@@johnmiltner9842 I say exactly how much I like/dislike things - including the things in this show. And I will continue to do so with my S2 review video when it comes out.
The “hints” were so in your face and obvious that I was convinced, surely this must be a red herring and we’ll get a surprise when this is someone else (hopefully a blue wizard). But no. I don’t know why they felt they needed to drag this out for the second season. They could’ve just told us in the final episode of the last series when he found his voice. But the second I saw Nourey with that branch I recognised it and knew what was coming. I’ll still enjoy seeing a Gandalf origin story but would’ve been nice to see the blues. Maybe we still will.
I mean technically they said “Grand Elf” 😂😂😂 I chuckled I can’t lie, funny way of thinking how that name came to be but I can fully understand if people don’t like it lol
Because this show expects you to forget what happened in previous episodes and apply any logic. Same thing happened with Isildur. Just shut up and consume product.
I live near the filming locations, my friend was an extra in other productions but the pay wasn't good and the hours erratic so i was put off. Maybe I should have volunteered it would have been interesting and I need the cash. Sorry folks. My fault.
The world feels so small. Remember Helm's Deep, when heaps of guys showed up every night to do night shoots in full body prosthetics and armour, IN THE RAIN, every night for months, and were still so passionate and fun that they invented new movements and shots for the directors? That's the difference between passion and "make product".
@@cosmicmuffin322 I live in the area it was filmed and could have done extras work I'd applied. The pay for extras is low. Do I really want to do it for love when it only enriches the evil Jess Bezos.
The elves pump up shouting at the end felt out of character to me, or something culturally weird. Seemed a very mortal move when they’re always singing in the books and we just had the Tom song. I was really hoping they’d break into some soft Elven tune that would crescendo into a united resolve to keep going.
@@vanessaoliveira9587 It's not just out of line for Elves, but these are supposed be (led by) High Noldor Elves. Triple the grace shown by Silvan or Grey Elves, and definitely more than Arondir
The Gandalf reveal thing to me feels like somebody winding up a really predictable "knock knock" joke for 15 hours and then expecting everyone to laugh when the punchline comes. A wasted opportunity imo.
Considering how hard people were trying to ignore all the obvious signs I actually found the reveal hilarious. It shows wonderfully how confirmation bias works.
And if the show revealed the wizard to be someone other than gandolf and try to make their own lore, cancel culture would have said yeah the show is horrible because it is different than the books
Middle Earth population: 50 Elfs, 10 orcs, 20 Hobbits, 2 wizards, 60 dwarfs, 20 normal men, 40 Numenorians backing up the king and 20 backing up the queen. Sauron could have forged few more rings and controll all middle Earth
Didn't feel like that when the Elrond and the Elves were charging at the Orcs last season on the battlefield. Orcs and dwarves are definitely well represented in terms of scale. They could do better with men and elves.
Charlie Vickers is a great casting for Sauron. Very difficult to nail grace and beauty, yet he has a fierce rage in in his stare, when angered. He really grew on me in S2
Agreed. The way his face alone can tell you multiple things at once is talent. He had times where he emanated beauty and grandeur and other times where he just oozed evil and anger.
@@m_is_for_mairon That’s my point, they need something to do and we already had the “vision of the Shire” in this season. Watch Nori end up Bilbo’s ancestor
My wild guess for how Sauron ends up in Numenor again is that our favorite boy Kemen will insist against the advice of the elves on bringing him to his father to "show his quality" and cause the utter distruction of his homeland.
To be honest, I think they are tracking the books pretty well there. Ar-Pharazon is building a fleet (and army) with Sauron in mind, and eventually - when all is looking lost for the elves in season 3 - the Numenoreans will show up in impressive enough force that Sauron's army pretty much runs away on the spot. Hence Plan B, work from within...
They totally botched the dwarven attack. I was waiting for the fighting dwarves the last few episodes. Then... 5 bolts and one dwarf in armor. They destroyed what could have been the best scene of the whole season.
Correct! I also didn’t like how they literally had Gil-Galad, Elrond, and Arondir at their mercy (while Galadriel was fighting Sauron). 4 main characters, 3 of which you know can’t die yet, and 2 of which never die, are in mortal peril. The stakes aren’t real because it would make zero sense for them to die. It’s annoying and lazy writing.
@@elijahking6766it's not lazy writing. It's just different from the books in some ways and you are angry because your inner child wanted to see things play out exactly how you imagined them.
@@kongspeaks4778it is lazy writing though. If they had bothered to put in any work at all the show wouldn’t be as crappy as it is. No one expected it to be perfect or have every single thing from the Simeralion. LOTR trilogy didn’t and yet everyone loves them. All we wanted was them to not break basic important lore like GANDALF NOT BEING IN MIDDLE EARTH YET. Not that difficult to follow lore. But no, they couldn’t do the littlest bit of research into Tolkien’s lore. It’s lazy.
Init, such a blatant theft of one of the most iconic lines in the harry potter series. Tolkien would be turning in his grave to think his literary marvel has been reduced to referencing the works of j.k
Whhhyyyy would they gloss over the arrival of the Dwarven army, especially after wasting time and money on that pointless cavalry charge in episode 7? The Dwarves showing up to save the Elves in the nick of time could have been one of the best moments of the season. Someone in the writers’ room has their priorities completely back to front.
Yeah. The fact that there were more dwarfs defending the Eregion than Elfs was strange. We saw the walls filled with dwarfs while few episodes ago there were 3 elfs per km of walls
The city had to fall we saw how many Orcs came in you can imagine a peaceful place like that wouldn't be ready for attack they depended on their River, in the dwarves had enough screen time in the episode prior and this one
It's a missed opportunity to choose Gandalf over one of the blue wizards, it would have given so many opportunities from a story perspective.. I'm disappointed, and I don't understand the decision
Clearly they just wanna do the founding of the Shire story after 5 seasons of filler, so they chose Gandalf cause he loves hobbits in the LOTR trilogy. Out of all things they decide to go with concerning the lore they choose that. lol
Annatar/Sauron and Celebrimbor were the best thing about season 2 from start to finish they were amazing! I loved that even Sauron shed tears for Celebrimbor at the end, i think he truly did admire him and, in his own twisted way saw him as a friend
This should have been season 1, Annatar charms the elves into making the rings. The fall of eregion and celebrimbor's death the 2nd season. 3rd season sauron goes to numenor and destroys it from within. 4th season, he starts spreading chaos throughout middle earth and chooses 9 men doomed to wear rings and eventually become wraiths. 5th season, the alliance of elves and men fight against the whole might of sauron, big battles, sauron is defeated, the end.
The characters' plot armor being the only explanation for why they survive LIFE-ENDING INJURIES is really getting on my nerves. Elrond falls 100 feet off a waterfall? Completely fine. No explanation. Narvi takes an AXE TO THE HEAD? Completely fine a few hours later. No explanation. The one elf with Elrond who had the arrow in him? Completely fine at Rivindell. No explanation. Arandir getting his abdomen sliced open? Completely fine. No explanation. Galadriel also falls 100 feet off a cliff? Completely fine, no broken bones or blunt force trauma whatsoever. No explanation. GAHHH
Infuriating!! At least three times an episode a named character is flung against a rock wall by some towering mythical creature and I'm just like "oh thei spine is crushed. Theyre totally dead." and then the character will just like shake it off. It's like these show runners have seen action dialed up to ten in other, better works and included it without understanding why action at ten works or what it means. And as a consequence their action scenes dont work and they dont mean anything.
the only thing that could sorta make it up is elves healing powers and healing abilities. but... there are countless old and newer lore and scenes showing the completely reasonable limits of elven bodies
@@Mighty_Atheismo To be fair, that happened in the PJ trilogy too. The cave troll encounter itself had what would be life ending or crippling injuries if the characters weren't the "good guys" and had plot armor.
At the episode’s conclusion, they discuss other dwarves who claim Durin’s throne. Perhaps they don’t believe in the events surrounding the balrog and suspect that Durin Jr. orchestrated a ploy to seize the throne.
Dude you’ve got my respect. With what I’ve seen, you put full effort into not being toxic while also criticizing justly and in a calm manner. I’m a Star Wars fan and I’ve had to leave that fandom for multiple reasons about two years ago but I wish the Star Wars fandom was like you. I’ve been getting really into Tolkien since then and your channel helps a lot. Keep on doing your good work and have a great life.
Thanks so much for your kind words! As a Star Wars fan since I was about 4 years old, I know exactly what you mean! It’s wild and kind of sad what has become of most of SW discourse. Here’s to your continued journey through Middle-earth! I hope it can be a light as it has been for me! All the best
So annoyed the stranger is Gandalf even though Gandalf is my fav character in lotr! Was reallllllyyyy hoping for both wizards to be blue wizards! Also thought there would have been a bit of a fight between them and see the stranger with his powers!
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
So the balrog got woken up and literally just killed the king because he woke him up and then after that was like okay time for bed again…come on prime
@@zingo487 I missed the bit where he went back to bed? I’m sure the screen cut and we don’t know what happened other than a time jump at the end of the episode showing Durin talking about challenges to the crown soon to happen. The act of durin senior may have sealed the mine, or done anything. The point is, WE DONT KNOW. I’m sure we will find out in season 3, but that’s the point. What if season 3 sees the dwarves engaging in the game of thrones while the balrog is attempting to come up from the pit.
Don't think it went to sleep. Maybe just caved in away or away. Mountain ranges are huge and where the king was digging may have been away from Dwarf settlement. Remember in the fellowship of the ring you when they went into the mines of Moria. There were Goblins living in the same mine as the one the Balrog resided in.
What seemed weirder to me was that what happened was never really addressed. No scenes of the dwarves scrambling to figure out what to do about the balrog(something they have no knowledge of), or even really a comment on what happened. We're told Durin is in mourning by another dwarf later, and Disa, at the very end of episode, just says something like "We have issues of our own", but then starts talking about royal challengers as the more important topic. It didn't seem like the balrog was treated as a serious issue at all.
@@Gn3rd the episode had a 70 min air time. I’m happy they didn’t try ram the balrog story in its entirety in the finale and have held it back for the next season. They used the balrog to kill king durin to allow the story for the dwarves to move on. I’m sure your concerns will be address. Or you can go online and tell PLOT HOOOOOLE. Whatever floats your boat.
@@DaveSmith-s6e I never said they needed to cram the entire balrog story into the episode, just that a pretty significant event was barely addressed in it. But if you're fine with nonsensical character writing, more power to you.
Do you know what was worse writing? Why are the elves with Elrond fighting against the orcs? They knew Adar was there for Sauron, not for the elves. So, the intelligent move would have been to evacuate the city and return later. Instead, they sacrifice everybody to defend a city they know is occupied by Sauron.
Also, your passionate enemy falls off a cliff holding a ring you so desire - but who cares about bouncing down the hill to finish her off and pick the ring up off the ground...
@@PLF... I initially thought that she fell off the cliff into a river and then would get lost with the river current taking her, so there would be no way to go after her at that moment, but no, she simply falls to the ground and is immobilized and defenseless. But it is a big fall. One way to make this fall worthwhile would be, for example, while she is falling, the shine of her hair catches the attention of Elrond, Gil-Galad and Arondir who run to protect her, then Sauron would not be able to face the three (with Gil-Galad with a ring and Elrond with Galadriel's one) and decides to leave. That would be more rational. But he gives up as soon as he sees her falling, too much effort to climb down a mountain to get the ring he needs to conquer Middle Earth. Someone with that laziness will have no chance of winning.
The main story arcs in Rings of Power have been improved quite a bit, but the script is missing that final revision to make things make a little more sense; just need a little more attention in the final revision of each episode script.
Or… Dark Wizard shows up to the village in search of Gandalf in an attempt have them join forces. Attempts to manipulate the unknowing Wizard by noting they are old friends. Then, we allegiances are reveal, the Dark Wizard punishes the Stranger for his choice by harming his new friends. Man, we got some real simpleton viewers watching this show.
I keep hearing the claim “they don’t have rights to the Silmarillion” but the show doesn’t follow the LOTR appendix either. What’s the point of this show if not to put the book to screen?
Well, Arondir is not a High Elf who returned to Middle-earth like the others (Galadriel, Gil-galad, Celebrimbor et al.). As a presumed Wood Elf (born in Beleriand as he tells Theo in the show) he's never been to Valinor as far as we know, so he should feel somewhat out of place with the Lindon and Eregion elves. But he still shows reverence to his Elvish cousins and in particular to their High-King.
Can you be a consultant on the show please!! You haven't been too harsh and optomistic but give great ideas about where to take the show to make it better
@@GeeksmithingI can't tell if you're just upset he doesn't think like you, or if you're just jealous of the perks Matt gets to have. Eh, I think it's both, actually.
So the dwarves would now be aware for another 3000 years that a Balrog lives right outside their doorstep and they wouldn’t care? Or did the Balrog just wake up from his sleep a little bit grumpy and then went back to sleep like nothing happened? Yeah it did look cool but it makes no sense unless they really want to change the timeline
3000 years is usually enough years to forget. Yes it's something that ca destroy Khazad dum but if Durin's brother takes over. We can just guess that he doesn't know about the Balrog
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
How did Arondir survive the stabbing ? How did galadriel survive the fall? Why the orcs suddenly change their loyalty even their invasion of eregion was a success?
The betrayal of the Orcs was very much forshadowed. The Show portrayes how the Orcs trust Adar less and less because of his decisions that led to alot of casualties.
Why didn't Sauron use his magic force flick power to take Galadriel's ring? Why struggle fist fighting? Why not stop her falling? He's a powerful miar. Inches away. Use the same magic he's been using. Even after falling, she's very near. Easy reach. Suddenly he doesn't consider the ring important? Awful in many respects.
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
They totally missed the opputinity to show some fighting skills of Gil-Galad ... again. He feels not like the legendary warrior he was in this shows. and it could have been done so easy this episode.
In the books Gil-galad is not even in Eregion. His time will come in the Battle of the Last Alliance. They actually gave us more than we get in the books :)
My favorite part is when gil galad screams "Dwarves!!" when the dwarves are coming. Absolutely brilliant, truly something we couldn't have seen with our own eyes 👏👏👏
I don't actually think we're supposed to be "awww, nice orc with the family dies". I think Sauron stabbing Glug is more to contrast Sauron with Adar and make it clear that Adar, while harsh and cold, did care. Sauron however, don't give a f**k. That was what I got from that scene anyway :)
@@Kul-tegin sauron was having a little moment after galadriel jumped, Glug decided to just walk up to sauron complaining about more uruks dying. you dont do that, you only speak when spoken to. that is why glug ended up with a sword in his chest.
@@Kul-teginbecause of the way Glug was talking to him. Sauron wants to be respected like a God not a commander of orcs and yeah him seeking out Sauron to betray Adar would make sense too but i also can't remember if Glug was one of the Orcs that killed him at the beginning of the season.
About the sword draw, I would not need the background to know that this man appreciates a fine blade. It is a treasure and he knows it! The workmanship alone would claim that!
Made me laugh that the whip around the leg slipped off exactly the same way as before. You'd think a whip made of fire would have a little more gripping power, maybe?
@@Von715 yeh its an EASTER EGG. WOW AMAZING. REMEMBER THAT THING> THE THING FROM THE MOVIE!!. OMG HE DID THE THING!!! .. this is the problem with sequels and mainstream franchises. yall are fine with bad writing as long as they do "easter eggs" aka just reusing things we already saw.
It seems there was an earlier different version of the show that was changed where there was a plot that involved Theo, Bronwyn and Arondir. The actress for Bronwyn quit the show, likely leading to rewrites to Arondir's character. They were setting up this whole Beren and Luthian story but now they need something else for Arondir to do, so they've had to get him from the Theo story to the Elves story. At least that's my theory anyway.
Maybe. At the end of the day, he is an eleven soldier, so it does make sense for him to join in their fighting. As a fan of Arondir, I’m glad that he’s not just tied to Bronwyn and Theos arcs, but I do hope that he gets a new anchoring storyline (becoming a leading figure in the army, or heading secret missions, etc), rather than just popping up here and there when they need cool action shots.
This show was either made by an A.I. app or it was made by people who used to watch movies and then do the book report in school rather than just reading the book.
NOT EVERYONE NEEDS A LOVE STORY FOR GOODNESS SAKE Does anyone care for the love story between Poppy and the desert hobbit? Or isildur and the bandit chick? Or Elendil and the queen? For gods sake I don’t even care about Disa and Durin
@@Big_Cheese368 i hope Gandalf gets one next! Lol seriously though, the elendil and Muriel one is only one worth depicting and deviating from the books for. It makes sense for both their characters and lends weight to the larger Numenor story. And damn those 2 actors are fiiine both in skill and looks
Let's not forget Galadriel and Halbrand, Mirdania and Annatar, and Elrond kissing Galadriel on the last episode and then putting on her ring on this episode like on some cheesy engagement home video. The all-women's writing room and the women directors of this series are doing no better than your average soap opera from the 80s, except those shows were more engaging and entertaining.
@@janatman Mirdania isn't fair as a love story. That's not what that was. That was purely Sauron manipulating her. He had zero intentions with her except shoving her off the walls. The kiss between Galadriel and Elrond was a plot device to give her to pin she needed to free herself, nothing more.
@@brianmalkiewicz7120 You need to watch more soap operas because 1) Mirdania wasn't touching anyone else in the show like she was touching Annatar and 2) the swelling soundtrack during kiss-gate was telling a different story.
Emmmm, all along the previous episodes, you precisely see that lieutenant orc doubting/complaining/ needing reassurance. Adar needs to persuade them all the time, the orcs have agency. They don't trust Adar to lead them to peace anymore. Your comment is funny but of completely bad faith (or you didn't watch the show)
wasn't there a conversation about how sauron enchants or enslaves them through magic? I seem to remember that being a thing in the earlier episodes but maybe I'm wrong.
Same I really love the way this channel makes a nice breakdown without effing and jeffing and disrespecting the cast from the new show unlike other UA-camr .
In the movies Gandalf says he doesn’t remember the names of the blue wizards, which means it can’t be a blue wizard unless he is literally retarded and forgets the name of his first encounter of a wizard and his first enemy
I heard a metal “clink” when Celebrimbor handed Annatar a piece of mithril, I think the *_One_* *_Ring_* *_IS_* already forged and Sauron has been wearing it, forged when Sauron went to Mt. Doom at the end of season 1.
Yup. It felt like they just threw a seasons worth of stuff into the last episode, instead of properly spreading it all out throughout the entire season. The fact that the Balrog showed up, killed Durin, and then the dwarves were just like “anyway, who’s the next king?”…took me out. They have rights to enough of Tolkiens material to make cohesive and logical changes. The writers are the problem.
i was giving this series the benefit of doubt on the condition that he wasnt gandalf but the blue wizards so now that it is gandalf it truly finally shows the full disregard of the source material and i think even the most positive like me now cant ignore it anymore
Totally agree. I withstood the haters for 2 years, but the Gandlaf reveal was the last straw for me. Now I hope it doesn't even get renewed. I am forever disappointed
@@dancingroni5621 that's exactly what will happen now. Considering 2/3 of people who started season1 didn't finish it, they can't really afford to bleed any more of the few viewers still hanging around.
@@dancingroni5621 i watched because i loved tolkien and genuilly liked the show and could forgive them for a lot of stuff other ppeople hate but the gadalf reveal doesnt make sense in any way or form sadly and it shows a lack of respect
This episode - but the whole season 2 throughout - is just filled with these annoying memberberries from the Peter Jackson movies that are just some easy, low-effort payoffs and are meant to trigger in the audience this feeling that "you see, it's just like those movies you liked so much !". From the Balrog's whip weaving itself around the ankle of king Durin reminding us of Gandalf's fall in the Fellowship of the Ring, to the crown of Morgoth wounding Galadriel and taking her to the shadowrealms like Frodo with the Nazgul blade and the whole sequence of healing her just like Arwen did with Frodo, it really annoyed me to just see a third-rate ripoff of what made the Peter Jackson movies so enjoyable to watch. The whole show just lacks originality, insight and artistic direction.
Second this, you saved me typing all this :-) They really should have had Peter Jackson helm the series, if they’re going to keep doing these throw backs to his work anyway.
A theory I had floating around in my head was that Ciran Hinds is one of the blue wizards and he killed the other one at some point and that's why Gandalf is there to deal with it
I really hope so.. and due to that battle being severe... a valar will be sent to pick him up to heal him in Valinor and he comes back during the third age.. while remembering Norin... The tried to look for them and discovering the hobbits in shire...
Theory already kinda busted. If that was the case Tom would have known. Also remember it was Tom who provided the dark wizard with a staff so before that he would have "killed" the other istar with his hands lol 😂. I'm sorry but the show runners completely forgot that Saruman was once a good guy. Like they forgot the Balrog doesn't awaken until Durin 6 rules not Durin 1/2.
Erm you forgot to mention Arondir coming back without any consequence of being stabbed twice and being shown as falling. Its like they had different writers, directors, editors for the last 2 episodes
I was celebrating when the wizard, that sadly turns out to be Gandalf, was told by the dark wizard that he had convinced him to come to middle earth. My hope these two wizards are Alatar and Pallando was revived briefly just to be shattered again
this show reminds me of them old lord of the rings games. When they would make the maine protagonist a mix between two good guys. They would make a character that looks like Boromir and Aarogon and name him Aromir or Borigon. Lackluster creatively that’s totally dependent on nostalgia bait.
I was about halfway through the break down of ep. 5 before I realized that i was watching the wrong break down. but to be honest, the break down was better then the show
I had to pause the episode halfway through to check whether I was actually watching episode 9 since there are quite a few missing pieces (like Arondir being healed and the dark wizard being totally out of character).
Yeah. This finale was a bit of a let down compared to the rest of the season. I think it was mainly the whole Gandalf plotline. It just left a bad taste in my mouth with how it was executed.
Місяць тому
i didn't enjoyed at all. just wasted my no lifer time on this cr*ap
In regard to references, interpretations, and twists, I think we need to refrain from giving the writers too much credit. Their work on seasons 1 and 2 clearly demonstrates an inability to think outside the box. For example, the discussion of “pity” in the scene with the proto-hobbits and the dark wizard was simply ripped from Gandalf explaining to Frodo that it was pity that steadied Bilbo’s hand, and to not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. The writers did the exact same thing when they had Gandalf tell one of the proto-hobbits that when in doubt, always follow your nose. Based on the quality of the writing for season 1, I had trouble comprehending why so many viewers continued to believe that the writers had some intelligent and closely guarded twist when it came to “The Stranger’s” identity. It should have been clear that they’re just not bright enough to delve deep and craft anything other than obvious fan service. And quite frankly, it doesn’t matter how much money investors throw into future seasons - with writers like these, even visually stunning Balrog slow mo’s can’t begin to repair the damage they’ve caused.
I agree. In season 1 I kept thinking they were smart and that neither halbrand nor the stranger were Sauron and that Sauron had been annatar the whole time and already in eregion when Galadriel and Sauron got there. There was a line that said to Elron is ep1 season 1 that there was a meeting for elf lords only and I was hoping annatar was there and the mithril was being used as a trick and all that… then the reveal was just the most typical thing you could think of with memberries thrown in about how Galadriel could be a dark queen or whatever… then I thought they’ll make it up in season 2 but it just seems like they’re getting worse.
100% Despite all the other crap, what kills the show for me is the abhorrent writing. I've literally read better fanfiction on AO3 than the plot and dialogue of this show.
Simply because there are A LOT of people who watch fun movies and shows like this that lack ANY intuitive thinking. This show puts them in another world and they don’t question it for a moment. So when they see other people not liking it, it’s just crazy to them. And that’s kind of the average person.
Agree about the pity scene. Bilbo’s pity mattered because he both recognized the horror of Gollum’s condition and, more importantly, had him at his mercy and made a CHOICE not to kill him. Nori just…feels bad that the one bad guy killed the other bad guy? That’s not pity.
This show reminds me of someone who waited until the night before a book report was due to finish it. Read the cliff notes on the bus and then tried to write it during class.
When Adar turned good-looking and started talking about his old name, I thought they were about to full-on spit on Tolkein’s grave and make him Celeborn.
Probably never as he is coping with how horrendous this season was while also coming to grips that he can't be too negative, or he would lose access to interview the creators and cast. It's a delicate tight rope act with him.
I am totally with you that it would have made more sense for Galadriel to have been Celebrian rather than herself. Celeborn being totally missing keeps making it seem like they wanted Galadriel to be open to a relationship that she isn't in in canon. I was waiting for them to have made Adar Celeborn somehow right up until he got stabbed. Seems like the kind of thing the writers of the show would do. He's off on some hill yelling "Quit telling everyone I'm dead!" Galadriel: "Sometimes I can still hear his voice..."
One thing that bothered me about the Galadriel and Sauron confrontation... Sauron sees Nenya as Galadriel is just laying there and just leaves it? Trying to convince her to give it up, instead of just taking it. Makes zero sense. Now Sauron knows who keeps one of the 3 Rings. Is there canon to Sauron knowing who possesses the rings? This just rubbed me the wrong way.
My theory about this is that Sauron have more joy on controling people to do what he wants, so he wishes to Galadriel to give him the ring because that way he knows she is completely in his power, that's what manipulative people do, they don't go straight to take something from you, first they want to control you so you give in willingly.
In canon Sauron suspected but did not know for certain that Gil-galad and Galadriel had at least two of the Three. When Sauron returned in the Third Age (after Gil-galad's death), he likely suspected that Elrond and Galadriel possessed them or at least two of the Three. They were after all the only remaining "princes" among the Noldor (High Elves). Plus when he was at Dol Guldur he could not "see" into Lothlorien or his spies penetrate it similar to the Girdle of Melian so that would have furthered his suspicion about Galadriel possessing one. My only doubt is whether he would ever have suspected Cirdan possessing one and the Grey Havens as being a possible location for one. We do know that Saruman learned Cirdan had given Gandalf his ring, so it is possible that after Saruman's fall, Sauron learned from Saruman (either by Saruman intentionally passing on the info or by Sauron gleaming more from Saruman's mind via the palantir than Saruman intended or realized) that Gandalf possessed one of the Three. Of course, Saruman likely also knew (or deduced) Galadriel and Elrond possessed the other two. The only "proof" we have about what Sauron knows concerning possession of the Three is that Galadriel tells Frodo "he suspects, but he does not know - not yet." when he (Frodo) sees Nenya indicating that Sauron surmised she was likely a bear of one of the Three, but he is not 100% certain.
The show muddles this a bit, but the three Elven rings were made without Sauron's influence/corruption. Which makes sense since they have powers related to healing and light. Eventually these rings themselves protect huge regions of Elven lands from Sauron, physically. There's clearly power in these rings that prevents Sauron from possessing them, but the show could have explained that
Right before King During jumps towards the Balrog it showed his ring on the ground indicating he finally took it off and let it go and then he jumped through the opening. That's how they recovered it. It also shows that the Dwarves are more resilient than initially thought. It messed with him, but at the end of all things he casts it aside.
I do like the Aragorn-Elendil parallel. As it is said that Aragorn was more like Elendil than any before him. Why were the elves cheering loudly when they weren’t far away from Sauron and his orcs? On Numenor, I agree. They need a lot more fleshing out of the story. Is Earien starting her redemption arc? Especially when she discovers isildur is alive? Only good setup from this episode (maybe besides the botched founding of Rivendell) is the potential of Kemen being one of the nine. As he is in Middle earth and Sauron has his rings, while pharazon seems less interested in Kemen. Could be his way to seize power over the “low men”
I've never been more excited for a show in my life... but after 2 seasons of this I find myself involuntarily groaning throughout most of it. Not a great sign to say the least.
Please don’t ever leave us. I’ve never read any literature on this. What I know is what you’ve explained in your awesome YT shows. Watching this Ring of Power generates more questions and I hope they don’t cancel this-and complete the entire show.
I honestly think that they were scared of being canceled, so they had to wrap up all the stories just in case they don't have future seasons. That would explain all these inconsistencies and convenient time skips.
@8:50 I thought the "pity" dialogue was more in reference to Bilbo's pity towards Golem (mentioned in conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in the Mines of Moria. "Pity will not defeat Sauron." says the Dark Wizard, yet the pity Bilbo showed Golem eventually does lead to exactly that.
I hate Kemen almost as much as I hated Joffrey. I want to hate the actor as well, but he's absolutely nailing the role of being a piece of s*** !! Agreed @23:59 !
As much as i love lotr I'm not a lore expert, but while watching the sword scene I thought "Is that aragorn´s sword?" the shot of Elendil taking the sword made me understand that it is the same sword. I agree though, I love connections and call backs as long as they make sense
![The Complete History of the Rings of Power [COMPILATION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rsCaXGvMypM/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Complete History of the Rings of Power [COMPILATION]](/img/tr.png)
Check out my brand new interview with Charlie Vickers (Annatar/Sauron): ua-cam.com/video/B936iS1ayVc/v-deo.html
So cool you got to interview him. I will check that out after this video
I used to watch your old videos. So I know how much you truly dislike this treacherous show.
@NerdoftheRings How do you watch the episodes before they are available? Also would be nice to see your reaction when you watch it the first time 😊
@@johnmiltner9842 I say exactly how much I like/dislike things - including the things in this show. And I will continue to do so with my S2 review video when it comes out.
Cirdan wasn't in the last episode because he needs more time for his beard to grow back.🤣
Everyone: Yeah that guy is totally Gandalf...
(15 Episodes later)
Amazon: Surprise! It was actually Gandalf all along!
The “hints” were so in your face and obvious that I was convinced, surely this must be a red herring and we’ll get a surprise when this is someone else (hopefully a blue wizard). But no. I don’t know why they felt they needed to drag this out for the second season. They could’ve just told us in the final episode of the last series when he found his voice. But the second I saw Nourey with that branch I recognised it and knew what was coming. I’ll still enjoy seeing a Gandalf origin story but would’ve been nice to see the blues. Maybe we still will.
They forgot to put the cringe writing transition from "Stranger" to "Gandalf" similar to the end of season 1
Expectations were so subverted that they became overt. 😂
Wait, you thought that name reveal was supposed to be a surprise? It was a resolution.
I mean technically they said “Grand Elf” 😂😂😂
I chuckled I can’t lie, funny way of thinking how that name came to be but I can fully understand if people don’t like it lol
How was Arondir suddenly completely fine after being seriously injured last episode?
Yeah that had me confused af
Cured by Galadriel!
@@lordbarco8337 she's no where near and didn't have her ring.
@@c.krueger9530 in your opinion
Because this show expects you to forget what happened in previous episodes and apply any logic. Same thing happened with Isildur. Just shut up and consume product.
All of this show seemed sooooo underpopulated. like where are all the people. Every fight scene is like between 20 people.
I live near the filming locations, my friend was an extra in other productions but the pay wasn't good and the hours erratic so i was put off. Maybe I should have volunteered it would have been interesting and I need the cash. Sorry folks. My fault.
Agree
@@marieascot amazon not paying ppl enough shocking
The world feels so small. Remember Helm's Deep, when heaps of guys showed up every night to do night shoots in full body prosthetics and armour, IN THE RAIN, every night for months, and were still so passionate and fun that they invented new movements and shots for the directors? That's the difference between passion and "make product".
@@cosmicmuffin322 I live in the area it was filmed and could have done extras work I'd applied. The pay for extras is low. Do I really want to do it for love when it only enriches the evil Jess Bezos.
Recovering from Adar stabbing you is apparently super easy, barely an inconvenience
Oh really ?
Tis but a scratch!
Wow wow wow,,,,, wow
Didn't look he killed him anyway. He just wanted the ring
But god forbid you get hit by an arrow in the shoulder. That means you instantly drop dead
"You're a wizard Gandalf"
- Rubeus Bombadil
The staff chooses the wizard, Mr. Gandalf.
- Samwise Olivander
"AM I WHAT?"
@@monicad99 So does the name, Mr Grand-alf
This comment just made my whole evening. 😂
Lmao😂 How dare you make me laugh with this slander!!
AVADAKATIMBATUK!!! -Lerd Veldamurt, the Receiver...
The elves pump up shouting at the end felt out of character to me, or something culturally weird. Seemed a very mortal move when they’re always singing in the books and we just had the Tom song. I was really hoping they’d break into some soft Elven tune that would crescendo into a united resolve to keep going.
The elves are certainly off in TRoP in my opinion. I just don't see the characters being ethereal or graceful, they're rather 'normal' looking lol.
@@vanessaoliveira9587 It's not just out of line for Elves, but these are supposed be (led by) High Noldor Elves. Triple the grace shown by Silvan or Grey Elves, and definitely more than Arondir
@vanessaoliveira9587 elves in tolkien are not necessarily ethereal and graceful. They are immortal but also very messy, and some are very dodgy
The Gandalf reveal thing to me feels like somebody winding up a really predictable "knock knock" joke for 15 hours and then expecting everyone to laugh when the punchline comes. A wasted opportunity imo.
Best. Comment. Ever.
Considering how hard people were trying to ignore all the obvious signs I actually found the reveal hilarious. It shows wonderfully how confirmation bias works.
bit i find funny is Gandlf finding Radagast staff. You know the one he gave Gandlf in the Hobbit.
Saruman's next with that so called "Dark Wizard'
And if the show revealed the wizard to be someone other than gandolf and try to make their own lore, cancel culture would have said yeah the show is horrible because it is different than the books
Middle Earth population: 50 Elfs, 10 orcs, 20 Hobbits, 2 wizards, 60 dwarfs, 20 normal men, 40 Numenorians backing up the king and 20 backing up the queen. Sauron could have forged few more rings and controll all middle Earth
100% agree, the scale is insanely off with this show..... cant believe this is even a thing.. what a shitshow
With this population, Smaug from the Hobbit trilogy can wipe out the entire civilizations
And a partridge on a pear tree?
There literally were whole armies in episode 7. Are you blind?
Didn't feel like that when the Elrond and the Elves were charging at the Orcs last season on the battlefield. Orcs and dwarves are definitely well represented in terms of scale. They could do better with men and elves.
they killed off the best character in this show. RIP Adar. Hope I could know your elven name one day.
I think for the scene when Sauron changing forms, it would’ve been funnier if it was just Charlie Vickers dressed as Galadriel and Celebrimbor 😂
Don't give ideas to those clowns
and then Galadriel pulls out her magic ring and says: "Ridiculo"!
@@daarom3472 I would happily watch that
Just different wigs. I love it.
@@BattleDamageProps£1 wigs 😂
I’m still too cut up about the Hero of Mordor, Waldreg, being killed to mourn Glug but my thoughts and prayers to Glugs now fatherless child.
Lol love this
😂😂
@@Don9872 I enjoyed this season but this is a hero comment 🏆
I especially liked how Adar was stabbed 100 times but the daddy orc betrayal is what killed him.
F for Glug
He will me missed 🥺
Can we talk about how Arondir and Vorohil were really severely injured in episode 7 and were completely fine at the end???
@@Alcogod seems like it…
Charlie Vickers is a great casting for Sauron. Very difficult to nail grace and beauty, yet he has a fierce rage in in his stare, when angered. He really grew on me in S2
Tack on his southern charming Halbrand
There are several actors in the show that i think have dont rather well in the roles but he made it for me this season for sure.
Agreed. The way his face alone can tell you multiple things at once is talent. He had times where he emanated beauty and grandeur and other times where he just oozed evil and anger.
Charlie Vickers is the best part of this show
@@mgway4661i also liked when galadriel and sauron are projected
This show is 100% going to keep the Hobbits so they can do the “origin of the Shire”
@AmericanRollo they already hinted at that in one episode lmao
This whole arc was unnecessary
You mean the origin story no one asked for and no one wanted?
i thought we had just said goodbye to the hobbit storyline...can't really see their story existing without Gandalf
Zzzzzzzzz
@@m_is_for_mairon That’s my point, they need something to do and we already had the “vision of the Shire” in this season. Watch Nori end up Bilbo’s ancestor
My wild guess for how Sauron ends up in Numenor again is that our favorite boy Kemen will insist against the advice of the elves on bringing him to his father to "show his quality" and cause the utter distruction of his homeland.
To be honest, I think they are tracking the books pretty well there. Ar-Pharazon is building a fleet (and army) with Sauron in mind, and eventually - when all is looking lost for the elves in season 3 - the Numenoreans will show up in impressive enough force that Sauron's army pretty much runs away on the spot. Hence Plan B, work from within...
They totally botched the dwarven attack. I was waiting for the fighting dwarves the last few episodes. Then... 5 bolts and one dwarf in armor. They destroyed what could have been the best scene of the whole season.
Thats the story of the whole show. Scales are miniature and theres no feeling of something mighty and epic.
Correct! I also didn’t like how they literally had Gil-Galad, Elrond, and Arondir at their mercy (while Galadriel was fighting Sauron).
4 main characters, 3 of which you know can’t die yet, and 2 of which never die, are in mortal peril. The stakes aren’t real because it would make zero sense for them to die.
It’s annoying and lazy writing.
@@elijahking6766it's not lazy writing. It's just different from the books in some ways and you are angry because your inner child wanted to see things play out exactly how you imagined them.
@@kongspeaks4778it is lazy writing though. If they had bothered to put in any work at all the show wouldn’t be as crappy as it is. No one expected it to be perfect or have every single thing from the Simeralion. LOTR trilogy didn’t and yet everyone loves them. All we wanted was them to not break basic important lore like GANDALF NOT BEING IN MIDDLE EARTH YET. Not that difficult to follow lore. But no, they couldn’t do the littlest bit of research into Tolkien’s lore. It’s lazy.
@@kongspeaks4778 And your inner had the urge to defend that poorly written "adaptation".
So “Gandalf” went all that way to get a name and a new stick and we find out that Tom bombadil is actually Olivander from Harry Potter. Ok.
The wand chooses the wizard Mr grand elf 😂
Init, such a blatant theft of one of the most iconic lines in the harry potter series. Tolkien would be turning in his grave to think his literary marvel has been reduced to referencing the works of j.k
LOL I thought of Olivander too in that moment
ok thank god I’m not the only one whose eyes rolled back into my skull when Tom invoked Harry Potter lore
That's how Ollivander gets his wands - he sneaks into Middle Earth and collects all the staff-looking branches😅
The Dutch Angle observation was really well noted! Thanks for the quality videos, I enjoy them more than the show itself haha
hahahahahahahahahaha x)
Whhhyyyy would they gloss over the arrival of the Dwarven army, especially after wasting time and money on that pointless cavalry charge in episode 7? The Dwarves showing up to save the Elves in the nick of time could have been one of the best moments of the season. Someone in the writers’ room has their priorities completely back to front.
Yeah. The fact that there were more dwarfs defending the Eregion than Elfs was strange. We saw the walls filled with dwarfs while few episodes ago there were 3 elfs per km of walls
The city had to fall we saw how many Orcs came in you can imagine a peaceful place like that wouldn't be ready for attack they depended on their River, in the dwarves had enough screen time in the episode prior and this one
@@grisha9609 I also don't remember dwarfs in Tolkien lore using archery in battle.
you got your expectations subverted! GotYA!
i just watched The Ride of the Rohirrim scene to just get out of this trauma
It's a missed opportunity to choose Gandalf over one of the blue wizards, it would have given so many opportunities from a story perspective.. I'm disappointed, and I don't understand the decision
They think its cool fan service. That is why the other wizard will turn out to be saruman
@@barriebutsers4334 if the dark wizard turns out to be saruman I'm going to write an angry email to Jeff Bezos
Clearly they just wanna do the founding of the Shire story after 5 seasons of filler, so they chose Gandalf cause he loves hobbits in the LOTR trilogy. Out of all things they decide to go with concerning the lore they choose that. lol
What do you know about the blue Wizards exactly
At this point and since the first season it would be a TERRIBLE writing decision to have the stranger be a blue wizard
Annatar/Sauron and Celebrimbor were the best thing about season 2 from start to finish they were amazing! I loved that even Sauron shed tears for Celebrimbor at the end, i think he truly did admire him and, in his own twisted way saw him as a friend
This should have been season 1, Annatar charms the elves into making the rings. The fall of eregion and celebrimbor's death the 2nd season. 3rd season sauron goes to numenor and destroys it from within. 4th season, he starts spreading chaos throughout middle earth and chooses 9 men doomed to wear rings and eventually become wraiths. 5th season, the alliance of elves and men fight against the whole might of sauron, big battles, sauron is defeated, the end.
Someone tell him Sauron used Celebrimbor as a banner...
The characters' plot armor being the only explanation for why they survive LIFE-ENDING INJURIES is really getting on my nerves.
Elrond falls 100 feet off a waterfall? Completely fine. No explanation.
Narvi takes an AXE TO THE HEAD? Completely fine a few hours later. No explanation.
The one elf with Elrond who had the arrow in him? Completely fine at Rivindell. No explanation.
Arandir getting his abdomen sliced open? Completely fine. No explanation.
Galadriel also falls 100 feet off a cliff? Completely fine, no broken bones or blunt force trauma whatsoever. No explanation.
GAHHH
Infuriating!! At least three times an episode a named character is flung against a rock wall by some towering mythical creature and I'm just like "oh thei spine is crushed. Theyre totally dead." and then the character will just like shake it off.
It's like these show runners have seen action dialed up to ten in other, better works and included it without understanding why action at ten works or what it means. And as a consequence their action scenes dont work and they dont mean anything.
the only thing that could sorta make it up is elves healing powers and healing abilities. but... there are countless old and newer lore and scenes showing the completely reasonable limits of elven bodies
Yeah I figured the only reason Galadriel lives is because of her rings
Agreed! I would hope for better
@@Mighty_Atheismo To be fair, that happened in the PJ trilogy too. The cave troll encounter itself had what would be life ending or crippling injuries if the characters weren't the "good guys" and had plot armor.
And why would the dwarves ever dig again in this cave where the Balrog lives?
And why would the dwarves ever wear the dwarven rings after this fiasco?
That's how this show works, one step forward, two steps back.
And supposedly the dwarves will lock themselves inside the mountain, already knowing about a freaking Balrog there.
Why would anyone elect a fascist again... oh wait
Time erodes history and people forget
At the episode’s conclusion, they discuss other dwarves who claim Durin’s throne. Perhaps they don’t believe in the events surrounding the balrog and suspect that Durin Jr. orchestrated a ploy to seize the throne.
Dude you’ve got my respect. With what I’ve seen, you put full effort into not being toxic while also criticizing justly and in a calm manner. I’m a Star Wars fan and I’ve had to leave that fandom for multiple reasons about two years ago but I wish the Star Wars fandom was like you. I’ve been getting really into Tolkien since then and your channel helps a lot. Keep on doing your good work and have a great life.
Thanks so much for your kind words! As a Star Wars fan since I was about 4 years old, I know exactly what you mean! It’s wild and kind of sad what has become of most of SW discourse. Here’s to your continued journey through Middle-earth! I hope it can be a light as it has been for me! All the best
I left the Star Wars fandom way before the Acolyte. I left after Mandolorian season two because it felt like a good note to leave off on.
This show justifies gate keeping... Christopher Tolkien was a blessing...
Sadly, sometimes you need to voice your opinions loudly for them to be heard..
@@NerdoftheRings no, you're just a pandering clown selling your integrity for access.
So annoyed the stranger is Gandalf even though Gandalf is my fav character in lotr! Was reallllllyyyy hoping for both wizards to be blue wizards! Also thought there would have been a bit of a fight between them and see the stranger with his powers!
The moment the half lings found him it had to be Gandalf, the dumb part was all of this to show to take 2 seasons for it to be revealed.
Making them blue wizards would have taken even the slightest bit of research by the writers.
Same. It could have been so good, and they could have had total freedom to do whatever they want. They deserve every word of criticism.
@Zzues I guess the show don't have the rights for the blue wizards
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
So the balrog got woken up and literally just killed the king because he woke him up and then after that was like okay time for bed again…come on prime
@@zingo487 I missed the bit where he went back to bed? I’m sure the screen cut and we don’t know what happened other than a time jump at the end of the episode showing Durin talking about challenges to the crown soon to happen.
The act of durin senior may have sealed the mine, or done anything. The point is, WE DONT KNOW. I’m sure we will find out in season 3, but that’s the point. What if season 3 sees the dwarves engaging in the game of thrones while the balrog is attempting to come up from the pit.
Don't think it went to sleep. Maybe just caved in away or away. Mountain ranges are huge and where the king was digging may have been away from Dwarf settlement. Remember in the fellowship of the ring you when they went into the mines of Moria. There were Goblins living in the same mine as the one the Balrog resided in.
What seemed weirder to me was that what happened was never really addressed. No scenes of the dwarves scrambling to figure out what to do about the balrog(something they have no knowledge of), or even really a comment on what happened. We're told Durin is in mourning by another dwarf later, and Disa, at the very end of episode, just says something like "We have issues of our own", but then starts talking about royal challengers as the more important topic.
It didn't seem like the balrog was treated as a serious issue at all.
@@Gn3rd the episode had a 70 min air time. I’m happy they didn’t try ram the balrog story in its entirety in the finale and have held it back for the next season. They used the balrog to kill king durin to allow the story for the dwarves to move on. I’m sure your concerns will be address.
Or you can go online and tell PLOT HOOOOOLE. Whatever floats your boat.
@@DaveSmith-s6e I never said they needed to cram the entire balrog story into the episode, just that a pretty significant event was barely addressed in it.
But if you're fine with nonsensical character writing, more power to you.
So the dark wizard shows up to the village, gets mad, throws a bunch of rocks and leaves. Great writing
Do you know what was worse writing? Why are the elves with Elrond fighting against the orcs? They knew Adar was there for Sauron, not for the elves. So, the intelligent move would have been to evacuate the city and return later. Instead, they sacrifice everybody to defend a city they know is occupied by Sauron.
Also, your passionate enemy falls off a cliff holding a ring you so desire - but who cares about bouncing down the hill to finish her off and pick the ring up off the ground...
@@PLF... I initially thought that she fell off the cliff into a river and then would get lost with the river current taking her, so there would be no way to go after her at that moment, but no, she simply falls to the ground and is immobilized and defenseless. But it is a big fall. One way to make this fall worthwhile would be, for example, while she is falling, the shine of her hair catches the attention of Elrond, Gil-Galad and Arondir who run to protect her, then Sauron would not be able to face the three (with Gil-Galad with a ring and Elrond with Galadriel's one) and decides to leave. That would be more rational. But he gives up as soon as he sees her falling, too much effort to climb down a mountain to get the ring he needs to conquer Middle Earth. Someone with that laziness will have no chance of winning.
The main story arcs in Rings of Power have been improved quite a bit, but the script is missing that final revision to make things make a little more sense; just need a little more attention in the final revision of each episode script.
Or… Dark Wizard shows up to the village in search of Gandalf in an attempt have them join forces. Attempts to manipulate the unknowing Wizard by noting they are old friends.
Then, we allegiances are reveal, the Dark Wizard punishes the Stranger for his choice by harming his new friends.
Man, we got some real simpleton viewers watching this show.
I keep hearing the claim “they don’t have rights to the Silmarillion” but the show doesn’t follow the LOTR appendix either. What’s the point of this show if not to put the book to screen?
No arguments here.
It's because you're not a part of the show we need you so bad
@@brandonpollard8928 worst pickup line ever
It’s not important, what’s important it’s all the woke friends we make on the way 😁
Because the appendix is just that, an appendix. Not a narrative to adapt or anything close to it.
Erondir is like that employee didn't read the email firing him and just keep showing up to work
Arondir is easily a highlight of the show, but yeah unfortunately he doesn’t have an anchored storyline at this point 😅
@@elijahking6766yeah Arondir is one of my favourite characters in this show so far
Legolas wannabe
@@EntisSutisa He's clearly on Legolas' level, if not better.
Well, Arondir is not a High Elf who returned to Middle-earth like the others (Galadriel, Gil-galad, Celebrimbor et al.). As a presumed Wood Elf (born in Beleriand as he tells Theo in the show) he's never been to Valinor as far as we know, so he should feel somewhat out of place with the Lindon and Eregion elves. But he still shows reverence to his Elvish cousins and in particular to their High-King.
Adar in fully elven form was such an absolute look for an aged and experienced elven figure. I loved it so much.
Can you be a consultant on the show please!! You haven't been too harsh and optomistic but give great ideas about where to take the show to make it better
If he is too critical, how else will he get behind the scenes tours, parties and interviews?
@@GeeksmithingI can't tell if you're just upset he doesn't think like you, or if you're just jealous of the perks Matt gets to have. Eh, I think it's both, actually.
@@PseudoNym100and here you are, making salty comment because the commenter does not think like you :D quite ironic
There are times when show runners should consult the community and I think this is one of those opportunities.
The showrunners couldnt work with the advisors and they parted ways before season 1
So the dwarves would now be aware for another 3000 years that a Balrog lives right outside their doorstep and they wouldn’t care? Or did the Balrog just wake up from his sleep a little bit grumpy and then went back to sleep like nothing happened? Yeah it did look cool but it makes no sense unless they really want to change the timeline
3000 years is usually enough years to forget. Yes it's something that ca destroy Khazad dum but if Durin's brother takes over. We can just guess that he doesn't know about the Balrog
In this show a 1000 years are put in like one episode, so .... 😀
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
Which timeline? There's just a topsy-turvy space-time-continuum where everything can happen just when the writers want it to happen.
The timeline has been changed... in the same way a cadillac is "changed" into a block of metal after being crushed
You give way more thought to this than all of the writers put together.
The staff chooses the wizard Mr Gandalf!
The wand chooses the wizard, Mr Potter.
The car picks the driver, Sam Whitwicky
Hold the door, hold the door. Hodor
Grand elf, grand elf, Gandalf
😢
with great responsibility comes a great staff.
It really is so weird. Like the show was written by clueless people using ChatGpt
His staff looked so 3D printed, i wanted to laugh.
How did Arondir survive the stabbing ? How did galadriel survive the fall? Why the orcs suddenly change their loyalty even their invasion of eregion was a success?
The betrayal of the Orcs was very much forshadowed. The Show portrayes how the Orcs trust Adar less and less because of his decisions that led to alot of casualties.
I was fully convinced an eagle was going to catch galedrial
@@greenarchetype Id second that. It was very heavy implied in ep7
You're not supposed to ask those kinds of questions.
You are supposed to see Galadriel falling through some tree branches and that is the reason they give to surviving a 100 m fall.
Why didn't Sauron use his magic force flick power to take Galadriel's ring?
Why struggle fist fighting?
Why not stop her falling?
He's a powerful miar. Inches away. Use the same magic he's been using. Even after falling, she's very near. Easy reach.
Suddenly he doesn't consider the ring important?
Awful in many respects.
Why not fly the ring to Mordor?
@@CACOaugus1o Winged beasts, corruption by the ring.
@@CACOaugus1oway too visible and obvious
In Beren and Luthien, he wrestles with a talking dog before flying away as a vampire.
Doesn’t use magic as a “miar”.
The nitpicking is crazy
Why not kill Isildur in PJ Trilogy…ohh wait
Charlie Vickers carries this show.
If u pretend everything besides sauron is a different show it makes this emmy worthy
Nothing to carry but a big bag of shyte
Yes he’s very good
If anyone is interested wizards and warriors(sister channel of kings and generals) just made a 7 hour long video dedicated to the history of middle earth, so ya i f you're interested check it out.
Only If they change everything around him, the entire show.
They totally missed the opputinity to show some fighting skills of Gil-Galad ... again. He feels not like the legendary warrior he was in this shows. and it could have been done so easy this episode.
In the books Gil-galad is not even in Eregion. His time will come in the Battle of the Last Alliance. They actually gave us more than we get in the books :)
And Celebrimbor
@@__Sauron_ In the books Celebrimbor is _never_ described as a warrior.
@@anni.68 more than what we got in the books LOL you must not have read them
@@Kul-teginI can’t wait for his Ereinion Gigachad moment when he fights Sauron with Elendil
My favorite part is when gil galad screams "Dwarves!!" when the dwarves are coming. Absolutely brilliant, truly something we couldn't have seen with our own eyes 👏👏👏
Arondir's stabbing "...barely and inconvenience." Nice.
I don't actually think we're supposed to be "awww, nice orc with the family dies". I think Sauron stabbing Glug is more to contrast Sauron with Adar and make it clear that Adar, while harsh and cold, did care. Sauron however, don't give a f**k. That was what I got from that scene anyway :)
Same
@@Kul-tegin sauron was having a little moment after galadriel jumped, Glug decided to just walk up to sauron complaining about more uruks dying. you dont do that, you only speak when spoken to. that is why glug ended up with a sword in his chest.
@@Kul-teginTraitors dont deserve to live, Yesterday he betrayed sauron, today he aligned with sauron, tomorrow he may betray him again
@@Kul-teginbecause of the way Glug was talking to him. Sauron wants to be respected like a God not a commander of orcs and yeah him seeking out Sauron to betray Adar would make sense too but i also can't remember if Glug was one of the Orcs that killed him at the beginning of the season.
@@Kul-tegin Because he could.
About the sword draw,
I would not need the background to know that this man appreciates a fine blade. It is a treasure and he knows it!
The workmanship alone would claim that!
Now because of Sauron, hopefully the Orcs during the next siege they will be singing "Where there's a whip there's a way"
Made me laugh that the whip around the leg slipped off exactly the same way as before. You'd think a whip made of fire would have a little more gripping power, maybe?
Just a reference and I think it was cool
how many fire whips you seen in your life? you are not competent on this one for sure :)
@@Von715 yeh its an EASTER EGG. WOW AMAZING. REMEMBER THAT THING> THE THING FROM THE MOVIE!!. OMG HE DID THE THING!!! .. this is the problem with sequels and mainstream franchises. yall are fine with bad writing as long as they do "easter eggs" aka just reusing things we already saw.
Quite a few, go back to your cave, troll.
@@Von715 Good, I thought it was cheap and stupid. Just another Copy + Paste from the movies.
Am i the only one who feels the comment section is better than both the seasons
certainly more well conceived. haha
It seems there was an earlier different version of the show that was changed where there was a plot that involved Theo, Bronwyn and Arondir. The actress for Bronwyn quit the show, likely leading to rewrites to Arondir's character. They were setting up this whole Beren and Luthian story but now they need something else for Arondir to do, so they've had to get him from the Theo story to the Elves story. At least that's my theory anyway.
Maybe. At the end of the day, he is an eleven soldier, so it does make sense for him to join in their fighting.
As a fan of Arondir, I’m glad that he’s not just tied to Bronwyn and Theos arcs, but I do hope that he gets a new anchoring storyline (becoming a leading figure in the army, or heading secret missions, etc), rather than just popping up here and there when they need cool action shots.
How did he survive though 😅
So not only did Galadriel lead Sauron straight to Eregion and Celebrimbor, but now she's gifted him the Nine.
Everything is literally all Galadriels fault and yet in the end scene they still default to asking her what to do next as if she is supremely wise.
@@OliverLodgeMusic which is even funnier given she was mum on revealing Sauron's identity to them
That was the statue of Feanor they tore down, not Celebrimbor. Also good lord, the marvel quips are exhausting.
With a name like Glug, I expected him to get stabbed in the throat or drowned in a muddy puddle.
He left little glugg and wifey, May they cheerish the fallen hero❤
This show was either made by an A.I. app or it was made by people who used to watch movies and then do the book report in school rather than just reading the book.
NOT EVERYONE NEEDS A LOVE STORY FOR GOODNESS SAKE
Does anyone care for the love story between Poppy and the desert hobbit? Or isildur and the bandit chick? Or Elendil and the queen? For gods sake I don’t even care about Disa and Durin
@@Big_Cheese368 i hope Gandalf gets one next!
Lol seriously though, the elendil and Muriel one is only one worth depicting and deviating from the books for. It makes sense for both their characters and lends weight to the larger Numenor story. And damn those 2 actors are fiiine both in skill and looks
Definitely don’t care for Disa.. she’s annoying as hell
Let's not forget Galadriel and Halbrand, Mirdania and Annatar, and Elrond kissing Galadriel on the last episode and then putting on her ring on this episode like on some cheesy engagement home video.
The all-women's writing room and the women directors of this series are doing no better than your average soap opera from the 80s, except those shows were more engaging and entertaining.
@@janatman Mirdania isn't fair as a love story. That's not what that was. That was purely Sauron manipulating her. He had zero intentions with her except shoving her off the walls. The kiss between Galadriel and Elrond was a plot device to give her to pin she needed to free herself, nothing more.
@@brianmalkiewicz7120 You need to watch more soap operas because 1) Mirdania wasn't touching anyone else in the show like she was touching Annatar and 2) the swelling soundtrack during kiss-gate was telling a different story.
I think the "dark wizard" is going to somehow end up being Saruman. The actor playing him has a huge younger Christopher Lee vibe...
You should have shown Denethor's feasting video during the Grubhub promotion 🤣
🤣
Not the tomato! 🤣
That would have been 🔥
😂
Adar (for years): come my children, we must kill Sauron
Sauron (for 5 secs): wanna join me?
Orcs: lol yeah sure let’s gooo
😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 This is so pathetic
The implication being that Adar was starting to make bad decisions and losing and orcs not really being that smart
Emmmm, all along the previous episodes, you precisely see that lieutenant orc doubting/complaining/ needing reassurance. Adar needs to persuade them all the time, the orcs have agency. They don't trust Adar to lead them to peace anymore. Your comment is funny but of completely bad faith (or you didn't watch the show)
@@brandonden795adar was actually making rational decisions. Galadriel wasn't
wasn't there a conversation about how sauron enchants or enslaves them through magic? I seem to remember that being a thing in the earlier episodes but maybe I'm wrong.
Im gonna miss the Watch party and the Breakdowns for a while. Thanks Nerd of the Rings for hosting these.
Because a breakdown is needed…
because he is paid by amazon to make a breakdown and comment positively, plus trying to get us to subscribe to amazon prime.
@@KarlJayce bro he criticises the series aswell. This review is not biased.
Same I really love the way this channel makes a nice breakdown without effing and jeffing and disrespecting the cast from the new show unlike other UA-camr .
@@gabriellakristo8287yeah I hate people who only seem to see the bad in things and just hate rather than being constructive
I swear if the dark wizard turns out being Saruman I'll stop watching the series
i’m frankly hoping it will be him. it would be “perfect”.
In the movies Gandalf says he doesn’t remember the names of the blue wizards, which means it can’t be a blue wizard unless he is literally retarded and forgets the name of his first encounter of a wizard and his first enemy
nobody cares if you stop watching the show
@@jmelitojrno one cares about what you think. Your comment is equally redundant as OP... Just like mine
Well, if one it is Gandalf the other it certainly Saruman, they look like the same...
The Grand Elf to Gandalf was some major brain melt... they should of called him at the end Grey Wanderer ...
"should of" is major brain melt
Or the Gay Elf 😂😂
The actual etymology isn't really any better. Gand (wand) - elf. Elf with a wand (staff).
Where did he get Gandalf from Grand Elf from? How does elf become alf.
@@ElijahDawkins-yb1uc thats 10 times better :D were you joking? using ANCIENT language to describe a mystical character, or "big elf"
I heard a metal “clink” when Celebrimbor handed Annatar a piece of mithril, I think the *_One_* *_Ring_* *_IS_* already forged and Sauron has been wearing it, forged when Sauron went to Mt. Doom at the end of season 1.
Episode 8 was like going warp speed while episodes 1-7 was like driving a tractor. Seems like the last scenes were not earned.
Yup. It felt like they just threw a seasons worth of stuff into the last episode, instead of properly spreading it all out throughout the entire season.
The fact that the Balrog showed up, killed Durin, and then the dwarves were just like “anyway, who’s the next king?”…took me out.
They have rights to enough of Tolkiens material to make cohesive and logical changes. The writers are the problem.
Ehhh Episode 5 was also warp speed.
No you were just anxious you should see a counselor
I agree. The way they ended it, wrapping up a lot of threads, I strongly suspect they wanted to end it clean in case it's not renewed.
@@MichaelMerrittCT I wish that was the case but they were greenlit for 5 or so seasons from the start.
Grand-Elf ----》 Gandalf
Hold the door ---》 Hodor
i was giving this series the benefit of doubt on the condition that he wasnt gandalf but the blue wizards so now that it is gandalf it truly finally shows the full disregard of the source material and i think even the most positive like me now cant ignore it anymore
Totally agree. I withstood the haters for 2 years, but the Gandlaf reveal was the last straw for me. Now I hope it doesn't even get renewed. I am forever disappointed
Great! Now you can leave and never come back, you don't have to watch
@@dancingroni5621why so hateful?
@@dancingroni5621 that's exactly what will happen now. Considering 2/3 of people who started season1 didn't finish it, they can't really afford to bleed any more of the few viewers still hanging around.
@@dancingroni5621 i watched because i loved tolkien and genuilly liked the show and could forgive them for a lot of stuff other ppeople hate but the gadalf reveal doesnt make sense in any way or form sadly and it shows a lack of respect
This episode - but the whole season 2 throughout - is just filled with these annoying memberberries from the Peter Jackson movies that are just some easy, low-effort payoffs and are meant to trigger in the audience this feeling that "you see, it's just like those movies you liked so much !". From the Balrog's whip weaving itself around the ankle of king Durin reminding us of Gandalf's fall in the Fellowship of the Ring, to the crown of Morgoth wounding Galadriel and taking her to the shadowrealms like Frodo with the Nazgul blade and the whole sequence of healing her just like Arwen did with Frodo, it really annoyed me to just see a third-rate ripoff of what made the Peter Jackson movies so enjoyable to watch. The whole show just lacks originality, insight and artistic direction.
well said
My exact thoughts
Second this, you saved me typing all this :-) They really should have had Peter Jackson helm the series, if they’re going to keep doing these throw backs to his work anyway.
The Gandalf “reveal” made “I… am Steve” seem brilliant.
A theory I had floating around in my head was that Ciran Hinds is one of the blue wizards and he killed the other one at some point and that's why Gandalf is there to deal with it
Thats what I thought and I hope that's the case instead of him being Saruman
@@Alex-qj8si if he's Saruman then the original movies make no sense
I like this theory. Because we know very little of the blue wizards.
I really hope so.. and due to that battle being severe... a valar will be sent to pick him up to heal him in Valinor and he comes back during the third age.. while remembering Norin... The tried to look for them and discovering the hobbits in shire...
Theory already kinda busted. If that was the case Tom would have known. Also remember it was Tom who provided the dark wizard with a staff so before that he would have "killed" the other istar with his hands lol 😂. I'm sorry but the show runners completely forgot that Saruman was once a good guy. Like they forgot the Balrog doesn't awaken until Durin 6 rules not Durin 1/2.
27:09 The statue is Feanor, not Celebrimbor. You said so in your episode 6 breakdown
true, The statue is Feanor👍
Erm you forgot to mention Arondir coming back without any consequence of being stabbed twice and being shown as falling. Its like they had different writers, directors, editors for the last 2 episodes
I was celebrating when the wizard, that sadly turns out to be Gandalf, was told by the dark wizard that he had convinced him to come to middle earth. My hope these two wizards are Alatar and Pallando was revived briefly just to be shattered again
I will never not be disappointed about this.
They dropped the ball with this
this show reminds me of them old lord of the rings games. When they would make the maine protagonist a mix between two good guys. They would make a character that looks like Boromir and Aarogon and name him Aromir or Borigon. Lackluster creatively that’s totally dependent on nostalgia bait.
Thanks for all your hard work covering this season:) loved this season. Can’t wait for season 3!!!
0:31 sooo what your saying is this isn't Tolkein and if you want Tolkien you gotta read it... Yeah thats about right.
He said that the books are the best place to experience Middle Earth. There are some categories left between 'best' and 'nothing'.
Trying to get Tolkien out of this series is like trying to get blood drawn out of a rock...
I was about halfway through the break down of ep. 5 before I realized that i was watching the wrong break down. but to be honest, the break down was better then the show
I had to pause the episode halfway through to check whether I was actually watching episode 9 since there are quite a few missing pieces (like Arondir being healed and the dark wizard being totally out of character).
I actually didn’t enjoy this finale as much as some of the earlier episodes this season tbh.
Noted.... so tf what lol
It felt like they tried to cram too much into this episode
Yeah. This finale was a bit of a let down compared to the rest of the season. I think it was mainly the whole Gandalf plotline. It just left a bad taste in my mouth with how it was executed.
i didn't enjoyed at all. just wasted my no lifer time on this cr*ap
It did feel super rushed.
In regard to references, interpretations, and twists, I think we need to refrain from giving the writers too much credit. Their work on seasons 1 and 2 clearly demonstrates an inability to think outside the box. For example, the discussion of “pity” in the scene with the proto-hobbits and the dark wizard was simply ripped from Gandalf explaining to Frodo that it was pity that steadied Bilbo’s hand, and to not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. The writers did the exact same thing when they had Gandalf tell one of the proto-hobbits that when in doubt, always follow your nose. Based on the quality of the writing for season 1, I had trouble comprehending why so many viewers continued to believe that the writers had some intelligent and closely guarded twist when it came to “The Stranger’s” identity. It should have been clear that they’re just not bright enough to delve deep and craft anything other than obvious fan service. And quite frankly, it doesn’t matter how much money investors throw into future seasons - with writers like these, even visually stunning Balrog slow mo’s can’t begin to repair the damage they’ve caused.
I agree. In season 1 I kept thinking they were smart and that neither halbrand nor the stranger were Sauron and that Sauron had been annatar the whole time and already in eregion when Galadriel and Sauron got there. There was a line that said to Elron is ep1 season 1 that there was a meeting for elf lords only and I was hoping annatar was there and the mithril was being used as a trick and all that… then the reveal was just the most typical thing you could think of with memberries thrown in about how Galadriel could be a dark queen or whatever… then I thought they’ll make it up in season 2 but it just seems like they’re getting worse.
100%
Despite all the other crap, what kills the show for me is the abhorrent writing. I've literally read better fanfiction on AO3 than the plot and dialogue of this show.
Simply because there are A LOT of people who watch fun movies and shows like this that lack ANY intuitive thinking. This show puts them in another world and they don’t question it for a moment.
So when they see other people not liking it, it’s just crazy to them.
And that’s kind of the average person.
This reeks of the bean counters getting into the writing room too many times. The series is done for me, it's written for dimwits.
Agree about the pity scene. Bilbo’s pity mattered because he both recognized the horror of Gollum’s condition and, more importantly, had him at his mercy and made a CHOICE not to kill him. Nori just…feels bad that the one bad guy killed the other bad guy? That’s not pity.
They had so many oppurtunities to make it not Gandalf and they made it Gandalf ffs. They're a joke.
Sauron: There still could be smoochie-kisses...
Galadriel: There will be absolutely zero smoochie-kisses!
Sigh this season finale has made it super hard to defend this show.....
This show reminds me of someone who waited until the night before a book report was due to finish it. Read the cliff notes on the bus and then tried to write it during class.
Gandalf?!?! It shouldn it shouldn't be
Balrog "stop knocking im gonna kill you and go back to sleep again, I got morning shift"
especially since they woke him up and he was already hung over from a big night on the town
The show runners did say that it was “nearly impossible” for the dark wizard to be Saruman thankfully. But we’ll see
When Adar turned good-looking and started talking about his old name, I thought they were about to full-on spit on Tolkein’s grave and make him Celeborn.
LOL got that feeling too, it would be hilarious
Same lol
Oh, just wait until season 3 when we'll get the progression of a blasphemous love story between Galadriel & Elrond😖
This show was made by real life Melkor Cultists.
Hahahahahahaha wtf
@47:36 When is your season 2 review coming?
Also keen for the full s2 review...
Probably never as he is coping with how horrendous this season was while also coming to grips that he can't be too negative, or he would lose access to interview the creators and cast. It's a delicate tight rope act with him.
I am totally with you that it would have made more sense for Galadriel to have been Celebrian rather than herself. Celeborn being totally missing keeps making it seem like they wanted Galadriel to be open to a relationship that she isn't in in canon. I was waiting for them to have made Adar Celeborn somehow right up until he got stabbed. Seems like the kind of thing the writers of the show would do.
He's off on some hill yelling "Quit telling everyone I'm dead!"
Galadriel: "Sometimes I can still hear his voice..."
That "Durin said, then Durin was like" was hilarious😂
One thing that bothered me about the Galadriel and Sauron confrontation... Sauron sees Nenya as Galadriel is just laying there and just leaves it? Trying to convince her to give it up, instead of just taking it. Makes zero sense. Now Sauron knows who keeps one of the 3 Rings. Is there canon to Sauron knowing who possesses the rings? This just rubbed me the wrong way.
My theory about this is that Sauron have more joy on controling people to do what he wants, so he wishes to Galadriel to give him the ring because that way he knows she is completely in his power, that's what manipulative people do, they don't go straight to take something from you, first they want to control you so you give in willingly.
In canon Sauron suspected but did not know for certain that Gil-galad and Galadriel had at least two of the Three. When Sauron returned in the Third Age (after Gil-galad's death), he likely suspected that Elrond and Galadriel possessed them or at least two of the Three. They were after all the only remaining "princes" among the Noldor (High Elves). Plus when he was at Dol Guldur he could not "see" into Lothlorien or his spies penetrate it similar to the Girdle of Melian so that would have furthered his suspicion about Galadriel possessing one. My only doubt is whether he would ever have suspected Cirdan possessing one and the Grey Havens as being a possible location for one. We do know that Saruman learned Cirdan had given Gandalf his ring, so it is possible that after Saruman's fall, Sauron learned from Saruman (either by Saruman intentionally passing on the info or by Sauron gleaming more from Saruman's mind via the palantir than Saruman intended or realized) that Gandalf possessed one of the Three. Of course, Saruman likely also knew (or deduced) Galadriel and Elrond possessed the other two. The only "proof" we have about what Sauron knows concerning possession of the Three is that Galadriel tells Frodo "he suspects, but he does not know - not yet." when he (Frodo) sees Nenya indicating that Sauron surmised she was likely a bear of one of the Three, but he is not 100% certain.
The show muddles this a bit, but the three Elven rings were made without Sauron's influence/corruption. Which makes sense since they have powers related to healing and light. Eventually these rings themselves protect huge regions of Elven lands from Sauron, physically. There's clearly power in these rings that prevents Sauron from possessing them, but the show could have explained that
Right before King During jumps towards the Balrog it showed his ring on the ground indicating he finally took it off and let it go and then he jumped through the opening. That's how they recovered it. It also shows that the Dwarves are more resilient than initially thought. It messed with him, but at the end of all things he casts it aside.
I do like the Aragorn-Elendil parallel. As it is said that Aragorn was more like Elendil than any before him.
Why were the elves cheering loudly when they weren’t far away from Sauron and his orcs?
On Numenor, I agree. They need a lot more fleshing out of the story. Is Earien starting her redemption arc? Especially when she discovers isildur is alive?
Only good setup from this episode (maybe besides the botched founding of Rivendell) is the potential of Kemen being one of the nine. As he is in Middle earth and Sauron has his rings, while pharazon seems less interested in Kemen. Could be his way to seize power over the “low men”
Haha. I totally agree with your “mouth of Sauron” possibility
I've never been more excited for a show in my life... but after 2 seasons of this I find myself involuntarily groaning throughout most of it. Not a great sign to say the least.
Please don’t ever leave us. I’ve never read any literature on this. What I know is what you’ve explained in your awesome YT shows. Watching this Ring of Power generates more questions and I hope they don’t cancel this-and complete the entire show.
I honestly think that they were scared of being canceled, so they had to wrap up all the stories just in case they don't have future seasons. That would explain all these inconsistencies and convenient time skips.
I liked how the Dark Wizard said "Sauron cannot (or will not) be defeated by pity", because in the end this is exactly how Sauron is defeated.
Yes, I caught this as well. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many. Sauron included.
Well said! Didnt think about the connection untill now.👏
and also by betrayal as celebrimbor said. gollum betrayed frodo after swearing to serve the master of the precious
@@12321Pierre If you couldn't think about it , then its a pity considering everything the show did was to recount PJ movies.
Gollum was pushed, tho :)
@8:50 I thought the "pity" dialogue was more in reference to Bilbo's pity towards Golem (mentioned in conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in the Mines of Moria. "Pity will not defeat Sauron." says the Dark Wizard, yet the pity Bilbo showed Golem eventually does lead to exactly that.
The balrog wasn't even on Disa's list of "issues" they would have to deal with lmfao
Disa sang and the Balrog went deep into the caves of Khazad Dum to avoid her voice 😂😂
I hate Kemen almost as much as I hated Joffrey. I want to hate the actor as well, but he's absolutely nailing the role of being a piece of s*** !! Agreed @23:59 !
Sort of like Imelda Staunton as Umbridge in Harry Potter. It takes a good actor/actress to play a character that fans hate for all the right reasons!
I really appreciate your point of view on this show. Thanks for the all hard work!
I thought Adar was completely driven to kill Sauron. Why would he suddenly do a 180 and go chill out by a tree stump?
True, but it seemed to me he was overwhelmed by the effect of the ring on him.
As much as i love lotr I'm not a lore expert, but while watching the sword scene I thought "Is that aragorn´s sword?" the shot of Elendil taking the sword made me understand that it is the same sword. I agree though, I love connections and call backs as long as they make sense
I've found out that watching your breakdown video much more fun instead the show itself.
Looking forward for S3 breakdown video.