master manipulator and deceiver so it can't really count as evidence of his true intention. Don't get me wrong, it's not a big deal and doesn't make the show a good one. I just thought that one point of criticism was a little unfair if I'm honest - It's not as if there isn't enough fair criticism to be going on with!

[@peterbennett7176]

​@@neatwheat Just to play devils advocate and in an attempt to construct some logic from this show - a seemingly futile effort (don't try it) - in my head at the minute it's because if Halbrand were to be seen to kill Adar and help fend off this attack it perfectly secures him as a strong and trustworthy ally to the rest of middle earth, from which position he could then influence the production of rings. Killing a few orcs to secure this deception would be worthwhile to him - he can build up a bigger army later. And as for killing Adar - they're either perfectly aligned and Adar is just sacrificing himself for the cause or they're not actually quite aligned and so killing him actually helps Sauron so that he doesn't have to compete at all for orc allegiances. Again - I don't think this would make the show good all of a sudden, it obviously wouldn't. It was just one storyline of deception that could make sense and might actually be slightly interesting to me.

[@neatwheat]

@@peterbennett7176 Yeah, probably. And I just had to think about the elephant in the room here with Sauron ultimately being revealed as Halbrand: Him going west to sail to Numenor to currupt the people there to put him into the position to influence the elves to forge some rings of power would be a far fetched plan even for the most cunning and mighty once-general in Morgoth's army. Him accidentially (in the middle of an ocean as long and wide as the Atlantic) stumbling upon that "young" 5.000 year old elf lady that in the show happens to be the single most cunning fighter even amongst her own kin which he definitely would have heard about and her being face to face with her arch nemesis who killed her brother which made her throw away her entire life and happieness and sent her into a mad all-consuming obsession? Would make her a tragic character beyond believe and also a quite dumb and blind one. Her tone-deafness to any sentient being's emotions and motivations may have been thoroughly proven in THIS lore, though. Still, as a powerful elf, she should not be as easily swayed and fooled and not pick up the tiniest bit of a hint to the most malicious mystic force in the entire world at that time, standing right in front of her face! The one she's hell-bent to destroy?!

[@wandererclarisse]

Thank you for bringing up the "strong and unyielding as evil" line! It just. arghhhhh. feels like the very opposite of Tolkien's themes

[@moseszero3281]

2:29:14 The sword is a key, and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death.

[@kamion53]

@55:39 "Hit them with the pointy end"

[@Daviddanielstoday]

Can't wait for episode 6 just for your guys review of it Can't wait to see Numenor not want to go to war to fight for an elf only to change their mind and get right behind the war Durin and Elrond's friendship to be tested but then they make friends again The harfoots to carry on just wondering around, the stranger does some magic Oh and Adar and the orcs to get near to potentially attacking the southlanders at that castle, while Arondir goes out exploring trying to discover something again, this time about the key

[@classicpaws]

Shad's intro is all of us!

[@punkmoose3962]

I watched the first few episodes to see if it would be at least a half-decent fan fiction, but this show is even more insulting to Tolkien with its messages of "morality" than I could have ever anticipated. We need to stop hate-watching and giving Amazon views; leave the hate-watching for the content creators such as these fine fellows. Great review!

[@ciaranirvine]

It's crazy the vile moral messaging of this show. The Harfoots are casually-murdering psychopaths, Galadriel is a malignant narcissist, Elrond is a smarmy salesguy liar, Gil-Galad is a manipulative liar, Isildur is a spoiled self-centred brat who somehow fails upwards. If there's a theme to any of this rubbish, The Message is that the people we are supposed to admire just act like jerks and abuse other people to get what they want. Wut?

[@juhisb9064]

I noticed that the collar thingy on gil-galad has an ornament engraved to it, VERY much like the one that's on the collar/breastplate of the evil elf, whatshisname, father? Like a cloud or tree, like some japanese ornament. Maybe they purchased them from the same dime store or something?

[@Crispi126]

From hearing all of things that hey do in this Ring of Powah series , as someone who loves to be a forever DM for D&D games with friend, the stroyline and acting/things that main characters do reminds me if a DM had a story, players decided to do only LUL random ways to do things and rolled only nat20 on skill checks but cannot act upon those rolls.

[@friscokid21]

Durin: "Elrond, Give me the meat and give it to me raw.." Elrond: "Maybe we should call Celebrimbor to get in on this too.." 👉😏👉

[@calumdeighton]

Also. I need to say this. Don't call ships boats! It's like calling a greatsword a dagger. Or a Rimac supercar a geewhizz.

[@amyb.6503]

This, my friend, is a punt!