The Unfortunate Problem With The Rings of Power

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings are considered some of the best adaptations ever put to film. When Peter Jackson returned for The Hobbit, many fans were let down by the rushed production schedule, and hyper-glossy look of Middle Earth. Now, working without source material, Amazon Studios Rings of Power has attempted to expand the mythos of Tolkiens works, but it has mostly fallen flat with audiences. Rings of Power had an uphill battle from the start, but now with Season 2 all but wrapped up, it seems Lord of the Rings fans are still not enjoying the show. Will anyone ever reach the heights of Peter Jacksons original Lord of the Rings trilogy?
#lordoftherings #ringsofpower #peterjackson #thehobbit
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[@olleselin]

Peter Jackson's OG Trilogy is 100% immortal!

[@sajjadalhachami7574]

It's internal

[@Nerdstalgic]

agreed!

[@victorhinojosa7370]

Can something be 90% immortal? 😂😂

[@Fuck_whoever_took_my_name]

@@victorhinojosa7370 Achilles

[@QuiltGuildFilms]

We will NEVER get anything close to it ever again - so it’s one of a kind

[@NamelessArchiver]

What went wrong: Envy, Avarice and money laundering.

[@MasterPeibol]

It doesn't help either that they don't even bother to follow the sequence of events as they are told in the appendices. It feels even more disconnected to Tolkien's works.

[@SirSomnolent]

They did about the same with wheel of time. If you set aside writing and casting, their adaptations aren't so bad.

[@ito2789]

I recently watched a video essay on KZbin “Why The Rings of Power cost a billion dollars” and it was basically saying how the whole point of the existence of this show and buying the properties was to BOOST Amazon’s Prime sub counts and to use the show as a vehicle to get more and more people to buy through Amazon through their Prime subscription. There was absolutely no creative desire to have and make this show it was primarily only for advertising.

[@johnsa6453]

And they boost shit, no body is subbing to see that garbage 😂

[@Jamespwickstromw]

they wanted to make it multicultural and pervert it since the beginning, the actors even boasted about it (black legolas). It also might be because of money white washing as in no way this crap could justify the costs

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

Ok, but you're going to get a lot more subs if you make a good show than not.

[@KFrascek]

i felt like everything is so smoll. an army is like 100 dudes

[@PalmelaHanderson]

That's probably been my biggest problem. The writing/characters/acting are good enough, especially in season 2. but Armenelos feels like 3 sets, Lindon is just that one spot with the tree, Eregion is just a courtyard and Celebrimbor's chamber... Makes me wonder where the hell the budget went.

[@Nerdstalgic]

Yeah, dude. The "epic" is missing, for sure.

[@tiebeswinkels8584]

@@PalmelaHanderson Writing and characters are good enough?

[@alexcoleman2735]

@@PalmelaHandersonmost budgets go to an overly priced camera these days. Look at the budget for Oppenheimer: it was mostly the cameras. 100m budget for something shot primarily in the desert for 2 weeks lmao

[@PalmelaHanderson]

@@tiebeswinkels8584 Sure, it's fine. I like the stuff with Khazad Dum and Eregion, basically anything with Arondir or Elendil. The gandalf/hobbit stuff could be entirely removed from the show and nothing would change, but they also only had like 30 minutes of screen time this whole season, so it's whatever. I enjoy it well enough.

[@HolybasilYT]

I didn't even notice that Adar had been recast. And he's still the most compelling character of the show.

[@brandonmunsen6035]

Right. You were so obviously paying attention if you didnt even notice the actor change😅😅😅

[@WillttocSicated]

Dude me neither… never bothered to rewatch the first season and hadn’t noticed at all when catching up with the second 😂

[@chrishorlebein]

Honestly my biggest grip is that the show feels so small in scope. there's rarely more than a handful of people on screen ever. Talking to all the elves when there's less than a hundred. All the orks look like they make up the same number. Massive Dwarven city, Less than 100 barely visible on screen ever

[@uvicjames]

Yes, it could almost be a play given the small number of actors. However, when they did put thousands of orcs onscreen in the last episode they managed to bung it up with the worst (most idiotic) siege in cinematic history.

[@mattb6704]

@@uvicjames They said in the follow up after it was CGI and there where only about 25 during the siege.

[@arnoldfreeman2885]

It’s totally bizarre. When I first heard of the LoTR show, I assumed it would be drawing from the rich lore of the extensive history of Middle Earth, and chock full of stories from the Silmarillion and other Tolkien writings. I’m gobsmacked that this show was basically fan fiction. Why did Amazon even buy this show?

[@resathe6760]

they don't have rights to the Silmarillion or any other stuff than the Hobbit, LotR and its appendices so they couldn't draw from it. So I can't fathom why they wanted to make a show about the second age.

[@General-Gauder]

@@resathe6760 Unfortunately, that is no excuse. The books available to the makers of the series contain everything you need to create a TV series about the Second Age. Every character and every important event is included in the books or their appendices. The problem is simply that they don't care at all about the story and want to tell their own story and therefore add things that never happened or that they think a normal TV audience would expect, such as the fact that there are hobbits and Gandalf in Middle Earth even though they didn't actually exist in the Second Age. In addition, I have the feeling that the makers of the series have no overall plan for how they want to shape the series, but rather just move from season to season, which leads to major continuity problems, such as the fact that the 3 Elven Rings are first and not, as in books no. 17-19.

[@BluntBrothersProductions]

“The problem with rings of power” Me: only nine minutes long lol

[@terenty6164]

Probably, the first major TV series from Amazon I skipped. Have 0 regrets, highly recommend it to everyone!

[@pawnhearts8785]

I recommend Hazbin Hotel instead

[@Sol-Butkis]

They have always been hit or miss. I miss the quality of the expanse, Amazon knew what they were doing back then

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

I know from certain individuals who have connections to the show that allegedly, it was a nightmare behind the scenes. people were fired left and right, writers couldn't agree what story they wanted to tell, the show was originally about a young Aragorn, some wanted to adapt the Silmarillion but didn't have the adaption rights to the book, the Tolkien estate giving them a long list of things they could and couldn't do on the show such as referencing the movies (even though the showrunners wanted to connect ROP to the movies) writers being fired because they wanted to insert more woke elemets into the show and was met with disapproval, Tolkien selling out to Bezos on his tantalizing and money venture in making LOTR into the next Game of Thrones (which we all know how highly successful that was) a Tolkien scholar being fired, COVID19 impacting everything, the originally being 10 episodes but somewhere being changed to 8 instead, Jeff Bezos allegedly visiting the set and was furious on what he saw and demanded changes to be made in the middle of shooting. All in all, this show was produced with everyone's hands tied behind their backs, not really knowing what they wanted to do and the clock was ticking, and the best they could come up with was fan fiction.

[@alexcoleman2735]

The only recent Amazon hit was Fallout. For Those About To Die also suffered from trivial / flat writing. It just had more nudity and violence to lean on

[@ResevoirGod]

You recommend to EVERYONE skipping a show that many will enjoy? Not very smart, is it?

[@ShirakoriMio]

"What went wrong:" Amazon

[@mclarenlamb9688]

That poem at the end of the video has to be the funniest thing to come out of all this 🤣

[@patrickhanlon2325]

Its as if these studios couldn't wait for Christopher Tolkien to pass so they could bastardise his fathers work.

[@DrFranklynAnderson]

Exactly. I fear what’s going to happen to Back to the Future when Gale and Zemeckis pass and Universal comes to their families with buckets of money.

[@farhadzaker2377]

The key problem being "first-time" show runners.

[@mbogucki1]

The most interesting character is Adar. They should have focused on him and his attempt to create a land for the Orcs and other things that go bump in the night while the Elves and Men try to prevent it. Sauron should just be a shadow pulling the strings and not an actual visualized character. Galadriel and Elrond should have been tertiary characters at best. Or just make a show all about Khazad-dûm. Dwarves are interesting characters that don't get enough story time.

[@ApexGale]

A big problem is the lack of respect they have for the source material. Established characters are not yours to play with for fun. You can totally do interesting things with the setting of Middle-Earth - but don't just screw with the continuity for money.

[@Mr_Starkitty]

This video way to short for all the problems in that show 😂

[@Nerdstalgic]

If only we had 2 hours, haha.

[@jspsj0]

Any show is dead to me if I ever saw some producer or actor attacking the fans. I don't even want to know who is right or wrong. I just like to stay away from controversy and devote my time to beloved products.

[@jaredmarkham7300]

The Hobbit was always meant to be. It's own story. He was forced into making lots of the rings because fans and his publishers wanted him to. The Slimarillion was basically. His his own passion project, that He was never gonna publish himself Due to the fact that he thought that it would be only interesting to him.

[@BaseReality]

If this show had one tenth of the budget, was set solely in Shire, with low stake adventures like "the swan's escaped" or "a frying pan has gone missing", it would have had a much higher chance of being a beloved addition to Tolkien's world.

[@afewgamers4255]

It’s just bad fan fiction, not even real lord of the rings

[@tomaja7719]

The thing about season 1 that turned me off from going any further was how events that were supposed to take place across centuries occurred over the course of a long weekend. It's a very cramped and small tale that just didn't match with the sweeping epic Fellowship's prologue hinted at.

[@weiSane]

When you start out by disrespecting the author and desecrating his work, that’s already a recipe for disaster.

[@scottshapiro2795]

At first, I was excited, then as it got closer to airing, I became less and less enthused. 1. I learned they only really had the rights to the appendices and some other stuff, so there's not really much to make a cohesive story 2. I watched the "superfans" video 3. I watched the trailers where they focused mainly on sets, and not so much the characters

[@BeauLambertVideos]

I don’t think it needs to exist. I know that could be said for most pieces of media but it feels like there isn’t enough plot to fill the scale that the show wants

[@General_reader]

The unfortunate problem is that it exists

[@joleo8219]

My biggest gripe with this show isn't even that they decided to make it. I think that adding tv shows and movies to franchises is pretty standard practice these days, with marvel and star wars milking the cash cow. My biggest gripe is that they did with absolutely zero creative desire behind it, and with a complete misunderstanding of the original source material. Peter jackson did an amazing job with lord of the rings and also with the hobbit in my opinion. Even with straying a little from the book, he made with movies extremely creatively and with clear reverence to the books. I'm fine with Amazon creating a show about the lore of how the rings were made, but if you're gonna do it, give it the respect it deserves.

[@brandonolson6299]

While they would never admit this, the show runners, studio, producers, writers, etc, all deep down HATE Tolkein because in the end everything that Tolkein used as inspiration for his world was strictly born and bred out of EUROPEAN lore - and their DEI policies cannot abide by maintaining that fact in following the source material, and the sources of that source. Hence why it's more important to have GUYladriel who don't need to man, orcs to be empathized with, and BIPOC elves and dwarves. All sound and fury signifying, nothing.

[@JohnnyWordSmith]

I watched a couple grueling episodes and remember thinking…huh, Adar is almost something worth watching.

[@LeonardoKlotz]

I watched the first episodes just because of JA Bayona I'm a fan of his work, since THE IMPOSSIBLE

[@Nerdstalgic]

He's a great director.

[@isomeme]

First of all, yes, RoP is a horrible travesty. As for the forging of the Rings, while (as you say) it doesn't get a lot of pages in Tolkien's primary works (Silmarillion, The Hobbit, LotR), I think this story has an important thematic role in the Legendarium. Celebrimbor, as Fëanor's only grandchild, both suffers the final blow of the Doom of Mandos and redeems his heritage by acting with honor for the common good. Most importantly, his independent creation of the final three lesser rings made it possible for some elves to thrive in Middle Earth until the end of the Third Age. Sauron would have triumphed rather easily if elves like Glorfindel, Elrond, and Galadriel had sailed into the West long ago. My greatest confusion about RoP is why they rearranged the order and circumstances in which the 16, 3, and 1 were created. The way they've done it makes everything nonsensical, requiring multiple characters to behave idiotically to make the plot work.

[@pistolen87]

I watched The Rings of Power X2 speed, I couldn't stay awake otherwise.

[@matheusavila2688]

"Tolkien's cozy fairy story" What are you on about there brother? 😂

[@sectorz896]

This series was/is: 1. A selling point to sell more Amazon prime subscriptions 2. Handed to individuals who did not respect the source material 3. Purposely done as a DEI initiative so Amazon, producers, directors, writers can all pat themselves on the back as they think they are inspiring real change 4. A joke and should be cancelled

[@Rhyciz]

I find it super ironic that Tolkien despised allegory, yet his creations are being used as an allegory for social justice. I’ll continue to pretend like this series doesn’t exist. I’d much rather read LotR or watch the extended movies again.

[@generalcatkaa5864]

"20 pages in the Silmarillion" yeah as if they were even allowed to use it. They don't have the rights to the Silmarillion.

[@rustygates7551]

Love the channel and the work that goes into these videos. Also a big Tolkien fan - read all the books including the simarilian. Have two LoTR tattoos. With all of that I respectfully disagree with most of this assessment. I have deeply enjoyed Rings of Power. I appreciated the mystery of Sauron’s identity. And the themes explored in the second age are definitively unique from those told in the third. This era is basically the downfall of not one but MULTIPLE civilizations hence the darker tone. AND it’s fascinating to see how corruption spreads through doubts and whispers. It’s not Tolkien and it shouldn’t be assumed to be. It’s based on it, set in the world, but explored from unique perspectives to engage with new and unique themes. But that’s my take and the beauty of things is we don’t have to agree.

[@valdmertheii1354]

No half measures waltuh, you're tom bumbling it!

[@pawnhearts8785]

Speaking of Amazon shows to either critique or praise, try Hazbin Hotel.

[@yrooxrksvi7142]

Trash. There, done.

[@AntiDarkus]

I like the show I wanted to continue till we have reached the fifth season. I don’t want it to end get canceled because of dislikes in because there’s been haters of it like after season two showed me how manipulative and cunning that Sauron can be but now I want to see how the kingdom of Lenore is going to free itself from its corruption and how the people are going to sail to middle earth before the island will sink. I’m hoping to see how Sarah will gather up the nine people for the nine rings of power that were later on become the black riders season two shows something that happened in the books like the fall of celebrimbor and his kingdom and people are still bashing on the series Basically anyone can basically keep bashing on any lord of the rings project like they’re already bashing on that movie that’s coming on December you know Lord of the rings doesn’t get often plus I like to see more of middle earth and toxic fans are basically ruining it for me

[@guyinc0gnito]

The number one fly in the ointment for me is Gil-Galad-NOTHING about the way that actor looks says “elf” to me

[@nikolaykatsarov4084]

What i feel? Rings of Power is the biggest clown fiesta i've ever seen. If you've never seen the original trilogy some people may like this crap show, but if you have you would definitely feel offended and disappointed that Rings of Power even exist...

[@Burnlit1337]

Seem to be a trend that showrunners completely go off the rails when run out source talent to copy from.

[@wjohnson1110]

Awful writing, below par acting, still bemused some people rate it. John Campea one of the worst shills in history.

[@aksharaghav9657]

Ohohohoo! If you hate this buddy, ... It's about to get much, MUCH worse!

[@alexmaverick6647]

I doubt most people even noticed that Adar was recast lol.

[@flynnoldman3542]

Thats quite generous of you to say "familiar character's".

[@spustatu]

Thank you for explaining this in the way I couldn't seem to find words for. I couldn't agree more.

[@Luke_Go]

I wonder if Rings of Prime makes the top 20 most watched series in 2024 🤔

[@SanteriViljakainen]

I really appreciate that small poem in the end, well done!

[@mfmfg9957]

They could have hired the Russo’s to direct an Aragorn show. And passed it. That is the biggest failure in my opinion

[@jroo272011]

Tolkien's LOTR is not about brotherly love...

[@josephfisher426]

Think this is several levels of hell past "unfortunate."

[@rachelbache]

I know it’s the point of this video, but it feels like you’re having to be overly knit-picky to get your point across .. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed Rings Of Power S1 & S2. I felt like they lay the groundwork in S1 & then took it up a notch in S2 … all the scenes featuring Celebrimbor especially are just fantastic

[@martineldritch]

Amazing show. Costume designer Kate Hawley created over 2000 designs for the series and they are really amazing. It's a shame all the creative effort by so many actors and artists for the show seems to be going largely unsung due to the current trend of bashing anything perceived as "wokeness"

[@Knighmare0]

Your video's are really good I binged all of them

[@Nerdstalgic]

Glad you like them!

[@rossburney8713]

Shots fired! In have up after 4 or 5 episodes of season 1 and will not go back. But I will put my phone down now and get back to my book, the return of the king!

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

A bigger question is this. Are they trying to tie this into the Peter Jackson Middle Earth movies? Because that Balrog is identical to one that fights Grand Elf ( oh I'm sorry Gandalf) in Fellowship. Also when the queen gives Elendil the sword Narsil, that's the same one seen in the original trilogy. So are they trying to force this to be a prequel to those six movies or just inconsequential easter eggs?

[@glenneric1]

I won't watch this or Wheel of Time because I don't want my myths busted.

[@احمدساغریچی]

so rings of power series are like nazguls a little butter stretched on a very big bread

[@jolinefields3460]

Honestly this isn’t what this was at all. This implies the fans do not like it. But this was intentionally antagonistic and deliberately misleading and offensive sexualizing the characters that didn’t exist in this timeline and the copy of Peter Jackson’s every visual and writing out of the worst possible way. It’s a lot more sinister than this simple summary. I appreciate the effort and possible explanation but it’s not how this played out . Dei is killing anything worthwhile everyone knows it. This was a spitting on Tolkien. I hope the show runners and writers and whoever was responsible for pushing this crap gets sent a communist prison camp for 20 years. Has no access to anything entertaining works slave labor and gets their organs harvested by tyrant. Then is released and sent home and then gets sent back for another 20 years.

[@RKZX2]

I have Freevee & have watched the first 3 episodes of S1. Honestly, it's not that bad. It looks good, i like tje story so far. It's nothing like the movies. But it's fine.

[@swa5026]

The problem is that for every good thing there is there are 2 other things that are bad. If it was just a generic fantasy it might be better but many of the best parts are due to the Lord of the Rings such as when we first see Númenor and Khazad-dûm. Another problem for me is that Galadriel's face looks ai generated.

[@trollmaster6994]

Clothing and armors used in show doesnt look like something from history of that world. The momment you start seen characters wearing Roman togas and skin-tight metal armor imersion goes out of window.

[@RjWolf3000]

As someone that has never read the books the show has been at times muddled but overall fairly well written if not written to the themes of the original. The movies didn’t really beat you over the head with themes of class and industrialization. Maybe the greed of the rings becomes a theme that ties into a greater themes. It feels sort of like the Mandalorian in that it works on its own to a decent extent but sort of clashes a bit with the greater canon. I have yet to take any interest in House of Dragon in large part because I think the GOT story just falls on its face so I didn’t find much interest in the backstory.

[@basedcommodore]

TLDR, ITS A SPIN OFF

[@Hoggy27]

An extra thumbs up for that ending.

[@Avalon_1991]

Jeff Bezos saw the success of Game Of Thrones and thought he could just throw money at it and make it happen for Rings Of Power. When the creatives said it needs to reflect modern times and all you heard the female actresses talk about was how they were strong female characters you just knew what to expect.

[@grantdickey]

The 25 Elf’s at the very end was so bad! I watched it all in 2 weeks and had such high hopes❤ it was such a bad last 2 episodes. Slow pacing too😢

[@rich080392]

Plain and simple, they couldn’t get the full rights to tell the story the way it was meant to be!!! You really think that they thought “yea, it was a fluke that JRR tolkiens fame was a fluke. We’ll make it better”? It’s all about money and rights. They changed where they had to, trying to keep as close to the source material, while not intruding on material they don’t have rights to. Hopefully this is a stepping stone for creators/authors and huge film companies to begin working together to tell clearer stories in film making. Although I understand the business end, there’s no saving this series.

[@oscarstainton]

When you make The Hobbit Trilogy look like a work of high adaptation faithfulness, you’ve historically screwed up. Edit: While male Elves very seldom grow beards unless they are very, very old, and they have a less rough appearance than humans, I would never describe them as androgynous.

[@LennartWaldemar]

Write Galadriel as a hothead? You mean girlboss.

[@dawnshaw101]

Immortals cannot DIE, but with a generous amount of DEI, it will sadly die😢

[@SkagulTV]

The saddest part, is what it COULD have been, with the resorces given to it, sadly i doubt we will ever see anything like the original 3, yes that includes the coming movie. There wil be forced narrative there, mark my words. The "anime" coming is walking on thin ice aswell and it just makes me sad that producers start i with gold in terms of material and ends up with a big cow dung at the end.

[@estebanpettenazza1]

thank you, my exact same sought about everything.

[@rickiex]

Pacing, and character motives is all bleh, and things just conveniently happens out of the blue to move thr plot forward even though characters has addressed othwrwise... Its like, the writers already wrote the ending, and theyre twisting the characters around to meet that ending.

[@davidhooper259]

The problem? It’s sucks and blows at the same time. Elrond making out with Galadriel???? Would you suck face with your future mother in law?

[@MichaelMassie]

There’s only one?

[@argeshagan7407]

I watched first 2 episodes from season 1 and i knew its gonna be a hot garbage. I couldn't believe it took some people 2 seasons to realize that. 🤦‍♂

[@Dullydude]

what is this, cinemasins? all of these arguments boil down to "no one wrote a book about this story and I would've wrote it differently"

[@rustygates7551]

Bahaha this!!

[@ThePariahDark]

I think the real question regarding Rings Of Power is - *who is this for?* Cause it is not for fans... so it is for normies? No, cause there are tons of references aimed at fans there. They don't even know who this excrement is for. They are clearly going out of their way to insult what fans expected or wanted... cause shipping and thirst trapping is NOT what Tolkien fans want, at least not the sane ones. And Moryfdd Clark is not beautiful, mate. If she has no expression she is okay... but if she smiles or otherwise emotes she switches between looking like a granny or a gargoyle. Galadriel is meant to be otherworldy beautiful.

[@SunnyGoodbye]

I disagree on a few points. Firstly, just because Tolkien didn't tell the full story regarding the rings of power doesn't mean it's not a story worth telling. Secondly, the show is severely limited by the material they are legally allowed to use, meaning sometimes they're literally not legally allowed to be true to the source material. Additionally, the story of "An unlikely hero" has already been told multiple times in the Lotr universe, it's okay to tell the story of how unlikely heroes came to be needed in the first pace. Of course you can argue (and i'd agree): It could (and should) be a lot better, but given that this is the direction they went with - which is understandable considering this is the most well-known aspect of Lotr not yet told - they've done ok. Thought the second season was a lot better than the first.

[@nemediv4086]

It might be an unpopular opinion but I think The Silmarillion could be easily adapted into a dark, political fantasy story, so Amazon could have actually gotten their competitor to GoT if that's what they wanted - if they had the rights to the material of course, which they don't. The fact they basically bought the wrong books and then spent a billion on a poor attempt at fanfiction would be funny if the whole thing wasn't so disrespectful and annoying.

[@JREHangzhou]

I’ve been enjoying Critical Drinker and Nerdrotic roast this show weekly.

[@drakejohn3751]

You are always complaining and shitting on everything, season 2 was dope

[@JohnJ-p7o]

The problem with rings of power is the 2020's ideology about cannon which shouldn't apply to a story told by two different people over 100 years adapted into 6 movies 2 cartoons and 16 episodes from a dozen different books and over 350 letters with a great many contradiction...and its not finished. So no...people should just relax maybe cut their caffeine intake and take the show for what it is. A fantasy. Or you can not watch it.

[@mikeg8564]

I love the show. I don't really get how someone cannot enjoy it, all these "reasons" seem so contrived.

[@TNRaven89]

Told myself I wouldn’t listen to all the video voiceovers from KZbin and watch the series and make my own conclusions. I will he completely honest. It’s a decent show that has been over blown since its inception. They talk about the greatest budget ever yet the battles just seem so small. Also like someone said each setting has only a few places you see. That’s normal though but take game of thrones and we see the scale of these places through fly overs or some other device. They have made middle earth unpopulated it feels like. The army numbers for GoT are way overblown but I can still see that as possible. Where as the armies and populations of middle earth make it seem like this is a third world country that the majority of Arda’s population stays away from like the plague. Pretty much my biggest gripe is that. The scale they hyped up just doesn’t exist.

[@davidflores2951]

Fan fiction is fan fiction till it isn't. Something isn't good because it resembles or its very close to the source material, but only because its good. The Shining by Stanley Kubrick is very different to its source material, but its still a masterpiece. Liking something is all right, but being a fanatic of something and therefore defending it to death is outright stupid.

[@MyFatherLoves]

I actually don't mind Galadriel being this way. I think most (if not all) people are forgetting that she then aged 2,500 years between RoP and Fellowship. A lot can change in a person in simply 5-10yrs. I don't at all care for her girl bossing but whatevs. I don't think it's near as bad as most people complain that it is. I may be called racist for this but it is shocking to see other races portrayed in a European story. Especially because of what we know about basic biology. There are asian hobbits, black hobbits, and white hobbits all in this show. Something I would have no problem with if it mirrored what the world looks like today. We know Asian people come from asia. We know black people come from Africa. White - (many different races are white). So on, and so on. Where do black hobbits come from? Asian hobbits? Black elves? Black Dwarves? Middle-Earth is a very very small place compared to our Earth. I have no problem expanding the lore to include peoples and races but you need to not be lazy about it. Explain where they come from. I'm sorry, but entirely different races do not all come from white people and vice versa. It's immersion breaking at best. Also, though Tolkien has clearly written that there are Orc women and children, the Orc race is all-consuming hate, rage, and evil. The Orc family moment and Adar as a father figure just doesn't work. I give literally zero cares about anything other than seeing the Orc war machine being defeated time and time again always living to serve the bad guy. The writing is lazy at times for sure. The whole deal about them finding out about Sauron happened entirely too early and it's complete lunacy that the info got to Celebrimbor too late. That's just eye-roll levels of laziness. Also, there's no real drama at Numenor and because of what we know about Isildur, he's just constantly covered in plot-armor. So, the only intrigue I have when he's on screen is that we know he's Isildur and that his father somehow becomes the King of Numenor and that somehow Aragorn comes from this bloodline.

[@halfkinrainbolt7041]

Amazon needed a big tax write off - hence this shit show.

[@rupeoverlay3153]

Season 2 is actually better than 1 but it’s so lazy

[@patriciazandilencube4597]

My main problem is that it is boring. Quite boring. Galadriel is boring and stiff. Sauron is meh. The dialogue is meh. I'm still heartbroken over seasons 7 and 8 of GOT. This show feels like a very cheap yet expensive imitation.

[@circumcenter13]

Perhaps someone who truly loved Tolkien's work and had enough creativity could have maybe made a decent movie out of the story of Beren and Luthien, but this is to me just childish fan fiction at best. A mockery that only Morgoth could be proud of...

[@rallisf1]

The script feels rushed. Galadriel resembles a female warrior antihero, rather than the wise mystic Tolkien wrote about. Numenor's story is meaningless, I'd rather they focused on Gandalf's backstory. Some scenes are overwhelmingly long and complicated, while others (especially fight scenes) have been cheaped out. Besides that, the actors do a very good job and it still makes a good fantasy series; just not for LOTR fans.

[@DrDiscourse]

Inclusivity and the challenge of beauty standards as a base NEVER creates a good product. Create a good and believable story set in a believable location with people who believable could live there. Its eeally simple...

[@mikeroni]

Could the show be a lot better? Yes. Am I so incredibly sick of listening to people pick it apart online? Double yes. I get they’re mishandling a show in one of the most popular universes - but if this weren’t attached to the LotR name no one would be complaining and I worry the showrunners will hurt the show even more based on all the negative feedback. Let their story play out before it’s canceled

[@scotthoward1265]

No

[@ABDP]

For me, I’m not a huge fan of LOTR. I’ve never read the books and I’ve watched the movies once or twice. I tried watching the first 3 episodes of rings of power and I was simply bored. Nothing was happening and I didn’t care about most of the random people who kept popping in and out

[@defresh3339]

I actually like the show... 🤷‍♂️ I will admit tho, I have not read anything more than the Hobbit and the 3 LOTR books, so, I am in unfamiliar territory with the existing LOTR lore outside of those 4 books. I thought the Celebrimbor story line was fantastic! Looking inward to see the error of his ways, and how he was tricked, in the end was very interesting to me. Plus, I love how the dwarves and elves are depicted. The guy playing Gil-galad seems perfect. And, for Galadriel, I just imagine that, living for as long as the elves do, she likely could have been a tough warrior in her younger years, and ultimately found her way by the time LOTR events occur... 🤷‍♂️ But, what do I know. I like most shows, and am an optimist by nature

[@rustygates7551]

I also really enjoyed the show and have watched it more than once!

[@Tay_Ropical]

The identity mischief is silly. Great video , hits a lot of my dislikes. I still watch it! But I don't certainly don't hold it in any regard.

[@myphone4590]

"The"?

[@QuiltGuildFilms]

LOTR - one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time including all of the other works. LOTR films by PJ (excluding the hobbit trilogy) - one of if not THE greatest film adaption trilogy of all time, inspired by the books and for fans Rings of power - an adaption of the film adaptation that is a SLOG and misses the mark on so many things. What this show could have been with a solid plan and writing, but instead its memberberries, uninteresting plots, and incredibly boring… I wanted this show to succeed, but o believe it’s so far off the mark of Tolkien and just misses the mark on being a good/entertaining show. Sad really and will probably get the acolyte treatment after the third season. I would bet serious money this show does not make it to five seasons. If I’m wrong and the show turns it around I’ll be nothing but happy, sadly I believe darkness will prevail