The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime)

[FireGilbert]

The CGI on that troll was amazing!

[bdubbs]

Agreed completely. This season has been incredible. The last few episodes topped the bunch but I've loved every episode thus far.

Can't wait for the finale.

[Finger Cookin]

When in doubt, give 'em something to punch.

[BigThief]

So glad I stuck with this show ; the opening scenes of tonights episode was unreal.

[Sr. Mints]

I could totally have gone for a few more episodes this season.

The opening scene with the Balrog and Durin was epic. That's got to be among the highest quality effects work in TV I've ever seen.

It seems the wonky CGI surrounding Adar at the end of episode 7 was intentional. His scene in the finale was really well done: taking off the ring of his own accord and offering it back to Galadriel showed strength of character. Then, well...

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Couple eyebrow raising scenes for me but overall very engaging and much more than I expected at the outset.

Middle earth is fun again!

[BigThief]

Sure a couple sends or moments, the closing one with the Elves was but fancy Elves are cringe anyway.

Adar

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

The hurrah moment with the surviving elves was definitely cringe but we can't be too hard on them given that PJ'S movies had its own share of those, like the bed reunion scene among countless others.

I've really enjoyed the action sequences. I think it's been one of the strengths of the show.

[Finger Cookin]

A Tolkien nerd at the office told me five seasons are planned for this show. Should be interesting to see how the rest of it unfolds.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

How many steps/events left until the forging of the one ring at mount Doom? Do the appendices cover all of this?

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

How many steps/events left until the forging of the one ring at mount Doom? Do the appendices cover all of this?

In the lore, it's actually supposed to be forged before the attack on Eregion. But the series is delaying it, since that helps:


1) Enable the Elven Rings to be used for much longer
2) Make Sauron less weak since he loses in battle even with it on
3) Possibly avoid the question on how he got it back to the mainland after the fall of Numenor

[dammage79]

Yeah, the war in Kaza-Duhn is still to come, the fall of Numenor, the establishing of Gondor, the turning of the 9, Gandalf meeting the elves and getting the 3rd elven ring, dol guldur, Saruman setting up shop. Tons of meat left in the 2nd age to weave around in and make 5 seasons.

[blankall]

Like the last episode. A few nitpicks though:

1. Did not like how they turned the entire orc force off screen. I get that they wanted to make them turning on Adar a surprise (it wasn't). This seemed like a huge thing to not show. They had spent so much time personifying the orcs...then all of a sudden, they are just mindless workers for Sauron?

2. Gandalf's name.....just stupid. A grand elf...then he goes Gandalf....that kind of sounds like Grand Elf, i guess? If you just randomly choose not to pronounce letters and pronounce elf like a moron.

3. The elven warriors defending that city really sucked. The elves are supposed to have near superhuman fighting abilities. Apparently a single arrow from an orc is all it takes to take down elite armoured elven guards? How are these orcs even hitting these arrow blows against supposedly the best archers in their universe.

4. Galandriel fell off a huge cliff. Didn't have any real injuries from the cliff falling, the stab wound from the helmet was the only concern. It was a huge cliff.

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by blankall

Like the last episode. A few nitpicks though:


3. The elven warriors defending that city really sucked. The elves are supposed to have near superhuman fighting abilities. Apparently a single arrow from an orc is all it takes to take down elite armoured elven guards? How are these orcs even hitting these arrow blows against supposedly the best archers in their universe.

I chuckled a bit at how pathetic the Eregion elves handled themselves toward the end. The way the elves have been portrayed in the show has bugged me at times throughout the series.

I've always envisioned, elves as nearly flawless, wise, and powerful beings with centuries of experience. Yet, in RoP, they come off as naive, disorganized, and surprisingly vulnerable. Instead of embodying the legendary strength and resilience we've seen in other depictions, they seem to be constantly on the back foot, making poor decisions and failing to rise to their own standards.

It feels like a missed opportunity to showcase the grandeur and competence that should define the elven race.

[bdubbs]

Not only that... one of their jewel cities in Middle Earth and they barely had enough elves to fill the ramparts? How is it that they've got massive siege walls and nobody to man them?

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Yeah, the war in Kaza-Duhn is still to come, the fall of Numenor, the establishing of Gondor, the turning of the 9, Gandalf meeting the elves and getting the 3rd elven ring, dol guldur, Saruman setting up shop. Tons of meat left in the 2nd age to weave around in and make 5 seasons.

Spoiler for theory and source material reference.

Spoiler!

Gandalf might not get the elven ring. He could "die" and then get sent back in the 3rd age as per the source material. The same thing could happen to the dark wizard. I'm thinking Gandalf's main arch is going to be to lead the hobbits to their promised land (the Shire).

My understanding of the licensing agreement is they are permitted to fill in, but not contradict Tolkien. Obviously they are compressing time and some things are out of order, but the big events are still happening as per the source material. So maybe Gandalf was still sent in the 3rd age to help in the fight against Sauron, but that doesn't mean he wasn't also sent in the 2nd age.

I'm guessing the 5th season will end with Isildur picking up his fathers sword, cutting off Sauron's hand, Elrond taking him to mount doom to destroy it only for him to get corrupted by the ring.

I'm enjoying the show, but it is a little less fun when you know where things are going to end up.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

Spoiler for theory and source material reference.

Spoiler!

Gandalf might not get the elven ring. He could "die" and then get sent back in the 3rd age as per the source material. The same thing could happen to the dark wizard. I'm thinking Gandalf's main arch is going to be to lead the hobbits to their promised land (the Shire).

My understanding of the licensing agreement is they are permitted to fill in, but not contradict Tolkien. Obviously they are compressing time and some things are out of order, but the big events are still happening as per the source material. So maybe Gandalf was still sent in the 3rd age to help in the fight against Sauron, but that doesn't mean he wasn't also sent in the 2nd age.

I'm guessing the 5th season will end with Isildur picking up his fathers sword, cutting off Sauron's hand, Elrond taking him to mount doom to destroy it only for him to get corrupted by the ring.

I'm enjoying the show, but it is a little less fun when you know where things are going to end up.

Wouldn't mind the final scene of the show involving the ring falling into the river where Gollum finds it (Gollum's cousin anyways).

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

Spoiler for theory and source material reference.

Spoiler!

Gandalf might not get the elven ring. He could "die" and then get sent back in the 3rd age as per the source material. The same thing could happen to the dark wizard. I'm thinking Gandalf's main arch is going to be to lead the hobbits to their promised land (the Shire).

My understanding of the licensing agreement is they are permitted to fill in, but not contradict Tolkien. Obviously they are compressing time and some things are out of order, but the big events are still happening as per the source material. So maybe Gandalf was still sent in the 3rd age to help in the fight against Sauron, but that doesn't mean he wasn't also sent in the 2nd age.

I'm guessing the 5th season will end with Isildur picking up his fathers sword, cutting off Sauron's hand, Elrond taking him to mount doom to destroy it only for him to get corrupted by the ring.

I'm enjoying the show, but it is a little less fun when you know where things are going to end up.

Yeah, I've had the same theory about Gandalf.

Spoiler!

A detail I think is really interesting is that in the lore, when the Istari are dispatched to deal with Sauron, Gandalf afraid of facing Sauron. Having Gandalf encounter Sauron before and finding himself outmatched would be a wonderful setup for that, especially if what Gandalf comes to learn is that it is not great power that fights evil but -- as he says in lotr -- the kind, everyday deeds of ordinary people. I would love if we got a denouement of the series that has the Istari being dispatched to middle earth again in the third age, and Cirdan giving Gandalf his ring.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

Spoiler for theory and source material reference.

I'm enjoying the show, but it is a little less fun when you know where things are going to end up.

Bilbo destroys the one ring.

[Strange Brew]

Finished S2 and I found it to be quite a slog. Some of the storylines just kind of sit there, with no dramatic tension or compelling narrative to them. Like the Numenor stuff, couldn't figure out why I should care.

Part of the problem is acting. Sauron is great but much of the acting is not good or miscast. Galadriel is the biggest offender.

The dwarves are interesting, the Sauron angle was good. Everything else just meanders.

The whole Gandalf thing is weak. Through two seasons, his character arc is just him stumbling along looking confused.

The show seems to exist to fill in the Tolkien lore. If you don't live and breathe that stuff, it's very hard to care about much of what happens.