Not really.
Spoilers Lord of the Rings TV series
- Thread starter Cyrus
- Start date
Not really.
A lot of denial it seems that everything is not right behind the scenes of this show. It's far from perfect in several respects such as plotting and dialogue. I don't expect much adherence to the LotR appendices - those are almost unadaptable given the timeline presented. The fingerprints of JJA's influence on TV production are all over this show - most significantly in the mystery box style of plotting. While JJA's style of show running was fine for Lost and Alias, it turns this series into disposable fluff. I expect Bezos wanted it to be memorable and probably award worthy, given the money thrown at it. At least, there aren't lens flares. There are daddy issues though.
Dismissing the credibility of an obvious clickbait website doing 'reporting' based on information 'sourced' from a bunch of random YouTubers isn't denial; it's common sense.
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Well, we shall hear one way or another soon enough, I guess. It doesn't remove the detrimental effect that the JJA zeitgeist seems to have had on yet another franchise. I know he wasn't involved directly with this show, but his influence is pervasive, nonetheless. His formula is so overused that it has become a joke.
I swear I watch different shows than everyone else.
I don't really see where there was a mystery box aspect to this. None of the characters ever discussed or tried to figure out which one of them was Sauron and there was no discussion about who The Stranger was until the cultists said he was Sauron and then was actually "the other one". All of the debates and questiona about that stuff happened with just online outside of the show, so that really had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot.
While I enjoyed this quite a bit, I've still gotta put The Witcher and early Game of Thrones above. As much as people complain about some of the questionable choices made during it, when it was at it's best, Game of Throne was an absolutely show.
Oh, you can reveal what's in a mystery box - even Lost did that - sometimes. But once you know, it's uninteresting. If it's never revealed, it's frustrating. Both make you never want to revisit. Great TV has a depth that compels you to watch it again. Once you're aware that you're being played with to force your attention, you want to dump such schlock like an abusive partner.
Who Sauron is isn't the only mystery box in this series. How will Halbrand turf out Adar? Where is Isildur? Where is his horse Berek? What did happened with Isildur's sister and the palantir? Is Celeborn alive and what happened to him? How will Prince Durin deal with his father? Will the Balrog be unleashed? Is the Stranger Gandalf or someone else? How will Elrond learn the truth about Galadriel unwittingly helping Sauron? None of this originates with Tolkien - it's all been shoehorned into the lore to entice you when, in fact, none of it matters. It's like the extra stuff that Peter Jackson added to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - you wouldn't miss most of it were it removed. At least Jackson mostly stuck to the spirit of Tolkien; this series is much more cynical in exploiting you with shiny trinkets - and yet it's a failure. At least JJA's red ball hasn't made an appearance. We do have Sauron's eye motif multiple times though. Why Sauron branded (sic) Finrod and other things with a map of the Southlands or how he arranged the creation of a giant mechanism to kick start Mount Doom's eruption I doubt we will ever learn. It doesn't matter as it isn't in the lore. It's just there because someone in a writers' room thought it was "cool". It didn't have to make any sense.
Who Sauron is isn't the only mystery box in this series. How will Halbrand turf out Adar? Where is Isildur? Where is his horse Berek? What did happened with Isildur's sister and the palantir? Is Celeborn alive and what happened to him? How will Prince Durin deal with his father? Will the Balrog be unleashed? Is the Stranger Gandalf or someone else? How will Elrond learn the truth about Galadriel unwittingly helping Sauron? None of this originates with Tolkien - it's all been shoehorned into the lore to entice you when, in fact, none of it matters. It's like the extra stuff that Peter Jackson added to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - you wouldn't miss most of it were it removed. At least Jackson mostly stuck to the spirit of Tolkien; this series is much more cynical in exploiting you with shiny trinkets - and yet it's a failure. At least JJA's red ball hasn't made an appearance. We do have Sauron's eye motif multiple times though. Why Sauron branded (sic) Finrod and other things with a map of the Southlands or how he arranged the creation of a giant mechanism to kick start Mount Doom's eruption I doubt we will ever learn. It doesn't matter as it isn't in the lore. It's just there because someone in a writers' room thought it was "cool". It didn't have to make any sense.
Ah, so "Mystery Box" has broadened into meaninglessness, just like when "Mary Sue" turned into "a character that is good at something."
That's all just "story." The fundamental mechanism of storytelling is raising questions, then answering them in a way that raises more questions, until you get to a part where there are no more questions to ask, (even if the question is just, "And then what happened?"). Describing parts of the show that involve rising action, suspense, or even just the concept that events occur over time as "mystery boxes" is baffling. What wouldn't be a mystery box?
That's all just "story." The fundamental mechanism of storytelling is raising questions, then answering them in a way that raises more questions, until you get to a part where there are no more questions to ask, (even if the question is just, "And then what happened?"). Describing parts of the show that involve rising action, suspense, or even just the concept that events occur over time as "mystery boxes" is baffling. What wouldn't be a mystery box?
Constant exposition by all omniscient characters or a bodyless narrator?
hey, imagine Sauron as the narrator? That would be novel?
How I met your mother style.
“Kids, this is how I made the Elves forge the three rings, blue up a volcano and nearly dated your aunt Gally.”
The mysteries don't matter - we already know the endpoint and the stories being unfolded to get there are far inferior to what Tolkien might have imagined. He wasn't terribly enthused by the events of the Second Age and rightly left it sketchily described. The writers have basically thrown out most of the lore that does exist to create a generic fantasy show that sometimes borders on parody. Amazon might as well have adapted Bored of the Rings. I don't think the show is any worse than a lot of other stuff on TV, but it's hardly essential viewing.
It does? I can count on one hand shows I'm compelled to watch again.
There is nothing I find as essential viewing. TV shows are disposable. Life is more than that.
Which is why I don't expect Rings of Power, or any other show I consume, to be great TV. No shows compel me to come back and I hardly rewatch the things I like. I rewatch maybe MASH, JAG, and Brooklyn 99, sometimes TOS. Few shows command that rewatchability.
So, since I do not approach Rings of Power for greatness It does the job well enough.
The Witcher, to me, lost a lot of points in season 1 for the terrible timeline jumping that left a lot of things confusing, and honestly I think Cavil was the only good casting choice when it comes to recurring characters (and Season 2 is just bad, in my opinion at least). As for GOT, I hate grimdark low magic fantasy stuff anyway, and GOT is the poster child for that, to the point that shows like ROP have been needed to remind people that great Fantasy isn't filled with ultra violence and almost unending sexual assault.
Rings of Power is great High Fantasy, it tells a big story and it feels important. Its literally what I want out of Fantasy, since The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings books are literally the reason I got into Fantasy. A lot of Magic, elves, dwarves, great good vs great evil, thats generally what I want out of Fantasy. Sure I like the occasional Urban Fantasy or mixed fantasy/Sci Fi stuff, but while far from flawless I'll take Tolkien style Fantasy over almost anything in the genre.
While I appear to be bashing RoP, it's more my frustration because I'm sure it could be done better with the right people at the helm who haven't drunk from the metaphorical teats of JJA.
Same. Rings of Power may not be great, but its fun and enjoyable. When I continue on with the Similarion I'll appreciate it a little more because of the visuals of Rings of Power.
Probably. And I could say that about so many projects, staring with Starship Troopers and airing a ton of grievances on the LOTR films, Star Wars prequels, Garfield movies, Dresden files, to name a few.
But, I really want to find the positive in these things.
I think J D Payne and Patrick McKay have done a fantastic job of adapting the material, IMHO.
I’d say that, any news of their demise is greatly exaggerated and thus far, simply rumour and speculation, and I’m looking very forward to seeing what they both have in store for Season 2!
Now - where’s my ROP merchandise - specifically 6-inch action figures?!?!
I’d say that, any news of their demise is greatly exaggerated and thus far, simply rumour and speculation, and I’m looking very forward to seeing what they both have in store for Season 2!
Now - where’s my ROP merchandise - specifically 6-inch action figures?!?!
I'd seriously consider getting at least one or two Funko Pop!s if they made them.
I'm still trying to figure out what was so confusing to so many people, I followed it perfectly fine, but then I've also said the exact same thing about the first season of Westworld. And at least from performance perspective, I've been pretty happy with most of the cast.
I'm not sure if GOT really qualifies as grimdark, I think that stuff tends to be even more extreme than GOT was, and as the show goes on there does actually get to be more magic and fantasy elements. I think "unending sexual assault" is a bit of exaggeration, at least up to Season 4, yes there is some, but it's not the constant occurrence that "unending" would imply.
I have to agree with you on RoP, but I'm also open minded enough, with diverse enough tastes, that I can enjoy both it and (early seasons) GOT.
Just completed rewatch of episodes 4 and 5. Yeah, I can see people getting annoyed by the lore but the interesting character dynamics makes it very enjoyable. I think the changes with the Elves and mithril are the most annoying, but that's minor compared to current enjoyment.
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