A Long-expected Review: The Rings of Power Season 1 

fav: dwarves least fav: amazon

Fav: they nailed Saurons look, which isn’t saying much since they copied Peter Jackson. Places like khazad-dum and Numenor look nice. Least fav: all the characters are unlikable or straight up psychopaths. The “harfoots” are straight up evil, as they seem to enjoy abandoning people and leaving them to die. Then there’s the egregious disrespect for the lore. The whole second age has been compressed beyond recognition. The three elven rings are made in an afternoon. With no mention of the 16 other rings. No Annatar just halbrand. You’ve got numenoreans like Ar-pharazon who lived towards the end of second age living around 1000 years into the age. Nonsensical dialogue and lines ripped out of the lord of the rings trilogy regularly.

Fav: Elronds relationship with Durin. Least fav: Way to many "roll your eyes" moments..

Fav: Galadriel Least Fav: Showing Durin's Bane a mite too early

Favourite part: the first few words of the title - “the lord of the rings” Least favourite: the rest of the show entirely!

I watched 1 episode… couldn’t handle anymore

Ha! .. I watched the trailers and gave up there ..

It's a medieval soap opera! 😂

💭 it was the end

Im still wondering how there will be orher seasons. Dance of the Dragons is gonna kill it

This is really common lately in Hollywood. They have no morality, and no common sense, so they think turning their mc into a monster is fine, cuz tribalism. "Mc always good guy cuz my script say so... no matter he immoral and evil. "

I feel like he is meant to manipulate the audience too

“You step onto the consumers, and if you don’t censor their reviews, there is no knowing your billion dollar dream.” J.R.R. Bezos

But that's exactly what sauron does. The most evil people tell you they love u then stab you in the back.

Excluding the Nazgals, the TWO most evil characters in the show were more heroic.

It’s like the writers never read any Tolkien work hey?

Gil-galad's age can be highly debated as Tolkien and his son Christopher changed his origin multile times and Christopher said the version he went with for the Silmarillion that he was Fingon's son is in all likelihood not the version his father settled on in the later parts of his life. And there is also very little known about Celebrimbor. You're right about the age but his partaking in all of the battles might be probable but we know nothing about it. It's also explicitly stated that he didn't inherit his father's temper. I agree on the rest and also disliked most of the show very much

I could almost agree with this, except that Galadriel's mother-name was Nerwen "man-maiden" and she is said to compete with the sons of Feanor and Fingolfin in Valinor. So, she at least has *some* basis for being a warrior. However, I would also say that she spent a lot of time with Melian in Doriath, so I'd expect to at least see some of the wisdom we know her for as well. In short, it's not the best characterization, but I don't think it's the worst, either.

@@susankramer1206 Until her time with Melian I could get behind her being a warrior if done right, but after it not really.

@@resathe6760 yeah, she's unfortunately one-note. She's a really complex character and we haven't seen any of that so far.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I hadn't thought on this as much, but you're totally right. They may have been attempting to bring the elves down a peg, but without those visual and auditory cues that make the elves *feel* ethereal, you do lose a bit of that feeling that they're truly different beings. I'll be interested to see how that comes into play when we have Numenorean jealousy come into play. It could undermine a bit that jealous element if the audience only sees them as slightly different people aesthetically and not a completely different race - a higher level of being. Some really great thoughts to chew on here!

Good point. Felt that way as well. It's tricky finding the right balance with the elves. I think the LOTR movies did a nice job bringing that ethereal and otherworldly elemental sometimes scary presence. And yet kept hints of those other qualities with Elrond's bemused smile when Sam breaks into council and also the Legolas Gimli friendship (minus a few Legolas stories and songs cut out) But the point is that feeling of Otherness was still there. But is that not also what made the bonds between different peoples, The Fellowship, Aragon and Arwen stand out? Gandalf? Stand out? It seems like a trend now in works like these to "diminish that Otherness," to bring things "down a peg" as NOTR said. To tone down magic and mystery for realism sort of? I'm not too sure. Celebrimbor looks more like a Hogwarts professor of Tall Elvish Studies. He would fit there as a Wizard-elf and no one would blink an eye at his short Gray locks. Maybe I'm silly but the other elves with short hair minus Elrond reminded me of choir boys especially Galadriel's crew and Finrod reminded me of a British Parish Priest but that's just me. While the other hapless enslaved elves reminded me of slaves from the old Hollywood movies like Ben Hur, Spartacus and Greatest story ever told. I think there could be a way to do short hair but it depends on allowing the actors to have that elvish spark and to highlight that subtlety. To allow for a presence of Otherness. Camera work, theme, tone? I don't know laugh. The other thoughts on "toning the elves down" is it seems like there is a different concern about that "otherness." The elves are "humanoid" beings with immortality and gifts beyond the average human excepting the Numenorians and Dunedain with the special bloodlines. As far as I know there's never been a prominent issue with the elves as immortal/elemental beings tied into the fate of Arda. Or with that presence. But am beginning to wonder now if that's changing? Especially with Tolkien emphasizing beauty and angelic otherness of the elves? It is one thing if this is sci Fi and they are aliens with all those attributes. But since they are part of the earth and are another "humanoid" race...(I honestly prefer Tolkien's poetry than that word so apologies) But what if that's the issue? What if that's why there's less long hair or why some of the elves blend into the background? Because otherwise they will be read as glorifying a superior people? I just would find that sad if that was the reason for giving the elves a slightly more ordinary feel but I wonder. It would be a misunderstanding since the elves aren't really human. If Jackson does anymore live action Tolkien related pieces just hoping he will not be pressured to go with the flow. Unless it's The Real Anduin!😂 Enough!

not only that, but in the books the elves are so much more involved, singing and being quite merry, being mischievous at times and having an amazing sense of humor, and at the same time being immensely wise, in addition to their immortal ethereal and mysterious nature. the movies give focus more to these last four traits of the elves however.

​@@GollumEnthusiastI'm wondering if the difference is that of perspective. LOTR is seen through the eyes of Frodo and the other hobbits. They see the elves as mysterious and ethereal. The second age elves are the real deal in middle earth. Numenor was created by the elves and given to men. This part of the story is from the perspective of the elves. Therefore they are more ordinary. if you are an elf there is nothing ethereal about another elf. . . Just my thoughts.

@@wPatrickSFI think the problem is the one that is glaring, obvious, and basically said by the show creators, that this show was not in the spirit of the author. Also, every human with a brain seems to agree.

Yea, this is so...hadn´t this been LoTR I´d just given up there.

300? Try 2000 at least.

​@@Vossenator more like 20000

Read the story of amroth. He pretty much did the same thing in canon.

@@Kiwi_J and drowned

I find the ageing of the Elves really inconsistent. Why does he look so much older then?

I expected the elven version of Fabio in his prime :)

@@scratchy996 That would have been awesome... "wtf is that hair-blowing wind coming from?!"

I'd love to see some elves on this show. These pointy eared humans are so impatient and childish

Charles Edwards(Celebrimbor's actor) would've been far better suited to a Numenorean aide to Tar Palantir or a Gondorian steward than any elf!

Some of his close friends died in the war but he didn't witness it. He wasn't serving alongside them.

The fact that the show completely omitted the theme of immortality and avoiding death with regards to Númenor is the most ridiculous thing to me. Like that is THE theme of The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien was trying to convey, and Númenor is the perfect place to show that theme.

@@marenomorgan Aye, and instead they went with a South park-esque "Dey Terk err jerb!" Plot. Peak writing.

by this logic, the LotR trilogy also does the same thing, especially RotK

@@Echoplex25 the movies? Are you kidding? That shot with Gandalf telling Pippin about the Undying Lands, the charge of the Rohirrim, the courtship of Eowyn and Faramir, the last stand of Man at the Black Gate... Sam carrying Frodo up the mountain.The reason people accept the changes that LOTR's movies made despite not necessarily agreeing with all of them is because Peter Jackson showed Tolkien's work, his characters and his themes proper respect. Return of the King, more than either of the two movies that preceded it, is entirely about the theme of courage in the face of death... The doing of deeds worthy of song, even if there be none left to sing of them. The LOTR movie trilogy was true to Tolkien's central message. Amazon's abortion of a TV show barely even tried.

Stories in Middle Earth, no matter the scale, are first and foremost journeys. There are long pauses and respites and detours where we have side stories and songs, meetings and developments, but ultimately they are journeys. And neglecting to even make travel realistic dishonors Tolkien's legacy

Frodo and Sam journey to mount doom still leaves a similar impact to me when I watched this movie for the time as a kid. I can feel the longevity of the strain and hardship they face in their journey.

That was my favorite part in all the books, period. The description of their desperate trek to rescue two hobbits who were kidnapped by a band of super-Orcs was just awe-inspiring. "Heroic" doesn't even begin to describe it. And I believe the film, despite limited resources (such as time), really did it justice.

The B roll of the iconic single file convoy with the epic music in the back goes a long way.

@@naomibeeman3774 But isn't it better to just have a montage of Poppy singing?

The parts that made me laugh but for the wrong reason: Galadriel casually swimming back to Middle Earth from Valinor, Galadriel casually stumbling upon Sauron, Isildur's sister getting a guild acceptance letter (sounded like Gilmore Girls), Sauron fistfighting some blacksmiths... Some of the characters are rendered idiotic otherwise the plot couldn't happen, this is why we get a Celebrimbor who's never heard of alloys and migratory hobbits who don't figure out that putting ponies before their carts would make things easier. But to say something nice: I like Elrond and Khazad Dum is beautiful.

oh god, same feeling!

​@@user-qj9en1kp1m What's wrong with the guild acceptance letter?

I am cryinggggggggg :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Sauron fistfighting some blacksmiths...@@user-qj9en1kp1m

AND the elves didnt covered the signal of sauron is map of Mordor, where he eventually returns and retreats from time to time... @@user-qj9en1kp1m

Shows can have a very rough first season but improve over time... granted this is rare but still can happen

@@XER606 It cannot happen in this case. The leading character, Galadriel, is so contrary to Tolkien's creation on every level that there is no way to rectify the character. Anyone who's read The Silmarillion knows that such characters as her and Sauron are akin to the realm of Gods. Galadriel was never corrupted, was never entirely human but half way to the realm of Angels or Gods. In this series she is no more than an ordinary feisty woman with a great chip on her shoulder. Sauron likewise was never an ordinary man, but began as something like an Archangel who decided long ago to take a dark path. In short, his first appearances as decepetive con-man are disappointing and off topic. The writers do not seem to know anything of Tolkien's world and so fail at the first hurdle. It cannot be redeemed at this point, having laid its foundations on wrong premises.

​@@XER606It is not gonna happen, they are not gonna improve... And this is sad , i had really high hopes for the show

​@@XER606 ROP cannot fix its problems without retconning significant aspects and, in particular, characters so much that the show becomes inconsistent in itself.

Exactly

I dont think that Tolkien Estate had any say in this show

Tolkien's son Christopher was the real guardian, and he died in 2020. But it's worth noting that Tolkien himself sold the film rights for a modest sum in 1969, and that the Tolkien Estate were NOT fans of Jackson's work either... although I'm sure they were happy with the millions of dollars they received (the Estate's estimated worth is $500 million).

@@joannajacaszek6368 Actually, they helped make this show. They were involved.

@@fredreindlsecondbreakfast5522 It's important to know who helped though. It wasn't Christopher Tolkein as he passed away in 2020. It was his son, Simon that took the lead in "helping". Simon is a different breed than his father and grandfather... and it shows in this show.

They thought the most intelligent decision was to give Amazon a few pages. Not saying the showrunners wouldn't have fucked up a Silmarillion adaptation, but considering how little they had to work the results really aren't that surprising. I'd say the Estate has plenty of blame in the matter.

watching the whole season of Rings of Power ruined my day so im glad it canceled out

Hahahaha

@@johnlenz420 Thankfully there was House of the Dragon to wash the bad taste from my palate.

It’s because there is a tempest in her !!! 😂

@@johnlenz420 did you assume that the show was going to be a well made and faithful adaptation of the world created by JRR Tolkien? Because that's the only reason you could have been surprised and disappointed by it. The second I heard Amazon was making a series based on Tolkien's second age I dug a nice deep hole and buried all my expectations. It was never going to be anything but watered down inaccurate swill.

GoT had been using fast travel since season 1. Literally a month passes within a few scenes. Of course halfwits forget that.

@@GreenFalcon926You‘re not the brightest are you? They acknowledge the distances and times it takes to travel. Several key moments even happen. That is Not the point at all. The world is moving and living while they are moving from Point A to B. Later Gendry runs superhumanly fast for days and nights in unknown arctic-like terrain and sends a bird hundreds of miles south so Dragon Lady Chan come hundreds of miles north…and jon and crew just sat there, without cover and fire for WEEKS. So maybe use what‘s left of your rotten brain before calling people halfwits. It‘s Not about „fast travel“ for reasons of pacing, it‘s about illogical wolrdbreaking, plothole creating nonsense destroying narrative cohesion and immersion.

​@@GreenFalcon926the problem isn't with time skips my dude, that is fine. The problem is when some characters use fast travel, and some don't, it breaks the entire universe.

Thanks, Ben! Would love to chat about it! I may be odd for thinking this, but it was one area I was most concerned about going in because of how iconic Howard Shore's work was. There was more riding on the music than I think most folks realize and you all did a phenomenal job.

As a hardcore fan, it was amazing to see how much thought was put into the music. You all did an amazing job there!

By far some of the best music in any series. I personally think it's much more easy to listen to than the Howard Shore scores in many cases. I think it'll be just as iconic given time.

Pity your efforts where for this shite show lol but get that money bro!

Music was indeed the strongest point of the show. Congratulations on such a creation.

HAHAHA LMAO

I think the point was that her little troop was all that's left of it, as in her most loyal followers. I actually like the idea that Galadriel is facing her own darkness and that's actually one of the themes in Tolkien's work: good characters becoming prideful and/ or obsessed with something and then falling from grace vs. people rejecting it. Then again that "it" is usually power, so that's where the show missed the mark possibly. Overall I agree with NOTR. The show has some great moments and aspects, but overall I feel they just don't get Tolkien or don't entirely care. PJ added things that especially in the Hobbit films fell flat, but overall they knew and nailed Tolkien when they wanted to.

Show was complete garbage

@@W47689 I honestly think you have never seen garbage on screen.

@@fgdj2000 bahumbug shows garbage you know it

It’s cuz they gave him an interview he had to be biased.

He has to eat. His opinion got biased. Hes been the harshest he can be without losing season 2 benefits (more interviews, trips, etc.)

Hes excited for another paid vacation by Amazon, so of course hes gonna give the benefit of doubt

Yeah, I look at this is his having to pander to them so that he can get access later. I mean, I want to be kind, but the fact is, he's pandering.

By the time she got the offer I half expected her to take it and the series would just go straight to a complete parallel universe where Galadriel was the Dark Lord and Sauron led a heroic resistance trying to recruit Gandalf the Grand Hobbit

Too funny .....

Totally agree.

Some of my favourite episodes where the ones with Arya and the Hound.

It all goes back to the writing. By those terrible last two seasons they didn't have the book material to fall back on as a crutch and it showed in 100 ways, notably as you say and how the characters bounced around. The same thing here, we all knew there was going to be filler because the second age has opportunities everywhere for the riders, it boggles my mind that they feel the need to tinker and screw up the epic moments that we do know when there's so much room for them to put their lesser storylines all around those moments. And yet time and time again modern writers can't help but somehow feel the need to change what makes something worth adapting into something of their own. These days it seems like they can't help but even interject their politics into every show, and while that wasn't as obvious in this season, it makes me worry. Worry. The 'elves will take our jobs' thing was clearly someone's terrible attempt at subtle undertones of their political ideology.

I really enjoyed the show. Not perfect but I was thoroughly entertained.

@@lonewulf44 I'm not sure what you mean by 'politics.' Most shows go out of their way to avoid touching on politics. The '*insert race here* took our jobs!' is a pretty common trope in fiction. It plays a huge part in the Witcher, Dragon Age, and Elder Scrolls too.

I agree that would have been way better than what they did to identities at the same time. That would make sauron badass

It appears this is the direction they are going.

Fun fact (well, not fact, more like my opinion lol): I don’t think that scene is supposed to be about immigration so much as Amazon trying to vilify warehouse workers who are concerned by Amazon trying to replace them with robots who “don’t sleep, don’t eat, don’t rest”, etc. Obviously it’s a stupid scene, with the very loosest of possible relevancies to the plot being Pharazon showing how well he’s winning over the people

Wtf? I already chose not to watch the show but, they dabbled in the socio-economic problems of Middle Earth? I'm staying far away from this

Same here!

Same. Only I groaned first until the South Park scenes flashed across my mind, then I cracked up.

Yeah, it felt very forced in and was lazily written, feeling like a rough idea that somehow ended up in the final script without any polish. It didn't need to be, either, because the Numenorians have pretty big insecurities related to the elves. It's just that they wouldn't see them as foreign laborers. They could have worked in a fear of competing with IMPORTED TRADE GOODS from the elves (immortal craftsmen who unfairly spend many lifetimes honing a craft while men are doomed to die) and political domination from afar by the elves. I could see those being real anxieties on Numenor that tap into long-simmering enmity and jealousy stemming from their fear of mortality and their pride. These are perfect sentiments for the shrewd Pharazon to manipulate and direct for his political maneuverings. Because the politics, economics, and social strife of Middle Earth *ARE* interesting stories to tell (and are already right there in the source material -- just look at most of the Third Age prior to the War of the Ring). It's just that these themes have to be worked in with care and forethought.

Pretty accurate assessment.

You mean recipe

That's a very flowering wording for "Books were 99% ignored."

If you season dogshit it's still dogshit tho

@@StalkerQtya excellent prose

He gets access to the show .. he gets interviews .. this gives him clicks .. now nothing against this he is entitled to earn a living .. but this is the primary reason why its so "inoffensive" .. he can't ..

​@dendradwar9464 or you can be critical without being a jackass for entertainment.

I think the writers tried to make her more like Albus Dumbledore - vengeful and ambitious youth (can you even call Galadriel that in the second age?) - to a wise, clever character that can see through people in an instant. That may work for Harry Potter, but it isn't really all that great for LotR. The worlds are vastly different. As it's already mentioned, they kind of turned her into Feanor - with no comparable skill to one of the greatest elves of the Noldor, so to speak.

Galadriel wouldn't have been able to "read' the true identity of someone much more powerful than her, such as Sauron - so it's not really a flaw in this adaptation that she was taken in by "Halbrand". In fact, she's the first person to realise his true identity. So again, that perception of people's hearts - the "mind reading ability" - is consistent with Tolkien's Galadriel, as the ROP Galadriel obviously has it more than all the other Elves, none of whom ever guessed who Halbrand really was. Having said all that, she still seems strangely lacking in power, wisdom and natural authority for a character Tolkien described as the second greatest Elf (after Fëanor).

Maybe she only developed (or discovered) that power later on in life? 🤷‍♂

It’s entirely possible that her ring of Power is what allows her to read minds. The only other characters I remember having that ability are Elrond and Gandalf, the other ring bearers.

⁠@@AskMia411That’s exactly what it is. Her ring enhances her ability to do so. According to Tolkien, all Elves and men have this ability too, to different extents. Her age and wisdom combined with the ring allow her to see intentions. Although Tolkien also specifically said that no being, save Eru, could pierce the veil of unwill and could deny entry of an external mind into their own mind. She’s a wise and an strong leader, not a maia or anything, but even a Vala couldn’t do it to someone deliberately shutting them out. Recall Hurin (a “mere” man) telling Morgoth to go f*ck himself and resisting his will for years. The show is still hot garbage though, for me mainly because of the butchering of the timeline and everything. The Peter Jackson movies were pretty entertaining but they severely made the other characters look weak save for the glowing elves.

Actually, it's electrum

@@heyheyitsjae2475 good one!

Actually, this is false. Halbrand didn't teach Celebrimbor about alloys. You guys have to watch it again. It seems to me many people didn't pay attention on the story.

Like, solid gold or ... What's that word?

@@rafaeldoo9108 He tought him that alloying metals improves their properties. Which is the main reason to alloy metals. It's like telling a cook, that heating some ingredients might be a good thing. He toguht him that putting nickel into iron improves the properties. Funnily enough he portraits it, like iron was rare and nickel is easily obtained, although, at least on earth it is the other way round. Probably in middle earth aswell, as no dwarve talks about his fancy nickel axe. That he uses this to show that he knows how to workaround having little noble metals, just shows how lazy writers were. Iron is by no means a noble metal and it is not even knowledge to know this. everybody knows rust. So no, he did not tell the cook, that hot water exists, but he told him that you can put food in hot water.

The question is why should we praise a colossal disappointment that spits on the ideas of a great mind like Tolkien? If you can answer this question with an objective truth then I'll take you seriously

​@@phoenix_xd5728 if you want to enjoy that show, you have to treat it as completely different thing a different universe

Yes and gas lighting by blaming her.

Personally, I don't mind that, as long as it is eventually revealed that Sauron is a bad guy. He's very good at putting up a front, and could legitimately convince people, even the audience, that he's really repentant.

@@vanyac6448but the books state explicitely that Galadriel mistrusted him from the beginning when he came to Eregion as annatar, same as Gilgalad and Elrond in Lindon.

This is entirely what I saw. I haven’t read the Silmarillion(which may destroy the credibility of my observations to some), but when Halbrand was revealed to be Sauron, I didn’t see this guy trying to repent of the evil that he’d done. I saw someone who had been manipulating everyone from the start, and when he tried to convince Galadriel at the end, using and twisting the memory of your dead brother to convince you is not something a “sympathetic” villain would do. That’s downright evil. All the emotions beforehand about “I’ve done horrible things” are a sham. When he says that Galadriel can be his light, that’s not repentant. He’s just downright lying to her and trying to play the pity card. Anyways thanks for coming to my TED talk

Absolutely. I really like and respect NOTR's takes on the series - and, granted, I only watched the 1st season once - but I was confused when NOTR started talking about the issue of Sauron's supposed "repentance". I didn't see that at all in the series, just manipulation.

@@digiblak997 They liked the way the movies looked, then decided they can tell a much better story than what Tolkien ever wrote. Well, they probably never actually read anything Tolkien wrote, but asked somebody to give them a bullet-point list of the necessary plot and world-building points, and then promptly ignored even most of those. Oh, okay, seems Galadriel was already married during this era... okay, somebody remembers to write a scene in which she mentions her husband once, as missing in action or something. So... Maybe "fans" in the sense that they liked Tolkien's world as a starting point - because they are probably unable to do much in the way of world-building themselves so they prefer to find something already done - they could then "improve" on.

My wife literally forgot about the show halfway through. She watches a lot of TV, including some real garbage, but couldn't get through ROP until reminded of its existence months later

Haha very similar here. I kept forgetting that a new episode was out, and then I got a couple behind. Even though I wasn't even done with the show, the fact that it felt like a bit of a chore to watch the shows made me realize that... I actually didn't really care about them. And even to this day I haven't seen the last few episodes. And I assume I never will honestly/sadly.

Yup. Tolkien didn't write any of this. Not one word. So it's just people putting on his coat and walking around in it, trying to mimic him. If they'd moved the entire thing to the imagined far east or far south of Middle Earth with an entirely invented cast, setting and story-line, I'd have given it a look. But this corporate assemblage of modern sensibilities and Trilogy member-berries ('member this?') can take a hike. I just don't care. In fact, I don't want my continued fondness for the books and for Jackson's LOTR trilogy to be infected by this. The Hobbit movie trilogy nearly did that already...

Good way to put it

This is capitalism. They don't care about quality. Only money matters.

1:00:29 "Nazgals" I almost missed that joke lmfaooooooo

So it's the Hobbit Trilogy all over again.

@@trumpisthemessiah7017 There was capitalism when LOTR were made dude..

@@trumpisthemessiah7017 you don’t know what capitalism is. Economy, market, money… all of those things were already present BEFORE capitalism. Capitalism simply gives liberty to people decide the actual value in a service or product through popular demand. Making the market more organic. What you said is exactly the opposite of the truth since without capitalism there would be no incentive for quality, with capitalism products/services provided will prevail by giving what others failed to deliver.

soooooooooooooooo true! the ammount of pointless coincidence in this show was what made some of the plot lines even more stupid than they already were

even worse than coincidences is the facially absurd bull crap like G swimming across an ocean, the tower elves failing to notice ANYTHING, and the harmless volcano

@@scambammer6102 Yeah and the many different cases where they decided to make up S**T when Tolkien already had a good reason for that or it wasn't something that needed further explanation or Amazon's own take on it: 1) Origin of Mithril >> Let's have a Balrog, lightning, and magical healing abilities stored in it's origin (How about it's just a special ore the Dwarves discovered and that's that!) 2) Origin of Mt. Doom >> Let's use a magical sword to unlock the creation of Mt. Doom to create Mordor (It already existed by the 2nd Age because it was created by Melkor!) 3) The forging of the 3 rings of power >> They were forged after the 9 and 7 rings of power by Celebrimbor without Sauron's help after what he learned from him. (Actually let's have the 3 rings forged first since Galadriel is our main character and we need to get some Rings of Power forged by the end of Season 1 to live up to our namesake!) 4) The Harfoots story arc >> Completely unnecessary because (a) Harfoots played no major role in the 2nd age and (b) it would have allowed the show to focus more on the other characters, which might helped us feel more connected with the characters in the show.

I don't think galadriel "bumping" into halberd in the sea was a coincidence though, was it? Isn't it made clear in the final episode that he put himself there intentionally? He sought her out, didn't he? He just needed it to LOOK like a coincidence.

@@lexwithbub so how exactly does that work? First aragorn rents a half-sunk raft and some cast extras. Then he puts it in the middle of the ocean right where G will be swimming back from Valinor, because aragorn totally knew she would do that. Then aragorn rents an inflatable sea monster and pretends to defeat it, so G will think he is a stud. Then aragorn bribes Elendil to come along and rescue them. Good theory.

Dolcett fetish Elves, who knew... 😂

Elrond is the only character that seems to like Galadriel; but that just leaves you wondering why?

Galadriel was unliked by the characters as well as all of us fans. I think she is the worst character in the whole season. She's insufferable, a complete jerk, and so models today's activist youth these days "they don't agree with me? I'll just yell louder."

It's the whoha she has

Wow thats just accurate "Im angry and if you disagree I am angry at you and if you dont agree then i'll get violent" Literally just the opposite of Tolkiens entire message about small acts of good defeating evil. Scream louder and you win, gj RoP@@AudraT

Less exciting often means it has to be story-driven and have a good monologue. Much of the series feels like a Marvel movie with fast action and less focus on character development.

I think he tried to lure her into something but he wasn't actually in love with her or so.

Amen. I figure anyone who likes this travesty probably would love a "documentary" where Abraham Lincoln is black and defeats George III at Pearl Harbor. After all, its only taking a couple of liberties and interpreting the source material. Just like RoP.

@Demane69 Hard agree. The best way to do it is to read the books he himself wrote.

is she known for that or something?

But Canon Galadriel doesn't use much obvious magic either. We are given an intriguing glimpse of her powers when she is described in the Appendices as throwing down the walls of Dol Guldur. Tolkien's Elves are immortal and powerful but he deliberately doesn't portray them as mages or sorcerers. The nature of Elvish 'magic' is subtle, it's more to do with their ability to create amazing things and to conserve what is good and beautiful in their long battle against Morgoth and Sauron. Plus their most powerful warriors can battle demi-gods like Balrogs. I guess a powerful Noldo like Galadriel could withstand a pyroclastic flow, but an ordinary mortal certainly can't.

@philippalinton5850 she absolutely has magic in the books! You are correct, elven magic is more enchantment than D&D style wizard fireballs and lightning bolts. However, Galadriel has significant will and magic. She has a significant power of foresight. She was taught by Melian about protection magic (which is why Lothlorien is considered the least withered of all elven realms in M-E). She founded the White Council and as you mentioned used her enchantment to bring down the walls of Dol Guldur. As such, we should have seen some of this style of enchantment, subtle but still there. Right now, she could 100% be a 20 year old human who is just really skilled with a blade.

@@RevAnakin I agree with you.

@@OGRE_HATES_NERDS No, she isn't known to use "magic", in the Harry Potter sense, but some people got obsessed with it after the Hobbit movies and misunderstood it as Tolkenian.

I think there is a very big difference between a Mystery Story and a reliance on, as has been said in the video, the "Mystery Box" writing style so loved by the showrunners on Rings of Power and other lazy writers/film makers *cough* J J Abrams *cough*. A mystery story is structured around the mystery itself, everything put in place, Easter eggs and clues littered around for the reader/viewer to absorb/notice leading to the final revelation. The mystery box is, in its most basic form, a way for hack writers to hide their terrible storytelling ability and then talk down to the audience who were not impressed with their lackluster output.

@@DrFeelGoodHelpDesk Jar Jar Abrams me gooseee googly

You can tell most of the time the writers don’t know what the hell is going on, so say ‘mystery’ and get applauded for genius lmao. Look at what happened to Star Wars and Rey ‘Skywalker’ (Kenobi)

The mystery approach is great for stories that are....well.... mysteries. Like Scooby Doo. Or Knives Out. They're NOT good for stories that people coming into watching a TV show already know.

Especially when the mystery is both unnecessary and uninspiring like this. The "whereʻd Sauron go" story seemed like a footnote for most of the season and then It seemed like they didnʻt know the answer themselves until the end when it was revealed that the real sauron is the friends we make along the way. Came out of left field when he hadnʻt been shown to do much in the way of scheming or planning anything out

They could have had him actually trying to help people with that too. Sauron finds out that the elves will have to leave, but he loves middle earth, and keeping the elves around is necessary to his middle earth. However, the rings can't work using his power without also conquering the elves. A tragic necessity for his dream of middle earth

It would also have helped them be inclusive in a way that makes sense for a medieval fantasy setting. Rather than retroactively mixing races into existing cultures, seeing a previously unexplored culture foreign from what we've seen already in the films would have been a much more interesting premise IMO.

@@tommoolenaar3901 Although it would be really interesting to see Harad or Rhun, I don't really mind mixed-race. Arondir was just like any other elves. Disa and Miriel both didn't really distract from cultural aspect of dwarves or numenoreans. In fact, they just add a lot of great characteristics of both group of beings in Middle Earth. The fact that Arodnir, Disa or Miriel was African descent doesn't diminish their amazing performances and how their characters kinda belong to these actors/actresses now.

Agreed. We all know what Sauron was capable of. I think they honestly didn't know how to write him. Sauron was powerful, intelligent, charming, charismatic, and manipulative. Only the wisest were able to see through him. But instead of creating a character that was honestly persuasive and manipulative, they decided to dumb everyone else who interacted with him down to base emotions and call it a day. Honestly, Adair made a better Sauron than actual Sauron.

Yes for sure. It would have loved seeing Annatar actively leading people/the elves astray. Being helpful, but also being destructive.

I understand your point, but interesting it was the moment that I got fond of the show, given that it reminded me the story of Amroth and Nimrodel.

Odd really, because even human swimmers are capable of great feats of endurance that some would find difficult to believe. What elven ones, with incredibly resilient bodies and being virtually tireless might achieve is probably beyond imagination. Nonetheless, swimming all the way back to Middle Earth was probably beyond Galadriel, (that's why Feanor burning the ships was so bad) so either it was her instinct (and she is after all naturally prescient) that it was the right thing to do, or she actually had a death wish, possibly as the result of the trauma of losing so many of her immediate family. Neither of these is, on reflection, impossible to believe, though I agree it initially looks a bit crazy. But why not press play? There have been moments in Tolkien adaptions where I felt like throwing something at the screen, but I did keep watching.

@@cally77777 which parts of Peter Jackson's films did you hate?

@@danemiller4852 Initially I really hated cgi d Galadriel, as it turned what was a beautiful and powerful scene in the book into an industrial light display. And the other bad one was Frodo leaving Sam behind because of the crumbs. Just would not happen. Oh and I was pretty annoyed by stupid, comedy villain Denethor. Nonetheless overall I rate that trilogy highly. Just don't talk to me about the Hobbit...

i wish i did that. i laughed so hard on how ridiculous that scene was. she apparently was so much better than a boat🤣💀🤦‍♀️ it was really infuritating. also sadly i watched the who season which was even worse each episode. my husband whos a casual viewer couldn't even take it anymore cause the writing was so bad. hes so happy the show is done.lol

Lol same, I got so excited when he described those "what ifs", but I think some of it can still happen though!

Yeah same.

then you would have a male lead. no can do. must have strong woman lead

Yup, Getting the exact feeling, had to pause and check the comments to make sure im not the only one...

We could still get some of it... My expectation is that Numenor will fall at the end of season 4, so there's plenty of time left for Elrond to visit.

Same. The series is trash.

I love this channel but it seems I cannot make myself to watch this episode. Maybe some day. The series is an atrocity I don't want to witness with my own eyes. Its not just incompetence its intentional destruction and vandalization of cultural treasure by low-brow ideological zealots.

How many times did you watch the original trilogy the last 20 years? You can't compare.

@@beeofapril It's clearly not, as this analysis shows very well. Not perfect, but certainly not trash.

@@JeanMichelAbrassart I couldn't tell you. I feel asleep while watching most episodes

YES. Something like that or that scene ending with the leaf falling from out of view into the darkness with an ominous deep drone (e.g. Lustmord). I think this type of idea would have been way more effective and also scarier.

The physical difference between the tunnel and the Balrog was shockingly low if I remember correctly. It seemed like they could have dug to it in under a week.

@@_RiseAgainst To be fair, there were a good three or four cuts for the scene off it falling, so it may have had a long distance to go while it fell along the mithril vein. But I do get how it might feel like a fairly short distance since it's a brief scene. One thing I do like is that the leaf is shown going through a vast cavern... but then into some dark crevices into a dark, relatively enclosed space below the cavern floor. Canonically Durin's Bane was hiding in tunnels dug out by the Nameless Things, and had mastered navigating them. So it seems they've kept to that.

I think their intent was just "we want some Balrog in our marketing so let's put one into the season somehow".

They seem to think that all the viewers are stupid and they had to spell it out for us

Agreed. And the fact that they pretended like the elves just can't do any magic at all. Because of that stupid plot thread about the dying tree. Infuriating.

THAT'S what bothers you? My God man, open your eyes!

or that by this point in history she is both a wife and mother

Well -- that depends on the form he takes. He is a shapeshifter. I feel like the Annatar version will come in a different actor, and I don't feel Halbrand is Annatar.

At the very least any Tolkien fan worth their salt would bring this guy and or Stephen Colbert on as consultants, fact checkers and censors to bounce ideas off of.. any true fans were either not hired or completely ignored by writers/ showrunners

@@anthonykryzak273 Actually, Colbert ran cover for Patrick McKay & JD Payne at Comic Con. The consultant they needed to retain was Dr Shipley, who was fired.

@@fuddthedestroyer4454 That was before Colbert had seen the series and clearly they either didnt consult or listen to his suggestilons.. If colbert had anything to do with the actual writing for the series it would have been a different animal altogether. The man is not only a superfan but a Purist.. The actual series was embarasing and I guarantee colbert detested it Edit. If they fired a consultant i can basically promise you that he was let go because of his loyalty to the source material.

No but seriously. I have been preaching this gospel for YEARS! Get a nerd/Tolkien scholar in the creative room to be the voice of reason and help scrap some of these atrocious ideas that fans are going to hate.

@@marquissmith7101 And he/she would get the Shipley treatment. Fired.

Thanks so much for saying this. I try to be fair in my praises and criticisms and always hope that comes across.

@@NerdoftheRings My pleasure! Can't wait for more great content from the best Tolkien channel on YT! Don't tell Men Of The West I said that.

@Redflame ha! If you think defaulting to “toxic” is the right attitude when a thing you like is changed, then you are a child.

​@Redflame .....you fkers are something else seriously

It's not that people are raging at every change made by the show compared to the books. People hate it because it's Badly writen. Poorly acted and only aimed at making money at the expense of the greatest mythological stories ever writen. To give them any slack is to ensure that this will continue Edit: spelling

Well said.

THIS RIGHT HERE^

Yes!!! This is what we love!!! (Looking at you Love Is War❤)

Absolutely agree!

That's the whole point! Too many think it'll be boring to have just a 1:1 from book to motion. Yet sometimes that's all some people want.

I have yet to see a book/manga/whatever reader go "I hate it because it's just like the book" at a faithful adaptation of a story

The Numenoreans were Gods among men and seeking elvish immortality. The show made them look like they were a slightly nicer version King's Landing once on street level. Elrond really could have elevated the whole experience.

I disagree. In Gil-galad's perspective, Mithril and Khazad-dûm was the real priority, and Elrond was the only one able to build such a bridge.

And that wasn't in the book either. Gg

@@pedromagalhaesb No, Celebrimbor is the friend of dwarves, he should have gotten that plot line.

@@PrinceofRavens64 True, that's good. I meant that in the context they built in that story, it made sense the decision of Gil Galad.

that's because that's what it is, a billion dollar Fan-Fic cum political/social agenda and commentary vessel and platform. Its sad, but I honestly think that Nerd of the Rings really went soft on just how bad the writing was and decided not to acknowledge the fact that almost every thing in this show was a stand in for the Show runners' and writers' own stances on modern political and social commentary. Over all this video was a huge soft ball for Rings of Power, it was not Tolkien in the slightest.

so, just like the disney not star wars, then.

@@Redmeer411 Nerd of the Rings was given gifts and a vacation and then was very light on criticism... Was it the Lord of gifts got to him?

@@squaeman_2644 At the very least seems that someone found his price point.

@@Redmeer411 Kind of sounds like you're the one bringing your own political/social agenda into it 🙂 Besides "the elves will take our jobs" (which NotR highlighted for criticism) nothing in the series plotlines, themes and dialogues really stood out to me as modern social commentary. Of course there are plenty of folk who've vocally insisted that darker-skinned people should not be cast in Middle Earth adaptations (except in evil roles such as orcs or Haradrim, of course), but I'm assuming you aren't one of those types.

Honestly? Made the show for me

Summon Captain Feanor by combining the Rings of Power

facts

Bump!

Woke Art is an oxymoron.

Especially since the books portray Hobbits as the kindest, most gentle, jovial, though crafty race. There are like 2 evil hobbits in the books, plus the Sackvill-Bagginses who are more annoying and greedy rather than evil.

I don't know - it made sense to me. Nomadic groups would face these kind of challenges, and the show sets out quite early that they are preyed upon by many predatory species.

Wouldn't this also show the growth from a harsh nomadic people like when Tolkien described the hobbits "wandering days" We would presumably see the transition to compassionate people who love and care for the land. Possible connection to the Ent wives? As the Ent wives are supposed to have passed the knowledge of agriculture to the hobbits before they disappeared. Don't know if the show will do that, But that could be something.

Those weren't hobbits though lol...

@@3ndoku5h they are the ancestors of all three types of halfings (but like at least a milenium before, one of which is the stoor, which is what gollum was. and whose ancestors havent done awful things if you go back far enough? some of mine owned slaves. lets just say the species evolved. and maybe the stranger and the harfoots make each other better. It seems like Gandalf, which would explain why he is so enamored of hobbits.

That's putting it kindly.

Exactly, could have gone into how bad the writing actually was with regard to multiple scenes and lines delivered by capable actors/actresses who would have looked a lot better and loved by the audience had the writing been capable at all. Also - the costuming has a lot to be desired, and I cannot get over the "plastic-y" armor - Amazon spent a LOT of $ on this, yet plastic armor??? Come on!

That's because he's sponsored by Audible (which is owned by Amazon)

@@bryce6195 I was wondering why z guy who is so devoted to the actual lore, could be so (relatively) kind about a show that frankly makes profound errors and corruptions of that same lore. But I guess a paycheck speaks loudest...

curious to what the flaws you saw were

There is another youtuber that made 3 or 4 videos telling how he would have adapted the books and he did just that and it would have been awsome! I think its Rainbow dave if you care to listen to his narration...cheers!

*phenomenal. If you're unsure of spelling you should look it up real quick before you press send

@@RustyShackleford_ What for? If I have you to do the job ;)

@@RustyShackleford_ Well; since we're getting picky; "Real quick" doesn't make any grammatical sense in your sentence. I believe the adverb you're looking for is "quickly". 😜

Be careful what You wish for. They may actually write some crap dialogue for that like YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WHAT I HAVE SEEN.... YIKES

Oh wow, very interesting. I had no idea.

They could just have made Galadriel a tiny bit likeable. Would'nt have hurt either

@@Druwuwho1337 I actually don't get why ppl don't think she's likeable a character. Is she driven, neurotic, and even borderline psychotic right now? Yes; But the show gave us reasons for her behavior. I wish we could have seen those reasons in more than just the opening act /prologue of episode 1, but those were VERY compelling. I would be hellbent on murdering Sauron too if that were my family. & No amount of "oh, please act regal, kind, etc." would have changed that. Like Nerd of the Rings -- I wish we would have gotten some tender moments to temper the edge of the blade with Galadriel and to demonstrate WHY folks like Elrond care about her. But alas we didn't, and honestly anything too tender might have tempered her blade too much. The hatred is what drives her to become "more", and likely her downfall too. If we get to see it. We did see the ending of that arc when she rejects the One Ring in LOTR.

Just for fun, without softening or altering Galadriel's characterisation as written, try to imagine how it would of gone if it were her renewing an old friendship with Durin after 20 years... Not sure she'd of used a bit of guile to get into Moria, just shouted about Tempests at the door...

@@Whitzes I mean in the very first episode she is ready to leave behind one of her companions in a snow storm. When she gets saved by Helbrand, she cant even say thank you, she instantly just hisses at him and starts to complain. The episode where she tells Helbrand to not kill Ada, and then 2 minutes later she nearly kills him herself. Sure hell has no fury like a woman scorned, but does she have to snap at everybody she meets. Why not make her a bit more humble when she is getting rescued, or getting help from people who has no real reason to help her ? I will say my biggest problems with this show has been the directing and writing. Imo it is weak, predictable and tries so hard to be high fantasy that it actually made me roll my eyes constantly. Like the stone and the boat metaphor in ep 1, wtf was that, and there is tons of those moments in the show.

@@sariellakingdom1878 Anything to give Durin more screen time tbh. He was by far the most relatable character in the show, and his troubles felt the most real in the whole show. His reply to her tempest line would probably be " A dog can bark at the moon, but it may never bring it down " God damn it I hate the writing in this show.

That's a criticism I'd pretty thoroughly disagree with NotR on. The only Harfoot portrayed as relatively heartless is Malva; and she simply offers more of a greater good/good of the group perspective (with a fair dose of fear and superstition on top) in her calls to abandon the Brandyfoots. By contrast Sadoc is more measured and compassionate, and there's plenty of love between Nori and Poppy and within the Brandyfoot family. In fact Malva herself later admits that her earlier attitude was wrong, even after their whole camp had been burned by people following the stranger! What the show portrays seems fairly realistic for the harsh and dangerous nomadic life of a small and weak people. If you're barely keeping your head above water, reaching out to a drowning person will just doom you both. A caravan which takes twice as long to move between camping grounds because they're ensuring no-one gets left behind is twice as vulnerable to the dangers of big folk, wild animals, weather and so on. In the Shire life is good and comfortable, kept relatively safe under the kingdom of Arnor and later the watchful eyes of the Dunedain, perhaps too good and comfortable; instead of "those who fall behind stay behind" we see the attitude of "never mind the Black Riders hot on our heels, we need our second breakfast and elevenses"! The show is using the Harfoots (in a manner consistent with hobbits not entering the awareness of men/written record until the third age) to look at the opposite end of the spectrum which Pippin etc. represented at the start of their journey, harsh survivalism vs. coddled hedonism. In his own way Pippin was arguably even more callous than the Harfoots, more or less heedless of the risks to others' lives which his actions presented, most obviously in awakening the balrog. Apparently that's only in the film adaptation, but at this point that's more or less 'canonical' in many people's view, including obviously the makers of this series.

Monstrous? What

The Blue wizards get almost zero mention in Tolkien’s works. I had to hunt to find their names (pre wiki).

10/10 it’s Gandalf lolol

I thought it was pretty clear that it's Gandalf

or at least a deathbed scene where Elrond says goodbye to Elros.

To portray those things in fiction takes talent in writing. Something that was apparently completely absent from the showrunners and the the writing room of this show.

@@oskariratinen1213 I agree with Nerd of the Rings that it was a mixed bag. There were moments of pretty good writing.

@@EmblemParade can you name one example? All the major storylines were absolutely ridiculous and all central characters were butchered beyond recognition. If the characters and places were named differently, I would have thought that it was the lamest Tolkien rip off ever. Which it was to be honest.

@@oskariratinen1213 I'm not going to argue about taste here. But I'm in basic agreement with most of what Nerd of the Rings says about the writing. It's all in the video.

The showrunners are hopeless if this was their first best effort.

@@tjk3430 Or you don't fully understand the constraints. The show had MANY good points as well, some of which were rightly highlighted in the video.

@@Falcrist I agree. But lipstick on a pig...

@@tjk3430 bad metaphor since we're talking about attributes of the animal, not additions after the fact. The show was good. Not bad, not amazing. Just good. This disappoints some people, but in order to achieve greatness, the Tolkien estate would have to cooperate. We'll... That's one of the changes that would have to happen, anyway.

@@Falcrist I absolutely saw nothing good in this show.

It just makes me disappointed that we didn’t get something like that. :(

This would have been so amazing. Like any other amazing idea for the Second Age, these showrunners made sure not to do that, for...as Matt said, "reasons."

And not Tolkein.

Yea, great concept and idea. The issue is Elrond is male and based on current "meta" this would never fly. Too bad we are checking boxes not making great cinema.

@@Nekondas Or because Elrond’s a brother to a former king of Númenor and it could be seen as him claiming the throne for himself? Remember, they were scared for their jobs, Elrond on the political field would be scandalous.

I think you’ve hit on a point. The show actually needs him to help steer the boat. They just don’t realize it in their hubris.

Watch Just Some Guy's reviews of this show, and see the difference.

totally. i'm kind of worried that the producers will use NOTR's advice without compensating him as a consultant.

@@redelfshotthefood8213Don't worry, the next season is directed and written by only women, so that will fix all the issues /s

@@Kapoochii wtf?

This.

Yeah changing things to create mystery tells me they lack the confidence to think people will watch their creation more than once. I used to read the trilogy every year for about a decade or two. Having intimate knowledge of the story only made it more enjoyable.

This is how You drag content You hate through the dirt, in a professional way. You turn things upside down, You do surprises from nowhere, you destroy heroes. Of course now we root for orcs. Just like tolkien wanted us to...

this show got it all wrong! main hero is ....main villain in reality and main vilains is most likeble characters

I see, so torturing and enslaving the men of the Southlands and robbing them of a home is A-OK as long as you make some inspirational speeches. Got it.

@@JM-jj3eg Where there’s a whip, there’s a way!

@@warlordofbritannia Awesome reference to the Bakshi film! Thanks, made me smile bigly.

omg that’s why it sounded so familiar!!!! i knew it sounded too familiar, no wonder i could guess how the tune went the first time i heard it!!! thank you for saying that, idk why i didn’t notice sooner

Yeah, I'm pretty sure his attachment to Harfoots/hobbits and his line about "trusting your nose" are meant to foreshadow that he turns out to be Gandalf.

Except Appendix B, to which the writers *did* have the rights, explicitly states that the Istari came to Middle Earth about year 1000 of the Third Age. That's about 2,850 years AFTER the Three were forged. So if this is Gandalf, or * any* of the other Istari, they are deliberately ignoring and breaking that part of the canon they say they are following.

You're absolutely right, they're not only using this effect which will make people who are familiar with the idea of a pyroclastic flow go "Oh wow they're in real trouble now!", they're then visually confirming that to you... But the big thing for me is that they only did that because they thought it would look cool, which I think is something that drives a lot of this shows flaws. They want a visual effect so they slap it in without putting in the work to make it fit.

@@Dannsenman You said it, most of this show's moments and scenes are more "is it cool" than "does it make sense" *couch* *couch* newest star wars

So right! It was placed as a terribly menacing cliffhanger. I expected some epic turnaround or massive destruction and we've got nothing at all...Kinda like the Balrog scene. Very pointless cliffhanger.

Yes, Sam and Frodo didn't facetank the pyroclastic flow like Galadriel did. After that episode my first thought was "Welp, they SHOULD be dead but plot armor will save them" and that's exactly what happened. The CG in the show made the eruption scene look awesome and like a true, raw, immense force of nature... that was then immediately undermined by the fact that most of the people (and all the main characters) caught in the eruption survived.

Hate to be that guy but it's not a pyroclastic flow. It wasn't a volcanic eruption of a highly viscous magma that explosively degassed. It was a steam eruption (magmatophreatic) with the magma itself being very runny (also seen in other scenes in the show and the Jackson trilogy) this kind of magma can't produce a pyroclastic flow. These eruptions produce an initial explosion and lots of ash falling in the immediate area, like 20 feet of ash, so that is inaccurate. But this isn't one of those 400°C bullet train flows, it's just ash, like they depicted