The Problems of Rings of Power Episode 8 (Alloyed) - Review & Analysis - Season Finale 

they added cgi to make sauron look evil but didnt need cgi to make galadriel look evil

Your criticism was negative but also honest, without being rude. I agree with your comment: we could see some glimmer of greatness but the good parts were burdened by the bad parts. I think this episode really solidified what I've believed all season long: they practically made Celebrimbor disappear and thus lost the biggest and strongest emotional anchor of the story. We could see how great things would have been during the 2-3 short scenes we got between Celebrimbor and Halbrand. The actors had never been in the same scene before but their interaction flowed very naturally because they were supposed to be together. Now imagine if they had invested in these two for 3-4 episodes: showing Halbrand (if they can't show Annatar) reach Eregion, Celebrimbor being upset because he can't solve his crafting problem, Halbrand approaching him as a clueless fan who has some cool ideas, Celebrimbor being completely under his spell and working non-stop with him, all the while Elrond and Galadriel are wondering what is going on with Celebrimbor but also not wanting to interrupt him because they know his work is important to all Elves. Their choice to set Celebrimbor aside and focus on random characters that ended up having no real consequence on the plot was wrong. And this is 100% on the writing and editing because the actors have tried their best with what they were given. I'm praying to anyone willing to hear they stay more focused for next season. Have two main plot points (the Numenor political shenanigans between Miriel and Pharazon & the Eregion/ Khazad-dum continuing relationship), maybe show what's happening in Mordor without going too much into it. I also don't understand this: one of the BIG points of the deal they signed with the Tolkien Estate is that they shouldn't connect this story with the PJ films (they've talked about this themselves btw). But for some reason they've been using verbatim certain dialogues from the films and including a lot of visual references eg the moths. So what is happening exactly? I don't like the decision to bring in Gandalf and I hope they change it.

I think the big miss with this series were the mystery boxes. Sauron did not need to be a secret for us. I would have been happy knowing who Sauron was from episode 1 and then see him manipulate the elves. There is an enjoyment in knowing he is evil and the characters don’t know what the viewers know. There is value in this and it allows the story to flesh out properly. The mystery boxes forced the series to keep things obscure. They tried too hard to fool the viewer Instead of the elves.

I strongly suspect the other rings will get forged later. It breaks with the lore but at least we should get to see it. In terms of how fast the Halbrand with the Elves thing is I have to agree. It is frustrating that the show started at a glacial pace. Had they not taken 4-5 episodes (out of only 8) to get things going we could have had 2-3 episodes of him working with the Elves culminating in the forging of the Elven rings. Maybe not long enough for some but better than the greatest living non-Ainur smith unquestioningly taking advice from a rando who wandered into his workshop uninvited then creating them by the end of the day.

There’s an interview with Charlie Vickers where he explicitly mentions what an important character Annatar is to Tolkien’s lore, and how excited he is to explore than in the second season. I have no idea what to make of that, but there it is.

I completely agree with you. Sauron revealing himself should have been the centre of the episode. Galadriel should have felt tempted, either out of ambition or lust or both, but she simply felt bored. And that part should have come after more characters, like Elrond, felt suspicious etc. It was a wasted revealing moment. Elrond did understand H was Sauron, but no one seemed that stressed about it. And H, after Adar, proved you do simply walk into Mordor.

I thought the scenes with Galadriel confronting Sauron and him trying to win her over were actually very well done. Far from Tolkien, but an interesting change. However, the entire season has been badly structured. Okay, Halbrand could have met Galadriel at some point in episodes 1-3. Some time-jumps can be used, to indicate that they become friendly and actually build their chemistry (and for god's sake, introduce the supposed fate of Celeborn already here, don't wait until episode 7). But then Halbrand should have left and somehow arrived at Eregion around episode 4, and begin assisting Celebrimbor. Don't wait for the last episode to do this! Show them build up a working relationship and Halbrand pushing for the creation of rings, slowly but surely becoming suspicious to an audience unfamiliar with the Silmarillion. This way, Galadriel could have returned in episode 8 and the aforementioned confrontation could happen and the forging of the rings would make more sense.

In order to make a whole season of Sauron manipulating the elves needs writing skills, which they don't have

See, to me, there was no main story. Sure, Galadriel helped saurbrand, but was that a story?

I hated how Eregion looks desolate when in its height it should be populated with Noldor

I appreciate your criticism. It’s been hard to find critiques on the writing decisions and show pacing. Most negative critiques I’ve found are centered around politics and casting. None of that bothered me I liked the actors. Thanks again for your reviews!

The thing which bugs me is where are the 7 and the 9, Sauron was supposed to be part of the work for those but not the 3

If the Stranger is one of the Blue Wizards, then maybe the other is already in the east, and that's where the three ladies found out about the term "Istar".

And where are the lesser Rings, as well.

You see far too generous.

I'm glad that season two is far away in time, as for the present I have no longing to see another episode. Perhaps during the pause the show directors can also find ways to improve, if nothing else than at least the pacing.

I was also a tad disappointed at how they handled this finale. You'd expect a big twist at the end after all the mystery boxes they threw at us, but they still decided to go with the obvious choices. And I fear this will also be the case with The Stranger. They're still keeping his name a secret when it's pretty clear who they're hinting at. It's the Halbrand situation all over again. I'm not going to hold my breath thinking it could still be one of the blue wizards, but I hope I'm wrong. Still enjoyed this first season though, let's see what they do on the second one.

Great review. I'm disappointed they went the Halbrand route, but mostly because of HOW they handled it. What should have been the central drama of the entire season was compressed into a few short scenes! Just makes the Halbrand = Sauron plot line feel forced and unearned. Really not sure if I even want to see season two unless they make some writing changes. Missed opportunity.

I agree completely although you missed the dreadful song at the very end.

Now that his Halbrand cover is blown and Sauron is now revealed to Galadriel. Sauron will now shape shift into Annatar. I think the order of ring creation follows the verse, 3 Rings for the Elven Kings, then 7 for the dwarves and then 9 for mortal men and then the Last ring is the one Ring.

You know, one thing people don't really discuss is how EMPTY Middle Earth feels. I mean, the scenes in Lindon and Eregion are so sparse. These are big cities, yet there are like 20 or so Elves at most on screen. Same with Khazad-Dum. Maybe one shot with dwarves, but then it's all single room interiors with like 3 people for hours. Numenor feels a big bigger, but everywhere around Middle Earth you see very small amounts of people. At least in the films, you had these massive armies of 10s of thousands of people.

Yes, absolutely agree with the overall evaluation. The actors are good, scenes and camera are fantastic. Durin and Elrond dominated. But writing is horrible. One theory that grew on me is that Halbrand actually was in Lindon prior to Galadriel’s departure. That is how he knew about her arguments with the soldiers. He amplified the feeling that elves are dying (cursed the tree or something like that). And then tried to move to Numenor (to amplify the feelings of men about dying)

Didn’t the cultists say “He’s the other ‘istar’” implying they already know of the first, which would make him the second blue wizard? That would make that whole scene make a lot more sense.

Ironic. In a show called Rings of Power, we only see any rings forged in the finale. And they're supposed to be the last ones forged.

This was great. You’ve built up a lot of credibility with your measured takes up to this point and so your frustration feels earned and reasonable. I certainly share it! Thank you.

Dear Chris I am so sorry to see you so dissapointed. But I am still looking forward to the next few years full of your excellent Lore Videos and interesting Fan discussions. Tolkien is timeless and magical and not even the worst adaptation on it ever done diminishes that. At the contrary, it only shows how grandious a story teller Tolkien really was. Hope to catch you in the next chat. You are the best.

I've never understood such strong objections to Olorin/Gandalf being inserted into a new Second Age storyline. Olorin arrives in the Second Age to aid in the fight against Sauron. After Sauron is "defeated" at the end of the TV series Olorin/Gandalf can sail into the West. Then, in the Third Age when Sauron is returning to power he's sent again, this time with his fellow Istari (the story we already know.) When did Tolkien ever write that Olorin's Third Age visit to Middle-earth was his first and only time in Middle-earth? (I think never. Of course, correct me if I'm wrong.)

im calling it out right now that Ar-Pharazôn is going be the witch king in this series.

I think Annatar might still be salvaged. Sauron returns in season 2 as Annatar and helps em make more rings. Order would be backwards but still

Love you guys. Keep it real. One of the very few RU-vidrs I follow for Tolkien who aren't shills.

It's so bizarre that I don't like him being Gandalf but it's simultaneously excellent, excellent casting for a younger Gandalf.

A well done, reasonable, measured, and emotionally intelligent review. Danke!

Yes the harfoots storyline felt very detached. I dont know how they could have done it, either leave it out or make some sort of spinoff later? Also I felt that characters know either too much or too little about words and events. How do harfoots know that vulcanoes go dormant for hundreds of years?

The Rings of Power looked like they were bought from a bubblegum machine.

I have enjoyed your live streams and analysis more than the show itself ;) I hope they fix things in season 2.

Its a bit disappointing that Durin and the Khazad-Dum storyline was not revisited. Especially as in effect the whole plotline was a massive shaggy dog story. Elves ask for Mithril, Spend episodes convincing Durin and so on. Get refused. Then finally did not need it anyway.

Hey Chris, thanks for yet another great video! I'm a big fan of the books, but I also liked this show very much. While I agree there were issues with the pacing, I just felt the show was made with great care and had a lot of great aspects. I also felt that they matched the tone of the Peter Jackson LotR films quite well. I just think this whole mythology is extremely hard to put to screen, and I'm glad for the effort they've made here. Sure, there was a lot of fan service, and the world feels "smaller" than it does in the books in the sense that they hit on so many familiar things very quickly. But nobody is going to green light such a massive budget unless there's a strong indication that this will have very wide appeal. I also felt the forging of the rings was rushed, but at the same time, I'm not really sure how they should have handled it. They obviously wanted to establish a lot of the key characters by the end of the first season. I am kind of glad that we didn't have a long period in the show where the viewers know who some of the "mistery" characters are, but none of the other characters in the show know... In any case, I'm looking forward to what they do in the rest of the show.

A pretty balanced review. This show is flawed and does indeed land somewhere in the middle in terms of quality. The good news is that it is nowhere near as bad many of its detractors claim. There's room for improvement, but it isn't the worst first season of a genre show, not even the worst first season of a fantasy show.

I have a feeling season 2 will just be about Sauron destroying Eregion and a lot of fight scenes and wars.

I just don't see how the scroll showing there is no King of the Southlands proves anything much. After all, Halbrand DENIED being King and was clearly a bit of a rogue, he did after all end up in jail for stealing credentials as a Smith so Galadriel knows he is not above pretending a qualification and added to that She basically pushed Halbrand into the role, insisting he WAS the King and should, with her help gain his Kingdom. Lets be honest a rogue might well thing that being made King with the help of some deluded Elf might appeal to him given the power and wealth he'd get. I reckon if the show had 10 episodes as planned maybe this sudden suspicion and the ring craft would be less rushed.

I hate Adar still being a mysterious guy and his connections to Sauron uncertain while his master Sauron is fully revealed as a lonely bad guy. Who is gonna care about Adar' s story now? Everything is awful about this series.

So Shadow of War was more lore-accurate than Rings of Power? Damn.

Sad to see what kind of people you attract. But your choice of being very ambivalent will send you on a long and sad journey through a valley of dark. Good luck.

You hit the nail on the head with this. While I enjoyed the episode, and enjoyed the highlights like the acryal revelation of Sauron, the whole time I was lamenting how badly paced and rushed this finale felt. What's worse is that you can feel the potential it had to be an incredible ending but the earlier episodes only weigh it down with odd decisions if this was their end game. I was hoping this finale would reveal a lot of things were happening in the background and making all of the pieces of the story "click" and instead if just revealed how truly baffling and strange the pacing through the show is. Well said, Chris. At least the reveals grant season two the opportunity to do better with no mysterious to force into the story.

although i enjoyed the season finale ( seeing the 3 elven rings beeing forged gave me kinda goosbumps) i absolutly agree with your critisism of this episode. It is indeed a shame that they gave this crucial event only so little time on screen. I think their problem was that they ran out of time in the end but necessarily needed to reveal some mysteries with only one hour left. I just read an interesting comment on nerd of the rings in which is said that they shouldn't have made such a big deal about Sauron's identity and instead focussing more on Sauron manipulating the elves. At the moment it also does not make sense to me that Galadriel doesn't tell the other elves about Sauron's identity but who knows what the producer's thoughs on this are. maybe elrond has an idea after he had found the document but we will see in 2 years :O

I appreciate your integrity and perspective. Good job on the review. And, sigh. The showrunners do not respect the books or lore and focus too much on the meta of script writing without focusing on the actual story... it's such a wasted potential.

I think Celeborn is simply not dead.she said "I never saw him again", and that's movie speak for he never died.

It's because these writers/directors are new and don't know what they were doing. Also they didn't have the rights for the story and NONE of these showrunners are actual Tolkien fans. I refuse to believe ANY of the showrunners actually read the books or are fans

Your review of episode 8 was far more favorable than mine would be. At the first 4 episodes I still had an open mind. I really like the actors and the show had a few interesting story ideas (I'm looking at you, Adar). But a bunch of VERY weird plot decisions in episode 5 and 6 and a in my opinion exceptionally bad episode 8 dragged every potential the show had down in the gutter. But this is just my personal opinion.

Today, April 15, is how long it took me to finish this episode as I got about 20 minutes into it months ago and shut it off in frustration. My biggest question is still, who was this show made for? I first read the Akallabêth 40 years ago and I’m disappointed that whatever comes next won’t be that. Thanks for all your great videos Chris.

Hey Chris, I agree with many of your comments. Especially regarding the rushed forging of the Rings of Power, after which the show is actually named. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed the show, and look forward to Series Two. Thanks for your continued coverage of the series on your Channel. 😎😎

Excellent and honest commentary on an incredibly disappointing show. I vote you don’t waste any more of your time on Season 2 when it finally comes out in a couple years. Hopefully *The War of the Rohirim* animated series will be well done and exciting for you to watch and review for us. Thank you Chris!

Like the new star wars movies, I saw them, somewhat enjoyed it, but will never re-watch.

Can't agree with your pacing criticism more, just thinking about how many hours they've had over the course of a full season to tell us an engaging story(that's already been created in the books, just tweak it and adapt it for the screen) was all wasted, its sad to see. But overall enjoyed enough scenes in S1 to not write it off completely. I'll be looking forward to S2, with maybe a little less expectation than S1

Halbrand has a power to enter your mind and corrupt you from within. He touches a few characters and now they are acting strange; He literally told Gladriel to let the rings happen.. And she does. Halbrand fights those guys in Numenor and the one guy is rallying against elves now. He probably had contact with "Pharazon" after getting out of jail and getting a blacksmith licence. Then he awkwardly hugs Elendil who is messed up after losing his son and now he hates elves too. Maybe these characters will start showing signs of corruption like Theoden of Rohan next season. Awsome show!

Been waiting for this. Thanks.

Agreed. The script writing was terrible. Too many character lines to follow this season. No depth of story. I still think this could have been much better if it was Three different shows. With storylines of their own with occasional mixing as the storyline intermixes. The Elves and Men. The Darves, and the Harfoots and Wizards should have been done as their own series in Depth.

You wanna know what's hilarious? Your videos were filling my feed yesterday and everyday for the past few weeks. You posted this review and I noticed I haven't seen you recommended to me today not ONCE.

Fingers crossed for Season 2.

I really appreciate your consistency and honesty.

Rushed is the most appropriate word…😢

Hey Philosopher I am also disappointed with how rushed the forging of the rings were, I thought that maybe all of next season would be geared towards the forging of the rings. Also wasn’t there lesser rings made before the rings for men, Dwaves and Elves. I was hoping I would see more of what magic used and what powers the rings really have. They could have explored the true purpose of the rings. I really wanted to see Sauron as Annataur. But like I mention the characters are so simple that it wasn’t going to make sense putting any of Tolkien story lines in it.

The Stranger is for sure Gandalf. They're telling a simple story and compressing things, and Gandalf is a ring-bearer. So his arc in the show is him getting his ring from Gil-Gilad because they're going to cut the Shipwright for sure.

Just finished watching the show. Such great visuals and decent, sometimes very good acting wasted to such a mess of a script and plain old dumb writing. And still even in that writing there are glitters that actually worked very well (the Elrond-Durin-Disa dynamics in particular), just to be overshadowed by the disappointing other bits. And my guess from day 1 that The Stranger is just Gandalf seems to be correct, given the (in my opinion overly blatant) nudges to LOTR lines. Like you said there is some entertainment to be had with the show and the actors and visual effect makers are absolutely making the best of it but unfortunately one shouldn't go in expecting it to respect or understand the lore, intent and storyline as Tolkien wrote it down.

Halbrand had more issues joining numenor's smith guild than joining the most important smith shop in the world 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️ Why did sauron leave the mordor marking if he was happily experimenting in the north? Why did adar follow his plans when they were happily in the dark north? Flamethrower eminen? Seriously? Sociopath harfoots that leave everyone to die lmao Isildurs drama scene and horse is aragorn 2.0 - too much copying is considered plagiarizing guys And imagine him getting killed by adar? So weak. How did he end up in the boat middle of no where expecting to get into numenor...?

I agree with most of what this analysis and Review says. Thank you Chris, @ThePhilosophersGames for making these. More about the forging of the rings would have been great. All the intricacy behind it all by Annatar, and why he is named Halbrand and not Annatar in the show. All good questions.

In a cynical way, I confess I knew H was Sauron because he's the romantic lead (yes, but the type stands, even if there was mere incipient flirting). It amazed me somehow some RU-vidrs seemed to ignore basic narrative constructions. Having said that, for me, the weakest point was Galadriel. I knew Clark from Love & Friendship and it was a pity the script didn't allow her to showcase the subtlety she showed in that film.

To marginalize the actual creation of the rings while giving more screen time to activities not even mentioned in the books doesn't make any sense. Imagine talking for hours about the guy who supplied hay to the sheep and horses, but only giving 5 minutes of time to discuss the part about Mary giving birth to Jesus in the manger!

12:04 I understand your frustration so much!

To me, the first scene of Halbrand and Celebrimbor in the workshop did a dirty one, hiding its rushed pasing and bad writing behind an unimpressiv story setup regardless of this, your predictions are impressive haha

For me it is very sad how Amazon is butchering Tolkies wonderful work.

The most honest review I saw for Season 1.

I figured they were barrow wights.

Femenim 😂 I agree with you that the harfoot plot line was disconnected from the rest of the story for this season. At the same time, I loved them so I would be sad if they weren’t there now. If they weren’t, I also wouldn’t be laughing at the names femenim and nazgirls (something that has brought much joy 😂🤔)

I loved the images of places I’ve never seen before…but I’m done. Its bad because I know the lore. Oof.

The writing of this production is B movie level. If you need it just write it in. The use reflection of past productions at every opportunity. i have a theory about our now confirmed wizard. He is a blue wizard and obviously his character is a reflection of Gandalf. He & Nori are now on an adventure to the east where they will meet his brother Wiz, who will reflect the character of Rhadagast. The dynamic duo of the wizard world reunited again for the very first time! Look for Poppy to tag along with them too continuing her reflection to our old buddy Samwise Gamgee. The rest of the plots i cannot begin to guess at. The only reason for Galadriel to not tell them Halbrand is Sauron is ego! So much for hoping she would grow a little in humility and wisdom from the experience! Sure would be nice to maybe sound a warning send word to your friends down south.

I still hope that we will have a better film about silmarilion. A film make with passion, not Like a Excel tabel.

This entire series really is the story that Tolkien would never have written!

Man, knowing how much of an open mind you keep made reading the headline for this video ominous.

What does alloyed mean?

I too am disappointed. Very disappointed. And so sorry I can't watch this crap. And I'm not like some RU-vidrs who have to diss everything and be nitpicky. I sometimes even have problems with generally good TV shows. Where you can clearly see that after a season or two they decided to add episodes or even seasons to an otherwise complete story. They sometimes add writers too. That changes the pacing, some plot twists seem forced and weird, some characters are added that add only to the overall length of the show but don't affect the main story at all. But this ... This is on a different level. So many frankly idiotic things happen, so many bad moments ... I can't handle it. But the worst was the battle scene form a few episodes back. The one where the tower is being demolished on the heads of the orcs. Oh God! So much cringe. The Orcs look so terrible and stupid, the "aaagghhh, aagghh" sounds feel like they are taken from a child's play on Halloween. The actual fighting seems even funny and cumbersome at times. I know it's not fair to compare anything anyone ever makes to the Jackson's LOTR trilogy. That was a life sucking journey of 10 years that Peter risked everything on to succeed. Even he is not that mad any more ... But you should at least try. At least read the script, or ask someone about something ... RU-vid is full of guys like you my friend. Full of people who breath Tolkein almost, who know the lore by heart, people who are passionate about Middle Earth more than Gandalf is passionate about weed. Why not ask you guys what to do? Why not just invite people on the journey. My first thing as an exec of a show like this would be to invite the biggest RU-vid "haters" to come and join the team and help to create something for all of us. I'm sorry Internet, I'm sorry we had to witness something like this. Chris! You are amazing though. Your videos are second to none! I've watched your videos for years and love them! Specially the long, long video about Gandalf's origin. Keep it up, mate! When I make my first billion we'll make our own LOTR series. With weed and hookers. :D

I know they didn't have a lot of rights but just ignoring changing lore they did have rights for is unforgivable

Just glad it's over

Hello Chris! What news from the mark?

i totally agree all of it.

I’m incredibly disappointed. I’ve tried my absolute best to give it a go, but it’s awful. I don’t understand why you’d call a series ‘rings of power’ and only feature it for as you said, 35 mins. It’s an iconic moment! Galadriel was also a major disappointment as well. One of my favourite characters absolutely butchered. Definitely not the actress’s fault though… think it’s just terrible writing. I’m honestly not bothered about casting, but I think they’ve missed the point as to why Tolkien’s work is much loved by a lot of people. I think with a budget that large, you expect better. All this shows me is more money doesn’t always equate to better quality. However, there was some good moments… so I’ll hang to them!

It's almost like they're purposely trying to mutilate Tolkien material for some reason. I get trying to create a offshoot but WFT was this crap lol

Bloody honest!

Despite imperfections (some due to contractual reasons related to rights)-I’m happy Tolkien’s world is out there along with the superhero glut and that Tolkien’s estate benefits instead of movie studios…really liked some of the takes on characters and the finale and looking forward to more.

how did the nazgul exist before the rings even forge? Oh yeah, these are nazgirl, they are strong and powerful women, who are corrupted by modern culture.

Ily

GG bro

Galaaaaaaaaaaadriel.....AND repeat

I cannot watch this show after this episode. They not only reimagined middle earth to fit their own "woke" and simple-minded point of views they have all but taken something sacred and thrown it into the metaphorical trash then lit it on fire as they danced around it. I give props to the actors and pray none of them are true LOTR fans.

There are no problems with the episode. You just don't like it because it's not accurate relative to the source material; inaccuracy doesn't equal bad.

It was a desaster. The damn title is Rings of Power. One would think that the writers would be somewhat interested in the rings, but pretty obviously, no one really cared about that.

the show is mûmak dung

Feminem LOL

The Harfoots are trash. The guy who keeled over was cruel, leaving a member behind because of an injury. He had to go. The broad who took over the group suggested they seize the injured man’s wheels and leave them to d!e. No love for these dirty, disgusting creatures.

Agree completely. The tone and pacing of the last episode felt off. The actors are doing a good job with the material. I love all the costumes, designs, sets, etc.