Okay, to all the haters in the comment-section claiming Amazon can't name him Finrod, because it's not mentioned in the appendices (aka what they have the rights for): Appendix B, The Second Age: "In Lindon south of the Lune dwelt for a time Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol; his wife was Galadriel, greatest of Elven women. *She was sister of Finrod Felagund, Friend-of-Men, once king of Nargothrond, who gave his life to save Beren son of Barahir.*" Please read the appendices... ✨Become a member of the Council of the Rings to get access to perks: ua-cam.com/channels/tiD9qU3GwAzIhox1pC0k9w.htmljoin 📌Merchandise store: council-of-the-rings.myspreadshop.dk/ 🔷Planning to start a UA-cam channel? Sign-up to VidIQ and let them help you out! That's how I grew my channel: vidiq.com/cotr
I like the cow's acting, it looks very natural. I hope it gets more screen time than the actors and rename the whole show to lord of the moo's: the moo's of power.
I really hated it... incredibly boring. However I have to admit that the actor playing Elrond was a surprise. He is good. I still don't think he looks and feels like Elrond but he is the very best thing in this series. 2/10 I guess.. The Hobbits, sorry I mean Harfoots, are not just weird. They are disgusting. For the lore it deserves a solid 0.
That's so classic Tolkien! Yet still modern and new and without the constant evil white supremacy and colonialism of Tolkien's writing!!! The best of both worlds!!!!!! The genius of these writers is truly beyond approach!!!!! Tolkien himself would have been envious and in despair if he had been alive to witness such heightened skill and perfection!!!!!!!!
"It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien's work would reflect what the world actually looks like." - Lindsey Weber, E.P. Amazon's LOTR Series, Vanity Fair (Feb. 2022) . Peter Jackson, interview GreenCine (Dec. 2002) - "There are certainly themes Tolkien felt were important. We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. What we were trying to do was to analyse what was important to Tolkien and to try to honour that. In a way, were trying to make these films for him, not for ourselves."
@@TheGeneralGrievous19 if they really wanted to "reflect what the world actually looks like." they would've had 60% of the cast being Asian(20% would be Chinese) and yet there are none...
I just appreciate how they Teleport from Lindon to Eregion. Such masterful filmcraft. Everytime they showed Galadrial swimming I heard the Indiana Jones music and a dotted red line in the map.
No, it actually reminded me of the scene from Mel Brooks' 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights'. When Robin Hood embarks on a nice freestyle swim from today's Turkey, across the Mediterranean sea, circles around the Spain and finally hits England. LOL.
Not to mention that two nobles, Elrond and Celebrimbor, travel for several miles, over several days, without any guards, any proviant, any horses etc. to Khazad-dûm. And that all in their court-clothes.
I did some rough calculations: Their journey did take around 16-24 days, depending on their speed. With the speed of a small professional marching army, it would have been around 16 days, but I doubt they would have been in such a hurry. They were probably on a cozy journey, so it would take much longer. (Assuming they started from Eregion, and not Lindon.)
Finrod: Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot? Because the stone sees only downward. The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible. The ship feels the darkness as well striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under. But the ship as a secret. For unlike the stone, her gaze is not downward but up. Fixed upon the light that guides her, whispering grander things than darkness ever knew. Galadriel: But sometimes, the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky. It’s hard to say which way is up and which way in down. How am I to know which lights to follow? [Finrod whispering] Sometimes we cannot know until we have touched the darkness. THIS IS WHAT A BILLION DOLLAR PRODUCTION CREATED
What an incredible lesson it has taught us. I can make a stone float by making it look upwards. I knew that gravity and buoyancy were a myth. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to swimming with my pet rock
Great review mate! The real irritation here is Amazon buying the rights just to use the name"Lord of the Rings", and then re-writing everything that the name stands for.
clearly you've never read about the elves kin-slaying in the 1st age. and lets just ignore the beauty and importance of the journey back to the undying lands in the show. what a pleb
It began with the forging of the great films. Threads were given by Tolkien, wisest and fairest of them all. Rights were then given to Jackson; great miner and craftsman of the mountain of lore. And nine, nine hours were gifted to the race of men, who above all else, desired quality. But they were all of them deceived, for another show was made. In the land of Amazon, in the fires of Mount Prime, the Dark Lord Bezos forged in secret a master flop. And into this show he poured his malice, his greed and his will to dominate all film. One show to ruin them all Edit: stole this from Alexander Mandelin
*Galadriel being bullied by other elf-children. Tolkien on elf-children: "The Eldar wedded for the most part in their youth and soon after their fiftieth year. They had few children, but these were very dear to them. Their families, or houses, were held together by love and a deep feeling for kinship in mind and body; and the children needed little governing or teaching." Morgoth's Ring, Laws and Customs of the Eldar *Galadriel: 'we had no word for death' Miriel, from the halls of Mandos: say what? Galadriel is only born because Finwe's first wife died. qwalme- (among others) Watched the end credits, the male *Elf played by Kip Chapman is named *Rian. Rian means 'queen' in Sindarin (Celebrian - Silver-queen). One of the actors was even credited as 'Short Haired Elf" (*Galadriel's brother is credited as *Finrod in the end credits).
@@qplanet this is one of my biggest issues with Galadriel. Galadriel is supposed to be very old here and she is so stubborn in a way that its almost incredible that she survived this long.
It would have been so easy to make the Easterlings a faction in this show, which would have created innumerable opportunities for actors of colour, which as we all know is one of the primary goals of the show runners. Instead they just decided to go for random race-swaps across the board which is completely immersion-breaking.
Yes, you are right! That is the way they could have included diversity while respecting Tolkien's work. They have an agenda and they're just using this particular IP to tell their own narrative.
They could have done a story like Wicked, where we see events from Sauron's point of view. They could have explored why the Easterlings would have supported Sauron.
Except we didn't see Easterlings in either episodes. Bronwynn's people are referred to as Southrons, but they are located in the lands east of Mordor, which admittedly, are shown as the "Southlands" on the map in this episode. Easterlings come from Rhun, far to the north of Mordor. Haradrim and Southrons come from the deserts of Harad, south of Mordor. Also, remember that the cultures and peoples we see in LotR are 4,000-5,000 years in the future from when RoP takes place. Easterlings and Southrons may not exist in the way you've seen them in LotR. Though Easterlings are mentioned in The Silmarillion, that's likely to be referencing ANY men from the far east of Middle Earth, before Mordor was claimed by Sauron.
Finrod was my favorite character in the first era, for several reasons. His loyalty to men, the way he treated them when he found them, his conversations with Andreth, him honoring his oath to Beren, the sacrifice etc. I think he’s the one who should have returned to Middle-Earth, instead of Glorfindel, but that would have caused major issues, since he would have precedence over Gil-galad as the high-king of the Noldor. The TV show version was bland, and his “philosophical” chat with Galadriel about the rock was weird and made no sense.
Was her brother confirmed as finrod? Or is it one of the other 2 who died during the Battle of the Sudden Flame?I really hope they dint screw finrods story and just made it one of the 2 other brothers.
In Tolkien's books the Numenorians forget Eru and begin to believe he doesn't exist. Sauron in fact manipulates them into believing he was made up to control man. And it's this hubris that leads to the destruction of Numenor. I wouldn't be surprised if they have to leave this part out because they don't have the rights to Eru illuvatar.
These Hobbits are like the opposite of the ones JRR Tolkien described; they're filthy, live literally in the dirt, with mud on their faces, apparently they smell, and they forage and eat berries straight from plants. Whereas in the books, they lived in clean, warm homes; had well-stocked kitchens and pantries, and impeccable gardens.
So the very diverse harfoot hobbits are very primitive and dirty, wearing rags. But the not all at diverse classic hobbits are well dressed and live in nice houses. What kind of message is Amazon trying to project here??
I find very odd that some people are trying to tell Galadriel's story and then they leave Celeborn out. They are supposed to be together by now and everything they did, they did together. Maybe because this Galadriel needs to show that she needs no male but to me that's not Galadriel.
I suspect they are going to turn Galadriel into a lesbian warrior princess who has some sort of weird semi romantic relationship with another female but they never actually kiss because it was edited out.
Dwarves we're the only race to make fireworks.... Gandalf in the past had bought them from the dwarves and made. used them in the Shire. They had dwarvish markings on them from eborior . Gandalf also made some special ones for Bilbo's party but no other mention of non dwarfs making. Either way definitely not something elves would have or use...
@@The_Reality_Filter😂 you're not likely to see anybody with a buzz cut because they don't have electric razors ............... It kills immersion.If he had a different hairstyle and I'm going to say the same thing about all of the elves it would have been much better.... Instead I felt like I was watching amateur theater night with people doing their hair up. The thing that I don't understand is they stick him there as a token but yet the area they put him into would have been poc according to the lore and they make the entire village white with the exception of one lady and the kid..... But I'm not going to get into the thousands of issues with the show. There was under a minute of the two hours which did not redcon or just make stuff up...
@@jurgenparkour9337 lmao I didn't I just didn't think that they would be this blatant about it I understood there would be major things changed and many things they did not own the rights to. This is a shell of a shell I expected a shell.... That being said I knew it would be horrible lore wise when they repeatedly lie and say that harfoots are not hobbits when it's like page 12 to 15 in The fellowship of the Ring. I gave it a lowest rating on every review site. If they had done just like three minor things differently I would have given it a higher rating but I don't like a third of this show I'm watching forcing me to only be able to see somebody's face and blurring out the beautiful landscape behind I don't wish to be spoon-fed and it makes it far more boring and kills immersion. Finally if more than just the music was good about this whether it was the acting or the dialogue or the fight scenes I would give a higher rating and I would be able to overlook law issues this is such a blatant attempt to just use the name to make money... And when that name is something that got me to be able to read and I hold dear I'm going to get upset. But apparently according to half of the people giving a 10 out of 10 I'm now a Nazi and a racist because I have legitimate issues with this it took me 4 hours to get through the two episodes I was watching with the friend we were literally pausing every scene to either laugh or cry and talk about what it changed . I am not exaggerating under a minute in the two episodes were lore friendly and did not change or make up something
There's nothing more frustrating for me, as someone who really doesn't care about the lore or woke controversies, than being dismissed for thinking the show is bad because I've been brainwashed by the haters. Sorry. I've been a movie fan for many decades, almost half a century, and I know what I like or don't. This series has terrible story telling. I've contrasted it with House of Dragons, which is also only at two episodes and much better. There's so much we can say about the character of Rhaenyra Targaryen because we've experienced it. A precocious, rebellious young child who is somewhat at conflict with what is expected of her. We can say this because we witness her actions with dragon riding, intervening to stop bloodshed, speaking up at council out of turn, all of it. Galadriel on the other hand is hollow. We are told who she is but we don't get to experience why she's like that or how she is like that. Even when they do try to show us part of her, the famous troll scene, it's still uncertain what we're supposed to take from it. This isn't a slowly evolving plot; it's empty plot.
Hmm it was very clearly spelled out this is Galadriel devastated by the killing of her brother and lost in the everlasting revenge. The story is how she finds a way to grow out of that.
What don’t you get about Galadriel’s grief stricken anger and sadness that fuels her hunt for Sauron ? She wants to find him and defeat him to make Middle Earth a safer place. Didn’t you get that when she talked to Elrond about her motivations ? She’s far from hollow and empty. She is incredibly resolved and head strong. Don’t you understand where her courage, determination and hope stem from ? Would you be so harsh of her if she was a man ? C’mon now, she’s a warrior. Female elves can’t be warriors now ? What about the plot don’t you understand? There’s a clear progression for everyone. Elrond, Nori, Galadriel and Arondir have clear plots that progress not too fast, not too slow. There’s mystery, there’s intrigue, there’s a sense of something huge is going to happe. They’re going to create the freaking rings ! They’re gonna fight Sauron and his orcs. There’s gonna be alliances and betrayals. Danger, death, etc. How about the son of Bronwyn who discovers the sword with the mark of Sauron ? What about that plot line that you don’t understand? A lot of criticism that read from people like yourself are biased, bland and hollow. Grow up. There’s nothing wrong with having black elves and dwarves. Nothing wrong with a warrior Galadriel. Seriously, the show may not be a masterpiece, but it’s definitely good and has a lot of heart.
…it nearly infected me reading enough of the depressing comments it’s ruining the show for myself and others now just hearing it. there’s different styles of telling a story game of thrones is wanting the characters to be transparent because we need to know her feelings when her family put her down, she wants her father to know she’s upset, because she wants to be the heir, that’s her motive to gain power. In the rings of power Galadriel wants to please Gil galad she doesn’t want him to see her emotion of how she doesn’t want to pass into valanor because elves are a proud race, she would never show weakness. this is basic stuff man?, put it this way morfydd Clark as an actress would own that kid in thrones, so it’s obviously deliberate mystery in the rings of power. But its bandwagoning because its contradiction after contradiction , every film is technically fan fictions it’s an idea from the mind of a fan of the original adaptation. Im even saying this to myself now if your going to watch a show you need to remember your reviewing that show, not the books, otherwise you can give blade runner, the shinning, the hobbit, Mary poppins, every marvel film, Nolan Batman films all a 0/10 because none are inline with the source material no comic adaptions except the DC animations have been based on a solid book. You may aswell give Peter Jackson’s trilogy a 5/10 while you’re at it.
And it was deliberate. To lessen a work as great as Tolkien's legendarium, it takes a monumental amount of hate for the lore to give the kind of treatment that Amazon is giving to LOTR. And the dialogues are awful, to the point that I'm actually waiting for parodies and voiceovers to improve this (which, lets be honest, is not that hard). And which of her brothers is Galadriel trying to avenge? Finrod? Who was reincarnated in Aman and is reunited with his father and wife? Or is it Angrod or Aegnor, who fell in the Dagor Bragollach? Seriously, this revenge plot is so dumb.
Not only did they botch sailing to Aman pre-Akallabeth, they forgot the precedent established by Amroth (who did exactly what Galadriel is shown doing and DIED) and also ignored that Galadriel had been forbidden from returning to Aman after the War of Wrath.
they completely destroyed the lore with this...and they messed up the other books too because they are changing their lore by getting around the copyright by changing those books lore....smh
@@kickassandchewbubblegum639 Oh yeah, I focused on error because I realised I'd be here all day typing if I tried to cover every mistake. As for copyright... Yeah they shouldn't have been allowed to do that and still call this an adaptation.
@@Jim-Tuner Ah, this is where the various versions Tolkien wrote of her background comes in. I assume you're referring to the Peoples of Middle Earth narrative?
@@Jim-Tuner I understand that it would seem reasonable that she could have gone back with her father, but in LOTR when Frodo offered her the ring, she made it clear that she couldn't go back. After she passed the test, she would then be allowed to return. I read it that after she made the decision to go on with her uncles, she couldn't go back.
Finally an honest review. Seen so many shill reviews. This show was not only bad for Tolkien , but just an awful, lifeless show. All the elves are ugly and short haired. Every body looks too young as well. It’s like a silly Tolkien teen drama
@@therightarmofthefreeworld4703 Yes Tolkien wrote it that they were a specific way but just cause they look ugly to you doesn't mean they are ugly to other people. Looks are in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone has the same taste.
@@squaeman_2644 Me too!! I loved how she didn’t have to wear that smelly old beard not did she have to wear prosthetics to actually look like a Dwarf… so Stunning… So Brave… She Slayed!!!
I think you're right, it sucks. But I disagree about the dwarves. They're just as bad, if not worse, than the portrayal of the elves. Please stop using dwarves as comedic relief, that's the opposite of how they should be portrayed.
How can you people not see this goes beyond Tolkien's lore? This isnt just hate for his work, this is contempt against humanity and they're using popular and revered works as a trojan horse to impose their contempt onto everyone.
It's true, apparently that male elf played by kip Chapman has the name rian, which means "queen" in Sindarin... (Celebrian//Silver-Queen). They really waited until JRRT and Christopher were dead to abuse the work they poured their life and soul into...
@@Hero_Of_Old It's not even subtle anymore. Blows me away people can truly be this stupid. How ironic they are to despise dictators only to go on to prove Stalin's point about the chicken analogy.
What I found most jarring was elves constantly referencing time as if it were a huge deal. "We've spent MONTHS looking for Sauron. Time to forget about him already!" Dude you're millenia old, you and your enemy both have unlimited time on your hands; what are you so preoccupied with years and months for? Are you late for your studies, or your rent is overdue?
What I find really funny is that Galadriel is young, and Gil-Galad looks old. At this time of the Second Age, Gil-Galad was around the 3400 year old mark, meanwhile Galadriel was 26,000 years old, but Galadriel is the young one.
@@tiago.brettas This argument is such bollocks. Being an elf isnt a nationality. I would find it pretty jarring if I were watching a movie about the Hadzabe tribe and suddenly there is a Russian man walking around as if its the most natural thing in the world and we are not allowed to ask what the hell that half naked russian was doing there.
Reviewing Rings Of Power is a Litmus Test for what are the genuine Tolkien channels and what are the fake/bought ones. Many of these channels had years invested into them, only for their credibility to have gone down the drain in such a short time.
If the Rings of Power wanted to include people of color they could have done so easily and sensibly by weaving their stories into that of Numenor's. It was a global empire, would have interacted with many cultures and it would have been logical to assume that it could have also assimilated many diverse people into it's political and economic system. Numenor also probably would have had many client kingdoms in the south where all manner of subterfuge and intrigue could have taken place between multiple houses contending for the throne. The Elves could have been sidelined into a sub plot in the north and the focus been on the greatest kingdom of men (and women) to ever have existed. As it stands now, the whole thing just looks silly. Black people with welsh accents in a medieval type setting is as strange as watching a bunch of white guys dressed up like Zulus at Isandlwana. This isn't a myth from China the Middle ease or Africa, it's a European mythos and should be populated with people of European descent. That said, other races should be included and as main characters too, but done so with artistry and thought and as a distinct people with own stories to tell not just thrown in because of some Hollywood quota and with no thought to genetics. It's almost as though the writers didn't think black people could have a story of their own that was worth telling.
Such a wearisome attempt at feebly trying to walk around vile racism. If Tolkien wrote stores featuring color then it delights me to know Amazon torched his "legacy" of barbarism.
They don't want to be logical or true to lore. They don't want to be original either. You see it in all franchises... they want to be 'colorblind' by hyperfocusing on color and its very important to appropriate existing characters. Reperations and equity or whatever.
@@B.A.Pilgrim the reason is pretty easy to explain. just take this whole idea some steps further: if you want your show to represent the world, where are the innuit? the different asian characters? where are the native americans and different africans (who look very different in north/south/east/west africa). where are the different turk tribes? mongoles? different slawic ethnicities? why not have a different ethnicity per actor? easy to answer: it would break the whole immersion. the world does feel superficial and artificial just like generic shallow fantasy. Argumentum ad populum does not make it right. just because so many people like cheap fast food it doesn´t mean its objectively of good quality and healthy to consume.
@@B.A.Pilgrim na i gave this movies 2 to 3 / 10 everywhere and i excluded this whole political stuff. Its just generic shallow fantasy unfortunately and i'm not the type of viewer who is in there for the visuals. Btw. What is western society? Not german because then there would be lots of turkish people and no black people in there. You mean it should present modern day USA except native american, latino and asian folks.
I knew this wasn't Tolkien months ago. So let's put that aside. As a generic fantasy show, it is boring and unengaging. The dialog sounds pretentious and the elves act like humans. The protagonist is unlikable. As a work of Tolkien 0/10 As a show 2/10 Beautiful landscapes can't prop this show up.
I was looking forward to listening to your review as I always look forward to your videos. I just want to add one point. I've watched so many reviews but none of them mentioned something that I realized. Instead of facing each other as normal people tend to do the character talks to the back of another character in so many scenes (The dialogue between Galadriel and Elrond, the dialogue between Gil-Galad and Elrond, the dialogue between Bronwyn and Arondir). I understand that it might be done for dramatic purposes however when it’s done in so many scenes, it becomes a cliché.
You have to remember that this series is even more mainstream than the OG Trilogy. They have to do a lot if exposition dump in the first few episodes in order to tell a cohesive story.
@@davidm.corbin4643 that’s an excellent point. They have the right idea with a lot of things but the delivery and execution is lacking in several areas, and that true OG spirit from the trilogy is missing, but this explanation makes good sense.
I love how galadriel although she isnt a warrior and shes a girl can kill a cave troll with her back turned with no problem while gandalf, aragornm legolas, gimli, boromir and all the hobbits had a tough time and took them like half an hour and one of them almost died. going against a cave troll for the fellowship was dangerous and your worried they wont make it through alive but not for galadriel. shes unstoppable! she literally jumps off a ship to swim hundreds of miles back to middleearth... galadriel is more powerful than morgoth and sauron and all of the fellowship combined. I cant wait till she finds sauron and morgoth so she can kill them with ease with her eyes closed like a bad@$$
A couple of things I've not heard people complain about that bothers me.. The snail eating scene with the stranger, the sound is one of the worst added soundeffects I've heard. Arondir's answer to Bronwyn when she says: "I heard you where leaving" and he says: "Myeeea" like a complete twat. Does not at all sound like an Elfs way of speaking. The scene where Theo and his friend goes in the barn to find the sword the friend is speaking while the camera aims up towards him and he clearly has his mouth wide open without speaking, horribly added. But the weirdest and most gross thing I found was the love interest of Arondir and Bronwyn, a complete grooming act from his part. The watchwarden or Arondir says they've been stationed there for 79 years. 79! Which would indicate that Arondir have watched/seen Bronwyn since she was literally a child and how she grows into a woman and now finds her attractive to pursuite. Really not something I want to think an Elf behaving like.
There's some theories I've read that Theo is Arondir's son, and his ears are purposefully hidden because they're pointed. If that turns out to be true that's another lore breaking because elves aren't supposed to be lustful
Omg I thought I was the only one to notice the Grooming Plot!!! Not to mention in the first scene with Galadriel as a little girl… Take another look at it… and you’ll see what I wont even write here!!! Its sick!! The people who saw what I’m speaking of and still let it into the show are sick!!! Go to 1:08-1:11 and you’ll see!!! Nerdorotic and a couple of others have called it out too!!!
OH those were SNAILS?? I was so frikkin confused as to why the ‘fruit’ (thats what I thought it was) was making squirming noisee. Granted, Poppi mentioned digging for snails in episode 1, but still. Btw the breakthrough character for me was that dude alongside Bronwyn. “Draw any waaaaater~?”
One of the big issues we see in modern Hollywood is their desire to use an IP for it's recognition and to bring in crowds, but then they want to tell their own stories and so they bastardize them. What I think reviewers of these kinds of shows should do is include a score that it independent of the IP. So Rings of power as is, is 3.5 but if it was Amazon's own creation, a 5.5 or something like that.
I would give the episode a 2/10 because they committed the worst sin in storytelling: they didn't make me care about anyone! The writers need a refresher on "show don't tell", three dimensional characters, and how to build up character relationships.
They would have been far better making a show that pays homage to Lord of the Rings and not be lord of the rings. They would have been free to make a show that reflects today's worlds and nobody would have minded. Instead they have decided to make a show about Galadriel only it is their Galadriel.
"There is a tempest in me - cried Galadriel - because I am quadruple vaccinated and six times boosted against Covid-19 and that is why I can do what I can do!" - hot tears started streaming down my cheeks. What a truthful telling of Tolkien's masterpiece! Stunning!!
You are doing excellent work. Independent reviewers are becoming more and more important as it's becoming obvious that if enough money is in a project the professional critics often write a positive review even in cases of poor quality. The truth needs to be out there.
When has that happened? I like mainstream reviews Because they focus on objective stuff like the directing, shots, acting rather than nitpicking and politics
What is an absolute devoid of logic to me is that the Elven Watch is in Mordor, like why the fuck would you do that, in those days Mordor was just a wilderland inhabited by few people around Nurn, and for what fuckin reason a Kingdom of Elves places a watch on the other fuckin half of the world xDDD
This review is extremely fair. The dialogue is trying so hard to so sound epic and profound, but yet comes across as a parody; a pseudo-Shakespearean attempt written by someone who doesn’t have the talent to pull it off. Also, the sword twirling by Galadriel at the end of the troll fight was cringe, it’s as if they took cues from the worst parts of Star Wars’ lightsaber duels. Bear McCreary’s music was a highlight, I’ve enjoyed his work since the BSG reboot.
We need to stop calling them Harfoots. We don't refer the Eves by their kind; Noldor, Sindar etc. So, let's just call them Hobbits, and not go with the producer's BS.
@@indivestor "It is clear, nonetheless, from these legends, and from the evidence of their peculiar words and customs, that like many other folk Hobbits had in the distant past moved westward. Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides." From the start of Fellowship of the Ring. There's no in-universe record of them (by the elves, specficially, Tolkien says) but he himself goes into some detail about their distant past and says they've been around for ages, though roamed around and hid from other races. So that does actually line up with this series.
Bro just let people enjoy things. It doesnt make the books or movies worse. Its okay if you hate it. I find it rather okay. But its also okay if people like it. Its just like with the star wars sequels. Many people hate them for changing and fucking up stuff and many people like em and many kids get introduced to it. At the end we all share the love for middleearth.
Rings of Power is The Lord of the Rings: the Book of Mormon. It has some familiar characters doing things they never did, a whole bunch of new characters who did not actually exist, doing things in direct opposition to what the canon expresses.
The writing is the biggest issue with the show. Even if you can't follow lore cause of copyright issues, you can still adapt great stories. But the whitie twins are obviously garbage writiers
I would call them completely inexperienced writers. They have literally written nothing before this show. Their only real credit is additional uncredited writing on Star Trek Beyond. They took two people who have never even written an episode of television and made them showrunners overseeing all the writing on the show. There is nobody on the show even in a position to critique or edit their work.
How can Gi-galad grant Galadriel passage to Valinor? Isn't it up to the Valar to decide whether Galadriel can go there? The elves were banned by the Valar. Curse of Mandos and all that.
I still can't get past Galadrial thinking she could swim an ocean back to middle earth. Thank goodness for "not" sauron... showing up. Otherwise, her plan to return would have been a dead end. It's the same kind of decision making as her deciding to track down the most powerful evil one with 8 people to kill him. Not much forethought. How far do you think she swam before being "not" saved?
8 people of which 6 don't know how to fight (aren't they trained soldiers?) and 1 has the only purpose to launch Galadriel into the air. Amazing planning.
@@toshiyaar7885 She did pretty well also in the ocean. She swam from Valinor almost back to Middle Earth, what an incredible swimmer! I'm sure she was faster than the boats.
Best I can say is it’s pretty. The other thing that I noticed was the Elves feel… off. I can’t really even put it into words but in the Jackson movies they felt like more than humans with pointy ears. There was something about their poise, movement and speech that made you believe that yes these are creatures thousands of years old with all the wisdom and experience that suggests; they felt… more. The other slight nitpick I have is the person who informs Elrond he’s not invited to the council meeting tells him it’s for “elf-lords.” Do elves call their lords elf-lords? I mean we would to distinguish them from human or dwarf lords but a human wouldn’t say to another human “human lords”
Thank you for this sober, but to the point review, given with a clear steadfast voice and even with a bit of humor, though a 3.5 out of 10 is not really something to laugh about, if you are a fan. As far as reviews go, you are almost unique. You judge the show on its merits and your standards, which seem very reasonable. I find myself agreeing to most of them. I say this because a lot of other reviews are set in anger, in spewing venom and in outright hate from the first trailer to this episode. Keep up the good and sensible work!
Some things I noticed: RoP is a good drinking game.. whenever theres a Waterfall.. one goes down the throat :) 10:05 those two are the low budget versions of Qui Gon Jin and Barney Stinson! Trust me, you will never see it otherwise now! 8:14 to me, that cow actually is the star of this whole episode right now.. it was able to travel such a great distance on its own within just hours, for which an elf needs a whole day.. and also the female human (forgot her name) must be really fast to keep up with an elf.. Miss G. should take that speedster cow to travel around middle earth.. would save us much viewing time.. on top of that, they also showed that paralel side plot of Miss G. here.. her trip to magic land via the tiny sails boat just took her moments, but swimming back takes her.. well more than 2 eps.. I wonder why she is ever on foot.. for a beeing old as her, she should know by now, that she is slow as a turtle and even a cow is faster than she is.. :D
I really enjoyed this review. I plan to watch all of season 1 and write a review when I've finished the last episode, and you've said a lot of things that I've been thinking as well. I'll give your review a 10/10.
Thank you for an honest review. Nerd of the Rings gave this a 8/10, and it’s awful to see someone who seemingly knows and respects the lore to so obviously shill.
Or maybe… he respects the lore, knows the material and (gasp) isn’t a shill, just isn’t ranting about how a few characters played by racial minorities are diluting the ethnic purity test (that Tolkien never mentioned but anxious people project onto their worldview)
@@op8726 Hrmm... are you accusing the channel owner of being an "angry incel scared of ethnic minorities"? Because, no.. there's none of that here - just a far better and honest appraisal vs. the lore than Nerd of the Rings who handwaved aside so many issues... I would not care to say which had the most lore knowledge but it is NOT lacking here.
@@op8726 it’s not about the races. That’s all fine. It’s just not written well. Doesn’t feel mythical at all. The movies felt deep the worlds felt different. This all just feels kinda blah…as far as story telling. And why change Galadriel? She was an amazing strong character. You can have her fight but maybe use some magic? Maybe not kill a snow troll and somehow manage to make it look dumb. They have so much more money than the movies and couldn’t even make it look quite as beautiful either. The depth Isn’t there.
@@Jim-Tuner I've actually been suspecting they'd do that. I wanted to hope I was wrong, that I was setting the bar too low, but at this point, nothing would surprise me with this trainwreck. Nothing.
I have to say another horrible thing is Galadriel saying I want to go home and feel the warmth of the Trees 🌳. But thats after we see them Die soooooo....????
I unsubscribed from Sell out Nerd of The Ring and will never watch another of his videos This will be where I got for LOTR content from now on. Thank you for an honest review.
This show was absolutely boring and not memorable at all. I asked the people i watched it with if they even remembered any of the names of characters other than Galadriel and Elrond... They couldn't name 1. And the fact that they turned Galadriel into an insufferable bitch of a leader that literally everyone hates her in the show is just a slap in the face. And what was up with the first scene? The elf kid bullies? That's just so far detached from elven culture. These people have no idea what they're doing.
Yes great point. They made the elves way too human. The bullying etc. They look and act like slightly taller hobbits. Celebrimbor looks like a keebler elf
the whole negative hype around the ROP has made me watch the extended LOTR films. A fresh reminder of how damn near perfect these films were. They're nearly 20 years old and they have aged incredibly well both visually and in the timeless story they portray. This Amazon shite will age like milk, if it isn't already dead that is..
Given, PJ's movies weren't 100% lore-accurate either - but it was close enough. You was able to recognize the scenes from the books, the visuals were great, the story was great - all in all, although altered, it still caught the spirit of Tolkien, imho. RoP though is so damn disconnected from the source material, that is unbelievable!
I did the same but every time it kept flashing to frodos constipated face my kids burst out laughing... and nothing ruins the death of borimir or the charge of the rohirrim in return of the king than 2 kids screaming "DO IT FOR YORKSHIRE" lool
Seriously, guys, it was NOT about the Americans' view of "diversity" or lack thereof (lots of people outside the USA dislike the new show also), people on both sides are using this as some kind of weird deflection from the MAIN POINT -- the entire prequel seems like a failed fan fiction effort, not something in the highly complex and immersive universe of Tolkien and Jackson, quite honestly. Those two gave us a timeless and glorious masterpiece, but this new failure of a show has tainted and ruined the entire franchise... Elrond and Galadriel's actors were at best average, and that is being VERY generous to both of them, and failed to seem very likable or engaging from the beginning to the end. The elves seemed so plastic, superficial and one-dimensional, lacking in both genuine gravitas and otherworldly mysticism and poise, and I was not impressed by Galadriel's failed Arctic mission or that weird half-naked giant crash-landing in front of two bickering female Hobbits. Is this what was supposed to grip millions of people from around the world? Besides, if nine elves were nearly killed by a single troll, what the heck was Galadriel planning to do to Sauron even if she did "find" him? And how did that Elven king grant them access to Valinor at whim, I thought only the Valar had that authority?? ***Almost NOTHING about this show was okay, guys.*** o_O
As a new comer to the lore and honestly the whole story over all, I found it boring and really hard to understand where characters were supposed to be and plots
Glad to see someone else talking about the elvish fireworks, didn’t really fit for me either. One thing I do have to disagree with is the music though, very forgettable in my opinion and to counter your point about the later seasons of GoT, the song for the night king in the long night (although a terrible episode) is actually fantastic, and if you go back a bit further the music playing while Cersei blows up the cept is also spot on. Much more character and memorability out of the music in even the bad seasons than in this show.
Analdriel had to suffer a lot. In their youth kids destroyed her papership 😭. Thats why she can swim for a month. I was so afraid she would kill the worm , too. Who is next? A Balrog?
The writing feels like fan fiction we have written in middle school, trying to be as brilliant as the original work but ending up only with the writing skill and experience of a teenager
I watched 20 minutes or so and switched it off. I didn’t want to continue with it and destroy what I already enjoy about LOTR. Absolute waste of money if you ask me and should never see the light of day again.
I also thought what Finrod said to Galadriel was freaking weird and actually contradictory to what she says in the voice-over just seconds after. "I'm not always gonna be here to show you", and then she says "we had no word for death, for we thought our joy would be undending". WTF. The show itself to me hasn't gone so far with this two episodes as for me to say it's just bad, but it definitely has already suffered quite a bit from bad writing at times. Galadriel being the only one to think Sauron's still there but agreeing at first to go to Valinor only to jump right in the middle of the ocean... I mean, latino elfs are nothing compared to shit like that. I actually don't dislike some of the new characters, the visuals and some more stuff but I can already see GOT season 8 levels of crap showing up. My bets are the show's gonna be quite average as just fantasy, but that it's slowly going to flop as we get to the big events on the later seasons. The production is amazing and blablabla but they always insist on changing lots of stuff and bringing unexpirience people in the writing department to such delicate projects. Also just hated Galadriel, they gave her a sword to make her "STRONG" and it ends up being the oposite. She just puts on a straight face and says everybody's wrong except for her. Just your 1.1 Hollywood's empowered strong female character. I also bet we don't see the slightest bit of doubt nor failure in her. God knows the only way to show strength as a woman in fiction is to show no fucking weakness. Not terrible yet, but I can start to see the wrong bits getting bigger and bigger as the show goes on.
I don't think Galadriels decicions were bad. I could understand why she did what she did, she only agreed to go to valinor because her best friend Elrond wrongly convinced her on behalf of his king and then when she saw it she realized it isn't the right thing to do. I don't like the actress that much but why wouldn't they give her a sword and and show her strong? They didn't make her strong, Tolkien made her. She is one of the most powerful elves and is described as "Amazonian" so ofc she is strong and she fought in a lot of battles if I remember. But the show has definitly one big problem. They can't use the real backstories and the real lore because they don't have the rights to do so. They only have the rights for Lord of the rings and Hobbit + the footnotes to them and not the Silmarilion which is where the show should take place. So I guess they will do tons of stuff out of the official Tolkien lore because they don't have the rights to use the real stuff. Lets just say I don't have high hopes but remember: "There never was much hope, just a fool's hope" - Gandalf
That did not bother me.....like she is asking him for advice.....and he just tells her that he will not always be around to give advice to her....that is not strange because i don't thing they are conjoined twins. So i don't get why so many have a problem with that.
I dont get this whole "Gladriel is a feminist" thing people keep on harking on about. At no point is gender or race brought up in these first two episodes, there is no feminist theme. It's just a character who is strong who happens to also be a women. If you say that you are trying to fit the show into your own ideological framework or preparing a criticism that you've heard before.
It is super weird that Galadriel basically does some grave robbing on her brother. Talk about disrespectful to the dead. He was clearly put there with the knife in his hands but nope she's like "hey bro you ain't using that knife let me just take it for a bit." Yeah the haircuts really bother me. Way too modern looking. An elf in the middle of nowhere is not going to care about his looks. He would naturally just let his hair grow out and only cut the front with say a knife if it annoyed him too much. What you think warriors cared about appearances? Hell no. Yes in older times the richer or higher in society a person is the more they care about looks but they didn't often cut their hair but put them in fancy hairstyles or have a servant braid them etc.
The face of arrondirs armour is clearly the green man from pagan Britain. Not something I think Tolkien would approve of. Not to mention he invented his own mythology. How does the green mans face tie into elves in any way.
When the first adult elf showed up on screen wearing a haircut that he had to have gotten from a New York salon last Tuesday I was over it. Sometimes it takes just one dumb thing….
I turned off episode one 45 minutes in. It was incredibly boring. I thought it was the actors, poor dialog and the slow moving pacing. With that said, I later went on to watch the rest of the episode, which improved greatly in the last 15 minute. Episode 2, which is not discussed here, did not disappoint, it had me wanting more. Tolkien world building shines through.
I really appreciate the honest review. I see so many reveiws calling it the greatest thing ever seen in their whole life. After watching it I couldn't even fathom how anybody could come to that conclusion.
People have horrible standards nowadays. They are still able to recognize very good shows and movies as such, but they also do that with just mediocre ones. I have seen a lot of examples for this, when the show itself is nothing particularly special, but they still think its the best ever.
Maybe because of the negative reviews my expectations were extremely low. So the first episodes weren't that bad which makes them seem a lot better. The wokism was there but not as bad as I thought it would be. My main issue with the show was lack of character development, the ice troll fight scene, and the overall pacing and story development. I watched for 2 hours and still feel like I really don't know the characters and very little has happened.
The dialogue is indefensibly bad. I can't even take in what they are saying no matter how hard I try - I just drift off. It's crap, I really can't see how anyone would call this 'not that bad'.
They are not terrible but for a billion dollar show you would expect something that would be more compelling. I have a strong suspicion that they are going to turn Galadriel from warrior princess to lesbian warrior princess.
@@bighands69 They need to have representation. For the creators representation is more important than story. I hope though that they can build a compelling story.
@Council of the Rings (Sorry, could not find your name in your video or channel description.) This is the first time I’ve watched one of your videos. Thank you for your review. I have been looking for a proper review from someone of your credentials, so very glad to have found it. You earned a subscriber. 👍🏼 Will seek out your LOTR/Middle-Earth mods too.
Notice how they start with a troll - the most dramatic moment of Jackson's entire six loooong films. In a land of pure goodness the other children bully Galadrial and throw rocks at her precious boat. Good start. So elves are @ssholes? Then the Harfoots leave their sick and weak behind to die, delightful. Dwarfs are so idiot simple that they think busting rocks is like the Superbowl. They even have stupid chants like a bunch of soccer hooligans. Got me cheering for orcs more than I did in The Hobbit. Then the poor choices with the voices - elf=South England (classy), dwarfs=Scots, how hardy! Harfoots=Irish, covered in dirt - why don't they eat pohtahtohs? Men=standard American, of course. Why no Cockney, or Italian-American? Maybe someone could break out some Jamaican (goes well with Uruk dreadlocks). Classicist. Unoriginal. And poorly written. That being said, I am such a fanboy, I will watch them all. One Stream to rule them all and in the darkness, bind them.
Thanks for your honest, comprehensive and serious review. Luckily UA-cam isn’t owned by Amazon, otherwise this spot on review would disappear as happened in IMDb
yeah, and that map is an abomination, why couldn't they show the map they realeased before that was great, but this one is.... words can't even describe it
The glimpse of Sauron's silhouette kinda look like a female to me, I have a feeling that there will be a female Sauron coming. Or it's going to be a very slender man, with armor.
@@WeekEndCousinal I'm sure they didn't read the books. My biggest issue is that they repeatedly said it was true to Tolkien. They absolutely lied and deceived. If they had been honest, and claimed distance from the actual lore.... I don't think I'd be so angry.
They could have adapted the Kinstrife, the migration of the Rohirrim, the end of Helm's reign, the Wainrider Invasions, the collapse of Arnor, the Regents' defending Gondor after the death of Earnil, the War of Dwarves and Orcs after Thror died, and many other things they had rigts to, but they chose not.
I'm suprised the score was that 'high' seeing that in this video everything was rated pretty badly including minor things like hairstyle and the look of the armor. Was that opinion based on the lore or personal taste? Because I personally didn't mind those aspects at all.
I mean, even for elves the travel across the ocean in their sailboats must takes weeks... Yet they were all standing in the same order from the start. There is no shelter, food, drink on any of these ships... and then she swims back across the ocean... I found that so hilariously dumb and killed my.immersiin for some time... I learnt that Galadri l was a fighter way stronger than the complete fellowship of battle hardened Warriors inclusive a god.like wizard and that normal elves are just pointless canonfodder. Would.have at least expected some leadership skills on Galadriel, but her band if elven brothers did seem to have 9 bind with her despite hunting Sauron for ages...
The whole group defied her and said they would go no further. Her small elve simp that followed her around just backstabbed her and somehow was still her friend.
My favorite part of the video: Flashing a picture of the "Meteor Man," who does look a whole lot like Jesus Christ, and saying: "Jesus Christ!" I had to pause the video, because my friends and I needed a few minutes to laugh uproariously over that. lol
It's boring as hell. No action. The dialogue are slow and nonsense and disconnected. They spent a lot for pictures , but rest sucks a lot. Is good if you have trouble to sleep. It help a lot
Okay, to all the haters in the comment-section claiming Amazon can't name him Finrod, because it's not mentioned in the appendices (aka what they have the rights for):
Appendix B, The Second Age:
"In Lindon south of the Lune dwelt for a time Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol; his wife was Galadriel, greatest of Elven women. *She was sister of Finrod Felagund, Friend-of-Men, once king of Nargothrond, who gave his life to save Beren son of Barahir.*"
Please read the appendices...
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The showerunners didn't even bother to read the appendices. It so bloody obvious.
@@stevenritchie3399 The showrunners didnt read any of it and its obvious.
Subscribed because you clearly know what you're talking about
🔥
Honestly the idiots defending and trying to be smart are easily found out.
I like the cow's acting, it looks very natural. I hope it gets more screen time than the actors and rename the whole show to lord of the moo's: the moo's of power.
waiting for someone to edit the episodes so that every character is replaced by the cow
Can't wait to see a cow fall from the sky.
DEAD!! 😂hahaha
Lol, as someone who raises livestock i joked earlier that the character that i felt the most for was the cow
I would watch that show
Elrond's hair is more Elvis than Elvish...
Hah
Elle-rond!
Made me giggle and it's spot on.
Brilliant
😂😂
“A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.”
― George Lucas
I think he meant drama, but yeah. Also it's a shame he didn't know this before making Episode 3, which was leaden with vapid special effects.
@@earlofdoncaster5018 Yeah, it's from a 1983 interview. People tend to forget some really basic things they once understood.
“You can break these things. It is possible.”
- George Lucas
@@thumos James Cameron for example.
oh we quoting Lucas now lol
This series was better then I exptected. A solid 2/10 for me.
And that's being very lenient and nice.
Clearly, good sir, you expected a ZERO! lol
I really hated it... incredibly boring. However I have to admit that the actor playing Elrond was a surprise. He is good. I still don't think he looks and feels like Elrond but he is the very best thing in this series. 2/10 I guess.. The Hobbits, sorry I mean Harfoots, are not just weird. They are disgusting. For the lore it deserves a solid 0.
so, better than Return of the King?
My favorite part was when Galadriel took up her light saber and Hagrid says “your a wizard Galadriel” It was really brave and new
loool
Pleb
I also enjoyed this scene!! It rly sets up for our wizardry world
It is
That's so classic Tolkien! Yet still modern and new and without the constant evil white supremacy and colonialism of Tolkien's writing!!! The best of both worlds!!!!!! The genius of these writers is truly beyond approach!!!!! Tolkien himself would have been envious and in despair if he had been alive to witness such heightened skill and perfection!!!!!!!!
"It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien's work would reflect what the world actually looks like." - Lindsey Weber, E.P. Amazon's LOTR Series, Vanity Fair (Feb. 2022) .
Peter Jackson, interview GreenCine (Dec. 2002) - "There are certainly themes Tolkien felt were important. We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. What we were trying to do was to analyse what was important to Tolkien and to try to honour that. In a way, were trying to make these films for him, not for ourselves."
And by "what the world actually looks like" they mean like what US in 2022 looks like.
@@TheGeneralGrievous19 if they really wanted to "reflect what the world actually looks like." they would've had 60% of the cast being Asian(20% would be Chinese) and yet there are none...
@@TheGeneralGrievous19 Brandon's America
Why on earth would that feel natural to them hahah
"I dOnT lIkE bLAcK pEoPlE" in other words. Calling it "politics" doesn't disguise it very well.
I just appreciate how they Teleport from Lindon to Eregion. Such masterful filmcraft. Everytime they showed Galadrial swimming I heard the Indiana Jones music and a dotted red line in the map.
No, it actually reminded me of the scene from Mel Brooks' 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights'. When Robin Hood embarks on a nice freestyle swim from today's Turkey, across the Mediterranean sea, circles around the Spain and finally hits England. LOL.
Amazon bot
Not to mention that two nobles, Elrond and Celebrimbor, travel for several miles, over several days, without any guards, any proviant, any horses etc. to Khazad-dûm. And that all in their court-clothes.
I did some rough calculations: Their journey did take around 16-24 days, depending on their speed. With the speed of a small professional marching army, it would have been around 16 days, but I doubt they would have been in such a hurry. They were probably on a cozy journey, so it would take much longer. (Assuming they started from Eregion, and not Lindon.)
My son shall never watch this crap. But Indiana Jones movies: yes!
Finrod: Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot? Because the stone sees only downward. The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible. The ship feels the darkness as well striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under. But the ship as a secret. For unlike the stone, her gaze is not downward but up. Fixed upon the light that guides her, whispering grander things than darkness ever knew.
Galadriel: But sometimes, the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky. It’s hard to say which way is up and which way in down. How am I to know which lights to follow?
[Finrod whispering] Sometimes we cannot know until we have touched the darkness.
THIS IS WHAT A BILLION DOLLAR PRODUCTION CREATED
What an incredible lesson it has taught us. I can make a stone float by making it look upwards. I knew that gravity and buoyancy were a myth. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to swimming with my pet rock
Sounds like a Kamala Harris speech.
It's not as deep as they thought it was.
Ohhhhh. How deeeeppp. They dug their grave.
The dialog in this show is so effing bad, such a pathetic attempt to sound insightful and mimic Tokiens writing.
Great review mate! The real irritation here is Amazon buying the rights just to use the name"Lord of the Rings", and then re-writing everything that the name stands for.
My favorite part was when Galadriel recited Ezekiel 25:17 and then emptied an entire clip into that Orc.
Damn. Now I want a tasty burger.
I hated how they made elves into simple petty humans with pointy ears. That's it! Disgusting!
Racist really
@@Fedorevsky ahahahaha
It is. They simply are not human, and you don't see it in this show.
clearly you've never read about the elves kin-slaying in the 1st age. and lets just ignore the beauty and importance of the journey back to the undying lands in the show. what a pleb
Looks like the just borrowed from a Star Trek set.
It began with the forging of the great films. Threads were given by Tolkien, wisest and fairest of them all. Rights were then given to Jackson; great miner and craftsman of the mountain of lore. And nine, nine hours were gifted to the race of men, who above all else, desired quality. But they were all of them deceived, for another show was made. In the land of Amazon, in the fires of Mount Prime, the Dark Lord Bezos forged in secret a master flop. And into this show he poured his malice, his greed and his will to dominate all film. One show to ruin them all
Edit: stole this from Alexander Mandelin
Lmao! This is priceless.
i like the show but this is great
Classic, well said!
And in the wokeness
bind them!!!!
Change one thing to, "In the land of Silicon Valley, in the fires of Amazon"
*Galadriel being bullied by other elf-children.
Tolkien on elf-children:
"The Eldar wedded for the most part in their youth and soon after their fiftieth year. They had few children, but these were very dear to them. Their families, or houses, were held together by love and a deep feeling for kinship in mind and body; and the children needed little governing or teaching."
Morgoth's Ring, Laws and Customs of the Eldar
*Galadriel: 'we had no word for death'
Miriel, from the halls of Mandos: say what?
Galadriel is only born because Finwe's first wife died.
qwalme- (among others)
Watched the end credits, the male *Elf played by Kip Chapman is named *Rian. Rian means 'queen' in Sindarin (Celebrian - Silver-queen).
One of the actors was even credited as 'Short Haired Elf"
(*Galadriel's brother is credited as *Finrod in the end credits).
Wow that's just... Wow. They really waited until both JRRT and Christopher were dead to abuse the work they poured their life and soul into...
Oh it's Finrod then.
Yeah I had an issue with the bullying. It's American writers putting American values into the show, like Galadriel being obsessed with revenge
@@qplanet this is one of my biggest issues with Galadriel. Galadriel is supposed to be very old here and she is so stubborn in a way that its almost incredible that she survived this long.
A part of me was hoping it wasn't Finrod officially. Did you watch ep 2? What did you think of it? 🤣
It would have been so easy to make the Easterlings a faction in this show, which would have created innumerable opportunities for actors of colour, which as we all know is one of the primary goals of the show runners. Instead they just decided to go for random race-swaps across the board which is completely immersion-breaking.
Yes, you are right! That is the way they could have included diversity while respecting Tolkien's work. They have an agenda and they're just using this particular IP to tell their own narrative.
They could have done a story like Wicked, where we see events from Sauron's point of view. They could have explored why the Easterlings would have supported Sauron.
Except we didn't see Easterlings in either episodes. Bronwynn's people are referred to as Southrons, but they are located in the lands east of Mordor, which admittedly, are shown as the "Southlands" on the map in this episode. Easterlings come from Rhun, far to the north of Mordor. Haradrim and Southrons come from the deserts of Harad, south of Mordor. Also, remember that the cultures and peoples we see in LotR are 4,000-5,000 years in the future from when RoP takes place. Easterlings and Southrons may not exist in the way you've seen them in LotR. Though Easterlings are mentioned in The Silmarillion, that's likely to be referencing ANY men from the far east of Middle Earth, before Mordor was claimed by Sauron.
All this diversity crap is teaching people you can't connect with a character unless you share their skin color which is shallow and wrong.
It would still be a shallow, kid-friendly game of thrones jammed into middle-earth. It's an irredeemable abomination, nothing can fix it
Finrod was my favorite character in the first era, for several reasons. His loyalty to men, the way he treated them when he found them, his conversations with Andreth, him honoring his oath to Beren, the sacrifice etc. I think he’s the one who should have returned to Middle-Earth, instead of Glorfindel, but that would have caused major issues, since he would have precedence over Gil-galad as the high-king of the Noldor.
The TV show version was bland, and his “philosophical” chat with Galadriel about the rock was weird and made no sense.
totally agree with you
Wasnt he actually resurected in the book? That series is so frigging bad, I am actually close to vomit from the ammount of stupidity and cringe.
Was her brother confirmed as finrod? Or is it one of the other 2 who died during the Battle of the Sudden Flame?I really hope they dint screw finrods story and just made it one of the 2 other brothers.
In Tolkien's books the Numenorians forget Eru and begin to believe he doesn't exist. Sauron in fact manipulates them into believing he was made up to control man. And it's this hubris that leads to the destruction of Numenor. I wouldn't be surprised if they have to leave this part out because they don't have the rights to Eru illuvatar.
And where was his hair ? Where was the long hair on the male elven children ? The girls had it.
These Hobbits are like the opposite of the ones JRR Tolkien described; they're filthy, live literally in the dirt, with mud on their faces, apparently they smell, and they forage and eat berries straight from plants. Whereas in the books, they lived in clean, warm homes; had well-stocked kitchens and pantries, and impeccable gardens.
They wanted to make it more like modern day. These are modelled on the homeless skooma-hippies of California I recon.
to be fair, the only detailed descriptions we have of shire hobbits. very little is known about their lifestyles before merging.
And weren't black
So the very diverse harfoot hobbits are very primitive and dirty, wearing rags. But the not all at diverse classic hobbits are well dressed and live in nice houses.
What kind of message is Amazon trying to project here??
@@august1875 Tolkien never described the skin color of Hobbits, or Elves for that matter. Men, yes. Dwarves, sort of.
I find very odd that some people are trying to tell Galadriel's story and then they leave Celeborn out. They are supposed to be together by now and everything they did, they did together. Maybe because this Galadriel needs to show that she needs no male but to me that's not Galadriel.
I agree
The rumor is that she is slated for a relationship with Sauron.
@@Jim-Tuner this makes sense.
@@Jim-Tuner so good strong Elf woman becomes lover/slave of big bad evil guy?
I'm in for one Rollercoaster of a show then 🤩
I suspect they are going to turn Galadriel into a lesbian warrior princess who has some sort of weird semi romantic relationship with another female but they never actually kiss because it was edited out.
Dwarves we're the only race to make fireworks.... Gandalf in the past had bought them from the dwarves and made. used them in the Shire. They had dwarvish markings on them from eborior . Gandalf also made some special ones for Bilbo's party but no other mention of non dwarfs making. Either way definitely not something elves would have or use...
You're more likely to see an Elf with a buzzcut than you are with a firework...
@@The_Reality_Filter😂 you're not likely to see anybody with a buzz cut because they don't have electric razors ...............
It kills immersion.If he had a different hairstyle and I'm going to say the same thing about all of the elves it would have been much better.... Instead I felt like I was watching amateur theater night with people doing their hair up. The thing that I don't understand is they stick him there as a token but yet the area they put him into would have been poc according to the lore and they make the entire village white with the exception of one lady and the kid.....
But I'm not going to get into the thousands of issues with the show. There was under a minute of the two hours which did not redcon or just make stuff up...
You should be ashamed of yourself to think these showrunners cared enough about the lore to actually research and respect it.
Shame on you, sir
@@jurgenparkour9337 lmao I didn't I just didn't think that they would be this blatant about it I understood there would be major things changed and many things they did not own the rights to. This is a shell of a shell I expected a shell.... That being said I knew it would be horrible lore wise when they repeatedly lie and say that harfoots are not hobbits when it's like page 12 to 15 in The fellowship of the Ring. I gave it a lowest rating on every review site. If they had done just like three minor things differently I would have given it a higher rating but I don't like a third of this show I'm watching forcing me to only be able to see somebody's face and blurring out the beautiful landscape behind I don't wish to be spoon-fed and it makes it far more boring and kills immersion. Finally if more than just the music was good about this whether it was the acting or the dialogue or the fight scenes I would give a higher rating and I would be able to overlook law issues this is such a blatant attempt to just use the name to make money... And when that name is something that got me to be able to read and I hold dear I'm going to get upset. But apparently according to half of the people giving a 10 out of 10 I'm now a Nazi and a racist because I have legitimate issues with this it took me 4 hours to get through the two episodes I was watching with the friend we were literally pausing every scene to either laugh or cry and talk about what it changed . I am not exaggerating under a minute in the two episodes were lore friendly and did not change or make up something
@@nonebusiness2023 I have a funny feeling this show may have already peaked...
There's nothing more frustrating for me, as someone who really doesn't care about the lore or woke controversies, than being dismissed for thinking the show is bad because I've been brainwashed by the haters. Sorry. I've been a movie fan for many decades, almost half a century, and I know what I like or don't. This series has terrible story telling. I've contrasted it with House of Dragons, which is also only at two episodes and much better. There's so much we can say about the character of Rhaenyra Targaryen because we've experienced it. A precocious, rebellious young child who is somewhat at conflict with what is expected of her. We can say this because we witness her actions with dragon riding, intervening to stop bloodshed, speaking up at council out of turn, all of it. Galadriel on the other hand is hollow. We are told who she is but we don't get to experience why she's like that or how she is like that. Even when they do try to show us part of her, the famous troll scene, it's still uncertain what we're supposed to take from it. This isn't a slowly evolving plot; it's empty plot.
Shuddduppppppp 😄
Hmm it was very clearly spelled out this is Galadriel devastated by the killing of her brother and lost in the everlasting revenge. The story is how she finds a way to grow out of that.
What don’t you get about Galadriel’s grief stricken anger and sadness that fuels her hunt for Sauron ? She wants to find him and defeat him to make Middle Earth a safer place. Didn’t you get that when she talked to Elrond about her motivations ? She’s far from hollow and empty. She is incredibly resolved and head strong. Don’t you understand where her courage, determination and hope stem from ? Would you be so harsh of her if she was a man ? C’mon now, she’s a warrior. Female elves can’t be warriors now ?
What about the plot don’t you understand? There’s a clear progression for everyone. Elrond, Nori, Galadriel and Arondir have clear plots that progress not too fast, not too slow.
There’s mystery, there’s intrigue, there’s a sense of something huge is going to happe. They’re going to create the freaking rings ! They’re gonna fight Sauron and his orcs. There’s gonna be alliances and betrayals. Danger, death, etc.
How about the son of Bronwyn who discovers the sword with the mark of Sauron ? What about that plot line that you don’t understand?
A lot of criticism that read from people like yourself are biased, bland and hollow. Grow up. There’s nothing wrong with having black elves and dwarves. Nothing wrong with a warrior Galadriel.
Seriously, the show may not be a masterpiece, but it’s definitely good and has a lot of heart.
@@akikolehmainen88 Right ? It’s clear as day ! These people really just wanna hate it for no good reason. Fools if you ask me lol
…it nearly infected me reading enough of the depressing comments it’s ruining the show for myself and others now just hearing it.
there’s different styles of telling a story game of thrones is wanting the characters to be transparent because we need to know her feelings when her family put her down, she wants her father to know she’s upset, because she wants to be the heir, that’s her motive to gain power. In the rings of power Galadriel wants to please Gil galad she doesn’t want him to see her emotion of how she doesn’t want to pass into valanor because elves are a proud race, she would never show weakness. this is basic stuff man?, put it this way morfydd Clark as an actress would own that kid in thrones, so it’s obviously deliberate mystery in the rings of power. But its bandwagoning because its contradiction after contradiction , every film is technically fan fictions it’s an idea from the mind of a fan of the original adaptation. Im even saying this to myself now if your going to watch a show you need to remember your reviewing that show, not the books, otherwise you can give blade runner, the shinning, the hobbit, Mary poppins, every marvel film, Nolan Batman films all a 0/10 because none are inline with the source material no comic adaptions except the DC animations have been based on a solid book. You may aswell give Peter Jackson’s trilogy a 5/10 while you’re at it.
And it was deliberate. To lessen a work as great as Tolkien's legendarium, it takes a monumental amount of hate for the lore to give the kind of treatment that Amazon is giving to LOTR. And the dialogues are awful, to the point that I'm actually waiting for parodies and voiceovers to improve this (which, lets be honest, is not that hard). And which of her brothers is Galadriel trying to avenge? Finrod? Who was reincarnated in Aman and is reunited with his father and wife? Or is it Angrod or Aegnor, who fell in the Dagor Bragollach? Seriously, this revenge plot is so dumb.
They had so much money to work with but couldn't hire competent writers
@@AdeodatusX Probably on the interview they asked:
- Are you ever read J.R.R.Tolkien book?
- No!
- You are hired!
"and the dialogues are awful" lol
@@Emtrax. Incels can't write proper sentences.
@@Emtrax. what are you trying to imply with the quotation marks?
This show so far is like the most expensive middle school play i’ve ever seen.
You are insulting middle school plays. They are normally written by someone who can actually write.
@@timerover4633 best reply ever 😊
Hey, don't be so mean........
...to middle schoolers!
@@timerover4633 lol well played
I love the part when galdriel jumps off the boat and swims over 100 miles back to middle earth. stunning and brave.
Not only did they botch sailing to Aman pre-Akallabeth, they forgot the precedent established by Amroth (who did exactly what Galadriel is shown doing and DIED) and also ignored that Galadriel had been forbidden from returning to Aman after the War of Wrath.
they completely destroyed the lore with this...and they messed up the other books too because they are changing their lore by getting around the copyright by changing those books lore....smh
@@kickassandchewbubblegum639 Oh yeah, I focused on error because I realised I'd be here all day typing if I tried to cover every mistake.
As for copyright... Yeah they shouldn't have been allowed to do that and still call this an adaptation.
She wasn't forbidden from returning to Aman. She chose not to return after the War of Wrath.
@@Jim-Tuner Ah, this is where the various versions Tolkien wrote of her background comes in. I assume you're referring to the Peoples of Middle Earth narrative?
@@Jim-Tuner I understand that it would seem reasonable that she could have gone back with her father, but in LOTR when Frodo offered her the ring, she made it clear that she couldn't go back. After she passed the test, she would then be allowed to return. I read it that after she made the decision to go on with her uncles, she couldn't go back.
I appreciate your multi-tiered rating system.
Finally an honest review. Seen so many shill reviews. This show was not only bad for Tolkien , but just an awful, lifeless show. All the elves are ugly and short haired. Every body looks too young as well. It’s like a silly Tolkien teen drama
Exactly, a drunken cosplay high school adaptation of Lord of the Rings.
So every elf has to be a super model lol. You saying in the whole world of Arda they were no ugly elves??
@@arod077 Yep. That's exactly what we're saying, because that's how Tolkien wrote it.
@@therightarmofthefreeworld4703 Yes Tolkien wrote it that they were a specific way but just cause they look ugly to you doesn't mean they are ugly to other people. Looks are in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone has the same taste.
@@arod077 no there weren't. They are literally described as perfect and beautiful.
However we do have to remember human beings aren't perfect.
IMO, it sucks. Only somewhat redeeming quality is the dwarves, they are all rights. Everything dealing with the elves though...totally butchered.
Disa was my favorite
The dwarves is my fav part so far. The rest it feels more like Dragon age to me
@@squaeman_2644 Me too!! I loved how she didn’t have to wear that smelly old beard not did she have to wear prosthetics to actually look like a Dwarf… so Stunning… So Brave… She Slayed!!!
I think you're right, it sucks. But I disagree about the dwarves. They're just as bad, if not worse, than the portrayal of the elves. Please stop using dwarves as comedic relief, that's the opposite of how they should be portrayed.
lol, I enjoyed it
My favorite part is when Galadriel was battling the predator and yelled to her comrades "get to the choppa" it was so heroic and new.
How can you people not see this goes beyond Tolkien's lore? This isnt just hate for his work, this is contempt against humanity and they're using popular and revered works as a trojan horse to impose their contempt onto everyone.
Indeed, unfortunately most people are dumb consumers. They don't think, they don't question. They have no connection to the past or their heritage.
dont watch it. i will
Agreed. This was more intentional than people think. As incompetent as the people behind this work may be, they’ve been chosen for a reason.
It's true, apparently that male elf played by kip Chapman has the name rian, which means "queen" in Sindarin... (Celebrian//Silver-Queen). They really waited until JRRT and Christopher were dead to abuse the work they poured their life and soul into...
@@Hero_Of_Old It's not even subtle anymore. Blows me away people can truly be this stupid. How ironic they are to despise dictators only to go on to prove Stalin's point about the chicken analogy.
What I found most jarring was elves constantly referencing time as if it were a huge deal. "We've spent MONTHS looking for Sauron. Time to forget about him already!"
Dude you're millenia old, you and your enemy both have unlimited time on your hands; what are you so preoccupied with years and months for? Are you late for your studies, or your rent is overdue?
What I find really funny is that Galadriel is young, and Gil-Galad looks old. At this time of the Second Age, Gil-Galad was around the 3400 year old mark, meanwhile Galadriel was 26,000 years old, but Galadriel is the young one.
100%
It's not racist to want the characters to resemble their book depictions. It's racist and obsessed with race to race-swap characters.
Just bc Tolkien has never mentioned black elves it doesn't mean there weren't any of them lol
@@tiago.brettas This argument is such bollocks. Being an elf isnt a nationality. I would find it pretty jarring if I were watching a movie about the Hadzabe tribe and suddenly there is a Russian man walking around as if its the most natural thing in the world and we are not allowed to ask what the hell that half naked russian was doing there.
Reviewing Rings Of Power is a Litmus Test for what are the genuine Tolkien channels and what are the fake/bought ones. Many of these channels had years invested into them, only for their credibility to have gone down the drain in such a short time.
Nerd of the rings is a paid shill and it’s sad. Used to watch his channel
those costumes look so cheap and 90's fantasy that I cannot unsee it
If the Rings of Power wanted to include people of color they could have done so easily and sensibly by weaving their stories into that of Numenor's. It was a global empire, would have interacted with many cultures and it would have been logical to assume that it could have also assimilated many diverse people into it's political and economic system. Numenor also probably would have had many client kingdoms in the south where all manner of subterfuge and intrigue could have taken place between multiple houses contending for the throne. The Elves could have been sidelined into a sub plot in the north and the focus been on the greatest kingdom of men (and women) to ever have existed. As it stands now, the whole thing just looks silly. Black people with welsh accents in a medieval type setting is as strange as watching a bunch of white guys dressed up like Zulus at Isandlwana. This isn't a myth from China the Middle ease or Africa, it's a European mythos and should be populated with people of European descent. That said, other races should be included and as main characters too, but done so with artistry and thought and as a distinct people with own stories to tell not just thrown in because of some Hollywood quota and with no thought to genetics. It's almost as though the writers didn't think black people could have a story of their own that was worth telling.
Such a wearisome attempt at feebly trying to walk around vile racism. If Tolkien wrote stores featuring color then it delights me to know Amazon torched his "legacy" of barbarism.
They don't want to be logical or true to lore. They don't want to be original either. You see it in all franchises... they want to be 'colorblind' by hyperfocusing on color and its very important to appropriate existing characters. Reperations and equity or whatever.
@@B.A.Pilgrim the reason is pretty easy to explain. just take this whole idea some steps further: if you want your show to represent the world, where are the innuit? the different asian characters? where are the native americans and different africans (who look very different in north/south/east/west africa). where are the different turk tribes? mongoles? different slawic ethnicities? why not have a different ethnicity per actor?
easy to answer: it would break the whole immersion. the world does feel superficial and artificial just like generic shallow fantasy. Argumentum ad populum does not make it right. just because so many people like cheap fast food it doesn´t mean its objectively of good quality and healthy to consume.
You right, i wanna see a chinese, indiani,italian,Mexican,. Is like NARNIA .
@@B.A.Pilgrim na i gave this movies 2 to 3 / 10 everywhere and i excluded this whole political stuff. Its just generic shallow fantasy unfortunately and i'm not the type of viewer who is in there for the visuals.
Btw. What is western society? Not german because then there would be lots of turkish people and no black people in there. You mean it should present modern day USA except native american, latino and asian folks.
I knew this wasn't Tolkien months ago. So let's put that aside. As a generic fantasy show, it is boring and unengaging. The dialog sounds pretentious and the elves act like humans. The protagonist is unlikable.
As a work of Tolkien 0/10
As a show 2/10
Beautiful landscapes can't prop this show up.
I was looking forward to listening to your review as I always look forward to your videos. I just want to add one point. I've watched so many reviews but none of them mentioned something that I realized. Instead of facing each other as normal people tend to do the character talks to the back of another character in so many scenes (The dialogue between Galadriel and Elrond, the dialogue between Gil-Galad and Elrond, the dialogue between Bronwyn and Arondir). I understand that it might be done for dramatic purposes however when it’s done in so many scenes, it becomes a cliché.
Good point!
classic soap opera staging....they should do better
A cliche in ROP? No!
You have to remember that this series is even more mainstream than the OG Trilogy. They have to do a lot if exposition dump in the first few episodes in order to tell a cohesive story.
@@davidm.corbin4643 that’s an excellent point. They have the right idea with a lot of things but the delivery and execution is lacking in several areas, and that true OG spirit from the trilogy is missing, but this explanation makes good sense.
I love how galadriel although she isnt a warrior and shes a girl can kill a cave troll with her back turned with no problem while gandalf, aragornm legolas, gimli, boromir and all the hobbits had a tough time and took them like half an hour and one of them almost died. going against a cave troll for the fellowship was dangerous and your worried they wont make it through alive but not for galadriel. shes unstoppable! she literally jumps off a ship to swim hundreds of miles back to middleearth... galadriel is more powerful than morgoth and sauron and all of the fellowship combined. I cant wait till she finds sauron and morgoth so she can kill them with ease with her eyes closed like a bad@$$
A couple of things I've not heard people complain about that bothers me..
The snail eating scene with the stranger, the sound is one of the worst added soundeffects I've heard.
Arondir's answer to Bronwyn when she says: "I heard you where leaving" and he says: "Myeeea" like a complete twat. Does not at all sound like an Elfs way of speaking.
The scene where Theo and his friend goes in the barn to find the sword the friend is speaking while the camera aims up towards him and he clearly has his mouth wide open without speaking, horribly added.
But the weirdest and most gross thing I found was the love interest of Arondir and Bronwyn, a complete grooming act from his part. The watchwarden or Arondir says they've been stationed there for 79 years. 79! Which would indicate that Arondir have watched/seen Bronwyn since she was literally a child and how she grows into a woman and now finds her attractive to pursuite. Really not something I want to think an Elf behaving like.
The snail eating g is ridiculous, snails need to be prepared over days. To get rid of the slime.
There's some theories I've read that Theo is Arondir's son, and his ears are purposefully hidden because they're pointed. If that turns out to be true that's another lore breaking because elves aren't supposed to be lustful
Omg I thought I was the only one to notice the Grooming Plot!!! Not to mention in the first scene with Galadriel as a little girl… Take another look at it… and you’ll see what I wont even write here!!! Its sick!! The people who saw what I’m speaking of and still let it into the show are sick!!! Go to 1:08-1:11 and you’ll see!!! Nerdorotic and a couple of others have called it out too!!!
I found that creepy too.
OH those were SNAILS?? I was so frikkin confused as to why the ‘fruit’ (thats what I thought it was) was making squirming noisee. Granted, Poppi mentioned digging for snails in episode 1, but still.
Btw the breakthrough character for me was that dude alongside Bronwyn. “Draw any waaaaater~?”
One of the big issues we see in modern Hollywood is their desire to use an IP for it's recognition and to bring in crowds, but then they want to tell their own stories and so they bastardize them. What I think reviewers of these kinds of shows should do is include a score that it independent of the IP. So Rings of power as is, is 3.5 but if it was Amazon's own creation, a 5.5 or something like that.
I would give the episode a 2/10 because they committed the worst sin in storytelling: they didn't make me care about anyone! The writers need a refresher on "show don't tell", three dimensional characters, and how to build up character relationships.
They would have been far better making a show that pays homage to Lord of the Rings and not be lord of the rings.
They would have been free to make a show that reflects today's worlds and nobody would have minded.
Instead they have decided to make a show about Galadriel only it is their Galadriel.
"There is a tempest in me - cried Galadriel - because I am quadruple vaccinated and six times boosted against Covid-19 and that is why I can do what I can do!" - hot tears started streaming down my cheeks. What a truthful telling of Tolkien's masterpiece! Stunning!!
You are doing excellent work.
Independent reviewers are becoming more and more important as it's becoming obvious that if enough money is in a project the professional critics often write a positive review even in cases of poor quality.
The truth needs to be out there.
When has that happened? I like mainstream reviews Because they focus on objective stuff like the directing, shots, acting rather than nitpicking and politics
corrupt reviews have been around for a century , this isn’t some new thing specific to youtube lol
this was the best take about the first episode on youtube. Grounded, unbiased and well thought out. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you 😊
What is an absolute devoid of logic to me is that the Elven Watch is in Mordor, like why the fuck would you do that, in those days Mordor was just a wilderland inhabited by few people around Nurn, and for what fuckin reason a Kingdom of Elves places a watch on the other fuckin half of the world xDDD
Even if this was a completely stand-alone show it would still be terrible. What makes it bad isn't just how unfaithful they were to Tolkein.
This review is extremely fair. The dialogue is trying so hard to so sound epic and profound, but yet comes across as a parody; a pseudo-Shakespearean attempt written by someone who doesn’t have the talent to pull it off.
Also, the sword twirling by Galadriel at the end of the troll fight was cringe, it’s as if they took cues from the worst parts of Star Wars’ lightsaber duels.
Bear McCreary’s music was a highlight, I’ve enjoyed his work since the BSG reboot.
The opening title is dull as f*ck, especially the opening theme - so so boring
We need to stop calling them Harfoots. We don't refer the Eves by their kind; Noldor, Sindar etc. So, let's just call them Hobbits, and not go with the producer's BS.
Though they were not known as "Hobbits" at this time :) They called themselves Kudugin
@@Maryondo No they didn't, we do not know what "they" were called as there is zero mention of them in the 2nd age.
@@indivestor tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Hobbits#Etymology
tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Kuduk
@@indivestor "It is clear, nonetheless, from these legends, and from the evidence of their peculiar words and customs, that like many other folk Hobbits had in the distant past moved westward. Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides."
From the start of Fellowship of the Ring. There's no in-universe record of them (by the elves, specficially, Tolkien says) but he himself goes into some detail about their distant past and says they've been around for ages, though roamed around and hid from other races. So that does actually line up with this series.
Things I hated: Everything.
I guess my take is it isn't how Tolkien would have written it. Not by a light-year.
Anyone who defends this show are not Tolkien fans. Yes, I'm gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is very important.
Cringe
Get a life
Bro just let people enjoy things. It doesnt make the books or movies worse. Its okay if you hate it. I find it rather okay. But its also okay if people like it. Its just like with the star wars sequels. Many people hate them for changing and fucking up stuff and many people like em and many kids get introduced to it. At the end we all share the love for middleearth.
Rings of Power is The Lord of the Rings: the Book of Mormon.
It has some familiar characters doing things they never did, a whole bunch of new characters who did not actually exist, doing things in direct opposition to what the canon expresses.
Underrated comment
My favorite part was the elves as Nazi Gestapo. Brave move.
stunning
Hahahahahahahhaahahah
Basically the Star Wars treatment.
Ey! Don't spoiler the last season that explains why all the people of colour are gone ;-)
@@Maryondo Head slap. Wow, even I didn't see that!
The writing is the biggest issue with the show. Even if you can't follow lore cause of copyright issues, you can still adapt great stories. But the whitie twins are obviously garbage writiers
I would call them completely inexperienced writers. They have literally written nothing before this show. Their only real credit is additional uncredited writing on Star Trek Beyond. They took two people who have never even written an episode of television and made them showrunners overseeing all the writing on the show. There is nobody on the show even in a position to critique or edit their work.
This review had very little plot critism may I ask what are your biggest gripes with the writing so far?
How can Gi-galad grant Galadriel passage to Valinor? Isn't it up to the Valar to decide whether Galadriel can go there? The elves were banned by the Valar. Curse of Mandos and all that.
Yeah
It was so boring I didn’t even want to continue the series.
I still can't get past Galadrial thinking she could swim an ocean back to middle earth. Thank goodness for "not" sauron... showing up. Otherwise, her plan to return would have been a dead end. It's the same kind of decision making as her deciding to track down the most powerful evil one with 8 people to kill him. Not much forethought. How far do you think she swam before being "not" saved?
8 people of which 6 don't know how to fight (aren't they trained soldiers?) and 1 has the only purpose to launch Galadriel into the air. Amazing planning.
@@Francesco-fo9oo Totally the right team to take on the most evil being alive and his his army! amiright!
@@toshiyaar7885 Clearly, this Galadriel would beat Sauron in a 1v1.
@@Francesco-fo9oo Fair call... she did great in the ice caves
@@toshiyaar7885 She did pretty well also in the ocean. She swam from Valinor almost back to Middle Earth, what an incredible swimmer! I'm sure she was faster than the boats.
Best I can say is it’s pretty. The other thing that I noticed was the Elves feel… off. I can’t really even put it into words but in the Jackson movies they felt like more than humans with pointy ears. There was something about their poise, movement and speech that made you believe that yes these are creatures thousands of years old with all the wisdom and experience that suggests; they felt… more.
The other slight nitpick I have is the person who informs Elrond he’s not invited to the council meeting tells him it’s for “elf-lords.”
Do elves call their lords elf-lords? I mean we would to distinguish them from human or dwarf lords but a human wouldn’t say to another human “human lords”
Thank you for this sober, but to the point review, given with a clear steadfast voice and even with a bit of humor, though a 3.5 out of 10 is not really something to laugh about, if you are a fan. As far as reviews go, you are almost unique. You judge the show on its merits and your standards, which seem very reasonable. I find myself agreeing to most of them. I say this because a lot of other reviews are set in anger, in spewing venom and in outright hate from the first trailer to this episode. Keep up the good and sensible work!
It all just makes me sad. From the politics, to the poor research, and the arrogance of the creators. Just very sad
Some things I noticed: RoP is a good drinking game.. whenever theres a Waterfall.. one goes down the throat :)
10:05 those two are the low budget versions of Qui Gon Jin and Barney Stinson! Trust me, you will never see it otherwise now!
8:14 to me, that cow actually is the star of this whole episode right now.. it was able to travel such a great distance on its own within just hours, for which an elf needs a whole day.. and also the female human (forgot her name) must be really fast to keep up with an elf.. Miss G. should take that speedster cow to travel around middle earth.. would save us much viewing time..
on top of that, they also showed that paralel side plot of Miss G. here.. her trip to magic land via the tiny sails boat just took her moments, but swimming back takes her.. well more than 2 eps.. I wonder why she is ever on foot.. for a beeing old as her, she should know by now, that she is slow as a turtle and even a cow is faster than she is.. :D
I really enjoyed this review. I plan to watch all of season 1 and write a review when I've finished the last episode, and you've said a lot of things that I've been thinking as well. I'll give your review a 10/10.
Thank you for an honest review. Nerd of the Rings gave this a 8/10, and it’s awful to see someone who seemingly knows and respects the lore to so obviously shill.
Or maybe… he respects the lore, knows the material and (gasp) isn’t a shill, just isn’t ranting about how a few characters played by racial minorities are diluting the ethnic purity test (that Tolkien never mentioned but anxious people project onto their worldview)
@@op8726 anyone who cares about the lore can't possible give 8/10 for this show, not when it has the name Lord of the Rings!
@@op8726 Hrmm... are you accusing the channel owner of being an "angry incel scared of ethnic minorities"?
Because, no.. there's none of that here - just a far better and honest appraisal vs. the lore than Nerd of the Rings who handwaved aside so many issues...
I would not care to say which had the most lore knowledge but it is NOT lacking here.
@@op8726 it’s not about the races. That’s all fine. It’s just not written well. Doesn’t feel mythical at all. The movies felt deep the worlds felt different. This all just feels kinda blah…as far as story telling. And why change Galadriel? She was an amazing strong character. You can have her fight but maybe use some magic? Maybe not kill a snow troll and somehow manage to make it look dumb.
They have so much more money than the movies and couldn’t even make it look quite as beautiful either. The depth Isn’t there.
@@op8726 you must never have read Tolkien then because he mentions races and skin color quite a bit in his books.
Now we know fore sure that Celeborn is not in the show, or she just forget him on the pier before her one way boat trip
Cele who? My gal Guyladriel don't need no man elf...
Yeah, she left her daughter Celebrian with him while she went out for some milk and a pack of smokes
Celeborn is not in the story because they intend to put her in a relationship with Sauron.
@@Jim-Tuner I've actually been suspecting they'd do that. I wanted to hope I was wrong, that I was setting the bar too low, but at this point, nothing would surprise me with this trainwreck. Nothing.
I have to say another horrible thing is Galadriel saying I want to go home and feel the warmth of the Trees 🌳. But thats after we see them Die soooooo....????
Yeah makes no sense
I unsubscribed from Sell out Nerd of The Ring and will never watch another of his videos
This will be where I got for LOTR content from now on. Thank you for an honest review.
It s an abomination. Plain and simple. These ppl really have no idea what fantasy is not even tolkien
This show was absolutely boring and not memorable at all. I asked the people i watched it with if they even remembered any of the names of characters other than Galadriel and Elrond... They couldn't name 1.
And the fact that they turned Galadriel into an insufferable bitch of a leader that literally everyone hates her in the show is just a slap in the face.
And what was up with the first scene? The elf kid bullies? That's just so far detached from elven culture. These people have no idea what they're doing.
Yeah not saying the name of characters is a huge issue in this show
Yes great point. They made the elves way too human. The bullying etc. They look and act like slightly taller hobbits. Celebrimbor looks like a keebler elf
the whole negative hype around the ROP has made me watch the extended LOTR films. A fresh reminder of how damn near perfect these films were. They're nearly 20 years old and they have aged incredibly well both visually and in the timeless story they portray.
This Amazon shite will age like milk, if it isn't already dead that is..
Given, PJ's movies weren't 100% lore-accurate either - but it was close enough. You was able to recognize the scenes from the books, the visuals were great, the story was great - all in all, although altered, it still caught the spirit of Tolkien, imho.
RoP though is so damn disconnected from the source material, that is unbelievable!
I'm eagerly waiting for the reviews to appear on Amazon, the 72h is nearly up!
I did the same but every time it kept flashing to frodos constipated face my kids burst out laughing... and nothing ruins the death of borimir or the charge of the rohirrim in return of the king than 2 kids screaming "DO IT FOR YORKSHIRE" lool
Seriously, guys, it was NOT about the Americans' view of "diversity" or lack thereof (lots of people outside the USA dislike the new show also), people on both sides are using this as some kind of weird deflection from the MAIN POINT -- the entire prequel seems like a failed fan fiction effort, not something in the highly complex and immersive universe of Tolkien and Jackson, quite honestly. Those two gave us a timeless and glorious masterpiece, but this new failure of a show has tainted and ruined the entire franchise...
Elrond and Galadriel's actors were at best average, and that is being VERY generous to both of them, and failed to seem very likable or engaging from the beginning to the end. The elves seemed so plastic, superficial and one-dimensional, lacking in both genuine gravitas and otherworldly mysticism and poise, and I was not impressed by Galadriel's failed Arctic mission or that weird half-naked giant crash-landing in front of two bickering female Hobbits. Is this what was supposed to grip millions of people from around the world? Besides, if nine elves were nearly killed by a single troll, what the heck was Galadriel planning to do to Sauron even if she did "find" him? And how did that Elven king grant them access to Valinor at whim, I thought only the Valar had that authority?? ***Almost NOTHING about this show was okay, guys.*** o_O
As a new comer to the lore and honestly the whole story over all, I found it boring and really hard to understand where characters were supposed to be and plots
The best part of RoP was when Galadriel said “IT’S TEMPEST TIME!” and tempested all over those guys.
Glad to see someone else talking about the elvish fireworks, didn’t really fit for me either.
One thing I do have to disagree with is the music though, very forgettable in my opinion and to counter your point about the later seasons of GoT, the song for the night king in the long night (although a terrible episode) is actually fantastic, and if you go back a bit further the music playing while Cersei blows up the cept is also spot on. Much more character and memorability out of the music in even the bad seasons than in this show.
The music kept doing the opening rif to the cadbury milk tray advert..
Analdriel had to suffer a lot. In their youth kids destroyed her papership 😭. Thats why she can swim for a month. I was so afraid she would kill the worm , too. Who is next? A Balrog?
Just one? They must up the ante to impress their chosen audience. At least a dosen at once.
Guyladriel could take down Eru Ilùvatar himself
The writing feels like fan fiction we have written in middle school, trying to be as brilliant as the original work but ending up only with the writing skill and experience of a teenager
I watched 20 minutes or so and switched it off. I didn’t want to continue with it and destroy what I already enjoy about LOTR. Absolute waste of money if you ask me and should never see the light of day again.
I also thought what Finrod said to Galadriel was freaking weird and actually contradictory to what she says in the voice-over just seconds after. "I'm not always gonna be here to show you", and then she says "we had no word for death, for we thought our joy would be undending". WTF.
The show itself to me hasn't gone so far with this two episodes as for me to say it's just bad, but it definitely has already suffered quite a bit from bad writing at times. Galadriel being the only one to think Sauron's still there but agreeing at first to go to Valinor only to jump right in the middle of the ocean... I mean, latino elfs are nothing compared to shit like that. I actually don't dislike some of the new characters, the visuals and some more stuff but I can already see GOT season 8 levels of crap showing up. My bets are the show's gonna be quite average as just fantasy, but that it's slowly going to flop as we get to the big events on the later seasons. The production is amazing and blablabla but they always insist on changing lots of stuff and bringing unexpirience people in the writing department to such delicate projects.
Also just hated Galadriel, they gave her a sword to make her "STRONG" and it ends up being the oposite. She just puts on a straight face and says everybody's wrong except for her. Just your 1.1 Hollywood's empowered strong female character. I also bet we don't see the slightest bit of doubt nor failure in her. God knows the only way to show strength as a woman in fiction is to show no fucking weakness.
Not terrible yet, but I can start to see the wrong bits getting bigger and bigger as the show goes on.
I cannot say it is terrible either and will need to torture my self a with a few more episodes.
@@bighands69 I genuinely have the feeling that it'll be terrible the more we see.
I don't think Galadriels decicions were bad. I could understand why she did what she did, she only agreed to go to valinor because her best friend Elrond wrongly convinced her on behalf of his king and then when she saw it she realized it isn't the right thing to do. I don't like the actress that much but why wouldn't they give her a sword and and show her strong? They didn't make her strong, Tolkien made her. She is one of the most powerful elves and is described as "Amazonian" so ofc she is strong and she fought in a lot of battles if I remember.
But the show has definitly one big problem. They can't use the real backstories and the real lore because they don't have the rights to do so. They only have the rights for Lord of the rings and Hobbit + the footnotes to them and not the Silmarilion which is where the show should take place. So I guess they will do tons of stuff out of the official Tolkien lore because they don't have the rights to use the real stuff. Lets just say I don't have high hopes but remember:
"There never was much hope, just a fool's hope" - Gandalf
That did not bother me.....like she is asking him for advice.....and he just tells her that he will not always be around to give advice to her....that is not strange because i don't thing they are conjoined twins. So i don't get why so many have a problem with that.
I dont get this whole "Gladriel is a feminist" thing people keep on harking on about. At no point is gender or race brought up in these first two episodes, there is no feminist theme. It's just a character who is strong who happens to also be a women. If you say that you are trying to fit the show into your own ideological framework or preparing a criticism that you've heard before.
"This show is so evil...it gives off no warmth!"
It is super weird that Galadriel basically does some grave robbing on her brother. Talk about disrespectful to the dead. He was clearly put there with the knife in his hands but nope she's like "hey bro you ain't using that knife let me just take it for a bit."
Yeah the haircuts really bother me. Way too modern looking. An elf in the middle of nowhere is not going to care about his looks. He would naturally just let his hair grow out and only cut the front with say a knife if it annoyed him too much. What you think warriors cared about appearances? Hell no. Yes in older times the richer or higher in society a person is the more they care about looks but they didn't often cut their hair but put them in fancy hairstyles or have a servant braid them etc.
They did warn us they wanted it to be like modern day. Expect more of this nonsense.
The face of arrondirs armour is clearly the green man from pagan Britain. Not something I think Tolkien would approve of. Not to mention he invented his own mythology. How does the green mans face tie into elves in any way.
When the first adult elf showed up on screen wearing a haircut that he had to have gotten from a New York salon last Tuesday I was over it. Sometimes it takes just one dumb thing….
I turned off episode one 45 minutes in. It was incredibly boring. I thought it was the actors, poor dialog and the slow moving pacing. With that said, I later went on to watch the rest of the episode, which improved greatly in the last 15 minute. Episode 2, which is not discussed here, did not disappoint, it had me wanting more. Tolkien world building shines through.
I watched 40 min and honestly i rather shoot myself than going back to this bullshit.
I really appreciate the honest review. I see so many reveiws calling it the greatest thing ever seen in their whole life. After watching it I couldn't even fathom how anybody could come to that conclusion.
Money helps them come to that conclusion
@@Hero_Of_Old lol
People have horrible standards nowadays. They are still able to recognize very good shows and movies as such, but they also do that with just mediocre ones. I have seen a lot of examples for this, when the show itself is nothing particularly special, but they still think its the best ever.
imdb which is owned by amazon also removed all reviews below 6/10. I call that censoring
@@tamas9554 it's crazy how many people are pleased with some cgi and sweeping shots of new zealand
Maybe because of the negative reviews my expectations were extremely low. So the first episodes weren't that bad which makes them seem a lot better. The wokism was there but not as bad as I thought it would be. My main issue with the show was lack of character development, the ice troll fight scene, and the overall pacing and story development. I watched for 2 hours and still feel like I really don't know the characters and very little has happened.
The dialogue is indefensibly bad. I can't even take in what they are saying no matter how hard I try - I just drift off. It's crap, I really can't see how anyone would call this 'not that bad'.
@@damo9961 honestly I found the dialogue in your comment quite bad. Find better words bruh.
Elves with modern fade hair styles. God awful.
They are not terrible but for a billion dollar show you would expect something that would be more compelling.
I have a strong suspicion that they are going to turn Galadriel from warrior princess to lesbian warrior princess.
@@bighands69 They need to have representation. For the creators representation is more important than story. I hope though that they can build a compelling story.
@Council of the Rings (Sorry, could not find your name in your video or channel description.)
This is the first time I’ve watched one of your videos. Thank you for your review. I have been looking for a proper review from someone of your credentials, so very glad to have found it. You earned a subscriber. 👍🏼
Will seek out your LOTR/Middle-Earth mods too.
Welcome to the Council mellon 🤗
Notice how they start with a troll - the most dramatic moment of Jackson's entire six loooong films.
In a land of pure goodness the other children bully Galadrial and throw rocks at her precious boat. Good start. So elves are @ssholes? Then the Harfoots leave their sick and weak behind to die, delightful. Dwarfs are so idiot simple that they think busting rocks is like the Superbowl. They even have stupid chants like a bunch of soccer hooligans. Got me cheering for orcs more than I did in The Hobbit.
Then the poor choices with the voices - elf=South England (classy), dwarfs=Scots, how hardy! Harfoots=Irish, covered in dirt - why don't they eat pohtahtohs? Men=standard American, of course. Why no Cockney, or Italian-American? Maybe someone could break out some Jamaican (goes well with Uruk dreadlocks). Classicist. Unoriginal. And poorly written.
That being said, I am such a fanboy, I will watch them all. One Stream to rule them all and in the darkness, bind them.
Thanks for your great reviews. Finally someone who speak it loud out and sounds not like to get paid by Amazon.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for your honest, comprehensive and serious review. Luckily UA-cam isn’t owned by Amazon, otherwise this spot on review would disappear as happened in IMDb
One of the best and accurate reviews by far.
thanks!
yeah, and that map is an abomination, why couldn't they show the map they realeased before that was great, but this one is.... words can't even describe it
It is good to still see some honesty
The glimpse of Sauron's silhouette kinda look like a female to me,
I have a feeling that there will be a female Sauron coming.
Or it's going to be a very slender man, with armor.
All the good scenes were cut short, all the crappy scenes are extended 💀 billion dollar budget goes burrrrrrr
The showrunners didn't have the rights to the Silmarillion. The show should have started with the choice of Elrond and Elros
You have actually read the books to give that idea. Not sure they did..
@@WeekEndCousinal
I'm sure they didn't read the books.
My biggest issue is that they repeatedly said it was true to Tolkien. They absolutely lied and deceived.
If they had been honest, and claimed distance from the actual lore.... I don't think I'd be so angry.
They could have adapted the Kinstrife, the migration of the Rohirrim, the end of Helm's reign, the Wainrider Invasions, the collapse of Arnor, the Regents' defending Gondor after the death of Earnil, the War of Dwarves and Orcs after Thror died, and many other things they had rigts to, but they chose not.
@@alexandrejose8362
Absolutely!!!!
SO MUCH! ..even a microcosm of a sentence in the lore is worth hours of genuine imagination.
Boring ain’t the word I was stiff as a cave troll caught out by sunrise at the end of episode 1
I'm suprised the score was that 'high' seeing that in this video everything was rated pretty badly including minor things like hairstyle and the look of the armor. Was that opinion based on the lore or personal taste? Because I personally didn't mind those aspects at all.
Lore primarily. But the final score takes into account all the aspects rated at the end
I mean, even for elves the travel across the ocean in their sailboats must takes weeks... Yet they were all standing in the same order from the start. There is no shelter, food, drink on any of these ships... and then she swims back across the ocean... I found that so hilariously dumb and killed my.immersiin for some time...
I learnt that Galadri l was a fighter way stronger than the complete fellowship of battle hardened Warriors inclusive a god.like wizard and that normal elves are just pointless canonfodder. Would.have at least expected some leadership skills on Galadriel, but her band if elven brothers did seem to have 9 bind with her despite hunting Sauron for ages...
The whole group defied her and said they would go no further. Her small elve simp that followed her around just backstabbed her and somehow was still her friend.
Depending on if we see Isilsur in Ep3, Galadriel was hunting for Sauron for 1000 - 3000 years, according to Amazon.
My favorite part of the video: Flashing a picture of the "Meteor Man," who does look a whole lot like Jesus Christ, and saying: "Jesus Christ!" I had to pause the video, because my friends and I needed a few minutes to laugh uproariously over that. lol
Thought he looked like a bum.
Not Tolkien so NOT watching! Simples.......
It's boring as hell. No action. The dialogue are slow and nonsense and disconnected. They spent a lot for pictures , but rest sucks a lot. Is good if you have trouble to sleep. It help a lot