Rings of Power S2 Episode 4 - HONEST REVIEW | Lord of the Rings on Prime

[@CounciloftheRings]

Thank you all for watching these reviews and supporting the channel! It's the only reason why I endure to make them! The show is truly a crime to anything Tolkien ever wrote, but at least we can make fun of the show and see how dumb the writing is and how they manage to get every single thing wrong. If you like what I do here please consider becoming a patron or member here on KZbin! You can even join the Patreon for free and still get access to a bunch of cool stuff! 🙏🧙‍♂ www.patreon.com/counciloftherings

[@MagesGuild]

I do it because people who know the lore must discredit this abomination: It is cultural vandalism.

[@pdjinne65]

I decided to skip the show and just watch reviews like yours. ROP doesn't deserve more views!

[@The_Reality_Filter]

Why is Goldberry, the river spirit of the river Withywindle, in a desert? Brain hurt!

[@65Jaysee]

​@moon-moth1 I deleted NotR, what a shill? He's so far up amazon's arse he's brushing their teeth from the inside 😂😂

[@65Jaysee]

Great video, thanks for watching it and reviewing it so we don't have to mate, cheers!

[@CounciloftheRings]

Not everything can make it into these videos, so here are some other mistakes I noticed that didn’t make the cut (there are without doubt more): 1) Grey Havens is still way too small and looks like a village, as I’ve mentioned in a previous review. 2) It’s quite obvious the “Fake Fellowship” is on their way to Eregion only to fail, so they have to turn back and Elrond can return with an army. What else were their plan? Go to Eregion and kill Sauron? 3) Why don’t the fake Fellowship use horses? It’s clearly so they can make some cheap shots looking like the Fellowship as they set out from Rivendell on their way to Moria. Even the camera angles and shots seem stolen. 4) No one gives a damn about this “fake Fellowship”. All the side characters are new and we barely get to know their names before some of them dies off. It honestly looks like a DEI hire, so Amazon can check some more boxes. 5) The “axa bridge” is made-up as mentioned. If it’s meant to be an early version of the bridge of Baranduin it’s located wrong. On top of that the location on the map is a marsh (Overbourn) so the cliffs makes no sense. On top of that there is the ford of Sarn Ford just south from there, which means they don’t even need a bridge to cross the river. 6) There is no way the barrow-downs would be on the way to Eregion. I can’t even imagine a scenario where it would make sense. It only works in the books because they are at Tom Bombadil’s house and have to get to Bree. 7) Galadriel thinks Elrond’s idea to go south is stupid, yet she has no alternative plan??? (This was cut due to bad audio). 8) Tom Bombadil now has honey? There’s more than one reference, which make me think they took some stuff from Beorn as well and reused. 9) Why would there be a huorn in the middle of the desert? What makes it a huorn? Is it the last huorn in a forest now dead and gone? How? Why? There are so many questions. 10) The whole naming for Harfoots and Stoors are wrong. Tolkien loved philology - how languages evolve over time. This is why pretty much each great hobbit family in The Shire has their own naming traditions. Their names are influenced by their history. It makes no sense for a “Stoor” in the middle of the desert to be called Merimac, as that name is influenced by celtic. The reason for this is because the Brandybucks (Merimac Brandybuck is an actual character) descend from the Stoors that once lived in Dunland. The language of the Dunlendings then influenced some of their habits and names. This is also why other hobbits see them (Bucklanders and hobbits of the Marish) as weird. They have some cultural differences. All this is out the window, because these baboons don’t know the lore. 11) On the name ”Gund”. You might think of Gundabad, but that name is Khuzdul with an unknown meaning (possibly ‘gundu’ meaning underground hall). There are several Bolgers starting with ‘Gund’ in their name, so like above it makes little sense why they’d use that name/ word without the background history. 12) At 3:47 you can clearly see it’s a fake ear. I first spotted this when editing, so it didn’t make the cut. 13) Saruman is apparently evil from the start now. The whole Order of the Istari is out the window and instead it seems like Istar is just a race in this show. “Wizard race”… really Amazon? 14) Withywindle is a river in the Old Forest, but according to an article it’s some village or settlement in this show. Also what folk? Who knew him? Where did he live? 15) Goldberry is widely believed to be linked to the real Withywindle, so did they travel together to Rhûn or is the entire lore around her just ignored or changed? 16) Old Man Ironwood… Just like Old Man Willow. The difference is that Willow is an actual name, that was used in England before the Norman Conquest (something that mattered greatly to Tolkien). Ironwood, though? I’ve never met anyone named that. 17) The Istari lost likely arrived in Middle-earth with their staffs, instead of creating them. That at least seems unlikely to me. 18) In the lore Tom Bombadil is much like nature. It cares not about magic rings, dark lords or what’s going on in the wide world of Men (etc.). Yet in this show Tom Bombadil have been changed to a mentor for fake Gandalf. 19) The reason the evil spirits possess the “remains” of the dead is so they can interact with the Seen world. Just like the Nazgûl wears the cloaks in the Lord of the Rings. In The Hobbit the Nazgûl can fight as spirits and the same for the Oathbreakers. This is a mistake by Peter Jackson and not lore-accurate. So - you can harm the physical bodies of the dead which means the evil spirits would be unable to interact again (but probably not die). 20) I don’t really know why anyone in Pelargir cares about Theo? Maybe because he is the healer, but it seems a bit weird everyone just wants to search for him. 21) Pelargir is now build on both sides of the Anduin, which is why I say Ithilien in the video. (The Ents/ entwives were marked on Estrid’s map). How would they get to the other side without boats or ships? Idk teleport like everyone else, I guess. 22) There are nameless things in the deep places of the earth… but it’s the surface man. Such a cheap steal. 23) Quite lucky only the “Burrows” became leaders of the Harfoots, otherwise they’d still be tied to that pole. 24) The “Fake Fellowship” somehow spots the marching army of Adar? I guess they must have crossed the Greyflood then, which would have been a bigger obstacle than Baranduin. If not, Adar is taking a detour into the lands later known as Cardolan. Both options are dumb and makes no sense. 25) Showing Elrond as a captive really kills people’s interest in the show. Now they already know more of what will happen and just have to suffer through more hours to get to that point (unless it’s a fake vision?). 26) Why is it up to Isildur to free Estrid? Seems kinda forced and did Arondir already knew she would take his sword? Why free her at all then? 27) Arondir’s origin is a complete mess people could write whole books about. I still can’t figure out if he is a Silvan elf or Sindar, but both options contains a number of mistakes, I simply don’t care to explain in detail here. It would be too long. 28) Of course Elves cut wood! As I wrote on screen - how else would they build furniture, houses and ships (among other things). Why are they always reduced to this nonsense tree-hugging hippie vegetarians? 29) A bit on the nose with the “what does it fell”… “orcs”. 30) Idk how an army of orcs managed to march through that area without them noticing, but alright. 31) I could have provided a ton of quotes from Galadriel trying to sounds cool, but end up sounding cringe. Maybe I’ll include some in a season review. 32) Why is there a random horse in the middle of nowhere? One of the dead messenger’s old horse? Idk, seems weird. 33) I don’t know why Galadriel had to “sacrifice” herself, when they could just have sneaked off. Feel free to mention more below

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

You could make a 10 hour video out of everything you just wrote here! I can't believe that cruddy little fishing village is supposed to be the Grey Havens. It looks more like the Westfold (?) of Rohan - in the film, we see the wild men attacking the village, and that lady puts her son and daughter on the horse, and tells her son to go to Edoras asap. Truly appreciate you actually watching this show and putting in so much effort to make these videos!🙏🤩💪🐴🌿🧝‍♂️💚

[@evancleary3315]

tldr: the show sucks 🤣 seriously though when i hit show more i was not expecting 33 points!!! 😳 this show is awful

[@haldalorian]

Perhaps you already touched on this, but I counted at least a half dozen shots that aren't just callbacks to Jackson's trilogy. They're almost exact replicas, inlcuding the camera work. I freely admit I FFed through most of the episode, but here are some shots that I can recall: - The "Fake Fellowship" trotting atop a mountain as they camera floats by them (FOTR, post-Rivendell) - Budget Gandalf getting swallowed by the tree and Bombadil using the same exact dialogue to free him (TT, Fangorn Forest) - The Entwife about to stomp Isildur to death, which I really REALLY she would (TT, Fangorn Forest) - Camera pulling back through the ranks of spear-wielding Elves in Lindon (TT, the mustering of the Uruk-hai at Orthanc)

[@_Uh_Oh_]

34. The show was made.

[@warrenaustin8591]

Why don't Bombadil and WannabeGandalf recognise that they're both Maiar? How long has WannabeSaruman been in the East? If the Istari were sent to oppose Sauron, Sauron has only been active again for... what? A year or two at best once he pulled his black goo back together again? Why did Whatshisname Stoor need to go and steal water? From the produce being grown at the Sun Village, they'd either have to be stealing water CONSTANTLY, or have their own water source. How would you support that large a community without a water source? The Grey Havens still look like some DLC for Skyrim.

[@pdjinne65]

It's like EVERY decision, every choice they make, is the wrong one. That level of incompetence is staggering

[@CounciloftheRings]

I couldn't agree more!

[@deanzaZZR]

It gives new meaning to the term High Elves.

[@pdjinne65]

@@deanzaZZR Did the authors smoke too much pipe-weed? I think yes

[@brian8130]

"He falls in love with Poppy, god knows why or how" 😂😂😂

[@pdjinne65]

🤣🤣

[@PROVOCATEURSK]

She is the most uncurvy curvy person ever.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Reminds me of that Far Side cartoon: "Then, from across the room, their eyes met."

[@haldalorian]

@@dronesclubhighjinks The entire series is like a Far Side cartoon-except it doesn't realize it.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@haldalorian I suspect the showrunners think they are being very deep, philosophical and significant with their dialogue and "plots". They are providing us entertainment, but not in the way they think. 😂

[@christianefiorito3204]

The problem with the estate is Simon Tolkiens revenge on Christopher. So we have to wait for a real dedicated Grandchild or administrator

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah if we are lucky he gets removed and sued as well. For now we only have hope and faith for justice to be served.

[@mattymatt1979]

Revenge?

[@_Uh_Oh_]

@@mattymatt1979 yes, Christopher did not let him interfere whilst he was alive IIRC. So Simon got his moment when his dad died (as did the vultures waiting to desecrate Tolkiens work). Can only imagine how much pent up resentment that man was holding on to, and lo and behold we get it as a visual diarrhœa courtesy of "Amazon Studios" now.

[@mattymatt1979]

@@_Uh_Oh_ thanks!

[@KevinUchihaOG]

By 2044 the entire Tolkien Legendarium will have entered public domain. Might not get another attempt before that.

[@drpants9015]

Just to remind you, Amazon only spent a meager 1 Billion dollars on this show. To put that in perspective, 1 Billion dollars is enough to feed 1 Million people for 500 days or enough to buy 57,499 Volkswagen Beetles. But, no. Instead, we get the TV show equivalent of the 9th Layer of Hell. Thanks Amazon.

[@ladyblabla3611]

I have a feeling there is a massive money laundry sceme in Hollywood. So many movies and shows with huge huge budget nowdays . and you don't see it in the end result.

[@Yugemos]

They're laundering money... That's what Hollywood does. Crime is only illegal if you're poor.

[@unitron2005]

"Hey, dude wearing wooden armour, do you kill trees?"

[@Yugemos]

He's wearing one of their faces... That'd be like asking Ed Gein if he's ever filleted someone while he's loosely wearing their face like a Jason mask.

[@TETASARAIVACS]

The writing quality: “You think the Ring is deceiving me, but I believe it is guiding me” That’s EXACTLY what you would think if the Ring was deceiving you! 😂

[@Yugemos]

It's the kind of thing you'd expect from Galadriel if she wore a bike helmet.

[@The_Reality_Filter]

Why is Goldberry, the river spirit of the river Withywindle, in a desert? Brain hurt!

[@verde5738]

Karendriel, she doesn't want to see the Manager, she is the Manager!

[@kevz2474]

Diverse elves, first one to die is the black one 🤣🤣

[@kevz2474]

@@moon-moth1 EXACTLY..thank you for getting it.

[@blackmantis3130]

The cut of the diverse elves was funny to me for some reason

[@pdjinne65]

Tolkien was huge on asian elves. Makes perfect sense.

[@Luteole]

My favorite was the ginger.... like did they really REALLY try to check all the boxes or....

[@CounciloftheRings]

@@Luteole Why do you think he died? 😱

[@pdjinne65]

@@moon-moth1 Proof that some people are really, really stupid and/or surrounded by yes-people. IQ is a spectrum, and these two showrunners are on the bad end.

[@OLDMANTEA]

If they wanted an Asian elf, they should have gotten Donnie Yen IMO

[@chandran4799]

I give them 10/10 on contradicting Tolkien, why don't they rename the show and remove any remaining connection to tolkien

[@CounciloftheRings]

They just use his name to earn money. It's disgusting really. I can only hope it fails hard and becomes known as the biggest and most expensive failure in history.

[@chandran4799]

@@CounciloftheRings hahaha absolutely :D

[@chandran4799]

@@CounciloftheRings they didn't read the books just watched the movie, hilarious. but their priority were DEI and LGBTQ+ elves

[@KAJYT6969]

Holy shit I died when you showed the drawing of the entwives

[@CounciloftheRings]

🤣 credits to Econ History from the Discord server. Best 2 seconds spend

[@Atanalcar]

Stoors are not matriarchal per se. In letter 214 Tolkien discusses succession in Hobbit families to explain why Sméagol's grandmother was called a matriarch. "As far as I know Hobbits were universally monogamous (indeed they very seldom married a second time, even if wife or husband died very young); and I should say that their family arrangements were ‘patrilinear’ rather than patriarchal. That is, their family names descended in the male-line (and women were adopted into their husband’s name); also the titular head of the family was usually the eldest male. In the case of large powerful families (such as the Tooks), still cohesive even when they had become very numerous, and more what we might call clans, the head was properly the eldest male of what was considered the most direct line of descent. But the government of a ‘family’, as of the real unit: the ‘household’, was not a monarchy (except by accident). It was a ‘dyarchy’, in which master and mistress had equal status, if different functions. Either was held to be the proper representative of the other in the case of absence (including death). There were no ‘dowagers’. If the master died first, his place was taken by his wife, and this included (if he had held that position) the titular headship of a large family or clan. This title thus did not descend to the son, or other heir, while she lived, unless she voluntarily resigned.* It could, therefore, happen in various circumstances that a long-lived woman of forceful character remained ‘head of the family’, until she had full-grown grandchildren. *We are here dealing only with titular ‘headship’ not with ownership of property, and its management. These were distinct matters; though in the case of the surviving ‘great households’, such as Great Smials or Brandy Hall, they might overlap. In other cases, headship, being a mere title, and a matter of courtesy, was naturally seldom relinquished by the living. [. . .] There is no reason to suppose that the Stoors of Wilderland had developed a strictly ‘matriarchal’ system, properly so called. No trace of any such thing was to be found among the Stoor-element in the East-farthing and Buckland, though they maintained various differences of custom and law. Gandalf’s use (or rather his reporter and translator’s use) of the word ‘matriarch’ was not ‘anthropological’, but meant simply a woman who in fact ruled the clan. No doubt because she had outlived her husband, and was a woman of dominant character. It is likely enough that, in the recessive and decadent Stoor-country of Wilderland, the women-folk (as is often to be observed in such conditions) tended to preserve better the physical and mental character of the past, and so became of special importance. But it is not (I think) to be supposed that any fundamental change in their marriage-customs had taken place, or any sort of matriarchal or polyandrous society developed (even though this might explain the absence of any reference whatever to Sméagol-Gollum’s father)." Not trying to suggest you were saying that they were matriarchal, just thought I'd expand your point a bit as to how it was lore accurate, since this entire topic is a video's worth in its own right.

[@tomasz9429]

If Tolkien somehow returned, like Emperor Palpatine, he'd conjure Simon's umbilical cord and strangle the bastard with it for allowng this travesty's existence.

[@LegionWolves]

Lmao what a diverse fellowship. Now it’s just missing a Mexican elf

[@jaymay7957]

10:22 ya know they do not give a shit what these stories were to Tolkien. A mythology for for England, and the hobbits were very specific in their ways. Yet this show turns their origins inside out without realizing how much they have changed lore wise

[@bart_r6703]

I can't believe they let Adar utter the beautiful LOTR line 'a star shines on the hour of our meeting' (Elen sila lúmenn omentielvo). A travesty.

[@jerbganderwood8433]

If they don't show Goldberry, I would argue that's the best, most lore accurate thing this entire show accomplishes.

[@deanzaZZR]

The desert is the last place that I would look for Goldberry River-daughter, but what do I know.

[@The_Reality_Filter]

@@deanzaZZR she's called River-daughter because she's a literal River spirit of the river Withywindle...this show really makes my brain hurt in all the wrong places. I wonder if Balrogs have pro-nouns eg Gothmog's pro nouns are dread/dreader...brain hurt now.

[@pdjinne65]

@@The_Reality_Filter Can't wait for female balrogs. Or even more stunning and brave, drag Balrogs: Baldrags ?

[@srenkibsgaard9136]

I'm overtaken by, foresight. When elrond is taken prisoner, girl boss galadriel, will save him...

[@CounciloftheRings]

No doubt!

[@unitron2005]

3:10 I keep telling people, that THIS is exactly how you know, that they have read the books. And hated them. And the entire point of the show is to replace them with their own vision and message. Again. This is not mere incompetence. This is malice.

[@Yugemos]

I don't think it's malice. I think a lot of people in California and hollywood are delusional and dumb at lower levels, and people above them use them for really easy money laundering.

[@martinolsen007]

I am more suprised a 1 billion dollar project can fuck up a story that is perfectly written for them, let alone make it worse

[@KevinTierney]

So Tom Bombadil teaches a wizard how to control magic, and said wizard uses it to build an empire. Bombadil is living in this empire and.... is surprisingly cool about him dooming Rhun to its fate

[@CounciloftheRings]

He's such a good and helpful fellow 🤣

[@Yugemos]

That's the Bombadick vibe bro, just live and let live, create evil wizards dooming all of life... Just chill bro, like Bombadick.

[@Restrodsworth]

They couldn’t have gotten Tom Bombadil more wrong if they’d tried. He probably wouldn’t know about Saurons return at this point and he almost certainly wouldn’t even care. He’s not supposed to feel like an average man who you couldn’t have a normal conversation with. He’s singing half of the words he says and it feels like he’s not in tune with the everyday comings and going’s of middle earth. Not some guy from Somerset who is only there to warn people about Sauron.

[@lunafencoven]

She sacrifices herself to stall an army. In the end, she stalls for about a couple of minutes. Which is entirely insignificant, but what was she expecting to achieve as a 1 person? The sacrifice she made (which she reasonably thought she would die) was foolish. Even if she died, what difference would it make if Adar's army delayed about a few minutes? Her sacrifice makes no sense because the entire reason is that the writers needed an excuse, as the plot required Galadriel and Adar to get together before the siege of Eregion.

[@CounciloftheRings]

I totally agree! It also explains why they had to walk all the way there only to turn back.

[@ShaDow1337pro]

Its all so forced, the random swamp sinking scene was unbelievably clunky Middle school levels of tension creation and storytelling

[@CounciloftheRings]

@@ShaDow1337pro Yeah it was completely pointless and a waste of time. You could cut the entire thing and it would make no difference, except they consider to free Estrid (that haven't actually done anything, except hide her identity).

[@kingdombuilder368]

this show is essencially just the Olympic opening ceremony Last Supper bit …. but dragged out for hour after hour

[@wimpie133]

The horse running on the Seine river in that opening ceremony actually looks closer to the lore than what is being shown in this series 😁

[@Enerdhil]

Great point about RoP Galadriel being a female version of Sauron. To fundamentally change Galadriel until we can no longer recognize her is so disrespectful to Tolkien.

[@christianefiorito3204]

Galadriel is a typical Karen. But at least Elrond mans up a little and gives her payback

[@CounciloftheRings]

G: "No let's not go south, Sauron wants us to do that!" E: "What do you suggest, then?" G: "Idk... but you are wrong!" E: "Great input"

[@Peregrin3]

The Galadyship are supposedly supposed to get to Eregion as fast as possible but don't take horses for some reason even thought the couriers Gil-Galad sent were riding horses just before. They even run across a random wild horse.😂

[@CounciloftheRings]

Writing: -10/10 IQ: Huh?

[@EffequalsMA]

They cram Barrow wights, Nameless Things, Ents, Entwives, Saruman, Gandalf, Hobbit history AND Tom Bombadil INTO ONE EPISODE!

[@Yugemos]

And to make matters worse an Ent is talking to an elf wearing a wooden chest plate with a tree's face on it, and he's actually kind to the elf.

[@allcohoIic]

Imagine being so bad at film that you forget your own fake lore from your first season of your fan fiction. Jesus Christ what is happening.

[@Benzefal]

"They fit perfectly with each other so they can all suck together". So funny.

[@smelisi]

02:25 -- "But Amazon hates Tolkien and the lore, so we can't have that." Boy, does that sum up this series!!!

[@CounciloftheRings]

100%

[@IarwainBen-adar]

I am disappointed with what they did with me in this episode…

[@kinsey304]

At this point they just need to say this is a alternative universe.

[@Maryondo]

"Failed Art Projects" You know who else failed with arts? I guess we get our explanation why there were no diverse people in the Third Age after all - that is very cool by Amazon to think of such details!

[@CounciloftheRings]

I was actually about to write a joke about that into the script, but I'm not a Harfoot. I had to walk off trail

[@RSP.95]

Indeed, Middle-earth was not the same after the rule of Adalfar Hitlurion ...

[@anna_luin]

Im normally up until 2am in the morning, after watching this episode i fell asleep at 11pm. 💤💤

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

gotta love how the show made the harfoots diverse with the excuse that tolkien mentioned them being brown(er than the other hobbits), but then decided to make the stoors diverse too and since the costuming for them is just shit just completely erasing any visual distinction between the various breeds of hobbits, while also ironically making the stoors "browner of skin" than the only two harfoots we follow on this season sorry did i say love i meant hate

[@Yugemos]

Gotta fit black ladies in wherever you can, otherwise it's racist.

[@GreatGreebo]

This show is a thousand percent *not* Tolkien. What a mess it is. I hope Amazon loses their shorts. Thank you for watching *CotR* so we don’t have to!

[@carstenwagner3355]

It really hurts seeing Ciarán Hinds in this pile of crap.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yup! He's a great actor and will likely perform well, but it's sadly overshadowed by how bad this series is.

[@arthurballs9632]

💰 💸 🍸 💰 Hope he charged Bezo a fortune for his appearance

[@elck3]

It was honestly so bad. I can’t even imagine they’re trying anymore. It’s ridiculous. Galadriel girl boss was just so random like they needed at least one scene with her looking like she’s doing. She’s been sidelined this season but they still need

[@FragLord]

Wow they really drank the member berries cool aid in this episode

[@SamuelBlackMetalRider]

Few seconds in, I’m smiling like crazy knowing it’s gonna be a good one 🤩

[@CounciloftheRings]

A ton of jokes this time!

[@Enerdhil]

​@@CounciloftheRings I love it when you pause and mutter something in disgust. 😂😁👍

[@kevz2474]

The barrowwights were like "hey guys...wanna come over for dinner...whoa whoa whoa!!"

[@stephanhirons3454]

Isildur should get himself back to Numenor and marry a nice Numenorean girl who is going to live to be like 300 years old like him

[@odd4824]

Thank you for your endurance of watching and making this review.

[@LM-vq7ju]

Jeff-Bezidor! Cast it into the Fire!

[@Power_Prawnstar]

Whats bugging me the most, is Isildur would be massive, 7 foot plus, galadrial should be 6 ft 4. I cant get my head around it

[@misiopuchatek152]

7:49 the best part was that Elrond was actually the only one during that RPG session who read the lore for that mission crafted carefully by GM. The writers are so dumb. Elves knew what is the place. They knew who lives there as those creatures are named AFTER the place they are in. So they are most likely be found there exactly. Elrond read the GMs script for that session and knew how to kill those exact creatures. Yet Not even a once he said anything about the creatures and how to kill them before they get there and one of them was sucked to death and their weapons made Sith. LOLgic!

[@oscarstainton]

These fools try to have it both ways by having the Orcs be pitiable victims of the Dark Lord that want to live in peace and raise their families, yet also have its monster of a main protagonist theatrically slaughter them ala Legolas in the Jackson films.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah it's such a mess...

[@davidcraine6721]

I cannot deal with this show anymore. ROP is a massive dumpster fire that seems to have as its primary purpose to destroy Tolkien's legacy.

[@chotacopehalalchicken9945]

Agreed full on. This has genuinely become an ambient watch at this point. I literally have to do something else just to get myself to sit through this horsecrap. Whether I'm attentive to it or not, the story makes the same amount of sense 💀💀💀

[@Steve-lt1op]

150 leagues on foot with seemingly no overnight camping supplies, food or water seems a bad idea and also where are the race of men in this programme? There will soon be 9 rings to create and 9 leaders to corrupt... i personally think a tv show should have gone much further back to the universes origin story and the rise and fall of Morgoth. There will always be zero suspense in this show as most people with even a vague interest who have already watched the films will pretty much already know the 5 season plot with only the made up characters at risk. Amazon in my opinion were foolish not to walk away from negotiations in what turned out to be buying very expensive footnotes and appendicies.

[@wbfwbl8434]

This show is getting worse and worse. Stupidity of the show creators has NO LIMITS... and it is boring as hell

[@Bierfuizl91]

i kinda had fun hate watching the first season, baffled about all of the weird choices. But the second season is just plain boring... i am now only watching your reviews lol

[@TheJmlew11]

I’d like to think that the stranger and dark wizard are blue wizards. If they are Gandalf and Saruman it would be infuriating at this point. That said it would be in line with the show.

[@CounciloftheRings]

It would certainly make it slightly better, but the writing in the show is next level dumb, so I fear it's just "young Gandalf" and "young Saruman" (who is now evil from the start and I guess the Order of the Istrari is out the window too).

[@Jezza_One]

​@@CounciloftheRings They hinted its gandalf when the mentioned him needing a name and wanting a staff or gandr in old norse.

[@majkus]

They can't win at this point. They have dropped numerous specific hints that it is Gandalf. If he is one of the Ithryn Luin, then these are useless misleading red herrings, which is insulting to the viewers. If he is Gandalf, though, it is hopelessly lore-breaking.

[@CounciloftheRings]

@@Jezza_One Yeah I know, I mentioned it in a previous review 😁 Including last season with all the stolen lines from the real Gandalf

[@Jezza_One]

@@CounciloftheRings I thought they werent allowed to use material from the LOTR novel only the appendicies. They are breaking that agreement.

[@davidcoleman757]

I don't recognize any of the characters Tolkien created, and I don't care about any of the inserted characters. This show is laughably awful. What I don't understand is who it was made for.

[@pwmiles56]

The Withywindle is a river, not a forest. And forgive me, but are the Barrow-Wights in a forest, not noticeably hilly? Do these writers not know what downs are? (rounded chalk hills, typically grass-grown and not wooded).

[@obi-wan3916]

Didn't mind episode 1-3 but episode 4 was trash. Oh well.

[@scottporter4524]

You sounds sooo HAPPY to put out this review! (sarcasm) 🤣 As someone who doesn't know much lore, but can spot terrible writing and cheap ripoffs, it's painful to watch this, but I can only imagine how much more painful it is for those who have a deep knowledge of Tolkien's lore.

[@jettazsaman]

Special thanks for the Beowulf scenes 🤗

[@realSkyEyes]

Again. Thank you for taking this sacrifice watching the whole thing so we don't have to. Thank you for making a lore accurate video about it and making us laugh about this nonsense of a show.

[@jerbganderwood8433]

"He falls in love instantly with Poppy. God knows why." Hard cut to Poppy. 😂

[@CounciloftheRings]

The first time we see her in S1 she falls into mud. Then right after she eats berries like a pig. I thought we were meant to be disgusted by her? 😄

[@DarkAnarchy666]

Like hell I'm gonna watch them I just watch your reviews. I laughed on the -3/10 lmao.

[@poneill65]

So why exactly is Theo "Lord of Pelargir" now? Is sullen moody teen the qualification for that (or is it that he "doesn't have as much shit on him" as all the other humans)? I guess maybe, seeing as "Look he has a grubby little pendant" was good enough for "The King of the South", at least in the eyes of the (second) oldest and wisest elf in the world.

[@floriangeyer1]

What are the odds Goldberry is black ...

[@CounciloftheRings]

Around 100%

[@pelisinho]

She is depicted as kinda black and fat in that card game, Magic the Gathering I think. Truly sad.

[@ElficGuy]

Imagine if they had made the show about the fall of Gondolin is about Beren and Luthien... This is just depressing

[@diganta2329]

1/10 feels rather generous to me

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

1 facepalm each for: "Bombadil" "Grand Alf" or whatever idiotic origin story they are trying to cook up for his name "Stoors" "Barrow-wights" 🙈🤦‍♀️🤦🤦‍♂️ I just realized I cannot tell apart Theo and Isildur. Guyladriel's braided hairstyle is actually quite pretty. Elrond's hair seems to have grown a lot between last episode and this episode. Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you're getting tons of views as you deserve!! 🙏🤩

[@CounciloftheRings]

Thank you! Yeah I didn't mention Galadriel's hair-braid as I brought it up in a previous video (trailer breakdown). It's at least more supported by the lore than most other things in this show haha.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@CounciloftheRingsyou are awesome! Have a great weekend! 🙏☀️🍍🌿🐚⚔️✨

[@Pdotta1]

Great Ron Burgundy ref!

[@KaneChamp]

Not even Sir Ian McKellen could make this verbal diarrhea of a script sound good.

[@miksi5827]

The plot and the dialog is exactly like it was generated with chatgpt

[@bonganixalisa4568]

Whoa! Give Chat GPT some credit. It writes far superior dialogue and plot. Ask it to write Rings of Power for you and you will see the huge difference

[@istari0]

It's disgusting how time after time they deliberately choose to violate the Lore.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah it has to be on purpose, why else would Círdan shave. It adds nothing to the scene except shitting on the lore

[@jtullius]

Thank you. Nice assessment.

[@Peregrin3]

I think the Dark Wizard is supposed to be one of the nine, maybe the Witch King.

[@CounciloftheRings]

We can hope, but according to leaks he is just fake Saruman

[@Hearto6636]

If what bombadil says is true, he is an Istar, and the witch king was a man

[@Peregrin3]

@@Hearto6636 But he also was a sorcerer and Amazon might not be able to tell the difference.

[@Hearto6636]

@@Peregrin3 I would count on Amazon to make Sorcerers and Wizards the same thing honestly

[@ryokugyu1899]

I agree with basically everything you’re saying, this series is a disgrace; it should practically be considered a crime. To tarnish a franchise like this, I shudder to think how many people are encountering the world of Lord of the Rings for the first time through this series, and they rightfully never want anything to do with it again. However, despite my full respect and agreement (!!!), I think you’re really underscoring the visual aspects by giving 2-3/10 in this category every video. Here, we could be a bit more constructive because not everything is a complete trash fire in this series, and visually, in my opinion (!), it’s easily at least a 7/10 in every episode. Of course, this doesn’t mean much, since just doing the visuals well doesn’t excuse how atrocious and disgraceful everything else is.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah the visuals are without doubt the best, but it also includes stuff like costumes, camera angles, colour grading and so on. I think many of the costumes are really bad, which alone drags it down to below 6. Then there's generic camera angles (the journey of the Fake Fellowship is pretty much stolen from PJ). And then there's the constant darkness. You can't see a thing, so that's several minus points as well. So that's why it often ends so low below 5. (I'd not freely watch anything scored below 6, so that's also a factor I think into scores). Cheers! 🧙‍♂

[@JohnPopcorn06]

and dont forget the diverse elves!

[@senhorsecco]

-3/10 on lore took me at surprise LMAOOO

[@WolfeRavenwood]

I am a simple Rohirrim, i click a like and quickly ride away from the pity.

[@jypsumfantastic]

Mate, i couldnt get through this episode. It was so boring. Im not watching any more episodes, and im just going to watch your reviews from now on

[@CounciloftheRings]

Cool! Feel free to watch the previous ones, if you haven't already 😁🤗

[@bluemoondm8629]

Oropher, the first King of Greenwood the Great (later Mirkwood) and his son Thranduil were Sindar elves who left Lindon and took lordship over the Silvan elves in the Greenwood after the destruction of Beleriand. A lot of Sindar did the same and moved eastward after the War of Wrath. So at least Arondir saying he was born in Beleriand and now from the Greenwood is not a lore contradiction. Just everything else

[@DavidWatkiss]

bet you anything, Goldberry becomes blackberry or transberry

[@upschutt4842]

I love your small hits like when they get the languages wrong 😁 Probably would not care as much about it all, if their stories were at least ok. Anything new about your Second Age series? I bet if you appeared on FNT or sth like that the community would support you in various ways. God bless you!

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah I even skip the majority as it make make these videos 2 hour long, hahaha. It's simply not worth it.

[@upschutt4842]

@CounciloftheRings I would watch it all, but you probably have better things to do like putting your head on the railway and waiting for a train...

[@CounciloftheRings]

@@upschutt4842 Hahahha. I posted a comment with 32 other mistakes that didn't make the cut. Regarding the Second Age series: I had planned to work on it now, but I have been recommended to postpone it and focus more on publishing more videos, so I can grow the channel and get closer to make it a living. It's not an abandoned project though! Don't worry about that.

[@upschutt4842]

@@CounciloftheRings Indeed, first grow so it can be better for your channel and personal life :)

[@Thehuntress404]

I don’t understand why they call that bridge a short cut, seems like it is pretty significant and would just be the normal way there

[@berndberndson4494]

What I like about the show, is that I have not seen a single episode and I quit my Amazon Prime Account because of the insult this show is to me and every other tolkien fan.

[@vincentgardner853]

Great video! I know it's a hard ask, but please dissect the entire season for the real fans. Have a great weekend!!!!!

[@CounciloftheRings]

Thanks! You too! There's going to be a season review, where we'll at least sum up the worst changes and contradictions!

[@gregorronckers7645]

I cant believe Amazon truly thinks they are doing a good job. It saddens me to see the works and words of Tolkien getting abused. Thank you again for watching this shit. I feel your pain

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah the show may be a joke, but the people behind it thinking it's good are the biggest joke of all. It's so dumb I can't believe it. I had to take a walk after Arondir appointed Theo to Lord of Pelargir.

[@gregorronckers7645]

You are a strong person, just walking away...I'd be throwing up for days 😂

[@warrenaustin8591]

In this episode the Wolfriders cross the desert and stumble across the Sun Village and have a conversation with Savah... oh. One thing I REALLY don't get is the internal timeline. How long did it take the elves to travel from Lindon to near Eregion? Call it 100 leagues, so about 300 miles. At least 10 days or near that. Yet in the same timeframe Theo has been kept captive (with no food or water?) by the Ents for what is suggested one or two days. What's going on?! Make it stop hurting. What has actually happened in half he season? - the Three have been claimed and put on. A tree glows. - Cirdan shaves (because the ring made him? Is he evil now? [joking]) and controls some fish. - Wannabe Frodo, Sam and Gandalf have wandered in the desert (more Christian references there with wandering in the desert to add to Elf Jesus... er, 'Annatar') - the dwarves have... I don't know. Gotten a bit hungry? - Isildur was in the cave of spiders for however long it took for Elendil to sail back to Numenor and take part in the coronation, and has then stumbled around for a few days ... is that it? - oh, Sauron has travelled from Mordor to Eregion, stood in the rain for a while and shapeshifted and chucked a lump of mithril (clearly palmed and something eeeeeeeeevil added instead) into the crucible for the Seven. (how bad is it that I forgot the main protagonist?) I feel bad for wanting to like the show, but I just can't. It's nonsensical. Do Amazon really not know what Downs are? It's in the name! Barrow DOWNS. /cries

[@kevz2474]

"Grand Elf" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah not even I can write jokes like that

[@unitron2005]

13:28 That's not the dude from Gladiator, because they would never allow someone that masculine on this show.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Oh right!

[@Yugemos]

The casting directors were definitely humming twinkle little star twink twinkle twinkly twinkle little star...

[@bignose8614]

If you have used an AI system to write or help write anything you quickly realise that it has no context in anything it writes. This means that plot, time and geography are not contiguous and so you get a plot that jumps willy-nilly across time and space. The characterisations an AI system makes are surface deep and constantly subject to change, so no character will be consistent. Does this sound familiar? In my opinion writing on this show bears all the hallmarks of AI writing. The best thing I can say about this is that's understandable given the experience of the showrunners.

[@gushlergushler]

GOATberry?

[@CounciloftheRings]

Yeah

[@zam9791]

Thank you for your sacrifice, good sir.

[@ricardotezza]

this show reminds me of 40K Inquisitors "Heresy"

[@zincChameleon]

There is a small detail in this series that works quite well, and that is the obvious fact that Gil-Galad and Celembrimbor appear to physically older than Galadriel or Elrond. The Noldor are already fading in Middle Earth, and this is a visual depiction of it. The leadership are troubled and middle-aged.

[@CounciloftheRings]

But both Gil-galad and Celebrimbor are younger than Galadriel in the lore? Galadriel - Y.T. 1362 Celebrimbor - Before Y.T. 1495 Gil-galad - Around 455 F.A. Elrond - 532 F.A. So she's older by a few thousand years actually (Y.T. years does not equal to sun years). On top of that it feels a lot like Presentism and current day politics - The younger generation thinking themselves superior/ wiser/ more knowledgable/ more morally good than the older generation(s). A common cliché for this is "People used to think the earth was flat". More people believe that today than during medieval times (thanks to the internet and conspiracy theory). So no I don't like it and it's not lore-accurate either. If anything is just makes it easier to understand where this arrogance comes from both for Galadriel herself, but also how the show-runners think they can "improve" and "update" Tolkien's works. But thanks for bringing it up, I forgot to mention that in the long list of mistakes this show has! Cheers and have a great day 🧙‍♂

[@tobygoodman9134]

Love the reviews.

[@CounciloftheRings]

Thank you! 🙏🧙‍♂

[@NudlemanJones]

"Go back to the shadow . . ." 🙄🤦‍♂️

[@ElficGuy]

Doogie Elromd is one of the best mockmames I've ever heard. In spanish the one for DonLemonlas is just as good.

[@henrikg1388]

Finally, a real review from Council of the Rings! Starting to get a bit tired of both the apologetics and the satirists. The latter can be fun, but to a degree. Subtlety. "She sounds a lot like a man... and, well..." 👍

[@ladieh8898]

Goldberry MIA ... prolly disappointed a lot of ppl hoping for a hot blonde 😎