Rings of Power Season 2 is Not Very Good - Part 2: Where the Stars are Strange

[@matthewcollins4773]

Like salt swept from a tabletop onto a corpse washed clean by the rains of spring, playing the notes of our soul like a harp, The Rings of Power continues to crush two spiders with each boot as it floats due to looking upward; giving us the meat and giving it to us raw. When in doubt, my friends, always follow your nose... to the sea, because the sea is always right. I'm good.

[@poissonsumac7922]

People might not understand your poetry, but that's to be expected. A dog may bark at the strong gravy, but he cannot wolf it down!

[@owenwhitfield491]

⁠@@poissonsumac7922One cannot satisfy thirst with our hearts bigger than our torches giving off no warmth.

[@jonahlamond987]

I both hate and love this comment.

[@brianmurray6287]

When in doubt always follow galadriels horse

[@Kloudiz1]

Words may cut like an axe, but yours are sharpened by a swordsmith, and are cutting deeper.. like a sword

[@petriew2018]

fun fact : it's canonical in Tolkien that dwarves do not actually produce much food. Much of what they create they trade away to the surface for the foodstuffs that they need. It's why powerful surface kingdoms often coexist in close proximity to major Dwarf strongholds. The reason the elven gate into Moria exists in the first place is because Rivendell used to do a great deal of this trade directly with them. It's also the reason Dale thrived in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain. Because Tolkien was an intelligent man who accounted for such things in his world building instead of just having it work in whatever way contrived the most drama.....

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

And he spent his whole life working on it to make it the best story he could. These people have no interest in Tolkien, they want to be rich and famous filmmakers! Back when it was first announced the PJ was going to make LoTR, I was very concerned. I mean, I love PJ, Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles are classic movies, but Tolkien? I genuinely thought it was unfilmable. But they did it. It has a few issues, but nothing egregious. This, I just don't even know what to say. The show treats the viewer like a moron, and treats the source material like toilet paper. Some bits of it look ok, but how the fuck to do you mess up this story? It was already written for them! End of Lecture. Sorry

[@AnarchistPoop]

I would dare say it's even common sense. Why on earth creatures that live in the mountains and spend their time harvesting and creating highly valuable things waste their time producing something that they can easily trade for. They are bathing in gold and jewels. They have to be the richiest folk in Middle Earth. If they were real, they would have slaves to produce food. Or operate like medieval kings, with vasts terrotories maned by serves or what not. Nobody works the land if they don't ahve to.

[@timothymartensen9040]

The gate was open to Eregion, not Rivendell. They closed the gate after Eregions fall, and Rivendell was founded after Eregion fell.

[@petriew2018]

@@timothymartensen9040my bad, i confused Rivendell and Eregion.... but still, that's why the password is in elvish

[@timothymartensen9040]

@petriew2018 There's so much to remember that I can't blame ya.

[@BatataPoha]

If Halbrand had a thick Indian accent, there would already be a KZbin tutorial video of him explaining how to create the Rings of Power in 5 steps.

[@jacksonschanneljohannsen6478]

😂 and we would have to watch it thrice to even comprehend it

[@NarcissistAU]

If it wasn't for a wizard in India with a YT channel my console would be in the bin. 👍

[@TronForlox]

@@NarcissistAU gay story

[@AliciatheCho]

“Do the needful” 😂

[@Steamplague]

And… the instructions would lead you to make a better version of rings of power, and…. Have AMAZING songs and actions scenes!

[@ladyred9613]

The Elves don't look like elves. They look old, and human. There is no ethereal quality to it at all

[@JackChurchill101]

Casting people with eye line wrinkles who are clearly in their 40s is the biggest own goal for laziness and "not getting it". They don't age. Ever. They might look tired or immensely wise, but their bodies simply do not age. It's literally the whole point. No one should be cast as an elf if they're going to be above 35 by the end of the show.

[@borbitol]

​@@JackChurchill101yeah Elrond always seemed odd to me in LOTR, especially with stubble on the face. Then again, he's half-elf. Casting in ROP feels really off.

[@haydenarchambault2927]

​@@borbitolI feel like Robert Aramayo portrays Elrond's "kind as summer" disposition that was lacking in Weaving's performance (With the exception of that one scene between bilbo and elrond in the extended version of the hobbit.) Shame he had to be cast in such a shit show.

[@beeno3487]

I don’t know if Peter jackson just knew had that good of an idea of what tolkens elves looked like or if his casting made a template for elves but not too many things a can get the elven look right.

[@petriew2018]

@@JackChurchill101 well, Elves do age.... sort of. Eventually they get so old their hair will go grey and they'll grow beards. This takes thousands of years, though. but the only elf in Middle earth known to be this old is Cirdan the Shipwright, who is literally the oldest known creature in Middle earth. He was one of the first elves to awaken in the east and traveled the length of Middle Earth on the quest for Valinor. Because he had visions telling him in the future his skills as a shipwright would be needed in Middle Earth. so naturally this show makes him shave the beard off for whatever fucking reason in episode 3....

[@PhattyBolger]

"No one can give you a name" Says Gandalf who has about 7 names. He wasn't even called Gandalf when he arrived in Middle Earth, his name was Olórin.

[@jonathangallegos8235]

I have no idea what are u talking about, I skipping hobbits scenes zzzzZzzZzZ

[@blaurvedrur]

Maybe that's the whole iRoNy

[@hvitekristesdod]

His name is Good

[@troffle]

Such an excellent point and I'm sorry for the other responses you received.

[@scrap-iron9561]

The hand changes had me laughing. And I don’t know why. Great work, RFT.

[@ogcipher4967]

You gotta love how in the trilogy Gandalf barely used any magic and now he's summoning fking tornadoes

[@jonw8694]

If they were actually smart, the writers would work in a way that Not-Gandalf learns there are consequences for working magic (other than killing fireflies), so he decides to use it only when absolutely necessary as he grows older.

[@johns1625]

I also love how they just decided that "magic" was a thing that people can just do in this universe. Everything we would consider magic in the actual legendarium ultimately has roots in fate, or in artifacts or places used by the divine beings. Galadriel even tells off Sam for using the term "Elf Magic" in Lothlorien because these powers are just natural to them. Magic is supernatural, as in, what Sauron does.

[@LandotheDrummer1]

Still hoping he's one of the Blue Wizards (and the Dark Wizard is the other, lol.).

[@RoninDave]

Tolkien understood basic storytelling that less is more and in a fantasy world of dragons, elves, hobbits, etc having magic spells like Harry Potter would overwhelm and distract the reader

[@DragdeadMedia]

I can hardly wait for Sauron to say something along the lines of "Make Mordor great again !" in front of a crowd of Orcs. Truly one the best Rings that has ever Powered.

[@poissonsumac7922]

When Adar gained 200 pounds and a comb over and then competed with Muriel for the title of president of Numenor, I was on the edge of my seat! I couldn't help but feel his anti-immigration policies would resonate with the crowd! I feared a buncha old orcs would take over the republic, erode the foundations of democracy, and plunge Numenor into the dark ages! Good thing Muriel brought a bucket of seawater on stage and spilt it on herself in a symbolic baptism yelling "THE SEA IS ALWAYS RIGHT!" When she did that, I too felt a wet sensation; it was a reaction to pure, unadulterated, CINEMA!!!

[@funkydiscogod]

I thought we were done writing villains as thinly veiled Trump analogues.

[@zak7an2]

and then he Sauroned all over the place

[@heboric6136]

They're doing this for their orc children! And their children's children! For family! For Mordor!

[@automatedrussianbot8043]

nah, it will be the elves and the good guys who say that

[@freddiefredson1754]

Rasputin and the Androgynites sounds like a good name for a new wave synth band

[@paulvontarsus729]

So weird seeing the actor for Caesar in Rome playing that wizard

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

​@@paulvontarsus729somewhere Brutus is laughinh

[@kingDowahs]

“Sauron made rings” “Yeah let’s wear them” “Oh wait I think Sauron is planning on making evil rings” “Oh no, anyway…”

[@johns1625]

Gil-Galad has to pry crucial information out of Galadriel, showing she's willing to lie to her high king to protect her own ego. She did the 1 thing he was worried about, much more severely than he even imagined, and he's like "Oh well. Let's see them rings!" 😂😂😂

[@Barnesofthenorth]

The thing is from what we've seen in the show Sauron isn't really that bad. A lot of the assumptions of "he is bad" are from being told it by other characters, what we've seen of him isn't actually that bad so far, the closest was the thing with the Orcs, but he was easily overpowered and easily convinced to change his ways which suggests he was already a quite nice guy who was just in a bad way at the time. Like seriously, ignore the books and the film and JUST think of what Sauron has done in the series, if anything he's ones of the nicer people besides being part of a war against the elves, and considering how easily he decided to be nice its easy to assume he was tricked into it, and is actually a decent bloke.

[@Spacetesla]

I appreciate how you give credit where it's due, highlighting the strengths of an actor or a specific scene. Seeing a glimpse of hope makes the show's overall structural flaws even more glaring

[@charlestonjew7587]

I imagine they're pretty easy, if not refreshing, to see in 'Rings of Power', like the city of Dubai in the middle of a desert wasteland. Alternately, finding something remotely weak or clunky in 'Arcane' is more akin to spotting a rusty nail in a haystack.

[@zzevonplant]

Yeah, that part makes me sad, honestly. There are good parts of this, aspects they actually handled well - which just goes to show that we totally COULD have had a good show here, because apparently they're not 100% terrible at this, just 90%. Disa is a great character so far, her dialogue isn't obnoxious, cheesy, & clunky - & she acts the way you'd think a dwarf woman in her situation might, & so on. Her somehow having dark skin when being a race that lives underground - I can completely ignore that not making sense because her acting is great & her character actually makes sense for the most part. Durin & King Durin, though they shouldn't be father & son because that's not how it worked at all in the books - can get past that too since they're also decent characters that actually seem like dwarves. But HOLY S*** the elves don't seem like elves at all - except maybe Gil-Galad, I can mostly buy him as an elf. But, even just the way Celebrimbor & Elrond (& that other elf whose name I can't recall, the one that looks like Don Lemon) *look* throws me off so much that it takes me out of any ability to believe the story, believe these are elves. They don't look like elves at all, they look like weird dudes in dresses - & Celebrimbor straight up looks like a weird feminine version of Rod Stewart & it's so distracting. And their dialogue sucks, obviously. Galadrial is one of the most poorly-written characters I've ever seen, & badly acted too, for that matter. And on & on. Like, they could have pulled this off, though. They had access to parts of (arguably) the greatest works of fiction ever put to paper, they had a built-in loyal fanbase, one of the most-used & largest platforms in the world, & an absolutely MASSIVE budget. Why the hell does it suck so bad, when they had THAT to work with??? It's mind-boggling. And seeing them do some things right just makes it all the more frustrating, b/c if they'd put in more thought & effort, the whole thing could have been good, or at least decent.

[@MrPopo-nn7kp]

Wayyyyy to forgiving to disa

[@adammyers3453]

A continuous train of failure is laughable, a never ending scene of torment becomes blasé, and too many people dying becomes a statistic. What really twists the knife to spill all the emotion out of the heart is gentle pain, a delicate cultivation. It is seeing the wasted potential, it is giving the main character false hope, a momentary reprieve to their torment, following the tragedy of a single family amongst the destruction. This grounds it into the real, in many ways it feels worse than the over the top “more is more”. Consider these two torments, 1) Instantly every pain nerve is activated, constantly. 2) Each pain nerve is slowly brought on, one at a time in a clearly understood sequence. Despite the later technically having less overall pain, as a reader, the second seems far worse. The over the top scenario in the first makes this a distant abstract thought. So to does the genuine attempts to perform to the best possible extent make this show even more tragic.

[@joels5150]

Galadriel is a “5 Foot Blonde Chihuahua with an Air Horn”. Now all I can think of is her shouting, “YO QUIERO TACO BELL!!!” as she charges into battle ROFLMAO 😂😂 Thanks for that image Random…😁

[@JaytheOstrich17]

If they wanted to capture Sauron, instead of kill him, I think they'd need a bigger box.

[@MattDrango-pk1kk]

Here lizard lizard lizard!

[@paulvontarsus729]

She is at least good at moaning, but then again how do you think she got the job...

[@PhattyBolger]

I remember when we all thought the old man couldn't possibly be Gandalf because they couldn't be that dumb, but of course it was. So, I suspect the evil wizard is Saruman.

[@blaurvedrur]

Nah, he is Khamul probably

[@zed3249]

@@blaurvedrur that would at least make sense, since Khamul is from Rhun. Because of that, watch them turn the evil wizard dude into the Witchking of Angmar. As in the super cold secluded northern mountain ridge Angmar. As in the Angmar that is probably the opposite of Rhun.

[@TheAki869]

Well tbf we don’t really know who he was and what he was doing in the S.A so they really could do anything and not be contradictory. Like there’s no writings saying Tom Bombadil wasn’t chilling in Rhûn with Gandalf in the S.A.

[@PhattyBolger]

@@TheAki869 Well, there are actually. Gandalf first arrived in Middle Earth in the beginning of the Third Age. He wasn't there in the Second Age.

[@blaurvedrur]

@@zed3249 the Witch-king of Angmar is not originated from Angmar, he's called that way because he established the kingdom of Angmar later. But I doubt they'll make the eastern wizard him, since I believe Pharazon or his pitiful son will become the one.

[@PhattyBolger]

"Hey guys, Sauron made these rings and I think we should wear them." "I believe Sauron might be planning to create evil rings to control Middle Earth."

[@SOSscorn]

"Who ever though this was clever should be force fed a load of coins and then strapped to an MRI machine." That was gold my friend, gold.

[@PhattyBolger]

"I received a message that informed me that I would soon receive a very important message."

[@zzevonplant]

That was so dumb.

[@paulderosa3065]

The funny thing about you pointing out that Galadriel should just take her ring off is that according to In Deep Geek and Nerd of the Rings, in the Silmarillion, that’s exactly what the Elves did as soon as they suspected Sauron was involved in the creation of the rings of power!

[@jacklewis3611]

@@paulderosa3065 the elves took off their rings once they sensed the one ring was forged and could feel its influence. Canonically they forged it after the other rings and were aware of Sauron’s betrayal by that point and made rings “free” of his influence. The writers seem to be reversing it which I could see working as well but it isn’t here.

[@RoninDave]

​@@jacklewis3611they weren't aware of Sauron's betrayal until he put on his one ring. Annatar/Sauron left prior to the 3 rings being created to forge the one ring in secret. It's likely the 3 Rings gave the wearers the ability to perceive his plan when he put on the Ring whereas the other rings would not have done so

[@paulderosa3065]

@@RoninDave Oh ok, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. I’m only just starting to read the Silmarillion myself and it’s been a while since I’ve seen the lore videos talking about it.

[@jacklewis3611]

@@RoninDave apologies, you are right. I’m just googling rather than going to the original source but Celebrimbor was suspicious of Annatar and wanted to create rings to preserve. It was only once Sauron put on the one ring they knew they had been betrayed. I must have assumed they knew they were betrayed which caused them to make the three. But nope, just suspicious and creative differences.

[@RoninDave]

@@jacklewis3611 I think it more Celebrimbor's pride in wanting to make something on his own without Annatar's presence. However, it could be inferred Galadriel's warning not to treat with Annatar that he sought to make rings which were more powerful than the previous ones he had made with Annatar's guidance. In the original source material, Galadriel was mistrustful of Annatar from afar but she didn't give explicit directions to stay away like in the show of course in the show she knows beyond a doubt it's Sauron because he stupidly admitted it rather than trying the Annatar ruse. And she's a dumbass who didn't tell anyone till they were far away from Eregion. Ugh! The stupidity of this show! In Tolkien, the 3 rings could be seen as being made by chance or subtle divine intervention which is a theme throughout his works. If Celebrimbor hadn't made those 3,, the 16 elves wearing the Great Rings would have fallen under his influence as was his origin plan. Instead the 3 Rings were powerful enough to immediately sense Sauron's intent when he put on the One Ring and recited his spell that they could take the rings off before he could control them or see their minds. Without those 3 rings, the elves would have fallen straight into his trap. I think he was completely surprised to find out his pupil had surpassed him in his absence which is why he so desperately wanted them.

[@angrylemon1420]

Love that everyone can teleport except for the messenger

[@TallisKeeton]

🤣😆👍

[@peterjensen2483]

I suspect middle esrth is a harsh place for the few elves who cannot teleport

[@freman007]

Being stabbed in the Southlands sounds really painful.

[@heroniusnapalmv6990]

This is so much better if you read it in Bane's voice from the dark night rises

[@lordofthepizzapie9319]

@@heroniusnapalmv6990 For you~

[@paulgibbon5991]

@@heroniusnapalmv6990 You merely adopted the Shadow.

[@Alrik.]

In case anyone's wondering: lighting up a large dark space by sending in a beam of light via mirrors doesn't actually work. The Mythbusters did an episode on this, inspired by Indiana Jones. The beam doesn't "turn on the light" by shining through emptiness, until it actually hits something that scatters the light. In their test this something was Jamie's white shirt. The light reflected off of him, but it was nothing like the artificial sun you get in the movies.

[@mupty]

I think it has to be tunneled like how a sun tunnel operates.

[@NarcissistAU]

I thought they used crystal light pipes and batteries. I guess mirrors are easier to write.

[@laneneely1077]

Wasn't this from the Mummy?

[@Alrik.]

@@laneneely1077 you might be right 🤔

[@esdraskuhn8896]

They're mythril mirrors because in Middle-Amazon mythril is a magic metal that can do whatever the plot requires

[@quitwastinmytime]

It's disgusting watching Galadriel try and manipulate Elrond with a promise when one remembers that her brother willing went to his certain death because of a promise he owed.She is a complete psychopath.

[@michaelhawkins1237]

fun fact, canonically at this point in the story the world is flat

[@johns1625]

And Manwe can literally see all Middle Earth with his own eyes. And Varda can hear everything too.

[@DVFHAFYT]

@@johns1625 And Ulmo is always right.

[@baneofwar3304]

🤣🤣

[@darthJ9]

"Which makes about as much sense as putting a silencer on a nuclear bomb" I'm wheeezingg 😭😭

[@SnakeWasRight]

I cant wrap my head around this... so... Sauron REVEALS HIMSELF, then leaves, then his next move is to IMMEDIATELY go back to the elves WHO KNOW HE'S BEEN EXILED, then tells celebrimbor he is actually a shape shifting demigod, all while the other elves know the original form is sauron, then he decides to "help" make more rings after celebrimbor already can and did make the most powerful rings on his own??? What. The. Fuq.

[@douglaslamar1530]

As far as the character tier list is concerned, I think the best course of action is to rate each character by each season, and then find the median in terms of their overall quality.

[@vassago1223]

Theyll all break the show evetually

[@I_am_a_cat_]

Who cares about this show so much to want or need to do that in the first place...? Or want for such a list?

[@douglaslamar1530]

@@I_am_a_cat_ you must be new here.

[@picivyvortac2641]

58:35 "the lost king who could ride you to victory" that's up there with "give me the meat, and give it to me raw."

[@squirrelsyrup1921]

He strummed me like a harp

[@quitwastinmytime]

Celebrimbor was from Aman. He should not "be awed by an emmisary of the Valar." He also saw the breaking of Middle Earth when the hosts of the Valar came to overthrow Morgoth. I'll bet that was quite a show. They turned all these elves in to fools. Nowhere in this show is there any sign of their power. It seems the show wants to make all that power come from the rings because they can't have anyone actually being more inherently special than anyone else.

[@christophertheriault3308]

I like how they basically already retconned parts of their own show. As Random keeps indirectly reminding us by showing the clip of the armored Sauron walking in front of Orcs who bow before him, he was always in charge after Morgoth. In the first season he also had his 'so evil fire gives no warmth' fortress in the north where he experimented on Orcs. Now suddenly he has to beg people to listen to him? Not only do the writers not really care what Tolkien said they don't even pay attention to their own writing... Given that the trailer shows Galadriel having a fight with Annatar and she's about to leave for Eregion, it looks like they don't plan on having him disguised all season.

[@quitwastinmytime]

Celeborn is Adar. I'm at the point where I support plot twists more as they become more insane.

[@paulvontarsus729]

Celeborn became Sauron so Galadriel would have the hots for him again

[@lukew6725]

That would be hilarious! 😂

[@peterjensen2483]

Canonicly Celebron “left for cigarettes”

[@RogerS1978]

Face it, Shelob or an ork single mother would be a step up.

[@lukew6725]

Casual reminder that Galadriel is far older than Gil-Galad.

[@vassago1223]

6:27 dont you mean they should be stuffed with coins. Forced into a catapult and launched into a trolls mouth?

[@blacksheep9505]

A horse died so Galadriel could smile.

[@chucklebouf5379]

The Southlands to Moroder thing was diegetic. People from miles around could see the giant letters in the sky.

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

Sauron actually keeps a huge flock of trained bats, specifically to simplify commuting in Mordor. Great train stations, shitty neighbours, and bat pixel sky writing.

[@Reelglad]

"7th dimensional backwards chess game he is playing" LOL Spot on!

[@stuknox7468]

Dwarf bread is famed for keeping for a long long time, as the saying goes 'if you carry Dwarf bread you will always have something to eat as it amazing just what you will find to eat when the alternative is Dwarf Bread'.

[@theeye8276]

Bread such as hard-tak actually doesn't have an expiration date

[@dutchmansmine9053]

Is it like cram?

[@cappinjocj9316]

According to Terry Pratchet dwarf bread also works as a handy back up weapon.

[@eggsy9875]

41:02 “Shut the fuck up im trying to sleep” had me cackling dude

[@wrayday7149]

It's comical to see a situation where a bunch of miners are now trapped underground with their food, water, homes.... and tools but can't just reopen any of the tunnels?

[@christophertheriault3308]

Yeah I didn't understand the 'find a path' thing... did they forget where the exits are? Just clear away the rubble.

[@JM-mh1pp]

This actually makes sense. When there is a massive movement of rocks like after volcanic explosion weight shifts and what used to be load bearing now may not be and vice versa. Which is why it is VERY dangerous to try and open old passages. Source Dad is a miner

[@wrayday7149]

@@JM-mh1pp The problem is ... this isn't the real world. These are Dwarves and everything in their world is just fine.. they just need to open a new passage..... which they should be able to do in hours. Hell they dug a massive entrance and forged mithril doors from a vast distance away and carried them to the dwarves faster than they restored the light. The showrunners have no fkn clue what they are doing and they just want to show drama happening with no regards to the situation. Dwarves wouldn't cry about the light being lost.... cave ins should be a natural part of their life.. they should of all gone out and immediately reopened the passages.

[@ozi618]

Even though they don't give a damn about the source material, why do they pretend to be so meticulous about the pronunciation of original names from the Middle Earth? No matter how they try, they sound ridiculous.

[@PrometheanRising]

In fairness, they did call a place 'The Southlands' when there is already another place called that right next door.

[@goodputin4324]

​@@PrometheanRisingNope.

[@zed3249]

Yeah it also really takes you out. Like they talk normally and then randomly a Name or Place is mentioned and they pronounce it so vastly different, doesn’t make sense

[@goosegas2087]

It's like when that one Italian woman was cooking and she'd say the Italian words in an Italian accent. It's jarring.

[@FullFNCode]

@ozi618 It's the newscaster version of going ham on Spanish words to show how intelligent and aware they are. Actually dialect coach is trying to justify their probably overblown paycheck. Also probably someone's partner or kid so gets away with it.

[@InereIronheart]

Rings of power makes more sense if you think of it as being written for the majority of people who did not finish season one. So they can just change what happened originally because no one watched it in the first place

[@kirevkizrepnav572]

I have to say, I think Disa caring more about hearing the mountain than food would function on its own. Disa has been shown multiple times to care about her position, if not for prestige then for other benefits. After Durin lost his position, now her position is also challenged and she cares a lot about it. It would make sense that she doesn't care about food too much, as she is unlikely to have ever had serious issues with hunger and doesn't realize how bad it can get.

[@Dazgul]

She doesn't look like she doesn't care about food. 🤭 She was always shown making or offering food. Also, there is supposed to be a food shortage but she says the kids aren't hungry. Weird.

[@nathanjora7627]

@@DazgulI think what OP means is that she doesn’t fully grasp the idea of « food shortages » precisely because she’s never lacked any food. I would accept that from a much immature, more spoiled, and more stupid character, even if she’s been fed more than well all of her life and hasn’t ever come close to witnessing a food shortage, she’s still smart, mature and wise enough to understand what it implies

[@ben_jamin197]

The world of Middle Earth in Rings of Power is just so small.

[@sydneyslaughter7163]

They got that Fast Travel installed in the First Age and it’s so normal no one even mentions it. 😆

[@Alpha23TV]

“Should be fed a load of coins and then strapped to an MRI machine!” Now that is creative 🤓… Also… I agree that the entire “message from Lindon thing was severely mismanaged: 1. He knew a message was coming. How? He got an email? ESP? Mondays are “Message from Lindon Day”? 2. How did he not already know what was in the aforementioned message? 3. How convenient for (orcs?) someone to kill highly trained elves. And if they are orcs, what reason does Adar have to send orcs to kill the elves and disrupt the message delivery… Convenience and contrivance maybe?

[@cappinjocj9316]

I would love it if it turns out that the Elven messengers got ambushed and eaten by the Halffoots…..

[@zzevonplant]

I think they were trying to imply that Halbrand did it on his way to Eregion? That's the impression I got, anyway. It doesn't make a lot of sense that he'd just so happen to find them or that he'd have any idea what their message contained, but they made it appear as if he was heading toward Eregion at the same time the messengers were (he gets there right after they're whacked), & I assume they're implying he killed them himself. I guess. But, I'm going by reviews of the show not the show, so maybe that's not how it looks in the actual episode, I'm not sure. It's the only thing that would remotely make sense, though, because like you said - it makes no sense for orcs to do it unless they were just killing any random elves they happened across & this was a giant, very convenient coincidence. But, them showing them being dragged away dead - kind of implies, to me, that it was an intentional targeting of these two.

[@Hepheat75]

I loved the part where Jeff the orc shouts, "It's orcin' time!" Before orcing all over the place. Truly a show ahead of its time.

[@pokeman123451]

Don't forget how Jeff tucked his kids into bed first. What a guy

[@Hepheat75]

@@pokeman123451 LMAO

[@awsome182]

"... And Feminem - is back - back again" I'm wheezing 😂

[@nebby9751]

Episode 2 managed to contain both my favourite dialogue exchange in RoP and the most frustrating. Disa and King Durins dialogue was pleasantly surprising by this shows standard. Random already sung a lot of its praises but I'd also like to add that Disa's opening line about her children missing thier grandad, is both quietly manipulative in a way that's in line with her character, and foregrounds the idea that the feud isn't just affecting the two Durins in the family. I also really like the line "Still your axe Disa!". On the surface it sounds like an expression just using middle earth's signature dwarf weapon and an acknowledgement of how aggressive she'd been in this conversation, but I like the implications of thier dynamic from this. King Durin is both her King and her boss, but the way he responds to her raising her voice and talking back shows far more restraint than he did with his own son, considering she borders on insubordination. There's a few ways to read it but I like the idea that he's quite used to Disa being outspoken and not pulling her punches when she's voicing her opinion, and possibly at least sympathetic enough to her frustration that he's allowing her to vent a little. Conversely.... the conversation between Elrond and Galadriel in the... shipyard I guess, was just infuriating. Her lack of acknowledgement that she owed him both an apology for the events of the season 1 Finale that caused thier issues this season AND the events of episode 1 of this season creating the current Rift in thier friendship. Nothing about the end of the last episode implied they were on speaking terms, and they hadn't interacted on screen since. And even putting aside the fact that they've written thier imposter Galadriel as a manipulative shrew, any functional human being knows when you're trying to persuade someone who might be a bit annoyed with you don't: 1. open with admitting that you're only here because you want something and not because you missed your friend or felt a need to try and build a bridge. 2. Admit that you don't really need thier help you just want to abuse thier status as a politician to appease the King and 3. admit to someone that thinks your judgement is compromised because of a magic ring, that other people also think your judgement is compromised. She gets a point for honesty, I guess. But this is so.. baffling. She had an uphill battle with this persuasion check from the beginning, but it reads like she's deliberately sabotaging herself and trying to antagonise Elrond. And in typical RoP fashion there's zero acknowledgement from Elrond about how much of a C*** she's being. The one saving grace is that he tells her to sod off. And let that dialogue be damned by faint praise.

[@RowBear0]

"shipyard I guess," Ship-building hut, because of course the set for a 1000 year old elven settlement is 1 hut, a bridge and 2 shabby boats docked in the background

[@maxtracker2904]

00:37 Ideally, the balrog shouldn’t pop up until the third age. But since Gandalf is already roaming around, I have not great hope for this… 😂

[@haydenarchambault2927]

Remember when the showrunners claimed that they wouldn't need to use anything from the third age? Liars.

[@johns1625]

The writers just kind of forgot that 100% of Elronds promise was contingent on Galadriel taking her ball and going home to Valinor 😂

[@alekmartin4958]

21:11 a fiddle requires skill, she was played like a cheap Kazoo.

[@FeatherRanching]

These "writers" need to have someone in the room to scream "BOOOOOOO!!" at them when they make stupid suggestions. Also, that person should throw things at them, ranging from rotten food to lawn darts. I volunteer for the job. Unrelated: Where can you buy lawn darts?

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

I think you sound fully qualified. I'll provide my compost heap for your use.

[@jadey1422]

"Force fed coins and put through and MRI machine"... New fear unlocked, thanks Random!

[@derikc24]

Cirdan is so old he's one of 2 elves who ever grew a beard. He was with the first Elves awakened before some went to Valinor. Cirdan gives his ring to Gandalf.

[@JohnDoe-nq4du]

@@derikc24 Two elves with beards? Cirdan is the only one I was aware of. Who is the other?

[@derikc24]

@@JohnDoe-nq4du I don't recall. I'll find him and get back to you. I may be mistaken.

[@derikc24]

@@JohnDoe-nq4du Mahtan. He's Feanors wife's father.

[@GILGAMESH069]

The idea of trying to show how elves almost fell into evil with the forging of the rings like Tolkien said is cool in practice however choosing to do that with the only rings that are used for healing, protection and kindling hope was a dumb move, ofc the obvious and easy solution is have made the other 16 rings first which for the life of me I can't figure out why they did it in reverse

[@dodojesus4529]

Theyre dumb as bricks

[@rdchristley]

I think Random deserves a medal for keeping us from needing to watch this version of Middle Earth.

[@gabrielcruz6752]

1:06:49 The sage Rúmil was kind of an alter ego of professor Tolkien. Rúmil was a linguist. Now, according to Am¬zon, the sage Rúmil was a drunken elf poet. FOR GOD's SAKE! These people do not stop to keep butchering the background, spirit and role of the most important elves for the sake of their own ridiculous show plot! Amªzn is clearly targeting an audience that they consider ignorant, playing with the available lore without respect. RoT's show runners are manifesting a covert disdain towards Tolkien in stating that Rúmil is a flawed person whose work should not be tossed into the flames.

[@AllTenThousand]

You are a glutton for punishment - thank you for taking one for the team, I was out when the two hobos were reduced to walking in circles eating bugs, and poppi pops out alone with food for three and maps ripped out of the tribal book, destroying their only written heritage. Disturbingly inattentive all around.

[@oddballskull1941]

🎶 "some body once told me The world would only know me Because our songs in the movie Shrek I said, well you're pretty fucking dumb Cuz that song was number one , before that film even hit the deck. But the memes kept coming and they didn't stop coming The mouths keep running Now I can't keep grubbing Cuz every time I go to a show It's green face paint all in the front row So I don't get paid I don't get laid I just clean up the mess that I've made No matter how many times I get told It will apparently never get old Hey now Were watching Shrek now Thats the only time we Get played Hey now Were watching Shrek now It's the the only time We get paid All those memes are so old But it keeps our food from getting cold." 🎶

[@cappinjocj9316]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@darkcheaker]

I wanna see Celebrimborg in the next Cyberpunk 2077 videogame

[@r.e.z9428]

Is it me or do the rings look cheap? Like they got them out of a coin machine.

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

Like those lolly pop rings that have a piece of rock candy in place of the stone, I reckon.

[@polarstorm5986]

The "funny" thing is that they aren't cheap. Which shows that "expensive" and "taste" don't hav emuch in common.

[@AnthologyOfDave]

Can we also discuss how the elves can craft beautiful rings but can't shape the stones for the rings in any pleasing shape that looks like they didn't just pick up an uncut rock and put it as the centerpiece of the ring. Because of this the rings look ugly and very unelvish. Another point, I thought Hallbrat already chose evil when he snatched the sigil of the kings of old instead of trying to help his companion that was compelling him to be good.

[@jessejohnson94]

I can’t wait till Sauron says “It’s not over till the fat lady sings” Then Dissa comes in the scene.

[@picivyvortac2641]

Evidence for the ai theory: salron got captured so that he could bargain for his freedom. Makes no sense to a human. Makes sense to a storytelling computer.

[@MattDrango-pk1kk]

Well true crossing the desert is almost the dumbest path to take... but they already used the dumbest.... crossing thousands of miles of ocean in a dress... in the first season...

[@haydenarchambault2927]

Rhun shouldn't be a desert. Rhun resemble the steppes and plains of southern Siberia. The wainriders certainly weren't driving their chariots over rocks and sand.

[@robinbickerdike3076]

I'd be willing to buy that Disa's desire to mend the rift between her husband and his father is not for any plot related reason other than that she has the very normal instinct to want to help her husband and father reconnect for the sake of the happiness of their family. Given that this show is written as it is, i would not be surprised if this plot point is dropped as soon as a shiny new scene full of special effects pops up to distract people from it so that the writers can finally stop having to work hard on the one plot line that makes sense.

[@TheJakeAshby]

@@robinbickerdike3076 The dialogue between Disa and the two Durins is the best of a bad lot. They portray feeling and concern for each other that comes across well. Isn't it interesting that in a show geared towards the Modern Audience, the dialogue that is the most believable is between members of what is clearly the traditional family unit 🤔

[@givmi_more_w9251]

@@TheJakeAshby It's almost as if relationships that transcend the transactional and hedonistic make for good characters ...

[@davidward3091]

I'm still surprised Disa is the best character by far for the 2 seasons. Good for her!

[@303ks]

Amazon Execs: We will spend 1 billion dollars to this show Producers: Cool this is the budget for Writers Amazon Execs: We've already allocated the full billion to marketing, product designers and CGI. We also just bought a brand new coffee machine too Producers: Oh well, I guess we'll just take 5 random kids off the street and ask them to write something and pay them with tic-tac's

[@jamief1263]

It’s odd that they made Sauron seduce Celebrimor by offering him power, when he actually wasn’t interested in power, he just wanted to undo the harm Feanor did. Why not have him seduce him that way.

[@billjacobs521]

They have not, and legally can't, mention the harm Feanor caused, so all Feanor did was make the silmarils, which were awesome, according to Celebrimbor, and he wants to match that achievement.

[@jamief1263]

Eh yes they can. The first series mentioned Feanor, the forging of the simarils and Morgoth. It also depicts the a battle from the war of wrath. I would say if they were going to be sued they already would have. They basically brought an IP, then decided to write their own story, rewriting characters and plots, it doesn’t make sense to me.

[@hrafnagu9243]

It just struck me about how dumb that metaphor of "the key that unlocks the dam" is regardless of it's purpose in the story. What fucking dam takes a key to unlock it? And why would a dam be built so that it can be blown open to allow the reservoir behind it to just gush out in a catastrophic flood?? Why would this be a metaphor at all??? That would imply that it's common practice in middle earth to make breakable dams that are unleashed with a key. Why?

[@peterjensen2483]

Dont let this show break you

[@hrafnagu9243]

@@peterjensen2483 It's come close a few times just by how retarded some of the dialogue is.

[@KhorneBrzrkr]

No no. I get it now! If you fall behind THEN you are no one. so... NO ONE falls behind.

[@jocelantonettetenoc5996]

10:18 "He could be freaking anywhere." He's probably right behind you.

[@Jesei1211]

1:14:10 Why’s there a random bell on the well? I thought it was to alert the locals but that would open up more questions. They really just added it as a plot device just so the Gandalf nappers can be alerted to their location. To which they apparently didn’t even take 10 minutes to ride to regardless 😵‍💫

[@EmberAwoken]

Random: I wish they explained Galadriel’s lineage. She is the daughter of Finarfin, son of high king Finwë, and current King of the Noldor who remained in Valinor. Her brother, Orodreth was killed in the war against Morgoth and is the father of High King Gil-Galad. That makes the High King her nephew and also 1000 years her junior. The titular Silmarils were created by her uncle Fëanor because Galadriel’s hair shone gold and silver due to her unique heritage which was reminiscent of the light of the two trees, and she refused him locks of her hair (unlike Gimli). She is incredibly important to the lore and history of this world. That’s why she has Nenya.

[@billjacobs521]

They did mention that her dad is Finarfin. That's about all they got. Oh, and that she's Noldor, but they basically have said all elves are Noldor, seemingly.

[@bookwyrmbaneoftheplothole8500]

It’s unbelievable to me that they try to go for the Lord of Gifts thing after fucking around with Sauron’s character for a whole ass season, like dude if you were going to do that what was stopping you from going for this in season one??

[@givemecake5496]

Exactly. They could have shown Sauron turning the people of South lands into his service first and then take the fair form of Annatar and try to corrupt the elves by going to Eregion. Halbrand, Adar, Psychopath Galadriel etc are unnecessary additions. Although Adar's storyline is still a little bearable.

[@ClaymoreLinx]

Bad choice on that Michael Jackson comparison, he was innocent. I get your point though.

[@baswenmakers6846]

To be honest a 5 foot Chihuahua would be quite frighting, given their temper. But is must be said nobody ever got past a chihuahua without it alerting everyone. 2 or more of them is like crossing a minefield.

[@jeremiaas15]

Evil spreading further is horrible. Season 1 established what ambient evilness does to milk; fucked are the cheesemakers.

[@Nalier]

Hey! In Tolkien's Legendarium the elves actually CAN grwo beards. One of the core characteristics of Cirdan is that he ALWAYS HAS his beard.

[@Eemi_Seppala]

So the one character they could've had a beard on is the one character they show shaving it off. Oh how skillfully yet blindly they stumble past victories.

[@TallisKeeton]

yes. becouse when an elf becomes old, I mean realy old not only in mortals reckoning old (elven "teenagers" with few hundred years are old to humans), he enters "the third age" of elves, he can grow beard to show his age. though even at this point he does not look like aged, does not have wrinkled skin. So such an elf could be seen as if he was 30 year old with fake white beard :) At this point Cirdan should be older than Galadriel, maybe like 10.000 years old.

[@inebriatedgamer5058]

I love the fact that I’m getting Rings of Power ads on this video

[@Señor-Donjusticia]

27:12 You MUST commit to Celibrimborg. You will add your literary and critical distinctiveness to his own. Resistance is futile.

[@thomasciuffreda8783]

Wow, so surprised you've gotten these videos out so soon, mate! Little Platoon must be seething inside right now lol Edit: Nice dig at HFM, the dude deserved it.

[@MediumRareOpinions]

HFM?

[@ethanfox8979]

@@MediumRareOpinions Hello Future Me

[@MediumRareOpinions]

@@ethanfox8979 Ah, thanks. A channel I think quite little of to the point their name didn't even occur to me.

[@sveta2121]

The color of your sarcasm is so damn beautiful man. And the fact that you can hold it every second of every video is just amazing, some kind of gift I guess...please, please, please, never stop.💪💪💪💪🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

Is it green? I get green.

[@pmcKANE]

"Rather than pull one out of her hairy, ungroomed cat flap" Legitimately spat a mouthful of tea when I heard that. 10/10

[@samuelstuart3856]

Oh my goodness, this show has ruined the titular rings of power as stated in the books. First of all the elven rings were free from Sauron’s influence since they were made after he left to go make the one ring in Mordor. They are only linked to the one rings power. And the other seventeen rings were made for the elves, not men or dwarves at the start. They only got into men and dwarven hands because the elves felt Sauron make the one ring through their eleven rings and rebelled against him leading to their war in the middle of the second age. And these show writers said they cared about the lore.

[@Zolwiol]

What are the Northern Armies?

[@boneman-calciumenjoyer8290]

The friends we made along the way.

[@TallisKeeton]

Amazon invention probably. I suppose they meant Lindon army - in the north, and Eregion army - in the south. Two allied elven kingdoms. Though I've ever seen that particular name in the books :)

[@Zolwiol]

@@TallisKeeton it's more that we never see Galadriel leading them and apparently she was away from her army for centuries while hunting Sauron

[@snowbush7990]

Ok, the eldar guardian cosplay got a giggle out of me.

[@givmi_more_w9251]

1:24:00 ... why would Celebrimbor be so obsessed for 'being remembered' for doing great things. He's an elf. He's immortal -- and isn't a warrior, so the likelihood of him dying is ... very low. This all would make some sense if Celebrimbor was indeed an old man in his twilight years, anxious about his legacy. He already is 'the Greatest Elven Smith' ... so ... are we just going the 'he greedy for clout' route? Also, the harp metaphor physically hurt me.

[@Dripfed]

Wonder if the relative quality of the Dwarf scenes is due to a different director working on them, the actors taking an interest in their characters and providing notes to the writers or having their improv' being kept in the can, or these scenes being filmed later in the overall production schedule and hence the directors and writers having learned their craft a little?

[@haydenarchambault2927]

Beats me. Maybe because the dwarf plot is relatively isolated from the butchered elven plots, the butchered numenor plot, and the tedious gandalf plot?

[@TheJakeAshby]

Disa and Durin junior are the only established (happily) married couple in the entire show. They are also the only ones whose dialogue is consistently engaging and believable. Are the writers deliberately doing this? Are they even aware of this?

[@Goldva]

The only thing I can realistically think of, if there's even a shred of thought given by the writers themselves, which I doubt, is that Sauron's plans to Halbrandicize himself into the potential "king of the southlands" was a completely off the shelf gambit by him, flying by the seat of his pants and making plans on the fly, which would make him amazing at improv, really. But that's just me writing the show in my head instead of accepting what the show is telling me.

[@MajorSmurf]

Serious question... how does a medieval society get an advance notice of an incoming message from another city or place? So what scouts were able to find messenger on the road, race back to Eregion and go yo we think a message is incoming despite to know that you would have to have asked the messenger their intent as they could just be going hunting or going elsewhere with said message... and despite them knowing a messenger is incoming, that messenger is somehow still days behind the scout that came back home to tell them a message is inbound? Or are you telling me they have messenger pigeons but didn't tie the message "AYO! SAURON BACK!" to it's foot instead they tied a "you got our mail yet" message to its foot instead.

[@robertb7293]

The safe arrival of a message that a message will soon arrive, only for the 'real' message to get intercepted, is the exact scenario of the Two Generals Paradox. There is no solution to the problem. The first messenger to arrive should carry the real message, or your writ- I mean, your generals, are complete fucking morons.

[@whatthefilmwtf7171]

Rip and tear until it's done

[@knicknevin9975]

Bad blood between Elves and Dwarves would mainly stem back to the Silmarils. I don't recall the details, but the Elves asked a Dwarf to set one or more of the silmarils into... something. A necklace maybe. But once it was finished the Dwarf tried to renege on the deal and keep it (Basically the same plot point Peter Jackson repurposed to motivate Thranduil in his Hobbit movies). The Elves took it away, and so their names were written into the Book of Grudges.

[@Fallaryn]

Yep. Thingol eventually possessed one of the Silmarils as well as Nauglamír (necklace made for Finrod by the Dwarves); Thingol commissioned the Dwarves of Nogrod to remake the two into a single piece of jewelry. Once done the Dwarves refused to return it to Thingol. The disagreement escalated, the Dwarves slew Thingol, and the relationship between Elves and Dwarves soured.

[@ChrisGrahamkedzuel]

It was the Nauglamir. And the dwarves killed Thingol over it.

[@sarahgould5435]

Am I the only one who not only objects to Cirdan shaving off his beard, but also thinks James Corden looks more like an Elf *with* the beard?

[@polarstorm5986]

At first the beard seems a bit off (and it is) and the hair makes him look more like a christian figure or something from an 60s epic movie but in general i think the actor looks "good enough" that i can brush the beard over, he definetly has more "elvishness" to him than Dookie Elrond or Galadriel.

[@Lumberjack_Linnie]

Dude's on fire today. When his other reviews are top notch A game, this is S-tier.

[@namenloss730]

33:00 the desert crossing is basically a reskin of Gandalf refusing to go through morea.

[@imcubanb2870]

Infinitely better than watching the show itself.

[@jeread5193]

In a strange sense, I'm now happy they made a second series of RoP, because now this amazing critique gets to continue.

[@picivyvortac2641]

1:06:46 "oldest and wisest" by the cannon he's only older than galadriel by less than a millenia, which seems like a lot, but shes more than 30 milleniaold by this point. The show keeps forgetting that galadriel is one of the, like, 10 oldest elves in ME by this point in the timeline.

[@dodojesus4529]

Shes in the first handfull of generstilns isnt she ?

[@picivyvortac2641]

@dodojesus4529 i think she's third generation (it has been about a year since I read it but feyanor was 2nd Gen and she was friend with his brothers)

[@sabine2639]

@@picivyvortac2641 She is actually Feanor's niece (daughter of one of his half-brothers) and Curufin's (Celebrimbor's father) cousin. Which makes her... Celebrimbor's first cousin once removed, I think.

[@picivyvortac2641]

@sabine2639 nice. Thanks for doing the lore dive. It's been a minute. But yea, should be a very similar age.

[@IarwainBen-adar]

46:04 TOOL REFERENCE 🗣️

[@frederickkerrigan5304]

I am glad the KZbin Gestapo bots are being kind since you are making these video in the time it normally take to verify them. Thank you for the hard work you’re putting in to put these videos together; they always make my day. I hope you are not working so hard making these videos you do not enjoy making them. I wish you all the best.

[@Perotinus1]

I've been looking forward to your take-down of season 2 since last year.

[@jihost2589]

They have made Galadriel directly responsible not only for Celebrimbor's eventual fall, but also the creation of the Nazgul and the corruption of the dwarves via their rings.... I know Tolkien was amazingly even tempered, but I think he'd be throwing things about now.