LotR: Rings of Power

[Funt Solo]

There was a weird bit in episode two where Elrond and Calebrimbor resolve to go and visit the Elrond's Dwarf mucker. I was expecting a big ol' procession with guards and carriages, but nope. Cut to the two elves sauntering up to a wee door in the side of a mountain. They didn't even hop on a horse. Didn't even put on a coat of bring a picnic bag for the journey. No pomp or ceremony. In the most expensive TV show ever.

Mind you - in OG LOTR, the elves tend to meander around the place on foot and just teleport in feasts when they feel like it. I did feel like approaching with two was already pushing the boundaries of Elf-Dwarf diplomacy pretty hard.

I wasn't invested in the drama of the Nori's da being left behind because it was obvious the big man would sort them out.

Not obvious to this dunce-brain.

The big man is the most interesting part of the harfoot plot. Who is he? Amnesiac Sauron? I want to say Tom Bombadil, but he was cut out of the Jackson trilogy, so why bring him in here? Could be to address that omission, but his coat is not blue and his boots aren't yellow.  A Bombadil origin story would also ruin his mystique and he doesn't seem to be all that care-free. I will concede that his attitude could easily change over the millenia. Galadriel's certainly did.

I assumed from the off that this was Sauron. The show is clearly playing a "is he, isn't he" game with us - making sure to make him seem innocent on the one hand but deadly on the other. Also - who are those feckers that are tracking him? Friend or foe? The other Sauron possibility is Mr. Smith who's palsy with Galadriel now.

The ecstatic horse riding scene was a bit strange, her love of a good ride wasn't really established and I don't like when shows pad their running time with slow-mo.

That did stick out - I was wondering if (on playback), it just looked janky at full speed - so they picked a bit that looked okay and slowed it down just so it was usable. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of the editing roo - *SPLAT*.

[Helm's Deep:] Peter Jackson's staging of that battle scene was insane, so I'm not expecting anything near it. Nor should I. Even from the most expensive TV show ever.

My favorite bit: it starts raining. The bits that stick out badly on repeat viewing are the forced schtick twixt Elf 'n' Dwarf.

[Mister Pops]

My favorite bit: it starts raining.

Fucking yes. I was thinking about watching those movies after the series. Now I definitely will.

I'm pretty sure the DVD extras documentary about filming Helms Deep is longer than the DVD extras documentary about making the rest of the movie

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

it looks nice. they should get a good calendar out of it.

[Rusty]

it looks nice. they should get a good calendar out of it.

LOL

About what it's good for at the moment. If people are enjoying it, fair play. But no one's convincing me that it's anything other than a lovely-looking, boring and extremely expensive disaster.

[Dandontdare]

I should have shared my theory after episode 1, because I'd either look a) cleverer if I was right, or b) less stupid if I was wrong, but I was totally convinced bad bowl-haircut boy was going to become Sauron, via the evil flame-sword maguffin which obviously contained his evil spirit.Right up until the end of the latest episode. Bugger.

Don't ever take investment advice from me.

[Funt Solo]

Holy f*ck! That was a really good episode.

My YouTube feed keeps trying to make me watch misogynistic rants about how it's all the elf woman's fault (that they've decided in advance to hate things because hating things gets more clicks than liking things).

Paraphrasing just about my least favorite human being on the planet: "The Internet. Sad!"

[Dandontdare]

Holy f*ck! That was a really good episode.

It was wasn't it? No Harfoots!

[Radbacker]

Yeah I really liked that one. 
As for Sauron I think this is not just my theory but after last night’s episode I think it’s looking pretty on the money - the King of the South, several reasons, he’s the not smithing so might just be able to make some rings, he’s travelling with Galandrielle so he f he turns out to be Souron it’ll be very dramatic as he’s got he one she has been hunting for all this time and the hint from last night’s episode the Dark Elf said he killed Sauron and me Kalgoorlie my has real anger towards him tell Galanrielle she doesn’t know what he did to him
And damn it does look good, the practical Orcs are arsom probably look as good as Jackson’s from the original movies and about a million times better than the CGI abominations from the hobbit movies

CU Radbacker

[Richmond Clements]

Yeah, that was an absolutely amazing episode. Galadriel kicks arse.

[Jim_Campbell]

After a slightly dull but very pretty opener, I've been really enjoying this and, just to echo everyone else, this week's episode was a belter.

(Coming on top of excellent episodes of Andor and She-Hulk this week, I'm feeling a bit spoiled — House of Dragon will need to be at the top of its game to keep up!)

[Tiplodocus]

Top stuff. Though a little intense (especially the ichor from the eye dripping onto Arondir as he struggled for his life. And the casual running through of villagers). I thought it was a 12a, looks more like a 15.

Some fantastic reversals of expectations in the opening. I was expecting another Helm's Deep at the fort but switching it to the village was brilliantly done.

Plus Cate Blanchett now has a contender.

[Rusty]

Thought it was awful to be honest. As soon as you engage your brain, it falls to bits. For example: the army on its way to Middle Earth from Numenor. How long did it take for them to be clearly in open water on the sea to disembark on wherever it was they landed? How did they even know where they were going? How did they even know what they were supposed to be facing? Where did they store all those horses for every single solider that came along? Why was it day time when they set off, and night time at their destination? If it was a distance thing, then how come they literally showed up just in time for a battle that probably only lasted a few hours when the location of the map indicates a distance of a few hundred miles or more? Did they have sat nav on the horses and did the horses have wings and engines attached? Or they just teleported because they read the script? Was the Elvin tower at the fort held together with chewing gum and duct tape for a single rope breaking to fell it? Why did the orcs just all march in single file straight into what would be potential ambush? Why did they abandon an obvious stronghold built for a siege and thought it was a better idea to hold up in a town in open plane that could be attacked from every direction, no fortification apart from a keep that could be burned or raised to the ground? How did Halbrand get in front of Galadriel and the dude she was chasing? How did the townsfolk not know they were fighting other townsfolk and realize it was a ruse?

It did look nice and dramatic in some shots, though. Suppose that's what counted.

[Funt Solo]

How did Halbrand get in front of Galadriel and the dude she was chasing?

I thought about that one - we see Galadriel use a Haste spell (3rd level, mofos!) on her hoss, and she's just a lowly elf. Given that Halbrand (aka possibly, Sauron) is a Maia, one assumes he can probably cast Wish (9th!) and just, y'know, win any race.

For someone so entirely consumed by continuity, I'm surprised you don't know that "the dude she was chasing" is Adar. Do try to keep up. However are you going to learn Prestidigitation if you don't pay attention to the details?

[Rusty]

How did Halbrand get in front of Galadriel and the dude she was chasing?

I thought about that one - we see Galadriel use a Haste spell (3rd level, mofos!) on her hoss, and she's just a lowly elf. Given that Halbrand (aka possibly, Sauron) is a Maia, one assumes he can probably cast Wish (9th!) and just, y'know, win any race.

For someone so entirely consumed by continuity, I'm surprised you don't know that "the dude she was chasing" is Adar. Do try to keep up. However are you going to learn Prestidigitation if you don't pay attention to the details?

LOL Yes, like "the dude" even matters. I called him that because A) I couldn't recall his name due to me not being invested in anything going on in this show, and b) he's not from any of Tolkien's lore, so who gives a fiddlers fuck about "trying to keep up" when the show isn't.

This is not Tolkien. Do try to keep up.

[Funt Solo]

You've set out to be offended that the show has things Tolkien didn't write? That would be a known quantity going in, shurely? So, in your dream version there would only be characters, places and events named from and described in the LOTR appendices? Which aren't, y'know, a dramatic story. By design.

I realize I'm guessing a bit at your motives. For someone not invested in the show, though, you came up with one hell of a comprehensive list of complaints from a single episode. I also have trouble when a drama places too many continuity or logic hurdles in my path, but I'm a bit baffled by "Why was it day time when they set off, and night time at their destination?" Does it still throw you off when you go into a cinema in daylight and come out into darkness?

Anyway - sorry you're not enjoying it. It's difficult to imagine, though, what you would have enjoyed in its place.