#rings of power review

[isildur-apologist]

You don’t hate Amazon you hate the Silmarillion: a genuine review of Rings of Power

It’s no secret that overall I liked RoP. I watched it with my roommate who gets very hyped about stuff like that and it made for a really exciting viewing experience, instead of the more bitter perspective I might have taken if I watched it alone. But, I also know there are some real faults with the show, I never thought it was perfect and know it’s not on par with the the LOTR movies and I never expected it to be. But, the fault for that is not on Amazon.

(I want to note that I am not defending Amazon. I hate Amazon. Jeff Bezos can catch this guillotine. I am, however, defending the creative team behind the show, which is how I will refer to them from here on out, I only called it Amazon to grab your attention. )

Here’s my point though, almost every (valid) critique I see of this show isn’t a problem with decisions the creative team made, it’s an inherent problem in any adaptation of the Silmarillion (and associated works but I’m just going to refer to the Silmarillion for brevity’s sake).

The Silmarillion, as full and detailed as it is, is a shit story. The events of the second age do not fit neatly into a clean story structure the way LOTR does because it’s not supposed to. The Silmarillion isn’t a story, it’s a history, and history is never narratively satisfying. Tolkien (Jirt, not talking about Christopher here) didn’t publish the Silmarillion in his lifetime, he only even published LOTR and the hobbit, everything else attributed to him was published after his death. He had no intent of making the other works anything other than a comprehensive history of the world he made for documentation’s sake, never with intent to publish. He didn’t even compile all the writings, Christopher did.

Because if this, the Silmarillion is really hard to adapt for a number of reasons:

1. Elves aren’t good main characters.

Elves aren’t supposed to be relatable characters, they’re aloof and static and inherently non-relatable (There are exceptions but they’re usually not regular elves. Elrond is half elven, Legolas is very young). Humans and hobbits are the relatable characters through which we view the world, because they can have human flaws and conflicts, which makes for a very human story. To make elves the main characters you need to make them interesting characters, and elves aren’t supposed to have human flaws, and so you either stay faithful and they don’t feel relatably human, or you change their to be more human and it feels disingenuous to what we know elves to be like. It’s a lose lose.

2. Middle earth is not supposed to be pretty.

A huge part of LOTR is realizing every place they visit is either the ruins of a past, much larger civilization, or a city that is a fraction of what it used to be (Gondor in lotr is NOTHING compared to what it was in the early 3rd age, or Arnor and definitely not Númenor, Rivendell is a pebble compared to Lindon and Eregion, we only ever see Khazad-dûm as a decrepit tomb instead of the most prosperous mine in all of middle earth is once was). This juxtaposition is integral to the main themes of lotr and is imperative to the story jirt was trying to tell. A story set in the 2nd age cannot have these ruins because IT IS THE RUINS. It cannot “feel like lotr” because it is what will make lotr lotr.

3. Characters (individuals) are of little importance in the Silmarillion.

As important as Elendil and Isildur (and even Anárion) are to the plot of literally the entire 3rd age, we know little about their own narratives. They are names for the people that did these important actions and that’s it. Again, the Silmarillion is a history, it’s not going to say what Elendil and Isildur’s relationship was like in excruciating detail or what Isildur wanted to do with his life before sailing to middle-earth and becoming a king. You have to write these characters a good story if you’re adapting the Silmarillion and sometimes there isn’t space to write a compelling journey in the space Tolkien left. Because they don’t have a character, any character you give them will seem “out of character” to many people.

Basically my point is that before you go and say “well this is weird or I didn’t like this choice” think about what the creative team had to create to make an interesting show out of a story not designed to be told. Sometimes they didn’t make the perfect decision, but if you were tasked with adapting something unadaptable do you think you would do it perfectly?

[undercat-overdog]

I poked desultorily at a Rings of Power review and never got around to writing it out. But the showrunners talking about how they wrote a better story than Tolkien brought a black anger to my heart, so.

I don’t think the show is very good and the problem is them. A day ago I would have said that the Hobbit movies were worse than RoP and objectively that’s probably still true. But to my knowledge, PJ never said that Tolkien’s story was stupid. Payne and McKay did.

I didn’t come in as a hater; if anything I came in expecting to reluctantly like the show and my primary worry was that it would affect my interpretations of the world and characters. I was expecting bad Tolkien and good television; I was expecting to be entertained. (Well, I was entertained, thanks to my brilliant and funny cowatchers <3)

And I don’t think the show was terrible; I’d call it the bad side of mediocre. The actual audiovisual part was competent. Some things were done very well (very pretty!) and some things weren’t (the sound mixing). I feel something was off with the moment-to-moment editing but the lack of proper establishing shots that fit the dialogue in some scenes were the faults of others (e.g., Tar-Miriel saying the Numenoreans will sail with the tide as she and Elendil stand in the middle of a field with no water nearby; were they actually by a shore I’m sure the cinematographer would have gotten shots showing it, so it’s hardly their fault or the editor’s). It was ok-ish! All that was mostly good even, though not $465 million dollars good.(1)

But the script sucked, story and dialogue both. Spoilers below.

The pacing went from far too slow to incredibly rushed (the making of the Three in the final episode, smushed into maybe 20 minutes in one episode. We spent more time watching Galadriel get on and off boats). The lack of build-up and tension. The astonishing plot holes and inconsistencies. The strange worldbuilding that seems to assume that the viewer knows the lore except the show changes the lore. (Or doesn’t explain it - Elrond being half-elven comes up multiple times but it’s never actually explained what that means. Oh, and apparently Earendil was a mortal?) The mystery boxes and obvious twists and cliffhangers that aren’t. The usual fantasy problems of teleportation, food, travel, how the stars change as you go west to east rather than north to south, etc (super annoying, because that is not a problem Jirt shares.)

And my god, the dialogue. “Why does a boat float?” “I am Groot good.” “The sea is always right.” And those are the memorable lines; the first two are lines the show treats as profound. Listen to some of the pre-battle speeches that Bronwyn or Arondir give and compare them to Theoden or Aragorn in the Return of the King movie. Yes, PJ was cribbing or rearranging Tolkien’s dialogue and you can tell when he’s writing his own; he has  some awful clunkers. But he got a lot closer. RoP’s decent lines are taken from either Tolkien or the movies. (The show even takes one of Cate Blanchett’s lines from the movie Elizabeth, the one about a tempest inside her, and gives that, slightly modified, to Galadriel. Which is pretty unfair to Morfydd Clark, asking her to match that.)

Oh, and it was devoid of humor. And horniness.

I could go on (and on and on) but I want to talk about something in the final episode that both bothered me a lot and that I feel exemplifies some of the issues: Sauron tempting Galadriel by saying her “you would have a queen” monologue at her.

Quick background with spoilers: Halbrand is one of the main characters and the one who interacts with Galadriel the most; we find out in the last episode that Halbrand is Sauron. The two of them meet when she’s swimming across the Belegaer and he’s on a raft. After some episodes on Numenor, they go to Middle-earth, fight a battle, and somehow survive being engulfed by a pyroclastic flow when Mount Doom erupts. Halbrand is injured somehow (iirc we don’t see the injury, but Galadriel takes one look at him and declares he needs elvish medicine. After which he stands up, gets on a horse, and they go to an elvish realm, galloping for six days on the same horses with no saddlebags for food, no spare horses, Halbrand with sepsis and Galadriel in full armor. Ok, that digression is completely besides the point but I felt sorry for the poor horses!) In Eregion, Halbrand is cured, gives Celebrimbor the information needed to make magic items that will stop the Elves from fading (how the fading plot is done is very stupid imo), and Galadriel reads a paper that tells her that Halbrand isn’t who he says he is. She confronts him, learns he’s Sauron, and he proposes that she join him in ruling Middle-earth, a proposal complete with gaslighting and emotional manipulation. (Is that the plot of a silvergifting fic? I’ll get to that.)

Show!Galadriel is not the character seen in canon. The show swaps around character stories and traits (Elrond is the one with the Dwarvish connection; Celebrimbor seems only vaguely aware of their existence). It’s Galadriel, not Celebrimbor, who has a relationship with Sauron, bonds with him, and is tempted by him. She’s the character Sauron tutors (albeit in ‘don’t be a dick’ rather than deep lore); she’s the character taken in by him. Gone is her insight into people and her suspicion of Annatar and gone is Celebrimbor’s plot.

(Honestly, I’m not sure why Shreev Palpatine no really he looks like him Celebrimbor is in the story at all. The part where he wants to build a massive forge goes nowhere, his canon plot was taken from him, and it’s not even his idea to make the Three Rings! Nor does he make them by his own hand, since the scene where they’re made has a number of unnamed smiths in the background working on them. He’s also an idiot: Saubrand teaches the Master Smith about alloys. He could have been cut - have Gil-galad send Elrond directly to Moria, have Halbrand tell Galadriel about alloys, and have unnamed smiths make all the Three, not just two of them - and nothing would have changed.)

One of book Galadriel’s defining traits is ambition, the desire to have political power. In the Second Age, she is a political leader. There’s none of that in the show.  Honestly, the show’s version isn’t recognizable to me as Galadriel. But she is the show’s best characterized, err, character. We know as much about her as any other person and more than most, and we never once see her display any hint of political ambition. She’s also devoid of political skill and acumen and devoid of insight into other people, nor kind nor wise. Everything that characterizes Tolkien’s Galadriel...

I have a big problem with taking away Galadriel’s ambitions. Not just because it’s such a big part of who she is but because it’s rare that women are allowed to be ambitious. This is especially true since her motivation was changed to her wanting revenge upon Sauron for the murder of her brother (changing her focus from herself to a male relative).

(Incidentally, I think casting an actor who’s 5’3 to play her and visually framing her as noticeably shorter than all the men she interacts with doesn’t help at all. Elendil even says she reminds him of one of his children as he physically looks down on her.)

But the lack of ambition also causes a problem within the show’s story: when she finds out who Sauron is, Sauron proposes to her. (It is a proposal: he’s asking her to rule beside him as his queen. That’s a marriage alliance.) And he tempts her by offering political power, telling her: I would make you a queen, fair as the sea and the Sun, stronger than the foundations of the Earth.

(Even if that monologue weren’t famous and even if you have a better opinion of the (bland, banal) dialogue than I do, it would be obvious that the writers didn’t write that. It’s a far cry from Finrod saying that “rocks can't float because they look down into the darkness.” Let me introduce you to specific gravity, Finrod. Or pumice.)

It’s not just dialogue that’s poorly lifted but it’s not appropriate to the characters as they are in the show. Saubrand knows Galadriel well by this point in the season and there’s no been previous indication that she wants to rule, or even that she’s interested in political power. So he tempts her with a dialogue about ruling? 

The “you would have a queen” monologue in Fellowship is the pivotal moment in Galadriel’s arc. Giving her speech to Sauron removes her later agency and moral ambiguity. She’s not tempted by her own desire to rule as a queen ruling in her own right in place of Sauron; she’s tempted by him to be a king’s wife at the side of Sauron. It’s no longer a want that comes from inside herself but something that a man told her.

(Men tell show!Galadriel a lot of things. They’re right much of the time, too - Halbrand/Sauron is entirely correct when he tells her that insulting a ruler and then demanding something of them isn’t the best way to get what you want. She is not a tactful character.)

And… I debated whether or not to include this, because I absolutely do not think Celebrimbor/Sauron is canon any more than Fingon/Maedhros is canon (2). But there is a queer reading of Annatar and Celebrimbor’s relationship. It’s not the only reading, but it’s a very valid one, “seduction” and all. And I’m not bothered in the slightest that the show didn’t do Annatar/Celebrimbor, though I am very bothered by portraying Celebrimbor as an idiot.

Except... the show did do silvergifting: I have read this fic. (Lol ok I’ve read better fics; I don’t think it was particularly well executed here.) Sauron’s in a relationship with an elf in which he teaches them things and tempts them. His actor might say otherwise, but it’s all but explicitly romantic; there’s even a trailer centered on the two of them that’s edited like a romcom. He essentially proposes to that elf. Except now the elf is Galadriel and now it’s m/f rather than m/m. It was a choice and it’s done in a way that diminishes Galadriel’s character.

There’s more things I could say about Sauron and Galadriel in the final episode and essays to be written on other choices made; this is just one particular example (I also have many geology and geography rants lol). But I’ve already written more than enough, and if I’m going to write about RoP, I’d rather it be an anonymous porn parody.

(1) Rings of Power had a bigger budget and spent more money per minute of screentime than the LotR movies did: $465 million for RoP, $281 million for LotR, the equivalent of $457 million in 2021 dollars, numbers from wiki. Is it fair to compare the LotR movies with RoP? Yes. RoP itself references the movies again and again and again. And comparing budgets is incredibly fair and RoP has a blockbuster movie budget (or three blockbuster movie budgets, rather).

(2) Though silvergifting isn’t any less canon. More, even, what’s a green jewel next to seduction and making rings together and Sauron talking about Celebrimbor’s booty. (Of Dwarves and Men, bless.) Tbh after having seen the show, I’m glad my OTP wasn’t on-screen and barely interacted, though I am a bit sad that there won’t be any silvergifting vid set to Blank Space.

[miredinmiddleearth]

Rings of Power, Ep. 8 Review - A rant fit for a finale

 Ready for my final rant? I shan’t hold back. The show sure didn’t! Here are my thoughts on episode eight:

1. Starting with a bang. Gandalf is Sauron red herring. Believed it for exactly...no seconds.

2. Slow-mo hits a little different when Halbrand’s limp body is slow-mo bouncing on a horse.

3. Pretty sure the three elven rings were made last? And positive they were made in SECRET. AFTER they suspected Sauron was messing with the rings already. And I KNOW the three elven rings were untouched by Sauron. But oh look. Sauron’s going around touching stuff. Literally picks up the mithril that will make the rings.

4. See, Halbrand’s line about giving “a gift” is okay subtlety! One of Sauron’s names meant “giver of gifts.” Plant the seeds slowly. Show him working his way gradually into becoming friends with the elves, then maybe trusted to play around in the forge, then helping make rings for the dwarves, then suspected, then -

No? We’re going to skip all that and immediately suspect him? Awesome.

5. And of COURSE Nancy Galadriel Drew has to be the one to crack the case. She has no reason to suspect Halbrand! He says one thing that Adar says, and he’s immediately a villain to her. Girl, remind me never to be your ally. You are more fickle than a squirrel trying to cross the road.

6. Oh good lord. We have time to shoe-horn Elendil’s daughter into all this?

7. Aaaaaaaaaaand now Sauron’s helping with the actual forging of the three elven rings. So much for unsullied by Sauron’s hand!

8. Elrond talking about how quickly they’re making the rings: “Three weeks for a labor that could take three centuries.” 

I don’t know if they’re making fun of us with this, but yes, all this SHOULD take three centuries. Three weeks? We’re seriously going to do the forging of the rings in PART of ONE EPISODE?!

9. HUZZAH! HARFOOT DEATH!

10. The three witchy ladies talk about Gandalf by saying “He is the other. The Istar.” THE other? As if it’s just Sauron v. Gandalf. And *gasp* This guy is Gandalf?! Who would have guessed?!

11. Because Gandalf spoke to that moth in the movies, he’s mothman now?

12. They’re really going to end the season with the lie that Isildur is dead?

13. The Sauron reveal. Okay, buckle up.

So Galadriel gets suspicious and SUPER mad at Halbrand when she discovers he’s not king of the Southlands. Problem is, SHE is the one who insisted that that was his identity! SHE was the one who told all of the Numenoreans that he was king! SHE was the one who poked and prodded him to take up that title! This reveal has no weight for many reasons, one of them being it is a lie GALADRIEL CREATED AND PERPETUATED. 

Then we get the reveal, and man oh man. One vague accusation, and they have Sauron go completely mask-off and smile like an over-the-top villain. All he’s missing is a mustache. Where is the master manipulator?! He could EASILY twist her suspicions. 

Then Sauron proceeds to point out fact after fact after fact. Ultimately, Galadriel is the reason Sauron is a villain again. Kill me. Gone is Galadriel the hero. In her place is now a woman with a guilty conscience trying to clean up the massive mess she made.

THEN, the temptation scene. Some cool visuals of the reflections in the water, but why does Galadriel’s temptation have to be tied to her romantic attractions. She can’t be tempted by power for its own sake? She has to be lured in by a sexy face and a soft lilt to the voice? Which, fine...if we didn’t already know her as someone who consistently throughout Tolkien is drawn to the idea of power without the need for all that. 

I’m so over these showrunners who constantly bragged about their strong female characters. You have single-handedly stripped this goddess of a character to be a sniveling, obnoxious, self-righteous piece of cardboard who has every single step of her journey defined by the men that surround her. Now, as the final insult, you make her quest to save Middle-Earth tied to her sexuality and a made-up guilt rooted in creating the very monster that will nearly destroy everything in the world. I. HATE. THIS. SHOW!!!!!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. Sauron’s final threat is to remind Galadriel that he lives because of her. She replies, “And you will die because of me.” This is her promise. SHE will be responsible for Sauron’s defeat. Not only have you diminished Galadriel, you are now diminishing the ring-bearers who actually bring about Sauron’s demise. THEY’RE LESSENING THE HEROISM OF FRODO AND SAM!!!!!! You come for Sam and Frodo, YOU DIE!!!!!!!!!!!

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Let’s get back to the stupid elven rings thing.

14. Elrond says the rings must be untouched by hands other than elves’. Look at that. Even the show insists the three rings shouldn’t be touched by Sauron. The show that just showed him touching them five minutes ago. 

15. The Harfoot goodbye takes FOREVER. 

16. “Always follow your nose.” Good. Freaking. Grief. See, in another show, I might have been delighted with this line. I might have smiled with glee and cried, “Gandalf!” But no. That which is beautiful is soured by the foul fingers of these greedy, talentless showrunners.

17. I’m so confused by the picking and choosing. So in some ways they try to match the Jackson aesthetic (Balrog, basic elven and hobbit design, Sauron armor, etc.). Then they go and totally ignore it in others, specifically the design of the three rings. 

18. I still can’t believe they showed their hand. Their two big mysteries: Sauron and Gandalf, and they revealed both in a single episode and in the first season. AND they forged the three rings.

19. P.S. I hate the credits song.

20. Random things of note: Lol, no balrog. No Theo and fam, thank goodness. No Isildur? 

I hate it all, but at last, it. is. DONE.

[sotwk]

Whag do you think about Lord of The Rings: The rings of power?

Did you watched it? If not, why? If yes, why?

Oooh! A bit of a controversial question, but one that I am happy to finally be asked, so I can give my thoughts and opinions about it. Thank you for the Ask, @estethell!!

My Thoughts on "The Rings of Power"

When I heard a new Tolkien/Middle-earth series was coming out, I was super excited about it. I watched the first two episodes the very evening it came out on Amazon. My excitement was so contagious, I even got my husband (who wouldn't know an elf from a dwarf) to sit down and watch it with me for like 5 whole minutes.

Now, the truth: my initial excitement about the series quickly dropped about four episodes in. The storyline and characterizations just weren't really what I expected (actually, I'm not even sure what my expectations were, except that they were high), and so my interest dwindled in my disappointment.

However, a few weeks later, after all the episodes had been released, I sat back down to finish the series, and my impressions of it improved overall.

I wouldn't say I love Rings of Power, but there are enough things about it that I liked and enjoyed to be able to engage with others who do love it. It's kind of like the folks who didn't like The Hobbit movies, but are able to gush over Lee Pace's Thranduil anyway.

Stuff in Rings of Power that I liked:

Liked BEST: Young Elrond, and the way he was portrayed as such a wise and kind lord by Robert Aramayo (so handsomely elf-y!).

A Close Second: Durin IV and Disa. What a wonderful couple that brought just the right amount of comic relief.

The chance to see Khazad-dum in its glory.

Poppy Proudfellow. We all need a friend like her.

The music/soundtrack, ESPECIALLY the song "This Wandering Day" Poppy sang--I literally cried when she sang it.

Arondir. He was a such sweetheart and I hope he comes back next season.

Adar. The take on orcs being corrupted elves is one I embrace.

Elendil and Isildur. Excellent acting on Lloyd Owen's part, and I liked Maxim Baldry's earnestness.

Halbrand. I'll admit, I wasn't too impressed or happy with the revelation of him as Sauron, but the character alone as it stands was actually very good, and very well portrayed by Charlie Vickers.

Stuff I didn't like so much (so probably don't ask me about them 'cause I prefer not to dwell on critiques):

Short-haired elves. Just not a fan, purely a preference thing.

Galadriel being short. This is petty and minor, but for some reason, even though Morfydd Clark did a fine job, it bugged me to see Galadriel looking UP at mortal men.

Celebrimbor cast as an older man. So sorry, Charles Edwards is a lovely actor, but this was far from what I had in mind for the character.

Eärien. Normally I will give OCs a chance, but I did not like this one. Felt really unnecessary, and the screen time should have been given to Anárion, wherever he might be.

The poor armor design and nerfing of the Numenorean army.

Portrayal of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain. Again, I expected much more.

The origin story of mithril. Such a strange choice.

WAY, WAAAAAAY too much CGI. Why is everything so shiny??

Overall low/poor production value. But honestly, there is never gonna be another production like Peter Jackson's trilogy. It's sad, but filmmakers just don't do that anymore. I hope someone proves me wrong.

I remain conflicted about the following:

The Haladriel ship. I'm a Celeborn fan (I have some lovely HCs about him and his ties to Thranduil), and I ship Galadriel with him. However, the way Halbrand looks at Galadriel just does something to me, so even though I'm not sold, my mind is open to it as an AU. I blame Charlie Vickers being such a charming rogue.

The Elf-Human love story. Arondir and Bronwynn were sweet and convincing, and I did swoon for them, but... this is just so overdone already. Couldn't we have just featured other kinds of relationships?

The revised origin of Gandalf. I kind of get it, and I appreciate the relationship between him and the Hobbit progenitors... but it's kind of also weird.

Halbrand as Sauron. I plan on withholding judgement until I see where they are going with this in Season 2.

Overall Rating and Conclusion:

62% fresh SotWK Tomato Rating

I choose to just be HAPPY and GRATEFUL that we have another cinematic adaptation to the Tolkien fandom, however flawed it might be.

Definitely looking forward to Season 2 and I will definitely watch it.

Positive vibes ONLY, please! I am happy to publicly post and gush with others about the good points of RoP. But I will not have public bashing of things other fans might love and enjoy. I am very against crapping on the things others love, even if I might hate them myself.

If anyone wants to discuss the things I dislike about RoP, we can do it via DM or private Asks.

Everyone has a right to enjoy whatever they want in this show; let's just all respect each others' differences in tastes and opinions! <3

[aintinacage]

I would just like to put something out there for you Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fans! (Spoiler free)

You can take this or leave it, but please read. For those of you that are hesitant to watch The Rings of Power, please don’t be. I know people are giving it really bad reviews, but that doesn’t mean you’ll hate it. A lot of people giving hate reviews haven’t even seen the series (not all, but most, or they watch only a little bit). They just assume. Please don’t shrink away from this opportunity just because you read bad reviews. There are also really good reviews. You may really like it!

I know people who have seen all of the movies and read all of the books (and love them), and they loved the series! In fact I was just talking to one in person, and she was telling me how much she loved how it tied into the rest of the movies. She also couldn’t believe how hateful people were being towards it.

I get it, they changed some things, but I am asking you to give it a chance. Don’t go into it with a negative attitude though. I have learned from experience that if you go into it thinking you’ll hate it, you’ll hate it. Go in open with zero expectations. You may really enjoy it! And I also know that we all have different opinions and you may just not like it… but what if you do? Try it.

[war-in-time]

I told myself I wouldn’t watch the rings of power on Amazon but my father turned on the first episode while I was in the room and I decided to watch with him since it would save me the trouble of having to pirate it later and the show was already getting a view.

And in all honesty the best way I can describe the first two episodes is boring, uneventful, and unnecessary. In two hours of runtime, the episode are both a hour each, nothing of importance is established. I know a lot of people say the same thing about the first lotr and hobbit movie, that it’s boring and has a long set up: while that may be true the set ups do give us vital information that is necessary for understanding the story. The rings of power does not. There are so many characters introduced at once and nothing that any of them do really matters.

Gladriel being on the ship to Valinor is useless and has no meaning because we already know that she stayed in middle earth since she’s in the lotr.

Nori taking her siblings to the old farm and there was a ‘wolf’ that spotted them has had no impact and even if that does result in something later it’ll feel too late and far away from its initial set up.

Gandalf(?) crashing out of the sky and not being able to talk in the common tongue is straight up wrong. I have a feeling they will say that it is Gandalf in the show, but Gandalf didn’t appear in middle earth until after the rings of power were forged, where the first person he met was Cirdan and he gave him one of those rings, and they had a normal conversation so he was able to speak and understand him.

I spent the entire first two episodes trying to figure out what was going on and I couldn’t even begin to piece a possible plot line together. My father was even more confused about everything since he’s never even read the silmarilion. This show does a horrendous job of setting up a world that we are meant to be invested in because it give us nothing to invest in.

*also as a off topic thought, the symbol that Galadriel found that looks kind of like the eye of Sauron looks way too much like the “o” on monster energy drinks for me to take it seriously*

[viberevstudios]

Discussion Topics: GEEK BROS approved Video Games, Movie and Tv Series! Ant-Man: Quantumania official trailer reaction, Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special trailer reaction, Henry Cavill officially announces his return as Superman, Doctor Who moves to Disney+, Elon Musk officially takes over Twitter, Vision Quest may be coming to Disney+, James Gunn & Peter Safran named new heads of Warner Bros.′ DC studios, Andor series review Thus Far…Jason Voorhees Actor, Passed Away at 96, Netflix Replaces Henry Cavill In Witcher, Rings of Power Series Reaction & Picard Season 3 trailer Reaction! All this and more on this week’s episode of the Keepin’ Up With The GEEK BROS podcast! TUNE IN here - https://webegeekspc.com/keepin-up-with-the-geek-bros-podcast-the-162nd/

[gentlynews]

‘The Rings Of Power’ Episode 4 Recap And Review: An Epic Disappointment

‘The Rings Of Power’ Episode 4 Recap And Review: An Epic Disappointment

The Rings Of Power Miriel and Galadriel Credit: Amazon I’m so disappointed in Amazon’s The Rings Of Power. I genuinely thought it got off to an incredible start, introducing us to a breathtaking Middle-earth, alive with glittering elven cities and magic. Sure, the first two episodes didn’t give us much time to really get to know any of the characters, but I chocked this up to stage-setting. This…

[forestphantom05]

My Thoughts on Watching The Rings of Power

Is it every bit the disappointment I thought it would be, disrespecting the timelines, plots, character motives, and canon of Tolkien's work?

Yes.

Is it an enjoyable story with spot on cinematography, sets, new characters, and dialog that reflect the soul of Middle Earth?

Also Yes.

I am disappointed, but also... not. Perhaps that's because I went into this show expecting it to be bad. Approaching it now however as passionate fanfiction, I think there's a chance I may enjoy this series after all. Dare I say I may have even liked the first two episodes despite how much I know I shouldn't have.

I knew it would be off canon, but my biggest fear was that it would be a copy cat styled imitation of Game of Thrones, and I am relieved to be proven wrong (so far). It's not right, yet even so it still feels like Middle Earth somehow.

And for now, that's good enough for me.

[simptasticjoe]

Rings of Power Season 2?

Bold move to crap on your fan base and then beg them to come back.

[local-redhead-bookworm]

Okay, so I finally finished Rings of Power, and I have to concede, I was too harsh on it initially. It’s actually a really solid show, and it does a pretty good job of filling the gaps. A lot of the complaints I had either resolved themselves later on, or I realized were because they didn’t have rights to the Silmarillion and resigned myself to those discrepancies.

I really liked all the characters they added, but especially Disa, Bronwyn, and Arondir.

Adar and the Uruks are hands-down my favorite addition, because I’ve always been intrigued by the Orcs and thought, surely that isn’t all there is, surely they aren’t just pure evil. I like the direction they took Uruk culture.

I like the Harfoots and the Stranger too, kind of getting an origin story for Gandalf. Also seeing the start of Hobbit society.

I think they foreshadowed the Sauron reveal really well, I had Halbrand pinned as Sauron from episode two and “appearances can be deceiving.” The shots of him watching the forge, the way he took on four men at once, the ease with which he snapped a man’s arm, “call it…a gift,” it was all there. I knew enough lore that I was able to pick up the clues

All the actors are doing a fantastic job, and I really like the dynamics that all these characters have with each other.

The landscapes and cinematography are all beautiful, and Bear McCreary knocked it out of the park with the music.

I do have a few critiques:

The pacing drags a bit in some places. However, I am willing to let that slide because Tolkien’s own work is very slow-paced sometimes, and I like that it allowed us time to get acquainted with the characters.

The costuming could be better. I think that especially when it comes to the Elves, their clothes are too simple. Galadriel, Gil-Galad, and Celebrimbor are Noldor, and Elrond was raised by the Noldor. The Noldor are the really fancy-schmancy upper class Elves, so I think they should be in more ornate clothing, more jewelry. I also still haven’t forgiven the costume department for Miriel’s printed knit scale-mail pattern shirt.

I still strongly dislike the short hair on all the Elves. It works for Elrond, but everyone else…Finrod’s short hair did him such a disservice, Celebrimbor is…Celebrimbor. But they really missed an opportunity by not giving Arondir long hair. Ismael Cruz-Cordova would have simply been too powerful with long braids, I guess.

I do think Charles Edwards is too old to play Celebrimbor. Don’t get me wrong, he plays the role very well, but given how young Morfydd Clark looks as Galadriel, Celebrimbor looks far too old.

I think there are times that the dialogue tries to be grand and just comes out awkward. “There is a tempest in me” and “Whenever I speak, his ears close up.” “So speak louder.” were the two most obvious instances. It’s not terrible all around, but I think the dialogue just falls flat in some places.

Also I still wanna know, what happened to Celeborn? If he went missing in action, then is he just gonna turn up some time later in the show with a whole lot of trauma, like Celebrian?? Where is Celeborn???

[miredinmiddleearth]

Rings of Power, Ep. 5 Review - Slowly Losing My Mind

I don’t know if I can keep going. This show has broken me. Here are my thoughts on episode five:

1. Harfoot explains about migrating from place to place, eating food they didn’t plant or nurture or stick around to care for. Gosh, can’t put my finger on why that sounds familiar...Almost like a certain company...

2. Creepy people in white from the trailer are finally here! For exactly thirty seconds and zero purpose.

3. Prediction: Adar (aka orc elf) is related to Gil-galad somehow. Same squiggle armor is worn by both.

4. Summary of my feelings on the middle of the episode: Don’t care. Don’t care. Sloppy. Boring. Dumb. I’d break these thoughts down by scene and characters, but that requires effort, and why should I put in any effort when the show doesn’t, either?

5. The guttural, exhausted noise I made when I realized they were going to have Galadriel spar with the Numenorean cadets. There’s time for this? Also, she steps in to “teach” the cadets how to kill an orc. I am not kidding when I say her lesson is...stab it. That’s it. Stab the orc. Brilliant advice, Galadriel. Really wouldn’t have thought of that. 

Then we proceed to watch a terribly choreographed, slow sword fight so Galadriel can look like she’s cool or something? Definitely doesn’t work.

6. Oh good, show that brags about feminism and championing women uses women as set dressing during the table scene. We can’t just have a table of men. We need women at the table. They need character names? Lines of dialogue? Nah. Just sit them at the table.

7. Just when you think the show couldn’t get any dumber, they hereby present to you - Mithril: An Amazon Original Origin Story. Featuring made up Silmaril lore, a balrog, an unnamed elf, a tree, and an accidental lightning strike.

8. Guys. It hurts. The Gil-galad conversation with Elrond goes to places that are too stupid for words. Contradictions galore, mixed up and messed up character motivations, and inventions that totally destroy whatever direction the world could go. Prepare for the stupid:

In this show, the process of elves dwindling has just begun. Why? Don’t ask questions. But boy oh boy, the solution. Apparently their goal is to get as much mithril as possible and “saturate” the elves. I AM NOT JOKING.

What are they going to do? Gather the elves into a circle and rub mithril on their skin? Go to a mithril spa? Shoot a laser beam through a mithril shard at a crowd of all the elves? WHY DOES MITHRIL NEED A BACKSTORY OR SUCH A PURPOSE? WHY IS IT SUDDENLY THE ROOT OF ELVEN IMMORTALITY AND SALVATION THEWERHUWIEFHBALHUIQZ GAH.

ALSO. Let’s remember that this show is largely about the fall of Numenor. In case you didn’t know, Numenor falls because its people grow so desperate for immortality that they seek it in Valinor, and are thus punished in the most extreme way possible. I guess they should have just mined some mithril!

9. Elrond makes a giant deal of not breaking his oath to Durin about keeping mithril a secret, as he should. Then he proceeds to give Celebrimbor the mithril shard and doesn’t count that as breaking his oath. How does this make sense?

10. Two ships get blown up (gosh, don’t get me started on the extreme lack of character motivations),  and Numenor has three ships left. Wait wait wait. Numenor. Greatest naval force ever. Island nation. Has five ships TOTAL? 

11. Emotional moment between Galadriel and Halbrand not earned. Blah blah blah. I’m terrible at leading. I’m annoying. Yeah we know. We see it literally in every scene you’re in.

12. Absolutely no idea why Elendil’s daughter is here or what she wants. 

13. The armor. Look, I don’t understand the choice to give a horse-y aesthetic to the Numenorean soldiers. Horse tails on helmets? For an island nation not known for their horses? Where would they get so much hair? Also, lol, those “nose guards.”

14. Where did Galadriel get the custom armor she wears at the end? She showed up on the island in rags. Are they implying Halbrand made it in, like, a week? Why do I keep asking for basic storytelling competency? Search me!

15. One brief positive: I could listen to Elendil’s delivery of “For Middle-earth” about five million times.

16. You’re telling me they’re bringing 500 men on those three little ships? And the preview for next week implies they’re bringing a whole cavalry of horses, too? Is there an iceberg worth of boat under the water?

Guess what. The episode ends in the same place they started the episode. Numenoreans are gearing up to go to middle earth. All the conflict got us back to where we started. What a great use of an hour to tell a story. I am so done. I don’t think I can do this again. If this is the last time I review, may I just say...

UGGHGHGHGHGGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGGGGGHGHHHHGGHGHGHGH

[social-vifree]

Rings of Power Episode 8 Explained Tamil | Rings of Power Tamil Review | The Lord Of The Rings

Rings of Power Episode 8 Explained Tamil | Rings of Power Tamil Review | The Lord Of The Rings

Rings of Power Episode 8 Explained Tamil | Rings of Power Tamil Review | The Lord Of The Rings Rings of Power Episode 7 Explained Rings of Power Episode 6 Tamil Explained Rings of Power Episode 5 Tamil Explained Rings of Power Episode 4 Tamil Explanation Rings of Power Episode 3 Tamil Explanation Rings of Power Episode 2 Tamil Explanation Rings of Power Episode 1 Tamil Explanation The Lord…

[agentnico]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season 1 (2022) Review

Should’ve just called it Bored of the Rings.

Plot: This series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," and takes viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy are my favourite films of all time. And no, I’m not just making a generic throwaway “oh, it’s just one of my many favourite films” line, nope. The Lord of the Rings movies are my top, my peak, my all time favourites films that have ever graced my eye peripherals. I absolutely adore them. I grew up watching them, so of course nostalgia is a major game player here, but also these movies are simply great. An exciting quest to throw the One Ring into Mount Doom, the many wonderful characters that are part of this journey, the beautiful vistas of New Zealand (or how I call it - Middle Zealand) and the epic musical score by the one and only Howard Shore. The Lord of the Rings is that rare major studio product that works in all areas. The matching of J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material with director Peter Jackson’s vision was a match literally made in heaven. The costumes, the battles, the action, the drama, the creatures, Gollum, Sean Bean’s best death scene....it’s all nothing short of epic! Then there is The Hobbit trilogy, that kind of proved that the same spark doesn’t light twice, as even though it had the exactly same production team behind it, it was still a massive unashamed cash grab. Look, they took a small children’s book and turned it into three massive films. It’s a mess, and yes, even though I do find enjoyment in the first two of that trilogy (we don’t talk about The Battle of the Five Armies), it’s got nothing on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. So naturally when Amazon announced they were making a LOTR series, I was weary but hella excited. I knew that there was no way this show would reach the heights of the mastery of the original trilogy, but I absolutely gravitated towards the idea of going back to Middle Earth. And now the first season of The Rings of Power has concluded, and I am here to shed my thoughts upon it...

I have two words - dang it! They f-ed it. They bloody f-ed it. They had one job. One job - to make a semi-interesting show set in Middle Earth, and they couldn’t even do that! Look, let’s talk about the positives first though. Visually this show looks amazing. And of course it does, Jeff Bezos evidently doesn’t know what to do with all of his endless Amazon money, so he spared no expense in pumping this series with so much money that you can literally see the cash pouring out of the screen. The costumes, the visual effects, the colours, the technical gravitas, it all looks great! Yet even then, you can tell something is missing. In Peter Jackson’s original trilogy, yes they had the many wide shots of the New Zealand highlands and mountains, but also you could see the passion and ambition behind every shot. Those movies were made with love and care and precision. In The Rings of Power there is lots of gorgeous scenery, but it seems to miss that charm and care that Jackson had. But again, I cannot expect this show to recapture the original trilogy’s magic, nor would it be fair to expect so, so yes, I’ll admit this show looks lovely. Again though, they had the money for it. The music by Bear McCreary too was actually very Middle-Earthian, with some powerful melodies, choir and orchestral tones, and though it’s got nothing on Howard Shore, I actually give McCreary props for conjuring an original score that I think is befit of Tolkien’s world. Also, the opening titles at the beginning of each episode is a musical sequence of matter forming various shapes, based on the "Music of the Ainur" creation myth from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", and I actually was impressed with how they did that. Like that was actually proper Tolkien, And that’s really it when it comes to the positives.

As for the negative, I’m just going to come out and say it - this show is boring. Each episode is over an hour long and especially in the first half of the season nothing really happens. I have no problem with world building, but this is ridiculous. Each episode is super slow and characters take ages to have their needed revelations and decisions made, and I was sitting there thinking “I know where this is going, just get on with it!”. And they did get on with it, only two or three episodes later. The script and writing is pretty poor also. The dialogue does nothing to make you care for any of these characters, and this is a huge ensemble, and honestly I couldn’t care about any of them. Except maybe the dwarf, he’s chill. And Elrond also. Okay, so a couple are somewhat worthy, but as a whole none of the characters are memorable, and most of them are very one-dimensioned. But let’s talk about the main character - Galadriel. What the fudge have they done with her?? She’s supposed to be this angelic higher being with the gift of foresight and magic, and one that cares about the lives of all (men and elves. Yet here she is an angry indecisive self-entitled warrior who is rude to everyone, has zero diplomacy skills, and throws a fit every 5 seconds like a teenager who's dad's got his daughter a Ford Focus for a first car but she wanted a Lexus. And no offence to the actress playing her (Morfydd Clark), but her facial expressions were always the same annoyed look. And how are we as an audience supposed to care about what’s happening when the main character is so unlikeable. Made me want to root for Sauron.

And speaking of Sauron, the entire plot of this first season is simply ‘who’s Sauron?’. That’s it. Other minor things do happen, but the main thing is that question. For that to be your main plot point for a whole season is pretty weak. But that seems to really be the only thing the writers cared about. And the reveal at end, all I’ll say is - eh. I expected more to be honest. And that’s my feeling for this show as a whole - eh. As a Lord of the Rings show it’s really disappointing. As just a fantasy show, its ok. Kind of a chore to tune in every week. However I will admit the last couple of episodes of the season pick up more and show potential when it comes for the future, so I will keep an open mind for the second season, however that next season will be decider for it I will continue watching the entire show till the end. As so far to put it bluntly - it’s been a joke. Sorry Jeff Bezos, all the money in the world is not the answer to a good adaptation. So as Gimli would say - Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!

Overall score: 3/10

[war-in-time]

Rings of power continued review and thought. I’m watching still mainly due to my father being interested in the show.

Episode 3 was honestly kind of an improvement in pacing, there was stuff happening and it kind of looks like a plot is going to slowly be built. Apart from the huge cannon inaccuracies (this show will be little more then a fanfic in my mind) the main struggle of the show is what I will call the eternals problem.

The eternals problem comes from the eternals movie, in short: it’s having too many characters to introduce at once and not giving any of them enough screen time. The dwarves were missing from all of episode 1 and 3, Galadriel was missing from half of episode 2, Bronwyn and her son were missing from episode 3, etc..

The point is, they’re introducing so many characters but with so little plot that it makes the show kind of unwatchable. There’s no purposed to any of the characters really existing and the pacing would be a lot better if they got rid of at least half of them. Due to the non existing plot for the time being most of the episodes feel like filler.

The worst part of this episode was the slow motion shots of Galadriel on horse back (I’m sorry to the actress but she looked creepy as hell) and the slow motion made the episode drag even more then it already was in the first place.

I can’t really say who this show is made for in all honesty. Hardcore fans of the series are hating it due to major lore changes and casual watchers (like my dad) are getting confused by every other thing that comes up in the show. It’s an overall bad delivery of a show.

[reportwire]

‘The Rings Of Power’ Season 1 Finale Recap And Review: A Dreadful Mess

‘The Rings Of Power’ Season 1 Finale Recap And Review: A Dreadful Mess

The Rings Of Power Ben Rothstein/Prime Video The Rings Of Power has wrapped up its first season and all I can say is . . . shame on everyone who had a hand in this travesty. I’ve never seen an adaptation of a major work so badly abused, so fundamentally altered or so disrespectfully handled as the creators of The Rings Of Power have treated The Lord Of The Rings. Tolkien’s creation barely shines…