Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power [Amazon] Spoilers

Tony EH · 20-09-2022 6:22pm

Ep 4 done and while it was a bit of an improvement here and there, I think I'm close to bailing on this. I'm just not enjoying it and sit there wondering why I'm even bothering when I could be watching something else better instead. None of this is Tolkien and I don't think Amazon ever really intended it to be. It's really their own fantasy world and they've just raped a popular brand name that fans and casuals would have been aware of.

It's still not utterly dreadful, but it's just so dull and uninteresting which really shouldn't be the case. I just cannot, for the life of me, see how this is going to last over 2 series, never mind the proposed 5. It kinda puts me in mind of 'Wayward Pines' or 'Under the Dome' or something like that, where everything became laboured very quickly and the wheels fell off resulting in a cancellation because people stopped watching.

billyhead · 20-09-2022 7:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119643022#Comment_119643022

I'm the same. When I'm switching between browsing on my phone and watching something on TV there's a problem somewhere and this series is just getting uninteresting. The acting is terrible.

thomas 123 · 22-09-2022 9:05am

Any predictions for tomorrow ?

ahnowbrowncow · 22-09-2022 10:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119649173#Comment_119649173

Galadriel gets into a fight with a horde of orcs. She pushes them all into a prison cell. The end.

MisterAnarchy · 22-09-2022 3:39pm

https://twitter.com/MelonieMac/status/1572623837644132354

lol

silverharp · 22-09-2022 8:15pm

There were no harfoots last week, payback.....

Loafing Oaf · 22-09-2022 8:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652239#Comment_119652239

Surely it's past time they gave some sort of steer on Starman's identity...

liamtech · 23-09-2022 12:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119649173#Comment_119649173

Galadriel behaves insufferably
Harfoots behaving insufferably
Durin and Elrond talking about things that fans already know

What i actually WANT to see (and what will undoubtedly be 10% of the episode)

Adar
The hilt
Sauron to actually show up

Id take to Melkor Worship just to get this show moving

a_squirrelman · 23-09-2022 12:38pm

Some of you are way OTT in this thread.

It's a decent enough watch, far from perfect but nowhere near the train wreck you make it out to be here.

thomas 123 · 23-09-2022 1:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654810#Comment_119654810

decent enough watch /= most expensive tv show ever made.

the writing is trash and assumes the audience are Morons.

in todays episode the harfoots walked a fair distance across the world and in the same time a day on numenor passed - it’s just a massive lack of attention to detail.

I actually thought that when halbrand started talking about how he ended up on the raft that he was one of the villagers in the southlands and we were going to have multiple timelines which would have made sense - that would have been too complex for us to handle though.

The casual stroll between Moria and lindon reared it’s head again . It’s literally the distance travelled by frodo and Sam in the LOTR… Elrond heads over and back like he’s nipping to Aldi.

corkie · 23-09-2022 1:44pm

https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Partings_%28episode%29

https://variety.com/2022/tv/recaps/rings-of-power-recap-episode-5-1235381338/

Better episode than last week,

nix · 23-09-2022 2:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654810#Comment_119654810

Ah some people just have standards, some dont.. Some like to pay full attention to whats happening on screen and become engrossed, when a lot of stupid **** happens it takes them out of it and they just become annoyed at whats on screen, which is whats happening alot with this show as you can see from the responses here..

And then some people dont really pay attention to what they're watching because they have their head in their phone or are chatting away to whoever else is in the room while "watching" it.. Or they just aint too bright and have no standards god bless em!

With a show of this budgetry scale and the IP, it should be top tier efforts all round, its not and very noticeable, which will understandably anger/annoy a lot.. Again as you can see in the responses here..

BruteStock · 23-09-2022 3:42pm

At the start it was watchable , now its becoming unwatchable. Its just so dreary , bland and uninteresting.

Last weeks climax was assembling a crew to ferry Galadriel to Middle Earth. This weeks climax was Galadriel boarding the ship and taking off. All that should have happened in one episode.

There's been some damage control recently over the shows portrayal of Galadriel. The excuse being she's going through some sort of arc or something

But's then the audience was meant to be awestruck when she boarded the ship in full armour. The scene was utter cringe because nobody likes Galadriel.

The showrunners obviously thought they had written a character everybody would like , otherwise that scene makes no sense.

The Harfoots were once again cringe. What is the point of Isildur's sister. Pfarazon is a cretin, cant stand him. I can't remember a word Arondir and Theo said to each other. They are going overboard with the music to create suspense and drama because they are incapable of writing it. . It's dreadful.

To cut the show a bit of slack , it was made two years ago during the pandemic. Thats a lot of time to reflect on mistakes made. There's a chance to make it better and if it improves season 1 can be given a pass for being a learning curve.

corkie · 23-09-2022 4:33pm

https://screenrant.com/lotr-rings-of-power-mithril-retcon-explained/

Mithril retconned in this episode. And did we see the Balrog from the trailers in this episode flashback?

sekiro · 23-09-2022 4:42pm

So the Numenoreans, who last week hated elves, decided to whip up a full set of Elvish armor for Galadriel so that she could be distinctive from the rest of the army? She didn't bring the armor with her, we know that for sure. Halbrand also just gets some random set of armor that was lying around to help him stand out too. He didn't bring any with him either. That's fortunate.

Hilarious that in LOTR Bilbo and Frodo are cutting about with a Mithril vest, which can now prolong the lives of elves, while all the elves are fading and leaving middle-earth. Haha. Just what we all wanted. An origin story for Mithril, of all things.

Galadriel training montage was funny. Kind of like something you might see in Pirates of the Caribbean or movie with a similar tone. I don't understand exactly why the show needs to portray her as being so overpowered. They could have easily had her match up with a Numenorean soldier and the duel is evenly balanced, and she is impressed by their skills. Instead it's two episodes back to back where she can easily deal with multiple opponents. It's just laughably bad.

All that money spent and they can't put together a decent action scene.

thomas 123 · 23-09-2022 6:10pm

The Galadriel sword play scene again is tosh. I agree with what your saying about it looking comedic - it struck me as something you would see in a pantomime - also the attackers even took convinent breaks on screen which I though just looked so bad.

It feeds into a bigger issue for me though , these guys are probably going to their death against a foe they know little about and the tone of the whole episode is weird as such aside from isildurs sister who appears to be the only person on the island who realizes this. They managed to recreate the faramir scene but also managed to strip all weight and gravitas out of it.

corkie · 23-09-2022 8:00pm

https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/715179-rings-of-power-episode-5-mysterious-figures-white-easterlings-rhun

Played by Bridie Sisson, and confirmed not to be the Dark Lord Sauron by executive producer Lindsey Weber, viewers are wondering exactly who this strange person might be, along with the others dressed similarly beside them.

So not Slim-Sauron then.

silverharp · 23-09-2022 9:00pm

The cringe cuts deeper than the sword

https://twitter.com/galadriyen/status/1573214274801074177

liamtech · 23-09-2022 9:24pm

Timelines and theories

So in this episode

The Harfoots travel halfway across Middle Earth - on foot
Durin, Gilgalad, and Elrond have dinner
There is some politicking in Numenor
The humans in BeForedor argue a bit

Assuming my Nerd Hat for a moment, i see three possibilities

EXTREME GRAVITY INDUCED TIME DILATION: So we know that gravity (in theory) can effect the flow of time, for example, close to the event horizon of a black hole. Someone falling into said hole would not specifically notice this, but someone looking INTO aforementioned hole, would see the falling person slow down, and eventually seem to stop. What if this is what is happening in the show!!!! It could be that the evil of Sauron, and ~~Not Sauron~~ Adar is so over whelming that, it is wrenching a whole in the space time continuum. We could get proof if Meteor man would construct an Enormous telescope, and point it at Lindon; would they see several elves and a dwarf moving incredibly slowly, as to be nearly imperceptible! Or Numenorians drinking pints impossibly slow!? Who Knows!!!
Different Timelines - Maybe the true timeline is actually Elronds - and everyone else' story finished long ago. Will we get dialogue to confirm this? (Elrond: Hey Gil-galad me auld flower, did ye ever here of some sap in the south named Adar? Apparently runnin a mock, burning villages and being a bit of a ****k? Gil-Galad: AH YEA YOUR MAN. Yea a *&%&ing tosser, so he was. I went down there with me crew - bleedin knee capped him so i did ye)
Inept Writing staff failed to make things actually line up coherently; due to spending most of their time giving interviews about how this was true to Tolkien, and how they always refer back to the source material

My Opinion

This is a joke tbh. Stuff happened, but the dialogue is still horrendous. The Mithril story line - i mean WHY??? Was there a line of people just dying to know the origin story of Mithril????

The show is just not for me. Im gonna keep watching this season, just out of morbid curiosity. Also would like to know if Halbrand is Sauron, or if its all misdirection -

Also

A man has 5 ships

One explodes

Apparently he now has 3 ships -

Loafing Oaf · 23-09-2022 9:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657313#Comment_119657313

The show is just not for me. Im gonna keep watching this season

😝

lordgoat · 23-09-2022 9:52pm

This is garbage but at least it's a good homage to the source material so at least it has that going for it.

Rega · 23-09-2022 11:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657313#Comment_119657313

I thought two ships blew up, no? The one they sabotaged and the one beside it?

thomas 123 · 24-09-2022 12:33am

But but … the sea is always right …

another thought , this great sea faring nation didn’t have another ship or two to replace the two that burned down? I thought that was poor. Surely that’s 200/500 people down.

^ lack of detail again

kowloon · 24-09-2022 3:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119655044#Comment_119655044

The casual stroll between Moria and lindon reared it’s head again . It’s literally the distance travelled by frodo and Sam in the LOTR… Elrond heads over and back like he’s nipping to Aldi.

Brilliant :D

MakersMark · 24-09-2022 7:33am

Why does Lenny Henry have an Irish Traveller accent?

Talk about cultural appropriation!

thomas 123 · 24-09-2022 8:12am

It’s like they are trolling us, this time he’s going to complete the walk in a day with a marble table.

I suppose next week they will reveal an eagle airline or maybe a star gate.

inactually liked the bit of dialog between Elrond and daliin to he fair, easily the most likable characters(forgetting lotr Elrond) in the show:

pjohnson · 24-09-2022 8:33am

Middle Earth is smaller than Drumshanbo

odyssey06 · 24-09-2022 10:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119658357#Comment_119658357

Is that where they got the accent from?

And sure a few Numenor ships is enough to change the balance of power...

sekiro · 24-09-2022 11:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656498#Comment_119656498

I think they are trying to copy Jackson's LOTR movies to some extent while putting their own kind of twist on it. So at Helm's Deep we do see that the soldiers are not really ready for the battle ahead but this has been set up by having Eomer and his army sent away by the king. Here it feels like the scene with Galadriel is set up to showcase how good of a fighter Galadriel is. It would be like having Aragorn slap around 4 or 5 Rohan soldiers to show that they won't be able to fight Uruk-Hai. What would be the point?

Even when they show Boromir and Aragorn trying to teach the Hobbits in Fellowship they still go out of their way to show that the Hobbits are surprisingly handy if it comes down to it.

Remember in The Two Towers PJ shows Gandalf and the Balrog fighting on a mountain and there's lightning and fire and so on? Well check it out we've got "an elf" fighting a balrog on a mountain and there's lightning too!

The shows feels like they are trying to deconstruct LOTR and possibly a bit of Game of Thrones and then put all the pieces back together again in the expectation that it will wow audiences. Maybe they don't even care about audience reactions at all. Just get it out there and into the streaming library so it's another way to sell subscriptions.

I think Peter Jackson did mess with the lore in significant ways but in this case it feels like they are going way beyond that. With the way they are handling characters like Gil-Galad specifically it almost feels like they are intentionally trying to de-emphasize the lore. They've taken a look at the Gil-Galad from the books, the last high king of the Noldor, who led an army into Mordor and who duelled with Sauron directly, "his sword was long, his lance was keen, his shining helm afar was seen, the countless stars of heaven's field, were mirrored in his silver shield". They've read it and thought "nah, that's not for us, let's write him as a kind of morally ambiguous and maybe deceitful character"?

Safe to assume in the next few episodes we are going to see Amazon's attempt to rip-off PJ Ride of the Rohirrim or Forth Eorlingas scenes?

sekiro · 24-09-2022 11:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657313#Comment_119657313

I'll be amazed of this manages to go for 5 seasons as planned.

I think it's obvious now that the initial marketing campaign for this was deeply focused on smearing critics as sexist and racist because they knew that this show stinks. I don't think anyone sits down and watches these episodes and thinks it's actually all that great. They might think there are some good moments and they might think that the CGI is amazing but overall this isn't even coming close to Jackson's LOTR and it is actively dismantling Tolkien's lore.

thomas 123 · 24-09-2022 11:38am

I think so, it’s actually shite that we can predict the finale already.

the south lands apparently has one fortress… just one and this is where the epic battle will go down. Just one fortress and no attack could come anywhere else - there was no question . It’s so patchy like and lacking any logic whatsoever. Like how does Galadriel know what form the evil will take let alone where the attack will happen? Like is attacking that run down tower even a strategic target for either party or is it not just Adar wiping out some people in his way - makes zero sense to me.

ive rewatchd the hobbit trilogy(extended) and this stuff is total grabs he been compared to that. We have likable and unlikable people, an actual villan, and some folks we are unsure of - with well placed comic relief (Alfred and some of the dwarves) . Even adding Legolas and the red haired dwarf added to the lore and atmosphere.

sekiro · 24-09-2022 11:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657206#Comment_119657206

Ah, the Numenoreans, the Dunedain, Aragorns ancestors. A race of men who fought so well against Balrogs, Dragons and the armies of Morgoth that the GODS themselves gifted to them the island of Numenor at the start of the 2nd age (the time period this show takes place in).

You know what would be a great scene? Galadriel easily beating 4 soldiers of Numenor in combat. In two consecutive episodes. Brilliant.

I think that even 1980s and 90s WWF wrestling understood the concept of building up drama and giving characters a "push" than the writers of this rubbish. Why not build up the Numenoreans to make it clear that this battle with the orcs is going to be epic? Instead they job out the Numenoreans to Galadriel, why? Is this really what people want?

EltonJohn69 · 24-09-2022 12:00pm

Does the show pick up with episode 5 ? I am very tempted to pack it in. Did 3 and 4 very hungover and I think it did permanent damage to me both physically and mentally.

thomas 123 · 24-09-2022 12:20pm

It didn’t , we expected it woukd but it was just more of the same.

unrelated meme

Loafing Oaf · 24-09-2022 12:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119658859#Comment_119658859

Yeah the Numenoreans are almost as far from Tolkien's vision as the elves. Pretty sure when JRRT created Ar-Pharazon 'the Golden' he wasn't imagining him as a Brian Blessed impersonator...

liamtech · 24-09-2022 3:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119658794#Comment_119658794

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119658835#Comment_119658835

I cannot see it being renewed. I know a few fans have asked why people who dislike the show continue to watch it. I can answer that in a few simple ways, and i mean this genuinely

We wanted to love this. We are familiar with the franchise, the lore, the books and the films, and were excited
We are holding on to hope
We have a morbid curiosity, despite knowing its horrendous we just want to see if ANYTHING makes sense in season 1 (odds on the answer will be NO)

I went through this with Star Trek Discovery - Wanted to like it - found the good in season 1. Dealt with the disappointment of season 2 - became angry in season 3 - and packed it in mainly in season 4. Except this is now happening in the space of episodes for Rings of Power.

This show is an abomination. It is not the Lord of the Rings. It is, in fact, Fan Fiction

And the show runners and Writers, Payne and McKay, specifically told is, in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that this was not their story, it was Tolkiens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVpOcCw3RSs

Despite some of their own additions to the canon, that path doesn’t stray far from Tolkien’s writing. The showrunners have been repeating a mantra throughout interviews to show their decision making process: “we go back to the text.” Every decision they make apparently has some basis in some text that Tolkien actually wrote, despite the fact that he wrote surprisingly little about the Second Age, when The Rings of Power is set. I pressed them on how this actually manifested on a day to day basis. {QUOTE FROM ARTICLE}

https://www.thegamer.com/the-rings-of-power-showrunners-interview-patrick-mckay-jd-payne-lindsey-weber/

The fact is, i wanted to watch it. There is much i could forgive. The fact they are working off the appendices of LOTR-ROTK, meant there would be gaps. Which presented a wonderful opportunity for a skilled writer to step in. And fill in the blanks, and create the epic we all wanted. This is a failure, and i suspect the writing is on the wall. Even Nerd of the Rings YT Channel, is starting to seem a bit down beat on much of the dialogue, and the story. Maybe 2 seasons, at most 3 - but even that is in doubt for me, and i wont be watching after this run of EPS.

Bottom line is; If you like this show, i am genuinely pleased for you. For a Billion Dollars, i expected at least a few would like it. But i dont feel there are enough fans. I have not encountered too many. Those who do like it, seem to 'enjoy it despite the faults', and are happily 'unconcerned with Lore Breaks' - again this is fine, i wish you well. Genuinely i do.

The problem for Amazon is fairly obvious though. This was not a show for 'a few people to like and accept despite its flaws' - this was to be the greatest Television series ever, where no expense was spared. It was to be the new 'Game of Thrones' - i have yet to find a single person who views it as such. I have found glowing reviews (none recent it must be stated), who advertise the show as being the Greatest of all Time (GOAT) - but these are now few and far between.

As for the predictability of the show - horrendously predictable - below

Halbrand is obviously Sauron, or a Sauron Adjacent Character - if i could bet some money each way on this, it would be safe
The Southlanders will some how topple the tower. Numenor will arrive and fight with them
Southlanders wont recognize halbrand hence, the revelation
Rings will be discussed
Harfoots insufferable accents
A Wizard

Its just sad tbh - such a shame.

A final question

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4259881/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4260438/?ref_=nmnw_hd

Have a look at the above CV's for the show runners - and try to answer a simple question - and honestly, if anyone can explain - id love to hear opinions, and or hypotheses -

Question: Why would anyone give these two $1billion dollars to run a show?

sekiro · 24-09-2022 5:15pm

Question: Why would anyone give these two $1billion dollars to run a show?

Best guess? It's a bit conspiratorial but I reckon because they will do what they are told to do. A more experienced team would want to see their own specific vision on screen. This feels like it is made by a committee of marketing experts etc. Think of how many scenes and lines of dialogue are almost like for like copies of moments from Peter Jackson's LOTR. The "something for everyone" nature of the show too.

They will do what they are told to do. Less chance of "creative differences" which is a real risk when your boss has spent 1 billion and will want to have a say in things.

Slydice · 24-09-2022 8:06pm

Ohhhhh I'm soooo far behind!!

2: Alright.. many things happened here. Credits to the music too. It's so atmospheric .. ally?.. building. Looks to me that:

The elves might be about to build Sarumans tower

Mordor is getting setup in the south

The dwarves have hit on something but seems too early to have been the Balrog... the shinyness of the whatever was in the chest reminded me of Sting.. but pretty sure that needed an Orc around for it to glow.. and I didn't think I saw any Orc

One of the best parts for me was the Elf guard dude crawling around the tunnels and when he got out.. clearly the show was being Ooooh look scary.. but I was all like.. Roots! Trees! Ents! Those gotta be Ent hands!! Phew he's safe!! 😁

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582383#Comment_119582383

Definitely building on thinking that the dude who

dropped from the sky is Sauron. Not sure if the kid with the .. would it be a dagger of Sauron or something? .. anyway.. feels like maybe I should have a guess at who he might become. Not a clue though.. him maybe being Saruman feels wrong but it's all that my head is guessing.

For the overall take of the show.. and I know it's early days.. I'd almost be guessing it's wrapping a story around..

Sauron to maybe take away his being the Ultimate Baddie.. not so much as to give him origins/backstory etc... but in real long term planning ways to give Saurons boss the ability to turn up or a future follow-on to the Lord of the Rings itself.

liamtech · 24-09-2022 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119659847#Comment_119659847

TBH that is a well thought out theory - i imagine its close to the truth. Can you imagine the meetings?

Amazon: Ok guys congrats you're running Rings of Power for us

Payne: BRILLIANT!

McKay: Thank you so much you wont regret this

Amazon: Absolutely, so you guys! get familiar with the source material - remember its the Appendices - the Second Age, that's our gig! Got it!!??

McKay: Gotcha! We are on it now, and will report back

Payne: Absolutely

------ time elapses ------

Amazon: So, what have you got for me!

McKay: Well look there is not much in the appendices, so, we have to work out some kinks.

Payne: Yes and we want to remain true to Lore, but there will be some new content in there, which we will have to work out

McKay: Yes we need to be super careful. This is a priceless IP, and we need to build a story, that fits seamlessly with what came before, and after the show

Payne: Thats right

Amazon: Ok well firstly - its not a priceless IP! It has a price, its $250 million dollars.

McKay: Oh, ok..

Payne: Wow!

Amazon: And secondly, yes we need to remain true to the source.... but also very flexible.... right?

McKay: Well i mean we have to construct a story around the rough outline of events..

Payne: .. but remain true to canon also! in a flexible way?

Amazon: Yes but there are a few things we specifically need. These 'items' can be part of how you two, .. 'express' yourselves... Flexibly! Right!!??

McKay: Ok, well what things do you need!

Payne: I mean if we can fit them in, we will sure do that

----- Pause as Amazon takes out printed list ---------

Amazon: il just read the list so eh...

Balrogs,
Evil Elves,
Hobbits,
Wizards,
Large scale fighting in the first season.
Mithril
We want Galadriel to be the lead, our marketing team tell us 'female empowerment' is all the rage at the moment.
Also, we want Sauron to be, like, hiding in plain sight from day one.
Also some romantic vibes between he and Galadriel.
Isildur needs to be in it
And his dad
The fall of Numenor
Building of Mordor
Forging of the Rings
Ring Wraiths
The one Ring
Morgul blades
Last Alliance (what ever that is)

Amazon: So! Any other questions!!!

McKay: Well see, some of that is not actually (looks awkwardly at Payne)

Payne: That wouldnt be actually compatible with Canon, and those events are spread over thousands of years, and...

Amazon: Great! Im sure you two wonder kids will figure it out. Oh an be sure to include ethnic minorities in lots of characters too! Have to be conscious of the current trends.

McKay: But

Amazon: Lemme know when its done.. bye!

Mr.Nice Guy · 24-09-2022 9:53pm

I didn't like this episode. Big triumphant music at the end like this was some epic moment but it didn't come across that way to me. I was more relieved that they were getting on with it. I still struggle to care about these characters and I find Galadriel in particular ice-cold.

jones · 25-09-2022 8:42am

I'm torn on this show to be honest. I loved the first two episodes (particularly the second one) I thought they set up the season perfectly. Visually and musically I thought they nailed it (weird Elf hairstyles not withstanding) but episodes 4 & 5 kind of feel like two versions of the same episode. Gathering of númenóreans to set sail to middle earth. The introduction of the númenóreans seems to have stalled the show somewhat.

I feel like the show needs to have a definitive episode in episode 6 as the last few episodes have been building to what seems to be a big event only to soft reset at the beginning of the next episode.

"Teenage" Galadriel is clearly a bit more emotional/reactive than the one we see in the films but I think they are starting to soften her approach a bit in the last two episodes. I think they are doing a good job with the stranger and keeping him mysterious and powerful. The harfoots don't bother me either I actually like their lighter side of the story. Ps to me Halbrand is clearly not Sauron but will no doubt turn. As for Bronwyn and the elf's romance it's not particularly exciting even though he's had some of the best action set pieces in the show I'm not particularly invested in that storyline yet.

The best character element is Elrond and Durin they actually have a chemistry and bond which isn't present with the likes of Galadriel and Halbrand. More of this please.

All in all I'm still on board but something significant needs to happen in episode 6.

silverharp · 25-09-2022 8:52am

the cope is strong with IndieWire ha ha , the Dwarfs are the only likable people in the show. Its hilarious that Amazon are still messing with user reviews.

https://twitter.com/Nerdrotics/status/1573931707169968128

whatever angle to take to look at this, there is always something lazy and short cut about it

https://twitter.com/CouncilofRings/status/1573783664651034626

Flinty997 · 25-09-2022 9:44am

What's the connection with the elf's and the dwarfs ore they are mining. I seemed to have missed why one effects the other.

I'm not sure I'm following it tbh.

sekiro · 25-09-2022 12:09pm

I have to say that a big part of watching each new episode is now the curiosity of "what will they screw up this week". Then seeing all the different things that people pick apart.

It's terrible but fascinating.

Like the origin story of Mithril. Why would they waste screentime doing this? It's not even coming from Tolkien either. It's like they just came up with it as a silly idea and then ran with it. It's not quite on the level of "let's show how Han Solo got his name" but it's up there. Is anyone seriously thinking "aaaaaaaah that's so cool, I always wondered how Mithril was created"?

JRant · 25-09-2022 12:27pm

It seems to me a lot of the problems with this series so far appear to be in the editing. It's like they cut a lot of stuff out and it comes across that way. The writing isn't great but the way the different stories are tied together is all over the place.

corkie · 25-09-2022 12:33pm

https://screenrant.com/lotr-rings-of-power-mithril-retcon-explained/

It's just an unconfirmed elf legend. Made up just for this series?

sekiro · 25-09-2022 12:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119662044#Comment_119662044

I suppose it kind of makes sense. Rings of Power, to me, seems like Lord of the Rings for people who don't actually like Lord of the Rings. It's an exercise in branding. I remember back in high school some kids were getting Nike and Adidas symbols shaved into their hair. Haha. As if your hair is Nike hair or your barber is a Nike barber. Or they'd come back from holidays with a load of fake Nike gear. People just love brands and love to be associated with well-known brands. One of my in-laws has a Johhny Walker tattoo. What the hell is that all about?

This feels like a kind of TV show version of that, whatever it is. Especially with the media emphasis on the cost of production here. It's like a show you are supposed to watch and feel like some of the billion dollar prestige rubs off on you. Something like that. Hey, there's a new LOTR on TV and it shows Galadriel as a badass warrior and, get this, they show how Mithril was formed. There's a Balrog!

There is almost no Tolkien here. If you are looking for a good depiction of events from the second age then it's already too late. They've fundamentally changed some of the key players and the more it goes on the more I wonder how it will even manage to connect itself to LOTR. Is Galadriel just going to retire?

If Halbrand is really Sauron then what the hell are they thinking!?

Actually, is the whole "who is Sauron" thing not just coming from the fact that there was a Reddit leak about a year ago that has been right about many, many, things and part of that leak was H = S?

Alan Lee, John Howe and Ted Nasmith have been doing absolutely wonderful Tolkien art for years. Anyone who wanted that kind of content always had it available to them. Suddenly we are all supposed to be amazed by some CGI images of Numenor or some helicopter shots of New Zealand? New Zealand is beautiful, but landscape shots alone cannot make the story good.

I think Indiewire almost tells the truth there. Yes, it's not really meant to be a "water cooler" show. The Rings of Power isn't even meant to be good. It's just there to make money. It's Lord of the Rings for people who have heard of LOTR but not for people who actually want to see lore accurate content or dialogue that feels authentic and accurate to Tolkien's works. It's just a vehicle to make money using the LOTR branding.

Has anyone been into a comicbook store recently? Instead of selling comic books it seems like most of their business is selling little figurines that somewhat resemble characters from comicbooks. There seems to be more demand for a bobblehead figure of Iron-Man than there is for a new comic story about Iron-Man. Similar thing here in my opinion.

New Star Wars is for people who don't like Star Wars but know about the brand. New Star Trek is the same. Now we're doing this stuff to Tolkien too. It's kind of sad. Why don't they just make their own new stuff?

When Galadriel boards the ship and they have that slow motion thing going on it's like the creators have in their mind that moment when Gandalf leads the Fellowship over the crest of a hill and there's slow motion and the music swells. It's like they somehow know that this worked in LOTR but they don't really understand why it worked? It's like copying someone else's homework without showing your working.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PreffqwJQlc

https://youtu.be/yZhUlOrRwI4?t=46

Flinty997 · 25-09-2022 1:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119662621#Comment_119662621

I agree with you completely. But I do like Solo as a movie regardless of the name bit.

I can see why I'm having trouble following rings of power based on people's comments here.

Discodog · 25-09-2022 1:57pm

I have only ever watched the first LOTR movie & I have no idea or desire to know what the "Lore" is. I am treating is a fantasy romp & I like the Harfoots as they provide some needed humour & light relief.

johnny_ultimate · 25-09-2022 2:59pm

I think McCreary's score is really coming into its own as it has more opportunities to hit dramatic crescendos - it's not merely derivative of Shore's work, but is developing its own flavour and texture. Similarly, from a production design and cinematography standpoint this week's episode was a highlight so far. I particularly liked how they used different distinctive light sources in a variety of nighttime scenes - the stylish lanterns of the elven dining space; the candlelit negotiations in the Númenor palace; the torches of the cowardly humans in the Southlands; the burning of the ship. Given the CG can be fairly inconsistent - in this episode too, of course - it feels like that kind of more practical design gives scenes a lot of life while taking advantage of the fact this is a television show rather than a film. It feels like an episode visually built with HDR displays in mind, and it works great - especially since shows like GoT were notably muddy in many of their nighttime sequences.

Enjoyed the Harfoot stuff a lot this week, and the Elrond / Durin interactions are always the right balance of serious and amusing (even if some of the mithril lore is a bit all over the place at the moment). Even the Southland stuff feels like it now has nicely escalating stakes. It's perhaps the Númenor politicking that is leaving me most cold at the moment - I'm just not really invested in that particular drama or any of the characters, although I did enjoy the playfulness of Galadriel's sparring scene with the young soldiers. The 'great wave' flash-forwards last week did a better job of setting the stakes there. But hey at least things are moving on there and hopefully heading towards some sort of convergence with the Middle Earth drama.

I've no issue at all with the show editing together different storylines taking place over different spans of time - this is alas the nature of multi-perspective stories told over a span of weeks, months or years. The original Lord of the Rings films have a similar structure (after Fellowship, the split timelines only really converge at the very end, despite seeming to exist simultaneously), and Game of Thrones and indeed House of the Dragon deal with the same thing. It's not ideal by any stretch, and one of the difficulties in translating written epic stories (where it's easier to emphasise the passage of time) to cinematic editing. TBH I think things like the map cutaways in the Harfoot sequences at least underline that that is all taking place over a longer period of time than, say, the day or two shown in the elvish plot this week.

A lot of the complaints persist - mixed-bag of performances, ropey dialogue, uneven pacing. On the last note, I think this is a show that'd benefit from tighter editing or indeed shorter episodes, as each episode has only crept closer to the feature-length over the course of the season so far. I get they're dealing with multiple perspectives, but 60+ minutes every week is a lot of television. I get you can't just split episodes up willy-nilly when they're written and structured in a particular way from an early stage, but yeah maybe this would have benefited from being written as a ten-episode run covering the same ground than an eight-episode one. But I'm curious to see where the next episodes lead now that things are moving towards climaxes, and if the obvious growing pains of season one are addressed there's definite room for improvement next season.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power [Amazon] *Spoilers*

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Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power [Amazon] Spoilers