Thanks for your review. It was fair and well thought out and I appreciate it. I have watched several of your reviews of different shows and books and have really enjoyed them. Thanks for what you do. As for the Rings of Power, I have watched a couple of other reviews that were more fair minded about the show and were generally positive about it - like you, they generally like the show, but from all of them, yours included, I think I will just stick with the books. I just can't get past the differences between the books and the story ROP is telling. I really can't get past Galadriel trying to swim an ocean or jumping off a sword and yes, there was some silly things in the movies that the elves did. I know that. Legolas running up falling rocks in The Hobbit still gets to me. If it was named something else or some fantasy show not based on Tolkien, I might would give it a chance. I do like the "Meteor Man" parts of the show. It connects to a song or poem Frodo sang or spoke in The Fellowship of the Ring about the man in the moon coming to Earth. That is an intriguing concept to me and it will be interesting to see what they do with that story line. I will probably follow that through your channel and other youtube channels that deal with Tolkien lore. I also generally do not like prequels. As a usual rule, there is no surprise to the story because they have to set everything up for the end of the known story. Please don't think me a hater ... I really am not. I just really like the books and I have been disappointed several times by other book adaptations or other well known intellectual properties. I hope other people enjoy the show and maybe it will bring new readers to the book series. Thanks again for your review and your channel.
This is absolutely fair. I think for people who have read the books and can't get past the changes... it's fine. Also fine to not like prequels. My beef isn't with those people not watching it or not liking it. I do have a problem with people saying everything about it is bad and ragging on Morfrydd Clark in particular as if it is the fault of the actress (but only the women in powerful roles!) A) it's not that bad and B) this smacks of misogyny. You can not like it, but it's not 30-something % bad and especially compared to the movies (or even the books) as a model of perfection. I still can't get over Legolas surfing down the stairs and then later the trunk of an oliphant. I was bothered by the elves showing up at Helm's Deep and all of them being lackluster except for Legolas. If you want to complain about hair, Legolas should have dark hair and the blonde looks weird on Orlando Bloom. But let's forget all of that! Only Rings of Power has any problems because it is "woke".
@@amys0482 I had forgotten the elves at Helms Deep ... it has been a while since I watched the movies. I do remember that part and do remember thinking that they really did not add anything to the narrative. In fact, it looked like they all got killed which one could argue weakens the view of elves that had been established by the movies. I also laughed at sliding on the shield and the Oliphant's trunk. Radagahast being covered in bird droppings was a bit much for me. That actually took me out of the story. They could have found a better way to portray Radaghast's nature without weakening him as a character in my opinion ... though Tolkien may have described him that way. I do not remember. If Tolkien's name wasnt attached to this, I probably would give it a chance because I enjoy fantasy shows, but I can't see myself enjoying it while at the same time picking it apart because of all the changes to the lore. I had the same problem with the Obi Wan Kenobi story. There was too many changes to established canon for me. I do not like the treatment that the actors and actresses have received. People tend to forget or not care that there are real life people in these acting roles and like any one else, they have feelings. They are simply taking jobs that either interest them or is available to them or to be part of something they can be proud of. Thanks again for your channel and the work you put in to it.
@@amys0482 If you review it, it be interesting to see what you have to say about it. I followed your Wheels of Time videos because I had just been gifted the first two books.
Ooow yeah, I've been looking forward to this video. Ill be watching the first two episodes with my girl tonight. After that I'm sinking my teeth into this video. Thanks for the upload I'm really excited to hear your thoughts.
i had to pause midway through to point out, Toliken did say what the wizards were doing in the second age, the did come around the forging time, i recall gandalf was like nah im scared of sauron and had to be forced.. however the two blues have vagueness around their lives, so maybe they should have had two meteors cos if they introduce gandalf im going to roll my eyes. galadriel seems to be missing a husband, i guess he died in childbirth. at least the sets are pretty
Appreciate the review, you have convinced me to at least try it out. I was inclined not to watch due to the fact they did such a poor job on WOT. Like you, I just want something fun and interesting to watch. I generally avoid most shows as everything these days seems so dark and nihilistic. As for your opening comments, don't change a thing.I like your stripped down non polished approach with the focus being on your thoughts, not clicks.Wasn't that the way the internet was supposed to be in the first place?
House of the Dragon is dark dark dark. Rings of Power has a cleaner feel. You could watch it with kids. Just go in expecting an original fanfiction-esque story but so far, I think it's about as good as it could be. Much better than Wheel of Time imo.
I liked your review and agree with most of what you said. I too went into this show knowing that the creators took creative license given that they didn't have the rights to much of the material. I like the fact that there are different strands of stories that will somehow come together around the impending rise of Sauron. However, I don't find myself invested in any of the characters. Maybe this isn't an oversight on the part of the creators, as Tolkien's writing about that time period is more in the style of a myth or saga, where there isn't as much of a focus on any individual character. Another point of disagreement I'll mention is when you called out the patriarchal aspect in Tolkien's writing. I understand how "the patriarchy" might be a problem in the real world of the 21st century, but I don't understad why it's a problem in a fantasy story. I guess it's a problem because there's a lot of money to be made from such a big production and anyone and everyone wants a piece of it - even if that means modifying a fundamental aspect of the story, which is a myth in the style of the Iliad, where a bunch of men do manly things like fight in wars... Like it or not, that is part of our past, including our mythical past. I take issue with the tendency of our age to remake these traditional tales by removing some of the "unsavory" (by today's standards), or not-so-progressive aspects. I can see where this is heading. In the not-so-distant future, when we will have stopped killing animals to feed ourselves, our high-minded progressive elites will want to remake past stories in order to remove any trace of mistreatment of animals... This is historical revisionism as well as very ideologically tendentious. I recoil at such tendencies and bemoan their ubiquity.
I agree whole heartedly. The whole idea of a Fantasy work is that the author can experiment or tell the story _however they wish!_ If we wanted to read/watch stuff based on real world ideologies we would not turn to Fantasy! If Tolkien's work is strictly patriarchal, so what. Jordan's work was strictly matriarchal and I, as a man, had zero issue with it because it's set in a different time/world, nor would I have issue with it if it was set in this world, at this time, because it's _Fantasy._ Current society needs to recognize that, especially when delving into Fantasy worlds, creative license has to be given fully.
Game of Thrones is set in a patriarchy and I watch that. That is part of the conflict. House of the Dragon is even more obvious about it. I personally think Tolkien's Middle Earth is very obviously a patriarchy. You can lean into this as part of the conflict (re: turn Galadriel's story into that of a woman who surpassed the socially imposed limitations of her gender) with historical relevance or you can update the story to feature more women in more equitable roles. The problem is that there are many fans who don't see the sexism or dont know what sexism even is and/or can't accept that their beloved author may have harbored some ideas that are sexist even if progressive for his time. This might be the subject of a future video. PS: Wheel of Time is not a matriarchy. It is gender balanced. PSS: I would love to stop killing animals inhumanely, e.g. slaughter houses and it may be possible in the near future to "grow meat" in such a way that this is possible.
@@amys0482 I'll have to disagree with your take about "the patriarchy" (what a fraught word). I think we can appreciate a story from - or set in - the past, including its male-domniated aspects. But the tendency of the day is to remake such stories and impose notions of equity upon it. It's one thing to have GoT make commentary on the patriarchy, as it is written by an author much more sympathetic to such notions, but quite another to insert it into the work of Tolkien who did not have any such notions. For some of us, this is irritating. Anyways, let's agree to disagree, I don't want to get into an argument, I simply wanted to make the point that even so-called patriarchal universes can be appealing - even without any commentary about equity, diversity, etc. As to the stopping of inhumanely killing animals, I too look forward to that day. And I agree with you that it might be possible to grow meat in controlled conditions, with a fraction of the energy input by growing animals and without their suffering. Looking forward to that day, but I'm not looking forward to the inveitable moralizing that future generations of so-called progressives will have upon us, their lowly and uncivilized ancestors.
@@MooMooManist Well, the argument is that Tolkien's work is sexist, even if he didn't know it, even if it was progressive for its time. If you tell it in a new medium as written with no acknowledgment or correction, you reinforce sexism. I read a lot of literature in addition to fantasy so this isn't new for me, but for some people it is a hard concept to accept or understand, especially if it doesn't affect you. The same is true for racism and many forms of cruelty that may have been fine or even glorified historically in print. If the book or show or movie is just old, you can acknowledge it quickly in a public service announcement. But to remake it or tell more stories set in the same universe with no changes? That tells people it doesn't matter.
@@amys0482 I understand what you're saying but I disagree that it's a problem. Thanks for the replies and keep doing what you're doing. I liked your review despite the minor disagreement. Cheers.
Another great video, I am always excited to see a new one drop. I appreciate the thought process behind them and also while they add nothing I always think "ohh look at that chonker" when the cat wanders in. I have to say I was thinking of avoiding the series after seeing what they did to my all time favorite series WoT. I love LOTR, it was the first "older" book series I read and I've read it and the Silmarillion multiple times. Your thoughts on it has made me rethink that stance and I'll give it a look.
The appearance of female dwarves was definitely off from book descriptions. That was another miss I forgot to mention, but I appreciated at least having them present.
@@amys0482 I don't feel they completely ditched the dwarf female physical traits, you can definitely see Princess Disa has a hint of mutton chops coming down the sides of her cheeks. It's subtle and soft, kind of how you'd almost expect any female facial hair to be, so I'm on board with that.
It is written that Cirdan witnessed the arrival of the order of Istari circa T.A. 1000. Thus no wizards in the second age. Galadriel defeats a Troll in seconds while the Fellowship barely defeats the troll in Moria. Harfoots are hobbits and per Tolkien hobbits played no part in the events of the Second Age. The writing is sophomoric at best. My 15 year old son could have done as good or better. The acting is what I would expect of a high school play. The pacing of the show is glacial, it would be faster to just read LOTR again (including the appendices).
oh, i think it’s mithril in the Dwarf kings treasure chest. I think Halbrand is a baddie. It was weird that Elrond and Gil-Galad manoeuvred Galadriel to leave Middle Earth to go to the undying lands. that was odd. i enjoyed the Harfhobbits too! Would have loved to see this tale told from their POV, mirroring the original movies
I feel like this type of work is a much a better way to approach some of these fantasy adaptations. It gives the writers more flexibility to inject their on things into the story while giving hardcore fans additional content. Would anyone have really been upset if we had a Wheel of Time "adaptation" that focused on the period between New Spring and Eye of the World? A story focused on Moiraine that brings Robert Jordan's world to life while not making massive changes to the themes of the original work sounds awesome to me.
Are you planning to do anything on House of the Dragon? I have enjoyed the male female dynamic that was sorely missing in the wheel of time show, and I’ve enjoyed it so far!
Nice to see a comprehensive review that aims to be objective. I definitely agree with the comparison between this series and the wheel of time. So far at least, it seems much stronger on multiple fronts, including cinematography, special effects, and of course the writing. I think that this series has the advantage of covering somewhat vague events, and though it is taking some creative liberties, it at least avoids making changes to pivotal aspects of the story like WOT did in my opinion. Also, it’s been frustrating seeing so many people calling Galadriel a “Mary Sue”. Not sure if they are unfamiliar with the lore and Galadriel’s position as one of the most powerful beings on middle-earth, but it isn’t crazy to assume that a 5000 year old ancient elf would have learned how to use a sword and wear armour at some point. No one was complaining this much when Legolas was murdering thousands of orcs, skateboarding on shields and killing Oiliphants by himself in the films, but people are up in arms over Galadriel killing a singular troll, despite being a significantly more powerful character in the lore, albeit with magic rather than weapons. Anyway, great review 👍
I'm glad you are sharing your thoughts on this show. I really enjoyed your breakdowns on the Wheel of Time! I have to say I too am enjoying the show but from the aspect of seeing Tolkien's world being recreated on screen again. Despite all the controversies surrounding this show, I think many would agree the show looks spectacular and the world feels Tolkienian. That said, I do take more issues with some of the writing so far. The whole sequence of Galadriel jumping off the ship seems like a McGuffin to get her to Numenor. It seems odd to me that she would suddenly decide to jump off the boat in the middle of the ocean without a thought as to what was she going to do after that. It was clear that she realized Elrond worked with Gil-Galad to force her to leave middle earth so why did she not take action until they were so far along? She could have jumped ship way earlier as she clearly did not want to return to Valinor. I mean I could buy it if say the others could not go back if she had decided not to go along with it which prompted her last minute ditching. Also, why were these people from the Southlands (most of whom die in minutes) in a boat in the middle of nowhere? Maybe it will be revealed through Halbrend at some later point but right now it seems like another plot device (meeting Halbrend and having a raft so she doesn't spend the entire episode swimming). The scene were she single handedly takes out a snow troll while all the other elves just stand around and gawk makes her seem like a Mary Sue character. I hope these things are just blips in the entire progression of the show. I don't want to judge the writing based on just 2 episodes so I will keep watching. If more of this kind of plot devices start popping up then I may just bow out.
Yes, those are weaker moments that could compile into a less than stellar review of the writing. Keep in mind, though, that most creative works have these kinds of problems. E.g The eagles saving Frodo and Sam will always feel like a deus ex machina solution to me. Rings of Power is not a 10/10 but it's not a 3/10. It has had a decent start with some "er okay" moments that may get better and may get worse.
Once again, a spot on review. Really love your objectivity, especially including comments that "purists" probably won't agree with this or that. I, for one, was leading into this from a negative stand point. One, with how Amazon did WoT, (which I'm actually holding out hope for yet), and two, all the negative views on the RoP promotional stuff. And then YT was inundated with a ton of "Yes, it's as bad as we thought" reviews from early access viewers. I pointedly avoided watching those, but of course it kind of gave a person a predisposed negative view on things. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised because I actually enjoyed the first two episodes even though I was being critical in my mind because of the my predisposition. So I'm fairly happy so far. I do feel House of the Dragon is starting off stronger. I really felt the HBO show was pulling off intrigue and more thoroughly investing the viewer early on. Albeit, it's simply a different form of story telling. With Rings of Power it feels like they're more generically setting up the characters and story lines, but HOTD really does a good job of making you "feel" for the characters early on. So far, with RoP, I'm like, "Ok, ok! This is interesting. We'll see where this goes". Whereas HOTD has me going, "Oh my, this is good! Can't wait for the next episode!". I know RoP won't be as dark as HOTD, but I do hope it starts getting more epic from here on in. I think my biggest hook thus far with RoP is the star dropped wizard, most intriguing! I also want to add that we finally have the technology to fully realize fantasy properly in the visual medium. I think the biggest let down thus far is that Amazon corporate doesn't understand the genre and instead are mostly looking at it in terms of numbers and thinking they need to interject current affairs into their shows. HBO, on the other hand, even though they have succeeded in pulling in numbers with their shows, seems to have a little better understanding on the genre and know that it should be an escape from our current realities, as Fantasy should be and is the main reason people seek out Fantasy, in order to escape into unique worlds and stories that depart from our norm and this world we live in.
Appreciate the spirit of this review. Your general sentiment resonates with me. It's hard to get online communities to turn away from the hyperbolic and click-bait urges that fuel so much mindless hate. I keep trying to convince people that Rings of Power is just a TV show, nothing more nothing less. But for many online warriors RoP has been a battlefield for their culture-wars.
for me, i’ve read and re-read LotR and Silmarillion for 35years. the artwork of Ted Nasmith, John Howe and Alan Lee informs my vision too, as well as MERP gaming and the artwork of Angus McBride. add to that pool of imagery the Jackson movies! Anyone stepping into this area needs to be on top of their game in terms of writing and design. This show is a little disappointing
@@CumberlandPlain And by a little disappointing, I mean HUGELY disappointing.... but that disappointment is in no way, shape, or form surprising. Because I know what Amazon is - a soulless, moraless cesspit of vile greed, scum, and villainy.
Good on you for pointing out the source material is essentially an appendix ! For me the first 2 episodes were decent, the visuals were amazing, the acting was generally good but i felt there were pacing issues. Overall i felt E1 was a 6/10 and E2 an 8/10
We took a break about 2/3 of the way through the first episode and will probably come back to it. It doesn't fill me with dismay me the way The Wheel of Time adaptation does; however, I just found this -- so far -- "pretty, but a bit boring". Blackberries have surely never looked better on screen, and the hobbit actresses seem good, but good lord there's a lot of breathy speeches from understatedly dramatic elves. I think I just don't find the elves to be particularly compelling as key protagonists. I realise that I've not given it a proper crack. I do think, though, that this is the key difference between what you term "performative woke" (as in WoTTV) in your other video, and just understanding that it's surely OK to suspend disbelief a bit (much as with PoC playing roles other than Othello in Shakespearean plays these days) to cope with dark-skinned elves and dwarves in what is - after all - based off the appendices of The Lord of the Rings rather than a long-cherished and oft-told story with long-established descriptions of the literal characters in question. In short -- I'm fine with representation in RoP. I think it's the way it should be done.
So good to hear a voice of reason about this show! I thought it was pretty good. For me there was a little too much with the proto-hobbits- their story could have started with the arrival of meteorman without losing much. Loved Galadriel, the the ship entering Valinor, the dwarves, and especially Khazad Dum. I really appreciated your temperate critiques of Wheel of Time, so happy to see you again on Rings. Will you be covering House of the Dragon, or is that not your thing?
Thanks for your review. I liked it for the most part, but I thought some of the scenes with Galadriel were a bit over-the-top. At this point in Middle Earth histories she should be married to Celeborn and with a daughter who is supposed to eventually marry Elrond. In this series she seemed almost younger than Elrond (although I'm wondering how Elves s who are supposed to be immortal actually age?). My favorite parts were with the Harfoots and the Dwarf caves. I didn't mind the slowness of the story because the landscapes and CGI were so good.
Interestingly, Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) is 33, 3 years older than when Cate Blanchett played Galadriel in the movies. That she looks young is not a flaw in an actress playing an immortal being. The show is not a 10/10 but it isn't rotten.
She's still completely unlikeable, inept in all social situations, and acts like a spoiled teenager with zero diplomatic skills or wisdom and zero foresight instead of the thousands of years old immortal being who studied with Melian the Maia that she's supposed to be. She is as not Galadriel as Matt was not Matt in WoT. It's a joke and a bad one at that.
Fantastic review I am there with you with a review of WOT as well as Rings of power, great observations, and honest input ... but curious if you will be giving a chance to 2nd season of WOT ... I would really miss your critique if you do not! your insight into Jordan's lore was amazing!
It’s nice hear from someone who is just giving a genuine opinion, I loved how in one of your previous videos you mentioned that the people saying there is an agenda are lying or being hypocritical that they themselves are are also pushing an agenda or exaggerating outrage for clicks, agenda dose not mean left leaning people who just want women to beautiful love interest to be rescued and not be warriors or active protagonists are also bushing an agenda
How would you weigh these first two episodes vs House of the Dragon? As different as they are, Amazon and HBO chose to put these head to head, and people are going to compare them.
I think it's actually great they came out around the same time. It's a nice comparison of a fantasy world where patriarchy is the villain/reason for the fall of a great house and a fantasy world that has been updated from the original source material to equalize the genders, however weirdly
How on earth did WoT get all the horrible writers?? I had hoped that, since there are no wizards in the 2nd age, Galadriel would fill that role-be the Uber mysterious and not quite defined power that tips the scale when necessary. Celeborn, IMO could have done the general roles with his wife being the mastermind and power behind it all. Instead, he isn’t involved. To Me it was like doing WoT but writing Nyneave out of the picture… or Lan. We’ll see.
@@amys0482 It would have been better for the simple reason that it would have fit the books and the character. This Galadriel is a stranger and not a particularly likable one at that.
Was looking forward to your review. Agree with almost everything. This show really was a pleasant surprise. The story was believable for me and most importantly, good. The added races didn’t bother me because their acting was great. As you say this was so much better than WoT and I had made it a point to finish Robert Jordan’s series before the show came out. But they just couldn’t show strong females without belittling males in that show, it was ridiculous. But this show. Everyone was strong (elves and dwarven scenes) or everyone was weak (survivors adrift on the sea). The woman and her son that killed the…orc? They bungled through that, as I expected them to. The woman didn’t suddenly turn into Seal Team 6 (Nyneave shanking the trolloc in the pool) it was all really well done. On the subject of Galadriel, during these first two episodes, I completely connected with her storyline once it was explained why she took up the sword. After a while I began to get Ahab vibes from her. Knowing where she ends up does spoil things, but had I never seen or read The Hobbit or LoTR, I’d say she was on the path to evil. That her obsession would drive her to madness. Maybe she will experience her own dark age. It’d be an interesting arc. The dwarves were my absolute favorite. I kept nodding my head and going, “yep” during all their scenes 😂. I would have loved to have been a dwarf in middle earth. With as good as these first two episodes have been I’m terrified for the rest because now they have their hooks in me. What will they unleash now that I’m invested? Oh I have a feeling it is Gandalf, just because of the grey…”thing” he’s wearing. Blanket? It would be awesome if it was a Blue, maybe the color is a faint and we’ll be surprised. But it even looks like a young Gandalf to me. Nervously excited to continue this show.
I think it is established in the lore that Gandalf doesnt arrive until the 3rd age, whereas the Blue Wizards could have been around in the 2nd, but they might change that. I don't know.
I agree. Overall, it's pretty decent compared to Wheel of Time where I went in with a ton of expectations. Some things do drag and feel kind of weird and others were cool. It isn't my favourite show ever but it isn't the worst thing I've ever seen. 7/10 so far in my opinion.
Thanks for putting up a timely review! I think I'm with you: I'm invested, but not trying to pass judgement overall. For those who were or remain worried that this show will not live up to expectations: It won't. If we have impossible expectations, it's impossible to match them. The Peter Jackson LotR trilogy was not at all perfect, and his Hobbit trilogy was a hot mess. I still love the LotR movies, and enjoy some of the strong fan edits of The Hobbit. And the old animated adaptations weren't the greatest either, but I loved them as a small kid. And the school play adaptation of The Hobbit I was in (I think I played Kili?) in elementary school wasn't amazing either, but it was a lot of fun. So, let's not look on past adaptations with rose colored glasses, but enjoy them each for what they are. Adaptations can't diminish the source material unless we aren't able to separate them in our minds. They are their own thing. I'm excited to see what they do with the rest of this show. If it turns out to be great, that'll be wonderful. If it turns out to be mediocre, I'll just go reread Tolkien's books.
Casting-bad, elves look like basic, would say even ugly even on human standards. This ethereal, elegant,intelligent, superior feeling Cate Blanchet,Lee Pace or Liv Tylor were serving is simply not present. They look and act as humans with prosthetic ears. Wardrobe - bad, armour looks unpractical and plastic,clothes have no handmade rich broidery like in LOTR,instead I saw mechanic pattern prints which is fast made modern thing and looks unnatural for fantasy story. Story- confusing. Everyone is acting like ass with each other for some reason.The characters we know well act completely out of character, the new characters and their story plots are basically recycled plots from LOTR with black/female representation. Music- underwhelming. It looks that Howard Shore just helped but was not completely involved into the project. The pop song opening was a shock for me, it looked like Catty Perry video rather that Tolkien story. Wonder why they payed millions for rights to adapt Tolkien, then they did their own political project.
You are entitled to your opinion, but I think this is an exaggeration. I like Morfrydd Clark as Galadriel. I like Blanchett too but I didnt think she looked elven and none of the other choices for elves in the movies were exactly right. And of course they weren't. They are human actors. We have had 20 years to get used to them, so they feel iconic now, but they didn't when I first saw the movies. Clothing -- some of it stands out inauthentically but most of the visuals are stunning. People are nitpicking because they are looking for things to hate. The plot is a slow burn. It is intriguing but not emotionally compelling yet. Will give it a chance. I don't see the political statements, other than women existing and having more active roles and a more diverse cast, which didn't throw me out of the story. People fixating on that have their own political statement to make.
@@amys0482 I didn’t mean only that Cate Blanchet is more beautiful.The way she moved and talked was inhuman.In fact all elves in LOTR looked tall slim, long hair, they looked like different race. In Amazon production I don’t see it. I like the visuals as well, especially the sight scenes but many of the dialogs were too immature and cringy. Probably if I have never read the books or watched the first trilogy I would accept this, but even then there is nothing spectacular about the first episodes.You don’t find one black actor strategic placement per race as an issue? We see same pattern here as with wheel of time. Man act as assholes or are naive, women are powerful, fearless and wise. It is just too much in your face to ignore it. To quote Galadriel maybe “you have not seen what I’ve have seen”.
@@dododimitrov9657 No, I dont see that. I dont see the men sidelined or acting like assholes. The Sindar elf having dark skin doesn't bother me. I do think the elves look otherworldly compared to the other races collectively. They have an airbrushed quality and their bodies seem sturdier somehow and they are all on the thinner side compared with other races. I think you are seeing what you want to see because you are invested in the show being bad. I didn't find the dialogue offputting either. It would have been if it was full of purple prose, but it was actually okay. I was in high school when the LotR movies came out and all of these same complaints were made. When you read the books, the interpretation by someone else never aligns with what you imagined. People just got used to the Peter Jackson interpretation after 20 years of watching it on repeat. Some aspects of those films were cringe when first released.
@@amys0482 the Sindar elves with military haircuts or the Salon haircut of Celebrimbor look otherworldly to you, really Amy common, you're girl with a taste I watched all you videos and here you caught me off guard. Long hair is racial trait of the elves like the beards are for the dwarves, it symbolizes immortality. This is why there is not a single male elf with short hair described in the books and you may find 100 of quotes of long elven hair. And here is another political game of Amazon, they didn't want any race to have defined features, they wanted diversity .. long hair elf, short hair elf, salon hair old grandpa elf.... representation. But if you have such diversity everywhere then it looks forced and unnatural. I watched LOTR years after it came out, so I can't say what were the reaction in first hand. LOTR is adaptation with all the flaws , Rings of power is fanfiction -rename few of the main characters and you would never even connect it to Tolkien world.
@@dododimitrov9657 I didn't say anything about the hair. I said the diversity in casting didnt throw me out of the story. There are inaccuracies. Inaccuracies and a bad story are different things.
I really enjoyed your review. Thanks for putting out something that was level-headed and fair. But I disagree with you on some of the acting and some of the costumes. The boy that plays Theo had his mouth open so much and it was distracting for me. And I agree that the cool affection between the healer and the elf was written very well but I thought the acting was a little choppy. Disa's dress was pretty awful in my opinion. And Elrond's costume in the dwarf kingdom looked like something you'd find at a thrift shop and think it's cute at first, but all the fringes are mysteriously stuck together. I have to say that I am invested in the story and I want to see what happens next!
Actually agree with both of those points! I literally called that kid a mouthbreather but it's one of the reasons he might end up a villain. Also didn't care for Elrond's weird fringe sleeve tunic or Disa's pants dress, but MOST of the costumes I liked.
Welcome back, Amy! "I am basically no-one" - hardly. Another intelligent and thoughtful review amidst the sea of incel clickbait on youtube. Concerning Harfoots - am I alone in finding them revolting? The Irish accents are awful and a lazy attempt at relatability. A lot of the casting is also just really off (like the pre-teenage looking son with a half-broken voice and 5 o'clock shadow - what?), and the dialogue's around the same level as the Wheel of Time show, often worse. I'll finish the show to see if it improves but thus far it's way below the quality of House of the Dragon for writing. P.S. I heard loud thudding noises throughout the video - think you are beating your chair - might be due to microphone / microphone placement.
Wheel of Time had me shying away from Rings of Power. I will also give it a try. Story matters. Writing and acting matter. I loved Arcane because its story was logical and entertaining with a real plot and great character development. It sounds as if this story will be in Tolkien's world, but told by someone else. I can tolerate that.
It's not as good as Arcane, but better than Wheel of Time. If you can tolerate deviations from the lore and some creative license with characters, it's decent corporate fanfiction with lots of gorgeous visuals.
I absolutely respect your opinion. But I think RoP is on the same level as The Wheel of Time. It makes all the same mistakes: The wringing is terrible, the lore is an aftertough, and the portrait of the main characters is awful.
Totally agree. The first two episodes were pretty good. The toxic backlash by embittered GamerGate holdovers isn’t going to stop this show from succeeding if it continues on this trajectory.
Nice video, I like your reviews, especially the TWoT ones but I disagree with some points in this video. While I certainly find the show more appealing than TWoT, it is also true that this show deviates more and harder from the source material than TWoT show did. Based on the nature of the story I know some deviations and liberties should be made, but I find the changes made for the show almost discouraging to stay. Galadriel is probably the worst change, from old and wise noble women we have this arrogant, rash, and naive (if not straight dumb) teenager, it made no sense even in the show's storyline and logic for this character to be in a position of power. Though I believe the showrunners are planning some character development for her (at least I hope so) she is right now so obnoxious I can't sympathize with her. Also, her plot and the other ones, except for the Arondir one, are very contrived, with very artificial and bland conflicts: Why do Numenoreans even listen to Galadriel's claims? Why the mistrust between dwarves and elves? Where is Nori's plot going? There is some potential here (i like Hallbrand as a character, and I hope he ends up being Sauron in disguise), but for the moment the show has been generic and bland at best.
you’re back! yay!! so far, it’s really jarring show, dialogue bad, sets cheap, costumes cheap, and not respectful of the source stuff sadly. That’s my opinion anyway. it’s on par with WoTv
I love the self deprecation and humbleness in the first minute of the video. You get a thumbs up for that alone. I agree with you on both counts - The Rings of power was written waaaaaay better (and I want to keep watching) than The Wheel of Time ( a hot mess that I may not revisit).
I really liked the show. Galadriel's character was more than a little insufferable to begin with (she seemed obnoxiously pushy), but I liked her more with the second episode while she's on the raft with Halbrand. Their personalities make an interesting contrast.
I think this portrayal of Galadriel was intentional and very far removed (imo) from the hotheaded, manstabbing warrior princess people were assuming she would be recrafted as. I think the actress Morfrydd Clark is well casted and I am impressed how the delivery of her lines mimic how Cate Blanchett also delivered on this character
I think it can be accurately classified as loving and expensive fan fiction. It frankly has nowhere near the artistic mastery of the original films, but it seems enjoyable as another attempt to depict middle earth
I went in thinking the show might be like wheel of time, where imo the "woke" agenda went absolutely wild and they lost any sort of focus on telling a compelling and coherent story. Rings of Power has done it right so far. The minority actors are all very good and their characters don't feel forced. Overall I like the show so far. It still feels middle-earthy, and I personally have never needed anything to stay near 1:1 to the source material, as long as whatever story was being told was interesting and fun.
Naw, hard disagree. Galadriel is completely unlikeable and not the Galadriel in the Silmarilion. The elves are fools. The orc slavers are all mysteriously white and have no problem running around in the sun, and the 'hobbits' are psychopaths who sing about never leaving anyone behind while listing all the victims they left behind. The show is nonsensical and violates the world and lore at every turn.
@@nathanmorgan3647 Look at all the hyperbole in your criticisms and ask yourself if you're being objective. It's ok to like or dislike something, but just because you like or dislike something doesn't make it the best or worst thing in the world.
I am not even disappointed, just lost. If we had characters with different names and locations I would never guess it was Tolkien work, but the problem is that the characters who we know so well, act and look like insane, annoying stupid idiots. If you check Amazon official site you see that 4 from 5 factions are led by strong female hero. The racial diversity among each race looks unreal and forced, clothes are made on modern printing machines, heavy armor looks unpractical and fake. The entire world doesn't look from different time, but rather too modern. The plot is also too boring, I wonder how would they survive this volcanic eruption in the end or is this the end of the Tv series??
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for your review. It was fair and well thought out and I appreciate it. I have watched several of your reviews of different shows and books and have really enjoyed them. Thanks for what you do. As for the Rings of Power, I have watched a couple of other reviews that were more fair minded about the show and were generally positive about it - like you, they generally like the show, but from all of them, yours included, I think I will just stick with the books. I just can't get past the differences between the books and the story ROP is telling. I really can't get past Galadriel trying to swim an ocean or jumping off a sword and yes, there was some silly things in the movies that the elves did. I know that. Legolas running up falling rocks in The Hobbit still gets to me. If it was named something else or some fantasy show not based on Tolkien, I might would give it a chance. I do like the "Meteor Man" parts of the show. It connects to a song or poem Frodo sang or spoke in The Fellowship of the Ring about the man in the moon coming to Earth. That is an intriguing concept to me and it will be interesting to see what they do with that story line. I will probably follow that through your channel and other youtube channels that deal with Tolkien lore. I also generally do not like prequels. As a usual rule, there is no surprise to the story because they have to set everything up for the end of the known story. Please don't think me a hater ... I really am not. I just really like the books and I have been disappointed several times by other book adaptations or other well known intellectual properties. I hope other people enjoy the show and maybe it will bring new readers to the book series. Thanks again for your review and your channel.
This is absolutely fair. I think for people who have read the books and can't get past the changes... it's fine. Also fine to not like prequels. My beef isn't with those people not watching it or not liking it. I do have a problem with people saying everything about it is bad and ragging on Morfrydd Clark in particular as if it is the fault of the actress (but only the women in powerful roles!) A) it's not that bad and B) this smacks of misogyny. You can not like it, but it's not 30-something % bad and especially compared to the movies (or even the books) as a model of perfection. I still can't get over Legolas surfing down the stairs and then later the trunk of an oliphant. I was bothered by the elves showing up at Helm's Deep and all of them being lackluster except for Legolas. If you want to complain about hair, Legolas should have dark hair and the blonde looks weird on Orlando Bloom. But let's forget all of that! Only Rings of Power has any problems because it is "woke".
@@amys0482 I had forgotten the elves at Helms Deep ... it has been a while since I watched the movies. I do remember that part and do remember thinking that they really did not add anything to the narrative. In fact, it looked like they all got killed which one could argue weakens the view of elves that had been established by the movies. I also laughed at sliding on the shield and the Oliphant's trunk. Radagahast being covered in bird droppings was a bit much for me. That actually took me out of the story. They could have found a better way to portray Radaghast's nature without weakening him as a character in my opinion ... though Tolkien may have described him that way. I do not remember. If Tolkien's name wasnt attached to this, I probably would give it a chance because I enjoy fantasy shows, but I can't see myself enjoying it while at the same time picking it apart because of all the changes to the lore. I had the same problem with the Obi Wan Kenobi story. There was too many changes to established canon for me. I do not like the treatment that the actors and actresses have received. People tend to forget or not care that there are real life people in these acting roles and like any one else, they have feelings. They are simply taking jobs that either interest them or is available to them or to be part of something they can be proud of. Thanks again for your channel and the work you put in to it.
@@travismoore7938 Episode 3 is a step down unfortunately
@@amys0482 If you review it, it be interesting to see what you have to say about it. I followed your Wheels of Time videos because I had just been gifted the first two books.
@@travismoore7938 I will! it's longer than my raw reaction so will take a bit of time but working on it
Ooow yeah, I've been looking forward to this video. Ill be watching the first two episodes with my girl tonight. After that I'm sinking my teeth into this video. Thanks for the upload I'm really excited to hear your thoughts.
i had to pause midway through to point out, Toliken did say what the wizards were doing in the second age, the did come around the forging time, i recall gandalf was like nah im scared of sauron and had to be forced.. however the two blues have vagueness around their lives, so maybe they should have had two meteors cos if they introduce gandalf im going to roll my eyes. galadriel seems to be missing a husband, i guess he died in childbirth. at least the sets are pretty
Loved your commentary.. thank you for the effort and focus
Appreciate the review, you have convinced me to at least try it out. I was inclined not to watch due to the fact they did such a poor job on WOT. Like you, I just want something fun and interesting to watch. I generally avoid most shows as everything these days seems so dark and nihilistic. As for your opening comments, don't change a thing.I like your stripped down non polished approach with the focus being on your thoughts, not clicks.Wasn't that the way the internet was supposed to be in the first place?
House of the Dragon is dark dark dark. Rings of Power has a cleaner feel. You could watch it with kids. Just go in expecting an original fanfiction-esque story but so far, I think it's about as good as it could be. Much better than Wheel of Time imo.
I liked your review and agree with most of what you said. I too went into this show knowing that the creators took creative license given that they didn't have the rights to much of the material. I like the fact that there are different strands of stories that will somehow come together around the impending rise of Sauron. However, I don't find myself invested in any of the characters. Maybe this isn't an oversight on the part of the creators, as Tolkien's writing about that time period is more in the style of a myth or saga, where there isn't as much of a focus on any individual character.
Another point of disagreement I'll mention is when you called out the patriarchal aspect in Tolkien's writing. I understand how "the patriarchy" might be a problem in the real world of the 21st century, but I don't understad why it's a problem in a fantasy story. I guess it's a problem because there's a lot of money to be made from such a big production and anyone and everyone wants a piece of it - even if that means modifying a fundamental aspect of the story, which is a myth in the style of the Iliad, where a bunch of men do manly things like fight in wars... Like it or not, that is part of our past, including our mythical past. I take issue with the tendency of our age to remake these traditional tales by removing some of the "unsavory" (by today's standards), or not-so-progressive aspects. I can see where this is heading. In the not-so-distant future, when we will have stopped killing animals to feed ourselves, our high-minded progressive elites will want to remake past stories in order to remove any trace of mistreatment of animals... This is historical revisionism as well as very ideologically tendentious. I recoil at such tendencies and bemoan their ubiquity.
I agree whole heartedly. The whole idea of a Fantasy work is that the author can experiment or tell the story _however they wish!_ If we wanted to read/watch stuff based on real world ideologies we would not turn to Fantasy! If Tolkien's work is strictly patriarchal, so what. Jordan's work was strictly matriarchal and I, as a man, had zero issue with it because it's set in a different time/world, nor would I have issue with it if it was set in this world, at this time, because it's _Fantasy._ Current society needs to recognize that, especially when delving into Fantasy worlds, creative license has to be given fully.
Game of Thrones is set in a patriarchy and I watch that. That is part of the conflict. House of the Dragon is even more obvious about it. I personally think Tolkien's Middle Earth is very obviously a patriarchy. You can lean into this as part of the conflict (re: turn Galadriel's story into that of a woman who surpassed the socially imposed limitations of her gender) with historical relevance or you can update the story to feature more women in more equitable roles. The problem is that there are many fans who don't see the sexism or dont know what sexism even is and/or can't accept that their beloved author may have harbored some ideas that are sexist even if progressive for his time. This might be the subject of a future video.
PS: Wheel of Time is not a matriarchy. It is gender balanced.
PSS: I would love to stop killing animals inhumanely, e.g. slaughter houses and it may be possible in the near future to "grow meat" in such a way that this is possible.
@@amys0482 I'll have to disagree with your take about "the patriarchy" (what a fraught word). I think we can appreciate a story from - or set in - the past, including its male-domniated aspects. But the tendency of the day is to remake such stories and impose notions of equity upon it. It's one thing to have GoT make commentary on the patriarchy, as it is written by an author much more sympathetic to such notions, but quite another to insert it into the work of Tolkien who did not have any such notions. For some of us, this is irritating. Anyways, let's agree to disagree, I don't want to get into an argument, I simply wanted to make the point that even so-called patriarchal universes can be appealing - even without any commentary about equity, diversity, etc.
As to the stopping of inhumanely killing animals, I too look forward to that day. And I agree with you that it might be possible to grow meat in controlled conditions, with a fraction of the energy input by growing animals and without their suffering. Looking forward to that day, but I'm not looking forward to the inveitable moralizing that future generations of so-called progressives will have upon us, their lowly and uncivilized ancestors.
@@MooMooManist Well, the argument is that Tolkien's work is sexist, even if he didn't know it, even if it was progressive for its time. If you tell it in a new medium as written with no acknowledgment or correction, you reinforce sexism.
I read a lot of literature in addition to fantasy so this isn't new for me, but for some people it is a hard concept to accept or understand, especially if it doesn't affect you. The same is true for racism and many forms of cruelty that may have been fine or even glorified historically in print. If the book or show or movie is just old, you can acknowledge it quickly in a public service announcement. But to remake it or tell more stories set in the same universe with no changes? That tells people it doesn't matter.
@@amys0482 I understand what you're saying but I disagree that it's a problem. Thanks for the replies and keep doing what you're doing. I liked your review despite the minor disagreement. Cheers.
Another great video, I am always excited to see a new one drop. I appreciate the thought process behind them and also while they add nothing I always think "ohh look at that chonker" when the cat wanders in. I have to say I was thinking of avoiding the series after seeing what they did to my all time favorite series WoT. I love LOTR, it was the first "older" book series I read and I've read it and the Silmarillion multiple times. Your thoughts on it has made me rethink that stance and I'll give it a look.
The appearance of female dwarves was definitely off from book descriptions. That was another miss I forgot to mention, but I appreciated at least having them present.
@@amys0482 I don't feel they completely ditched the dwarf female physical traits, you can definitely see Princess Disa has a hint of mutton chops coming down the sides of her cheeks. It's subtle and soft, kind of how you'd almost expect any female facial hair to be, so I'm on board with that.
It is written that Cirdan witnessed the arrival of the order of Istari circa T.A. 1000. Thus no wizards in the second age. Galadriel defeats a Troll in seconds while the Fellowship barely defeats the troll in Moria. Harfoots are hobbits and per Tolkien hobbits played no part in the events of the Second Age. The writing is sophomoric at best. My 15 year old son could have done as good or better. The acting is what I would expect of a high school play. The pacing of the show is glacial, it would be faster to just read LOTR again (including the appendices).
Bullshit
damn 😆
oh, i think it’s mithril in the Dwarf kings treasure chest.
I think Halbrand is a baddie.
It was weird that Elrond and Gil-Galad manoeuvred Galadriel to leave Middle Earth to go to the undying lands. that was odd.
i enjoyed the Harfhobbits too!
Would have loved to see this tale told from their POV, mirroring the original movies
I feel like this type of work is a much a better way to approach some of these fantasy adaptations. It gives the writers more flexibility to inject their on things into the story while giving hardcore fans additional content. Would anyone have really been upset if we had a Wheel of Time "adaptation" that focused on the period between New Spring and Eye of the World? A story focused on Moiraine that brings Robert Jordan's world to life while not making massive changes to the themes of the original work sounds awesome to me.
that’s a good idea
Yes, because they still destroyed both Jordan's and Tolkien's world. Telling your own story doesn't mean you get to say F U to the world that exists.
Hooray you are back !!
You videos are excellent! Insightful, balanced, deep, and entertaining. I’m
curious to hear your take on House of the Dragon and Andor.
Are you planning to do anything on House of the Dragon? I have enjoyed the male female dynamic that was sorely missing in the wheel of time show, and I’ve enjoyed it so far!
Yes, possibly, but not this weekend
Nice to see a comprehensive review that aims to be objective. I definitely agree with the comparison between this series and the wheel of time. So far at least, it seems much stronger on multiple fronts, including cinematography, special effects, and of course the writing. I think that this series has the advantage of covering somewhat vague events, and though it is taking some creative liberties, it at least avoids making changes to pivotal aspects of the story like WOT did in my opinion.
Also, it’s been frustrating seeing so many people calling Galadriel a “Mary Sue”. Not sure if they are unfamiliar with the lore and Galadriel’s position as one of the most powerful beings on middle-earth, but it isn’t crazy to assume that a 5000 year old ancient elf would have learned how to use a sword and wear armour at some point. No one was complaining this much when Legolas was murdering thousands of orcs, skateboarding on shields and killing Oiliphants by himself in the films, but people are up in arms over Galadriel killing a singular troll, despite being a significantly more powerful character in the lore, albeit with magic rather than weapons.
Anyway, great review 👍
Good video, i have similar attitude towards Rings of power. Hope you make more videos as the show progress.
I'm glad you are sharing your thoughts on this show. I really enjoyed your breakdowns on the Wheel of Time! I have to say I too am enjoying the show but from the aspect of seeing Tolkien's world being recreated on screen again. Despite all the controversies surrounding this show, I think many would agree the show looks spectacular and the world feels Tolkienian. That said, I do take more issues with some of the writing so far. The whole sequence of Galadriel jumping off the ship seems like a McGuffin to get her to Numenor. It seems odd to me that she would suddenly decide to jump off the boat in the middle of the ocean without a thought as to what was she going to do after that. It was clear that she realized Elrond worked with Gil-Galad to force her to leave middle earth so why did she not take action until they were so far along? She could have jumped ship way earlier as she clearly did not want to return to Valinor. I mean I could buy it if say the others could not go back if she had decided not to go along with it which prompted her last minute ditching. Also, why were these people from the Southlands (most of whom die in minutes) in a boat in the middle of nowhere? Maybe it will be revealed through Halbrend at some later point but right now it seems like another plot device (meeting Halbrend and having a raft so she doesn't spend the entire episode swimming). The scene were she single handedly takes out a snow troll while all the other elves just stand around and gawk makes her seem like a Mary Sue character. I hope these things are just blips in the entire progression of the show. I don't want to judge the writing based on just 2 episodes so I will keep watching. If more of this kind of plot devices start popping up then I may just bow out.
Yes, those are weaker moments that could compile into a less than stellar review of the writing. Keep in mind, though, that most creative works have these kinds of problems. E.g The eagles saving Frodo and Sam will always feel like a deus ex machina solution to me. Rings of Power is not a 10/10 but it's not a 3/10. It has had a decent start with some "er okay" moments that may get better and may get worse.
Once again, a spot on review. Really love your objectivity, especially including comments that "purists" probably won't agree with this or that.
I, for one, was leading into this from a negative stand point. One, with how Amazon did WoT, (which I'm actually holding out hope for yet), and two, all the negative views on the RoP promotional stuff. And then YT was inundated with a ton of "Yes, it's as bad as we thought" reviews from early access viewers. I pointedly avoided watching those, but of course it kind of gave a person a predisposed negative view on things. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised because I actually enjoyed the first two episodes even though I was being critical in my mind because of the my predisposition. So I'm fairly happy so far.
I do feel House of the Dragon is starting off stronger. I really felt the HBO show was pulling off intrigue and more thoroughly investing the viewer early on. Albeit, it's simply a different form of story telling. With Rings of Power it feels like they're more generically setting up the characters and story lines, but HOTD really does a good job of making you "feel" for the characters early on. So far, with RoP, I'm like, "Ok, ok! This is interesting. We'll see where this goes". Whereas HOTD has me going, "Oh my, this is good! Can't wait for the next episode!". I know RoP won't be as dark as HOTD, but I do hope it starts getting more epic from here on in. I think my biggest hook thus far with RoP is the star dropped wizard, most intriguing!
I also want to add that we finally have the technology to fully realize fantasy properly in the visual medium. I think the biggest let down thus far is that Amazon corporate doesn't understand the genre and instead are mostly looking at it in terms of numbers and thinking they need to interject current affairs into their shows. HBO, on the other hand, even though they have succeeded in pulling in numbers with their shows, seems to have a little better understanding on the genre and know that it should be an escape from our current realities, as Fantasy should be and is the main reason people seek out Fantasy, in order to escape into unique worlds and stories that depart from our norm and this world we live in.
HotD has more of ‘feel’ of medieval times and fantasy elements. WoT and RoP lack that vibe somehow
Appreciate the spirit of this review. Your general sentiment resonates with me. It's hard to get online communities to turn away from the hyperbolic and click-bait urges that fuel so much mindless hate. I keep trying to convince people that Rings of Power is just a TV show, nothing more nothing less. But for many online warriors RoP has been a battlefield for their culture-wars.
for me, i’ve read and re-read LotR and Silmarillion for 35years. the artwork of Ted Nasmith, John Howe and Alan Lee informs my vision too, as well as MERP gaming and the artwork of Angus McBride. add to that pool of imagery the Jackson movies! Anyone stepping into this area needs to be on top of their game in terms of writing and design.
This show is a little disappointing
@@CumberlandPlain And by a little disappointing, I mean HUGELY disappointing.... but that disappointment is in no way, shape, or form surprising. Because I know what Amazon is - a soulless, moraless cesspit of vile greed, scum, and villainy.
Good on you for pointing out the source material is essentially an appendix ! For me the first 2 episodes were decent, the visuals were amazing, the acting was generally good but i felt there were pacing issues. Overall i felt E1 was a 6/10 and E2 an 8/10
I have only watched episode 1. I also was expecting a Wheel Of Time situation. Actually, I didn't think it was that bad. It was fine, so far.
We took a break about 2/3 of the way through the first episode and will probably come back to it. It doesn't fill me with dismay me the way The Wheel of Time adaptation does; however, I just found this -- so far -- "pretty, but a bit boring". Blackberries have surely never looked better on screen, and the hobbit actresses seem good, but good lord there's a lot of breathy speeches from understatedly dramatic elves.
I think I just don't find the elves to be particularly compelling as key protagonists.
I realise that I've not given it a proper crack. I do think, though, that this is the key difference between what you term "performative woke" (as in WoTTV) in your other video, and just understanding that it's surely OK to suspend disbelief a bit (much as with PoC playing roles other than Othello in Shakespearean plays these days) to cope with dark-skinned elves and dwarves in what is - after all - based off the appendices of The Lord of the Rings rather than a long-cherished and oft-told story with long-established descriptions of the literal characters in question. In short -- I'm fine with representation in RoP. I think it's the way it should be done.
So good to hear a voice of reason about this show! I thought it was pretty good. For me there was a little too much with the proto-hobbits- their story could have started with the arrival of meteorman without losing much. Loved Galadriel, the the ship entering Valinor, the dwarves, and especially Khazad Dum.
I really appreciated your temperate critiques of Wheel of Time, so happy to see you again on Rings.
Will you be covering House of the Dragon, or is that not your thing?
Please read ' the Similarilion' .
Thanks for your review. I liked it for the most part, but I thought some of the scenes with Galadriel were a bit over-the-top. At this point in Middle Earth histories she should be married to Celeborn and with a daughter who is supposed to eventually marry Elrond. In this series she seemed almost younger than Elrond (although I'm wondering how Elves s who are supposed to be immortal actually age?). My favorite parts were with the Harfoots and the Dwarf caves. I didn't mind the slowness of the story because the landscapes and CGI were so good.
Interestingly, Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) is 33, 3 years older than when Cate Blanchett played Galadriel in the movies. That she looks young is not a flaw in an actress playing an immortal being. The show is not a 10/10 but it isn't rotten.
She's still completely unlikeable, inept in all social situations, and acts like a spoiled teenager with zero diplomatic skills or wisdom and zero foresight instead of the thousands of years old immortal being who studied with Melian the Maia that she's supposed to be. She is as not Galadriel as Matt was not Matt in WoT. It's a joke and a bad one at that.
Fantastic review I am there with you with a review of WOT as well as Rings of power, great observations, and honest input ... but curious if you will be giving a chance to 2nd season of WOT ... I would really miss your critique if you do not! your insight into Jordan's lore was amazing!
It’s nice hear from someone who is just giving a genuine opinion, I loved how in one of your previous videos you mentioned that the people saying there is an agenda are lying or being hypocritical that they themselves are are also pushing an agenda or exaggerating outrage for clicks, agenda dose not mean left leaning people who just want women to beautiful love interest to be rescued and not be warriors or active protagonists are also bushing an agenda
How would you weigh these first two episodes vs House of the Dragon? As different as they are, Amazon and HBO chose to put these head to head, and people are going to compare them.
I think it's actually great they came out around the same time. It's a nice comparison of a fantasy world where patriarchy is the villain/reason for the fall of a great house and a fantasy world that has been updated from the original source material to equalize the genders, however weirdly
How on earth did WoT get all the horrible writers??
I had hoped that, since there are no wizards in the 2nd age, Galadriel would fill that role-be the Uber mysterious and not quite defined power that tips the scale when necessary. Celeborn, IMO could have done the general roles with his wife being the mastermind and power behind it all.
Instead, he isn’t involved. To
Me it was like doing WoT but writing Nyneave out of the picture… or Lan.
We’ll see.
They could have gone that way with Galadriel. Too early to say whether that would have been better.
@@amys0482 It would have been better for the simple reason that it would have fit the books and the character. This Galadriel is a stranger and not a particularly likable one at that.
Was looking forward to your review. Agree with almost everything.
This show really was a pleasant surprise. The story was believable for me and most importantly, good. The added races didn’t bother me because their acting was great. As you say this was so much better than WoT and I had made it a point to finish Robert Jordan’s series before the show came out. But they just couldn’t show strong females without belittling males in that show, it was ridiculous. But this show. Everyone was strong (elves and dwarven scenes) or everyone was weak (survivors adrift on the sea). The woman and her son that killed the…orc? They bungled through that, as I expected them to. The woman didn’t suddenly turn into Seal Team 6 (Nyneave shanking the trolloc in the pool) it was all really well done.
On the subject of Galadriel, during these first two episodes, I completely connected with her storyline once it was explained why she took up the sword. After a while I began to get Ahab vibes from her. Knowing where she ends up does spoil things, but had I never seen or read The Hobbit or LoTR, I’d say she was on the path to evil. That her obsession would drive her to madness. Maybe she will experience her own dark age. It’d be an interesting arc.
The dwarves were my absolute favorite. I kept nodding my head and going, “yep” during all their scenes 😂. I would have loved to have been a dwarf in middle earth.
With as good as these first two episodes have been I’m terrified for the rest because now they have their hooks in me. What will they unleash now that I’m invested?
Oh I have a feeling it is Gandalf, just because of the grey…”thing” he’s wearing. Blanket? It would be awesome if it was a Blue, maybe the color is a faint and we’ll be surprised. But it even looks like a young Gandalf to me.
Nervously excited to continue this show.
I think it is established in the lore that Gandalf doesnt arrive until the 3rd age, whereas the Blue Wizards could have been around in the 2nd, but they might change that. I don't know.
The cat teleported out!
It got magical powers!
Yah. My editing skills are impressive
I agree. Overall, it's pretty decent compared to Wheel of Time where I went in with a ton of expectations. Some things do drag and feel kind of weird and others were cool. It isn't my favourite show ever but it isn't the worst thing I've ever seen. 7/10 so far in my opinion.
It's so sad to come back to this video after finishing season 1 😂😂
Thanks for putting up a timely review! I think I'm with you: I'm invested, but not trying to pass judgement overall. For those who were or remain worried that this show will not live up to expectations: It won't. If we have impossible expectations, it's impossible to match them.
The Peter Jackson LotR trilogy was not at all perfect, and his Hobbit trilogy was a hot mess. I still love the LotR movies, and enjoy some of the strong fan edits of The Hobbit. And the old animated adaptations weren't the greatest either, but I loved them as a small kid. And the school play adaptation of The Hobbit I was in (I think I played Kili?) in elementary school wasn't amazing either, but it was a lot of fun.
So, let's not look on past adaptations with rose colored glasses, but enjoy them each for what they are. Adaptations can't diminish the source material unless we aren't able to separate them in our minds. They are their own thing. I'm excited to see what they do with the rest of this show. If it turns out to be great, that'll be wonderful. If it turns out to be mediocre, I'll just go reread Tolkien's books.
Casting-bad, elves look like basic, would say even ugly even on human standards. This ethereal, elegant,intelligent, superior feeling Cate Blanchet,Lee Pace or Liv Tylor were serving is simply not present. They look and act as humans with prosthetic ears.
Wardrobe - bad, armour looks unpractical and plastic,clothes have no handmade rich broidery like in LOTR,instead I saw mechanic pattern prints which is fast made modern thing and looks unnatural for fantasy story.
Story- confusing. Everyone is acting like ass with each other for some reason.The characters we know well act completely out of character, the new characters and their story plots are basically recycled plots from LOTR with black/female representation.
Music- underwhelming. It looks that Howard Shore just helped but was not completely involved into the project. The pop song opening was a shock for me, it looked like Catty Perry video rather that Tolkien story. Wonder why they payed millions for rights to adapt Tolkien, then they did their own political project.
You are entitled to your opinion, but I think this is an exaggeration. I like Morfrydd Clark as Galadriel. I like Blanchett too but I didnt think she looked elven and none of the other choices for elves in the movies were exactly right. And of course they weren't. They are human actors. We have had 20 years to get used to them, so they feel iconic now, but they didn't when I first saw the movies. Clothing -- some of it stands out inauthentically but most of the visuals are stunning. People are nitpicking because they are looking for things to hate. The plot is a slow burn. It is intriguing but not emotionally compelling yet. Will give it a chance. I don't see the political statements, other than women existing and having more active roles and a more diverse cast, which didn't throw me out of the story. People fixating on that have their own political statement to make.
@@amys0482 I didn’t mean only that Cate Blanchet is more beautiful.The way she moved and talked was inhuman.In fact all elves in LOTR looked tall slim, long hair, they looked like different race. In Amazon production I don’t see it. I like the visuals as well, especially the sight scenes but many of the dialogs were too immature and cringy. Probably if I have never read the books or watched the first trilogy I would accept this, but even then there is nothing spectacular about the first episodes.You don’t find one black actor strategic placement per race as an issue? We see same pattern here as with wheel of time. Man act as assholes or are naive, women are powerful, fearless and wise. It is just too much in your face to ignore it. To quote Galadriel maybe “you have not seen what I’ve have seen”.
@@dododimitrov9657 No, I dont see that. I dont see the men sidelined or acting like assholes. The Sindar elf having dark skin doesn't bother me. I do think the elves look otherworldly compared to the other races collectively. They have an airbrushed quality and their bodies seem sturdier somehow and they are all on the thinner side compared with other races. I think you are seeing what you want to see because you are invested in the show being bad. I didn't find the dialogue offputting either. It would have been if it was full of purple prose, but it was actually okay. I was in high school when the LotR movies came out and all of these same complaints were made. When you read the books, the interpretation by someone else never aligns with what you imagined. People just got used to the Peter Jackson interpretation after 20 years of watching it on repeat. Some aspects of those films were cringe when first released.
@@amys0482 the Sindar elves with military haircuts or the Salon haircut of Celebrimbor look otherworldly to you, really Amy common, you're girl with a taste I watched all you videos and here you caught me off guard. Long hair is racial trait of the elves like the beards are for the dwarves, it symbolizes immortality. This is why there is not a single male elf with short hair described in the books and you may find 100 of quotes of long elven hair. And here is another political game of Amazon, they didn't want any race to have defined features, they wanted diversity .. long hair elf, short hair elf, salon hair old grandpa elf.... representation. But if you have such diversity everywhere then it looks forced and unnatural. I watched LOTR years after it came out, so I can't say what were the reaction in first hand. LOTR is adaptation with all the flaws , Rings of power is fanfiction -rename few of the main characters and you would never even connect it to Tolkien world.
@@dododimitrov9657 I didn't say anything about the hair. I said the diversity in casting didnt throw me out of the story. There are inaccuracies. Inaccuracies and a bad story are different things.
I really enjoyed your review. Thanks for putting out something that was level-headed and fair. But I disagree with you on some of the acting and some of the costumes. The boy that plays Theo had his mouth open so much and it was distracting for me. And I agree that the cool affection between the healer and the elf was written very well but I thought the acting was a little choppy. Disa's dress was pretty awful in my opinion. And Elrond's costume in the dwarf kingdom looked like something you'd find at a thrift shop and think it's cute at first, but all the fringes are mysteriously stuck together. I have to say that I am invested in the story and I want to see what happens next!
Actually agree with both of those points! I literally called that kid a mouthbreather but it's one of the reasons he might end up a villain. Also didn't care for Elrond's weird fringe sleeve tunic or Disa's pants dress, but MOST of the costumes I liked.
Hey, this is great! do you mind posting this on audea? I like to listen more that's where I get most of my audio content!
Welcome back, Amy!
"I am basically no-one" - hardly. Another intelligent and thoughtful review amidst the sea of incel clickbait on youtube.
Concerning Harfoots - am I alone in finding them revolting? The Irish accents are awful and a lazy attempt at relatability. A lot of the casting is also just really off (like the pre-teenage looking son with a half-broken voice and 5 o'clock shadow - what?), and the dialogue's around the same level as the Wheel of Time show, often worse. I'll finish the show to see if it improves but thus far it's way below the quality of House of the Dragon for writing.
P.S. I heard loud thudding noises throughout the video - think you are beating your chair - might be due to microphone / microphone placement.
Wheel of Time had me shying away from Rings of Power. I will also give it a try. Story matters. Writing and acting matter. I loved Arcane because its story was logical and entertaining with a real plot and great character development. It sounds as if this story will be in Tolkien's world, but told by someone else. I can tolerate that.
It's not as good as Arcane, but better than Wheel of Time. If you can tolerate deviations from the lore and some creative license with characters, it's decent corporate fanfiction with lots of gorgeous visuals.
I absolutely respect your opinion.
But I think RoP is on the same level as The Wheel of Time. It makes all the same mistakes:
The wringing is terrible, the lore is an aftertough, and the portrait of the main characters is awful.
I'm making a video on it.
Totally agree. The first two episodes were pretty good. The toxic backlash by embittered GamerGate holdovers isn’t going to stop this show from succeeding if it continues on this trajectory.
The cast and script were horrible, so no amount of high tech wizardry, CGI and breath-taking scenery could overcome something so abysmal.
I find that perspective very weird.
You may not be someone but your cat sure is!
Nice video, I like your reviews, especially the TWoT ones but I disagree with some points in this video. While I certainly find the show more appealing than TWoT, it is also true that this show deviates more and harder from the source material than TWoT show did. Based on the nature of the story I know some deviations and liberties should be made, but I find the changes made for the show almost discouraging to stay. Galadriel is probably the worst change, from old and wise noble women we have this arrogant, rash, and naive (if not straight dumb) teenager, it made no sense even in the show's storyline and logic for this character to be in a position of power. Though I believe the showrunners are planning some character development for her (at least I hope so) she is right now so obnoxious I can't sympathize with her.
Also, her plot and the other ones, except for the Arondir one, are very contrived, with very artificial and bland conflicts: Why do Numenoreans even listen to Galadriel's claims? Why the mistrust between dwarves and elves? Where is Nori's plot going? There is some potential here (i like Hallbrand as a character, and I hope he ends up being Sauron in disguise), but for the moment the show has been generic and bland at best.
you’re back!
yay!!
so far, it’s really jarring show, dialogue bad, sets cheap, costumes cheap, and not respectful of the source stuff sadly. That’s my opinion anyway.
it’s on par with WoTv
I love the self deprecation and humbleness in the first minute of the video. You get a thumbs up for that alone. I agree with you on both counts - The Rings of power was written waaaaaay better (and I want to keep watching) than The Wheel of Time ( a hot mess that I may not revisit).
Dr Zeuss was written better than both combined.
I really liked the show. Galadriel's character was more than a little insufferable to begin with (she seemed obnoxiously pushy), but I liked her more with the second episode while she's on the raft with Halbrand. Their personalities make an interesting contrast.
I think this portrayal of Galadriel was intentional and very far removed (imo) from the hotheaded, manstabbing warrior princess people were assuming she would be recrafted as. I think the actress Morfrydd Clark is well casted and I am impressed how the delivery of her lines mimic how Cate Blanchett also delivered on this character
I think it can be accurately classified as loving and expensive fan fiction. It frankly has nowhere near the artistic mastery of the original films, but it seems enjoyable as another attempt to depict middle earth
I went in thinking the show might be like wheel of time, where imo the "woke" agenda went absolutely wild and they lost any sort of focus on telling a compelling and coherent story. Rings of Power has done it right so far. The minority actors are all very good and their characters don't feel forced.
Overall I like the show so far. It still feels middle-earthy, and I personally have never needed anything to stay near 1:1 to the source material, as long as whatever story was being told was interesting and fun.
Naw, hard disagree. Galadriel is completely unlikeable and not the Galadriel in the Silmarilion. The elves are fools. The orc slavers are all mysteriously white and have no problem running around in the sun, and the 'hobbits' are psychopaths who sing about never leaving anyone behind while listing all the victims they left behind. The show is nonsensical and violates the world and lore at every turn.
@@nathanmorgan3647 Look at all the hyperbole in your criticisms and ask yourself if you're being objective.
It's ok to like or dislike something, but just because you like or dislike something doesn't make it the best or worst thing in the world.
I am not even disappointed, just lost. If we had characters with different names and locations I would never guess it was Tolkien work, but the problem is that the characters who we know so well, act and look like insane, annoying stupid idiots. If you check Amazon official site you see that 4 from 5 factions are led by strong female hero. The racial diversity among each race looks unreal and forced, clothes are made on modern printing machines, heavy armor looks unpractical and fake. The entire world doesn't look from different time, but rather too modern. The plot is also too boring, I wonder how would they survive this volcanic eruption in the end or is this the end of the Tv series??
Oh, I think they are committed to five seasons. I'll do a review of the whole first season when I get back from vacation.
@@amys0482 great can't wait, have a great vacation miss Amy.
the agenda is to push that there is an agenda, people make tons of money that way.
I like your energy, but I absolutely hated this pointless drivel. Good luck on your journey.
It's what you get at midnight
@@amys0482 I should clarify, pointless drivel is what I think of The Rings of Power, not your lovely little video.
@@SaikoDeMoN lol okay!
Don't forget to downvote guys... IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes!!