A Long-expected Review: The Rings of Power Season 1

[@NerdoftheRings]

Let's start the conversation with this: name your favorite & least favorite thing from Rings of Power S1. I'll start: Fav: Khazad-dûm & the characters/stories there Least Fav: the creation of the rings

[@zhocha]

fav: dwarves least fav: amazon

[@awesomehpt8938]

Fav: they nailed Saurons look, which isn’t saying much since they copied Peter Jackson. Places like khazad-dum and Numenor look nice. Least fav: all the characters are unlikable or straight up psychopaths. The “harfoots” are straight up evil, as they seem to enjoy abandoning people and leaving them to die. Then there’s the egregious disrespect for the lore. The whole second age has been compressed beyond recognition. The three elven rings are made in an afternoon. With no mention of the 16 other rings. No Annatar just halbrand. You’ve got numenoreans like Ar-pharazon who lived towards the end of second age living around 1000 years into the age. Nonsensical dialogue and lines ripped out of the lord of the rings trilogy regularly.

[@fingersTitan]

Fav: Elronds relationship with Durin. Least fav: Way to many "roll your eyes" moments..

[@ModernMystic81]

Fav: Galadriel Least Fav: Showing Durin's Bane a mite too early

[@Earendil_1510]

Favourite part: the first few words of the title - “the lord of the rings” Least favourite: the rest of the show entirely!

[@benhoff901]

As someone who worked on the music team for this show, thanks so much for the shout out! Music rarely gets brought up in reviews of most media even though it plays a pivotal role. Feel free to hit me up if you wanna chat any more about the music of the show.

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks, Ben! Would love to chat about it! I may be odd for thinking this, but it was one area I was most concerned about going in because of how iconic Howard Shore's work was. There was more riding on the music than I think most folks realize and you all did a phenomenal job.

[@louiss903]

As a hardcore fan, it was amazing to see how much thought was put into the music. You all did an amazing job there!

[@mizzlchieizzl]

By far some of the best music in any series. I personally think it's much more easy to listen to than the Howard Shore scores in many cases. I think it'll be just as iconic given time.

[@ryanfurey5465]

Pity your efforts where for this shite show lol but get that money bro!

[@hiteshwarmehla2267]

Music was indeed the strongest point of the show. Congratulations on such a creation.

[@itayraviv2422]

I've watched 7/8 episodes already. My Favorite part was before I started watching, when I still had expectations.

[@Lex_Koncord]

I watched 1 episode… couldn’t handle anymore

[@dendradwar9464]

Ha! .. I watched the trailers and gave up there ..

[@Matt-zs6qx]

It's a medieval soap opera! 😂

[@Rugidios]

💭 it was the end

[@nitotech]

Im still wondering how there will be orher seasons. Dance of the Dragons is gonna kill it

[@CurriedBat]

Celebrimbor is younger than Galadriel; a brash, confident smith, who forges a society of smiths and a massive following... this show gave us a semi-retired art instructor.

[@natashaa43]

I find the ageing of the Elves really inconsistent. Why does he look so much older then?

[@scratchy996]

I expected the elven version of Fabio in his prime :)

[@Klaaism]

@@scratchy996 That would have been awesome... "wtf is that hair-blowing wind coming from?!"

[@warrenpowers108]

I'd love to see some elves on this show. These pointy eared humans are so impatient and childish

[@jmwoods190]

Charles Edwards(Celebrimbor's actor) would've been far better suited to a Numenorean aide to Tar Palantir or a Gondorian steward than any elf!

[@TheNorthHawk]

Tolkien saw his closest friends die in horrible ways. He doesn't glorify killing and death, doesn't dwell on it. Just like any decent human being who has seen it first hand. He focuses on the before and the after. Lord of the Rings is a story about facing almost certain death and making peace with it. About going past the initial primal fear, and about characters with heroic qualities calming the fear in their hearts and choosing to face the end with dignity and valor. The Rings of Power makes light of these themes or ignores them entirely.

[@Gecko....]

Some of his close friends died in the war but he didn't witness it. He wasn't serving alongside them.

[@marenomorgan]

The fact that the show completely omitted the theme of immortality and avoiding death with regards to Númenor is the most ridiculous thing to me. Like that is THE theme of The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien was trying to convey, and Númenor is the perfect place to show that theme.

[@TheNorthHawk]

@@marenomorgan Aye, and instead they went with a South park-esque "Dey Terk err jerb!" Plot. Peak writing.

[@Echoplex25]

by this logic, the LotR trilogy also does the same thing, especially RotK

[@TheNorthHawk]

@@Echoplex25 the movies? Are you kidding? That shot with Gandalf telling Pippin about the Undying Lands, the charge of the Rohirrim, the courtship of Eowyn and Faramir, the last stand of Man at the Black Gate... Sam carrying Frodo up the mountain.The reason people accept the changes that LOTR's movies made despite not necessarily agreeing with all of them is because Peter Jackson showed Tolkien's work, his characters and his themes proper respect. Return of the King, more than either of the two movies that preceded it, is entirely about the theme of courage in the face of death... The doing of deeds worthy of song, even if there be none left to sing of them. The LOTR movie trilogy was true to Tolkien's central message. Amazon's abortion of a TV show barely even tried.

[@Mark-nh7zg]

Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas' quest to rescue the Hobbits was SO memorable for me because they really showed the scale of their chase. Even as a kid I felt their desperation and how they were always barely managing to keep up.

[@thegnome73]

Stories in Middle Earth, no matter the scale, are first and foremost journeys. There are long pauses and respites and detours where we have side stories and songs, meetings and developments, but ultimately they are journeys. And neglecting to even make travel realistic dishonors Tolkien's legacy

[@abdallahhafidh8733]

Frodo and Sam journey to mount doom still leaves a similar impact to me when I watched this movie for the time as a kid. I can feel the longevity of the strain and hardship they face in their journey.

[@ConvictedFelon2024]

That was my favorite part in all the books, period. The description of their desperate trek to rescue two hobbits who were kidnapped by a band of super-Orcs was just awe-inspiring. "Heroic" doesn't even begin to describe it. And I believe the film, despite limited resources (such as time), really did it justice.

[@damienlee1165]

The B roll of the iconic single file convoy with the epic music in the back goes a long way.

[@Bayard1503]

@@thegnome73 But isn't it better to just have a montage of Poppy singing?

[@Djynni]

32:30 "If you've landed in a place in your Tolkien adaptation where the most evil character in the show is seen as more heroic than your main hero, you've fallen off the Middle Earth map entirely." Such an excellent observation (among many in this video.)

[@Krims7]

I feel like he is meant to manipulate the audience too

[@timjummichuck]

“You step onto the consumers, and if you don’t censor their reviews, there is no knowing your billion dollar dream.” J.R.R. Bezos

[@TylerB-my1kr]

But that's exactly what sauron does. The most evil people tell you they love u then stab you in the back.

[@nooneinparticular1491]

Excluding the Nazgals, the TWO most evil characters in the show were more heroic.

[@therealsenpaiii6674]

L

[@Astromancerguy]

During the early seasons of Game of Thrones, the world felt huge. It would take half a season or more sometimes to travel from Winterfell to King's Landing. Later seasons saw characters teleporting around like Rings of Power. It makes the world feel small.

[@XVindicare]

Totally agree.

[@chrisbigg392]

Some of my favourite episodes where the ones with Arya and the Hound.

[@lonewulf44]

It all goes back to the writing. By those terrible last two seasons they didn't have the book material to fall back on as a crutch and it showed in 100 ways, notably as you say and how the characters bounced around. The same thing here, we all knew there was going to be filler because the second age has opportunities everywhere for the riders, it boggles my mind that they feel the need to tinker and screw up the epic moments that we do know when there's so much room for them to put their lesser storylines all around those moments. And yet time and time again modern writers can't help but somehow feel the need to change what makes something worth adapting into something of their own. These days it seems like they can't help but even interject their politics into every show, and while that wasn't as obvious in this season, it makes me worry. Worry. The 'elves will take our jobs' thing was clearly someone's terrible attempt at subtle undertones of their political ideology.

[@rosemont5339]

I really enjoyed the show. Not perfect but I was thoroughly entertained.

[@hihihi1q23]

@@lonewulf44 I'm not sure what you mean by 'politics.' Most shows go out of their way to avoid touching on politics. The '*insert race here* took our jobs!' is a pretty common trope in fiction. It plays a huge part in the Witcher, Dragon Age, and Elder Scrolls too.

[@ofrund]

If they wanted a "ha Sauron was Halbrant" moment why couldn't they have Sauron being both Annatar and Halbrant, that way once Sauron is revealed as Halbrant to Galadriel she trusts Annatar more, even though both are the same being. For someone with such strong powers of illusion having two different appearances appear in the same place at the same time, should be viable.

[@Darksyne9]

I agree that would have been way better than what they did to identities at the same time. That would make sauron badass

[@TheGuyCalledX]

It appears this is the direction they are going.

[@mark9294]

He disguised himself cleverly by putting on a wig

[@adamb8317]

Galadriel is above all else, able to see through guise and illusion, and she has the powers of telepathy and mind reading in the LoTR series. Even the Maia Sauron would not likely be able to fool her, though he might be able to obscure his true identity, she would NEVER trust him. She didn’t even trust her half uncle Fëanor before his betrayal, who was the other most powerful of the elves of Valinor. Sauron might be able to win the trust of Celebrimbor, but in Canon Elrond, Gil-Galad, and Galadriel never trusted Sauron in any of his forms.

[@dispozablehero9829]

I think we can all agree the worst moment for the screen writing was Galadriels decision to jump overboard in an attempt to swim 300 miles back to middle earth

[@mattiasthornkvist7141]

Yea, this is so...hadn´t this been LoTR I´d just given up there.

[@Vossenator]

300? Try 2000 at least.

[@TylerB-my1kr]

​@@Vossenator more like 20000

[@Kiwi_J]

Read the story of amroth. He pretty much did the same thing in canon.

[@Vossenator]

@@Kiwi_J and drowned

[@miqquest]

I just couldn't stop laughing when the hobbits say that their hearts are bigger than their feet, when in fact moments ago they were talking about sabotaging someone's cart, leaving a family behind because the father hurt his leg, making fun of people that died, and expelled the Stranger because his magic broke a tree branch on top of a stupid kid who stayed under the tree while he was performing magic AT THEIR REQUEST. And I also can't forget that Halbrand had to tell the greatest smith in existence about... mixing metals. Jesus Christ...

[@user-qj9en1kp1m]

The parts that made me laugh but for the wrong reason: Galadriel casually swimming back to Middle Earth from Valinor, Galadriel casually stumbling upon Sauron, Isildur's sister getting a guild acceptance letter (sounded like Gilmore Girls), Sauron fistfighting some blacksmiths... Some of the characters are rendered idiotic otherwise the plot couldn't happen, this is why we get a Celebrimbor who's never heard of alloys and migratory hobbits who don't figure out that putting ponies before their carts would make things easier. But to say something nice: I like Elrond and Khazad Dum is beautiful.

[@franciscopascoal5007]

oh god, same feeling!

[@Bladieblah]

​@@user-qj9en1kp1m What's wrong with the guild acceptance letter?

[@gretimedgyesi5325]

I am cryinggggggggg :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Sauron fistfighting some blacksmiths...@@user-qj9en1kp1m

[@gretimedgyesi5325]

AND the elves didnt covered the signal of sauron is map of Mordor, where he eventually returns and retreats from time to time... @@user-qj9en1kp1m

[@songsfromthecanoe]

"Mithrilchlorian" should be a term. Absolutely nails it.

[@jessejohns8495]

Too funny .....

[@SilverioFamilyforChrist]

Clinging to the books is exactly what the show needed. Showing some faithfulness.

[@marekbiakowski3472]

I liked how cleverly Galadriel hid her Northern Armies that she was commander of so that we didnt see it in the show

[@bestchannelexisting]

HAHAHA LMAO

[@fgdj2000]

I think the point was that her little troop was all that's left of it, as in her most loyal followers. I actually like the idea that Galadriel is facing her own darkness and that's actually one of the themes in Tolkien's work: good characters becoming prideful and/ or obsessed with something and then falling from grace vs. people rejecting it. Then again that "it" is usually power, so that's where the show missed the mark possibly. Overall I agree with NOTR. The show has some great moments and aspects, but overall I feel they just don't get Tolkien or don't entirely care. PJ added things that especially in the Hobbit films fell flat, but overall they knew and nailed Tolkien when they wanted to.

[@W47689]

Show was complete garbage

[@fgdj2000]

@@W47689 I honestly think you have never seen garbage on screen.

[@W47689]

@@fgdj2000 bahumbug shows garbage you know it

[@ramonas4328]

Something the original movies did so well at portraying the other-worldness of the ethereal Elves. They are beings who never die and therefore do not change in the same time-frame as human beings. They do not experience time in the same way and so the movies demonstrated how strange it would be to walk among them in their homes. In the show, it was basically like Linden was the Tree Place with the Pointy Ear People. Nothing about them seemed different from human beings except for their pointy ears and maybe slight differences in their motivations, but they didn't strike me as strange and somewhat scary like when the Fellowship enters Lothlorien and meet Galadriel.

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I hadn't thought on this as much, but you're totally right. They may have been attempting to bring the elves down a peg, but without those visual and auditory cues that make the elves *feel* ethereal, you do lose a bit of that feeling that they're truly different beings. I'll be interested to see how that comes into play when we have Numenorean jealousy come into play. It could undermine a bit that jealous element if the audience only sees them as slightly different people aesthetically and not a completely different race - a higher level of being. Some really great thoughts to chew on here!

[@masontrent5543]

Good point. Felt that way as well. It's tricky finding the right balance with the elves. I think the LOTR movies did a nice job bringing that ethereal and otherworldly elemental sometimes scary presence. And yet kept hints of those other qualities with Elrond's bemused smile when Sam breaks into council and also the Legolas Gimli friendship (minus a few Legolas stories and songs cut out) But the point is that feeling of Otherness was still there. But is that not also what made the bonds between different peoples, The Fellowship, Aragon and Arwen stand out? Gandalf? Stand out? It seems like a trend now in works like these to "diminish that Otherness," to bring things "down a peg" as NOTR said. To tone down magic and mystery for realism sort of? I'm not too sure. Celebrimbor looks more like a Hogwarts professor of Tall Elvish Studies. He would fit there as a Wizard-elf and no one would blink an eye at his short Gray locks. Maybe I'm silly but the other elves with short hair minus Elrond reminded me of choir boys especially Galadriel's crew and Finrod reminded me of a British Parish Priest but that's just me. While the other hapless enslaved elves reminded me of slaves from the old Hollywood movies like Ben Hur, Spartacus and Greatest story ever told. I think there could be a way to do short hair but it depends on allowing the actors to have that elvish spark and to highlight that subtlety. To allow for a presence of Otherness. Camera work, theme, tone? I don't know laugh. The other thoughts on "toning the elves down" is it seems like there is a different concern about that "otherness." The elves are "humanoid" beings with immortality and gifts beyond the average human excepting the Numenorians and Dunedain with the special bloodlines. As far as I know there's never been a prominent issue with the elves as immortal/elemental beings tied into the fate of Arda. Or with that presence. But am beginning to wonder now if that's changing? Especially with Tolkien emphasizing beauty and angelic otherness of the elves? It is one thing if this is sci Fi and they are aliens with all those attributes. But since they are part of the earth and are another "humanoid" race...(I honestly prefer Tolkien's poetry than that word so apologies) But what if that's the issue? What if that's why there's less long hair or why some of the elves blend into the background? Because otherwise they will be read as glorifying a superior people? I just would find that sad if that was the reason for giving the elves a slightly more ordinary feel but I wonder. It would be a misunderstanding since the elves aren't really human. If Jackson does anymore live action Tolkien related pieces just hoping he will not be pressured to go with the flow. Unless it's The Real Anduin!😂 Enough!

[@GollumEnthusiast]

not only that, but in the books the elves are so much more involved, singing and being quite merry, being mischievous at times and having an amazing sense of humor, and at the same time being immensely wise, in addition to their immortal ethereal and mysterious nature. the movies give focus more to these last four traits of the elves however.

[@wPatrickSF]

​@@GollumEnthusiastI'm wondering if the difference is that of perspective. LOTR is seen through the eyes of Frodo and the other hobbits. They see the elves as mysterious and ethereal. The second age elves are the real deal in middle earth. Numenor was created by the elves and given to men. This part of the story is from the perspective of the elves. Therefore they are more ordinary. if you are an elf there is nothing ethereal about another elf. . . Just my thoughts.

[@johnro8ot]

@@wPatrickSFI think the problem is the one that is glaring, obvious, and basically said by the show creators, that this show was not in the spirit of the author. Also, every human with a brain seems to agree.

[@Derpy101]

Biggest tell of my feelings toward the show was that I forgot it existed until I saw this video in my recommended feed. My wife and I landed that it was very pretty fanfiction, then promptly forgot about it.

[@pohjanakka4992]

@@digiblak997 They liked the way the movies looked, then decided they can tell a much better story than what Tolkien ever wrote. Well, they probably never actually read anything Tolkien wrote, but asked somebody to give them a bullet-point list of the necessary plot and world-building points, and then promptly ignored even most of those. Oh, okay, seems Galadriel was already married during this era... okay, somebody remembers to write a scene in which she mentions her husband once, as missing in action or something. So... Maybe "fans" in the sense that they liked Tolkien's world as a starting point - because they are probably unable to do much in the way of world-building themselves so they prefer to find something already done - they could then "improve" on.

[@coheedmorris]

My wife literally forgot about the show halfway through. She watches a lot of TV, including some real garbage, but couldn't get through ROP until reminded of its existence months later

[@adamrad2220]

Haha very similar here. I kept forgetting that a new episode was out, and then I got a couple behind. Even though I wasn't even done with the show, the fact that it felt like a bit of a chore to watch the shows made me realize that... I actually didn't really care about them. And even to this day I haven't seen the last few episodes. And I assume I never will honestly/sadly.

[@Nifter71]

Yup. Tolkien didn't write any of this. Not one word. So it's just people putting on his coat and walking around in it, trying to mimic him. If they'd moved the entire thing to the imagined far east or far south of Middle Earth with an entirely invented cast, setting and story-line, I'd have given it a look. But this corporate assemblage of modern sensibilities and Trilogy member-berries ('member this?') can take a hike. I just don't care. In fact, I don't want my continued fondness for the books and for Jackson's LOTR trilogy to be infected by this. The Hobbit movie trilogy nearly did that already...

[@csbrooks]

Good way to put it

[@dedf15]

I feel like the journey WAS part of the story in the other Middle Earth stories. Bilbo crossed 2 mountain ranges with a team of dwarf commandoes and made the return trip in 13 months...Frodo and the Fellowship met and formed and crossed half of Middle Earth and discovered the power of friendship along the way...Rings get passed down between blood brothers across nations... Rings of Power seems to simply dislike taking time to enjoy the Lembas.

[@Jmstraubgamer]

Admittedly my wife has read the lord of the rings. most of what she has experienced is from the movies and she just finished the hobbit. The issue she has had with the LOTR and the hobbit movies is that in her experience neither one portrays the time scale of events well. While it does have scenes were characters are traveling so its for sure better than ROP in S1, unless you read the books you would have never known about the time jump between Bilbo's part to when Gandalf returns or how much time they do spend in Lothlorien.

[@mikistamenov1094]

"Books were treated not as the base on the receipt,but rather the seasoning to be sprinkled in" couldn't said it better myself.

[@derrickocker6093]

Pretty accurate assessment.

[@thewaterwarrior9817]

You mean recipe

[@StalkerQtya]

That's a very flowering wording for "Books were 99% ignored."

[@fiddlesticks7245]

If you season dogshit it's still dogshit tho

[@thewaterwarrior9817]

@@StalkerQtya excellent prose

[@RavenclawFtW3295]

The fanbase has become a better guardian of the Tolkien stories than the Tolkien Estate itself.

[@joannajacaszek6368]

I dont think that Tolkien Estate had any say in this show

[@Nifter71]

Tolkien's son Christopher was the real guardian, and he died in 2020. But it's worth noting that Tolkien himself sold the film rights for a modest sum in 1969, and that the Tolkien Estate were NOT fans of Jackson's work either... although I'm sure they were happy with the millions of dollars they received (the Estate's estimated worth is $500 million).

[@fredreindljr1996]

@@joannajacaszek6368 Actually, they helped make this show. They were involved.

[@bgibeast]

@@fredreindljr1996 It's important to know who helped though. It wasn't Christopher Tolkein as he passed away in 2020. It was his son, Simon that took the lead in "helping". Simon is a different breed than his father and grandfather... and it shows in this show.

[@runespar]

They thought the most intelligent decision was to give Amazon a few pages. Not saying the showrunners wouldn't have fucked up a Silmarillion adaptation, but considering how little they had to work the results really aren't that surprising. I'd say the Estate has plenty of blame in the matter.

[@maximiliankrueger3476]

I don‘t understand why NOBODY talks about the fact that Galadriel is known in the books to be able to READ MINDS!!! Even more, she knows the hearts of people and can see their potential before they know it themselves. And she already had these abilities before she came to Middle-Earth. The showmakers were not just ignorant about what Galadriel is capable of, they chose to have their „great plot twist“ completely negate it!!!

[@thelegend1801]

I think the writers tried to make her more like Albus Dumbledore - vengeful and ambitious youth (can you even call Galadriel that in the second age?) - to a wise, clever character that can see through people in an instant. That may work for Harry Potter, but it isn't really all that great for LotR. The worlds are vastly different. As it's already mentioned, they kind of turned her into Feanor - with no comparable skill to one of the greatest elves of the Noldor, so to speak.

[@nathynorthy6916]

Galadriel wouldn't have been able to "read' the true identity of someone much more powerful than her, such as Sauron - so it's not really a flaw in this adaptation that she was taken in by "Halbrand". In fact, she's the first person to realise his true identity. So again, that perception of people's hearts - the "mind reading ability" - is consistent with Tolkien's Galadriel, as the ROP Galadriel obviously has it more than all the other Elves, none of whom ever guessed who Halbrand really was. Having said all that, she still seems strangely lacking in power, wisdom and natural authority for a character Tolkien described as the second greatest Elf (after Fëanor).

[@WestIndianAK]

Maybe she only developed (or discovered) that power later on in life? 🤷‍♂

[@AskMia411]

It’s entirely possible that her ring of Power is what allows her to read minds. The only other characters I remember having that ability are Elrond and Gandalf, the other ring bearers.

[@alomejorqueno]

⁠@@AskMia411That’s exactly what it is. Her ring enhances her ability to do so. According to Tolkien, all Elves and men have this ability too, to different extents. Her age and wisdom combined with the ring allow her to see intentions. Although Tolkien also specifically said that no being, save Eru, could pierce the veil of unwill and could deny entry of an external mind into their own mind. She’s a wise and an strong leader, not a maia or anything, but even a Vala couldn’t do it to someone deliberately shutting them out. Recall Hurin (a “mere” man) telling Morgoth to go f*ck himself and resisting his will for years. The show is still hot garbage though, for me mainly because of the butchering of the timeline and everything. The Peter Jackson movies were pretty entertaining but they severely made the other characters look weak save for the glowing elves.

[@nilocblue]

Overall, I think you were very generous towards the showrunners and gracious. I feel the show had real genuine systemic issues and I don't see many improving for season 2. I applaud you for your optimism sir, and your politeness to the producers and creators of the show, but I feel most passionate fans of LOTR had a very hard time enjoying and accepting this series.

[@KizzMyAbs]

It’s cuz they gave him an interview he had to be biased.

[@granjuas]

He has to eat. His opinion got biased. Hes been the harshest he can be without losing season 2 benefits (more interviews, trips, etc.)

[@squaeman_2644]

Hes excited for another paid vacation by Amazon, so of course hes gonna give the benefit of doubt

[@jakedunnegan]

Yeah, I look at this is his having to pander to them so that he can get access later. I mean, I want to be kind, but the fact is, he's pandering.

[@jucastro19]

Money

[@mojojojoslyfoxharris]

I think the big thing you didn't mention on the "bad writing" aspect is how this TV show way too much relied on "coincidences" to move the plot along instead of doing a better job of connecting the dots or making why this events happen make more sense. There are a lot, but let me give the top 3: 1) Galadriel deciding to jump ship in the middle of the ocean and low and behold, she encounters Sauron on a raft in the middle of that ocean (WHAT A COINCIDENCE!) 2) The whole Mt. Doom story arc to where it has to be unlocked by a mystical sword, they capture Adar, but no one bothers to check to see if they actually have the sword until hours later so that the tertiary character could make our explosive Mt. Doom scene happen (WHAT A COINCIDENCE!) 3) Halbrand is severely wounded in the 2nd to last episode (off-screen by the way), there's no elvish medicine at this time, but he is able to make a 5 day journey to Eregion on horse by himself (WHAT A COINCIDENCE!)

[@Faye-vr6jc]

soooooooooooooooo true! the ammount of pointless coincidence in this show was what made some of the plot lines even more stupid than they already were

[@scambammer6102]

even worse than coincidences is the facially absurd bull crap like G swimming across an ocean, the tower elves failing to notice ANYTHING, and the harmless volcano

[@mojojojoslyfoxharris]

@@scambammer6102 Yeah and the many different cases where they decided to make up S**T when Tolkien already had a good reason for that or it wasn't something that needed further explanation or Amazon's own take on it: 1) Origin of Mithril >> Let's have a Balrog, lightning, and magical healing abilities stored in it's origin (How about it's just a special ore the Dwarves discovered and that's that!) 2) Origin of Mt. Doom >> Let's use a magical sword to unlock the creation of Mt. Doom to create Mordor (It already existed by the 2nd Age because it was created by Melkor!) 3) The forging of the 3 rings of power >> They were forged after the 9 and 7 rings of power by Celebrimbor without Sauron's help after what he learned from him. (Actually let's have the 3 rings forged first since Galadriel is our main character and we need to get some Rings of Power forged by the end of Season 1 to live up to our namesake!) 4) The Harfoots story arc >> Completely unnecessary because (a) Harfoots played no major role in the 2nd age and (b) it would have allowed the show to focus more on the other characters, which might helped us feel more connected with the characters in the show.

[@lexwithbub]

I don't think galadriel "bumping" into halberd in the sea was a coincidence though, was it? Isn't it made clear in the final episode that he put himself there intentionally? He sought her out, didn't he? He just needed it to LOOK like a coincidence.

[@scambammer6102]

@@lexwithbub so how exactly does that work? First aragorn rents a half-sunk raft and some cast extras. Then he puts it in the middle of the ocean right where G will be swimming back from Valinor, because aragorn totally knew she would do that. Then aragorn rents an inflatable sea monster and pretends to defeat it, so G will think he is a stud. Then aragorn bribes Elendil to come along and rescue them. Good theory.

[@robw7676]

There is so much wrong with the portrayal of cannonical characters in RoP. Gil-Galad, Celebrimbor and Galadriel are of similar age, in fact Gil-Galad is about 100 years of the trees younger than Galadriel. Celebrimbor's year of birth isn't recorded, but all 3 were Noldor who left Valinor in their youth during the exile. Celebrimbor is the last living descendent of Fëanor in middle earth - the most warlike house of the Noldor - he fought in & survived most of the first age's key battles, and the war of wrath, which Galadriel was not involved with particularly. Galadriel is powerful in mind and spirit. She was never a sword wielding warrior in Tolkien's work - no female Elf was. The portayal of her, one of the eldest and wisest Elves remaining in middle earth, as some impetuous young warrior beside the calm and kindly uncle figures of Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad, and making Elrond her sidekick as some young foppish civil servant, is awful. Elrond married her daughter, and that just sounds weird when you compare it to their RoP portrayals. If any of the 4 was to be warlike and impetuous at this stage, it would be Elrond, easily the youngest, a half-elven descendent of the warriors of the house of Bëor, and it would be Galadriel who counselled HIM to behave.

[@KizzMyAbs]

It’s like the writers never read any Tolkien work hey?

[@resathe6760]

Gil-galad's age can be highly debated as Tolkien and his son Christopher changed his origin multile times and Christopher said the version he went with for the Silmarillion that he was Fingon's son is in all likelihood not the version his father settled on in the later parts of his life. And there is also very little known about Celebrimbor. You're right about the age but his partaking in all of the battles might be probable but we know nothing about it. It's also explicitly stated that he didn't inherit his father's temper. I agree on the rest and also disliked most of the show very much

[@susankramer1206]

I could almost agree with this, except that Galadriel's mother-name was Nerwen "man-maiden" and she is said to compete with the sons of Feanor and Fingolfin in Valinor. So, she at least has *some* basis for being a warrior. However, I would also say that she spent a lot of time with Melian in Doriath, so I'd expect to at least see some of the wisdom we know her for as well. In short, it's not the best characterization, but I don't think it's the worst, either.

[@resathe6760]

@@susankramer1206 Until her time with Melian I could get behind her being a warrior if done right, but after it not really.

[@susankramer1206]

@@resathe6760 yeah, she's unfortunately one-note. She's a really complex character and we haven't seen any of that so far.

[@TheGreatUnwashedThing]

I feel with Sauron the big question that should have been asked in the show is not "Who is he" but "Why are people buying what this guy is selling?" Because as powerful as Morgoth is, its notable that is Sauron who actually needs Eru to directly intervene for him to be defeated and that is largely because he manages to manipulate huge numbers of people into doing his bidding. More generally, I think the show suffers from the problem a lot prequels suffer from which that they treat places and things as more interesting than people - at the end of the day, its not really that interesting how Mordor became a super-exaggerated version of the west Midlands. You could tell a much more interesting story with more less the same structure if you just swapped the Southlands/Mordor for Rhun or Harad (probably the latter as they are more present in the films) and tried to explain why men chose to follow Sauron.

[@lomiification]

They could have had him actually trying to help people with that too. Sauron finds out that the elves will have to leave, but he loves middle earth, and keeping the elves around is necessary to his middle earth. However, the rings can't work using his power without also conquering the elves. A tragic necessity for his dream of middle earth

[@tommoolenaar3901]

It would also have helped them be inclusive in a way that makes sense for a medieval fantasy setting. Rather than retroactively mixing races into existing cultures, seeing a previously unexplored culture foreign from what we've seen already in the films would have been a much more interesting premise IMO.

[@kawaiidoggo]

@@tommoolenaar3901 Although it would be really interesting to see Harad or Rhun, I don't really mind mixed-race. Arondir was just like any other elves. Disa and Miriel both didn't really distract from cultural aspect of dwarves or numenoreans. In fact, they just add a lot of great characteristics of both group of beings in Middle Earth. The fact that Arodnir, Disa or Miriel was African descent doesn't diminish their amazing performances and how their characters kinda belong to these actors/actresses now.

[@maywenearedhel]

Agreed. We all know what Sauron was capable of. I think they honestly didn't know how to write him. Sauron was powerful, intelligent, charming, charismatic, and manipulative. Only the wisest were able to see through him. But instead of creating a character that was honestly persuasive and manipulative, they decided to dumb everyone else who interacted with him down to base emotions and call it a day. Honestly, Adair made a better Sauron than actual Sauron.

[@LeftJoystick]

Yes for sure. It would have loved seeing Annatar actively leading people/the elves astray. Being helpful, but also being destructive.

[@joelwest6507]

This is the kindest, most sincere, inoffensive, and thorough review of the series I've ever seen. It does not shy away from the genuine failings of the show as a whole, while being very upfront with the more impressive elements of it. I found myself appreciating the show anew for those things (though arguably few and far between) which are simply very good. I also found myself seeing the show with a more optimistic outlook: I felt sad about the lost potential, but inspired by the way you spell out what changes could have been made to improve the show. Thank you for an in-depth and outstanding piece of media criticism!

[@dendradwar9464]

He gets access to the show .. he gets interviews .. this gives him clicks .. now nothing against this he is entitled to earn a living .. but this is the primary reason why its so "inoffensive" .. he can't ..

[@izzycheechoo5793]

​@dendradwar9464 or you can be critical without being a jackass for entertainment.

[@mistybrass3719]

​@@dendradwar9464 So, instead if just disagreeing with him, you straight up attack him because he does this stuff for a living and makes good money..... Your comment reeks of jealousy.

[@dendradwar9464]

@@mistybrass3719 The part where I wrote "now nothing against this he is entitled to earn a living" .. this you believe is an attack?

[@justinkashtock333]

When that scene in Númenor was occuring where they were complaining about elves taking their income opportunities away from them, I began laughing so loudly that my wife, who was watching it with me asked what was so funny. All I could think about during that entire scene was the South Park episode where all the townsfolk are complaining about the future people saying "they took our jobs!", because it was practically a carbon copy of that South Park episode.

[@zjjohnson3827]

Fun fact (well, not fact, more like my opinion lol): I don’t think that scene is supposed to be about immigration so much as Amazon trying to vilify warehouse workers who are concerned by Amazon trying to replace them with robots who “don’t sleep, don’t eat, don’t rest”, etc. Obviously it’s a stupid scene, with the very loosest of possible relevancies to the plot being Pharazon showing how well he’s winning over the people

[@Xecnalxes]

Wtf? I already chose not to watch the show but, they dabbled in the socio-economic problems of Middle Earth? I'm staying far away from this

[@MRAIClassroom]

Same here!

[@emptyhand777]

Same. Only I groaned first until the South Park scenes flashed across my mind, then I cracked up.

[@Nerd_Detective]

Yeah, it felt very forced in and was lazily written, feeling like a rough idea that somehow ended up in the final script without any polish. It didn't need to be, either, because the Numenorians have pretty big insecurities related to the elves. It's just that they wouldn't see them as foreign laborers. They could have worked in a fear of competing with IMPORTED TRADE GOODS from the elves (immortal craftsmen who unfairly spend many lifetimes honing a craft while men are doomed to die) and political domination from afar by the elves. I could see those being real anxieties on Numenor that tap into long-simmering enmity and jealousy stemming from their fear of mortality and their pride. These are perfect sentiments for the shrewd Pharazon to manipulate and direct for his political maneuverings. Because the politics, economics, and social strife of Middle Earth *ARE* interesting stories to tell (and are already right there in the source material -- just look at most of the Third Age prior to the War of the Ring). It's just that these themes have to be worked in with care and forethought.

[@BoundInHumanBones]

"Galadriel bounces around like she's in a Middle Earth Pin Ball Machine" made my day.

[@johnlenz420]

watching the whole season of Rings of Power ruined my day so im glad it canceled out

[@skivvy3565]

Hahahaha

[@Klaaism]

@@johnlenz420 Thankfully there was House of the Dragon to wash the bad taste from my palate.

[@lukehunter9296]

It’s because there is a tempest in her !!! 😂

[@jmad318]

@@johnlenz420 did you assume that the show was going to be a well made and faithful adaptation of the world created by JRR Tolkien? Because that's the only reason you could have been surprised and disappointed by it. The second I heard Amazon was making a series based on Tolkien's second age I dug a nice deep hole and buried all my expectations. It was never going to be anything but watered down inaccurate swill.

[@timothymeyer9940]

Honestly, I think you should have written this series for them.

[@anthonykryzak273]

At the very least any Tolkien fan worth their salt would bring this guy and or Stephen Colbert on as consultants, fact checkers and censors to bounce ideas off of.. any true fans were either not hired or completely ignored by writers/ showrunners

[@fuddthedestroyer4454]

@@anthonykryzak273 Actually, Colbert ran cover for Patrick McKay & JD Payne at Comic Con. The consultant they needed to retain was Dr Shipley, who was fired.

[@anthonykryzak273]

@@fuddthedestroyer4454 That was before Colbert had seen the series and clearly they either didnt consult or listen to his suggestilons.. If colbert had anything to do with the actual writing for the series it would have been a different animal altogether. The man is not only a superfan but a Purist.. The actual series was embarasing and I guarantee colbert detested it Edit. If they fired a consultant i can basically promise you that he was let go because of his loyalty to the source material.

[@marquissmith7101]

No but seriously. I have been preaching this gospel for YEARS! Get a nerd/Tolkien scholar in the creative room to be the voice of reason and help scrap some of these atrocious ideas that fans are going to hate.

[@fuddthedestroyer4454]

@@marquissmith7101 And he/she would get the Shipley treatment. Fired.

[@mac1462]

With how passionate you are about tolkien I'm shocked you even want to see a season 2

[@XER606]

Shows can have a very rough first season but improve over time... granted this is rare but still can happen

[@stephendouglas4870]

@@XER606 It cannot happen in this case. The leading character, Galadriel, is so contrary to Tolkien's creation on every level that there is no way to rectify the character. Anyone who's read The Silmarillion knows that such characters as her and Sauron are akin to the realm of Gods. Galadriel was never corrupted, was never entirely human but half way to the realm of Angels or Gods. In this series she is no more than an ordinary feisty woman with a great chip on her shoulder. Sauron likewise was never an ordinary man, but began as something like an Archangel who decided long ago to take a dark path. In short, his first appearances as decepetive con-man are disappointing and off topic. The writers do not seem to know anything of Tolkien's world and so fail at the first hurdle. It cannot be redeemed at this point, having laid its foundations on wrong premises.

[@scheunemann8402]

​@@XER606It is not gonna happen, they are not gonna improve... And this is sad , i had really high hopes for the show

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

​@@XER606 ROP cannot fix its problems without retconning significant aspects and, in particular, characters so much that the show becomes inconsistent in itself.

[@CrimsonAlchemist]

Exactly

[@matthewmiller8297]

They want the box office returns of Peter Jackson's trilogy but don't want you to actually expect them to earn it by delivering a good story.

[@umaruchan8434]

1:00:29 "Nazgals" I almost missed that joke lmfaooooooo

[@tylerleach1833]

So it's the Hobbit Trilogy all over again.

[@annalisam9999]

@Trump Is The Messiah There was capitalism when LOTR were made dude..

[@victora6565]

@Trump Is The Messiah you don’t know what capitalism is. Economy, market, money… all of those things were already present BEFORE capitalism. Capitalism simply gives liberty to people decide the actual value in a service or product through popular demand. Making the market more organic. What you said is exactly the opposite of the truth since without capitalism there would be no incentive for quality, with capitalism products/services provided will prevail by giving what others failed to deliver.

[@victora6565]

@Trump Is The Messiah now, if for any reason you refuse to change and keep giving bad companies your money… That is your fault.

[@givepeaceachance940]

Best point made in the video: Elrond should've been the one to go to Numenor based on the kinship connection to Elros

[@smithlevenson1]

The Numenoreans were Gods among men and seeking elvish immortality. The show made them look like they were a slightly nicer version King's Landing once on street level. Elrond really could have elevated the whole experience.

[@pedromagalhaesb]

I disagree. In Gil-galad's perspective, Mithril and Khazad-dûm was the real priority, and Elrond was the only one able to build such a bridge.

[@dog-thebackwardgod]

And that wasn't in the book either. Gg

[@PrinceofRavens64]

@@pedromagalhaesb No, Celebrimbor is the friend of dwarves, he should have gotten that plot line.

[@pedromagalhaesb]

@@PrinceofRavens64 True, that's good. I meant that in the context they built in that story, it made sense the decision of Gil Galad.

[@horse_chestnut2359]

Totally agree on the point about fans and book and surprises: we have been waiting for this for ages, to see the Second Age on screen, not to be floored by totally new plot twists that we didn't need.

[@Tadicuslegion78]

I finished reading the Silmarillion for the third time, and had Rings of Power in the back of my mind as to why it failed. To this day, will never understand 95% of the decisions made

[@lisarobinson5999]

They don't have the rights to the Silmarillion, just the Appendices in LOTR. Not excusing the bad writing that clearly exists (cough cough Mithril-madness cough cough) in places, just throwing it out there.

[@urbanvampyre2706]

@@lisarobinson5999 That's true, they are only allowed to use the Appendices, but since there isn't enough there to make the story work without getting into The Silmarillion, they should have just wrote their own story in their own world and came up with their own name for it. Leave Tolkien's work alone.

[@lisarobinson5999]

@@urbanvampyre2706 Yeah, like Star Trek did with the Kelvin Timeline. That's a good call.

[@Alastair_]

I can recite pretty much the entire original trilogy off by heart. I can barely even remember anything that happened in this series and I watched every episode.

[@beeofapril]

Same. The series is trash.

[@carbonara2144]

I love this channel but it seems I cannot make myself to watch this episode. Maybe some day. The series is an atrocity I don't want to witness with my own eyes. Its not just incompetence its intentional destruction and vandalization of cultural treasure by low-brow ideological zealots.

[@JeanMichelAbrassart]

How many times did you watch the original trilogy the last 20 years? You can't compare.

[@JeanMichelAbrassart]

@@beeofapril It's clearly not, as this analysis shows very well. Not perfect, but certainly not trash.

[@cmdrf.ravelli1405]

@@JeanMichelAbrassart I couldn't tell you. I feel asleep while watching most episodes

[@fgdj2000]

I think my main issue with the show is... it doesn't tell a story that is worth telling to me. And it is telling the wrong story. The second age is a story about hubris and its consequences, both for the Elves and Men. Both aspire to be essentially like the gods. The elves become vulnerable to Annatar and forge the Rings of power and end up playing into Sauron's hand. The Numenoreans are seduced by the promise of immortality and do the sacrilege that leads to their ruin. And so far, I feel we see very little of that story play out. Instead we have a fairly tired "revenge/ when you become obsessed with the enemy you become the enemy"-type story (obviously with a redemption arc), a presumably tragic romance and a "all have to set their differences aside to fight the true enemy" narrative. None told particularly well and doing anything ging really interesting other than the portrayal of Elrond and Durin's very heartfelt friendship. I actually did enjoy the idea of turning Sauron into a character who seems to be running from his own past and attempting his own redemption, and I liked Adar and his quest to create a home for the orcs. So I can see some of that actually becoming quite powerful in later seasons if the series lasts this long. But so far I think it's a forgettable and boring show that has little to say, carried by everything BUT the script (the actors, the many talented people working on the show, the music, etc.) and - most of all - the name. I really wish them they can turn it around or that they have a great plan down the line, and this will be like the early seasons of most Star Trek shows in the 1990s, but as of this moment, I stand by my harsh judgement.

[@Zizzy7]

Well said.

[@jucastro19]

Agreed. It's NOT the same story if the plot has changed. Not the same characters if they have different backgrounds. I'm not watching it anymore.

[@benjamincostello]

I really appreciated this critical, yet thoughtful review. It feels like most everything else related to this show is just anger and bile. As someone newer to the pre-hobbit/LOTR writings, I appreciated how you made the connections and your critiques are really insightful. Thank you.

[@DrCorndog1]

I've long thought that the mystery approach is a crutch for bad writers. Good mystery stories exist, but bad ones exist in abundance and often as a substitute for good storytelling.

[@DrFeelGoodHelpDesk]

I think there is a very big difference between a Mystery Story and a reliance on, as has been said in the video, the "Mystery Box" writing style so loved by the showrunners on Rings of Power and other lazy writers/film makers *cough* J J Abrams *cough*. A mystery story is structured around the mystery itself, everything put in place, Easter eggs and clues littered around for the reader/viewer to absorb/notice leading to the final revelation. The mystery box is, in its most basic form, a way for hack writers to hide their terrible storytelling ability and then talk down to the audience who were not impressed with their lackluster output.

[@mabhatter4294]

@@DrFeelGoodHelpDesk Jar Jar Abrams me gooseee googly

[@skivvy3565]

You can tell most of the time the writers don’t know what the hell is going on, so say ‘mystery’ and get applauded for genius lmao. Look at what happened to Star Wars and Rey ‘Skywalker’ (Kenobi)

[@farhadchaudhry]

The mystery approach is great for stories that are....well.... mysteries. Like Scooby Doo. Or Knives Out. They're NOT good for stories that people coming into watching a TV show already know.

[@k--music]

Especially when the mystery is both unnecessary and uninspiring like this. The "whereʻd Sauron go" story seemed like a footnote for most of the season and then It seemed like they didnʻt know the answer themselves until the end when it was revealed that the real sauron is the friends we make along the way. Came out of left field when he hadnʻt been shown to do much in the way of scheming or planning anything out

[@vandrar3n]

1:00:10 "we instead get Halbrand, fake human dude brought by Galadriel who stumbles his way into the forge and gives Celebrimbor, the greatest smith of the age, the hidden knowledge of aLlOyS" this is gold

[@heyheyitsjae2475]

Actually, it's electrum

[@vandrar3n]

@@heyheyitsjae2475 good one!

[@rafaeldoo9108]

Actually, this is false. Halbrand didn't teach Celebrimbor about alloys. You guys have to watch it again. It seems to me many people didn't pay attention on the story.

[@robertstrachan3915]

Like, solid gold or ... What's that word?

[@Floxxoror]

@@rafaeldoo9108 He tought him that alloying metals improves their properties. Which is the main reason to alloy metals. It's like telling a cook, that heating some ingredients might be a good thing. He toguht him that putting nickel into iron improves the properties. Funnily enough he portraits it, like iron was rare and nickel is easily obtained, although, at least on earth it is the other way round. Probably in middle earth aswell, as no dwarve talks about his fancy nickel axe. That he uses this to show that he knows how to workaround having little noble metals, just shows how lazy writers were. Iron is by no means a noble metal and it is not even knowledge to know this. everybody knows rust. So no, he did not tell the cook, that hot water exists, but he told him that you can put food in hot water.

[@jaymieberry]

With the point about book fans being ahead of the episodes, I find that so silly because as a manga reader, it is an absolute JOY when our books are accurately made into ANIME. It is brought to life with voices, colors, music, and we can SEE the fights and powers (if they have any). I think an accurate adaptation would be the highest compliment. Transitioning to anime, when they are produced with the same art style or an even better one, all we want is the same story just in movement. I can't begin to explain the anticipation that comes from waiting to see a fantastic arc come to life with animation.

[@sunset7424]

THIS RIGHT HERE^

[@processedsoy]

Yes!!! This is what we love!!! (Looking at you Love Is War❤)

[@jamielove179]

Absolutely agree!

[@ExeErdna]

That's the whole point! Too many think it'll be boring to have just a 1:1 from book to motion. Yet sometimes that's all some people want.

[@EnoshII]

I have yet to see a book/manga/whatever reader go "I hate it because it's just like the book" at a faithful adaptation of a story

[@danielgilbert8338]

I did not interpret the Halbrand reveal as Sauron has been a repentent good guy up until this point. My takeaway was that everything had been a lie and a manipulation to get him where he needed to be and to trick galadriel into helping him get there. That being said, i still don't think that had been set up properly

[@Nerd_Detective]

Regarding the Balrog, I think it would have been fine for the leaf to fall into the depths, land at the bottom, and then start smoldering. We did not need to see Durin's Bane angrily roaring and bursting into flame for its presence to be felt, assuming that the show runners wanted us to remember in that moment that ruin would one day come to the kingdom of the dwarves. Though I feel their intent was just "remember this fellow?!" In Star Wars terms it reminds me of the end of Solo, where we get an utterly gratuitous appearance with Darth Maul doing some cool tricks for no reason other than nostalgia.

[@chowderdouglas]

YES. Something like that or that scene ending with the leaf falling from out of view into the darkness with an ominous deep drone (e.g. Lustmord). I think this type of idea would have been way more effective and also scarier.

[@_RiseAgainst]

The physical difference between the tunnel and the Balrog was shockingly low if I remember correctly. It seemed like they could have dug to it in under a week.

[@Nerd_Detective]

@@_RiseAgainst To be fair, there were a good three or four cuts for the scene off it falling, so it may have had a long distance to go while it fell along the mithril vein. But I do get how it might feel like a fairly short distance since it's a brief scene. One thing I do like is that the leaf is shown going through a vast cavern... but then into some dark crevices into a dark, relatively enclosed space below the cavern floor. Canonically Durin's Bane was hiding in tunnels dug out by the Nameless Things, and had mastered navigating them. So it seems they've kept to that.

[@Lothiril]

I think their intent was just "we want some Balrog in our marketing so let's put one into the season somehow".

[@Tamajyn69]

They seem to think that all the viewers are stupid and they had to spell it out for us

[@babayaga4783]

Loved the little rant about the mithril rabbit hole 🤣🤣🤣 yeah honestly that was weird and idk why they would have wanted to even change that

[@BazelWarv]

Curse you for pointing out those Elrond going to Numenor “what ifs” because now I am retroactively upset that we didn’t get any of that 😂

[@natashamariano2790]

Lol same, I got so excited when he described those "what ifs", but I think some of it can still happen though!

[@wiktorLicht]

Yeah same.

[@scambammer6102]

then you would have a male lead. no can do. must have strong woman lead

[@nashocheese]

Yup, Getting the exact feeling, had to pause and check the comments to make sure im not the only one...

[@felixsiebenhuhner2218]

We could still get some of it... My expectation is that Numenor will fall at the end of season 4, so there's plenty of time left for Elrond to visit.

[@ValyrianPrince]

This remains the nicest and calmest review I’ve seen of this crap.

[@howsthepie1907]

'Elrond is the only character that seems to like Galadriel, she's threatened to kill everyone else. I started to wonder why he likes her, we get a small hint of this in the scene where Galadriel is holding a knife to him...' 🤣

[@rosiehawtrey]

Dolcett fetish Elves, who knew... 😂

[@theother1281]

Elrond is the only character that seems to like Galadriel; but that just leaves you wondering why?

[@AudraT]

Galadriel was unliked by the characters as well as all of us fans. I think she is the worst character in the whole season. She's insufferable, a complete jerk, and so models today's activist youth these days "they don't agree with me? I'll just yell louder."

[@seekerdiscovers]

It's the whoha she has

[@barrylyndon5552]

Wow thats just accurate "Im angry and if you disagree I am angry at you and if you dont agree then i'll get violent" Literally just the opposite of Tolkiens entire message about small acts of good defeating evil. Scream louder and you win, gj RoP@@AudraT

[@GRWelsh7]

I'm the biggest Tolkien fan in my circle of friends who all love fantasy... and I couldn't watch more than the first two episodes. I didn't hate it, I just thought it was boring and it didn't feel at all like the Middle-earth I loved. It was like watching fan fiction.

[@Redmeer411]

that's because that's what it is, a billion dollar Fan-Fic cum political/social agenda and commentary vessel and platform. Its sad, but I honestly think that Nerd of the Rings really went soft on just how bad the writing was and decided not to acknowledge the fact that almost every thing in this show was a stand in for the Show runners' and writers' own stances on modern political and social commentary. Over all this video was a huge soft ball for Rings of Power, it was not Tolkien in the slightest.

[@highstimulation2497]

so, just like the disney not star wars, then.

[@squaeman_2644]

@@Redmeer411 Nerd of the Rings was given gifts and a vacation and then was very light on criticism... Was it the Lord of gifts got to him?

[@Redmeer411]

@@squaeman_2644 At the very least seems that someone found his price point.

[@mithrae4525]

@@Redmeer411 Kind of sounds like you're the one bringing your own political/social agenda into it 🙂 Besides "the elves will take our jobs" (which NotR highlighted for criticism) nothing in the series plotlines, themes and dialogues really stood out to me as modern social commentary. Of course there are plenty of folk who've vocally insisted that darker-skinned people should not be cast in Middle Earth adaptations (except in evil roles such as orcs or Haradrim, of course), but I'm assuming you aren't one of those types.

[@toddwright7567]

I struggled mightily with the way Galadriel was portrayed and the dialogue. When she jumped out of the ship at the end of the first episode I found myself so utterly disappointed I was unable to push play on the second episode so that’s as far as I made it

[@cmic_1365]

I understand your point, but interesting it was the moment that I got fond of the show, given that it reminded me the story of Amroth and Nimrodel.

[@cally77777]

Odd really, because even human swimmers are capable of great feats of endurance that some would find difficult to believe. What elven ones, with incredibly resilient bodies and being virtually tireless might achieve is probably beyond imagination. Nonetheless, swimming all the way back to Middle Earth was probably beyond Galadriel, (that's why Feanor burning the ships was so bad) so either it was her instinct (and she is after all naturally prescient) that it was the right thing to do, or she actually had a death wish, possibly as the result of the trauma of losing so many of her immediate family. Neither of these is, on reflection, impossible to believe, though I agree it initially looks a bit crazy. But why not press play? There have been moments in Tolkien adaptions where I felt like throwing something at the screen, but I did keep watching.

[@danemiller4852]

@@cally77777 which parts of Peter Jackson's films did you hate?

[@cally77777]

@@danemiller4852 Initially I really hated cgi d Galadriel, as it turned what was a beautiful and powerful scene in the book into an industrial light display. And the other bad one was Frodo leaving Sam behind because of the crumbs. Just would not happen. Oh and I was pretty annoyed by stupid, comedy villain Denethor. Nonetheless overall I rate that trilogy highly. Just don't talk to me about the Hobbit...

[@thelilyfarrell]

i wish i did that. i laughed so hard on how ridiculous that scene was. she apparently was so much better than a boat🤣💀🤦‍♀️ it was really infuritating. also sadly i watched the who season which was even worse each episode. my husband whos a casual viewer couldn't even take it anymore cause the writing was so bad. hes so happy the show is done.lol

[@joshuapatrick682]

I respect your civilized critique of this show and I respect your dedication to my favorite author's life's work. That said I want to finish with this. Watching Peter Jackson's Trilogy is the worst thing I could have done as a fan of Tolkien who had already read all of Tolkien's works several times before the films were ever announced. Why? Because the adaptation of my own imagination was forever altered by doing so. Whatever fantastical world, races and horrors my mind had created were forever destroyed by seeing someone else's vision put to film. For the life of me I cannot wish they had never been made because they introduced countless people to a world and characters that move me deeply still as a 40 year old but what they did by making this show is beyond the pale. It is basically a bad fan fiction of Tolkien's world and the characters within it.

[@sheadoolittle]

You are much more charitable to the faults of this show than I was.

[@DraconisMarchVII]

That's putting it kindly.

[@jim7217]

Exactly, could have gone into how bad the writing actually was with regard to multiple scenes and lines delivered by capable actors/actresses who would have looked a lot better and loved by the audience had the writing been capable at all. Also - the costuming has a lot to be desired, and I cannot get over the "plastic-y" armor - Amazon spent a LOT of $ on this, yet plastic armor??? Come on!

[@bryce6195]

That's because he's sponsored by Audible (which is owned by Amazon)

[@JamesAnderson-dp1dt]

@@bryce6195 I was wondering why z guy who is so devoted to the actual lore, could be so (relatively) kind about a show that frankly makes profound errors and corruptions of that same lore. But I guess a paycheck speaks loudest...

[@pedepatopimenta]

curious to what the flaws you saw were

[@Stephen.L]

100% agree about the destinations of Elrond and Galadriel being switched. Would have made much more sense and provided more weight. And we could have seen an insight into what it means to be half elven. And I like the idea of he being a mentor to make the future scene make sense as to why Elrond didn't just kill him to take the ring to throw it into mount doom

[@TheCalifornianeskimo]

The fast travel part was what broke the universe of GoT in the end. Literally felt like a half a season just to get to kings landing in the first season, and by the end of it multiple trips are made in single episodes

[@GreenFalcon926]

GoT had been using fast travel since season 1. Literally a month passes within a few scenes. Of course halfwits forget that.

[@gilgamesh8334]

@@GreenFalcon926You‘re not the brightest are you? They acknowledge the distances and times it takes to travel. Several key moments even happen. That is Not the point at all. The world is moving and living while they are moving from Point A to B. Later Gendry runs superhumanly fast for days and nights in unknown arctic-like terrain and sends a bird hundreds of miles south so Dragon Lady Chan come hundreds of miles north…and jon and crew just sat there, without cover and fire for WEEKS. So maybe use what‘s left of your rotten brain before calling people halfwits. It‘s Not about „fast travel“ for reasons of pacing, it‘s about illogical wolrdbreaking, plothole creating nonsense destroying narrative cohesion and immersion.

[@davorzdralo8000]

​@@GreenFalcon926the problem isn't with time skips my dude, that is fine. The problem is when some characters use fast travel, and some don't, it breaks the entire universe.

[@NickThorbjørnsen2207]

Say what you want. The speeches in this dont hit anywhere near as hard as: "Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now!! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending! Deeeeeeaaaath! Deeeeeeaaaaath! DEEEEEAAAAATH!!!!!!" Forth Eorlingas!

[@NerdoftheRings]

Oh for sure. The speeches have the feeling of *insert dramatic speech here* being written on the script.

[@NickThorbjørnsen2207]

@NerdoftheRings like in Return Of The King, after hearing Theodens speech then the one by Aragorn, even as the viewer I'm feeling ready to pick up a sword and go to battle. The speeches in Rings Of Power make me severely underwhelmed.

[@CordaroBlu]

I actually saw the show before the movie, and was appalled at how monstrous the harfoots were. I finally saw the movies over the last week and seeing Sam, Merry and Pippen jump in front of orcs, nazguls and Shelob without hesitation to defend each other I understood so much better. Also, I wholly doubt the stranger is a blue wizard because to me it feels like they're eager to abuse the recognizability of known characters rather than allowing unfamiliar characters be extremely crucial.

[@mithrae4525]

That's a criticism I'd pretty thoroughly disagree with NotR on. The only Harfoot portrayed as relatively heartless is Malva; and she simply offers more of a greater good/good of the group perspective (with a fair dose of fear and superstition on top) in her calls to abandon the Brandyfoots. By contrast Sadoc is more measured and compassionate, and there's plenty of love between Nori and Poppy and within the Brandyfoot family. In fact Malva herself later admits that her earlier attitude was wrong, even after their whole camp had been burned by people following the stranger! What the show portrays seems fairly realistic for the harsh and dangerous nomadic life of a small and weak people. If you're barely keeping your head above water, reaching out to a drowning person will just doom you both. A caravan which takes twice as long to move between camping grounds because they're ensuring no-one gets left behind is twice as vulnerable to the dangers of big folk, wild animals, weather and so on. In the Shire life is good and comfortable, kept relatively safe under the kingdom of Arnor and later the watchful eyes of the Dunedain, perhaps too good and comfortable; instead of "those who fall behind stay behind" we see the attitude of "never mind the Black Riders hot on our heels, we need our second breakfast and elevenses"! The show is using the Harfoots (in a manner consistent with hobbits not entering the awareness of men/written record until the third age) to look at the opposite end of the spectrum which Pippin etc. represented at the start of their journey, harsh survivalism vs. coddled hedonism. In his own way Pippin was arguably even more callous than the Harfoots, more or less heedless of the risks to others' lives which his actions presented, most obviously in awakening the balrog. Apparently that's only in the film adaptation, but at this point that's more or less 'canonical' in many people's view, including obviously the makers of this series.

[@ciukmicubisi5948]

Monstrous? What

[@redelfshotthefood8213]

The Blue wizards get almost zero mention in Tolkien’s works. I had to hunt to find their names (pre wiki).

[@Cashinn_Outt1754]

10/10 it’s Gandalf lolol

[@XxXTunafish]

I thought it was pretty clear that it's Gandalf

[@bernadette2657]

Genuinely shocked sometimes by how high Nerds batting average is at this point. I mean the criticisms and the praises are just dead on. 👏 I wish the show runners would watch this video and take notes lol

[@tjk3430]

The showrunners are hopeless if this was their first best effort.

[@Falcrist]

@@tjk3430 Or you don't fully understand the constraints. The show had MANY good points as well, some of which were rightly highlighted in the video.

[@tjk3430]

@@Falcrist I agree. But lipstick on a pig...

[@Falcrist]

@@tjk3430 bad metaphor since we're talking about attributes of the animal, not additions after the fact. The show was good. Not bad, not amazing. Just good. This disappoints some people, but in order to achieve greatness, the Tolkien estate would have to cooperate. We'll... That's one of the changes that would have to happen, anyway.

[@rafaelw.b.1324]

@@Falcrist I absolutely saw nothing good in this show.

[@franciscopascoal5007]

I'm annoyed that they omitted the fact that Galadriel can literally read minds since the first age!

[@marquissmith7101]

Agreed. And the fact that they pretended like the elves just can't do any magic at all. Because of that stupid plot thread about the dying tree. Infuriating.

[@daveyjones8969]

THAT'S what bothers you? My God man, open your eyes!

[@dodie-poopsco.6893]

or that by this point in history she is both a wife and mother

[@leglo4996]

To anyone who watched the series: would you be surprised if galadreil started shooting lightning from her hands and pull out a red lightsaber, then proceeded to slaughtering younglings.

[@barrylyndon5552]

By the time she got the offer I half expected her to take it and the series would just go straight to a complete parallel universe where Galadriel was the Dark Lord and Sauron led a heroic resistance trying to recruit Gandalf the Grand Hobbit

[@chechantal]

I love your dedication and commitment to this channel and the overall lore. I managed to remain objective when viewing the Rings of Power as it premiered - there was success and there were flaws, no deep bias toward loving or hating it either way. But I realized, 5min into your video that I didn’t want to relive the experience. I’ve never bailed on a single one of your videos before, but there it is - my honest critique of the Rings of Power dawning on me in this moment. I just can’t be bothered to return to this world again, not even through clips. Not even with NotR as my guide.

[@slatter98]

I feel much the same way my friend, in balance I probably enjoyed it mostly and yet it’s seemingly left me such a bad taste in my mouth that I haven’t even been consuming true LoTR content and that is a first for a decade. Also I’m referring to the whole experience not just the show, next season I will not be taking part in any of the online discussions or breakdowns as I feel they made me expect better than what I got

[@forrestpenrod2294]

How much of that is because of the show or the convo around it? I’m a big fan of Star Wars, enjoyed The Last Jedi, but felt so burnt out by the hostility toward it online that I can’t bring myself to watch anything about it good or bad. I enjoyed Rings of Power, can’t bring myself to watch anything about it externally.

[@riverbluevert7814]

Perfectly stated

[@Earendil_1510]

This video just feels a lot like trying hard to keep the show relevant among audiences that dont care and have already forgotten about the horrible show !!

[@slatter98]

@@forrestpenrod2294 don’t know about OP but for me it is hard to say because the experiences were so intertwined, however I do know that I just avoided the negativity but what really “ruined” it, if that is the right word, was actually the positive commentary and theories because we all got so excited about where they were taking it and then it ended up that even some of the less good theories would have been better than what they actually did. So I went into with no expectations but then by the finale because of all the theorising I had loads, pretty much all of which were not met.

[@samelwell9463]

The point about Elrond going to Numenor instead of Galadriel is amazing. This one change, would have made the whole show more compelling. Galadriel could have instead fought her way across Middle Earth with Halbrand towards Mt Doom, following Sauron breadcrumbs, and then reunited with Elrond in battle with Adar.

[@Druwuwho1337]

They could just have made Galadriel a tiny bit likeable. Would'nt have hurt either

[@Whitzes]

@@Druwuwho1337 I actually don't get why ppl don't think she's likeable a character. Is she driven, neurotic, and even borderline psychotic right now? Yes; But the show gave us reasons for her behavior. I wish we could have seen those reasons in more than just the opening act /prologue of episode 1, but those were VERY compelling. I would be hellbent on murdering Sauron too if that were my family. & No amount of "oh, please act regal, kind, etc." would have changed that. Like Nerd of the Rings -- I wish we would have gotten some tender moments to temper the edge of the blade with Galadriel and to demonstrate WHY folks like Elrond care about her. But alas we didn't, and honestly anything too tender might have tempered her blade too much. The hatred is what drives her to become "more", and likely her downfall too. If we get to see it. We did see the ending of that arc when she rejects the One Ring in LOTR.

[@sariellakingdom1878]

Just for fun, without softening or altering Galadriel's characterisation as written, try to imagine how it would of gone if it were her renewing an old friendship with Durin after 20 years... Not sure she'd of used a bit of guile to get into Moria, just shouted about Tempests at the door...

[@Druwuwho1337]

@@Whitzes I mean in the very first episode she is ready to leave behind one of her companions in a snow storm. When she gets saved by Helbrand, she cant even say thank you, she instantly just hisses at him and starts to complain. The episode where she tells Helbrand to not kill Ada, and then 2 minutes later she nearly kills him herself. Sure hell has no fury like a woman scorned, but does she have to snap at everybody she meets. Why not make her a bit more humble when she is getting rescued, or getting help from people who has no real reason to help her ? I will say my biggest problems with this show has been the directing and writing. Imo it is weak, predictable and tries so hard to be high fantasy that it actually made me roll my eyes constantly. Like the stone and the boat metaphor in ep 1, wtf was that, and there is tons of those moments in the show.

[@Druwuwho1337]

@@sariellakingdom1878 Anything to give Durin more screen time tbh. He was by far the most relatable character in the show, and his troubles felt the most real in the whole show. His reply to her tempest line would probably be " A dog can bark at the moon, but it may never bring it down " God damn it I hate the writing in this show.

[@EmblemParade]

Your take on Elrond is perfect! The books say almost nothing about his relationship to Elros, so if we had him visit Númenor that would have been just a wonderful exploration of it. I think a lot about how Elrond must have felt when his brother chose mortality, a feeling that must have repeated when his daughter, Arwen, chose the same. Sadness? Curiosity, or even jealousy, about the fate of Men? And just think of those two young brothers, children of fantastical heroes who ascended into supernatural legend! Every time he looks into the night sky he sees his parents looking over the world that they saved through love, courage, and sacrifice. All the lines of kings of Númenor, all the way to Aragorn, are his relatives, descendants of his brother. To have Elrond in an avuncular relationship with Isildur would have been a dream come true. I share it. :)

[@amarieoflothlorien]

or at least a deathbed scene where Elrond says goodbye to Elros.

[@oskariratinen1213]

To portray those things in fiction takes talent in writing. Something that was apparently completely absent from the showrunners and the the writing room of this show.

[@EmblemParade]

@@oskariratinen1213 I agree with Nerd of the Rings that it was a mixed bag. There were moments of pretty good writing.

[@oskariratinen1213]

@@EmblemParade can you name one example? All the major storylines were absolutely ridiculous and all central characters were butchered beyond recognition. If the characters and places were named differently, I would have thought that it was the lamest Tolkien rip off ever. Which it was to be honest.

[@EmblemParade]

@@oskariratinen1213 I'm not going to argue about taste here. But I'm in basic agreement with most of what Nerd of the Rings says about the writing. It's all in the video.

[@sqwark4523]

My biggest bugbear is the casting for Sauron. Why did the make him strider/ Boromir rugged character? He’s supposed to be the most angelic.

[@mrsmarr3308]

Well -- that depends on the form he takes. He is a shapeshifter. I feel like the Annatar version will come in a different actor, and I don't feel Halbrand is Annatar.

[@Charles-A]

​@@mrsmarr3308If that's the case, then they already dropped the ball, and dropped it hard, specially considering that Annatar is the one who teaches the whole art of ringlore to Celebrimbor through a very long time, and considering the three were made well before all the other 16 are even remotely mentioned in the show... Yeah, no, it was a thorough poopy move.

[@dougmartin2007]

I also felt that they channeled Feanor into the Galadriel character. She was so prideful and angry, but instead of being tragic character flaws, they just made her annoying to watch. The big reason is that no one ever checks her on her behavior and no one just refuses to do what she says. I also thought it was weird that the elves just needed mithril. Even when Durin asks and Elrond just says without they will fade away, I thought , "so is it s suppository?" Apparently I was not far off according to mithril healing on leaf. Too many bad writing mistakes to cover in a yuotube comment, but I lost interest around episode 5 or 6 and have not seen the finale.

[@sariellakingdom1878]

I think that it was intentional since she literally has Feanor's star on her armour (something I don't think Book Galadriel would EVER do). I think they looked at Galadriel in the LOTR and said "She needs an arc" and drew on a few bits and bobs Tolkien wrote (not least the Feanorean pride all Noldor bay Finarfin had) and made her the exact opposite of what she becomes. In fairness I think they subverted the "she is always right" with the fact that everything she manages to strongarm to get her way absolutely backfires on her, and she clearly knows it. So the Mary Sue trope gets subverted. TBF that's largely in the finale.

[@schafn]

Correct me if I am wrong (it's been a while since I read the Silmarillion) but I thought Galadriel was supposed to be the anti-Feanor character. If memory serves she was quite put out at his behavior relating the the silmarils and the struggle to get them back from Melkor. He's the one who was headstrong, willful, and ready to bash your head in if you didn't do what he wanted. It seems strange to center Galadriel's character around these very same traits.

[@sariellakingdom1878]

@@schafn Not really (but not exactly no either) Galadriel was pretty much underwritten in the Silmarillion - for the simple reason it was completed before she was created. So when Tolkien when back to his various different notes and versions (he tended to have a couple on the go at once) he retrofitted her. He also never really stopped updating her story. However in the Silmarillion, and most of his versions (looking also at background he wrote here and there, some collected in Unfinished Tales, the History of Middle Earth series and The Nature of Middle Earth) Galadriel was young when the trees were destroyed in Growth years about 20 (that's actually about 15 in equivalence) She was very physical earning the the Mother name "Narwen" (Man Maiden) and was considered of Amazon disposition enjoying physical contests. She was also very precocious and had basically learned all the Valar could teach her by the time of the uprising (or at least she thought so, she certainly was taught by Aule among others) and she was inspired by Feanor's talk of lands free of the Valar that the Noldor could rule very much desiring a realm for herself (and to see Middle Earth). She swore no oath however. When the First Kinslaying occured Galadriel fought against it. I think in the Silmarillion it reads as if she arrived late with Finarfin's group, but later sources suggest that due to her wanting to visit Middle Earth she visited the Teleri, who she was kin with due to her mother, a Teleri Princess. As such she was present when the Kinslaying occured and she fought against Feanors forces valiantly. After this she hated Feanor and resolved to thwart him where she could. (I think that is in the book) However Tolkien noted of her specifically "Galadriel was born in the bliss of Valinor, but it was not long, in the reckoning of the Blessed Realm, before that was dimmed; and thereafter she had no peace within. For in that testing time amid the strife of the Noldor she was drawn this way and that. She was proud, strong, and selfwilled, as were all the descendants of Finwe save Finarfin; and like her brother Finrod, of all her kin the nearest to her heart, she had dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage. Yet deeper still there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget.” - Unfinished Tales “she withheld her goodwill from none save only Feanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own.” - Unfinished Tales so she shared in the character flaws of all Noldor bar her father. She was not quite as dark as in the TV show however, at least I assume not.

[@elWhiteNinja1]

Sanderson mentioned that mystery just for mystery sake is not method for storytelling. People can only experience mystery one time. If the story is good you don't need it unless the point of the story is mystery. I fully agree with you about pretty much everything. It had such potential and they made such weird decisions. Don't surprise me with a story I already know, tell it in a way that is compelling and enjoyable.

[@ViktorSarge]

Yeah changing things to create mystery tells me they lack the confidence to think people will watch their creation more than once. I used to read the trilogy every year for about a decade or two. Having intimate knowledge of the story only made it more enjoyable.

[@masonm87]

Dude you are hitting on a level of critical thinking with this series that producers and decision-makers need but don’t deserve.

[@redelfshotthefood8213]

I think you’ve hit on a point. The show actually needs him to help steer the boat. They just don’t realize it in their hubris.

[@NostalgicGamerRickOShay]

Watch Just Some Guy's reviews of this show, and see the difference.

[@russella90]

totally. i'm kind of worried that the producers will use NOTR's advice without compensating him as a consultant.

[@Kapoochii]

@@redelfshotthefood8213Don't worry, the next season is directed and written by only women, so that will fix all the issues /s

[@thefarkoss]

@@Kapoochii wtf?

[@PatrickGerhard]

Hey folks, hi Nerd of the rings. I just saw the show for the first time recently. First I found it ridiculous how cheap the writing felt. Like really really bad..! Almost dumb. Watching it I began to appreciate it more. I think what I liked the most is the imagery and sound. I also think the actors did a great job. I would give massive probs to the whole team except the writers - the really fucked this one up 😢 I found your conclusion extremely well put together, sensible and fair. Super well done 👍 I salute you

[@linguica]

I only recently read the LOTR novels for the first time and one thing that really struck me was how much they seemed structured like a military debriefing or after-action review in that Tolkien spent a lot of time describing the terrain, the challenges to navigation and traversal, the condition of pack items, rations, water, etc. It made it feel more like a meticulous recounting of actual events, rather than a fantastical story where the boring parts of getting from point A to B were skimmed over.

[@Curaissier]

Interesting comments. Tolkien is known for his world building and is probably the best fantasy author ever in this area.

[@josephnash2081]

To each his own. If you found Tolkien's Lord of the Rings boring that is your right but it is not an opinion many people share.

[@thefirstbushman]

@@josephnash2081 mate he liked it what are you on about, thats a compliment

[@mabhatter4294]

I always think Tolkein is best read by campfire light :P

[@hezvandermeij]

I'm sorry that some folks are misunderstandin your comment as negative. I see your compliment and point and as long-time Tolkien Novel fan I can whole-heartedly say I agree with you mate. He made it feel like a genuine history of our world. Fantastical but realistic. Who can say that they did THAT? well Tolkien of course. If you liked this, maybe try The Silmarillion if you have not yet, it reads like a genuine retelling of ancient mythos much like how we see Norse mythology. Have a good one

[@bakoyma]

I may be way off, but I never got the feeling of repenting Sauron at all. I just assume everything he says and does is 100 % manipulation. So I genuinely didn't have that much of a problem with Halbrand being Sauron. I do however completely agree with you about the ringmaking scenes... The lack of Anatar, the "secret of alloys"... Galadriel being the whole reason the rings were made without telling any of them about Sauron, Elrond figuring that out so we can have a "du du du!!!"-moment or two.... Just poorly done.

[@TolkienAnswers]

I thought manipulation the whole time as well. I think that is what the actor implied as well in an interview.

[@jimland4359]

The secret of alloys is really laughable. "I present to you the greatest smith in Middle Earth!" "Have you considered the first thing that any smith learns how to do?"

[@SkullandSwors_art]

Agreed!

[@andersonic]

You're not way off. My experience of the reveal was that I'd seen Annatar with a fair form that would get past their defenses and appeal to their prejudices from First Age heroes. Meanwhile getting a taste of being a hero, leader, exile, or criminal among the Men he intended to conquer and dominate.

[@TolkienAnswers]

@@jimland4359 It would have helped if he didn't act surprised about alloys in general, but maybe combining Mithril with other metals was such a crazy proposal that he didn't actually consider it.

[@alejandroyousef340]

The idea of Elrond coming to Numenor is phenomenal. Just imagine Elrond being confronted by some of the King's men faction for having chosen an elven life instead of a mortal one and also daring to come to the Island Kingdom to give advice to men !

[@emiblux98]

There is another youtuber that made 3 or 4 videos telling how he would have adapted the books and he did just that and it would have been awsome! I think its Rainbow dave if you care to listen to his narration...cheers!

[@RustyShackleford_]

*phenomenal. If you're unsure of spelling you should look it up real quick before you press send

[@alejandroyousef340]

@@RustyShackleford_ What for? If I have you to do the job ;)

[@666xurxo]

@@RustyShackleford_ Well; since we're getting picky; "Real quick" doesn't make any grammatical sense in your sentence. I believe the adverb you're looking for is "quickly". 😜

[@bernhardgapp3804]

Be careful what You wish for. They may actually write some crap dialogue for that like YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WHAT I HAVE SEEN.... YIKES

[@balrogthane]

"Now do we need entire episodes of people traveling from Point A to Point B? No, not necessarily." For something set in Middle-Earth, I would say, yes, we actually do. One of the major features of the books and the movies is how difficult and dangerous it is to travel from Point A to Point B. Eliding the travel is, IMO, directly contrary to the spirit of the books.

[@Demane69]

As a huge Tolkien fan, I found the best way to celebrate his legacy and material ... is the stay far, far away from crap like this.

[@JamesAnderson-dp1dt]

Amen. I figure anyone who likes this travesty probably would love a "documentary" where Abraham Lincoln is black and defeats George III at Pearl Harbor. After all, its only taking a couple of liberties and interpreting the source material. Just like RoP.

[@MarvinT0606]

@Demane69 Hard agree. The best way to do it is to read the books he himself wrote.

[@ugglorimossen]

I get your point regarding pyroclastic flow; however, the reason why that bugs me is it was the writers themselves who showed the devastating impact of that eruption to the town and the Southlands without any consequences for the main characters (except for isildur, who is neither dead nor greatly injured, and the Numenorian Queen who became blind). Peter Jackson's version didn't show a pyroclastic flow swooping right at Frodo and Sam, he showed Frodo and Sam struggling to survive next to lava flow. That's the big difference for me.

[@Dannsenman]

You're absolutely right, they're not only using this effect which will make people who are familiar with the idea of a pyroclastic flow go "Oh wow they're in real trouble now!", they're then visually confirming that to you... But the big thing for me is that they only did that because they thought it would look cool, which I think is something that drives a lot of this shows flaws. They want a visual effect so they slap it in without putting in the work to make it fit.

[@frits191]

@@Dannsenman You said it, most of this show's moments and scenes are more "is it cool" than "does it make sense" *couch* *couch* newest star wars

[@ImKrazyFrench]

So right! It was placed as a terribly menacing cliffhanger. I expected some epic turnaround or massive destruction and we've got nothing at all...Kinda like the Balrog scene. Very pointless cliffhanger.

[@DarkNGG]

Yes, Sam and Frodo didn't facetank the pyroclastic flow like Galadriel did. After that episode my first thought was "Welp, they SHOULD be dead but plot armor will save them" and that's exactly what happened. The CG in the show made the eruption scene look awesome and like a true, raw, immense force of nature... that was then immediately undermined by the fact that most of the people (and all the main characters) caught in the eruption survived.

[@sagetmaster4]

Hate to be that guy but it's not a pyroclastic flow. It wasn't a volcanic eruption of a highly viscous magma that explosively degassed. It was a steam eruption (magmatophreatic) with the magma itself being very runny (also seen in other scenes in the show and the Jackson trilogy) this kind of magma can't produce a pyroclastic flow. These eruptions produce an initial explosion and lots of ash falling in the immediate area, like 20 feet of ash, so that is inaccurate. But this isn't one of those 400°C bullet train flows, it's just ash, like they depicted

[@mcculley1985]

Your cooking analogy is spot on. Everything about this show when I watched and rewatched it seemed to display a hesitancy to embrace the important plot points for more contrived writing clichés like mystery boxes. You are really fair too in your critique. I've always felt that mystery boxes are just crutches that bad writers use to prop up a narrative that they dont know how to properly resolve, but you give the writers a really fair shake in your examination of the story. Also, I too feel that the acting bares to much of the criticism that should be reserved for the writing. All of the actors, especially Morfydd Clark, did a fantastic job considering how cringe the dialogue and narratives could get. Thank you so much for this video!

[@purefoldnz3070]

the show was beyond insulting.

[@moriscondo5511]

you mentioned Elrond's hairstyle as not a visual distraction, which one could argue either way. However, that Arondir (spelling ?) character's hair made him look like a US Marine, not an elf.

[@TheGuyCalledX]

I thought Arondir was Unsullied

[@urbanvampyre2706]

True... And where in Middle-Earth does an Elf find a barber that can give him a fade?

[@clonerzzz]

Personally i was just really shocked by how psychopathic the hobbits were. Leaving every weak, hurt or old person behind to die? Sentencing whole families to death based on superstition of an all powerful ruler? That was straight horror.

[@user-qj9en1kp1m]

Especially since the books portray Hobbits as the kindest, most gentle, jovial, though crafty race. There are like 2 evil hobbits in the books, plus the Sackvill-Bagginses who are more annoying and greedy rather than evil.

[@LP-qr1vt]

I don't know - it made sense to me. Nomadic groups would face these kind of challenges, and the show sets out quite early that they are preyed upon by many predatory species.

[@neutronstarpilot4393]

Wouldn't this also show the growth from a harsh nomadic people like when Tolkien described the hobbits "wandering days" We would presumably see the transition to compassionate people who love and care for the land. Possible connection to the Ent wives? As the Ent wives are supposed to have passed the knowledge of agriculture to the hobbits before they disappeared. Don't know if the show will do that, But that could be something.

[@3ndoku5h]

Those weren't hobbits though lol...

[@katiedunmore2184]

@@3ndoku5h they are the ancestors of all three types of halfings (but like at least a milenium before, one of which is the stoor, which is what gollum was. and whose ancestors havent done awful things if you go back far enough? some of mine owned slaves. lets just say the species evolved. and maybe the stranger and the harfoots make each other better. It seems like Gandalf, which would explain why he is so enamored of hobbits.

[@dougrutherford3848]

My favourite part is the Khazad-dûm story. The mithril origin story drives me bonkers. It seems that the discovery of mithril is recent, despite the fact that the the ship of Eärendil is made from mithril and elven glass in Valinor.

[@blacksheep9505]

I thought the show couldn’t get any worse after Galadriel jumped into the middle of the ocean but the mithril thing drove me insane.

[@lindus9201]

Tbf they said it was apocryphal so I hope they keep it like that at least. I was hoping it would be another lie/manipulation of the elves from Sauron to force them to make rings, but it doesn't seem like that anymore

[@issaach]

Yes. It's unfortunate that they added the mithril/leaf scene as well as the mithril animation, cementing the god-awful fan-fiction convoluted explanation that feels nothing at all like what you find in something like Tolkien's Silmarillion.

[@CalMariner]

Dude, they need to hire you as a consultant. Among all the Tolkien/LOTR channels on KZbin, your production quality, presentation style, and ability to stay on task with the topic at hand stand are the best by far.

[@JE-bd3wu]

No doubt that NOTR is very knowledgeable etc. That's not the point. Directors of these series don't care about the books or the lore like star wars and game of thrones.

[@christinao940]

He's certainly trying to s*ck them off hard enough.

[@At0mix]

@@JE-bd3wu This is what frustrates me to no end. Have they not seen the financial success that comes with respecting the source material (LoTR, GoT season 1-8, Mandalorian, Andor), as opposed to willfully disrespecting it (Witcher, HALO, GoT season 9,10, etc.)? Why do writers/directors nowadays insist on doing this?

[@zenecoley7965]

Agreed

[@Deranu]

@@JE-bd3wu You're missing a big piece of the cake here. Amazon doesn't have rights to the 2nd age content. they legally can't be too accurate

[@marioulises5978]

Tolkien Fanbase truly cares and they said it loud and clear. You shall not passssssssss.

[@bosskoala7]

Elrond likes Galadriel because he wants to marry her daughter, pretty simple 🤣🤣. I was waiting for this review and I have to say, it is a very good one. You killed me on « what if Elrond went to Numenor instead ». I can’t get it out of my head. What a waste Fav: Durin, Elrond, Disa relationships Least Fav: so many… but to pick one, Galadriel.

[@glockparaastra]

I think Elrond has become the lead character in this series. For me anyway.

[@danschmidt6206]

Elrond going to Numenor made me lose it as well. It makes so much more sense than what we got. The whole show would have to be rewritten since we'd lose all the Khazad-dum scenes, though.

[@shawn092182]

More accurately, Elrond likes Galadriel because he foresaw himself being married to her daughter.

[@TheCathkins]

Elrond in Numenor would have been a stroke of genius, and I also loved the idea of having Galadriel be the emissary to Khazad-Dum. It would have been an infinitely more interesting trajectory for one of Tolkien's most intriguing characters (not to mention fitting really well with her later interactions with the Dwarves) than the barely 2-dimensional version of her that we actually got. I didn't have an issue with their making her into a warrior, but she should have been a warrior with wisdom. If they absolutely HAD to have one of the Elves going on a driven rampage to wipe out every last one of Morgoth's minions, giving that story arc to Gil-Galad would have made a bit more sense to me. He's at least one generation (depending on which version of his heritage you prefer) and presumably several hundred years younger than Galadriel, and he has the weight of his predecessors as High King to live up to - his feeling the need to prove himself a worthy successor to Fingolfin & co. might be understandable. (And I don't think I'll be able to rewatch the series now without hearing the Golden Ticket song every time he appears. 🤣)

[@aboileaumusic]

The « what ifs » scenarios about Elrond going to Nùmenor almost gave me chills. So deep and meaningful!

[@LeftJoystick]

It just makes me disappointed that we didn’t get something like that. :(

[@neilbakshi7365]

This would have been so amazing. Like any other amazing idea for the Second Age, these showrunners made sure not to do that, for...as Matt said, "reasons."

[@bigguy7353]

And not Tolkein.

[@Franek_Kimono666]

Yea, great concept and idea. The issue is Elrond is male and based on current "meta" this would never fly. Too bad we are checking boxes not making great cinema.

[@danaknapek4084]

@@Franek_Kimono666 Or because Elrond’s a brother to a former king of Númenor and it could be seen as him claiming the throne for himself? Remember, they were scared for their jobs, Elrond on the political field would be scandalous.

[@fettfan91]

It will never cease to astonish me that we never got to see Galadriel (the show’s main character) use magic in any way the entire first season, unless you count her ability to withstand a volcanic explosion.

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

is she known for that or something?

[@philippalinton5850]

But Canon Galadriel doesn't use much obvious magic either. We are given an intriguing glimpse of her powers when she is described in the Appendices as throwing down the walls of Dol Guldur. Tolkien's Elves are immortal and powerful but he deliberately doesn't portray them as mages or sorcerers. The nature of Elvish 'magic' is subtle, it's more to do with their ability to create amazing things and to conserve what is good and beautiful in their long battle against Morgoth and Sauron. Plus their most powerful warriors can battle demi-gods like Balrogs. I guess a powerful Noldo like Galadriel could withstand a pyroclastic flow, but an ordinary mortal certainly can't.

[@RevAnakin]

@philippalinton5850 she absolutely has magic in the books! You are correct, elven magic is more enchantment than D&D style wizard fireballs and lightning bolts. However, Galadriel has significant will and magic. She has a significant power of foresight. She was taught by Melian about protection magic (which is why Lothlorien is considered the least withered of all elven realms in M-E). She founded the White Council and as you mentioned used her enchantment to bring down the walls of Dol Guldur. As such, we should have seen some of this style of enchantment, subtle but still there. Right now, she could 100% be a 20 year old human who is just really skilled with a blade.

[@philippalinton5850]

@@RevAnakin I agree with you.

[@bandreol]

@@OGRE_HATES_NERDS No, she isn't known to use "magic", in the Harry Potter sense, but some people got obsessed with it after the Hobbit movies and misunderstood it as Tolkenian.

[@johns1625]

I literally can't even see images of the Harfoots without cringing. There's no reason for them to be doing literally anything they do and their storyline is only intended to get a lone Hobbit with Gandalf. They are hauling these giant carts around getting them stuck and labouring over them yet seem to own nothing. What's in the carts? Cute moss and leaves to place in their hair for whatever reason? Is that where they keep all those very delicate and large lamps? Why would a nomadic people haul around decorative lamps of all things? Why are they carrying around a big rabbit? Why are they multi-racial? Are there also Harfoots in the far south? Is that where Lenny Henry came from? Where are they going? Why? How are they so cruel while pretending to be so loving?

[@otherperson]

Your vision of what elrond and galadriel couldve been in this show is so perfect and so sad to think on. It truly wouldve made so much more sense and wouldve added far more depth.

[@jacobopstad5483]

When Adar talks about the orcs having their own realm, I really started to root for them.

[@bernhardgapp3804]

This is how You drag content You hate through the dirt, in a professional way. You turn things upside down, You do surprises from nowhere, you destroy heroes. Of course now we root for orcs. Just like tolkien wanted us to...

[@Tymczas]

this show got it all wrong! main hero is ....main villain in reality and main vilains is most likeble characters

[@JM-19-86]

I see, so torturing and enslaving the men of the Southlands and robbing them of a home is A-OK as long as you make some inspirational speeches. Got it.

[@warlordofbritannia]

@@JM-19-86 Where there’s a whip, there’s a way!

[@seasidescott]

@@warlordofbritannia Awesome reference to the Bakshi film! Thanks, made me smile bigly.

[@hankbacksquat975]

Late to the party here, just saw this video in recommended, but 1000% the Khazad-dum storyline was the best part for me, despite maybe being less "exciting" it had real command over the deeper aspects of relationship building than the other parts of season 1.

[@Rotwold]

Less exciting often means it has to be story-driven and have a good monologue. Much of the series feels like a Marvel movie with fast action and less focus on character development.

[@Gio-be8bv]

So I generally agreed with a lot of your points and criticisms. However, I disagree with a few of them. 1. I actually liked the inclusion of the ancestral version of hobbits. I thought it was a nice change of pace in the show. And I enjoyed their general portrayal. To think that the version of hobbits in the 3rd age was going to be same as the second age would have been bad. Simply speaking, anyone’s historical ancestral people would likely be pretty different and existing in world reeling from morgoth wouldn’t be as nice and warm. 2. I generally agree they missed the mark on Galadriel, but I like their initial idea behind the move (making her more a warrior). I think it was one of the biggest misses in terms of the writing. 3. I guess ultimately, I have more optimism than most about the second season. They will hopefully learn from their mistakes. But I thought a huge flaw in the show was their lack of the elves actually speaking elvish. I thought they had a good balance in the original trilogy and they really messed it up in the first season.

[@silviangc8486]

One of the main issues (among many) with this show: the fact that it portrays Gandalf arriving in Middle Earth, Sauron revealing himself again, Mt Doom/Mordor being formed, the discovery of Mithril, and the forging of the three Elven rings of power all happening within what, like 1-2 weeks of each other?

[@CC-iu7sq]

He’s not portrayed as… Gandalf?

[@DiggerPat]

@@CC-iu7sq Given all the nods to Gandalf from the books/Jackson movies, he absolutely freaking is. I don't see any way of them effectively convincing anyone - especially people who haven't read the books - that he's a different wizard short of going "Oh yeah there's this other guy who really likes grey for some reason" or Gandalf himself actually showing up. They've leaned so hard into Jackson references that pretty much any method they use to tell us it's someone different is going to fall embarrassingly flat.

[@blutbadwolf]

The Istar is actually not Gandalf but a random Wizard who lost his memory

[@silviangc8486]

@@DiggerPat Spot on

[@DiggerPat]

@@blutbadwolf Who just so happens to have the abilities and mannerisms as Jackson's Gandalf. Uh-huh.

[@cellardoor5564]

I was so hoping The Rings of Power would be brilliant; it could have the most epic retelling as there was the abundance of lore to do so. You summarised it for me in one sentence: "fans dream of the day when they can see their beloved stories visualised". Great and fair analysis, just wish we all could have praised the show for what it should've/could have been, instead of what we got.

[@phoenix_xd5728]

The question is why should we praise a colossal disappointment that spits on the ideas of a great mind like Tolkien? If you can answer this question with an objective truth then I'll take you seriously

[@godspeed3832]

​@@phoenix_xd5728 if you want to enjoy that show, you have to treat it as completely different thing a different universe

[@Marandahir]

I’d also argue that it’s almost 100% sure that the Stranger is Gandalf. His relationship with fire, his prequoting Gandalf (and Bilbo), his connection with Proto-Hobbits, and most of all his musical theme: it’s a directly related motif to Gandalf’s theme in the Hobbit trilogy. It has little to nothing to do with Radagast’s or Saruman’s themes. Remember that this is the same show that takes Gollum’s Song from TTT credits and turns it into the melody for The Verse of the Rings.

[@HalwenGreenleaf]

omg that’s why it sounded so familiar!!!! i knew it sounded too familiar, no wonder i could guess how the tune went the first time i heard it!!! thank you for saying that, idk why i didn’t notice sooner

[@WestIndianAK]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure his attachment to Harfoots/hobbits and his line about "trusting your nose" are meant to foreshadow that he turns out to be Gandalf.

[@JamesAnderson-dp1dt]

Except Appendix B, to which the writers *did* have the rights, explicitly states that the Istari came to Middle Earth about year 1000 of the Third Age. That's about 2,850 years AFTER the Three were forged. So if this is Gandalf, or * any* of the other Istari, they are deliberately ignoring and breaking that part of the canon they say they are following.

[@maureec]

Fave: Elrond is "kind as summer" Peeve: Galadriel is dark rather than the Lady of Light. Bonus extra fave: Mithrilchlorians 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jasonengel]

Approx 45 min, when discussing a repentant Sauron. I never saw repentance anywhere in the series. I saw deception the moment the character appeared. He was playing the long con to get the elves to willing - even enthusiastically - do what he wanted them to do.

[@Kommitanz]

I think he tried to lure her into something but he wasn't actually in love with her or so.

[@eliyahzayin5469]

The writing being uneven is a weirdly consistent factor in Amazon's fantasy series.

[@wiktorLicht]

Maybe it's because they either take turns in writing or divide writing specific storylines between writers.

[@scambammer6102]

the writing was consistently horrible

[@emhu2594]

uneven is the nicest way to describe these soulless nonsensical AI generated scripts.

[@georgesmith5857]

My favorite part was when the ending credits were rolling

[@heir8095]

The fact that the first thing you mentioned was the beauty of the music shows you know how to properly review content like this! It was the standout feature of this series and I'm so glad you shined a light on it.

[@aaronhoes]

Very nice review although I was surprised by your thoughts on Sauron. As soon as Halbrand was revealed I immediately assumed every act of kindness/sympathy was only to manipulate.

[@sooperpickelz]

Personally when it came to the creation of the titular rings of power, I feel like there would have been better connectivity by having them fail to make them at the end of the season. And that the arrival of Annatar was instead the big moment at the end of the season. Like you are sitting there thinking oh okay Halbrand is Sauron he is helping make the rings, but then the twist is that the rings fail and 'real sauron' shows up to be like 'oh you were so close with that idea, here is the secret ingredient you missed'. For book fans it would be great because we know who annatar is, and for casual fans they will want to stick around to see who this person is. Plus it leaves room for an early build of Annatar rubbing up with the king of the southland to set up halbrand as a nazgul which I agree would have been more fitting for his character. By having the sauron reveal and the ring crafting all happen in season 1 it kind of left me feeling like what on earth are they gonna do for the next four seasons??

[@ollieclarkey5470]

Something about the casting that my sister (who’s not even a huge Tolkien fan but has watched the films) realised is the height of Galadriel. In the books and Jackson adaptations Galadriel is quite tall, taller than other characters e.g Gandalf, Celeborn. But in this she is quite short and doesn’t have the same sense of what makes Galadriel, Galadriel for me. Unless the rings of the elves give their bearers a growth spurt, I don’t think this will be resolved. Other than that I think the casting is alright.

[@Malugako]

Galadriel is not even close to what she really is. Very , very poor writing combined with woke toxicity and „strong woman“ syndrome

[@Canadish]

@@Malugako Hollywood, as ever, confusing 'strong female character' (ie. Well rounded, multifaceted character not defined on a single dimension of their gender) for a physically powerful woman who can beat up all the silly boys.

[@nicoleneedschocolate]

I would have LOVED a tall Galadriel. Like, if you’re going to make her a warrior-make her a WARRIOR. 🙌

[@vadalia3860]

@@nicoleneedschocolate Mmmm... Gwendoline Christie!Galadriel... I dig it.

[@nicoleneedschocolate]

@@vadalia3860 YES! Her or maybe even Elizabeth Debicki? She is also 6’3” and stunning!

[@cmillerg6306]

Thank you for your mature and thoughtful review. And your maturity and thoughtfulness in your delivery, without self-referential asides, but, instead, with strong content. Bravo!

[@grahamward7]

There’s basically no chance the Stranger is anyone but Gandalf. They bluff that he’s Sauron to keep the mystery box of Sauron’s true identity intact, but with him using direct Gandalf quotes, bonding with harfoots, and being portrayed as a gentle bearded man who’s roused to sudden power and fury, I think it’s very clear. They thought it couldn’t be a Tolkien product without somehow featuring that hobbits-and-Gandalf charm.

[@Falcrist]

They're going into the east, which would indicate that he's either Alatar or Pallando.

[@SmeagolTheGreat]

@@Falcrist This series is not primarily made for people with Tolkien knowledge, but more for the casual audience that has seen the films. Therefore, Gandalf it is, with like 95% probability.

[@grahamward7]

@@Falcrist Gandalf could never have gone east? There’s just too much in the show itself and the way it was conceived and framed that points to Gandalf. I’m sure their first writer’s meeting was “People are gonna expect Gandalf to show up. What do we do?”

[@rowanmadden8689]

@@Falcrist Im convinced theyre going to pull a aha this is not gandalf the grey, this is gandalf the blue

[@St4rTr3v1Ut10n]

Wow you must be the only person that the writers have fooled. Please donate your body to science immediately we need to get to the bottom of this

[@cindyjemutai9812]

He's exactly right when he says "Fans of a book series dream of the day when they see the stories visualised" the whole reason I watched the LOTR triology is because I'd read the book and fell in love, so the thought of seeing it in film which I'd tried beforehand and slept every time made the experience infinitely better. And I remember one thing I absolutely loved and appreciated about Peter Jacksons adaptations is how faithful to the book they attempted to be. The best and strongest bits for me were the ones closest to the book's narrative itself. I think that's where this show significantly lost points

[@tinamoul]

Seriously, this is where I call B.S. I love Peter Jackson's LOTR, but it really wasn't that faithful to the books, I really don't understand how people criticize RoP for not being faithful, but Peter Jackson's LOTR is praised for being faithful. And I say this as someone who realizes things change in adaptation, but the double standard blows my mind.

[@geckosethpe]

I remember being in high school and most people being big on Tolkien, mainly The Hobbit, and when they heard about the movie being made; they all said that it would take years to make. They were right; it took like 2 years of preproduction before anything was even filmed to even start this giant project. 2 whole years of conceptual drawings, pre-visual computer generated camera shots, storyboards, set location visits, costuming (creating chain mail by hand), table reads and everything that entails something of this size. Given today's climate of instant gratification with streaming on-demand services; there is no way that any movie or show gets the amount of time that Peter Jackson had with the LoTR trilogy. Hell, Jackson didn't even get that for Hobbit after he threw away everything that Del Toro already did for his Hobbit movie. I have no idea what went into this show and its pre-planning/production, but it wasn't time or money well spent.

[@bilbobagend8155]

@@tinamoul Okay then, explain why Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy isn't faithful to the book. Obviously it's not 1:1 but I feel it gets across most of the ideas and messages, and does a pretty solid job at adapting and not contradicting the source material.

[@benjamintrejo9307]

@@tinamoul the small changes PJ made are nothing compared to RoP. Not even close.

[@metpach]

@@tinamoul The majority of the changes Jackson made, were for time and bloat. He did alter Aragorn a bit, made him more apprehensive of taking the throne. But overall, it does a pretty good job of telling the story, without insulting the audience.

[@aurelcorstan5242]

Forgot 1 other favorite thing. Adar was pretty cool despite the fact that he doesn't seem to know that "Uruk" literally means "Orc". And his calling out Galadriel was amazing.

[@khurgar8120]

That complaint is kind of stupid though. Ask a black person if he prefers to be called black or negro.

[@aurelcorstan5242]

@@khurgar8120 What do you think someone who only speaks Spanish says? Which word would they use? Adar isn't arguing for a proper identification. It's not like she called him a Gypsy and he corrected her with Roma. He is using a different language for the exact same word. Which isn't as courageous as they tried to make this out to be. It is just another example of the writer's thinking they are smart, but showing their massive ignorance.

[@khurgar8120]

@@aurelcorstan5242 him using another language is the exact comparison that I made my guy. It really doesnt matter what a spanish person would say because in that case they would both use the same word. Thats why I made thst comparison, and that is the point they are going for in the series as well.

[@Bladieblah]

​@@khurgar8120 It would only make sense if the books somehow mention "Orc" had derogatory connotations and this was something Orcs cared about. Otherwise it's just a silly way of shoving modern social justice issues into the story. It felt weird hearing an Orc basically correcting Galadriel for using the wrong pronouns, very silly

[@matthewmoser9514]

About the speeches: it's clear what the difference is. In LotR, all the speeches are practically poetry written by Tolkien. In RoP, they're just generic action movie speeches