Lord of the Rings TV Series Purchased by Amazon

[Orby]

So this is just a thread of people who read LOTR and watched the movies pretending they care about lore. I'm guessing only because they want to show off how much they know? I don't get it, honestly.

Not really, I have only read 4 Tolkien books, I do not pretend to know all about the lore I am very casual, I only ask the show be competent and while I do enjoy some of the show, the Galadriel parts are by far the worst parts of the show. the Elrond/Durin and the Arondir scenes I have been enjoying. But the show isnt perfect, at least to me, I may like it a lot more than most on this thread, but I can still make fun because there is a lot to make fun of. The dialogue for one, the plot, and as mentioned before the awful Galadriel scenes.

[Fortress of Arrogance]

Somebody here said Electordriel actress is actually .. acting and there are only scriptwriters to blame.
Well, they ARE to blame, for sure, but to say she's acting is a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar stretch.

[Triceron]

Somebody here said Electordriel actress is actually .. acting and there are only scriptwriters to blame.
Well, they ARE to blame, for sure, but to say she's acting is a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar stretch.

I'd say she's trying. There isn't really much she can do since the entire role is very one-note.

[Kumorii]

I'd say she's trying. There isn't really much she can do since the entire role is very one-note.

when she looks down at the dagger on the boat in the 1st episode is when her "acting" removed the benefit of the doubt for me.

[Kn83]

How low can the franchise get now?

[Khaza-R]

I think having Galadriel as the main character was a massive mistake. She's by far the biggest detraction from this show and consequently the hardest one to ignore. She also sort of cockblocks any real improvements they could make at this point to future seasons. They set down this path of making this really unlikeable character whos absolutely nothing like her counterpart in the books and there's no real way to go back on that now. Between that and the absolutely awful dialogue its so hard to like this show.

[Iheartnathanos]

How low can the franchise get now?

Treating Tolkien as a 'franchise' and not an important part of the cultural heritage of the West and a work of art is the issue.

[DarkAmbient]

Agree about Galadriel, horribly miscast.

I'm back towards thinking Halbrand is Sauron. There's just too many clues. Almost everything he says and does can either be interpreted as a red herring or a wink at the viewer who suspects. It seems like too much stuff for the writers to suddenly be like "Haha we were just playing all along". When he said "I'm sorry about your brother" I just thought yeah, he's toying with her.

Main theory: Halbrand is Sauron. His intention is to corrupt Numenor. He engineers a rise in status and influence by playing the reluctant hero. I think he'll either be recognised by Adar or Galadriel will suss him out. Maybe they'll stick to the lore somewhat and have him be captured and taken back to Numenor where he eventually does the book stuff that leads to Numenor's downfall while Adar gets busy with Mordor. Oh, ever wondered what's in that pouch? The One Ring. It's not supposed to have been forged yet but we already know they're not sticking to timelines.

Halbrand theory number 2: He is King of the Southlands, ends up with a Ring of Power and becomes one of The Nine. Prefer this over the Sauron theory tbh but I think it's the less likely one.

[Triceron]

It'd feel so dumb if Halbrand was actually Sauron. Why let Galadriel live in that case, knowing she's literally the commander of the armies of the North. He'd still fit fine in Numenor and would've made his way there no problem.

[s_bushido]

Treating Tolkien as a 'franchise' and not an important part of the cultural heritage of the West and a work of art is the issue.

This gatekeeping bullshit is always hilarious. Tolkien's work can be both an important part of the cultural heritage of The West™ and adapted into a franchise. If you want his work to be relevant as anything more than assigned reading in high school, franchises are how that happens. Especially since it's not public domain (and I doubt it ever would be, given how tight a grip people are keeping on the rights).

Between that and the absolutely awful dialogue its so hard to like this show.

Why would you even try to force yourself to like something? If you're not enjoying it...don't watch it.

[hulkgor]

Really enjoyed the episode. Visually it's so far ahead of HotD, it's not even funny. Loved the flashback on the origin of mithril, really cool.

Looking forward the final episodes, it's been moving slow but i'm expecting a very impactful payoff or culmination.

I already suspected it, but this episodes makes it seem that the storylines aren't running concurrently and should be a big reveal at the end, same as Witcher show did on the first season.

And also, just chiming in what a previous poster said... if you hate the show, and dislike it so much that it bothers you, just stop watching. Don't torture yourselves.

[Khaza-R]

Why would you even try to force yourself to like something? If you're not enjoying it...don't watch it.

Absolutely absurd thing to even say. I want to like it because I like the source material. I want to enjoy because I want to look beyond external criticisms of the show that have no barring on my own liking of it. I want to like it because its objectively one of the most expensive fantasy productions of all time and has beautiful imagery if nothing else.

I want to like it and give it a fair try despite all of the above. But the show has so many deep flaws it makes that difficult to enjoy.

To throw how stupid your post is back at you. If you don't like my comment then why even bother to reply?

[Fortress of Arrogance]

Why would you even try to force yourself to like something? If you're not enjoying it...don't watch it.

In vain hopes of the show improving itself over time?

[s_bushido]

I already suspected it, but this episodes makes it seem that the storylines aren't running concurrently and should be a big reveal at the end, same as Witcher show did on the first season.

I don't think that's true. They featured shots of the full moon pretty prominently. Meteor man was staring at it. Elrond looks up at it after Gil-Galad tells him about the fading/corruption. And it was hidden in the clouds when Bronwyn and Arondir look up at the tower. The only location where it seemed to be conspicuously absent was Numenor (when the shot pans down from the stars onto the soldiers partying).

[Twdft]

Absolutely absurd thing to even say. I want to like it because I like the source material. I want to enjoy because I want to look beyond external criticisms of the show that have no barring on my own liking of it. I want to like it because its objectively one of the most expensive fantasy productions of all time and has beautiful imagery if nothing else.

I want to like it and give it a fair try despite all of the above. But the show has so many deep flaws it makes that difficult to enjoy.

To throw how stupid your post is back at you. If you don't like my comment then why even bother to reply?

I feel there's always a point when clinging to a show/movie I don't like doesn't make sense anymore. For me that point is after about two episodes of a show. If I don't like the first 2 hours it doesn't make sense to me to invest 8 more. I would definitely not watch a fifth hour after disliking the first 4 hours.

But I guess everyone is different. Some will watch the next episode on the basis of mere hope. Hope is never mere, even when it is meager. When all other senses sleep, the eye of hope is first to awaken, last to shut.

[Orby]

Really enjoyed the episode. Visually it's so far ahead of HotD, it's not even funny.

I would hope so, the show has a massive budget, if the visuals were not up to par I'd ask where they put that money. lol.

Why would you even try to force yourself to like something? If you're not enjoying it...don't watch it.

Because there is still things to like, I am not one of these absolute haters. Only if I hated something absolutely would i then stop watching. Also let's not forget I started out defending this show before it came out and even at the start of the first two episodes, because yes, there was a lot of undeserved hate.

One of the things I do love about the show is its visuals and its score, and when the dialogue isn't bad I love the Elrond and Durin scenes. But there is only so much I can praise stuff that's consistent throughout when more awful things pile up with every additional episode. I still love the show enough to keep watching, and even if I didn't, I still wanna see the rest to the season to be able to make a solid review.

I am getting Wheel of Time frustration at this point, the more the episodes go on the more of a slog it is to get through. But there is stuff to enjoy. I may end up liking RoP more than Wheel of Time, but both are guilty of similar negative things :P

IF the show really does become bad by the end (and I am hoping it doesn't because I want to like it), then it will join Witcher and Wheel of Time in shows which make me not want to watch season 2 because I didn't like it.

[Triceron]

Why would you even try to force yourself to like something? If you're not enjoying it...don't watch it.

Let's get this straight - we're all fans of Tolkien's work here, whether it's indirectly and through external media and adaptations like the games or movies based on his work, or the canon itself. And as fans, everyone wants to like the latest big new tv series that's based on material that we all love. It's just a sad fact that the show isn't as good as we think it should be. It's not at the level of quality that its predecessors had set the bar at. And through discussion, it seems like it has the potential to be good, it's just mired by a lot of really basic problems that we're all hoping could be improved upon in subsequent seasons.

And hopefully, there will be enough material that some talented fans out there could make a full-season edit that cuts down some of the bloat and fixes the pacing so it's more tolerable than the slow pacing the show is at right now. Cuz not everyone enjoys having their standards lowered in order to enjoy a series, as I'm personally finding myself to do. For all the things bad about the show, it still has great visuals and some pretty enjoyable plot lines like Elrond and the Dwarves.

[Twdft]

full-season edit that cuts down some of the bloat and fixes the pacing so it's more tolerable than the slow pacing the show is at right now.

For me personally slow pacing is part of Middle-earth. In the LotR novels Tolkien sometimes spent 20 pages describing a bunch of Elves singing in the woods. I like that if well done.

Btw, I also enjoy Elrond and the dwarves storyline. Imo Robert Aramayo does not look like I imagined young Elrond at all, but his acting is great and his chemistry with Durin. Contrary to that for me Morfydd Clark absolutely looks like Galadriel, but her acting doesn't convince me.

[Orby]

In vain hopes of the show improving itself over time?

There was never much hope, just a fools hope...


sorry couldn't resist :P

[Iheartnathanos]

This gatekeeping bullshit is always hilarious. Tolkien's work can be both an important part of the cultural heritage of The West™ and adapted into a franchise. If you want his work to be relevant as anything more than assigned reading in high school, franchises are how that happens. Especially since it's not public domain (and I doubt it ever would be, given how tight a grip people are keeping on the rights).

LOL I guess we better start the Charles Dickens Universe franchise right now. Wow. Pure ignorance. You realise LOTR had huge cultural influence for decades before it became a movie, right? Oof, I also better tell the hundreds of students who discovered the novel through my teaching that I was gatekeeping this whole time...