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***Official*** Amazon Rings of Power Thread (2 Viewers)

this would be much easier to watch if the director had ever heard of lights. You know, lights action camera. Not pitch black darkness in half the scenes. So hard to watch.
In their defense, a fair portion of the story is underground (dwarves) or in an indoor smithy (elves) or filmed at night (orcs) since most evil stuff shuns the sunlight. I get what you are saying, dark shows reek havoc on my TV, it's two characters and then just black behind them. I watch most everything on an iPad and it's much better visually.
 
I’m really enjoying the season and the Harfeet aren’t bothering me at all. Honestly, they really haven’t been involved that much this season. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
 
I sure hope this series is able to deliver on the opportunity they have been given. I always thought the Hobbit went low when they could have gone high, adding depth to the story where LoTR movies by necessity had to give up some depth. So far this season is really good, and I think they will need - and should take - another good 3 or 4 seasons to tell the story right.
 
I think they will need - and should take - another good 3 or 4 seasons to tell the story right.
But will they get a season 3 let alone 4?
You may recall that they lost a lot of viewers in season 1; wasn't the stat 37% didn't finish it?
It doesn't look like season 2 is doing even that well.
 
Took me a while to get caught up. It’s gotten better with each episode. I seen enough of the harfoots. But everything else is a solid story. And I have read pretty much everything tolkien. They are doing a good job telling of the deception in the forging of the rings. It’s not an easy story to bring to film.
 
I think they will need - and should take - another good 3 or 4 seasons to tell the story right.
But will they get a season 3 let alone 4?
You may recall that they lost a lot of viewers in season 1; wasn't the stat 37% didn't finish it?
It doesn't look like season 2 is doing even that well.
It's very difficult to separate the politics from reality on this stuff. Here's the same information but with a different spin:

Rings of Power Season 2 Viewership on the Rise

But if it's really a top 5 Prime series then I assume that means they're happy with it. Guess time will tell.
 
I think they will need - and should take - another good 3 or 4 seasons to tell the story right.
But will they get a season 3 let alone 4?
You may recall that they lost a lot of viewers in season 1; wasn't the stat 37% didn't finish it?
It doesn't look like season 2 is doing even that well.
It's very difficult to separate the politics from reality on this stuff. Here's the same information but with a different spin:

Rings of Power Season 2 Viewership on the Rise

But if it's really a top 5 Prime series then I assume that means they're happy with it. Guess time will tell.
Maybe. Season 1 cost 465 million to make and season 2 was even more. Smh. That's a lot of cheddar. That type of financial investment doesn't guarantee a season 3. I hope we have a season 3, but don't think it a lock..
 
Here's the same information but with a different spin:
Spin is the key word here. Frankly, I don't see where Variety has any reason to spin things. I don't think they have a dog in the fight. As far as I know, they're an entertainment industry rag. I suppose if you wanted to see a conspiracy, you could posit that they are anti Bezos, but Amazon isn't the first corporate entity to play in Hollywood.

If anything, I think the spin is coming from the Amazon side w/r/t the odd way the announced the numbers. Viewers of 11 days? Seems like a strange metric.
 
I think they will need - and should take - another good 3 or 4 seasons to tell the story right.
But will they get a season 3 let alone 4?
You may recall that they lost a lot of viewers in season 1; wasn't the stat 37% didn't finish it?
It doesn't look like season 2 is doing even that well.
It's very difficult to separate the politics from reality on this stuff. Here's the same information but with a different spin:

Rings of Power Season 2 Viewership on the Rise

But if it's really a top 5 Prime series then I assume that means they're happy with it. Guess time will tell.
Maybe. Season 1 cost 465 million to make and season 2 was even more. Smh. That's a lot of cheddar. That type of financial investment doesn't guarantee a season 3. I hope we have a season 3, but don't think it a lock..
Which is why every viewing service from cable to satellite to streaming is gonna double in cost in the next 2 years. These services are throwing a lot of $s at content. Whether it's sports or TV series. In the end we are paying for this content. Which I'm all aboard with if we liked the majority of the content. But in reality we are paying for a few things we like and a ton of stuff we don't care about. Like if someone doesn't like LOTR ROP but wants Amazon Prime Video to watch Reacher, they are stuck paying the bill for what it cost Amazon to produce LOTR ROP. I get it ... cancel the subscription if you don't like it. But I do wonder at what point every game and show becomes pay per view.
 
Here's the same information but with a different spin:
Spin is the key word here. Frankly, I don't see where Variety has any reason to spin things. I don't think they have a dog in the fight. As far as I know, they're an entertainment industry rag. I suppose if you wanted to see a conspiracy, you could posit that they are anti Bezos, but Amazon isn't the first corporate entity to play in Hollywood.

If anything, I think the spin is coming from the Amazon side w/r/t the odd way the announced the numbers. Viewers of 11 days? Seems like a strange metric.
Dude, we get it. You don’t like it and you don’t want it to do well.

Also, 11 days makes sense to me. Since a week in the US/Roman calendar is typically considered Sunday to Saturday, the show airing on Wednesday would mean 4 days plus the full first week, so 4+7=11. Doesn’t seem like a conspiracy to hide bad results to me.
 
S2E7 was what we've been waiting for. Excellent all the way around

I actually took notes: The orcs burning their dead and Ador shedding a tear
Arondir just being badass
"There is a dearth of elven heroes this night. It would be a shame to lose another."
Sauron's speech
Celebrimbor's speech, "light endures and it is mightier than strength. For in it's presence all darkness must flee."
The asian elf badass pin cusion
Sauron killing every elf
Killing the ****ing troll
Arondir & Sauron's dance
"Never make war in anger"
 
I prefer the story to the fighting scenes. I guess they are needed to take up minutes and to provide ... eh, I won't give anything away about will happen in Episode 8, But I assume most in this thread are LOTR nerds, and the story of the actual rings and their production is way more meaningful than all the arrows and swords.
 
I prefer the story to the fighting scenes. I guess they are needed to take up minutes and to provide ... eh, I won't give anything away about will happen in Episode 8, But I assume most in this thread are LOTR nerds, and the story of the actual rings and their production is way more meaningful than all the arrows and swords.
As a self proclaimed LOTR nerd I am here for all of it. The story is magnificently told (the LOTR not this fan fiction) but a part of it is the swordplay. It all weaves together nicely.
 
I prefer the story to the fighting scenes. I guess they are needed to take up minutes and to provide ... eh, I won't give anything away about will happen in Episode 8, But I assume most in this thread are LOTR nerds, and the story of the actual rings and their production is way more meaningful than all the arrows and swords.
As a self proclaimed LOTR nerd I am here for all of it. The story is magnificently told (the LOTR not this fan fiction) but a part of it is the swordplay. It all weaves together nicely.
Oh, I'm a LOTR nerd. I actually made it through the Silmarillion and Appendices a few times, which can be a tough read. That's a lot of the story being told here. There are battle scenes in movies that I like a lot. RoP doesn't do it for me, much like the Battle of the Five Armies didn't. Those in Return of the King were excellent. I think it's how well the battle ties to the plot, or if it's just a bunch of extras sloshing around in mud to eat up camera time. My biggest problem thus far is that the dwarves shouldn't have their rings yet. But it's nitpicking. The show is solid.
 
I prefer the story to the fighting scenes. I guess they are needed to take up minutes and to provide ... eh, I won't give anything away about will happen in Episode 8, But I assume most in this thread are LOTR nerds, and the story of the actual rings and their production is way more meaningful than all the arrows and swords.
As a self proclaimed LOTR nerd I am here for all of it. The story is magnificently told (the LOTR not this fan fiction) but a part of it is the swordplay. It all weaves together nicely.
Oh, I'm a LOTR nerd. I actually made it through the Silmarillion and Appendices a few times, which can be a tough read. That's a lot of the story being told here. There are battle scenes in movies that I like a lot. RoP doesn't do it for me, much like the Battle of the Five Armies didn't. Those in Return of the King were excellent. I think it's how well the battle ties to the plot, or if it's just a bunch of extras sloshing around in mud to eat up camera time. My biggest problem thus far is that the dwarves shouldn't have their rings yet. But it's nitpicking. The show is solid.
Ah, I see where you're coming from. I hated what they did to the Hobbit story with that stupid money grab trilogy. You're right, the battle scenes in RoP are just plot movers but I...well, I'll leave it there for now.
 
I prefer the story to the fighting scenes. I guess they are needed to take up minutes and to provide ... eh, I won't give anything away about will happen in Episode 8, But I assume most in this thread are LOTR nerds, and the story of the actual rings and their production is way more meaningful than all the arrows and swords.
As a self proclaimed LOTR nerd I am here for all of it. The story is magnificently told (the LOTR not this fan fiction) but a part of it is the swordplay. It all weaves together nicely.
Oh, I'm a LOTR nerd. I actually made it through the Silmarillion and Appendices a few times, which can be a tough read. That's a lot of the story being told here. There are battle scenes in movies that I like a lot. RoP doesn't do it for me, much like the Battle of the Five Armies didn't. Those in Return of the King were excellent. I think it's how well the battle ties to the plot, or if it's just a bunch of extras sloshing around in mud to eat up camera time. My biggest problem thus far is that the dwarves shouldn't have their rings yet. But it's nitpicking. The show is solid.
Ah, I see where you're coming from. I hated what they did to the Hobbit story with that stupid money grab trilogy. You're right, the battle scenes in RoP are just plot movers but I...well, I'll leave it there for now.
Battle of the five armies was such a letdown man
 
Just finished latest episode. Arguably the best one of the series for me. Well done. Not one Harfoot scene? Giddy up. That means the season 2 finale will be 65 minutes of Harfoot history. Ha ha
 
Well, that was an interesting wrap to the season. I'm gonna be vague here since I reckon most of the regulars haven't seen the finale yet.

There were some really cool visuals, some really good performances, and some really head-scratching logistics.

Overall, I thought this season was an improvement over S1.
 
Thought this season was very good, reviews seem pretty mixed though. Not perfect by any stretch but enjoying this quite a bit and like they way it's headed. Wish they'd have tossed a couple of $ from this production to the team making Wheel of Time, which looks like it was shot in someone's basement compared to the lavish budget ROP enjoys.
 
Satisfying end to the season. Not sure where its all going with the time mash up they are doing but I'm here for it.

Fun fact I learned last night, Sauron was in Eregion for 300 years working with Celebrimbor.
 
Yeah... This was a fun season and good tv watching.

Would have been more fun if we had made it a drinking game every time they said the name Kellybingbong. My liver would liquefied.
 
I domt agree with this article but its kinda funny. He does make some good points

He does. Logistics and continuity are not this series' strong points. He goes too hard on the snark, though, trying to be funny (it would be like me reviewing Billy Joel songs) and he falls into the trap many reviewers of this show do - he's too hung up on the source material. This is (really expensive) fan fiction. Best to let the "lore" go.
 
I domt agree with this article but its kinda funny. He does make some good points

He does. Logistics and continuity are not this series' strong points. He goes too hard on the snark, though, trying to be funny (it would be like me reviewing Billy Joel songs) and he falls into the trap many reviewers of this show do - he's too hung up on the source material. This is (really expensive) fan fiction. Best to let the "lore" go.
I prefer the term historical fiction to fan fiction.

I agree way too much trying to be funny in this article, and way too nit-picky as a result. He's stretching to find things to dislike. Especially after Season 2 paid off some of the things I thought were weak in Season 1, if nothing else Season 2 has earned the benefit of the doubt from me at least.
 
I domt agree with this article but its kinda funny. He does make some good points

He does. Logistics and continuity are not this series' strong points. He goes too hard on the snark, though, trying to be funny (it would be like me reviewing Billy Joel songs) and he falls into the trap many reviewers of this show do - he's too hung up on the source material. This is (really expensive) fan fiction. Best to let the "lore" go.
I prefer the term historical fiction to fan fiction.

I agree way too much trying to be funny in this article, and way too nit-picky as a result. He's stretching to find things to dislike. Especially after Season 2 paid off some of the things I thought were weak in Season 1, if nothing else Season 2 has earned the benefit of the doubt from me at least.

dont get me wrong, i really liked the show (esp season 2 over season 1) but i did find that article humerous
 
I prefer the term historical fiction to fan fiction.
Parse it how you want - it's fan fiction. That doesn't mean it's bad. It's what it is.
Yeah, it does make a difference in my mind. Fan fiction is an amateur undertaking. Historical fiction is a professional one (think Shogun or the Michener books for example).

Having said that, I am well aware how ridiculous this sounds but I don't mind sounding like a kook for considering Tolkien reality, at least to the point needed to consider RoP historical fiction lol
 
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I liked this season, but then again I’m a LoTR & Silmarillion nerd.

Enjoyed the Celebrimbor arc and the plotline with the Durins. Thought the actor that played Sauron did a good job with that character.

-Elrond and Galadriel kissing even if it was just sleight of hand to aid her escape
-Adar getting his grubby hands on Galadriel’s ring
 
Season 2 was much better than the first. Adar, Celebrimbor, Sauron, and Galadriel were all made great characters by superior acting. I'm not much on the guy playing Elrond, but I think that is because I can't get Hugh Weaving playing the part in LOTR out of my head more so that bad acting.

The plot was much better in Season 2. They took liberties with the timing of events. But it's hard to shrink a few hundred slow moving book years into 8 TV episodes.

If somehow they had gotten the Harfoots and Durin son of Durin's wife out of it, I would have liked it more. The shoddy character development of Gandalf wasn't worth dealing with the Harfoots.
 
Season 2 was much better than the first. Adar, Celebrimbor, Sauron, and Galadriel were all made great characters by superior acting. I'm not much on the guy playing Elrond, but I think that is because I can't get Hugh Weaving playing the part in LOTR out of my head more so that bad acting.

The plot was much better in Season 2. They took liberties with the timing of events. But it's hard to shrink a few hundred slow moving book years into 8 TV episodes.

If somehow they had gotten the Harfoots and Durin son of Durin's wife out of it, I would have liked it more. The shoddy character development of Gandalf wasn't worth dealing with the Harfoots.
I think we have a 50% hit rate :lol:

I thought both Durins and Disa were the heart of this season. Adar was a great show creation. The dude who played Celebrimbor nailed it. I am NOT a fan of the way they have written Galadriel.
 
Season 2 was much better than the first. Adar, Celebrimbor, Sauron, and Galadriel were all made great characters by superior acting. I'm not much on the guy playing Elrond, but I think that is because I can't get Hugh Weaving playing the part in LOTR out of my head more so that bad acting.

The plot was much better in Season 2. They took liberties with the timing of events. But it's hard to shrink a few hundred slow moving book years into 8 TV episodes.

If somehow they had gotten the Harfoots and Durin son of Durin's wife out of it, I would have liked it more. The shoddy character development of Gandalf wasn't worth dealing with the Harfoots.
The harfoots were the only part i didnt like. The stuff with Isildur was kinda boring. But the rest was solid
 
Greatly improved, really enjoyed it. Sad to see some characters go like the Adar guy who did a great job. Like the setups and you can see some of the narrative they are building for the next seasons (assuming they get them.) Are the Harfoots gone at this point going forward? Hard to see how they’ll bring them back in. All the Isildur stuff is still pretty weak and hard to see where its leading although having the Ents was a cool nod. Still loving the dwarves story the best (although I don’t like the sound of an invented brother to create conflict.) I think nearly all the actors do a great job with their roles. They did a good job of making us hate Ar-Pharazon and his slimy son so look forward to that developing more and more. Curious if we see a big specific event happen with them perhaps as the big climax at the end of season 3? Hoping Amazon sticks with the show, not matter what the trolls online say.


That article above is a prime example of everything wrong with toxic fandom these days, so much hyperbole and vitriol for clicks. So many people that ***** online about canon as if Tolkien didn’t massively contradict himself in his writings and often rewrite and revise/change things in his expanded mythology and his own notes. People that hold up the PJ trilogy (which as great as those films were) as if they didn’t also butcher important story elements and condense timelines (Frodo gets the ring and is in the Shire for 40 years before he leaves as a minor example, Faramir being tempted by the ring, Denethor being a pathetic nutjob, Elves at Helms Deep, adding all the romantic melodrama with Arwen, skipping the scouring of the Shire, etc. etc.) The movies would be probably be massively criticized if they came out today.
 
Greatly improved, really enjoyed it. Sad to see some characters go like the Adar guy who did a great job. Like the setups and you can see some of the narrative they are building for the next seasons (assuming they get them.) Are the Harfoots gone at this point going forward? Hard to see how they’ll bring them back in. All the Isildur stuff is still pretty weak and hard to see where its leading although having the Ents was a cool nod. Still loving the dwarves story the best (although I don’t like the sound of an invented brother to create conflict.) I think nearly all the actors do a great job with their roles. They did a good job of making us hate Ar-Pharazon and his slimy son so look forward to that developing more and more. Curious if we see a big specific event happen with them perhaps as the big climax at the end of season 3? Hoping Amazon sticks with the show, not matter what the trolls online say.


That article above is a prime example of everything wrong with toxic fandom these days, so much hyperbole and vitriol for clicks. So many people that ***** online about canon as if Tolkien didn’t massively contradict himself in his writings and often rewrite and revise/change things in his expanded mythology and his own notes. People that hold up the PJ trilogy (which as great as those films were) as if they didn’t also butcher important story elements and condense timelines (Frodo gets the ring and is in the Shire for 40 years before he leaves as a minor example, Faramir being tempted by the ring, Denethor being a pathetic nutjob, Elves at Helms Deep, adding all the romantic melodrama with Arwen, skipping the scouring of the Shire, etc. etc.) The movies would be probably be massively criticized if they came out today.
Jackson's films were massively criticized by a large segment of purists who, I guess, wanted a word-for-word scene-for-scene recreation of the books. It's just that those folks were drowned out by the rest of the public. I was on a bunch of Tolkien message boards at the time, and the hand-wringing was something to behold. When footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep leaked, I was sure the internet was going to implode :lol:

I think the show is pushing the Harfoots/Stoors towards Eriador (& thus, towards Bree/Shire). Some will lay behind in the Gladden Fields so Gollum can do his thing in 2,500 years. I reckon some of them will interact with the characters the show has established around Eregion/Imladris.

I'm with you on the Durin's-mysterious-brother thing. They don't need that to drum up extra drama.

For those so inclined, there's an almost 4 hour deep dive on the most recent episode (and series as a whole)
 
Greatly improved, really enjoyed it. Sad to see some characters go like the Adar guy who did a great job. Like the setups and you can see some of the narrative they are building for the next seasons (assuming they get them.) Are the Harfoots gone at this point going forward? Hard to see how they’ll bring them back in. All the Isildur stuff is still pretty weak and hard to see where its leading although having the Ents was a cool nod. Still loving the dwarves story the best (although I don’t like the sound of an invented brother to create conflict.) I think nearly all the actors do a great job with their roles. They did a good job of making us hate Ar-Pharazon and his slimy son so look forward to that developing more and more. Curious if we see a big specific event happen with them perhaps as the big climax at the end of season 3? Hoping Amazon sticks with the show, not matter what the trolls online say.


That article above is a prime example of everything wrong with toxic fandom these days, so much hyperbole and vitriol for clicks. So many people that ***** online about canon as if Tolkien didn’t massively contradict himself in his writings and often rewrite and revise/change things in his expanded mythology and his own notes. People that hold up the PJ trilogy (which as great as those films were) as if they didn’t also butcher important story elements and condense timelines (Frodo gets the ring and is in the Shire for 40 years before he leaves as a minor example, Faramir being tempted by the ring, Denethor being a pathetic nutjob, Elves at Helms Deep, adding all the romantic melodrama with Arwen, skipping the scouring of the Shire, etc. etc.) The movies would be probably be massively criticized if they came out today.
Jackson's films were massively criticized by a large segment of purists who, I guess, wanted a word-for-word scene-for-scene recreation of the books. It's just that those folks were drowned out by the rest of the public. I was on a bunch of Tolkien message boards at the time, and the hand-wringing was something to behold. When footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep leaked, I was sure the internet was going to implode :lol:

I think the show is pushing the Harfoots/Stoors towards Eriador (& thus, towards Bree/Shire). Some will lay behind in the Gladden Fields so Gollum can do his thing in 2,500 years. I reckon some of them will interact with the characters the show has established around Eregion/Imladris.

I'm with you on the Durin's-mysterious-brother thing. They don't need that to drum up extra drama.

For those so inclined, there's an almost 4 hour deep dive on the most recent episode (and series as a whole)

True, I know I had my fair share of complaints at the time even though overall I thought they were great. Famously Christopher Tolkien hated the PJ films, which is a big reason there hasn’t been more done with the mythology since then (Hobbit rights had been sold long before then.) But as you implied, the Public drowned it out, i think its the opposite environment these days were much of the Public is constantly negative and social media has amplified the negative voices immensely.

Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
 
Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
I hope Amazon rides it out, too. Wasn't the original plan for 5 seasons? They're almost half-way there, so may as well finish it (I say, spending Bezo's money).

It seems to me that some storylines (& character motives) are rushed while others are allowed to percolate more. Obviously, the Sauron/Celebrimbor was the A Plot this season and I thought the writers did a great job with them: motivations were clear for both and made story-sense. Same with the dwarves. Numenor has felt like the weak link to me for reasons I can't entirely explain.
 
Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
I hope Amazon rides it out, too. Wasn't the original plan for 5 seasons? They're almost half-way there, so may as well finish it (I say, spending Bezo's money).

It seems to me that some storylines (& character motives) are rushed while others are allowed to percolate more. Obviously, the Sauron/Celebrimbor was the A Plot this season and I thought the writers did a great job with them: motivations were clear for both and made story-sense. Same with the dwarves. Numenor has felt like the weak link to me for reasons I can't entirely explain.

Yep, 5 seasons. And they spent gobs of money outbidding lots of others for the rights. I know sunk cost and all but might as well stick with it IMO.

For me the hobbits and Gandalf origins have been the weak link outside of a few cool scenes, although the introduction of the dark wizard (if he’s a Blue, then where’s the other one?) has promise. I thought Numenor was much improved but very weak in the 1st season, Isildur’s adventures the loan exception. The Elves were much improved as well this season after being pretty boring in season 1.
 
Greatly improved, really enjoyed it. Sad to see some characters go like the Adar guy who did a great job. Like the setups and you can see some of the narrative they are building for the next seasons (assuming they get them.) Are the Harfoots gone at this point going forward? Hard to see how they’ll bring them back in. All the Isildur stuff is still pretty weak and hard to see where its leading although having the Ents was a cool nod. Still loving the dwarves story the best (although I don’t like the sound of an invented brother to create conflict.) I think nearly all the actors do a great job with their roles. They did a good job of making us hate Ar-Pharazon and his slimy son so look forward to that developing more and more. Curious if we see a big specific event happen with them perhaps as the big climax at the end of season 3? Hoping Amazon sticks with the show, not matter what the trolls online say.


That article above is a prime example of everything wrong with toxic fandom these days, so much hyperbole and vitriol for clicks. So many people that ***** online about canon as if Tolkien didn’t massively contradict himself in his writings and often rewrite and revise/change things in his expanded mythology and his own notes. People that hold up the PJ trilogy (which as great as those films were) as if they didn’t also butcher important story elements and condense timelines (Frodo gets the ring and is in the Shire for 40 years before he leaves as a minor example, Faramir being tempted by the ring, Denethor being a pathetic nutjob, Elves at Helms Deep, adding all the romantic melodrama with Arwen, skipping the scouring of the Shire, etc. etc.) The movies would be probably be massively criticized if they came out today.
Jackson's films were massively criticized by a large segment of purists who, I guess, wanted a word-for-word scene-for-scene recreation of the books. It's just that those folks were drowned out by the rest of the public. I was on a bunch of Tolkien message boards at the time, and the hand-wringing was something to behold. When footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep leaked, I was sure the internet was going to implode :lol:

I think the show is pushing the Harfoots/Stoors towards Eriador (& thus, towards Bree/Shire). Some will lay behind in the Gladden Fields so Gollum can do his thing in 2,500 years. I reckon some of them will interact with the characters the show has established around Eregion/Imladris.

I'm with you on the Durin's-mysterious-brother thing. They don't need that to drum up extra drama.

For those so inclined, there's an almost 4 hour deep dive on the most recent episode (and series as a whole)

True, I know I had my fair share of complaints at the time even though overall I thought they were great. Famously Christopher Tolkien hated the PJ films, which is a big reason there hasn’t been more done with the mythology since then (Hobbit rights had been sold long before then.) But as you implied, the Public drowned it out, i think its the opposite environment these days were much of the Public is constantly negative and social media has amplified the negative voices immensely.

Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
I think Social Media is a big part of it. When I went to see LoTR trilogy, there was none of that so they only thing you could do was watch it and be entertained or not. No one else to feed you all the issues and why it was bad or not 100% true to the books.

Now, people have an opinion before ever seeing anything and are already riled up. Unfortunately, that’s today on just about every topic.
 
Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
I hope Amazon rides it out, too. Wasn't the original plan for 5 seasons? They're almost half-way there, so may as well finish it (I say, spending Bezo's money).

It seems to me that some storylines (& character motives) are rushed while others are allowed to percolate more. Obviously, the Sauron/Celebrimbor was the A Plot this season and I thought the writers did a great job with them: motivations were clear for both and made story-sense. Same with the dwarves. Numenor has felt like the weak link to me for reasons I can't entirely explain.

Yep, 5 seasons. And they spent gobs of money outbidding lots of others for the rights. I know sunk cost and all but might as well stick with it IMO.

For me the hobbits and Gandalf origins have been the weak link outside of a few cool scenes, although the introduction of the dark wizard (if he’s a Blue, then where’s the other one?) has promise. I thought Numenor was much improved but very weak in the 1st season, Isildur’s adventures the loan exception. The Elves were much improved as well this season after being pretty boring in season 1.
I think it's Elendil's daughter who bugs me about Numenor. I like the queen and I like Pharazon. Elendil's ok. Isildur's been a big bag of "meh" so far, but his time is coming and we'll see.

Agree on Gandalf/Hobbits. I liked them better in S1. My initial thought was that the dark wizard was Saruman, but I'm less sure now.

I can't warm to Gil-Galad. I don't know if it's the actor or the way he's written, but I just find myself not caring.
 
Fingers crossed this show keeps getting the support from Amazon, they seemed to take a lot of the criticisms of the first season to heart to improve this season. So hopefully even more improvement assuming there is a season 3.
I hope Amazon rides it out, too. Wasn't the original plan for 5 seasons? They're almost half-way there, so may as well finish it (I say, spending Bezo's money).

It seems to me that some storylines (& character motives) are rushed while others are allowed to percolate more. Obviously, the Sauron/Celebrimbor was the A Plot this season and I thought the writers did a great job with them: motivations were clear for both and made story-sense. Same with the dwarves. Numenor has felt like the weak link to me for reasons I can't entirely explain.

Yep, 5 seasons. And they spent gobs of money outbidding lots of others for the rights. I know sunk cost and all but might as well stick with it IMO.

For me the hobbits and Gandalf origins have been the weak link outside of a few cool scenes, although the introduction of the dark wizard (if he’s a Blue, then where’s the other one?) has promise. I thought Numenor was much improved but very weak in the 1st season, Isildur’s adventures the loan exception. The Elves were much improved as well this season after being pretty boring in season 1.
I think I know why Numenor is unsatisfying. We haven’t seen any real pay off yet. I’m assuming the end of the Amazon show will be Isildur’s ending, so it’s important to bring him into the story now, but it’s just building up his character and story. Based what happens to Numenor, it will be interesting to see how it all happens* but I assume it will be a bigger part and more satisfying.

* I haven’t read all the books but I do like reading some of the history of characters and I’m sure the purists will not like how this happens but I think there will have to be some serious liberties taken just to make it not look goofy to non Tolkien buffs.
 
I think I know why Numenor is unsatisfying. We haven’t seen any real pay off yet.
It's not even that for me, though I could see others having issues. I expected that to be a slow-burn and don't mind it as long as the characters are well written/acted.
 
I think I know why Numenor is unsatisfying. We haven’t seen any real pay off yet.
It's not even that for me, though I could see others having issues. I expected that to be a slow-burn and don't mind it as long as the characters are well written/acted.
The son (of bad guy) and daughter (of good guy) pair are the weakest two actors in the show. It doesn’t help that the guards/army just take order from whoever gets chosen by an animal and there’s no army leader to even ask why. The son reminds me of every 80s movie dickhead rich kid that you know will lose and the daughter is just plain stupid always screwing over her family for the son who’s a d-bag. I think if the son didn’t have the entitled d-bag vibe and she wasn’t so dumb, Numenor would have been better. I know you can’t insert Sauron as a bad advisor right now but a bad guy advising him and pushing his son would have made it a bit better.

Also, the paragraph above wasn’t as much of a dig on the show but thoughts on why Numenor (post Galadriel/Halbrand) has been my least favorite as well. Really enjoyed all of season 2, but if I had to pick the worst part, that’s it. Queen surviving and getting “spit” out was fun.

I didn’t know all the backstory/fates of the Numenor crew yet so honestly, I was expecting that tidal wave the queen saw to happen as well. I get why it won’t yet but I look forward to it.
 

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