Television The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

[Mickeza]

Yeah but from the minute they called him Sauron I was 'No he's not'. It was just such an obvious attempt at misdirection.
The oh no it's not him scene was just laughable.

It was weird - going into it I was 80-20 who Sauron was - but once they started the episode with the “reveal” it was obviously misdirection which just completely confirmed he wasn’t Sauron. Him actually being Sauron and burning the harfoots to the ground could have been a pretty cool plot line though

 

[Fully Fledged]

It was weird - going into it I was 80-20 who Sauron was - but once they started the episode with the “reveal” it was obviously misdirection which just completely confirmed he wasn’t Sauron. Him actually being Sauron and burning the harfoots to the ground could have been a pretty cool plot line though

It could.

 

[rcoobc]

Yeah but from the minute they called him Sauron I was 'No he's not'. It was just such an obvious attempt at misdirection.
The oh no it's not him scene was just laughable.

To be fair i thought he was sauron until mid-way through the ep

 

[rcoobc]

The follow your nose quote would suggest Gandalf.

And that hes hanging around with hobbits. It explains his love for them.

Ive no issue with him being gandalf to be fair. Other than it changes what tolkein wrote but ...

 

[Fully Fledged]

To be fair i thought he was sauron until mid-way through the ep

Fair enough.
I was sure from when we first saw him that he was was Gandalf.

 

[Fully Fledged]

And that hes hanging around with hobbits. It explains his love for them.

Ive no issue with him being gandalf to be fair. Other than it changes what tolkein wrote but ...

I hope they get better writers for next time I don't mind the law changes that much but the plot and dialog are soap opera quality. I expect to see Pat Butcher walk on the set at any moment.

 

[rcoobc]

Fair enough.
I was sure from when we first saw him that he was was Gandalf.

I thought it was Sauron. Because otherwise, who would Sauron be?

Didn't expect it to be new-Aragorn

 

[Salt Bailly]

Yeah but from the minute they called him Sauron I was 'No he's not'. It was just such an obvious attempt at misdirection.
The oh no it's not him scene was just laughable.

It would have been so much more interesting if he was Sauron.

 

[rpitchfo]

I was hoping it wasn’t halbrand “from the start”

maybe Sauron had shape shifted into him at the point mount doom all kicked off.

but nope.

 

[Fully Fledged]

It would have been so much more interesting if he was Sauron.

As I've said they need better writers. I think the cast would be fine if the writing was better.

 

[Fully Fledged]

I was hoping it wasn’t halbrand “from the start”

maybe Sauron had shape shifted into him at the point mount doom all kicked off.

but nope.

I still can't see what he was doing in the middle of the ocean being cased by a giant worm.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I do like the fact Darth Vader borrowed Halbrand his cape for the final shot.

 

[tombombadil]

Fair enough. I think they could have done with spending a bit more time working on creating the rings, while Sauron slowly showed his hand. Celebrimbor has had very little screen time up until this point so I think he needed some more character-building before making a decision like that one.

Spot on. Totally agree with you on that. Felt like the whole ring forging scenes were so short and rushed. Would've done a great deal of good to stretch it out a bit.

 

[tombombadil]

I was hoping it wasn’t halbrand “from the start”

maybe Sauron had shape shifted into him at the point mount doom all kicked off.

but nope.

Same here. The show was desperate to point at both him and comet guy from the start. I was pretty sure comet guy is gandalf, so that would mean Halbrand. I was so, so desperate for there to be a twist and Halbrand turn out to not be Sauron. It's so, so on the nose. But again, I gotta remind myself. The show doesn't care about that. That'll teach me to hope for more from them.

As I've said they need better writers. I think the cast would be fine if the writing was better.

Spot on. Totally agree. If the story and chars were better, people wouldn't be complaining so much.

 

[RacingClub]

If anything, criticism based on its overall quality is often ignored as coming from anal book purists when the lore isn’t even the primary focus of the criticism.

Agree with you about this from reading the thread.

There seems to be a need to dismiss criticism as coming from Tolkien purists or people who have gone into this with the desire to hate it because of the casting choices etc but IMO there is plenty to criticize about the show without plumbing those depths.

 

[Stactix]

Enjoyed it initially, first couple of episodes & would say I prefered it over HOD. Midway through that flipped for both myself & partner. Not being bothered about new episodes of ROP while struggling to wait for HOD.

Not read any of the material for this setting, as a spectacle it's still excellent but the writing is awful..

The writers seem very arrogant too.

Kinda reminds me of final season GOT, I just recall completely being disinterested in some of the best characters like Tyrion etc thanks to dumb&dumber.

 

[RacingClub]

Enjoyed it initially, first couple of episodes & would say I prefered it over HOD. Midway through that flipped for both myself & partner. Not being bothered about new episodes of ROP while struggling to wait for HOD.

Not read any of the material for this setting, as a spectacle it's still excellent but the writing is awful..

Agree with this, I was exactly the same to begin with.

Kinda reminds me of final season GOT, I just recall completely being disinterested in some of the best characters like Tyrion etc thanks to dumb&dumber.

Agree with you here too , it's (AT BEST) GoT final season level stuff.

 

[lsd]

I have no problem with anyone criticizing the outcome of a show. What I don't like are sweeping and wrong statements about the making of shows.

You said in an earlier post that shows you rated highly were The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones.

Jason Cahill wrote for The Sopranos and for this show. Gennifer Hutchison wrote for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and wrote for this show. And Bryan Cogman wrote for Game of Thrones and wrote for this show.

Cahill wrote 3 Sopranos episodes two were meh other one Meadowlands pretty decent.

Cogman wrote maybe five or six Game of Thrones episodes none of which would really rank as the best.

Not a breaking bad fan so can't comment on that one bar she again wrote 3 episodes

They wouldn't exactly be the best there is when it comes to writers I would be confident in saying

 

[glazed]

I have to say Sauron did nothing bad in the whole series except ask Galadriel out and get turned down. Literally everything else happened to him and around and because of Galadriel. He was pretty helpful most of the time.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

Boring, predictable, nonsense. It looked real good though, and the actors did their best with what they had to work with. But that writing was straight out of there bad robot school of film making. Mystery boxes fecking everywhere, including an actual mystery box. Bits and pieces of it worked here and there, but over all it was painful to sit through. And I cant believe anyone didnt catch on who Sauron was as son as he turned up on that raft. Painfully obvious.

 

[Wibble]

I saw the first 2 episodes then haven't returned. Did it get any better?

 

[dumbo]

I thought it was great. It felt like it was grinding to a halt a little in episode 7 but I really enjoyed the finale. I was really liking the way they introduced elements of a dope, quasi-Classical cosmogony. I don't know how this tallies with the book lore but the Peter Jackson films don't have that. The Jackson films read more like stuffy Christian parables with your resurrections and characters in grace. Here you have these Heraclitean, primordial fires and elemental flux. Nice stuff.

I was emotionally invested with the Harfoots and their pet wizard. Lenny's exit was nicely played. I really started to get into the Elfy schism angle. They are kind of scary creatures with their supremacist ideals and domineering attitudes. And this perfectly feeds into Galadriel's character and that inner conflict of wanting to do what is right but also just wanting to take over some shit.

I don't get the whole 'it was so bad and obvious and bad' that Sauron was that one guy, like you were sat there waiting for everything to Shyamalan. I wasn't really looking, I wasn't shocked by the reveal but it works and makes sense. Besides half you liars were throwing everyone in the Sauron pot at one time or another. You guessed a twist, well done, you are smart.

Rings of Power is definitely not the cool shit bro show. I think that's why I took to it. It's old fashioned fantasy that is sincere, warm hearted and carefully crafted. It's nerdy in the traditional sense that you would likely get picked on in the playground if you said you liked it because you are an awkward loner, rather than nerdy in the modern sense where it is edgy and hip and if you are in the gang you'd get invited to share in a wank session with your bros.

 

[oates]

Really enjoyed it overall, a bit peed off the series has been that short. Only character I've found a bit unsatisfying has been Elrond somehow.

 

[pratyush_utd]

I saw the first 2 episodes then haven't returned. Did it get any better?

Its quite divisive and you will hear varying opinions but it has more or less remained at the same level. Decent watch though but don’t increase your expectations from the level you have kept after watching the first 2 episodes.

 

[Spoony]

Really enjoyed it overall, a bit peed off the series has been that short. Only character I've found a bit unsatisfying has been Elrond somehow.

Was also a shame that we had to wait a week for each episode.

 

[oates]

Was also a shame that we had to wait a week for each episode.

That as well.

I waited until there were two episodes to watch at a time.

 

[Spoony]

That as well.

I waited until there were two episodes to watch at a time.

Hmmm...I think I'll wait for the whole series to play out before binging next time. I did that with Better Call Saul. But yeah like you I really enjoyed it. Apparently next season is all about Sauron - he's bad but complexly bad. Will be fun seeing his story. No doubt it'll will annoy many.

 

[oates]

Hmmm...I think I'll wait for the whole series to play out before binging next time. I did that with Better Call Saul. But yeah like you I really enjoyed it. Apparently next season is all about Sauron - he's bad but complexly bad. Will be fun seeing his story. No doubt it'll will annoy many.

I've done the same thing with this latest GoT, not bothered with any of it yet. Did the same with every series of the first lot - watched 8 series over a long weekend, can't be getting into stuff and then getting anxious over waiting a week. Got to miss all the spoilers though so don't often come on here but fortunately my dementia usually means I've forgotten what I've read anyway.

 

[balaks]

Boring, predictable, nonsense. It looked real good though, and the actors did their best with what they had to work with. But that writing was straight out of there bad robot school of film making. Mystery boxes fecking everywhere, including an actual mystery box. Bits and pieces of it worked here and there, but over all it was painful to sit through. And I cant believe anyone didnt catch on who Sauron was as son as he turned up on that raft. Painfully obvious.

You are obviously much cleverer than me because I didn't think he was Sauron till it was revealed. I loved the show, perhaps it's just not for you.

 

[Spoony]

You are obviously much cleverer than me because I didn't think he was Sauron till it was revealed. I loved the show, perhaps it's just not for you.

Yeah I wouldn't have guessed either had I not explored YouTube.

 

[Zehner]

I think the criticism of the writing is blown out of proportion. Yes, there were a few weak moments but overall I think many story elements that they made up themselves were and some dialogs were also very good. The show isn't shit because Gandalf had a weak line.

They did a good job at adapting the source material to TV format and moved it away from the typical black and white nature with which Tolkien portrayed good and evil. The good guys have flaws, the evil guys have redeeming qualities. I like that they tackled the whole "discrimination of Orcs" topic. In all previous adaptations and arguably even in the books, they were nothing more than an ugly race that heroes could slaughter without any moral ambigousness.

Moreover, some of the criticism is is very hypocritical. People criticize the coincidences that drive the story (Galadriel meeting Halbrand in the middle of the ocean) but ignore that the same was the case in LotR and was always explained with the will of god.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

I think the criticism of the writing is blown out of proportion. Yes, there were a few weak moments but overall I think many story elements that they made up themselves were and some dialogs were also very good. The show isn't shit because Gandalf had a weak line.

They did a good job at adapting the source material to TV format and moved it away from the typical black and white nature with which Tolkien portrayed good and evil. The good guys have flaws, the evil guys have redeeming qualities. I like that they tackled the whole "discrimination of Orcs" topic. In all previous adaptations and arguably even in the books, they were nothing more than an ugly race that heroes could slaughter without any moral ambigousness.

Moreover, some of the criticism is is very hypocritical. People criticize the coincidences that drive the story (Galadriel meeting Halbrand in the middle of the ocean) but ignore that the same was the case in LotR and was always explained with the will of god.

I agree but c'mon now, that "I am good" line has to be the one of the dumbest things ever written. You can't give an actor that to say. You just can't.

I found the series mostly quite boring with splashes of good. Not the shit show that some have declared it by any means.

This thread has been far more entertaining watching all the book nerds argue that character X can't be this person because it doesn't fit into the timeline or whatever. It's Amazon Prime baby, it was always going to be Gandalf and Sauron.

 

[dumbo]

That was a great line. Definitely goofy but goofily good. "I am Gandalf" is the pandering Marvel move but instead he isn't Gandalf but rather his experience up till now with Nori. It's the Karate Kid Crane Kick. It's a sweet goof.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

That was a great line. Definitely goofy but goofily good. "I am Gandalf" is the pandering Marvel move but instead he isn't Gandalf but rather his experience up till now with Nori. It's the Karate Kid Crane Kick. It's a sweet goof.

Yeah I get that it was a sweet goofy conclusion to Nori guiding him through his whole character awakening but it just sounded so bad. Like fingers down a chalkboard bad.

Anyway the best thing is now I've Sauron down as a proper Yorkshireman...."Gerr daahn ta mordor 'n start fettle immediately on 'a' fortress afowa t' 'obbits start comin."

 

[Solius]

A good twist would be to make us think it's Gandalf but he actually turns out to be Saruman. Maybe they meet and that's actually where Gandalf learns the follow your nose thing from. I dunno I just came up with it in 10 seconds.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

A good twist would be to make us think it's Gandalf but he actually turns out to be Saruman. Maybe they meet and that's actually where Gandalf learns the follow your nose thing from. I dunno I just came up with it in 10 seconds.

Yeah I thought that as well. Could still be the case as he wasn't always a dick was he.

 

[hellhunter]

Maybe the nose thing is just a common say or inside joke for the Istari

 

[lsd]

I agree but c'mon now, that "I am good" line has to be the one of the dumbest things ever written. You can't give an actor that to say. You just can't.

I found the series mostly quite boring with splashes of good. Not the shit show that some have declared it by any means.

This thread has been far more entertaining watching all the book nerds argue that character X can't be this person because it doesn't fit into the timeline or whatever. It's Amazon Prime baby, it was always going to be Gandalf and Sauron.

Up there with the greatest Elven Smith not knowing what an Alloy was then not knowing how to actually use it properly.

The whole Sauron fooling him was over and done in like one minute with no build up at all

It's like they forgot about that and just came up with it on the spot on the list day of filming

 

[Zehner]

Up there with the greatest Elven Smith not knowing what an Alloy was then not knowing how to actually use it properly.

The whole Sauron fooling him was over and done in like one minute with no build up at all

It's like they forgot about that and just came up with it on the spot on the list day of filming

Yeah, I think they should've cut his time at Numenor and spent it on him influencing the Elves. Also if they really wanted it to be a "who's Sauron" type of experience, they should've included more candidates and maybe give it a political drama spin. But difficult to do one way or another because making up too many Annatar like characters would not have gone down well either. But I'm sure we'll see much more of Sauron manipulating others and I'm looking forward to it. Really liked the clever Halbrand scenes, the guy's a decent actor.

 

[lsd]

Apparently second season will be focused on just how evil he is now.