Still enough to stand out. It was probably the "whitest" episode thus far. She almost felt like she was just tossed in there to meet a quota.
Television The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) are here to talk about United's dreadful home defeat at the hands of Big Ange's Tottenham Hotspur. Should this have been the end of Ten Hag? How long does he actually have left? And does Nik finally want ETH out?!
What are you doing step-Elrond?
It is kind of ironic this episode of all gets praised the most when it had arguably the least diversity displayed of all them so far and the only two diverse characters got killed. Or at least one of them for sure. Not trying to start a riot but ...
... but those liking it are probably racists, right?
Yep, he’s doing a bang up job. I enjoy the dialogue with him and celebrimbor as the elf is finally working out what’s going on.
I’m really enjoying the series , there’s a few annoying things like the nod to Boromir dieing by 200 arrows as he still slayed a few orcs but they were more eye rolling then particularly annoying.
also think the actor playing Elrond is very good. Have no idea if it’s true to the books but the character on tv is fantastic.
Some of the lore change here works ( like creation of Elven rings first while lore wise it should have been last) but this Orc being shown with shades of grey doesn’t work for fantasy series. Adar and his “children” portrayal and Adar needing Elven ring along with Morgoth crown to kill Sauron is laughably bad writing. And using Galadriel as the reason why Sauron was able to make the rings and Adar to capture the Elven ring really undermines Galadriel. There is no way Galadriel can be redeemed now and it sucks because she alongwith Elrond were some of the most important Elves in 2nd and 3rd Age. But i fear with Galadriel getting the nine rings of men, she will again be played. Show is constantly making her character look stupid which i really dislike.
Sauron portrayal is pretty good. And i am really looking forward to how they will show Sauron powers when he wears the “one ring”. LotR books really makes it sound like One ring makes the wearer more powerful when they are near Mordor. It will be interesting to see what powers Sauron has as we have very little lore for that.
Nine rings for Men is also going to be interesting as we dont know anything about who got six of those. Their descend into madness and slowing turning into wraiths if properly done, would be quite interesting to watch.
I really wish they show less of Nori and Wizard storyline. More of Elrond establishing Rivendell. More of how Sauron manipulates Men. And Dwarves descend into greediness attracting Dragons. And for once Galadriel being able to do something right and establishing her kingdom. Elendil also needs to be given more air time as he is more important than Isildur character.
Show had potential to really redeem itself in next 2-3 season. But it needs to really rethink which story line to focus
Sauron portrayal is pretty good. And i am really looking forward to how they will show Sauron powers when he wears the “one ring”. LotR books really makes it sound like One ring makes the wearer more powerful when they are near Mordor. It will be interesting to see what powers Sauron has as we have very little lore for that.
Nine rings for Men is also going to be interesting as we dont know anything about who got six of those. Their descend into madness and slowing turning into wraiths if properly done, would be quite interesting to watch.
I really wish they show less of Nori and Wizard storyline. More of Elrond establishing Rivendell. More of how Sauron manipulates Men. And Dwarves descend into greediness attracting Dragons. And for once Galadriel being able to do something right and establishing her kingdom. Elendil also needs to be given more air time as he is more important than Isildur character.
Show had potential to really redeem itself in next 2-3 season. But it needs to really rethink which story line to focus
Exactly
Seen a few spoilers about the last episode..excited as feck to see it. Sounds like it could be a great finale. Could watch it on phone at big screen but I need a big screen.
Didn't Morgoth only summon the first dragons at his final battle? Sure that was when he got chained and banished.
Very messy end to a very messy season.
Messy could be good. Give me chaos.
Pretty epic I thought. Definitely looking forward to season 3 whereas at end of season 1 I was a little underwhelmed.
Think they turned the series around pretty well
Think they turned the series around pretty well
Nope, Glaurung was raising havoc for centuries.
Honestly my favourite Tolkien villain. Just an absolute piece of shit that happens to be a dragon
There really is some hope for this after the last 3 episodes. Have enjoyed them far more.
messy and pathetic at times but obviously the peak of the show overall along with previous episode. meaning now we have 2 good to very good episodes in 2 whole seasons. as usual, those "touching, emotional" moments didn't work again because of the bad acting so most non-action scenes were meh again - no surprises there.
I'll probably watch the S3, but like I've said, I accepted that this is basically more expensive Wheel of Time with more familiar lore so no point in having high expectations at this point.
one thing I'm still getting surprised with though is how difficult it is for this show to offer trully memorable scenes. be it arrival of dwarves or ending scene, everything is just utterly weak. all the ingredients are here, but the chef doesn't know shit about cooking.
I'll probably watch the S3, but like I've said, I accepted that this is basically more expensive Wheel of Time with more familiar lore so no point in having high expectations at this point.
one thing I'm still getting surprised with though is how difficult it is for this show to offer trully memorable scenes. be it arrival of dwarves or ending scene, everything is just utterly weak. all the ingredients are here, but the chef doesn't know shit about cooking.
Went from a 3 to maybe a 5.
Still deeply underwhelming but Ten Hag like improvement.
Still deeply underwhelming but Ten Hag like improvement.
I kept thinking how powerful some of these scenes could be if the set up was proper. From Balrog and on… Galadriel spamming cheesy lines reminiscent of the 80’s movies (“Give me one reason, elf” — “I’ll give you nine”, “Heal yourself” and there was another one between them that I’ve already forgotten) was probably the worst of it.
Yes, the season was better than the first one but overall such a disappointment and this episode, filled by potentially great scenes, showcased its deficiencies (writing, first and foremost) the most, even though it was certainly not the worst episode of the series.
And why did the orcs, under the direct command to kill all of the elves except for their leaders, spared a random soldier (his rank had been highlighted multiple times throughout the series) alongside Gil-galad and Elrond? Not the biggest concern and I knew that they wouldn’t kill him off but damn it I had hoped that he’d die off in the background.
Yes, the season was better than the first one but overall such a disappointment and this episode, filled by potentially great scenes, showcased its deficiencies (writing, first and foremost) the most, even though it was certainly not the worst episode of the series.
And why did the orcs, under the direct command to kill all of the elves except for their leaders, spared a random soldier (his rank had been highlighted multiple times throughout the series) alongside Gil-galad and Elrond? Not the biggest concern and I knew that they wouldn’t kill him off but damn it I had hoped that he’d die off in the background.
Not a great finale. It might sound a bit questionsble, but i had hoped the killing of Celebrimbor had taken more space in the episode, and i think in the source his body was displayed like some sort of war banner.
I kept waiting for his defiled body when the orcs destroyed stuff before Elrond's and the king's eyes, would have been a more fitting symbol than just the torching of the scrolls. (Lotr has some pretty gruesome stuff in the same vein, when the orcs catapult the lidless heads of the fallen humans back into Minas Tirith, iirc)
Adar's end felt premature, cheap. Like they didn't know what to do with him anymore, so he was just discarded. I was hoping to at least see a try at his plan with Morgoth's crown and the ring, even if it obviously had to fail.
Instead we got the strange duel between Galadriel and Sauron. Parts of it felt good, but it was a bit drawn out and gimmicky, i think. It just didn't become clear to me what significance this encounter was supposed to hold. (Apart from Galadriel having the rings on her, because of course she did).
The Gandalf story line and 'reveal' ended with no surprises whatsoever, felt like a big waste of time. I would have welcomed it if he had succumbed to the wizard of Rhun's promises of power and turned out to be Saruman, instead of the thing everyone had expected from his first appearance on.
Ar least Trump Jr. of Numenor promised to be a very hateable scumbag for next season again, so there's that. (And hopefully we don't have to see Estrid again, but that hope will likely be in vain).
I kept waiting for his defiled body when the orcs destroyed stuff before Elrond's and the king's eyes, would have been a more fitting symbol than just the torching of the scrolls. (Lotr has some pretty gruesome stuff in the same vein, when the orcs catapult the lidless heads of the fallen humans back into Minas Tirith, iirc)
Adar's end felt premature, cheap. Like they didn't know what to do with him anymore, so he was just discarded. I was hoping to at least see a try at his plan with Morgoth's crown and the ring, even if it obviously had to fail.
Instead we got the strange duel between Galadriel and Sauron. Parts of it felt good, but it was a bit drawn out and gimmicky, i think. It just didn't become clear to me what significance this encounter was supposed to hold. (Apart from Galadriel having the rings on her, because of course she did).
The Gandalf story line and 'reveal' ended with no surprises whatsoever, felt like a big waste of time. I would have welcomed it if he had succumbed to the wizard of Rhun's promises of power and turned out to be Saruman, instead of the thing everyone had expected from his first appearance on.
Ar least Trump Jr. of Numenor promised to be a very hateable scumbag for next season again, so there's that. (And hopefully we don't have to see Estrid again, but that hope will likely be in vain).
I'd gladly watch series strictly about Elrond, plus maybe bit of Adar & Durin, with occasional Sauron plot here and there. Tom Bombadil / Gandalf stuff didn't move me like it should.
Gotta say, even Bear McCreary didn't hit exacly a high note on this one which is kinda shocking, after perfecting it for Battlestar Galactica and Black Sails.
When it was good, it was decent... and that's good too, I guess, especially for a limited show.
Gotta say, even Bear McCreary didn't hit exacly a high note on this one which is kinda shocking, after perfecting it for Battlestar Galactica and Black Sails.
When it was good, it was decent... and that's good too, I guess, especially for a limited show.
I think the show runners have done a good job with memorable storylines. Even the first season with the Mount doom setup was captivating. Having the Tom Bombadil song also shows they respect the source material to some extent.
Where it fails is direction and acting. Watching the LOTR movies recently I was genuinely moved by some of the hobbit reactions (boromir and Gandalf fall). This show has non of that, I can only think of Adar and his trusted orc, maybe celebrimbor adding some depth… Elendil leaving ‘his queen’ was the least dramatic it could be.
The direction; the previous episode showed Elrond feeling despondent about the dwarfs not coming. The next they are shown arriving like a SAS hit squad for a couple of minutes.
Maybe there’s only so much that can be done. Or they are trying to include too much.
Where it fails is direction and acting. Watching the LOTR movies recently I was genuinely moved by some of the hobbit reactions (boromir and Gandalf fall). This show has non of that, I can only think of Adar and his trusted orc, maybe celebrimbor adding some depth… Elendil leaving ‘his queen’ was the least dramatic it could be.
The direction; the previous episode showed Elrond feeling despondent about the dwarfs not coming. The next they are shown arriving like a SAS hit squad for a couple of minutes.
Maybe there’s only so much that can be done. Or they are trying to include too much.
Unpopular opinion but I enjoyed watching season 1 a lot more than I enjoyed watching season 2. Otherwise agreed. A lot of the more "powerful" scenes feel completely unearned so I end up not caring. Any character couldve been killed off and I wouldn't have felt one ounce of emotion (though I think the Celebrimbor actor did a great job at least, which also isn't guaranteed in this show). The final just feels like a bunch of "powerful" scenes thrown into 1 episode but it doesn't feel like a coherent episode for the most part.
It also tries too hard to do PJ's lotr throwbacks. And Tom Bombadil is a complete failure.
It's a shame that after GoT everyone wanted to do their own big fantasy show and now we even have the most expensive show of all time, but none of these companies could actually bother to invest in good writers. If you have good writing you can forgive a lot of things.
I'll caveat the below with it's good to see a few of you have enjoyed this, I wont tell you not to!
I do not watch a lot of series, I tend to stick to the recommended/highly rated - that's easily one of the worst I've ever watched (if not THE worst). Me and my G.F were watching it out of morbid fascination by episode 6/7 (she's a big LOTR fan or I would never have got this far).
That Galadriel v Sauron sword scene!? Why were the hobbit things even in it?! Randomly jumping back to Isildor and co after about 5 episodes!? The dark wizard storyline!?
I'm going to weirdly miss it.
I do not watch a lot of series, I tend to stick to the recommended/highly rated - that's easily one of the worst I've ever watched (if not THE worst). Me and my G.F were watching it out of morbid fascination by episode 6/7 (she's a big LOTR fan or I would never have got this far).
That Galadriel v Sauron sword scene!? Why were the hobbit things even in it?! Randomly jumping back to Isildor and co after about 5 episodes!? The dark wizard storyline!?
I'm going to weirdly miss it.
Just finished the last one. It could morph into what it should have been. Fingers crossed.
The duel scene was like something written by a 15 year old on Notepad. "You see, she's fighting herself! It's SYMBOLISM!"
Tbh though I've had fun dunking on it this season, it's probably time for me to cut my losses and just move on from it
It's bad but if some people like it, that's fine.Enjoyed that. Obviously it's not perfect but I'm not one to be overly picky so if I'm just enjoying the show I can move on without dwelling on moments. Would be gutted if they canceled it.
I thought this last episode was kind of so so compared to the prior one. Forcing Arondir into some scenes feels well...forced. In some ways that last shot with just the "big three" would have been more epic. The Dwarves suddenly showing up seemed a bit random too. Especially with how small a numbers it appeared. The scale of battle was completely lost all the sudden.
I'm strangely going to miss Adar. Oddly in some ways that felt like the strongest part of the story to me even though he is obviously made up for the show. I do agree with our resident Tolkien nerds too that the aforementioned big three feel a bit underpowered. Especially Galadriel. Yes she held her own in the sword fight but it never felt like she was even close to his match which she kind of was if I remember my books right. How do we go from Galadriel of the Hobbit movies who literally single handedly drives away the Nazgul AND Sauron in a scene to this younger version that feels so ..
common. They may show her becoming more god like with the ring now but its supposed to enhance how powerful she already is, right?
Finally - the Gandalf thing was coming but it still feels like a letdown. Him being Saruman would have been more meaningful IMHO - bc it could show a good Saruman getting corrupted which seems more interesting than a Gandalf who in contrast with Galadriel feels a lot more powerful in this than in the movies. It wouldn't bug me as much if it weren't for the fact they clearly use a lot of direct movie tie ins so the difference in character power feels extra jarring to me because of it.
In any case - I still mostly enjoyed the season. Next season is set up to be the best one yet...hope they make it work.
P.s. it seems painfully clear now that those mercenaries the dark wizard uses will become the Nazgul after the one said they were once kings. I guess that may work since not much is known about their history anyway - but I do hope they make the arrival of the Witch King a bit more exciting than that. Please don't have it be the dark wizard bc that would feel much worse than the predictability of the Stranger/Gandalf.
I'm strangely going to miss Adar. Oddly in some ways that felt like the strongest part of the story to me even though he is obviously made up for the show. I do agree with our resident Tolkien nerds too that the aforementioned big three feel a bit underpowered. Especially Galadriel. Yes she held her own in the sword fight but it never felt like she was even close to his match which she kind of was if I remember my books right. How do we go from Galadriel of the Hobbit movies who literally single handedly drives away the Nazgul AND Sauron in a scene to this younger version that feels so ..
common. They may show her becoming more god like with the ring now but its supposed to enhance how powerful she already is, right?
Finally - the Gandalf thing was coming but it still feels like a letdown. Him being Saruman would have been more meaningful IMHO - bc it could show a good Saruman getting corrupted which seems more interesting than a Gandalf who in contrast with Galadriel feels a lot more powerful in this than in the movies. It wouldn't bug me as much if it weren't for the fact they clearly use a lot of direct movie tie ins so the difference in character power feels extra jarring to me because of it.
In any case - I still mostly enjoyed the season. Next season is set up to be the best one yet...hope they make it work.
P.s. it seems painfully clear now that those mercenaries the dark wizard uses will become the Nazgul after the one said they were once kings. I guess that may work since not much is known about their history anyway - but I do hope they make the arrival of the Witch King a bit more exciting than that. Please don't have it be the dark wizard bc that would feel much worse than the predictability of the Stranger/Gandalf.
I have understood the criticism of the show. I still enjoy watching it but I know where you’re coming from. Was disappointed in the last episode. The Galadriel Sauron scene felt like a throwback to the 80s with Star Wars when we didn’t have the tech to make a visually great sword fight. They spent an incredibly long time on the Harfoots if that’s how it ends. I understand the background but that is a lot of time.
Still enjoyed it and will miss the show. No great writing but still my fav show I think. I don’t watch many.
Enjoyed how the Uruk gets stabbed b Sauron though.
We also got confirmation/hint that the dark wizard is one of the blue wizards.
feck me, that was a tough watch. You really need to turn your brain off to get any enjoyment out of this in the way the writers intended.
In the end, I had to just amuse myself by picking out the infinite number of contrivances and character breaking moments.
I'm glad it's over, and so throughly disappointed with how it's all turned out
In the end, I had to just amuse myself by picking out the infinite number of contrivances and character breaking moments.
I'm glad it's over, and so throughly disappointed with how it's all turned out
Who do you think the dark wizard is? It can't be Saruman unless they have totally bypassed the look of the staff.
"Grand Elf"? Really? I mean... really? Wow. Does that have any footing in the texts, or was it just a great pun someone in the canteen came up with one day?
And Bombadil saying, "the wand chooses the wizard, Harry", but without the panache of John Hurt.
At least there was a Balrog.
And Bombadil saying, "the wand chooses the wizard, Harry", but without the panache of John Hurt.
At least there was a Balrog.
The Balrog was total class.
Not sure which is funnier: Hold the Door Hodor or Grand Elf Gandalf.
Re the Balrog: New Line Cinema or the animation studio (Weta?)that did the movies surely must be involved somehow right ? Not the first time something looks identical to the movies.
"Gand" means wand or staff to northern men of the third age, and he had the bearing of an elf so over time that name stuck. fecking bizarre they went with "grand", particularly after setting up Gand earlier!
Balrog really was just jangling keys in the end, I liked how the dwarves that escaped kind of just forgot that the "nameless terror" was a few feet of rubble away from them.
Galadriel is the definition of what they call in corporate “failing upwards”.
Gandalf reveal was the South Park version of remember berries
Some hope left for Season 3 and onwards. It could go either way but there is still a chance to redeem the show. Get a director who knows how to portray epic moments and you have a good fantasy series.
Gandalf reveal was the South Park version of remember berries
Some hope left for Season 3 and onwards. It could go either way but there is still a chance to redeem the show. Get a director who knows how to portray epic moments and you have a good fantasy series.
Poor Justin will have to do doble the work.
The Dark Wizard won’t and can’t be the Witch King, even the showrunners won’t butcher the existing story line that way (and there’s no indication that they’re headed that way).
They’ve said multiple times that he’s an Istari, and in the last episode he again confirmed that there were 5 of them (as in Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast & 2 Blue Wizards). The Witch King was human. The black-browed grey-haired guy in white robes can only be one guy and you shouldn’t give this show’s writers enough credit to have the imagination to make him someone else.
We did?