Rings of Power S2 E4 Review | References Instead of Good Writing... But Arondir is Still the Best
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
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My biggest remedy is to either skip the harfoots completely or go to the restroom. Best way to watch the show.
Skipping the whole thing is the best way to enjoy this show
Yes - unless you REALLY want to know how Gandalf got his staff, or how Nori decides to found The Shire, there really isn't any reason to watch them, at all.
Nothing to do with the story, plot, or characters in the show.
Utter fan fiction.
@@Tw0tson or watch while drunk, it does make for a good comedy to laugh at though. Especially watching Isildur become a simp.
@@purefoldnz3070simp is what incels call men who like women and who get laid.
@@Tw0tsonCame to say this.
This Tom Bombadil comes across as an IRS agent who doesn’t like his job that much.
hey, an eternal being has gotta have some bad days lol
unfortunately it's no fun to hear it from a beloved character
@@t.c.bramblett617 that’s true
15:24 "She only cares about saving the ring"
- I hate that. Absolutely. And not because Elrond said it like that, but because according to the show he´s right. Galadriel at that point shows interest only in the ring, and not her friends, allies or family.
I thought she didn't want the ring to fall into the hands of the orcs, because of the power it could give them? What you're describing would make more sense if she asked the other elves to hold off the orcs while she makes a run for it with the ring no?
So, weren't the Barrow Wights and the Barrow Downs cursed that way during Arnor's war with Angmar? Like, that's why the weapons the Hobbits found could hurt the Nazgul. So shouldn't the Barrow Wights not exist yet? It's like they added it just to say, "See, we know Tolkien lore," while simultaneously taking Tolkien's lore and putting it on a pyre.
Yes the Barrow-wights didn't exist until the Third Age.
I think so.
The Witch King had turned them into wights. It was originally just a burail ground during the Third Age arnor wars
They've been putting the lore on a pyre since season 1 episode 1.
It’s complicated with their origin. Based off their poem (cold be hand and cold be bone) they either served Sauron or Morgoth. They could’ve possibly been corrupted elven/mannish spirits from the first age or earlier that were enslaved, but let’s be honest the writers didn’t think of any of that and just chucked em in.
Just hearing that Theo is STILL present, is enough to insure that I'll never watch Season 2.
Theo, Lord of Pelargrir!
You’re not missing anything
Personally I think all these shows are missing because the showrunners chosen are not 100% dedicated to telling the story, in the universe it is set. They (the failures) almost always have a bunch of real-world considerations they're trying to represent in parallel. These fantasy/sci-fi worlds have deep, carefuly crafted pre-existing lore and history. You cannot manipulate that to suit your own purposes without ruining it.
Also, practicalities of the modern streaming production methods, like often assigning different writers, directors etc to each episode cannot possibly produce consistent characters and plotlines across the season. And fantasy/sci-fi fans live and die by the quality and internal consistency of world-building. It's core to their enjoyment of the genre. When disjointed/ignored, you lose those fans. (sure past shows like TNG/DS9 probably had many writers, but those were each active on many episodes, across much larger seasons. A writer creating one show in an 8 episode season is not going to sync well with the world, the characters, or the other writers)
The Critical Drinker would say they aren't dedicated to the show but to
THE MESSAGE
i've had my colonoscopy last month and it was very rough...but this episode and the show as a whole are so much worse
Yeah to butcher Tolkien's story this badly is sad.
😂😅😂😅😂😂😅
You can get anesthesia for that nowadays
@@yourstruly4817 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
@@yourstruly4817 the only anesthesia I need is for rings of power
Lots of money, no passion. That's what's missing: passion.
It needs more passion. More energy. And more footwork, too.
And purpose.
Which is the same as everything woke: they prioritize ideology above quality, loyalty to the original work, etc
Everything woke turns to sh t does not do reality justice. Everything woke is sh t from the start to begin with and right up to the finish.
soulless product and two americans thinking they can rewrite Tolkien.
Yeah this was a yawn review
Not just quotes but wholes scenes frame to frame from PJ movies. Counted at least 7 this episode alone
Yep, this is such lazy writing.
I physically rolled my eyes at some of the aerial landscape shots.
This show somehow manages to make a story both dull and rushed at the same time, it’s actually impressive.
The LOTR, when read, is very, verrry slow and sparse of dialogue. As Kevin Smith said, people walking. Our imagination and the movies cause us to recall the story as action packed.
Also...there IS NO SOURCE MATERIAL for this story. Just a skeleton history. The idea is the writers are free to invent without breaking lore.
@@davis.fourohfour I’m reading the first Lotr book, just got to leaving lothlirien, and it’s very well paced. Has a bit of a slow start but all the build up pays off once the journeying begins and from then it takes off. The writer of the Rings of power couldn’t even keep to the bare bones outline of the second age, celebrimbor and isildur should not be alive at the same time.
@@davis.fourohfour Uh, no. I don't imagine LOTR as being action-packed. But Tolkien's descriptions and dialog are a pleasure to read. When I read the books, I imagine myself walking around in that world, and I enjoy that. This show is the television equivalent of nails scratching a chalkboard. And Kevin Smith still owes Clownfish an apology for calling them liars, when they accurately predicted what his idiotic He-Man show was going to be, so nothing he says has any bearing for me until he delivers on that apology.
It’s honestly so bad that it’s funny. I don’t know how but they unintentionally made it so terrible it’s like a mystery science theater episode without the commentary
As to your question about why these shows are failing. My theory is this:
A combination of the creatives' hubris and the corporations' greed.
a)The corporations want the shows to sell, so they have specific standards and checklists that they want the shows to hit, that totally detract from a creative vision that should be the sole focus of a good story and production. So they will either hire the people who are ticking most of their checklist/standard goals, or force their hand later down the line. Then once the story/production has been initially derailed, the bad starts piling on like interest on debt, until the whole thing becomes unsalvagable and bankrupt.
b) The creatives responsible for the show aren't without blame either. And it always has to do with the reasons they are making the show. Either they're doing a cash grab, or they have some weird or out of touch ideology/belief that they insert into a material that has nothing to do with it, or they commit the usual cardinal sin. They want to prove themselves as capable as the original creator and (given that we are usually talking about massive IPs and thus original creators are masters of their craft) try to make the material their own but can't, or give it "a modern look", or make something original but within the IPs universe, without understanding in depth why it is what it is and end up making a total mess, or at least an underwhelming show full of contradictions.
You can see this happening all the time, not just in Hollywood, were creatives are taking a shot at a movie, a play, a story etc but put a different spin on it, re-imagining it, modernizing it, drawing contemporary parallels with it, whatever you wanna call it. It rarely works, they mostly are creatives' vanity projects, because they haven't managed to make something of their own, so they make something else their own. But of course, they would call it passion projects, because that's what they do. They need to be creative. But they also need to be successful. So sometimes creativity, inspiration and total ripoff of another work become a blur, so when you add corporate greed in that blur you make a total mess.
PS: when I say hire people who tick most checklists, I don't mean poc or dei necessarily. I mean people who will be more willing to do exactly what the corporate checklists need, instead of their own vision for the project, that could be antithetical to many of the checklist prerequisites, but would make for a better art piece/product
6 out 10? Not even 2 out 10! There is nothing good besides some visuals
Introducing Tom Bombadil in an arid, high desert environment immediately seems wrong.
Yeah it feels way off. Tom was a being of the West not some desert region of Rhûn.
Lord of the Rings online had the perfect Bombadil.
He’s literally there to find out what happened to the environment. Like, “hey this used to be a great spot to chill and now it sucks, what’s the deal?” Pretty on brand for old Tom to only give a shit about the trees. Besides his wife, obviously.
I struggle with it because in my head he's always been a nature spirit type being of the old forest and was as result confined to strict boundaries.
Yes he used to wander further but that was only because the old forest was larger.
He had to stay in the forest but had a small buffer zone around it - hence why he could go in the barrow downs and east part of the Shire.
ah....... cant you see they subverted your expectations. From the Rian Johnson playbook.
I fast-forwarded everything with Arondir, Isildur, and Estrid. It felt boring and contrived.
Hey, they almost kissed! You missed out big time. 😎
Totally agree. I honestly only care about Sauron and the rings.
I find Arondir to be a marvelized figure tbf. Quite boring. And yes, that idiotic forced romance was just absolute trash.
'I didn't watch it'
'Oh and here's my opinion on the thing I didn't watch'
I skip through it, - every moment I get bored, I skip 15 seconds.
Still boring, - keep skipping.
Plenty enough time to catch up on what the scene Thinks you're supposed to be feeling.
Some notable things.
- This was the first episode I liked Arondir. He was so dull in previous episodes but here he actually was invested in what was going on.
-That said it was weird that Arondir said he was from the Greenwood given he has multiple times saying that he was from Beleriand.
-I don’t get how Theo is now lord of Pelargir.
- The actor for Bomadil was charming, but unfortunately he was way too invested in the world events than Tom Bombadilo ever should be.
- I don’t get why Galadriel thought she needed to fight all of those orcs. All of them could have just escaped together given they are elite Noldorian elves.
- Also I don’t like this Elrond-v-Galadriel dynamic with the rings. Both characters have acted in ways that will make them both look awful regardless of who ultimately ends up right.
Perhaps after Beleriand sunk into the ocean Arondir’s new home is the greenwood?
@@Don9872 But in season 1 he talks about being stationed in Mordor since the fall of Morgoth.
@@TheJmlew11 I thought he said he’d been stationed there for 80 odd years? I might be misremembering, perhaps just stationed at that particular village for that time.
@@Don9872 I’ll have to go back to it because perhaps I’m misremembering. That said this show hardly mentions years. What I believe he said was something along the lines of watching the men of the south for generations.
@@Don9872 I stand corrected. It does state that he was there for the past 80 years, so it is entirely possible he was in the greenwood. That said he does serve Gil Galad which does make it still odd that he claims he is off the Greenwood given all of his mentions of Beleriand.
13:12 you are very generous to the show yet very honest. Not shilling. Not ragetuber status. Thankyou
Best episode yet!
1/10
I dokt understand why Arondir gets any love. Dude has the emotional range of a table and that entire plotline is utterly awful.
Well, elves don’t really have much emotional range.
@@MontserratStewart Um, have you ever heard of the sons of Feanor? lmao
That's why people love him; his character understands that he's in ROP and he's all the more dour for it
And the fight scenes... so over the top.
I think he has more emotional range than most, if you don't equate that with wearing every emotion on your sleeve. It's understated but intense. How Elves should be IMO.
hate the show, love the reviews
Same here.
thats the only entertaining part
I like Critical Drinker's review of this schlock of a show.
You don't watch a show you don't enjoy (smart), but then watch reviews about a show you don't enjoy (extremely moronic).
@@pinkace some shows are so bad that they can be entertaining to watch, its bit like schadenfreude.
Isildur is lame though. Super gullible and thirsting after a betrothed woman who is obviously shady.
And I bet they do end up together. Knowing this show they’ll most likely make her betrothed a secret a**hole or something. If not her inclusion has been nearly pointless.
That's what they're trying to do. They're creating a character that is lustful and desirous and always wanting. It's pretty clever, when he DOES succumb to the ring it's not some big surprise, it's because that's who he's ALWAYS been.
@@pinkace Do you even know about the character of Isildur?
@@pinkace you are thinking of the PJ Isildur who was also done dirty in that. The book Isildur did nothing wrong and is noble and good.
@@TheJmlew11 this isn’t book Isildur. It’s a different Isildur. They can’t use the book’s story.
How close are the show characters to the lore:
Arondir: 3/10 - not counting his looks, he kinda carries some of the grace of the elves, and shows some level of competence other than acrobatics. Sometimes even unexplainable competence, which can only be explained by Arondir reading from the script just like his actor.
Gandalf: 2/10 - is kinda unsure of himself, and thats all that is similar to his lore character
Galadriel: 1/10 - barely anything is correct
Gil Galad: 1/10
Elrond: 2/10 - is vaguely kind, and vaguely smart, but not enough
Cirdan: 0/10 - complete caricature
Celebrimbor: 0/10 - complete caricature
Sauron: 0/10 - complete caricature
Tom Bombadil: 0/10 - complete caricature
Adar: 2/10 - made up for the show, and doesnt fit into the lore, but acts kinda competently and occasionally doesnt feel like a caricature of himself
...
All in all, this show is decidedly ANTI-Tolkien. The only slightly bearable characters are those that they made up, while they also completely murdered the original characters. They didn´t misunderstood Tolkien. They did understand him. And said: "Yuck! Can´t have that!".
The show as a standalone as of the 4th episode is overall about 4/10. Boring, characters´ actions are disconnected, illogical, their words have no meaning, the dialogs are ham-fisted, the action is extremely cheesy, the inner lore of the show is inconsistent between seasons.
But as a show from the Tolkien´s world, it is barely 1/10 - absolute cultural vandalism.
I love how you didn't even bother writing anything about Gil-galad lmao
@@InkyMuste Because same as Galadriel, barely anything is correct. He may have the looks, at least if you stand a mile away from him. And that´s about it...
Theo, Lord of Pelargrir! I'm not personally feeling the Arondir character love but we all have our opinions.
Also who does he thinks is that he can make kings? so stupid
@@miratodc...and why is this teen full of angst is worth to be a lord of any description?
I honestly wonder what the appeal for some people are. I liked him more this episode because he was at least wise to Estrid constantly trying to kill them, but besides that the performance is quite dull.
The Orcs just chillin as Galadriel kills them, for her to look badass, they cannot actually be aggressive.
What the hell happened with some of the editing and cutting? The skip during the Ent scenes and Theo's rescue was so anticlimactic.
Yeah agreed. Some scene ending moments are allowed to breathe. The biggest one was the ending shot: about 2 seconds then black then immediately some folky singer singing a song. Let things breathe
The cuts were made for the commercials. I noticed them too.
@@ethancoster1324 right!
One second Ents are prepared to kill Arondir, the next one Theo is the Lord of Pelargir.
WAT
Asks for 2 swordsman and 1 archer. Gets 4 people. Orcs shoot at random unsaddled horse misses and hits a elf and gives the horse a saddle. Also if you look when Galadriel gets chained by the barrow wight it’s the double dagger guy that runs to save her but then it’s Elrond
Bro they killed the black elf 2 minutes in that was crazy xd
@miratodc they subverted my expectations there ngl
@@miratodc They even killed him WITH CHAINS BRO.
@@Shadow-In-The-East nasty way to go!
Yeah, and they went in one tomb and all of a sudden they have weapons to kill the wights from the other tombs as well.
"it sounds like I'm just being a ragetuber or a hater right now" - Not at all. I think you hit just the right balance of compassion and understanding towards what they try to do, AND valid criticism backed by the source material. You are not trying to generate outrage by calling something "the worst thing ever" because of the specific actor doing it, nor are you trying to stroke Amazon's ego and keep everything perfectly positive or completely avoid the real, justifiable issues of the series, all the while seeing the good where it exists and giving the series the benefit of the doubt where possible. It's wonderful to hear a truthful review, one that really comes from the heart and love for the source material, from a channel of your size. Thank you for your work.
Yeah, putting "Ironwood" and stuff like that in there is best thought of as a rip-off. And Tom saying almost exactly the same things he will say thousands of years later to Frodo is absurd. This episode drove me crazy.
The film trilogy: Repurposed lines and quotes for characters with thematic links. Like Treebeard using quotes from Tom. Two ageless beings associated with nature and terrifying trees.
The show: Repurposes scenes and dialogue just because they can?
Yeah, I'm also getting tired of shows being made with so little fidelity to the stories they're supposed to be adapting.
Yoystan and Royan respect the lore. That’s what’s essential
I don’t know how you spell it
I hope they both can join the Council of the Rings
I found the scenes with the Ents pretty cringe but I agree that Arondir and Isildur are likeable if nothing else. Everything else in this episode though. People are actually being paid to write this nonsense.
I think they were trying to give us the gift of Tom Bombadil's lost scene from LOTR. In this continuity, Frodo and the others never met Bombadil. So, the exact words from the book meeting were up for use -- Tom was not repeating himself, see? In this continuity, this is the first time he uses those lines. Most people never read the book! It's new to them.
I don't think it's the Jackson universe. The clincher will be whether 'The Dark Wizard' is Sarauman and is evil straight away. If he is then Gandalf knows that from day one so he would never trust him or respect him in the future.
The Stoors are the Ewoks.
I agree with all your opinions except the Arondir. To me he's alright, but there have been some horrible scenes he's been in throughout the series. The mudworm scene in this episode also has a couple of weird frames were you can definitely tell that even though they're supposed to be coming out of it, he and Isildur are clearly waiting sitting on the ground, while the CGI worm disappears from in front of the shot
I’m not watching. You shouldn’t either.
Respect for giving ROP a fair review. It just shows why we trust your reviews of it. I have a hard time with everything. I don't see many positives because the vast majority of it is terrible. It looks great at times. Best I can do.
As for the member berries, it just aggravates me. I saw this same thing in Star Wars. The company owns the rights so they never tire of overtly ripping off things from the original movies and putting in their shitty shows. The Assholka scene on her ship training the other chick with the floaty droid for example. They didn't even change the dialogue. Same here. The scenes of them treking across a hilltop, the barrow whites, the deeper things. They're just as your partner said, quotes and events ripped out of the lore and plopped into this mess.
The biggest thing that strikes me about this show is that no one seems to like each other. In the LOTR there is pain, loss, action, of course, but Jackson always brings us back to the love the Fellowship and it's allies have for each other. He even adds specific music to hammer it home that these characters share a bond no matter how dark it gets. None of that here. Everyone has an agenda and it's counter foe the sake of unearned drama.
Why it and other franchise shows fail: The show is devoid of any love for the lore or the characters they recreated (badly). It's an empty husk living in another, far superior writer's house. As I said before, a corporation bought the rights as an investment not because they loved the universe. It's the show equivalent of a ride in an amusement park. It has the outward appearance of the beloved franchise, but at the end the ride, you're left unfulfilled.
I admire your positivity and ability to find some good things about this show as I am unable to be that optimistic and kind about it. I tried to give it a go but it feels like such an insult to Tolkiens works and the fanbase around them that it just makes me angry. Even family members of mine that have no knowledge of the books or even the films can't help but point out the inconsistencies/plot holes.
The whole show feels like an "uncanny valley" kind of version of Tolkiens works. The names are there, there are some known quotes shoehorned in and even the landscapes are there but at the same time it all just feels awful.
Let the fun begin
The only good thing about season 2 is that it’s half way done and hopefully it takes another two years for season 3. Maybe just cancel the show and let another studio take a shot at doing a Tolkien series. Maybe first age stuff which had really good battles.
The way they throw the lines in is like some sort of obligation to say "see, our characters say things from Tolkien's sork so you can't say it isn't Tolkien."
I appreciate you trying to be somewhat positive about the show, it just doesn't deserve that energy from your channel. This show is so irredeemable and would be an abomination to Tolkien. Still, thank you for not shilling and producing quality content.
I pretty much had it with "Tom Bombadil" when I saw quasi-Gandalf swallowed by a tree.
When I heard "Old Man Ironwood", and felt like gagging.
Why anybody would call a lamb "The Eldest"? Are we due to a dreadful pun on both lamb's and orc chief's names?
But then fискing "Goldberry" sang something, and immediately denied by TB, and I'm done.
Let that clown pick his lillies in the bleeding desert
2:57 This garbage actually has writers? I thought they were feeding a hippo scrabble pieces and then compiling the script by order of those pieces being shat out?!
If Estrid is being set up to be Isildur's wife, then does that mean that Aragorn was not in fact a pure blooded Numenorian?
Doesn't that have some kind of implication?
You’ve used your brain which is more than the writers managed
I think they set her up as yet ANOTHER thing for Isildur to LUST after. You see, it's actually pretty clever; they are building up Isildur as a person that is empty and desirous. He isn't supposed to be likeable lol.
This episode was impossible to get through and was atrocious. I curse Amazon for not having a 2x speed function. The barrow downs also make no sense - as Arnor isn't even established yet.
Why did the elves have to run? Did they not have horses?
Right? Every elf scene I asked the same thing. They keep talking about how important it is to reach Celebrimbor quickly but then travel exclusively on foot.
@@crumdogy right, and I don't know my middle earth geography very well, but couldn't they have at least taken a boat along to coast? I feel like if there was such urgency to get to celebrimbror anything would've been faster than running, carrier pigeon even. They just wanted those big open shots of people running to make us remember fellowship
because they wanted a scene to mimic TT's aragorn, gimli, and legolas chasing the orc pack on foot through rohan :)
I get the feeling men were the ones that used horses, you don't see horses on any of the elven cities. Also, Galadriel was enjoying riding that horse in Season one as if it was her first time on a horse, which was sweet and cute. Makes sense no? Also keeps the continuity.
They put Tom in to say "Hey look it's Tom Bombadill he's in the books!"
I find this to be absolutely beyond salvage.
I think the Isildur actor really came into his own for this season.
Can we comment on the fact that the barrow wights wouldn’t exist in the second age.
This show is not based on the books. They've said so many times. Stop expecting the same story we all already know, and get a new story instead.
Rings of Power suffers from the same issue all Tolkien media suffers from which is that it simply cant let go of Lord of The Rings. Everything has to be a "memberberry" from the Lord of the Rings and simply can't let something be it's own thing. This comes down to gross misunderstanding of Tolkien's work. The SilmarIlion was Tolkien's magnum opus and everything else including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was just companion pieces.
I don´t hear this criticism often and is actually why they fail... a lot of Tolkien stories are nothing like LOTR. They need to trust more the story and let it be.
Lots of IPs have this issue. Star wars wants to connect back to Skywalkers, The fantastic beasts movies wanted to connect back to Harry Potter. It makes these worlds feel so small always tying back to one story. Better Call Saul was able to avoid this beautifully with call backs to Breaking bad but very much stands on its own merit
They are not allowed to use the Silmarillion. Thought everyone knew that by now, come on.
@pinkace True, they're working with LOTR the hobbit and appendices, everything else belongs to the Tolkien estate still so fans ire should be aimed there. Of course it's the family's right to protect the legacy of their ancestor as well so they have no obligation to sell
@@pinkace I don't think Amazon cares they have been name dropping events from the SilmarIlion and Unfinished Tales a lot and infringing on New Line Cinema's IP. Mind you the only thing Amazon has rights to is the Return of the King appendices which doesn't reference the forging of the rings of power or the destruction of Eregion it only mentions the lineage and history of Numenor and the lineage of Durin's folk
I can't even hate-watch Rings of Power anymore. I dropped it after season 2 episode 3. It's not just bad, it's retroactively hurting the past books and movies for me. The Disney Star Wars effect.
I have a theory, that ROI (return of investment), ruined creativity. They want numbers, and numbers are achieved with marketing strategies. Entertainment became big business, like an advertising agency, and lost contact with creativity, truth and depth.
I’ll never watch this awful show but I’m here for the comments.
"who's this pretender?!"
Indeed.
Did you notice how terrible Gandalfs CGI map looked
I think that in general Hobbits don't work unless you have the juxtaposition of them behaviorally/physically to humans. Sam & Frodo work because Gollum is there and our time with them in isolation is limited. Seeing Hobbits all around each other looking like ordinary people with ordinary sized (for them) objects steals away all the charm. Poppy and Nori struggling to drag Stranger together is much better than them wandering around in general.
I only watched the first few episodes of the show, but I watch all of the MOTW reviews. The reviews are more entertaining and lore-accurate.
“Nor does it reference the material particularly well either.”
At 17:00 we can hear you hit your fist down on your desk, and we all know what you’re feeling.
Great observations on the show and other genre shows. For me, I have built up this image of Galadriel as having always been the regal, wise, powerful elf we meet in the LotR. That she has always been that elf. She is a Noldor. To have stories of a younger, more brash Galadriel just does not sit right with me. I feel the same of Numenor. These are the first men. Men of great wisdom and craft (and yes, great pride). To portray them as petty and conniving also does not sit well with me. I will continue to watch the show, but like you, will likely forget it after watching it. In my opinion, The Wheel of Time is doing a better job of giving us the spirit of the books.
Arondir and Galadriel are the worst parts of the show... I don't know what you put in your pipe bro...
Your efforts at positivity are positively heroic, Yoystan. And you are miles away from being a Rage Tuber. So no worries! 😎👍
I agree on every single point you mentioned. I add to that the Tom-Stranger exchange about Sauron. The stranger is not supposed to have heard of him. All in all the writing reminds me of drafts written by school children for essays.
Have no idea what you meant talking about Arondir/Isildur acting/storyline... they were so cliche and boring and annoying I literally skipped most of it. That ent wife looked terrible and hysterical. But i guess to each their own.
Unironically calling Arondir tolkienian 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Don Lemonlas being Tolkienian? How?
In regards to Nori: I always wondered if she was a nod to Belladonna Took? The way Tolkien references Belladonna always made it feel that she did a lot more than simply climb trees. She had a full reputation for adventures!
Though I think Tolkien people perhaps would want her account from Tolkien directly.)
That will always be a mystery.
I agree about the Arondir scenes too in this. And it was nice to see Ents.
Maybe Tom could have sung a little louder yes laugh…though apparently that’s his song at the end of the credits. I almost missed that.
I think what I’ve noticed more is a tendency to tone down mysticism and magic in various shows…and yes some magic is still there.
But I have this feeling sometimes like characters have to earn their right to have any magic (rather than allowing them to have innate qualities that are written in various source material) a friend of mine pointed out how there was much more to The Warging in Game of Thrones but all of that was cut back I guess to gain a wider audience. Even though there was some magic back in House of the Dragon.
In regards to putting your finger on that “off” feeling it’s difficult as so many opinions abound.
But it’s still hard knowing that Galadriel “had to be manipulated and fooled” as a catalyst for the rest of the story. That seems the strangest choice. But some say it was worth it for the pride and temptation themes. Everyone has a different view!
I think Arondir was a breeze of fresh air in this one. Curious if you or your cohost have ever delved into the multifaceted nature of elves?
I do like seeing the dwarves with magic too even if it recently went sideways alas.
I'm not watching season 2 I rely entirely on your reviews to tell me what happens per episode and what would actually have happened if the writer's weren't morons
Say what you will about House of the Dragon, but it elicits strong feelings out me, whether from its outstanding moments or its embarrassing ones. RoP on the other hand…
It's funny, I find myself having the opposite viewpoint. The changes the House of the Dragon writers have made infuriated me (as they have George R.R. Martin, apparently). Yet with Rings of Power I just focus on the aspects of the show I like and ignore everything else. Maybe I got my RoP anger out of my system during season 1, which I had huge problems with.
Its somewhat comic that a show who goes out to be diverse in its cast and characters does the good old «token black person gets killed first». Even when it felt like they were playing up the knife guy who was too bold in the beginning of the barrow downs, was gonna die.
Such bad writing.
Is because deep down they are what they say they don´t. The showrunners are really mormons and conservatives just trying to pose as diverse. Galadriel characterization is actually mysogynistic because all the men that surround her don´t respect her.
She sacrifices herself to stall an army. In the end, she stalls for about a couple of minutes. Which is entirely insignificant, but what was she expecting to achieve as a 1 person? The sacrifice she made (which she reasonably thought she would die) was foolish. Even if she died, what difference would it make if Adar's army delayed about a few minutes?
Her sacrifice makes no sense because the entire reason is that the writers needed an excuse, as the plot required Galadriel and Adar to get together before the siege of Eregion.
I think they were basing it on stories from more recent wars. For example, I knew this guy who served in Vietnam who was friends with this guy named Carlos. Carlos manned a machine gun nest to give his platoon a chance to escape. Eventually, he was overrun and was killed; he got the Medal of Honor for it. But that was a machine gun, not medieval weaponry; you can't stop an army as an individual if you don't have "Force Multiplier" (thanks Roanoke Gaming).
Elrond himself says she's not sacrificing herself to save them but to save her ring. It doesn't make sense to us but with the shows logic the ring has already overcome her and she would do anything to ensure it doesn't get into anyone else's hands including potentially sacrificing herself to ensure it gets a several minute head start. But then that would imply she is confident she WONT die because she handed it over to Elrond expecting of course to get it back.
@@Didymus20X6 Galadriel didn't need to sacrifice herself to give her companions a chance to escape. They were already unnoticed and not on the way of the army. She could simply take off with them, and they would all be fine.
It would be slightly more reasonable if there was a choke point, like a passage, valley, or bridge, that she aimed to hold, but no, she just walks up to a marching army and attacks them head-on.
@@nickbangr, no matter which angle you take, it is utterly unnecessary and illogical of her to do what she did.
Long time fan of the channel and just started this series. Came back to see your opinions and glad to see I’m not the only one who is bored to death by the hobbit scenes. I quite literally fast forward each scene and the show is drastically improved.
I laughed when the girl got bodied by the Entwife into the rock. Highlight of the episode. Of course she walks it off like that wasn't a spine shattering blow.😂
Do the Orcs finally get their family health insurance?
Adar has promised full retirement benefits and social security.
@@thegungadfly8930 this is fantastic news! What about workman’s compensation?
I agree with you on Arondir. I feel the same way about Elendil and Círdan. They all seem very Tolkienesque. I also think the chemistry between Arondir and Isildur is great and I hope to see similar chemistry between Isildur and Elrond when those characters meet because that will make it more tragic when Isildur claims the ring for himself at the end. I have many problems with this episode namely the hobbit lore, Galadriel, and the possible lore changes with the Istari (I just read the chapter from Unfinished Tales and Tolkien was pretty adamant about Gandalf never going east), and all the cheap callbacks and references to skipped chapters and recycled dialogue, but I do like those characters.
I feel your exasperation too! Totally agree with all the bad writing criticisms but I feel like a lot of why some of the plot lines dont feel right or feel contextless is bad direction or lack of consitent direction. This episode alone had two directors and any number of assitant and unit directors, which can produce wildly different feels and even character. Whenever Chartotte Brandstrom is running it the performances, nuance and quality and sense of being in a tangible world vastly improves. As a contrast the Wayne Che Yip episodes in S1 nearly sunk the show. He just didnt get the feel right. The reason you dont get that with Jackson is hes quite a control freak and cared about tone a lot
Since hobbits are not an active element of this age, they create a feeling of disharmony when they are not present where and when they are needed.
Arondir's cool and all, but I actually kind of hated that story-line this week. The weird flirty stuff between Isildur and Estrid was cringe AF. One scene he hates her (when he thinks she's betrayed him, or whatever) and the next he's trying to make out with her? Odd. Arondir says Nameless Things are found in the deepest parts of the earth, but the one they just fought was in the woods. Not to mention all the magic stuff. It's like they're trying to create a hard-magic system for the show, but the more they explain the less sense it makes. This episode was a low point in a mid series imo.
Those orcs look good though.
First guy who's not a bot. This show shouldn't even be acknowledged
It's brilliant!
What show? 😉
@@yourstruly4817 well done 😎
@@turrican4d599 ... Are you on drugs?
When they cancel it, it should be deleted from the internet and nobody should acknowledge its existence.
Lore wise, your Elrond concern is on point. But in the context of the show, Elrond is the GOAT. His cynicism is completely justified. He’s the one pushing back against the crazy stuff happening around him
Idk why it bothered me so much, but when Isildur freed Estrid he didn’t make her swear or take an oath. Oaths are extremely important in the legendarium, to the point they basically contain magic. I don’t see why he wouldn’t have given her word to not betray them.
I guess it’s minor, probably a nitpick, but it’s just another reason this show seems to completely misunderstand the world
Arondir’s fade is always on point
The random country song is Tom Bombadil’s song. Trying to remember if they incorporated the instrumental theme into the scene or not…
For all the talk of this show being true to the source material, it sure does take a lot directly from Peter Jackson's movies- a lot of which was specifically changed from the books in adaptation.
They bought the rights so by God they are using them lol, like a blunt instrument.
@@jbassguy571 Wait, they have the rights to the PJ trilogy? I thought the movie and tv rights were separate, and Amazon only has the Hobbit and the LotR and its appendixes. I figured they were just lifting scenes and imagery wholesale from the movies because it's easy to get away with.
One hour of Rings of Power somehow feels longer than a PJ LOTR movie. After this episode felt like it was dragging I checked the clock and couldn't believe that there were 30 minutes left. It's a real slog to get through.
Galadriel: "Go back to the shadow!"
Gandalf: "Excuse me???"
I might have a fever or smth but I’m coming around a bit on this season. Of course there are still things that bother me, the “borrowed” quotes for example drive me nuts, but I am at least interested to see where things are going in every plot line. So… for me personally, an improvement to the first season??
I'd like some more insight into what makes you feel Arondir and that plotline is the most "Tolkien-like", because I just don't see it. It very much seems like just generic walking-through-forest-type quest stuff and is honestly very boring.
To your final bit in the monologue. I think the investments that studios put into these big budget shows makes them think "we have to make it all back by targeting as large an audience as possible" then instead of focusing on the source material and core fans, they introduce modern themes to make it more accessible... rather than just good or serve the existing fans. I great example you forgot (rightly so) is Star Wars lately.. its miss after miss with them, and for the most part its because the shows are dumbed down, focusing on cultural moments instead of what made the IPs great in the first place.
Absolutely nothing about this show is redeemable. Tolkien would absolutely flip his lid. It's disgusting.
rings of power is pure rubbish, it deserves all the ridicule it's getting, poor old Tolkien would be rolling in his grave.
Critical Drinker has a plan to hook him up to the power grid and solve the world's energy problems.
I think that a lot of people were excited that more Tolkien material was being brought to life but then are disappointed when it turns out not to be Tolkien material. I want to like it but can’t because I have loved the characters from my childhood
I think “Theo” will be the name sake in the show for king Theoden
Keep theese coming myself and slot of others like the comparisons between lore and this new timeline and take on the series
I think the Harfoots feeling boring is because they're a blatant rip off of Frodo and Sam and that breaks the immersion. Also, the pace is glacial slow
There was a very tiny thought were I was like: let's watch the 2nd season.
Then I opened this video en went straight to the reactions...
Let's not 😂
Respect that you make this videos 😅
For me these shows come down to the writers. I think it would be valuable to look at their background and experience. I think the culture of filmmaking has changed. Unfortunately this means we have writers who don’t get the basics of storytelling
Nice. See, this channel knows how to give fair reviews based on knowledge of lore and faithfulness to the spirit of Tolkien. Then you have channels like Nerd of the Rings that are too scared to call these show runners out for the CLEAR AS DAY grievances they have committed. We gave them a shot with S1, no leniency is to be shown henceforth...
I used to like NOTR. Yoystan is still friends with him and they collab on things every now and then, but his positive reviews of ROP left a sour taste in my mouth; and I have no doubt that a free trip and a bunch of swag swayed his opinion, regardless of whether he intended to let it.
@@Didymus20X6 Seems like a cool guy outside of RoP content, but def stopped watching his channel because of his nothingburger vids of late
Almost a similar opinion to you the visuals are beautiful the fighting scenes are great as well I did like seeing Tom Bombadil, the entwives and the Barrow-wights myself.
However part of me is thinking I'll admit I've got adhd and when looking at the wizards in particular I'm going to switch off if it's Gandalf and saruman I really do hope it's the blue wizards it's a thing that none of us know about fully I'm ready to be disappointed though love your videos as always
JD Vance is Tom Bombadil
The Harefoots mentioning the stranger needs a Gand this is how he gets his name (Gand being old Norse for staff) 🙄
Yea we know.
I agree 100% on the Harfoots. By far my least favorite part of the show. Every scene is just do boring and seems to have no connection to the story. I have decided to just ignore the Lord of the Rings part of the name and just try to watch this as a standalone fantasy series, but even still Elrond is so inconsistent with just 1st season Elrond and very annoying this episode. I did love the barrow wights and the giant swamp bobbit worm. Although it was a little strange that it was apparently a new threat that Sauron had just created and Elrond knew some ancient lore on how to kill them.