Why The Rings of Power was Destined for Mediocrity | Video Essay

[@codebasher1]

I've just rewatched the Peter Jackson trilogy. Oh wow, I'd forgatton how utterly fantastic that trilogy is. My lord in heaven, comparing the Lord of the Rings to the Rings of Power is like comparing Mozart in the hands of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to a 6ry old playing with a rusty organ grinder. No Joke.

[@cnacma]

What’s funny is Tolkien’s son Christopher hated the Jackson trilogy. He thought it was way too much of an action film and too stripped bare of song, lyricism, and overarching themes. Imagine if he lived to see rings of power…

[@Alexs.2599]

@@cnacma True Christopher did not like the PJ trilogy. The big difference is though the movies despite some changes still had the soul and essence of Tolkien's world. If felt like Middle Earth. ROP is the complete opposite. These writers don't understand Tolkien.

[@codebasher1]

@@cnacma I can imagine if the ROP writers met with him and said "hold my beer, watch this...". 🤣🤣

[@frankkolmann4801]

A 6 year old with a rusty organ grinder would do an infinitely better job than what Amazon Bezos did.

[@Bastardson_]

It's like comparing fine Italian cooking to Olive Garden.

[@lexinoel7]

Galadriel looks like she is just from Rohan. All the elves seem to be just human with human flaws and limitations. Halabrand (an alleged human) had to tell her to try and restrain herself…is she incapable of reading a room?

[@lVideoWatcherl]

This is another thing, in LotR the elves were ethereal, you had the sense that they _were_ different, that they _did_ posess power/knowledge/wisdom/beauty beyond (most of) the humans. The first scene I already thought "these aren't elves in middle earth, they are humans with pointy ears." Doesn't help that they cast so many actors with very prominent factual features, I mean that's the very basic thing you can do, just cast conventionally attractive people for what is, by Tolkien, said to be a beautiful species.

[@AllAhabNoMoby]

I think your analysis is pretty much spot on. You can summarize it by pointing out two things: 1) The writers don't understand Tolkien's underlying world view, or genuinely don't care for it. 2) They couldn't write original materiel compliant with that world view if their lives depended on it. Everyone in RoP is 'small' and by that I mean they have no moral spine, no strong identity, no character. There is no Aragorn or even Sam in RoP. Let alone a Galadriel, ironic as that is. And you are correct, what they wanted to make was GoT in the Tolkien universe, but only to suck in Tolkien fans. And that last thing is what's going to turn out to be a very costly mistake.

[@42Caio]

I think they can be more or less successful when writing original material that doesn't contradict established canon or lore. Adar is by far the most interesting part of the show and he and the plotline around him are entirely original, extrapolated from a line about one possible origin of the Orcs. The problem is everything else so far.

[@PrincessFionaYT]

“Even Sam”???? Sam is the most heroic character to ever appear in literature. No where has somebody risen so high above their own nature to be an undetermined force for good, propelled only by their love and friendship. Everyone should aspire to be a Sam. He’s only one of two living creatures who ever willingly surrendered the ring.

[@greasybumpkin1661]

I swear to god, this show was a Dragon Age script then someone told the writers to graft it onto middle earth 2 weeks before production

[@wbfwbl8434]

This show won't stand the test of time and will fall into obscurity and that will be the worst punishment for Amazon and the series creators

[@faded_ink3545]

More than lasting fame, it’s cynical profit that Amazon is after. My hope is that this show bombs enough that they decide we, the fans, are not worth pandering to and stop making these awful shows.

[@cesardiezv]

This show will be studied in cinema school for ages, as an example of how not to do things.

[@iwantgoals1566]

I remember when Amazon and the media were making so much noise about how much was spent on the show as if that would ever be a guarantee of quality lmao. Shame on you Amazon, shame on you!

[@creatrixZBD]

I don’t think longevity matters in the streaming model, unfortunately

[@wbfwbl8434]

@@creatrixZBD Can't agree. Getting back and back to the beloved movie, TV series, means a lot to streaming services and that is why all the top series like Friends, The Office cost so much

[@specialk8888]

It’s summed up with two quotes from both Peter Jackson and the show runners of Rings Of Power. Peter Jackson explicitly stated that he wanted to leave his own ideals and beliefs at the door so they could bring Tolkien’s world to life. The show runners to Rings Of Power however said they want the show to reflect the world we live in today which is in stark contrast to what Tolkien meant for his works, they were meant to be escapist. These two differing approaches explains most things but also you had Peter Jackson and his wife, two experienced writers, able to bring Lord Of The Rings to life. Whereas Rings Of Powers writers are clearly quite amateur hence why the dialogue is so garbage

[@ravenwhiteduck6460]

They literally said that they were gonna make the best epic in Tolkien's universe, well that didn't bode well for them, every single person that helped make this bastardization should be fired and never allowed to work on anything again

[@universalflamethrower6342]

mediocrity is quite generous

[@CorePathway]

If only it were mediocre. I mean, who approved these scripts? Does someone have more Bezos nudes?

[@etiennedevignolles7538]

Absolutely, it's not remotely good enough to be mediocre.

[@nilssonakerlund2852]

Calling this show mediocre is VERY high praise.

[@Anttimation]

Well, it could have been mediocre in the hands of professional showrunners - that being something you'd expect from a massively expensive production - but they failed to deliver even that.

[@MaxxMcGeePrivate]

What makes it so bad is they use names of characters we know just to change them completely. They use the lore where convenient (and especially to drive nostalgia) and then totally break it the rest of the time. Of course people are mad. Or mostly confused. You said it right, this show has an identity crisis!

[@ringbearer1420]

It makes it feel just like a bootleg product, designed to skirt around copyright rules.

[@mattgoodell7015]

@@ringbearer1420 Absolutely!! I got some "Galarimel" t-shirts 2 for 1 outside the venue!!

[@stevenfields4871]

@@ringbearer1420 an excellent observation. Since I went into it knowing this. I guess my expectations were not that high to begin with. I think the Tolkien family will be upset by this, but maybe this will be the impetus to get the Tolkien family to allow more movies actually based on the Silmarillion .

[@deadbrother5355]

Literally every non-original character: "That's not me!" Rop is like my 3rd grade book reports. Don't read the book, try to answer some key points, bullshit the rest.

[@MaxxMcGeePrivate]

@@deadbrother5355 And use way more words than necessary to blow the count up.

[@titusalabat5173]

The actress for Galadriel has one set emotion through out all her scenes.

[@garywood97]

What about the "smiling" scene?

[@ElRobin]

Galadriel herself has one de emotion throughout the series. I really think it’s not the actress fault but the writing

[@David-vh8op]

@@garywood97 nobody has ever asked her to smile twice

[@olgastepin1614]

If only they used proper light, to make every significant Elf character at least look like a mysterious creature, not like a human with pointed ears!

[@Tabarnacalissesti]

Yeah but BOY can she slo-mo on horseback

[@germanxmascookie]

Mediocrity is a generous conclusion. It felt like the writers were simply out of their depth. "Like an English professor trying to fix a car" summed it up nicely. (~2:50)

[@alexduggan9629]

I can remember when The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones all started, and there were quite a few people saying they were not that good. The writers, producers and actors all said "dont worry, it gets better". So, people kept watching, and soon the number of viewers and good reviews went up. But any criticism today is met with abuse from the writers, producers and actors who all claim that you the viewer are wrong. And not only are you wrong about the show, but your moral values are also wrong. Dont like this show, its because you're racist. Dont like that show, you probably dont like women. Have a problem with another show, its because youre a fascist. The simple answer is people will stop watching, and then they will stop paying for the subscription service.

[@omarsabir1210]

What a load of bullshit

[@jasonthegreat7999]

i made a joke about how vintage sesame street had better dialogue, plot, and characters on someone else's video similar to this one, and exactly what you just said happened. I could care what color the characters are. The show leaves a lot to be desired besides all the political stuff. Its just my opinion anyway. No need to start attacking everyone about it. I'm pretty sure the more that kind of thing happens, the more it will drive off people who would otherwise be at least a little interested about the show. Some people like conflict, most hate it.

[@hdgamingswitzerland7207]

I think it is a bit naive to assume this is all the writers, producers or actors doing. Seems more like a marketing strategy.

[@danf7411]

They can't just do a 180 either they view most source material as immoral. They put 90% of the work on crafting their political moral message 10% advertising campaign that makes people pick a side and stir up controversial. Residual % on everything else. they are going to keep doing this

[@greenforce68]

I personally didn't watch RoP because it's not really my type of show but a lot of friends who watched the show told me they were bored. they won't stay more than 15 minutes before changing the channel to something else.

[@majkus]

I think part of the problem is that Amazon acquired the rights and committed to the program before anyone actually knew what sort of story they were going to tell. The cynicism lies less in avoiding the moral and religious core of Tolkien's work, but in supposing that all they had to provide was spectacle, action, the 'badass' female character that is an obligatory element of these productions, and a lot of name-dropping of Tolkien characters and locations, and the massive fan base for the movies and books would come running, eager to spend money on new Prime subscriptions. They were not completely wrong in this cynical belief. If you listened to fans attending panels about this program even three years ago, what many Tolkien fans said they wanted was almost the equivalent of a cinematic coffee-table art book: "I want to see Khazad-dûm in its heyday!" "It will be crazy to see Númenor, then see it destroyed!" "We'll get to see Celebrimbor forging the rings, that'll be so cool!" "I wonder who'll play 'hot Sauron' [I'm not making this one up] as Annatar in his fair form?" "Will Howard Shore do the music?" "They _have_ to film this in New Zealand!" "How much of the First Age will they show us?" "I hope they'll show us the Blue Wizards!' But almost never did you hear anyone hope they could faithfully portray Tolkien's themes of the Second Age: death, immortality, accepting the Gift of the One to Men, and the desire to stop Time (time does not pass in Lothlórien because of Galadriel's Ring). And to be sure, Jackson himself kind of side-stepped this matter, when he ascribed to "Men, who, above all else, desire power," a motive other than the desire to avoid mortality when they accepted the Nine; and he made hash of a fundamental aspect of mortality (that it is the Gift of the One that must be accepted on faith) in Gandalf's description of an afterlife to Pippin. So, if they were paying attention to fans, Amazon and the show-runners might have felt confident that this was a project that could not fail. No matter what they did, as long as they put in the pretty pictures and little allusions to Tolkien (the latest being the quotation 'not all those who wander are lost'), everyone would flock to the show. So they produced a formulaic mystery-driven story, a "factory product…or rather, made up of spare parts," as Tolkien said describing someone's language project, dumped money into computer-generated images and drone/helicopter shots, with scripts that were seemingly never proof-read. "Your people have no king, for you are him," is a sentence that was walking proudly before tripping and falling flat on its face on the last word; and they use too many words that do not mean what the writers think they mean, like 'exile', 'mere', and 'duress'. Unfortunately for Amazon, many Tolkien fans see his world as having a specific history, even if they know it is 'feigned' history, to use Tolkien's word; and they may be aware of the spiritual underpinnings that are closely associated with that world, even if they can not articulate these ideas. Indeed, it can be said that the very purpose of fantasy is to communicate these spiritual truths without stating them in words. But The Rings of Power has strayed far from that history, far beyond the usual ways in which historical dramas adjust the details of known history to serve the story. It has become akin to a Revolutionary War period piece in which the Pilgrims are fighting the British (because everyone knows about Pilgrims, and nothing much happened between the foundation of Plymouth and the Revolution anyway), and stalwart 20-something badass Lieutenant Andrew Jackson saves George Washington's life at Valley Forge with some brilliant martial-arts moves. And (given the recent 'mithril' plot twist), the _real_ reason that the colonies are fighting is that there are hidden plantations growing a special kind of tea crop that must be kept secret from England. I think that many fans-I will not say 'most'-have thrown up their hands and given up on this program having anything to do with Tolkien; and while some still appreciate it as a generic-fantasy work with good material craftsmanship, many others will abandon it when this season is over, unless the final three episodes miraculously manage to recover. But I expect that ten years from now, it will be almost completely forgotten by everyone, except for some mocking quotes like, "There is a temp job in me!" And for good or ill, it will be remembered by Amazon stockholders. PS. I just watched a reaction video from someone who quite likes the show. When Poppy's song finished with, "not all those who wander are lost," he said, "Oh! I got chills! That line is from Tolkien!" See, for some people, that's all it takes. Amazon wasn't wrong.

[@alannothnagle]

Yes, for some people that really is all it takes: Expensive visuals, random minority „representation“ (i.e. patronizing tokenism), and „strong female characters,“ even if they come across like the most abusive, „toxic“ of males, and storytelling be damned. I guess we‘ve got the „algorithms“ to thank for this!!

[@raya8919]

I can only hope the stockholders you mention will never touch Tolkien's literature again. I'd rather never see another adaption, than to see it done as Rings of Power has been done. The fans you speak of who you quote as saying they'd have liked to have seen "this or that" from the world likely never intended for 'Rings of Power' to exist as it does. Certainly, there are those who only care if the show is pretty and looks like Arda, but just because those people making those short comments didn't have the time, or forethought to qualify their desire with, "... and it should follow the lore." doesn't mean that it wasn't assumed by the fan saying it. Clearly, there is enough of an outcry now to indicate this is certainly the case. I wouldn't have thought I'd ever need to say it. It's a given... one respects the lore of Tolkien's world, or it can not be called Tolkien's world. Amazon only saw "The Lord of the Rings" IP as a way to compete with other fantasy shows and hoped to make something that would garner them significant profit by the use of that IP. That's as deep as it goes. Amazon failed to understand, not just the fictional world Tolkien wrote, but the collective readership, particularly those who love the world of Arda as though it were their own. There are very few fanbases with such deep and abiding loyality. Tolkien's fanbase is in the millions worldwide that spans 3 or 4 generations (since 1937). Amazon failed to understand this vastness due to their hubris fueled by the power of profit. I don't believe they ever actually listened to a single fan, or read a single word, but perhaps pretended to for the sake of publicity. There was no way Amazon could have ever created Rings of Power as we'd have liked to have seen it because they lack love for the world. They have no intellectual nor philosophical connection, nor spirit, nor heart for it. You can not create anything lasting without these things, but particularly love. And as the showrunners have clearly shown us, They do not love Arda. One does not seek to change, or rather destroy, that which they truly love.

[@SpoonNFriends]

Way too long bro, this is a comment section, not substack.

[@raya8919]

@@SpoonNFriends Then don't read it, bro.

[@davidsimon5088]

This show also doesn't compare that well to HOtD which is written exceptionally well with costumes and sets that seem real and lived in. Rings can sometimes be beautiful but also seems fake with writing and acting that fails to hook even general audiences.

[@t.k.5844]

'Remarkably soulless' I think is a great way to describe much of modern entertainment, not just the Rings of Power. Much of Hollywood isn't just cynical, but morally and creatively bankrupt. Too many movie studios are riddled with subversive activists pretending to be 'writers', more interested in having a bully pulpit than telling a decent story, while executives care only for the bottom line and are easily blinded and led astray by those whispering in their ears, poisoning them with honeyed words like Wormtongue did to Theodan. Cynical stories have a place, especially when society as a whole has become so jaded, but what we're seeing now is more akin to apathy and nihilism. It's not just a different culture than the past, it's an extremely unhealthy one, as the more cynical people are, the more cynical stories are produced, which leads people to become even more cynical. You are what you eat, especially when it comes to your media diet. Unless some kind of balm can be applied to this spiritual wound than I fear Western Society is ultimately destined for atomization and dissolution.

[@yourfanfictionhd]

Well said!

[@davidmata4786]

This is spot on and I couldn't have said it better.

[@l187]

very accurate!

[@rickthelearner5631]

Absolutely true!

[@t.k.5844]

@Toask I'm not saying they're entirely responsible for our current cultural malaise. They're a symptom, not the disease itself, but they're one that exacerbates the problem greatly. Shared stories and cultural myths act as a defense against antipathy, apathy, and nihilism, but if curdled into those very things they can become like existential poison.

[@dillonnickell9500]

Nailed it! A good example of the writers world view might be Durin calling out the elves for cultural appropriation of the stone used for the dinner table. The elves apologize and give back the table. Durin later confesses the stone is meaningless and he just wanted the table. The writers think the world is just arbitrary power games and so acting like that is acceptable and even humorous. Pharazon’s son even commits terrorism blowing up his father’s war ships and they move on from that like it’s no big deal.

[@dillonnickell9500]

So there isn’t a right or wrong that can be fought for, it’s all just the arbitrary use of power to get what you want.

[@lothara.schmal5092]

Exactly, that’s suited for works like those of GRR Martin, which are great btw, but it ain’t Lord of The Rings

[@uniblonder5606]

I've never heard of Euphoria.... this makes me happy.

[@kurtcobain3346]

Why is no one talking about the decision to hire two relatively inexperienced writers to lead a billion dollar project? I understand and totally get giving writers a chance with things because it allows for creativity and diversity of storytelling. But seriously? A billion dollar project in the hands of two writers who let’s face it, haven’t produced ANYTHING worthwhile in their catalogue. Projects obviously are led by more than the writers but I mean seriously it blows my mind the inexperience of the team behind the writing. I’m not putting my first year mechanic in charge of fixing a 150 million dollar aircraft carrier.

[@scorcher_11]

I think the world was ready for a good LOTR adaptation even with the climate of media these days. I think many of us were looking for something like this between all the garbage being created. It's all the writings fault for most of it's shortcomings.

[@stephensekela2551]

I think you’re right just based on how well “Maverick” (Top Gun sequel) was received. (For the record, I haven’t seen that sequel, despite loving the original out of nostalgia and growing up as a teen in the 80’s)

[@scorcher_11]

@@stephensekela2551 I thought the new top gun was just going to be another quick cash grab when i went. Me and my 3 buddies were all blown away and thought it was awesome. They put so much work into that movie and it shows. You can always tell when a crew is passionate about what they make

[@KrystalAfan]

I do agree that this show is such a disappointment. But one thing stood out to me and disturbed me in your monolog, people have a problem with a black elf... Why is such a thing a problem?? I remember when Star Trek introduced black Vulcans, there was a similar problem but not as virulent. Just because a person wrote a story decades ago when diversity wasn't thought of, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be addressed now. The creator of Game of Thrones has addressed this and made corrections in the new show. Much to the chagrin of intolerant people. But HE made the corrections. Do people actually think that if Tolkien was alive today, he wouldn't do the same thing? This all makes me very sad and I have lost all hope for people today. Inclusion is viewed as bad or undesirable.. yet you cheer for non-white athletes all the time.. What would Tolkien think of his fans today....

[@Lasmelan]

@@KrystalAfan Did you just seriously describe a deeply cultural work as "diversity wasn't thought of"... I've seen enough for the day, and it's only morning.

[@LordOfAllusion]

I think the other source of the problem with the writers is that Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings in the wake of his experiences in WWI, where he saw the sacrifice of men against unimaginable horrors, but whose love for their brothers in arms carried the day. Writers in this age almost never have such an experience and thumb their noses at those who do. These people lack the life experience to understand what it is to risk your life for a person you personally hate, simply for the fact that they are on your side. As shown by all the instances of Rings of Power, in their world view, the strong leave the weak to flounder on their own. As long as they get their mission accomplished, that’s all that matters. Their characters would never sacrifice their goals for someone they love, because the writers would never do that and can’t imagine anyone who would. If they would, they must be problematic.

[@raya8919]

It would be nice for a production studio to be brave enough to produce this series as it should have been, and let current Hollywood nonsense be d@mned. I liked GoT for all the reasons mentioned in this review, but have longed for an "old fashion" good vs evil story among all the shades of grey that seems to be the trend in nearly every show. Evil characters are shown as good, and good shown as bad. All the dark cynicsm becomes so heavy to bear with it being repeated over and over again. And I am definitely a cynic in this life. But Tolkien's work was a light in the darkness. It inspired one to rise above it, to be better than you are. One does not need to share Tolkien's faith to understand such fundementals either. I certainly never felt for a moment Tolkien was forcing his idealogy onto the reader. The world he created spoke to something more subtle and ethereal... there was spirituality without the dogma of religion, so carefully sown, the threads are barely noticed, yet the story itself laid upon them is strongly supported.

[@iwantgoals1566]

Wow I feel exactly the same way about everything you just said. Very well explained.

[@raya8919]

@@iwantgoals1566 Thank you. It's a comfort to know I am not alone in this.

[@audreydimmel6674]

Yesssssss exactly!

[@mattgoodell7015]

The FIRST SCENE in this series has a child Galadriel in Aman, under the light of the two trees.. being taunted and having her boat sunk by elven children throwing rocks... I was out immediately

[@ismata3274]

I thought the child was feanor for quite a minute? second? before hearing her name. Because, you know, making a self moving sailing vessel... She wasnt... Oh well, galadriel was told to be only bested by feanor, if she be bested by an elf, so she had a knac for such too I assumed... What with she making a seeing mirror which not only shows trough space as a palantir would, but time too, both forwards and backwards... palantirs eat your heart out. Again, she collected the light (which is holy in Tolkien etse) without collecting holy dewdrops of holy trees of yavanna like they all did in valinor bacak then, because there are no holy trees anymore, theyre dead, which means no holy dewdrops or holy rain from them, thats why silmarils matter, and sun and the moon. So, feanor made silmarils to collect holy light without collecting holy dewdrops of holy trees? Galadriel collected said light by her invention too. So..... I assume she needs to improve some part of an already present alphabet, or apply the already present alphabet concept in a New way to get even? And make some jewels.... Aaaanyways, where was I, yes, she made a boat, we quite possible considering its as toy... Then they fought.... Thats no galadriel but lets say theyre children... On holylands....aaaanyways, then her brother came and we learn she didnt invent it...... Not only that but she did "just like she was instructed......????" Brawling because children but obeying instruction because? Children? Yea..... Bruh, you took every galadriel like trait from the child, give her her childish creativity back! And show made her mirror out of palantirs! What!

[@TheBigdutchster]

Well said. For me, there is simply no comparison to be made between House of Dragons and Rings of Power, the former being the clear winner by a wide margin. In Rings of Power, it's clear that no one involved in the production has a clue. I'd like to lay most of the blame on the virgin show-runners, although I expect that there are others to blame as well. What they have produced is boring and insipid.

[@neighborlyfiend1484]

I wish Amazon took the money spent on rings and dumpes it into wheel of time instead. Its a much better story, magic system and way better characters.

[@JimBillyRayBob]

Hollywood is now determined to make reality different than what it is. To make humans differnt than humans are. Chesterton said it well 100 yrs ago "Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer. We shall be left defending, not only the incredible virtues and sanities of human life, but something more incredible" - G. K. Chesterton

[@mrrodriguezHLP]

As a friend said: if they're using Game of Thrones, they should know that Galadriel is Sansa, not Arya.

[@wiktorLicht]

Wow that's a great analysis. I very much agree. There is no feeling of Tolkien in the characters' actions. Like During breaking sacred rituals on a whim, Elrond almost-kind-of breaking an oath (a huge nono in Tolkien), Gil-Galad spying on Elrond and Durin? This is a sign of what you have said in the video and I fully agree. Also, I was brought here by the channel Men of the West :d

[@combr]

One of the best analysis i've seen about ROP and one of the shortest.

[@marcmarc1967]

WTF is Euphoria? Should I know since it's one of the two most popular shows of the last 5 years? I'm not asking if it's good or not, but why have I never heard of it? You couldn't go anywhere on the internets without hearing about GoT.

[@SnakeWasRight]

Mediocrity? Mediocrity is Michael Bay's Transformers. This? This is that sludge at the bottom of the trash can. This is legitimately the worst writing I've ever seen in any show, rivaled only by perhaps Rise of Skywalker and Ghostbusters 2016 for movies.

[@alpenjon]

How many million dollar productions need failing to make a revenue before it is generally accepted that good writing is comparatively cheap, but you have to get writers (and directors) who have demonstrated their skill in the trade? I suspect nepotism is doing the same to the film industry as corruption is doing to a failing state. The stories they write here keep reminding me of a teenage self having a go at being a dungeon master as a teenager... using clichés and improvising a plot that barely makes sense if you think about it too much ;)

[@ianpatterson6552]

For what it’s worth. 1) Numenor at its peak & capture of Sauron, 2) Corruption of Numenor and assault on Valinor, 3) Gondor founded and War of Last Alliance, 4) Combat at Mordor & Fall of Sauron, 5) Isildur & the ring and segue into LoTR. Without collapsing Second of Third Age timeline.

[@monkeyman321]

At this point, I think Amazon will give Ar-Pharazon a couple of ships to attack Valinor and that’s it

[@atlanta2076]

Hollow boredom is all that springs to mind when thinking of this show. That and the the "writers" not understanding even the most profound rules of writing.

[@Mediados]

Race-Swapping is the easiest thing to forgive if the rest of the show is good. But it was the first red flag that they'd be pushing corporate politics over a good plot, and it was confirmed with the release and didn't get any better over 5 episodes.

[@iwantgoals1566]

This vid hit the nail on the head. The writers of ROP clearly don’t understand the spirit of the universe they’re writing a show for so tried to make it their own version of GoT. Tolkien’s work was never nihilistic. In fact, he tried to write a sequel to LOTR called “A new shadow” but gave up on the book because he believed it would be too nihilistic. This is why HOTD is absolutely crushing this show, the writers actually have a clue what type of universe they’re making a show for and you can see every detail of it translate to screen. I’m enjoying HOTD so much more than ROP that I actually ordered myself a copy of Fire and Blood and started reading!

[@arthurballs9632]

You assert that "the most popular television shows of the last 5yrs are GoT and Euphoria". Citation please? 100m people signed up to Disney+ in its first 12 months (100m x $7pm × 12 = over $8 billion pa) when the only original content on the platform was the Mandalorian. Disney expected to have 60-90m subscribers 5 entire years after its launch. Instead, thanks entirety to one show, it vastly exceeded its 5yr target in just a year. It did phenomenally well with merchandising and its launch was highly innovative. Not a single dime was spent on pre-launch marketing, because Disney bet large on Baby Yoda being a viral sensation. It worked, he was the most searched term of 2019 despite the year being 84% over when he was released. The Mandalorian is one of the most financially successful shows of all time. It's not as popular as GoT but it's vastly more popular than Euphoria.

[@cjmythrandir]

This was incredibly insightful. As a Tolkien fan and self-proclaimed scholar, I was so happy to return to Middle Earth on the screen, and after the disappointment of The Hobbit(s), I was excited to see where Rings of Power would go. But I have definitely felt a lack of a unified vision and purpose while watching these first 5 episodes. I truly hope my opinion changes, because I want to like it so badly!

[@khjgfxdhzf]

Mediocrity? Its way below that

[@Jaasau]

We are well over 5 hours into this show. By this time in the Trilogy, we are watching the closing moments of Helms Deep and Gandalf’s glorious and sudden appearance at daybreak. Just think about your emotions at that point in the films. Now think about your emotions in the RoP Episode 5. Quite the departure. The writers failed this show spectacularly.

[@jeffreyrook8073]

I’d like to clarify one thing. Generally, it’s not that it’s seen as inherently bad that they veered off and included a black elf. From what I’ve seen, it’s that fans have become used to receiving trash shows whenever the makers only ever talk about how they want people to feel “represented” on screen. I suspect Don Lemonlas would quickly become a beloved character in somewhat of a “Tolkien-expanded-universe” if the show was good. These are just the most reliable signs for when a show or movie’s going to be crap.

[@chrislangstaff]

A LOT of the big YT channels who were criticizing ROP from before even the trailers came out, were absolutely doing it for racist/reactionary/misogynist reasons. Now they can hide behind the show's decreasing quality and insane lore-breaking and go "See we were right" when in fact they just happened to have the coin flip go their way. It sucks.

[@jeffreyrook8073]

@@chrislangstaff I can't confirm there are none who've done this, but I've watched some of the content from some you may be talking about, if they're larger. Not to say there are no truly bad actors, but in my experience many have taken to overtly using more inflammatory language out of frustration. Not to say it's right but when people talked about Galadriel for example, it was usually that she'd be another insufferable Mary Sue. I've seen many of the larger creators in the space praise strong female leads, for example, that aren't done in this way where they all have to be perfect, and every male has to either be a moron, or probably Sauron.

[@kaisersouze9515]

Having black actors just randomly mixed with white actors is a very serious problem in itself. Race, down to minute detail was a import aspect of Tolkien work, he created many elf races in all their characteristics for example. Therefore having white actors and black mixed at random is not only lore breaking it is stupid and doesn’t make any sense. They could have created any number of black elf, human races and have a decent explanation for them being in the world.

[@datguy3581]

I feel like the association between representation and poor tv is largely manufactured by those who have a political agenda of representation. Typically, the race of the actors has little to no impact on the quality of the acting and writing. Also representation typically isn't used as a shield but rather those who are acting in a bigoted manner get called out. Then certain people try to reframe the narrative and pretend like all of the critics of the piece of media are getting called out. A lot of showrunners talk about the importance of representation in media. The showrunners for The Boys, House of the Dragon, and Andor have all done that and those shows got a positive reception. But people act like representation is only talked about when a product is bad which is just false.

[@datguy3581]

@@chrislangstaff Those were the exact same channels which said House of the Dragon would be woke trash and that show is largely scene as a high quality return to form that Game of Thrones needed.

[@CrankyGrandma]

Or the writers can tell the tale with Tolkien themes, and watch people respond despite the culture. I remember watching Star Wars, when it was only one movie. It was in the dark, “God is dead” 1970s. None of the intellectuals, none of the powers that be, could understand it’s success. George Lucas told a hope filled story of old fashioned heroes, with sacrifice, loss, but also hope and goodness… and people did something that simple was not done prior. They went to see the movie over and over and over. Because despite the cynical times, people hungered for that story. They still do, and if Amazon has the courage to make it, people will respond.

[@hydrohasspoken6227]

I am black, die hard fan of Tolkien work. I hate that black elf there. The likes of Legolas were perfect for me.

[@rjmacready6693]

This is a great breakdown outside of pinning criticism on fans dislike of a elf with more melanin. That's the scapegoat reason. It's so much more than that and Galadriel is the utmost core of the criticism.

[@datguy3581]

There is a portion of the fandom which seems to just not want to involve black people in the casting process. It's not most people but it's definitely there unfotunately.

[@karlpoppins]

@@datguy3581 There is a portion of the fandom which seems to just not want to involve people who don't look (or can't be made to look) like the characters they're supposed to portray in the casting process. There, I fixed it for ya.

[@datguy3581]

@@karlpoppins Black people already existed in middle earth. Them having relevant stories shouldn't be an issue.

[@Ale-dd3ek]

@@datguy3581 yes, Haradrim are a thing And I'd like to Explore them But Arondir isn't rapresentation, he's Just here to distract from the stupid ass writing

[@prestely]

Great video essay! You masterfully addressed the core of the issue Here! Congrats!

[@sodarkherhair78]

07:00 "In fact they steal dialogue from "Apocalypse Now" in Episode Four" : Can someone please expand and tell me what it is ?

[@polleonardtaliesinhywel6986]

For me, the interactions between Elrond and Durin are the only good thing. I think the first season or two should have focused more on the Elves and Dwarves so they could develop some of the immortal or long-lived characters with the story of the forging of the rings, and then jump to the fall of Numenor at a later season and focus on those characters and conflicts more heavily. It feels like they have a pacing issue with the story by trying to cram all the Second Age events into one season. I feel they might run out of good stories by season 2 or 3 by they way things are going…

[@Vebian]

to be called a "mediocrity" is way too generous, sadly GoT set the bar too high for this genre

[@thuyquyenduong8508]

I'm living in Europe, not the US, so I can't speak for what the audience's demands are like over there. But there is definitely a huge amount of love and yearning here for Middle Earth, and I have concrete proof for that: a month ago, some friends and I try to book tickets for a screening of the PJ's trilogy in a local theater on December 16-18. Extended cut, 3 hours+. Even then, all 200 tickets were completely sold out. The demand was so high that the theater had to add an extra screening and move the first one to a bigger room. Ours is not the only theater in the city to host a LoTR weekend.

[@acerimmer8357]

There are so many things wrong with ROP that it's amazing that it even got the go ahead. Abysmal writing, poor direction, wooden acting, lack of continuity, etc. It's just plain boring, it doesn't give you a reason to care about the characters and what's happening to them. It painfully obvious JD Payne and Patrick McKay haven't a clue about writing or running a show, makes one wonder how they got the job.

[@HereIStandbyU]

How many (way cheaper) good shows got the axe for Amazon to invest 1 BILLION dollars IN THIS, DISASTER.

[@datguy3581]

I don't see why there can't be black people in Middle Earth. The race of the characters has no bearing on the plot/characters. And Tolkien didn't say his world was all white.

[@Coeurebene1]

The mandate was "I'll throw a billion at you and you'll make me the new Game of Thrones". It was then designed by committee and executed by people who cared more about their woke Twitter cred than making art. What else to expect? The best writing comes from one single and inspired artist (LOTR books). The best movies are made by teams passionate about the source material (LOTR movies).

[@paulherrera8595]

If they insist this is lord of the rings, then I wish Sauron will win

[@hydrohasspoken6227]

Galadriel needs some Psychotherapy man.

[@marcmarc1967]

5:47 This is what's wrong with Rings of Power, in a nutshell. Lack of characters that care about each other. It has nothing to do with "not following canon" or "black elves" or "female leaders".

[@vcrbetamax]

That’s all true. However it begs the question, why is Hollywood unable to agree with a Tolkien style story? Aaand now you’re back to everyone else’s arguments about agenda and source material.

[@Serai3]

To sum it all up, the problem with "The Rings of Power" is that _it's not Tolkien._

[@cheettaah]

Enjoyed your video very much! Totally agree!

[@southerner66]

The screenwriters of GoT had several thousand pages of Martin's novels to work from, detailing a story that happens over the span of one lifetime and including extremely well-drawn characters (one of Martin's best skills). The screenwriters for RoP had a ~45 page sketch of events that occurred over the course of a couple of thousand years. And the screenwriters are not writers of Tolkien's caliber, so, as you say, they were destined to stumble in trying to flesh out Tolkien's account, especially because they don't get the main themes. Numenor is pretty clearly a Fall of Man story, but, as you say, that's not a story that modern screenwriters want to tell. RoP had only a slim chance of not suffering in comparison to Tolkien's own novels.

[@hatuletoh]

I'm not a religious person, but anyone who has trouble with the morality of Tolkien shows themselves to be small in mind and, for however one may understand it, spirit. Tolkien's morality is much simpler than the real world, and that's part of its appeal. I don't mean that in a disparaging way--quite the opposite. I think the more morally ambiguous the world becomes, the more people actually hunger for entertainment world where good and evil are more clear cut. It's been beaten to death as an example at this point, but take the huge success of "Top Gun: Maverick:" it's a simple story about the "good guys" overcoming their own moral failings to ultimately confront and defeat the "bad guys," who aren't even given the thinnest of identities. All we know is that they're bad; Maverick and his crew are good; we want the good guys to win. They do, and a billion and a half dollars later everyone goes home satisfied. The showrunners for Amazon's Lard of the Rings had a golden opportunity to tell a straightforward story that would have resonated with modern audiences, but as the maxim goes, writers can't write characters smarter than they are themselves, and clearly the same prescription applies to morality. The story and its characters are morally vacuous because the people telling it are morally vacuous.

[@stevenqirkle]

Rings of Power is trash, primarily due to the writing being awful. So many issues - but the origin story for Mithril was enough to push me over the edge. If it were any other fantasy series I just wouldn’t watch it, but seeing LotR get this kind of treatment is pretty upsetting. One confession though: I actually like the Harfoots and enjoyed that “all that wander are not lost” song 😂

[@JoeTheLion60]

Its terrible in so many ways - bad writing; bad acting; lack of logic; no name actors with zero charisma - 100% no love in this series..Hopefully it will be cancelled...

[@SamuelGAdamsIV]

Your analysis is insightful and well written. I would push back a little on the opening comment about the reaction to black elves. Tolkien fans were concerned about a wide range of inconsistencies with Tolkien's works. That just became a focal point of those arguing racism.

[@Origami84]

It is also how shameless they were. All other changes, they could say it was to improve the story or make it more whatever. Creative choices, yaddayadda. But raceswapping an elf? We KNOW it is strictly for wokeism. There are no racial tensions in Lotr, so the story itself doesn't change in the slightest if an elf is black. They did it exclusively for wokeism, damn the lore.

[@johnforde7735]

I disagree, Tolkien's work may have been based on his faith - which make it a fight between good and evil, but they have many more powerful influences, like war and industrialisation.

[@omarsabir1210]

It's still a black and white show about light defeating evil.

[@jasonthegreat7999]

There was always a lot of nuance with LOTR. The whole point was the analysis of it. Bilbo and Frodo's struggle with these messages. Look at Gollum and Frodo's dynamic. Niether was fully good, neither was fully evil. Frodo's first reaction to gollum wast to tell Gandalf Bilbo should have killed him. Frodo nearly redeemed Gollum. The problem with the fight about this show is that there is little tolerance or understanding between people. It's more or less a "you're either with us or against us" situation. No middle ground to be found, or room for debate.

[@CorePathway]

Only people of faith or religious savvy read this in. It’s that subtle, there if you look for it, it wasn’t for me.

[@jasonthegreat7999]

It doesn't have to be about religion or faith. Its more about being blinded by good intentions to the point that you can no longer see it corrupting the very thing you seek to achieve. That's, in my mind, the definition of good writing. You find your own meaning in it.

[@richardrose2606]

The Lord of the Rings is an epic. In an epic you have heroes, who although flawed, are good and villains who are evil. A fellowship of good men, elves, wizards, dwarves and hobbits battling the evil Sauron and his orcs. A story in the "real world" can have a morality with good and bad, but most activity takes place in the middle with many hues of grey. Amazon in ROP is trying to emulate the LOTR but is doomed to failure. The zeitgiest of our age is irony.

[@erik-7255]

The main problem with rings of power is were 7 episodes in and sauron hasnt appeared and not a single ring crafted..

[@Churchmilitant67]

I appreciate your fair and non political analysis of the rings of power.

[@musstakrakish]

"Evil can not create only corrupt what is already there."

[@MisterMonsterMan]

"Mediocrity" is being pretty kind to RoP. It is an unmitigated flop and disaster for what was spent on it in terms of money, time, effort and buying the media to favorably review and back your product. Behind the scenes its one of the biggest flops in big or small screen history.

[@mohamedmaiza3866]

You touched on bot relying on tolkeins plot lines which is true, but what I find to be more detrimental is not having his dialog to fall back on.

[@davidfrasier2946]

Your analysis is pure genius, convincing and fresh. Thanks for your work.

[@oscarstainton]

Excellent essay! Its disgusting how soulless Rings of Power is... In many ways, the wild success of Game of Thrones has permanantly damaged the media landscape for traditional high fantasy. When Peter Jackson's team created the original trilogy, they were operating with a creative freedom that was rare even at the time. It was described as less like a big studio movie like Harry Potter, and more like "the world's biggest indie movie". One thing I would disagree with; not-Galadriel is far, far more morally myopic than Tauriel; she was a warrior but at least Evangeline Lily had an elf-like quality that Morfydd Clark has not been given the chance to embody, instead acting like a petulant teenager.

[@alannothnagle]

But Clark is clearly in her 30s, so the petulant teenager shtick doesn‘t really work. She instead comes off as a deeply disturbed adult who deserves no interest - let alone respect - whatsoever. I don‘t think I‘ve ever encountered a less appealing heroine.

[@oscarstainton]

@@alannothnagle Exactly! She's been given this terrible direction that doesn't make sense for anyone her age, and even less sense for an elf many thousands of years old. What you're left with is an unhinged psychopath.

[@Halbared]

One of the reasons Lord of the Rings stands out today is that it is primarily about platonic love, there is one single romantic love story in it, which is fairly brief. I actually think that there is a massive audience for something true to Tolkien today, with how the culture war nastiness gaslights he fans who have loved this stuff for decades. A look back to those values that were cherished in the previous millennium would do good business (similar to TopGun2), but there seems to be a dearth of will to do it.

[@boredalchemist]

I do not care about race swapping, that's just noise, the issue is the shows writing is so pathetic. Race swapping, gender swapping etc is just something they can hide behind when everything else sucks.

[@RoseBaggins]

Yup.

[@gamma00crucis]

exactly. hotd had the same controversy. nobody cares anymore because the writing is actually competent.

[@couragecoachsam]

I think the next 20 years will see a counter current of moral optimism in stories. Whether that counter current overtakes the prevailing cynical one remains to be seen

[@t.k.5844]

I pray that it does, because unless tempered or challenged our current cynicism is leading us all down a path of self-destruction.

[@raya8919]

The pendulum swings - wide in one direction then wide in the opposite. I really just want to smash the pendulum at this point to stop the cycle. Let stories exist as they are meant to by their authors. It doesn't need to be anymore or less than that.

[@alexkats30]

I am revisiting the show and taking notes of the things that ruin it in every episode. I just now found your video and, even though I'm months late, I wanted you to know that I found it very interesting and I agree with most of it. My impression of how this occurs though is different. To me it seems as if it's downfall was in its concept itself. And it looks like this: "Step 1: How can we make the most money out of it? Pay only for the appendices rights and adapt the Second Age which is the least info populated Age, so we can do whatever we want with it, while we exploit Tolkien's popularity." "Step 2: We want a product that is like Game of Thrones and checks every box in the current Hollywood checklist (female and token poc protagonists, ambiguous heroes and sympathetic villains, over the top action sequences, badass females physically kicking butts, CGI and a "mystery box" narrative for cherry on top) in order to be marketed to wide audiences and make the most money." "Step 3: fill in the rest with Middle-Earth stuff and put it in the oven." They saw the lack of details in the Second Age as a"get out of jail for free card". And because the heart and soul of the story ended up being treated as just a filler, the show crashed and burned. Writing stories/scripts and filmmaking is an art. It is intertwined with philosophy, human psychology and higher ideas and ideals. You can't treat it with checklists. If artists stop seeing it as an art and start seeing it as CEOs, they have no way of creating a good piece and thus a good product. The irony

[@Marcus-Spurius-Furius]

A really excellent analysis.

[@RichUncleSkellington]

I don't understand how people think this show is too woke. It's savagely Hibernophobic and as an Irish person it's really vexing to see that issue sidelined.

[@theGreatjohn8271]

What is hibernophobic about it? I haven't watched RoP and wouldn't be able to recognize hibernophobia if I did.

[@alannothnagle]

Yes, it‘s truly bizarre that, in an otherwise aggressively „woke“ production, Irish and Scottish people are played for laughs while the English are the clear overlords. It would appear that the showrunners are very selective when it comes to representation, so that black elves and dwarves are noble and true, whereas the „bog Irish“ are still being presented the same way they were during the potato famine. Funny how that works.

[@raminybhatti5740]

The Irish being white is why the conversation of hibernophobia is irrelevant pertaining to RoP. Nobody's going to bat for the Irish in this day and age when other demographics have assumed higher victim-hood status. You may as well be white supremacists. 😅

[@kkavehma1]

Irish and Scottish accents are given to distinct ethnicities in Middle-earth. Which honestly to me was surprising and somewhat racist. Like a bit cartoonish.

[@raya8919]

They only made it 'woke' for percieved minorities of some sort. If you're European, it's okay to take the piss and stereotype because European = bad and deserve it. The definition of racism does not exclude any culture or skin-type. You can't solve racism with more racism. It just creates more division at the end of the day. To be okay with one kind of racism and not okay with another is hypocritical. To solve racism you must end all its forms. Tolkien wasn't a racist nor was he a sexist and his work didn't need to be "fixed" to reflect the modern world. Tolkien was actually ahead of time in a so many ways. There are PoC in his world, Amazon just refused to acknowledge it. But ultimatley, it's an English mythology tale and Aye... it's going to be full of a lot of light skinned people becasue that's how humans evolved on the planet. The cooler the climate the paler the skin, the hotter the climate, the darker the skin. It's just as if someone wrote an African mythology tale, it's going to have a lot of dark skinned people in it... and it should. I'd actually like to see something like that on TV... African based fantasy legends would be fresh. It would be new, different and would help reduce racism more than minority-washing European-based fantasy does. If RoP is supose to be so inclusive and diverse, then Amazon in their infinate stupidity wouldn't know true racism or sexism if it smacked them in the arse and called them "daddy".

[@shadara5370]

You are partly right it's not the color of the characters, it's the fact that the lore isn't being followed. That's what is bothering most of us. Yes, there are asshats out there, but most of us want to actually see Tolkien, not garbage. Garbage is what they are putting out. One of the british newspapers said that watching rings of power is like eating rancid cat food. That covers it all.

[@di3486]

The writing is absolute garbage and they are not following the canon and yes, also, that dude doesn’t reflect an elf at all.

[@muddlewait8844]

@@di3486 Which dude? Gil-Galad? He’s the least elfy elf I’ve seen so far. Except maybe Galadriel. 🙄

[@di3486]

@@muddlewait8844 the tanned elf and the rest as well.

[@marvellousib7710]

Everything about this analysis is good apart from forcing me to look at anything Euphoria

[@allenwilhelm7799]

Great organization of your ideas

[@gulinp1]

I share same opinion. They are LOTR story in Hollywood, that nowdays hates religion, especially Christianity, and yet, their source material is guy who addopted majority of stories from folklore tailes that all have some sort of root in christianity or influenced christianity. God in LOTR exist, he is creator of the universe, Amazon won't ever adress it because it's not their political spectrum. Tolkien's caracters are flawed, but all do good stuff when needed, Hollywood only allows in 2022 certain characters to be "good" , people of color and women. Whte straight males are enemy. Cowards. Foes. Again, very strong contrast of what Tolkien's books are about. In general it is very clear that show runners want to their their story. That story isn't rooted in Tolkien's work, but it's very helpful for marketing to sell something under "LOTR" brand as you know many people adore Tolkien's work. However, once you start telling own stories, manufacturing characters, twisting narratives, making up stuff that in books didn't happen, you will for damn sure piss off people who loved orginal. This show is simply souless. It looks great, but has nothing to tell you. Elfs are no longer those myseterious creatures, they are just teen looking ,bitching& moaning people who's conversations are vague for no reason. Numenor in books is strongest kingdom of men ever, men so great that they were described as 7 foot tall, strong, capable fighters even by elvish standards, in tv show they have like 5 ships and 30 warriors who can't fight, and look nothing like in books. Galadriel is by far the worst descruction of character. In Peter Jackson's movies there was no need in single scene to adress her powers, she had aura about her and all scenes were shot in fashion where anybody can figure she is "special one". She didn't need to devalue characters around her to look good ( look RoP throll scene) and her character in books and movies is NOTHING alike one in tv show. ofc, for Hollywood left wing propaganda, they "forgot" she has kid & should be married in this time frame. But again, it's a problem when you are doing book adoptation that is based on something you hate.

[@wisnubasktrucci]

Yeah, fully agree with u man 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@faded_ink3545]

Any show that dismisses its source material, bans feedback, and criticises its fans is not worth watching. Simple as.

[@Egill2011]

Good analysis indeed! Thank you. Those who are behind RoP did not even try to conceal the fact that they do not respect Tolkien and his spiritual values.

[@Mariana-kz1op]

Galadriel should not be the main character. Seemingly perfect character works well in the story when they are side characters, like Hermione, Legolas, Thorin etc.

[@mahmudulhasanjewel2135]

Really insightful analysis.

[@SpoonNFriends]

I've never even heard of Euphoria.

[@simplyhuman2213]

You nailed it. Hollywood’s spiritual cynicism is the reason it failed from the get go.

[@pp-bb6jj]

Everything woke turns to...you know the thing.

[@RafitoOoO]

It's not that 25 million people watched it, by Amazon's own statement they "sampled" the show whatever that actually means.

[@anttibra]

The irony of Hollywood gearing away from great objective evil in Ring of Power is that I'm sure such stories would have a great demand right now. Given the on going Russian invasion of Ukraine, I believe we all need an uplifting stories of good guys fighting against forces of oppression.

[@theimaginarium]

I have always worried that the GoT popularity would muck with RoP. You're right, of course, in that they are thematically opposite of each other. The showrunner's attempt to blend the two has resulted in a mixed bag. Some great highlights, and some really strange tonally-off moments. Regarding Galadriel, though, Tolkien did say in her earlier years she was a mighty warrior. So there's that.

[@adrianarias6418]

Hollywood's endogamy and nepotism have always been the reason people without any talent get writers job, but I never thought a Tolkien property would be affected by this problem.

[@santinodewreede3955]

Tolkien fans aren’t that upset about a black elf. It’s about how the show is Tolkien in name only. Amazon is trying to cash in on the IP. Regular fans don’t like the show because it puts you to sleep because nothing happens on screen. We’re constantly told what happens.

[@TopHatton]

Finally a review that hits the nail on the head! You have put words to the feelings I've had but couldn't exactly convey: it's the spirit of the original trilogy that is lacking. I'm enjoying Rings of Power for what it is, but it is a deep and unnecessary shame that it does not share in the same glory as the PJ trilogy.

[@ruperterskin2117]

Right on. Thanks for sharing.

[@bdtiger0770]

The reason presented at the start of the beginning about why Tolkien world is not suitable for current Hollywood environment, is probably also the reason behind Batman having more box-office smashes than Superman now-a-days. In today's world, being GOOD means BORING!

[@kevinkingmaker7395]

Mediocrity would be an upgrade.

[@jondoe1573]

The black valyriens aren't pissing many people off in house of the dragon. They were talking about it before it aired and hating on it but now that its out and it's good no one really cares.

[@cameracoughlin]

thank you for pointing out the apocalypse now dialogue rip off !

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Mediocrity would be a compliment at this point. But it can’t even reach that now.

[@juremarasovic8084]

This is a very interesting video.

[@zahel-of-nalthis]

There are a lot of weaknesses in the show, but one spark of life that it's got going for it is the mystery over who among the cast will turn out to be Sauron in disguise. The show runners are graduates of JJ Abrams who, if nothing else, is pretty good at setting up mystery box story lines (even if he is pretty controversial in how he resolves them).

[@Atreus21]

Secularism baby. All is hopeless in the end.

[@mustang607]

Deceit and resentment have been effective political tactics and unfortunately they often get away with it.