Rings of Power is Not Very Good: Breakdown and Analysis - Part 6: Udun

[@Greyard1]

“I am ignoring the Hobbit movies, because I have only seen those movies once, and I don’t care to see them again.” That aged well

[@ratillecebrasquedubitantiu4451]

Its such a good statement, i cant pretend i concocted the films in a delirious fever dream.

[@botpalette857]

shoutout to Joseph Mawle (Adar) for the best performence in the show and being the most elvish out of elves while being an uruk

[@cy-one]

While it's a tangent, I just _love_ the hypocrisy with Adar. The showrunners are _clearly_ super-duper progressives (see the casting, see the many strong women in comparison to the lack of strong men, etc). And when someone (Adar) tells the protagonist to essentially not deadname them and that they call themselves Uruk... What does our hero do? Even when asked not to do so multiple times? :D

[@Nopeasaurus]

Not only did Adar look the most elvish with his high cheekbones and long hair but he showed the most compassion for his orc underlings even referring to him as his children. Meanwhile, Galadriel led a bunch of ill-trained elves on a dangerous expedition and didn't give a damn when one of her men collapsed in the snow and had the audacity to feel betrayed when her men mutinied against her.

[@BigCowProductions]

@@Nopeasaurus Yup. These people, to coin a phrase, are patently evil. Their 'heroes' are literal villains, which are self inserts for themselves. Their villains end up being heroes in a way, as they are opposing the evil of the heroine. We can just say heroine, because, come on, they won't write a main character that's a man haha.

[@puffsplus72]

And he’s left the show 😢 and Adar has been recast.

[@xxBonnieBlueEyesxx]

Totally! Among a throng of college boys, geriatric smiths and veiled-per-default elven girls, he's the only elf that looks the part.

[@CoffeeForAll]

I kind of want a flashback, in which Elendil watches his wife fall overboard, and as she cries for help he says “the sea is always right”.

[@KopKing11]

For extra comedy I like to think that a shark just comes out of nowhere and eats her.

[@damianshumate5927]

So she tried to jump the shark but didn’t quite make it?

[@williamchamberlain2263]

@@damianshumate5927 it's a traditional Newman-orian sport

[@MellowDarkflower]

No no no. She falls in to the water, and as Elendil goes to help her, she says "Don't! The sea is always right!" Then proceeds to drown.

[@velkonemriam1935]

I now understand what “terribly funny” means 😂

[@pieterschillemans5960]

Bronwyn in episode 5: "This tower will no longer be a reminder of our frailty, but a symbol of our strength". Yet in episode 6, it's revealed that not only their plan for the tower is to collapse it, it's also shown that this can be achieved by one single arrow. Such great writing, an absolute masterpiece this.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

they use the tower to kill hundreds of orks without losing all their soldiers... strong enough a symbol.

[@retro_gaming_only]

because the writters decided that a great war strategy was to abandon a fortified building, destroy and then move to a small town made mostly of wood and select fire as the main weapon, just genius

[@Violaphobia]

Exactly! It’s a perfect symbol for their level of strength 😅

[@RiKSh4w]

@@retro_gaming_only I mean, I wouldn't want to try to hold up in a fortress that can be collapsed with a single arrow. And also contains mechanisms which could break a dam. Like what if someone drilled through a wall and set something off? Why is there a dam breaking rube goldberg machine in these walls?

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

Also, I just realized that Adar basically said, "some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

[@awsome182]

Isn't that what Lord Farquaard said in Shrek? 😅

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

@@awsome182 it is indeed

[@kylehanna4885]

Which, into season 2, we now know is the exact speech that Sauron made that got him killed in favor of Adar.

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

​@@kylehanna4885you're exactly right, nice

[@Ackalan]

I like the fact that the entirety of Mordors population somehow managed to fit in a single village.

[@mojobag01]

Shame really. Considering it is larger than Spain.

[@board-qu9iu]

@@mojobag01Spain is Mordor confirmed? Lol

[@Omega0850]

Another reason why the ride of the Rohirim was believable, while the attack of the Numenorians wasn´t, is the fact that Theoden had a pretty clear picture of the timeframe. He knew when the attack on Gondor began, and he knew how long it would take the Rohirim to arrive there. The only thing he had to estimate was how long the city could hold out.

[@MelmanV2]

In the books denethor actually send for aid before Theoden and co even got back to Edoras, Gandalf also sees the beacons on his way to Gondor

[@MelmanV2]

Also to add the reason Denethor does this is because in his words, it's too late to ask for aid when already besieged

[@MrPostm]

From watching this, I just notice that Arondir (is that the elven archer's name?) wears a thumb ring during the battle (at least in the aftermath scenes). Specifically, a thumb ring designed to use with a thumb draw style of shooting (like Mongolian archers). Yet, he always uses what looks like a native American three finger draw meant for very short bows. So, it seems the creators have done SOME research into archery, but have NOT applied their findings in a consistent manner. Sorry, I just wanted to come off as smart and informed for once since archery is something I actually know a LITTLE about.

[@jsveterans6949]

Bruh... I appreciate your knowledge and attention to detail, but really? The new-minorians are wearing marble scale armor, 3 boats are fielding 20 kids trained last week to go to war, and think cavalry can clothesline infantry with a chain. Putting aside tripping a horse with stick by touching its legs... And, oh yea, a PYROCLASTIC FLOW TO THE FACE!!!! If they got a detail like the one you explained correct, I would give them a partially chewed, heavily licked gold star at this point....

[@MrPostm]

@@jsveterans6949 You make a good point :D

[@theother1281]

@@jsveterans6949 Not to mention building a watch tower and fort below an easily climbable bluff within arrow range. A fort that had been garrisoned since the end of the first age, but which the squaddies of the garrison had never repaired and repainted to improve their defence, accomodation and out of the boredom of garrison duty.

[@DameMitHermelin]

Nice to know they at least researched *something* ... because it's clear that they know fuckall about most things, especially sailing and basic seamanship (which really isn't good if your show is so abundant in sailing scenes and cheesy dialogues about ships). The scene on the raft where Morfydd Clark is cluelessly tugging on a rope and then getting visibly irritated, because she clearly doesn't have the slightest idea what to do with it, and finally wraps it around her own hand because apparently she has too many fingers, annoyed me so hard I wanted to burst into expletives.

[@Folker46590]

@@theother1281 You saw that too, funny it's not commented on more, that "watch tower" would be easy to take.

[@jamesdreads7828]

"hey Dad! Where's mum?".. "The sea is always right." hahaaaaa loved that

[@poneill65]

So, the blade-shaped keyhole was in the plinth, in front of the sword statue that Arondir revealed when realizing the blade was a "Key" to which he knew not what. A blade-shaped keyhole,....In the plinth,... in the courtyard of the castle that Arondir had lived in,... for 79 years. Bravo writers, Bravo!

[@randomft]

I missed this… an inevitable consequence of a script that looks like Swiss cheese!

[@scambammer6102]

TBF he was busy hitting on the human wimmins

[@darienschnucker7354]

@@randomft will you continue 😂😂😂😂😂😃? I really hope you do !!!

[@bondagebritney3124]

The Sword key only opened / dropped a little gate to open a dam... WHY DID THEY NEED THE SWORD TO DO THAT, JUST BASH THE DOOR OFF/APART! They can hit mountain boulders a mile away/up with seige, if you dont have a troll or want to make scaffolding etc SHOOT IT!

[@mrylyynthewhitless6137]

This show gives me hope. no matter how much I fail, I can still fail up all the way to show runner status.

[@JesterForHire1663]

Seriously, what deal with the Devil did these morons hash out to go from nowhere to getting a billion dollars behind your first major project? And who green lights a billion for hacks? Someone, somewhere, someone presumably an experienced professional adult with responsibility for the outcome said "Yea, go ahead with those guys." /boggle

[@suburbianghost]

As long as your not white

[@Geminik87]

So.. Sauron created an evil mcguffin broken sword that needs blood to restore itself, just to activate an overcomplicated dam-mechanism that required an even more overcomplicated tunnel/trench network in order to work, kinda hoping that maybe someone, sometime in the future, would totally build it unnoticed from everyone else. What a mastermind.

[@doltBmB]

It's how stupid people write intelligent characters, show them doing something overly elaborate with a lot of steps to it.

[@TheAnzamin]

@@doltBmB exactly this. intelligent actions are as non-sensical to them as this illogical mess, too stupid to appreciate the difference

[@gameplaytv1374]

@@doltBmB they thought they did something smart by having a mysterious object work in mysterious and elaborate ways. But never thought about how much sense it made in-world. For the viewer, it kind of made sense until you think about it deeper. It's a hidden mechanism to help the evil spread, a masterplan. But for Sauron it makes 0 sense to do it this way + Adar and Sauron are not allies, yet Adar was instrumental to Saurons plan??

[@Ale-dd3ek]

And with the "lava+water+40000 Mentos" It would cause an eruption able to kill only the not important characters Sauron was creative

[@Siege513]

@@gameplaytv1374 Yea, the "Mark of Sauron" on Finrod' body is a mysterious symbol that drives the plot, until a few episodes later when you find out what it means, you can't help but wonder why it would be on Finrod's body. Their earlier use of it suddenly makes no sense. "It's not what I thought it was." The mysterious hilt McGuffin with the same symbol on it drives the plot and allows Adar to complete his goals, but then you think about it, Sauron (presumably, it's his symbol) had to have built a dam. Then made a bloodsword-key to open the dam. (as oppose to... a lever?) Wh...Why? Where was this ingenuity when Saruman built a dam at Isengard? Imagine the Ents trying to break the dam and not having the right bloodsword-key. Or realizing it needed blood that Ents just couldn't supply. Oh Treebeard would have looked so silly! Or wait I guess dams can be broken without bloodsword-keys and the whole idea is just stupid.

[@TheStacanova]

Also, when they introduced Halbrand as “King”, why didn’t any of the villager’s speak up and say “I didn't know we 'ad a king! I thought we were autonomous collective.?” ****Spoilers: That becomes really important in Episode 8,

[@jacobkunz9425]

"Yor foolin yorsef, weer livin in a dicta'orship..."

[@Nopeasaurus]

Apparently no one is ruling the Southlands. It's an anarchy.

[@JohnDoe-nq4du]

Nah, it's ok. I'm pretty sure Mighty Morfydd, Power Elf tossed a sword to him at some point, and she was quite damp when they first met, so that kinda fulfills the "moistened bint lobs a scimitar at you" perquisite for kingship.

[@fantasywind3923]

@@Nopeasaurus considering that the 'Southlands' is several tiny villages in the middle of nowhere, I seriously doubt that they would have any sort of formal government :) I mean these Southlands are even less organized/sophisticated than...Bree-land, :) tiny small population, villages with few huts that's about it...seriously I would have preferred to see a story about a Haradrim kingdom, or horse desert tribes or Mumakil riders (they would have their stupid diversity agenda as well, in fact they should have put all emphasis on the existing lore for that aspect, Ismael Cruz Cordova should have played a young Haradrim warrior, Cynthia Addai his girlfriend, maybe Haradrim princess, Lenny Henry the old father figure/ tribal chief, and Sophia Nomvete...some village witch, it would be more interesting, and it would be chance to explore the more exotic locales, the dark skinned Haradrim would also make more sense to interact with Numenoreans, and their 'white colonialism' the Numenoreans colonies on the shores of Harad, like Umbar would be then vital location! Also one could explore TOLKIEN lore bits and descriptions of the Haradrim: "They are fierce. They have black eyes, and long black hair, and gold rings in their ears... lots of beautiful gold. And some have red paint on their cheeks, and red cloaks and their flags are red, and the tips of their spears; and they have round shields, yellow and black with big spikes."/"For a moment he caught a glimpse of swarthy men in red running down the slope some way off with green-clad warriors leaping after them... a man fell, crashing through the slender trees, nearly on top of them. He came to rest in the fern a few feet away, face downward, green arrow-feathers sticking from his neck below a golden collar. His scarlet robes were tattered, his corslet of overlapping brazen plates was rent and hewn, his black plaits of hair braided with gold were drenched with blood. His brown hand still clutched the hilt of a broken sword." And voila! All laid down for those amazon morons!)

[@LadyDoomsinger]

I didn't understand any of these references. But it made me chuckle anyway.

[@elinoirsmythe224]

I think the crucial point about humility is that Galadriel values it in OTHER PEOPLE. She's always right, so of course everyone else has to humble themselves before her.

[@noveltea9593]

I find Adar far more sympathetic than any of the other characters and thats...that's interesting

[@Violaphobia]

I think this is what they were going for but I wanted more of his creepy love for the orcs, like watching a person raising a brood of Shelob-spiders and calling them his babies. The ick comes from the contrast in how he sees them and the monsters they really are.

[@creaturefeaturecosplay]

The other problem with Galadriel doing the upside down arrow dodge/sword chop thing was how she just kind awkwardly chopped backwards at the orc, meaning the end of her sword would barely have grazed it and her horse's own speed would have robbed the blow of any momentum, yet the orc just EXPLODES somehow. The rule of cool is cancelled when it's dumb. Not as dumb as Legolas running up the falling bricks in the Hobbit, but still dumb.

[@iguran6035]

That and surfing a shield would give better shots than going down normally as that would make your aim go up and down rather than a conisistant slide down.

[@o00nemesis00o]

@@iguran6035 The one and only functional issue with the shield is that if the front is not slightly curved up, then it could snag on a step. Everything else is just tone. You'd think people would have more of an objection to the "embedded in his nervous system" thing in that case.

[@6tiple6ix6afia]

@iguran6035 No. You have been walking your entire life. You brain/eye/muscle memory can quickly learn to aim while descending on foot. Sliding down stairs quite literally would cause you to constantly shift your balance in completely unknowable directions. There is ZERO chance that you could get a shield to ride in smooth straight line. Zero

[@6tiple6ix6afia]

@o00nemesis00o it would not matter anyways because you would never be able to slide in a consistent enough manner as if you are a on a flat diagonal surface. As you slide down thec shield would constantly be bucking in different different directions along with your weight. It is basically impossible BEFORE any of what you said would matter. If you managed to slide down straight and smoothly, exactly what you said about clipping the stairs would happen. Regardless you jump on that shield and it won't even actually move. Its like people who think skateboards just magically glide hard wood against cement. Same shit. Skateboarders have to apply grease/wax ALL OVER EVERYTHING

[@iguran6035]

@@6tiple6ix6afia okay while you are correct, bringing skateboards into it is exactly why the scene works, its just close enough to reality that suspension of disbelief happens almost instinctively. As opposed to someone being flipped into the air off a sword to take down an ice troll.

[@yisroel6]

Your coverage is very entertaining. I have no interest in watching The Rings of Bezos but am on the edge of my seat waiting for your next video to drop. I really like how you are documenting the different characteristics of each main character and I cannot wait to see the monstrosity that results at the end of the series.

[@nandalallutchmansingh9675]

Honestly, from the first video when he pulled up the word file documenting the characters, I lost myself in even more raucous laughter. You hear the comments of course, but seeing the litany of superficiality and inconsistencies laid out is simply gold to me.

[@eyesfullofsky9776]

"Stop pretending to be clever- it is not nice to lie." For some reason, the idea that "lying is bad" is the justification for being upset that someone is being pretentious is hilarious to me. It's such a simple, base, even innocent reason, yet it just hits so hard.

[@kenny5355]

I love that they made it a phrase "the sea is always right" when technically the sea brought halbrand and galadrial together which turned halbrand into sauron again I guess lmao

[@theaveragegatsbyy]

None of us can thank you enough for your hard work and dedication 🔥🔥🔥

[@DrKumkar]

Agreed!

[@CptAvenger]

I concur. His analyses are thoroughly logical with an injection of sarcastic witticism to lighten the subject matter.

[@Samuraixlp]

I want to give you credit for something. I know you've received some mild criticism for using too many Emperor's New Groove memes (i didn't mind the frequency, personally) but you've demonstrated that you have listened to subscriber feedback and made adjustments to your fantastic content. Good on you. Your work is appreciated.

[@LadyEmaleth]

I think people liked this episode because we can finally see more of "real" elves, that act like elves (Adar), we get more screen time for the most relatable character in the show (Adar), we can finally settle who we are rooting for (orcs) and the hard work of our beloved heroes is rewarded with a great win (orcs). This episode was simply a great day for Orc Liberation Army. ;)

[@zalf1641]

Why did the elves that inhabited Ostirith to guard the southlands from evil for 79 years not notice the shrine dedicated to Sauron in the middle of the courtyard of the castle where they lived for the past 79 years?

[@Olivia-W]

The elves there are, as we can only surmise from the not noticing the giant trench and huge swathes of cut trees, as well as Arondir's later behavior, both partially blind and deaf.

[@RecluseBootsy]

Videogame logic: NPCs only walk along their scripted paths and have no awareness of their environment unless it's plot relevant.

[@polytropos1.1]

Thank you for your YT series, which is really the best discussion of this abomination. Regarding the chronology, note that the meteor seen at the end of ep 1 was observed by (a) Galadriel just before she jumped from the Elven ship and (b) Arondir and Bronwyn as they approached Hordern. A few days later Galadriel would arrive in Númenor, and convince the queen to create an army, train that army an travel back to Middle-earth (a few months, realistically). During the same time, the villagers evacuated to the watchtower, stayed there one or a few days (not more, as they had no food) and got massacrated in exactly the same moment when the Númenórans arrived. Tolkien did not plunder like that - in fact, the LotR appendices contain an exact day-by-day table what happened when to whom for the entire LotR plot.

[@BadNessie]

Someone should have told the writers that these kinds of tables exist (and that they could have built their own one for consistency or at least SOME kind of sense in their own storyline in case they were not allowed to use Tolkien's for legal reasons).

[@PointsofData]

Wild that the series known for it's borderline OCD meticulous worldbuilding and lorekeeping has so much issue with worldbuilding and lorekeeping

[@sarahgould5435]

​​@@BadNessieWouldn't matter. They would have tossed the tables out the window anyway just like they did Celebrimbor's friendship with the Dwarves, the Dwarves' extensive trade networks, and the fact that Elves drown trying to swim across the ocean, in favor of making up the origins of mithril, Mount Doom, where Elendil's family came from, and anything else they think was a Tolkien lore tidbit.

[@Neo2266.]

Oh my god, I had no idea it was THIS bad. To make someone like Adar MORE likeable than Galadriel is like a challenge, that's just impressive levels of fuckuppery

[@ldan90v10]

I didn't watch a single episode of this series and probablty never will, but I'm very exited for episode 7 and 8 of your review.

[@RowBear0]

How lucky that the collapsing watchtower didn't break the dam before! And also so lucky that Adar really needs the sword to break the dam, instead of, you know, a pickaxe or hammer. This way there was at least a chance for the humans to escape and hide the mcGufffin. Tension! Hope! Plot!

[@fantasywind3923]

Or you know...explosives :) unless they haven't been invented yet ;), Sauron and Saruman in lore used those hehe: "The bells of day had scarcely rung out again ... when far away he saw fires spring up, across in the dim spaces where the walls of the Pelennor stood. The watchmen cried aloud, and all men in the City stood to arms. Now ever and anon there was a red flash, and slowly through the heavy air dull rumbles could be heard. 'They have taken the wall!' men cried. 'They are blasting breaches in it. They are coming!' 'Where is Faramir?' cried Beregond in dismay. 'Say not that he has fallen!' The Return of the King, LoTR Book 5, Ch 4, The Siege of Gondor ... "Presently Ghân turned to the king. 'Wild Men say many things,' he said. 'First, be wary! Still many men in camp beyond Dîn ... But none to see between here and Stone-folk's new walls. Many busy there. Walls stand up no longer: gorgûn knock them down with earth-thunder and with clubs of black iron. They are unwary and do not look about them. They think their friends watch all roads!' At that old Ghân made a curious gurgling noise, and it seemed that he was laughing." Of course one can assume that it's the Second Age maybe Sauron have not yet invented explosives ;) but still destroying the dam should have been easy work for Orcs with tools who can tunnel in the solid rock :) building elaborate underground cities and fortresses hehe. Orcs even on their own were pretty skilled in that sort of thing.

[@darkbum1510]

​@@fantasywind3923From what I understand, gunpowder has first been used by Saruman in the Battle of Helm's Deep, which is why it came off as that much of a surprise, when the Orcs brought a bomb to the wall. (Remember the scene with Saruman and Wormtongue, where the latter almost lights up the gunpowder with his candle?)

[@fantasywind3923]

@@darkbum1510 as the quotes I brought up from book show Sauron also had use of them, his troopes blew up breaches in the walls of Rammas Echor on Pelennor Fields, in any case even if we would say that the explosives as a whole were later additions (Saruman may have simply copied Sauron as was said he often used various models, Saruman was also said to study the arts of the Enemy, "But Saruman had slowly shaped it to his shifting purposes, and made it better, as he thought, being deceived - for all those arts and subtle devices for which he forsook his former wisdom, and which fondly he imagined were his own, came but from Mordor; so that what he made was naught, only a little copy, a child's model or a slave's flattery, of that vast fortress, armoury prison, furnace of great power, Barad-dûr, The Dark Tower, which suffered no rival, and laughed at flattery, biding its time, secure in its pride and its immeasurable strength." , well the Orcs are known to play with various substances :) even in The Hobbit book there is reference to that. "It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days and those wild parts they had not advanced (as it is called) so far." Of course the Saruman orc servants are the most notable: "[…] the Orcs have brought a devilry from Orthanc,' said Aragorn. 'They have a blasting fire, and with it they took the Wall. If they cannot come in the caves, they may seal up those that are inside." In the book they even used it multiple times: "Blasts of fire leaped up from below shaking the stones." […] "There was a roar and a blast of fire. The archway of the gate above which [Aragorn] had stood a moment before crumbled and crashed in smoke and dust. The barricade was scattered as if by a thunderbolt." But even in the First Age the Orcs learned a thing or two: "...and ravaged all the Falas, and besieged the walls of Brithombar and Eglarest. Smiths and miners and makers of fire they brought with them, and they set up great engines; and valiantly though they were resisted they broke the walls at last." The Silmarillion ... "Leaving his bed he took his bow from the wall and went to a narrow window; and he saw two Orcs setting fuel against his house and preparing to kindle it. Then Barach was shaken with fear, for marauding Orcs carried with them brimstone or some other devilish stuff that was quickly inflamed and not quenched with water" The Unfinished Tales And despite that there would be still countless other ways to bring down this dam as Orcs are crafty :).

[@Folker46590]

The thing about Adar is that if he's one of the first Orc then he is THOUSANDS of years older than Galadriel. Like one of the first taken to Utumno. She should be showing him pity and understanding, knowing he was tortured and abused (perhaps) by Morgoth himself, but instead she shows nothing but contempt for him. She has no idea of the Hell he's been though for centuries! How dare that spoiled b*tch judge him!! Only the Valar can judge him. I think this song could be Adar's theme song of his time as a slave in Angband. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKG9Xoimn9mfjrs

[@-MrFozzy-]

This is a Rick roll isn’t it?!!!

[@zettkusanagi6322]

That is the only logic and worthy cause that Galadriel couldve had in her trip. She is one of the wisest of all the elves, and the only one who couldve come up with some understanding of the orcs' condition. Sad.

[@TheWestendwolf]

You give this show so much more credit than it deserves😂 watching you puzzle at the shows’ ineptitude is far more enjoyable than watching the episode, but makes it worthwhile.

[@morthim]

'one cant satisfy thirst by drinking seamen' that is probably the best line in the show.

[@elechliter]

(guilty laugh)

[@josuelopes-k8r]

Fuck! I can't believe I only read this right now 😂😂😂

[@GD-os8mz]

I think you are too kind to not mind Galadriel wearing her suit of armor as she boarded the ship. Where did she get her Elvish suit of armor? She arrived on the island wearing a cloth frock. Did the island Smiths that that hate her, build her bespoke Elvish armor? Oh, sorry I forgot. Must consume. Must not think.…

[@randomft]

I clarify in my episode 5 review. It is a problem her having that armour, but if we assume she does in fact have it as depicted I have no issue with her wearing it when she boards the ship.

[@Vyktym76]

Another good thing to note: Who would be insane enough to wear armor while sailing to a battle? One little slip overboard and no more Galadriel.

[@spanglelime]

@@Vyktym76 if only we were so lucky.

[@JesterForHire1663]

I wish they'd equipped her with that ridiculous man boob Numenorian armor.

[@Axterix13]

Equally important, what sort of idiot forgets to wear a helmet? Torso and head are the two first things you protect before arms and legs.

[@clarechaddon2545]

I just noticed how Ostirith sounds like a mix of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith. 'Ost' means 'fort/citadel'. 'Tirith' means 'watch/guard'. So, Ostirith means 'fort of the watch'. This isn't a bad name, and I guess it suits it, it just feels weird how it happens to sound like these two cities.

[@roccondil5]

There's also a subtle "legolas moment" when the fellowship is trying to pass Caradhras and everyone is struggling through the snow but legolas is able to walk gently on top of it, without so much as leaving a mark.

[@bitofalice]

49:20 - Agreed, I think a lot of GaladRiels actions can be explained as annoying due to her character simply being portrayed as annoying. I'd also add, which I'm sure someone else has pointed out as well at this point, that while Legolas' surfing scene is somewhat goofy in a vacuum, it still also has a tactical advandage. Like you mention, he is able to both remain a quickly moving target AND continue to fire. GaladRiel does... nothing but hang upside down and ride in a straight line, both contributing nothing to the battle, and leaving herself open to further attacks for several seconds. There is a point to Legolas' move, there is no point to GaladRiels. You could effectively remedy the issue and have the same "badass move" had she just gotten knocked off her horse by some external force, rather than just uncomfortably swing sideways for no real reason.

[@markgrehan3726]

To be honest, Legolas and the shield did make quite a few fans let out a sigh of W.T.F at the time.

[@MajorSmurf]

Btw this was pointed out on another review but there is a huge continuity error involved Browyn or whatever her name. She actually takes 2 arrows... but the show than only shows one during the first aid scene. If you slow the arrow scene down you'll see both of them hitting with the first one hitting her in the back of the leg and the second one being around the lung area. The actress also reacts to both so they were intended in the script but the writers literally are goldfish so they forgot when they turned the page over to write the next page. Also a big thing in lore was that most Orc's would poison tip their arrows so like yeah she should be dead even if it didn't hit a vital human organ like the upper part of a lung.

[@karaokesuperstar53]

I grew up with horses and horseback riding is one of my favorite things. The thing that I was like NOPE regarding Galadriel’s stunt was that her being upside down left her frontside (top) torso and neck COMPLETELY VULNERABLE! Sure she has on armor, but we have already seen in the series that their armor can be pierced.

[@HarjuSiirius]

This series is a masterpiece! You deserve hundreds of thousands of subs for your great work. Keep it up. Can´t wait for the next episode.

[@caindarin9665]

What are the odds that Samwise tells Frodo the identical thing that Bronwyn tells Theo about the shadow, in the end, being "a small and passing thing"! I guess Theo hands down this piece of wisdom over thousands of years and somehow Samwise hears it and uses it in another dire situation. Amazing! OR, RoP writers coopted dialogue better than they could have written to put into the mouths of their own cardboard characters in order to elevate them. Hmmmm, whichever could it be???

[@vermis8344]

I cringed when that part of the video played. It feels false and deceptive, a slimy feeling, a bit like stolen valour.

[@philipphammer3474]

I wanted to say exactly the same thing. Just milking of member berries of the films. I have not yet watched the whole video or scrolled through all comments, so I put this here: "Noro Lim"

[@YouWillBeHappyOrElse]

You bring up Galadriel going by masculine titles, but there is a fun detail they apparently missed: "Galadriel" is not her name. Her father-name is Artanis ("noble lady"), and her mother-name is Nerwen ("man-maiden", for her exceptional height and physical strength). Galadriel is the NICKNAME her husband Celeborn gave her, and canonically, her consistent use of it shows her respect for him. But because I am a petty little soul, I cannot help spitefully thinking that every time the list of men's titles starts rolling off Mah'gurl Gladrayell's tongue, she's essentially introducing herself as "Knight-Champion Commander Pookie-Boo."

[@cy-one]

At this point (aka, having watched all the other Breakdowns of ROP here), Imma just go ahead and like the video before starting to watch. I doubt I will regret it in one hour and 20 minutes :D

[@poneill65]

Jackson's "Leggy Moments" where knowingly silly, humorous. A callback to the silliness of classic adventure films. They were a nudge-nudge wink-wink moment from the makers to the audience. These and the cameo's were just the two bits of fourth wall breaking they allowed themselves. The Galadriel moment wasn't, it was just another in an infinite series of "Look how awesome girl boss Galadriel is" from utterly oblivious showrunners.

[@cy-one]

Jackson's Leggy Moments are, to me, similar to ROP moments like Durin confessing to Elrond he made the whole "sacred table stone" shit up. That was funny and reminded me of silly moments in LOTR. Like Legolas's stair-surfing, but also other moments of course. Galadriel's horse-acrobatics was just... Eeh...

[@fangiscool1]

@@cy-one I can imagine someone suggesting the horse acrobatics,. But once they saw what it looked like, they should have said nevermind

[@MemoristCed]

I find it inexcusable that Galadriel DIDN'T have a Leggy Moment against the sea serpent early on. She could've been awesome, saved the people on the raft, and then been welcomed as a hero in Numenor. "Not unlike Finrod Felegund, who gave his life to save our forefather Beren." "Finrod was my brother." "Then all the more welcome! LET US CELEBRATE!" Oh wait, they fridged Finrod in a grand melee to give Galadriel a plot-access pass. Never mind.

[@viv2502]

These breakdowns are so well done and satisfying to watch. I struggled to make it through each episode of the RoP but binge watched your videos all in one day! This was like just the therapy I needed after making it through that absolute train wreck of a show. Cheers!

[@aster4jaden]

You are right, they did make Galadriel into a Monster for this Series, thank goodness I haven't watched it and instead get to enjoy your Analysises instead.

[@poneill65]

Nitpick: Volcanoes do not cover the earth in darkness for thousands of years, certainly not ones triggered by some fizzy water instead of dark magic. So, the Orcs have a homeland for a month, a year at most. Frodo's Mordor is sunny with a chance of showers unless the orcs take a wazz into the crater continuously for the next 5000 years

[@AlpacaAuntie]

It was worth suffering through the series just to enjoy your videos. My starting point was just as yours, I don't care much about lore as long as the story makes sense and does not clash with Hobbit and LotR. Your analysis of all scenes, plots and characters from that perspective is incredibly interesting and I am in awe how clerly you comunicate your points. On top of everything, your voice and the way you speak is very pleasent to listen to. I cannot wait for your next video and I hope it will be longer and just as awesome as the previous ones x

[@Macguyverman]

You sir have created the best breakdowns of the rings of power on KZbin. I absolutely love your videos.

[@starlimitz2]

I find myself genuinely anxious for your next video. The quality is exemplary.

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

The hardest part of watching these reviews is that I forget every character's name the moment they're offscreen.

[@abstuli]

The Rings of Power is so bad that you'd think it was Uwe Boll who made the series. The fact that they didn't check that it was Sauron's sword that Udûn had wrapped is taken from Uwe Boll's BloodRayne where there was a box with a magical heart that Rayne delivered and no one checked if the box contained any heart. When they later opened the box, it was empty.

[@TallisKeeton]

"in the name of the king" was actualy better production than RoP :)

[@JohnDoe-rl9ft]

You are giving RoP too much credit. Uwe Boll, usually working with a shoestring budget, at least has someone proofread his scripts to avoid all the “goldfish memory” moments this show has

[@Aledahal]

This is now my second view, I STILL NEED MORE! No but jokes aside, these in depth, humorous, well written long videos are my crack. And you my friend has just become my favourite dealer. Thank you for your service.

[@HateshWarkio]

You just don't understand Elendil is actually related to Al Bundy (Married... with Children) So the reason Elendil considers the sea to be always right is because it killed his wife while the rest of Númenóreans just coppied him because they thought it is some deep profound knowledge

[@hatuletoh]

I appreciate the detailed breakdown that points out all the small stupidities of this show. Because the big stupidities are so, well...big that it's easy to become overwhelmed. For example, I was so busy gawking at how Galadriel--and anyone else--was supposed to have survived a pyroclastic flow that I didn't really think about how equally stupid it was that Old Man Bad Guy (Waldreg?) was able to make it out of the village with the evil sword in the middle of a cavalry attack. This is textbook Bad Robot writing: as long as there is big spectacle, it doesn't matter if it makes sense how we got to said big spectacle. Other than being bribed by Amazon, I have no idea why anyone would call this show anything but ridiculous shlock.

[@theother1281]

Actually I can understand that. If they are fighting orcs a human peasant fleeing the battle space would an irrelevance. Just a villager fleeing the fighting.

[@philipphammer3474]

Another hilarious thing about the whole plan with flooding the volcano is often overlooked since those details are multiple brain melting episodes apart, but consider this: The elves in Ostirith in fact couldn't see the trenches, because the trenches were actually miles away. Ostirith is shown to be in the corner just north of the small mountain ridge spanning from the west into Mordor (sorry, The Southlands of course). In episode 3 (I guess it was 3), the camera zooms in on the map to the location of the tree Arondir chops down, which is hundreds of mikes south of this mountain ridge, just west to the sea of Nurn. That means all the trench digging we saw could not possibly have connected Ostirith with Mount Doom. Physicist would be astouned by the writers ability to manipulate the spacetime-continuum

[@BWMagus]

And why is the trench so damn huge, but we see the water also going through much smaller tunnels?

[@roundhouseuppercut]

actually been waiting for another one of these vids. im glad hollywood is putting out garbage cuz it creates hours and hours of digestive content in response. Itll eventually grow the independent content creators market as they slowly wither

[@OldKnightAMV]

I was so surprised to see you uploaded today! I drive for a living and I very much enjoy your content! Can't wait to listen to your next few episodes!

[@Gorbz]

In terms of a timeframe up to this episode, the only information relayed within the show is: Mr Meteor crashing down - common start point Galadriel in the Numenor throne room - Given 3 days to decide what to do with her Miriel watching the leaves fall - Given 10 days to assemble and train an army before leaving On the ships - 1 day to reach Middle-Earth, and 1 more day to sail up a river into the Southlands. The eruption of Mt. Doom - common end point. My guess is that the storylines were written independently, then cut up and shoved into place so that there were multiple plots happening in each episode, and nobody even tried to think about a coherent timeline. Now it was mentioned by the showrunners that the Harfoot migration was to take roughly two weeks from them leaving after the book reading, and arriving at the burned tree in the next episode, but that was not presented in the show so cannot be taken into account.

[@Tar-Elenion]

'If she falls overboard she will sink and drown if wearing armour You say that like it would be a bad thing...'

[@liliesaregoodfortheliver2954]

Hey, if she drowns...the sea is always right 🌊

[@Aledahal]

Ive binged all your videos in like 4 days! I NEED MORE!

[@kkavehma1]

This reviews are amazing. I like your mathematical logic mind and approach while being funny and fair. I have listened to each of your analysis more than once. Please keep up the excellent work.

[@testbug2491]

Probably too late to be seen but regarding the science behind the volcano: A sizable amount of water poured into a volcano based would absolutely cause a chain reaction seen in this episode. You can see this in multiple YT videos where small amounts of water will cause a small reaction and then it gets bigger and bigger. You can even see it with trash-hence why we don't do this-where it'll bubble slightly then go nuts and start a full on lava eruption. Add a river of water into a massive cauldron of lava and I'd have no doubts of it causing a reaction seen in the episode (and maybe sprinkle in a bit of Tolkein-esque magic being that geological inaccuracy is directly mentioned by Tolkein himself). However, I also think Everyone would be dead and especially Galadriel. Also also, I actually have more of an issue with *how much* water they showed. the water flow showed no sign of stopping and with that much water, you'd eventually start forming basalt which would takeaway from the force being projected out.

[@roushannah]

You have officially saved my evening. This is pure bliss

[@TheMadmatt7]

We greatly enjoy your episodic reviews, because you are willing to take the pain for us. We love ya bruh.

[@starbolt0636]

You have a simple talent for taking a few screenshots, putting in some music, and making the PowerPoint presentation extremely delightful and entertaining. Thank you for you resilience to pouring through these episodes for an exhaustive review.

[@bulbasaurbrutal5137]

31:56 ROFL I remember pausing right around here and screaming at my friends "Why does she look just like Merlin's mother dying in childbirth?!" And then I immediately pulled up the movie with Sam Neill 'Merlin' and showed the mother side by side and there's a remarkable similarity.

[@skeptical_aristotle]

I had no idea your channel was so new until you mentioned trying to hit 500 subscribers. Quality work sir. You’ve rapidly become one of my favorites

[@Skele10bro]

“Chivalry is dead; we killed it.” -These writers (probably)

[@horridhippie9194]

1:08:30 how does the water makes it's way up to the top of that volcano?

[@devinjohnson246]

Rebuttal about Adar's initial plan. I believe Adar didn't use the defectors to attack the outpost because he doesn't trust them to accomplish anything other than die. Against hard fortifications, untrained, inexperienced militia would be less than worthless. However, against an open village that they know the layout of, it absolutely makes sense to send the defectors in, with a small Cadre of orcs to lead them. The defectors bleed the villagers, trigger any traps or defenses, and Adar doesn't lose more than a handful of Orcs. He also doesn't want to shoot into the melee because if the defectors feel Adar has betrayed them they might try to surrender and re-join the defenders.

[@yurikendal4868]

I was wanting/waiting to see this. You make fantastic reviews

[@cy-one]

1:17:03 No U. Thank you for making these. Your analysis is on point, funny, and helpful. It easily allows us normies without your unbridled brain and sarcasm to give people reasons why the show is shit without even talking about how it absolutely surprise-buttfricks the source material. Edit: Also, multiple posts to feed the algorithm ;)

[@JackChurchill101]

This was perfect timing. I had a 90 minute highway night drive to complete and what do I see? Loved it.

[@cpt.honeybadger7365]

I laughed so hard when youtube subtitles calls him "Air India" at 26.40 😂

[@bulbasaurbrutal5137]

Yes, so I've come to collect my 1000 internet points for knowing that Gandhi said "an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." 27:34

[@kenthehobo]

Dude, I am loving your vids! Probably my favorite take on this show

[@nategraham6946]

Another point on the threat of the night walkers, they are zombies, so anyone who dies fighting them joins their ranks, which is an even bigger threat.

[@GreatGreebo]

16:55 Bronwyn’s “shadow” speech nearly broke my brain. This shows inability to provide any consistency is mind boggling 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@juliankonrath3617]

During the attack on the village when the human archer next to Arondir was taken down by the orc, I'm wondering why the orc didn't try to sneak kill Arondir first. He was easier to reach on the roof, the orc literally had to walk past him to kill the human first. Also from his armor he was clearly the more valuable target. But what do I know about orc strategy..

[@richardsen4865]

god, i have seen all of the rings of power analysis and im laughing so hard, fantastic work mate! it is so right on the money! im looking for the rest of the season every day, looking forward to it!

[@lukesters7234]

Thank you ..this is an awesome piece of work and I know from personal experience these things take a lot of effort and time to produce ♥️

[@polarstorm5986]

Nice to see that you have made lesser use of the cartoon scenes, not so often repeating them. I mentioned that one or two vids ago. Keep up the good work. :)

[@Gmex_ONE]

I love this series of yours! It’s my favorite coverage of all the RoP. Can’t wait for the next video 👍😃

[@mordred666child_of_diaboli9]

This channel truly deserves much much more , i wish you everything that's best , man . Thank you for the enormous effort required to make these episodes . Honestly , I have a great fun watching your content . People will finally notice the amount of work you put in to this.

[@chuntoon1]

Loved the summary in your conclusion. Amazing how you could make it sound good when you mention what happens .. wild how they still screwed it up so amazingly

[@TheManWhoStoleTheShadows]

56:32 False. One cannot live on seawater only if they are not prepared. I'm hazy on the details but there was a scientist who proved it by getting his body used to surviving on saltwater then he got on a raft with no fresh water. He lived, didn't enjoy the experience but didn't suffer the usual ill effects.

[@MaynardMeiring]

Only found your channel recently, but goodness, I wish I did sooner. Excellent analyses, breakdowns, arguments and, of course, humour. Thank you, sir.

[@redleaf101]

Gratz on 1250+ subs!.. you're videos and commentaries are freakin awesome, and you views are on point. Entertaining and cerebral. =)

[@danielh5583]

Realizing this is a late comment for the thread but 2 things 1- your reviews have been absolutely awesome 2- I have been down the KZbin rabbit hole with these reviews but there is another awesome scene review of the interrogation scene where they’ve done a comparison with naz1 scenes from another movie and it was freaky how she is step by step exactly like the naz1 torturer

[@danielh5583]

Went back to look it up. It was by despot of atrium Galadriel the psychopathic genocidal demon beast.

[@hugomouro6555]

that was time well spent, thank you once again for your dedication.

[@faceitgm]

Makes me smile every time I hear "By all accounts, it doesn't make sense" Kudos

[@TristouMTL]

I really don't know how you do it, but you are so consistently brilliant and funny and always spot on with every criticism. I'm not even watching the actual show now: I have much more fun listening to you absolutely trash it.

[@scottmerkle5717]

Ok Let's just state this clear and up front. I like your reviews way more than the show. They have better writing, and are WAY more re-watchable. The only negative to the show ending is...no more reviews after your wrap up😭

[@dardobartoli]

Laughed so much at this that I developed severe chest pains and had to call the doctors.. who never answered, probably because I was using an antelope.

[@Kaleiddmode]

😂😂😂😂

[@pavelbelik6174]

Ive been watching ROP reviews a lot. Yours are the best by far. So well made, well thought through and entertaining. Amazing job!

[@bendkok]

On THAT scene: To me it looks like the arrow passes in front of Galadriel, relative to the camera. Which means that the move she pulls is unnecessary, because the arrow would have completely missed her anyways.

[@spencertaylor-mrliltay]

1:10:25 Writers, have you never heard of the ancient city of Pompeii? I guess Amazon assumes viewers have no knowledge of history or how destructive Volcanoes are.

[@SmallBrotha79]

Best content on this travesty of a serie… Love your work🙌

[@BigCowProductions]

Even after giving up upon falling asleep during episode 4, i was gonna try it again. But when episode 6 aired, and I heard about the inexorably cthulu-like Eldritch Stupidity that was employed, and literally every single thread they could hope to say they had went up in a pyroclastic flow

[@BigCowProductions]

Plus, the asinine monstrously patently evil nature of the writers, showing their main character, the heroine (because they won't "write" a male MC lol), be absurdly evil, and the antagonist is a sympathetic conflicted person just under the boot of the evil MC. They are evil themselves, and even when aiming for "Good" can only write evil.

[@colebuckon3856]

An important thing to consider with the Mumakil scene is that, despite how over-the-top it is, Legolas is clearly in danger the whole time. It’s obvious from his face and the way he keeps changing his approach that he’s making it up as he goes along and keeps hitting unexpected obstacles, like how he flails around when the Mumakil swats at him with its tail or how he gives up on shooting into the gondola when the Haradrim spearmen nearly slam into him while lunging at him. This was a stunt that took genuine effort on his part and nearly got him killed multiple times.

[@jimmydasani8922]

Take note that Tolkien specifically stated the Numenoreans never rode to battle on horseback becauee it wouldve been too difficult to transport that many horses on boats. Even Tolkien understood how logistically impossible or atleast unreasonable it wouldve been to attempt to transport hundreds and hundreds of horses as well as men. Jfc