Spoilers Lord of the Rings TV series

[fireproof78]

To each their own. The Harfoots were by far my favorite parts of the show. So what if they were mostly removed from the rest of the plot (for now)?

I did not care for the Harfoots but I certainly appreciated the richness of the exploration of the Hobbits and adding to the world. To me this series is doing what the Hobbit films failed to do which is take different elements of Middle Earth and show they are separate yet still connected in to the larger world.

 

[Nerys Myk]

To each their own. The Harfoots were by far my favorite parts of the show. So what if they were mostly removed from the rest of the plot (for now)?

I know people who love the Harefoots and miss them when they're not in an episode.

 

[crookeddy]

I did not care for the Harfoots but I certainly appreciated the richness of the exploration of the Hobbits and adding to the world. To me this series is doing what the Hobbit films failed to do which is take different elements of Middle Earth and show they are separate yet still connected in to the larger world.

I guess if you take this as a "middle earth" show, not a Galadriel show, then unrelated plots make total sense. We just aren't used to such shows.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I guess if you take this as a "middle earth" show, not a Galadriel show, then unrelated plots make total sense. We just aren't used to such shows.

I thought it was a Middle-Earth show.
Show with multiple POV characters and plot aren't that unusual.

 

[crookeddy]

I thought it was a Middle-Earth show.
Show with multiple POV characters and plot aren't that unusual.

Especially in modern TV, but they pretty much always converge in the end.

 

[eschaton]

To each their own. The Harfoots were by far my favorite parts of the show. So what if they were mostly removed from the rest of the plot (for now)?

As I said, they (finally) got me to feel something for the relationship between Nori and the Stranger by the end, so I didn't think it was a total loss when viewed in isolation. Indeed, I'd argue that in some ways it was stronger than the Numenor plot, or whatever the hell Arondir was doing, since I didn't really give a crap about any of those characters.

That said, it's simply bad storytelling to introduce an entire subplot that literally goes nowhere. Again, aside from the fakeout about him maybe being Sauron, there was zero reason to include this here, rather than maybe sticking a truncated version of it in Season 2 (when presumably the plotlines will begin to converge).

I guess if you take this as a "middle earth" show, not a Galadriel show, then unrelated plots make total sense. We just aren't used to such shows.

You can do true ensemble shows well, but there has to be a thematic core. Something like The Wire did this in spades. Lord of The Rings itself had tons of themes woven throughout, from death to good/evil, to environmentalism vs. technology, to the power of friendship.

What were the themes of The Rings of Power? Seriously, please tell me the themes of Season 1. I can't really discern much other than "stuff happens on screen." Which mind you isn't that different from lots of other modern serialized drama, but still.

 

[crookeddy]

What were the themes of The Rings of Power? Seriously, please tell me the themes of Season 1. I can't really discern much other than "stuff happens on screen." Which mind you isn't that different from lots of other modern serialized drama, but still.

I appreciate a gool ol' deeply themed story, but I have to say I kind of prefer the simplistic method modern dramas use - just tell a story for a story.

 

[fireproof78]

I thought it was a Middle-Earth show.
Show with multiple POV characters and plot aren't that unusual.

Indeed. This is my approach, not that this show has one central focus point. Rings of Power, thus far (I haven't finished it) strikes me as a response to evil by the different Middle Earth races. Some are moving on, some are unwilling to forget, and some are still being affected. It all draws together this idea of evil requires reaction. What kind of action?

Well, that's for the rest of the show to explore. So, I follow thus far well enough.

 

[eschaton]

I appreciate a gool ol' deeply themed story, but I have to say I kind of prefer the simplistic method modern dramas use - just tell a story for a story.

Simple stories are good too, but they need coherent character arcs, which this season has (for the most part) lacked.

A decent character arc is pretty simple:

• Character has flaws
• Flaws make character make bad decisions
• Character suffers from the consequences of said bad decisions
• Character learns from their mistakes, makes different decisions (usually better, but it can be worse depending upon the type of story).

Galadriel was a clear failure for me as a character by this measure. She is portrayed as deeply flawed, which is good, and I'd argue that at times she's shown as making bad decisions as well. However, she never suffers any personal repercussions due to her bad decisions. She just keeps falling upward.

A great example of this is in the penultimate episode. The Numenoreans came to the Southlands because of her, and the disaster that faced their host is entirely her fault. She has an encounter with Miriel, who is now blinded. The writers should have taken this point to have Miriel reject Galadriel, to turn away and seemingly abandon the fight. It would have been a real consequence. But instead Miriel acts like a shallow plot device, not a human, and says something akin to "never give up, never surrender." Sure, Elendil seems to hate her now, but he has no real power, so the sundering of their relationship is of no consequence (and the next episode seems to get across the idea that he's gotten over the seeming death of his son anyway).

 

[Orphalesion]

Honestly despite everything, I think he last episode was the best. If the show had handled the build up to it better and more concise, it would have been a pretty good show.

I also think, looking at Season 1 now, it probably was a mistake to condense the timeline so much. House of Dragon shows that you can have a good arc while doing multiple time jumps.
In my opinion, they should have focused on Eregion and Moria this season, including a storyline where Galadriel makes contact with the wood elves living beyond the Misty Mountains and things like that, with Anatar coming in and them forging the rings.
And then next season, they could have brought in Numenor and focused on the storyline of its downfall.
They could even have had relationship drama with the Eregion storyline, it's canon at least in some parts that Celebrimbor loved Galadriel, but she'd of course choose the lrod of the Wood Elves, Celeborn and things like that.

 

[Disposable_Ensign]

"House of the Dragon has sucked up the spotlight. It has attracted tweets, theories, memes, discussions, all on a rolling boil since the first episode. Meanwhile, if The Rings of Power has been seen anywhere, it was only in places paid for by Amazon. There are billboards and adverts and special Amazon packing tape adorned with the show’s logo. But, in terms of spontaneous, organic excitement, it has been a wilderness.
Why? Well, now that the first season is finally over, there is one clear answer. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t very good. It quite often isn’t anywhere near good. There are moments in almost every episode where I have found myself sniggering into my sleeve at how inept it is."​

The Guardian - Now It's Over Let's Come Out and Say It: The Rings of Power was a Stinker

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Tolkien did write, in a story recorded in Unfinished Tales, that Celebrimbor had a thing for Galadriel but realised it was never to be because they were too closely related. However, that was in the First Age before she wed Celeborn. It's also a story to which Amazon has no rights, of course.

 

[fireproof78]

"House of the Dragon has sucked up the spotlight. It has attracted tweets, theories, memes, discussions, all on a rolling boil since the first episode. Meanwhile, if The Rings of Power has been seen anywhere, it was only in places paid for by Amazon. There are billboards and adverts and special Amazon packing tape adorned with the show’s logo. But, in terms of spontaneous, organic excitement, it has been a wilderness.
Why? Well, now that the first season is finally over, there is one clear answer. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t very good. It quite often isn’t anywhere near good. There are moments in almost every episode where I have found myself sniggering into my sleeve at how inept it is."​

The Guardian - Now It's Over Let's Come Out and Say It: The Rings of Power was a Stinker

Cool.

One I will still watch. The other I won't.

 

[JD]

What do you mean "so what"? It's bad storytelling if you are telling 2 completely unrelated stories for no reason.

And I say this as a fan of this show.

It's worth keeping in mind that is already being set up as a 5 season series, so just because something appears to be completely unrelated at this point, doesn't mean it won't tie back to what's going on in other parts of the show.
Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this, the show started with several stories in different parts of the world, but as it went on they started weaving together more and more.
I have a feeling by the time we reach Season 3 or 4 we'll see The Stranger standing side by side with Galadriel, Elrond, Isildur and Elendil as they're fighting Sauron's forces.

I know people who love the Harefoots and miss them when they're not in an episode.

I did.

 

[crookeddy]

"House of the Dragon has sucked up the spotlight. It has attracted tweets, theories, memes, discussions, all on a rolling boil since the first episode. Meanwhile, if The Rings of Power has been seen anywhere, it was only in places paid for by Amazon. There are billboards and adverts and special Amazon packing tape adorned with the show’s logo. But, in terms of spontaneous, organic excitement, it has been a wilderness.
Why? Well, now that the first season is finally over, there is one clear answer. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t very good. It quite often isn’t anywhere near good. There are moments in almost every episode where I have found myself sniggering into my sleeve at how inept it is."​

The Guardian - Now It's Over Let's Come Out and Say It: The Rings of Power was a Stinker

Huh? Do people who write this kind of shit, or post 1 star reviews for ROP just not watch much TV? The show's quality is levels above almost anything we'd see on network television.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

It's worth keeping in mind that is already being set up as a 5 season series, so just because something appears to be completely unrelated at this point, doesn't mean it won't tie back to what's going on in other parts of the show.
Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this, the show started with several stories in different parts of the world, but as it went on they started weaving together more and more.
I have a feeling by the time we reach Season 3 or 4 we'll see The Stranger standing side by side with Galadriel, Elrond, Isildur and Elendil as they're fighting Sauron's forces.

I did.

Yup, how many seasons did it take for Daenerys to meet literally any other main character ?

 

[JD]

I actually don't know, I never made it past Season 3.

 

[eschaton]

Yup, how many seasons did it take for Daenerys to meet literally any other main character ?

I'd like to think they have a plan which is as intricate as Game of Thrones (at least for the first four seasons), but I'm guessing no, they're doing it largely on the fly.

I do have to say though that even though Dany's Essos plot didn't really begin heavy crossing over immediately, there were links right from the start. Bobby B sent out assassins to kill her in the first season, Jorah's father was Lord Commander of the Knight's Watch (and thus knew Jon Snow) and Illyrio Mopatis and Varys work together. But the strongest reason by far she is important is she is (presumably at the time) the true heir to the throne.

 

[EmoBorg]

Bobby B sent out assassins to kill her in the first season.

Your shortening of Robert Baratheon's name make him sound like a member of the Irish Mafia.

 

[crookeddy]

Your shortening of Robert Baratheon's name make him sound like a member of the Irish Mafia.

Pretty sure that was intentional lol