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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season 1

FunkMiller

Gold Member
“It’s another Tolkien thing where when a shadow spreads — which is part of what is happening in our show — it affects everyone’s relationships,” Payne says. “Even Frodo and Sam. They’re the best friends in all of Middle-earth, yet they started to mistrust each other because that’s a manifestation of that shadow

No. It's the ring.

You know lads, the fucking thing you haven't made yet in your TV show.
 
are the last two episodes airing tomorrow?

edit: i bothered to check. no they aren't. i thought i saw someone say they were. aw well
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
Go to any hobby shop and it’s still 90% white dudes. That’s the primary audience that cares about and consumes this stuff, no matter how hard companies try to repurpose it to appeal to other groups.
Guess it depends where you look. In my experience stuff like boardgaming has a sizable female fan base, still mostly white though. The "lifestyle games" though, that require significant investment like Warhammer and probably Magic seem to remain limited though. I'd be curious who buys DnD books because they are definitely trying to hit every demo possible.

It's the TV or film stuff that has really blown big, maybe vidja games.
 

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
That's what they're talking about. They've misinterpreted the ring's corrupting effect on Frodo for distrust between the two characters, due to the looming shadow of Sauron.
Pretty much. And thats how we know we're been dealt professional writers of the highest degree..

This show is utter tosh. If I was Jeff bezos i'd be suing the arse off these pretenders or seriously rolling some heads..

Actually, where the fuck was he during all this? Does he just not give a shit? And if so, why bother in the first place :messenger_neutral:
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
It blows my mind that there are any men who still watch these shows. I can kind of understand women, because as bad as it is, it strokes their egos to ridiculous and unrealistic degrees. But men? Where's your self-respect?
Let's not get misogynistic here with "I can kind of understand women". A large parts of the audience watching now are:
  • People who don't care much for LotR but they are vaguely familiar with it and want a nice fantasy flick + they have Prime shipping, Prime Video is free so why not?
  • People that hate the show but will still watch it just so that they can complain about it each week
My wife is in the first category, I bailed out after episode 5 and don't plan going back, so while she watches I can do something else.
 

Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
“It’s another Tolkien thing where when a shadow spreads — which is part of what is happening in our show — it affects everyone’s relationships,” Payne says. “Even Frodo and Sam. They’re the best friends in all of Middle-earth, yet they started to mistrust each other because that’s a manifestation of that shadow

I … don’t even know what to say anymore. These fuckers are speaking like they’ve never read the books.
 
Let's not get misogynistic here with "I can kind of understand women". A large parts of the audience watching now are:
  • People who don't care much for LotR but they are vaguely familiar with it and want a nice fantasy flick + they have Prime shipping, Prime Video is free so why not?
  • People that hate the show but will still watch it just so that they can complain about it each week
My wife is in the first category, I bailed out after episode 5 and don't plan going back, so while she watches I can do something else.

Oh lordy, it's not misogynistic to suggest women might like to see their ego stroked by shitty writing. That's how this nonsense gets written in the first place. Of course, many women see through this bs too, and great for them.
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
Oh lordy, it's not misogynistic to suggest women might like to see their ego stroked by shitty writing.
Well, considering the whole comic book fil adaptations are literally male power phantasies with paper-thin characters....

I don't think this was made at all to appear to women, I think much likely explanation is shit writing due to try to make it appeal to as broad public as possible, so you cannot really be too nerdy.

You show nice island
You show nice ship
Characters speak a few seconds, but not too long, otherwise the audience will get bored
BOOM
Horse charge
BOOM
End credits

I think Tolkien deserved better because it that's the MO just make another generic fantasy TV series, but I understand why Bezos would pay millions just to attach LotR name to a project. It's buying your audience since as it shows the show is not good.
 
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Well, considering the whole comic book fil adaptations are literally male power phantasies with paper-thin characters....

I don't think this was made at all to appear to women, I think much likely explanation is shit writing due to try to make it appeal to as broad public as possible, so you cannot really be too nerdy.

What point are you even making? I never suggested that some men would not also like to see their ego stroked by shitty writing. It seems you just assumed that because I dared criticise women in this context. Why are you fighting completely unnecessary battles for other people?

Also, if you don't see the laughable attempts at girl power and feminism in this show, I don't know what to tell you. It was quite clearly laid out in the video I replied to in the first place.
 

Alex11

Member
Well, Elden Ring did the same, the Elden Ring is not actually a physical ring in the game... 👀
Well yeah, but I kind of expected that from From, here I was actually really excited for the interactions of Sauron and the elves and all that drama. Anyways, it's not like I wanted to see an actual ring in the first episode.
 

Fbh

Member
So is this for real, like real real? Do they really delete reviews?

I don't know about deleting but they disabled user reviews for the show on Amazon using the same logic as Ghostbusters 2016: "Our movie/show is perfect and anyone who doesn't like it is racist and/or sexist".
 
Rings Of Power with no actual rings, I think it's some sort of trick you know, kind of like subverting the expectations.
it's season 1 and if you had bothered watching/paying attention to the show you can see they are setting it up to create the rings the with forge celebrimbor is building and first mentioned in the first episode or two. they also seem to be hinting that mithril (which Durin discovered) will be what they use to make the rings.

it could all tie together in that the elves need mithril to stay in middle earth and then sauron, being a skilled craftsman, will offer to give celebrimbor knowledge on how to create the rings and then he deceives them.
 
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Alex11

Member
it's season 1 and if you had bothered watching/paying attention to the show you can see they are setting it up to create the rings the with forge celebrimbor is building and first mentioned in the first episode or two. they also seem to be hinting that mithril (which Durin discovered) will be what they use to make the rings.

it could all tie together in that the elves need mithril to stay in middle earth and then sauron, being a skilled craftsman, will offer to give celebrimbor knowledge on how to create the rings and then he deceives them.
Listen don't condescend me, I didn't just wake up from a coma and the first thing on my mind was typing in the first show thread I see.

I know what they showed us, I know where the story is supposed to go, I know movie titles aren't always literal. It wasn't a heavy critique of the show, is more of a lighthearted semi-joke on what someone else said.
 

PhaseJump

Banned
So how annoying is Galadriel in this? Show full on girl power with males mostly incompetent, weak buffoons?

Sure. Annoying isn't the word.

She doesn't listen to anybody, acts like a dickhead to everybody, and flips out just short of stomping her feet until she gets her way. In between this immeasurable depth of horrible melodrama, she is given superfluous nonsense dialog during the quieter scenes, to offer up a sense of her having a shred of fortune cookie wisdom, being an elf that is thousands of years old.

It's like watching a bitchy teenager that thinks they know everything, acting insufferable, flipping out and making demands to be taken seriously while the rest of the characters just fuck around and waste time being irrelevant and snarky, until Elf-tard needs them to take her shit, show off her natural superiority to them, or quickly drive the ridiculous plot forward from slow and meandering time-waster, into a rushed new change of setting or scenery.

Each episode of this show is fucking retarded. Tolkien would disown his family if he was alive to see this shit.

I only watch this show because it's such a disgraceful and terrible piece of shit. A monumental earth shattering event in television/streaming, just knowing the production costs and what is being delivered here is making the whole thing hilarious. It is horrible. It should be pulled apart in film schools, writing schools, even business schools for years to come, if there is sanity left in this world and the series flops out of existence as a write off.
 
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BaneIsPain

Member
I … don’t even know what to say anymore. These fuckers are speaking like they’ve never read the books.
They're a liar, as usual. I mean, look at how they butchered Numenoreans.
I still remember this interview.
x8Un8WJ.jpg
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
A couple of interesting tidbits from this episode.

- Galadriel is already married to Celeborn. Wonder where he is and what he's up to.
- Numenor does indeed have Middle earth colonies already.

At this point in time she should already have her daughter if I am not mistaken. (edit: after a quick look back through the lore, she's probably born after Eregion falls)

Anyway, the only time I was glad Galadriel was a cock was with that bratty little kid. They're alone and a pack of goblins are like 50 meters away and his dumbass was being all loud and trying to fight. I was hoping Galadriel was gonna just rock him in his jaw like he deserved.
 
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DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
I hate how this is so short yet so slow ... But this was a good episode. Not as good as last one.
That ending, where they showed the renaming to Mordor on screen.

That summed up this shows contempt for the audience.

As if we are all too dumb and need to have it spelled out for us.


Fucking. Disaster.

To be fair, not everyone is a Tolkien scholar... They had to make the show as broad in appeal as possible for newbies and normies who aren't familiar with the backstory of Middle-Earth... Even if they saw the original trilogy of movies. I was already familiar with it... My brother isn't. Some wouldn't have put 2 and 2 together because they probably figured Mordor was always Mordor.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
To be fair, not everyone is a Tolkien scholar... They had to make the show as broad in appeal as possible for newbies and normies who aren't familiar with the backstory of Middle-Earth... Even if they saw the original trilogy of movies. I was already familiar with it... My brother isn't. Some wouldn't have put 2 and 2 together because they probably figured Mordor was always Mordor.
Jackson's LOTR trilogy wasn't made to be as broad as possible, and yet it's one of the most successful works in the history of film. No doubt the extended editions have been watched far more than the theatrical ones at this point, too, and those are filled with lore details, quiet moments, songs, secondary characters, all for book fans and people who care about the details. We all resonate with results that have been made with care, attention, and deeper meaning, even if we don't necessarily understand everything that's happening.

Before GoT became stupid in the later seasons, the show was immensely popular. Yet most people could not follow half the names of the characters or all the various plot threads of political intrigue. It didn't matter. People knew they were watching a carefully woven history brought to life, one that Martin had spent a large chunk of his life crafting every detail of. When the twists and turns hit, people were shocked and in awe in ways that no one gets by watching a regular show. Everyone stopped what they were doing and found a screen to share when the Oberyn duel happened, or the Red Wedding. Regular shows are made up as they go by idiots. ASOIAF was planned out and written over decades, like LotR.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Eh, suggesting that the dumbing down of this show is acceptable because the lore may not be well known isn't a great argument IMO. The Lord of the Rings was already well known prior to the movies (I mean think about how many people read The Hobbit for elementary school book reports, or how many of us had to read at least 'Fellowship for highschool lit), though the trilogy definitely shot it into the mainstream. It's certainly well known, and even casual fans absorbed a lot of deeper lore via osmosis - as culture often has that effect.

It's like suggesting that every Star Wars show should be giving primers about things like Jedi or Tatooine throughout. It's not needed - the fandom already knows, and newcomers will be informed in short measure regardless.
 

ZehDon

Member
Jackson's LOTR trilogy wasn't made to be as broad as possible, and yet it's one of the most successful works in the history of film...
A point worth repeating a thousand times, because I believe it was the key to its enormous success. Instead of a homogenised story and world, one cousin removed from things movie audiences already had, Jackon and co offered up something wholly complete and new, and executed on that damn near flawlessly. They believed in the source material, and it shone through bright enough to create an entire generation of new fans who'd never seen, or read, anything like it.

If you called this show "Artasia" and renamed the characters and places, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just another generic Tolkien knock off to throw on the pile, instead of being from the ur fantasy literature itself. It feels so generic and unspecific, that it's as if every plotline was designed to appeal to a specific demographic, to bring in the broadest audience as possible. Given the record-breaking cost, I'm betting it seemed like a necessity to the show's clearly-out-of-their-depth runners, but Jackson's trilogy proves it very much isn't. A production of this scale, shackled with such limited focus, is a fucking Greek tragedy for the ages.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
A point worth repeating a thousand times, because I believe it was the key to its enormous success. Instead of a homogenised story and world, one cousin removed from things movie audiences already had, Jackon and co offered up something wholly complete and new, and executed on that damn near flawlessly. They believed in the source material, and it shone through bright enough to create an entire generation of new fans who'd never seen, or read, anything like it.

If you called this show "Artasia" and renamed the characters and places, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just another generic Tolkien knock off to throw on the pile, instead of being from the ur fantasy literature itself. It feels so generic and unspecific, that it's as if every plotline was designed to appeal to a specific demographic, to bring in the broadest audience as possible. Given the record-breaking cost, I'm betting it seemed like a necessity to the show's clearly-out-of-their-depth runners, but Jackson's trilogy proves it very much isn't. A production of this scale, shackled with such limited focus, is a fucking Greek tragedy for the ages.

The worst thing about this fiasco is that even with the sliver of lore they had to work with it was still so damned much - and yet as this season is coming to a close the story has barely moved along in any meaningful way for any characters, while there's still other plotlines about shit as boring as mining mithril that should have been wrapped up in twenty minutes but is still oddly going.

My Christ in Heaven I cannot believe these showrunners still have a job. They stretched a poorly told story out across a bunch of episodes that could have been told in two or three were they competent writers. I obviously can't know what the future may hold for this show, but I cannot imagine a world in which ten years from now people aren't looking back at this first season as one of the biggest swings and a miss of all time.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Ep 7:

Everyone is fine after being subsumed by the pyroclastic flow of Mt. Doom. The only people who died seem to have died from collapsed buildings. A bit of soot on the face, no biggie. Not even a cough. This is equivalent to showing a 100 meter tsunami from a planet killing asteroid crash into the townsfolk, and next episode they have damp clothes.

This "we need mithril or we're all going to disappear Back to the Future style when the clock strikes midnight" storyline is terrible. Being in the proximity of a bit of mithril ore now magically regenerates dead leaves back to life. Bilbo and Frodo would've been regenerating forests under their feet as they walked.

Theo to Galadriel after Mt Doom erupts, destroying the southlands and covering everything in apocalyptic fire and ash: "What are you so bothered about?"

:lollipop_neutral:

:messenger_neutral:

"We may not slay dragons, but us Harfoots do something better than any creature in all Middle-Earth. We stay true to each other. No matter how the path winds, or how steep it gets."

Until you twist your ankle.

Literally crossing out "The Southlands" on-screen and replacing it with "Mordor." Wow, thanks. Please do more to spoonfeed us braindead lemming viewers the only notable event of the entire season.
 
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ZehDon

Member
I was going to suffer in silence, but man - finished episode 6, and I'm juuuust about done with this. I don't want to watch any more. That "battle" was bad, plain and simple. A good director and editor can inject an enormous amount of life into even a relatively pedestrian scuffle. With the budget their commanding, there's zero excuse for action this poorly staged, filmed, shot, and edited. For half the price of this series, New Line got an entire trilogy with an embarrassment of riches in terms of action and battles. The extended edition of Fellow's closing battle with the Uruk-hai is incredible... and it's eight characters vs a horde with one highlighted villain. Even without all the emotional depth of the story, FOTR's climax a fucking good set piece. This felt like an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, without the low-budget charm. I hope the people on this show are hanging their heads in shame.
 
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EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Let's refer to a map of Arda in the Second Age.

I've marked the expected route for the Numenoreans and the scale of the map.

jSH6fgD.jpg


They just traveled around TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED miles across the world over sea and land, fought a few orcs, and are now going all the way back. Elendil is in so much of a hurry to take another 2500 mile trip that he doesn't bother to see if his son Isildur is still alive or try to recover the body. Nope, better get a head start.
 

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
I refuse to watch this train wreck… did they really cross out the name? Holy condescending fuck.



Sheet you can tell they wanted this to be a woah moment with people going “am shook” on Twitter.
 
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Alex11

Member
So if Halbrand is Sauron, then that's some serious master plan that he put in motion.

Talk about dramatic timing for that leaf.
 
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Kimahri

Banned
It's just so boring!

God this episode was even harder to get through than most, and that is saying something.

And nobody dies. No stakes, no nothing.
 

Bragr

Banned
HAHAHA, when they removed Southlands with Mordor. Like we couldn't have figured it out.

- In the beginning, why aren't they getting the Queen out of there? she is running into wrecks and shit.
- People waking up in the ash after the pyroclastic cloud. They might as well have camped in the volcano it's so stupid.
- There are more people in the encampment at the end than people who were in the village.
- Halbrand being hurt but then 3 seconds later being healed by elf magic. Why even have him being hurt in the first place?
- The 3 evil women burning the Halfoot camp then the scene just cut out, what happened next?
- And where did the Numenor encampment come from? the Numenorians didn't carry that with them when they rode over the plains.
- The idiot kid that runs around with Galadriel that constantly wanna fight the orcs on his own.
- The Harfoots were sad about the volcano rock ruining their grasslands when there were grasslands right next to it that was fine.
- The Balrog roaring loud so all the dwarfs could hear him but of course, they didn't.
- Elrond and During apparently are so good friends, that Durin talks down to his father. It's like Durin and Elrond are lovers. Durin can't talk about Elrond without tearing up.
- The Numenorian queen can't see but stands at the bow looking forward into the horizon.
- The horse runs to get Isildur but the show think's it's clever and gonna "reveal" that he's alive in the next episode.
 
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Alex11

Member
It was boring, and Lord Almighty where do they get some of the stupid lines to say in every episode, it's like they desperately want a line to stick and be something iconic, so they throw everything they can think of.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
- The horse runs to get Isildur but the show think's it's clever and gonna "reveal" that he's alive in the next episode.
Gonna be real suspenseful if the dude that cut Sauron's hand in FOTR will survive in this prequel show! :messenger_winking_tongue:
 
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Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
HAHAHA, when they removed Southlands with Mordor. Like we couldn't have figured it out.

- In the beginning, why aren't they getting the Queen out of there? she is running into wrecks and shit.
- People waking up in the ash after the pyroclastic cloud. They might as well have camped in the volcano it's so stupid.
- There are more people in the encampment at the end than people who were in the village.
- Halbrand being hurt but then 3 seconds later being healed by elf magic. Why even have him being hurt in the first place?
- The 3 evil women burning the Halfoot camp then the scene just cut out, what happened next?
- And where did the Numenor encampment come from? the Numenorians didn't carry that with them when they rode over the plains.
- The idiot kid that runs around with Galadriel that constantly wanna fight the orcs on his own.
- The Harfoots were sad about the volcano rock ruining their grasslands when there were grasslands right next to it that was fine.
- The Balrog roaring loud so all the dwarfs could hear him but of course, they didn't.
- Elrond and During apparently are so good friends, that Durin talks down to his father. It's like Durin and Elrond are lovers. Durin can't talk about Elron without tearing up.
- The Numenorian queen can't see but stands at the bow looking forward into the horizon.
- The horse runs to get Isildur but the show think's it's clever and gonna "reveal" that he's alive in the next episode.

What? The bane of durin? Already?
 

Elysion

Banned
It’s just as I expected, all the important characters survived the pyroclastic cloud with minimal damage. Of course.

And Galadriel’s husband is (assumed to be) dead here? I guess he will turn up in later seasons, though I wonder where he could be all this time. Why hasn’t he returned to his wife? Unless they disregard canon entirely and he is truly dead.

And I’m starting to wonder how the Halbrand=Sauron reveal is going to happen. Unless he was just pretending to be hurt this episode, I doubt an immortal being like Sauron could be so badly wounded. Even most of the humans looked better than him. Has he lost his powers after Adar defeated him? Because at this point, unless something crazy happens, I don’t see how Galadriel would ever believe that he’s Sauron, even if he just outright admitted it to her. How would he even prove it without having any magical powers?
 
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