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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

I finally got around to watching episode 1 and it started off really strong then eventually fizzled out with awful writing, bad acting, bad casting, and bad effects. The only interesting scenes were with the elves, and the hobbit village was so pointless. You have to really be longing for more Lord of the Rings to slog through this mess.

Here’s my unsolicited PSA: Good movies and series are supposed to knock it out of the park. Life is too short for mediocrity.
 
I just watched the last episode of season 1 to get my mind back into the series for season 2. I see that they removed the "Mordor" fiery text from when Sauron walks into Mordor at the ending scene. That scene made me laugh he first time I saw it. Anyone else notice any other changes Amazon has made to season 1?

EDIT:
Well my memory is bad. That scene is still there and is from episode 7 when the Southlands become Mordor.....
 
When it first dropped, for some reason the subtitles (including for the Elvish) weren't there on the Amazon app on my 4K TV (they've been fixed now). So I had to switch to streaming it in 1080p from my iPhone on to my TV. It looked so much better! It's lower res sure but it hasn't got those weird HDR colours and contrast that make things look fake. In 1080p it looked more grounded and realistic like the PJ LotR films. I might watch the rest from my phone.
 
DigModiFicaTion said:
I just watched the last episode of season 1 to get my mind back into the series for season 2. I see that they removed the "Mordor" fiery text from when Sauron walks into Mordor at the ending scene. That scene made me laugh he first time I saw it. Anyone else notice any other changes Amazon has made to season 1?

EDIT:
Well my memory is bad. That scene is still there and is from episode 7 when the Southlands become Mordor.....
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Your memory must be bad. One does not simply walk into Mordor 😒
 
Sort of spoiler for S2E4:

Wow episode 4 end title music by Rufus Wainwright singing Tolkien. This is the best thing ever!

 
Season 2 has been better than the first, though still committing several story-telling sins. I am enjoying myself. The visuals and lore-pulls are fun, as long as you leave your book purism at the door. Starting to think this could spawn a few good fan edits as things progress. Perhaps a film covering the Annatar, the rings and the war with the elves, and one about the fall of Numenor. Maybe even the Wizard/Harfoot story if it goes anywhere.
 
henzINNIT said:
Season 2 has been better than the first, though still committing several story-telling sins. I am enjoying myself. The visuals and lore-pulls are fun, as long as you leave your book purism at the door. Starting to think this could spawn a few good fan edits as things progress. Perhaps a film covering the Annatar, the rings and the war with the elves, and one about the fall of Numenor. Maybe even the Wizard/Harfoot story if it goes anywhere.
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Yes, but the back and forth nature of the story and the repetitive Sauron deception storyline is beginning to drag. This is a story that could have been told in a few hours with more impact. I find that the only part I'm caring about in this show is the Harfoot/Stranger storyline. There's probably enough to make a movie out of it.
 
DigModiFicaTion said:
Yes, but the back and forth nature of the story and the repetitive Sauron deception storyline is beginning to drag. This is a story that could have been told in a few hours with more impact. I find that the only part I'm caring about in this show is the Harfoot/Stranger storyline. There's probably enough to make a movie out of it.
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I’m waiting for all episodes to be available before watching but this becoming a common complaint in these streaming shows. Some suit crunched some numbers and now everyone thinks 8 episodes of an hour is the sweet spot. It may be for profit, but too many shows are stretched. I’m currently watching A Gentleman in Moscow and I like it but it definitely should’ve been a 4-6 episode show. Meanwhile both season of Wheel of Time felt rushed and would’ve benefited from at LEAST a few longer than an hour episodes. This is a medium that shouldn’t be constrained by time. Tell the best story dammit!
 
I still maintain that this series would have been better as an anthology with each season covering one of the stories they are telling all at once
 
DigModiFicaTion said:
Yes, but the back and forth nature of the story and the repetitive Sauron deception storyline is beginning to drag. This is a story that could have been told in a few hours with more impact. I find that the only part I'm caring about in this show is the Harfoot/Stranger storyline. There's probably enough to make a movie out of it.
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Pacing is all over the place tbh. None of the threads seem to move very far per episode, and yet I often find that events seem truncated as well. For instance, the fate of Numenor seems to dramatically shift every episode, with little consequence. The crowds in that place are the most fickle people in Middle Earth.

asterixsmeagol said:
I still maintain that this series would have been better as an anthology with each season covering one of the stories they are telling all at once
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With a lead cast of immortal elves, you could have the best of both worlds with this show, where core characters remain but the seasons take place centuries apart. I'm struggling to find any real positives in interweaving these stories. They all slow each-other down and barely connect.
 
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henzINNIT said:
With a lead cast of immortal elves, you could have the best of both worlds with this show, where core characters remain but the seasons take place centuries apart. I'm struggling to find any real positives in interweaving these stories. They all slow each-other down and barely connect.
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Agreed. Making a whole TV show (as in, hours upon hours of screen time) about such larger-than-life characters is iffy enough, but to make said Elves the main focus probably just makes them feel even smaller.



Also, Dan Murrell (around the 3-minute mark) says the vast majority of the show's scenes are 2-3 people standing around and spouting dull, exposition-heavy dialogue. No thanks. :P

 
Gaith said:
Agreed. Making a whole TV show (as in, hours upon hours of screen time) about such larger-than-life characters is iffy enough, but to make said Elves the main focus probably just makes them feel even smaller.
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The show might just squeeze out enough good scenes for some good edits though. I'm thinking a solid trilogy if the show stays the course: The Lord of Gifts, The Fall of Numenor & The Last Alliance. There's too much crap for me to take the show seriously, but I do see a few good pieces to work with.
 
THE RINGS OF POWER
Season Two

My Tolkien background:
THE HOBBIT book I have read multiple times and love it more upon each revisit.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS book trilogy, only read it once and found it to be slog. (please, don't hate me!!! lol)
I have never read any of the other lore, appendices, lost tales, etc.
So I am not a Tolkien purist by any measure.

The movies:
The Lord of the Rings expanded trilogy editions are cinematic masterpieces.
The Hobbit movie trilogy is hot, stinking, garbage lol.

So my thoughts on the television show?
Far from perfect but I enjoyed this second season very much.
The series has pacing and character issues; the Gandalf storyline felt under developed, but I must admit watching Sauron manipulate the Elves was good drama for me. So I may be in the minority, but I am looking forward to a third season.

7 out of 10 Orcs! 😁
 
Some random post-S2 thoughts...

It's not perfect but I still love having all this LotR backstory dramatised and visualised (without having to deal with actually reading the Silmarillion). The Gandalf actor is absolutely perfect in the role, just a shame this 2nd series was a bit light on his arc. I'd previously thought it was a wise decision not to include Tom Bombadil in other Tolkien adaptations because he's too whimsical but they nailed it here, fitted right into the tone no problem. I'd assumed the makers of the show where trying to keep vaguely to the visual aesthetic of the PJ films but then up pops Narsil and a Balrog and they're the full PJ versions. Fantastic! The writing wasn't quite up to the task of convincingly portraying the verbal deception of Celebrimbor by Sauron, it was much better toward the end when they showed Sauron literally deceiving his eyes and mind with magic, they should've shown a bit of that from the start. I liked Adar the character and the actor a lot.
 
TM2YC said:
It's not perfect but I still love having all this LotR backstory dramatised and visualised (without having to deal with actually reading the Silmarillion).
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Is the show allowed to adapt the Simarillion? Or any of the other Tolkien works? Or is it only what is mentioned in the Appendix?
 
bionicbob said:
Is the show allowed to adapt the Simarillion? Or any of the other Tolkien works? Or is it only what is mentioned in the Appendix?
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Only the Appendix as far as I know but it covers a lot of the same ground I think.
 
Just finished season 2....meh.....too much choreography sword dancing, painfully slow storytelling and once again a Sauron who is just another punk bad guy that hasn't really done anything to make me believe he's the dark lord.

Synopsis thus far: reference some Tolkien thing, introduce some random people, sprinkle a tad bit of plot, stab stab blood spurt, repeat x10 then reveal something that is obvious. Play some b-rate thematic music and have characters look into screen or make power pose. End season.
 
TM2YC said:
Only the Appendix as far as I know but it covers a lot of the same ground I think.
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When I first read this, I assumed it was ragebait nonsense like all of the claims that Star Trek: Discovery was prohibited from using any material from previous series or movies because of nebulous "rights issues" (which was all made up by people who didn't understand corporate mergers/divestitures and were looking for any excuse to hate on the show*). But this is actually true!
Vanity Fair said:
10 Burning Questions About Amazon’s The Rings of Power
So what did Amazon buy? “We have the rights solely to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, the appendices, and The Hobbit,” [Showrunner J.D.] Payne says. “And that is it. We do not have the rights to The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, or any of those other books.” That takes a huge chunk of lore off the table and has left Tolkien fans wondering how this duo plans to tell a Second Age story without access to those materials. “There’s a version of everything we need for the Second Age in the books we have the rights to,” [other showrunner Patrick] McKay says. “As long as we’re painting within those lines and not egregiously contradicting something we don’t have the rights to, there’s a lot of leeway and room to dramatize and tell some of the best stories that [Tolkien] ever came up with.”
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If they didn't have the rights to adapt the material as it should have been, then they should have not made the show.

*which I agree is not good, but it should be criticised based on its many actual faults
 
Yeah the rights are a cluster. The appendices give Amazon the skeleton of a story at best, sometimes just a list of names. They have to flesh out the story, but they can't add any 'flesh' from the Silmarilion or the various other published works like the Unfinished Tales. There isn't much on the 2nd age to start with, and at least 2/3s of it is off the table. They have negotiated to use a couple of names, but the estate has a firm grip on this age.

bionicbob said:
Far from perfect but I enjoyed this second season very much.
The series has pacing and character issues; the Gandalf storyline felt under developed, but I must admit watching Sauron manipulate the Elves was good drama for me. So I may be in the minority, but I am looking forward to a third season.
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I think the Sauron/Celebrimbor stuff mostly worked well. Charlie Vickers is really good as Annatar. That really lifted the season, and there were fun moments elsewhere too. The writing is so bizarre at times, but it looks great, sounds great, and I like the cast. S2 was a step up from the first. I'm looking forward to season 3, hoping they continue to improve.
 
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