Joysten is such an optimist that he would cheer everyone after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.

"Why did Galadriel threaten to stab Elendil in a dark alley?" has to be the most accurate reaction to this show so far. "Galadriel can have a character arc that doesn't start from zero" is a strong runner up.

At this point I am rooting for the Orcs hehe

Thank you for welcoming those who don't care. Here in Mexico today is a holiday and i spent the day watching the LOTR extended editions, those movies are soo good.

I’m starting to think maybe Morgoth was right 😂

Durin: Swear on the mountain that you will not tell anyone about Mithril Also Durin: Here, take this Mithril with you; everyone's going to ask you about it

Imagine being part of the court of Melian (the wisest of the maiar) for hundreds of years and not knowing how to act in court. Correction: Wisest of all the Maiar of Irmo.

Galadriel is piercingly intelligent and can see to the truth of things. While she had a ways to go to end up as the lady of Lothlorien, she was never blind. I'm pretty sure she's described as having the gift of insight from her earliest years and also described as the wisest of the Noldor. I'm a little disappointed in how one dimensional the writing for Galadriel is. I think there could have been more character development for her by now. So far she could have been an original character and not really changed anything

The poll may be a bit confusing because I thought it was the best episode so far but still mid as hell. Also, we are 4 plus hours in and almost halfway through the season. It is amazing how little has happened. Is the whole season going to be setup?

Tell me where is Celeborn? For I much desire to speak with him

What stood out for me was this insistence that unrest in Númenor is somehow connected to the Elves encroaching on the Island taking trade and jobs. Absolute nonsense. Galadriel is literally the first Elf in Númenor for hundreds of years lol. If anything, the Elves and men of Middle-Earth would have more legitimate concerns about the Númenóreans establishing colonies on the west coast of Middle-Earth. Then again, we are actually talking about what Tolkien wrote, respect for that went out the window from day 1.

If I'd been Miriel, Galadriel would have definitely found herself a head shorter. Tolkien said, “Galadriel was the greatest of the Noldor, except Fëanor maybe, though she was wiser than he, and her wisdom increased with the long years.” Amazon's Galadriel is just stupid and extremely unpleasant. I really despise what they've done with her. The writing is awful throughout the show but Galadriel's character has been completely destroyed!

If Durin’s bane turns up in this show and is released in the second age, I will probably just laugh at how stupid that will be

Be frank with me... At this point, should they have just done a film version of Shadows of Mordor?😂

Galadriel is awful because the film school script kiddies that "wrote" her have mandatory "character development" and "emotional conflict" checkboxes they have to tick for every character they create. They have no conception whatsoever of the ethereal, luminous nature of Tolkien's elves, of their age, wisdom and innate grace. They can only write cookie cutter immature human characters for bog standard TV dramas. These are 2nd age elves that have endured thousands of years of happiness and suffering, there is no "character development" for them at this time and over this show's timescale. For me the lowering of the elves to the level of men is by far the most egregious error in this show. The juxtraposition of semi divine elves next to the men and other races is what makes Tolkien's books and Jacksons adaptation so special. There are so many opportunities in THAT diversity that this show can never explore because they've chosen to utterly destroy the very nature of the Elves. Instead of a rich opportunity for interactions between beings of very different perspectives and abilities they have nothing but a standard set of tedious (and juvenile) interpersonal dramas available in any other show.

I don’t think isildur wants to sail west to valinor I’m pretty sure he just means going to the western part of Numenor where the faithful reside

Out of all the KZfaqrs no one is talking about how the timeline has been comepletly fucked up for the RoP. If this is taking place during the time of Ar-Pharazon and Miriel it would be the year 3255 of the 2nd age and right before Sauron is captured by Pharazon, most of characters should be dead. And so by this time everyone knew Sauron was in Mordor, making Galadriels "Hunt for Sauron" unreasonable. Celebrimbor who created the 19 Rings of Power did so in the years 1500 to 1600 with the knowledge that Sauron gave them who created the One Ring in the year 1600! Celebrimbor dies in the War of the Elves vs Sauron in 1697. Durin the 3rd who was given one of the Dwarven Rings of Power by Celebrimbor personally is dead by now, his son wasn't Durin the 4th who wouldn't be the ruler of Khazad-Dum until the end of the 2nd age when he sends a massive army of Dwarves to aid the Last Alliance! Mithril was already discovered in Khazad-Dum long before the 2nd Age, is it was the material that brought immense wealth to Khazad-Dum, let along Gold, Silver, Copper, Gems, Rubies, Saphire!

As you said... "This show's own logic." Who is Gil Galad? Why do we care? What's the meaning of the name Durin? What's the threat of Sauron? Why is Numinor supposed to be so enigmatic? Why are the elves hated by Numinor? What separates elves from men, aside from life expectancy? Seriously, ignoring very detailed lore, why is Sauron a threat? In any way? Because he worked for some unseen bad guy that killed a brother?....of 3 that were also killed....yet was essentially resurrected? Ugh! Zero effort garbage. Who is the enemy and why?

This series is empty. And I'm not talking about bad acting, over-CGI photography, generic dialogue, or generic soundtrack. I'm talking about not having that epic aspect, that timeless mythology theme. They may say: "But there's not enough written material" And I say: "Yes, there is! They are in the myths and archetypes for the construction of characters, concepts, events". I thought Sauron would be a (pseudo) Promethean figure generating religious engineering in Middle-earth. I thought they were going to show Harad and Rhûn inspired (as Tolkien said in 1966) in Africa (Ethiopia + Saracens) and Asia (Middle East, China, Japan, etc) That Galadriel was going to develop into the Philosopher Queen archetype to ideologically oppose Annatar's ideas. That Númenor was going to be a discussion about death vs. human nature.

Isildur wants to go 'west' in the sense of 'western Numenor' (as in back in Andustar) and not 'west of Numenor' since they explicitly say that he wants to go join Anarion. Since the voice (which I'm guessing is supposed to be Isildur's mother) is calling him from Numenor ... not from Aman.

A Boromir scene, with barely any stakes and zero consequences. Yay, how memorable..

I've had two separate friends ask me if the Galadriel in the show is the same Galadriel from LOTR. They both assumed it was a different character with the same name (ala Glorfindel). One has read LOTR and the other is a movie only fan, and they are both lost with this show. It doesn't hold up on it's own merits. EDIT: I was using Glorfindel as a reference; my point was that most of my friends didn't understand that ROP Galadriel is the same one from LOTR because of how differently she behaves.

Bringing women into the ranks of battle completely destroys Eowyn's arc in LOTR. I think the writers missed that which shows their quality. It means that the Witch King would be aware of women fighting and being invincible to "men" in the human sense and Eowyn's wounding would not be fatal. Not being sexist, in fact quite opposite. It was one Tolkien's underlying themes, where great power comes from unexpected places. That is why Eowyn won against him, it was unexpected for her to be there in the ranks. She was powerful.

Would you invest 1 hour a week on a show that's 5 out of 10 if it didn't have the name JRR Tolkien attached to it? I highly doubt it. For this specific episode, the early dialog with the guildsman talking about Elves taking jobs and the crowd reaction was so cringe. Certainly Elrond, Dain and Disa are at least likable. How is it possible that Númenor, the mightiest civilization in the history of Men, did not have an established navy? "Above all arts they nourished ship-building and sea-craft, and they became mariners whose like shall never be again since the world was diminished; and voyaging upon the wide seas was the chief feat and adventure of their hardy men in the gallant day of their youth". - Akallabêth

The writers have done unexpected to Tolkien fans. They turned the wise and power Galadriel into a Karen.

One question I have: what was it about THIS show that convinced the Tolkien family to sell them the rights they did? They held out for decades for this show, why? Have to imagine there were potential partners out there that could have done a high production show that would stay closer to the source material. What made the Tolkiens change their stance on THIS, guessing amazon showed up with a dumptruck full of cash.

Missed the live stream dammit but seriously don’t kill yourselves trying to find the good in this terrible situation

The canons of narrative art in any medium cannot be wholly different; and the failure of poor films is often precisely in exaggeration and the intrusion of unwarranted matter owing to not perceiving where the core of the original lies. J.R.R. Tolkien

The butchering of the timeline is so frustrating. knowing that we are to expect that the whole history of the second age on the last 200 years is infuriating. Half the show is based on the point of view of the elves who are meant to experience the years of middle earth in an extremely accelerated way as a year for an elf is meant to be 144 human years. Why force everything in such a short period of time of the second age?

It’s fun to trash on shows like this but I appreciate Joysten’s trying to be fair. Its a lot easier (and more fun) to give criticism without being constructive.

Morgoth: "Am I so out of touch?" Morgoth: "No its the hobbits who are wrong!"

So we see one Palantir. Numenoreans rescued at least 7 from the fall of the island. How did they lose, find and rescue items that were not lost. I can't see a good way to write themselves out of this one.

Isildur doesn't want to go west of Numenor. He wants to go to the western part of the Island of Numenor where his brother and other people are apparently. I felt like that was pretty clearly shown. The friend who Isildur punched mentioned this directly too.

I think they make clear that Halbrand IS Sauron, a prisoner in Numenor that has already given his first step in becoming an advisor to the next King, the king that will be advised by Sauron to defy the Valar. BUT, I wonder WHEN would “Annatar” have time to approach the elves in Eregion to start the forging of the Rings

I think the reason that everyone is enjoying house of dragon is the loyalty to source material

Leaving aside the insult to Tolkien's work, the show comes over as lifeless, joyless, airless & strangely claustrophobic. It's as if none of the writers, directors or actors dared to breathe--like there was some constant underlying tension filming each scene. This makes everything about it look/feel uncomfortable & it's gruelling to watch.

I think that this was my favourite episode thus far. The scenes with Adar, Elrond and Durin and Durin and his father were particularly memorable. I kinda appreciated that we had a break from the Harfoots, who in spite of their talk show less compassion and care for their own than the orcs do. Galadriel still irks me, it's probably the character I'm having the most difficulty connecting with. This Halbrand guy is also being set up as Sauron with the things he says and does, but we'll see if they end up going in that direction or if it's merely a form of conscious misdirection. As for Theo and his Morgul blade, I'm curious to see if that leads him down the path of becoming one of Sauron's Ringwraiths.

Just tell me one thing it was Ar-Pharazôn against whose army the orcs deserted Sauron and he was captured then why is Miriel being showcased as the leader like it's her army. It was one of the things I was most excited to watch.

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Rereading The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, LOTR and the Unfinished Tales and I’ll come up with my own conclusions about what happens in the 2nd age.

“So, what was your favourite part of The Rings Of Power, Episode Four?” “The MAGA Rally, of course.” “… The what?”

Hallbrand in the prison scene with Galadriel screams Sauron.

Retroactively de-ranking previous eps speaks volumes about this show. It keeps getting worse, to the point that now it is re-calibrating the grade scale itself. Unbelievable.

To address the mary sue problem: the writers went about it backwards imho. Galadriel is one of the oldest and wisest in middle earth at this point in time, (correct me if I'm wrong) so she should have been a better negotiator and diplomat, more charismatic, higher intelligence stat. A better arc would have been to see her in her wisdom being still somewhat brash when it comes to combat. Learning how to apply her strengths of intelligence, light magic, and I assume agility to compensate not being the strongest arm on a given battlefield would seem more fitting. She could have gotten swatted by the troll, only to regroup and strategize (telepathically possibly) with her team for the win. In later episodes perhaps using foresight and her version of telepathy (and what ever she does when she casts down walls and such) to confuse, manipulate and dominate foes.

15:13 - wow you gave more thought into Galadirel's character arc and growth then the writers of this show

Galadriel is like-. Whatev whateve I will do what I want. Gives me Eric Cartman vibes from South park.

Galadriel's flaw was not stupidity, anger, or impulsiveness. She tells us exactly what her flaw is in The Fellowship. She desires power and she is sorely tempted by Frodo's offer to give her The Ring. If they show wanted to portray her properly they would show her wrestling with the conflicting interests of doing what's best for her people, and acquiring more power and influence.

Halbrand screams Sauron in this episode….talking about the way to master others is to master their fear….after that line I gave in because he has to be Sauron. I just want to know how he ended up in front of Galadriel in the ocean and knew she’d be there. Unless he was going to Numenor either way and she just happened to show up.

I enjoyed listening to you both. Interesting insights since you both watch fantasy series, especially since I am uninterested in GOT or WOT or the like. Regarding the writting by committee, I think it reeks of the phrase - Beware of the daring of cautious men. And by being cautious they left out the love that fills Tolkien's works. The closest they've gotten so far is the friendship between Elrond and Durin, the relationship of Durin and Disa, even the short conversation between the Durins, father and son. To me, if there is any blame it is to the Tolkien estate. They sold Amazon an abridged source material, took the money and ran with it. Instead of valuing the legacy of Tolkien and giving enough information to make a solid story, Amazon boought a bare outline with cool names and expected the writers to craft silmarils out of that meager resource, which then infuriates so many readers. Just MHO.

Thanks for the review! Each week I look forward to listening to the two of you discussing the episode more than the actual episode (especially since I already stopped watching it)

54:47 I would like to point out that the films weren’t *far* off in budget... 281 million USD for 9+ hours of content in ~1999 (Oct. 1999 filming started) - accounting for inflation, that would be just right at $500 million in 2022 USD ($499,544,123.65 to be more precise, as one number calculated from inflation differences.) Obviously such “precision” is folly, given how and when budgets were completed, productions extended, etc., but this gives a good idea of the extent of the films’ massive financial resources and how well they were utilized in contrast to ROP. But yes, your point is solid. I feel that getting artists like Alan Lee and others on site to create sets and oversee visuals, crafting with passion from the books with the best of the best people for their trade... money well spent! I find myself seeing moments in this series that are so amateur in nature, that I regularly view indie films with better scene fluidity and visual storytelling. It’s a very jarring experience, questionable novice show running aside.

Great video! Personally I think this was the best episode. The highlights of this and episode 2 are by far Elrond and durin. This is clearly the other potential Elrond as opposed to the one we saw in the peter jackson films. Rather than the aspects of his mother Elwing he characterizes his father Earendil. Celebrimbor essentially confirms this sharing of characteristics. He is the grandson of Tuor in this show more than the great grandson of Luthien. Also no wasting of time with harfoots. They turned Tar Miriel around in some ways. Galadriel still sucks. My two cents regarding Adar. He is for certain Maeglin. They need not use the name which likely infringes on what they can use of tolkiens works. As long as they continue to call him Adar they can unfortunately say his backstory is whatever they like. But there are 4 telltale signs. 1• he is wearing Black armor of elven craft. Most likely Galvor. While the dark tone of the armor, may simply go to making him fit the evil tone he has in the narrative. It is clearly unique so far in the show. And doesn’t fit any of the Brass or silver styles of elven armor we have seen thus far. Or even the Grey/Green elven armor craft work by Arondir. 2• He asks about the region of Beleriand. While Beleriand is rather the north west of middle earth in it’s entirety; to the eldar living there it was more specifically referred too as the region west of Ossiriand. Encompassing Doriath, Brethil and Nan Elmoth. What’s more he states he went down the river “once” lining up with the single time he traversed the river Celon with Idril. 3• It was never stated he died, and while clearly the intention of Tolkien for him to die the same way as his father. His body while wearing Galvor, struck the cliff face 3 times and vanished into the fire. But the servants of Morgoth may have taken his broken but still living body, and taking him back to Angband they with-held the last remaining of the 3 rewards. Gondolin, idril and captaincy. And keeping him far north and from the war of wrath, used Maeglin leader of the house of the mole and the greatest of his elven delvers. He would stay in the service of morgoth for fear of death and judgement. Clutching to thralldom like a Wraith. 4• these orcs dig. Adar is their leader. Clearly orcs need little help digging but it would not be surprising if the greatest of elven delvers is their director in these efforts 5• most damning. The promotional image of a black spiked gauntlet wielding a black elven sword. Very unique amongst elven crafts. This is likely maeglin wielding Anguriel. Adar in fact wears this same gauntlet on his left hand. And is very much of elvish make. And reflecting the dark mood of its maker, is itself very dark in aspect, with spiked knuckles and other bits. I could be absolutely wrong. But Adar is an old character with a lot of history. His burn marks fell of struggles and torment. His armor screams high status. His place among the orcs reviled by him, but needed out of the same fear all mornings thralls possess. And I don’t take his remark on “god-hood” as a desire but a self reciprocating jest. His life is not one worth living. This is also the only thing I can think of regarding Adar being a non original character that doesn’t bother me. Even though it removes the romanticism of fate regarding Eol’s last words and Maeglins death, it does fit with the keeping of morgoth’s slaves. And how one elf may not have sought freedom for fear of judgement of the valar. Very akin so Sauron.

a small thing that bugged me in the previous episode is that when Arondir talks to the tree the subtitles says that he's talking Quena, but shouldn't he be talking Sindarin? I know it's a tiny thing that only real nerds would be bugged about. But at the same time only nerds would know what Quena is. They could have just said "Elvish" in the subtitles, but instead they went out of their way to make the subtitles wrong. WHY?!

Almost everything I like in this show has a caveat. I love Elrond talking about his father, and I like the talk between the two Durins, but that's meant to be a heartwarming resolution to a conflict that isn't shown. Maybe I'm losing my mind or just remembering it wrong, but that scene was just a follow up to Durin Senior closing the mine, right? That's the conflict? Durin entering the room pissed off at his father? Isn't that like acts 2 and 3 of a set up that happened off screen? Also, is all of this happening at the same time? Galadriel has been in Numenor and Bronwyn (spelling?) has being doing her thing in the same span of time it took to build a something like a quarter of Celebrimbor's new forge? And Elrond is just going back and forth between Eregion and Moria, a journey of, what, a week and is the rest of the world paused while that is happening? I didn't think this was as bad as the last one, but everything, even things I like, just feels incomplete or not fully thought out.

Some of the symbols from the opening are on Theo's shirt. His blood rekindled the dark blade. His father is missing... he's Sauron's son.

Re-watchability Scale is very real and the test I use for show/movie. E.g. many watch the LOTR franchise over and over. This show is not re-watchable.

No need for a spoiler warning. Dog turds are bad immediately out of the dog, no need to warn anyone.

Agreed on SO MANY points. This was so Meh to me, and that's coming from a dude that really likes the show from a lot of angles. The characters just feel flat and the story is just sadly falling short for me. Maybe I'll eat my words later... we'll see.

Pharazon is pretty cool, Elendil is good. I wonder if they were chosen for some obscure reason like acting talent?

i dont see why people are praising the visuals. The landscapes are pretty, the statues etc. The dwarves, with their little plastic axes and their plastic bearded helms? The vargs..THE VARGS - did you see that sh%t?!!?

Did anyone else got the feeling that the Valar was watching and helping Arondir when he was rescuing Theo? Gandalf would say so, if he saw how the wind suddenly blew the clouds and the shadows away from them.

So four episodes in I have the same qualms as many others it seems: up and down writing, Galadriel is an unlikeable and more importantly grossly untolkien character, the destruction of the timeline like Amazon was Morgoth and the dates, histories, and timelines that we all love are Beleriand. My question is this: is it even possible for Amazon to create a show that truly honors Tolkien? This isn’t a political thing it’s more along the lines of culture and modernity and the way Tolkien viewed it. It seems that timeless quality that we all love his works for is completely gone. Post-modernism, modernism, whether or not it’s good or bad, it’s something that Tolkien was very against even to a fault. Was he maybe a grumpy old grandpa when it came to technology?Possibly. The point isn’t whether Tolkien is right or wrong in his strong beliefs, deeply Catholic, a lover of nature, of histories and languages. (I recall a story of him being suspicious of records). The point is, can one of the largest companies to ever exist even be capable of creating something in the image of Tolkien? Or is it just a beautiful shell with no soul, a reminder of the very one who set about to forge the rings of power? When Aule creates the Dwarves, he does so out of passion and love, but even he chooses to submit to the Music of the One. Has Amazon submitted their love and passion for fantasy to the creator of the work they claim to? And if not, is it possible to consider this show as faithful and loving of the works we all do? (Making clear I’m not saying you’re not a real Tolkien fan if you like the show, these are just my genuine thoughts I am wrestling with). Tolkien and his fans (therefore my friends) are lovers of good and good cheer and the world is a better place for it so no matter what you’re opinion, thankful to love this wonderful world Tolkien has given us and if nothing else, the chance for this show to stir up all the deep feelings we have for it!

I think Elrond was using his elf eyes to lip read, rather than having super hearing.

Regarding Isildur going west. Guys if you rewatch episode 3 and 4 its clear that he is not reffering to "sailing" west. He wants to go to the west coast of Numenor to where Anarion is hanging out "being a monk". They are pobably alluding to the hidden Faithfull. No way is what Isildur saying mean that he wants to sail to Valinor.

The orcs stopping at the edge of the forest was dumb because a few scenes before Theo is getting chased by orcs in daylight BEFORE it’s that dark. So dumb. That sword is BAD news.

I'm liking your coverage. I'm enjoying the show with the full understanding of what it is, but channels covering it seem to either just bash the heck out of every aspect of it, or in a couple of small cases ther are channels that seem to avoid saying ANYTHING negative. I'm with y'all, but leaning slightly more positive. I definitely agree that the writing for Galadriel is the biggest negative in the show so far and it needs to be called out. I'm not sure if they want to have her intelligence start from zero, or if the writers honestly think her behavior of trying to defy norms and not bowing to authority is wise and "empowered."

Ever notice how Theo doesn't show his ears? His hair keeps covering them up I'm guessing he's a half elf and there might b an episode of Maury in a future episode 🤣🤣🤣

Love the discussion between you two. Keep them Going.

23:56 ...”thah FUHEEYULS Tolkienian ta me!” 😆

Isildur said he wants to go West, but western Numenor, where his people came from. The west where Elendil said to him “there’s nothing for us there anymore”.

This was the best episode so far, btw Isildur wants to go to west of Numenor not to Valinor and Elrond read Durins lips with his elf eyes, the best thing was no dame Harfoots 😂

What was that “fight” scene in the jail cell. She bamboozled fully armored guards into her cell in 5 seconds 😂

I agree with you. We feel the presence of Annatar off screen in the haste of Celebrimbor to have the giant forge completed by Spring. I agree also that it is a generic, average fantasy show. You can’t say it’s bad but you can’t say it’s good. I enjoyed watching episode 4 and I consider it the most exciting so far ( maybe because there were no Harefoots in it ), but after I rewatched it , I found a lot of flaws and awkward details, e.g. the characters seem teleported from one place to another.

Thank you for your service.

If I had to draw a popular culture similarity; Galadriel is Harry, when she should be Dumbledore.

About 1 or 2 guys writing a show…that’s actually how we got the latter seasons of GOT. Weies and especially Bennioff took total control and we got seasons 7 & 8. The was no “writers room” like there were for other HBO his like “The Sopranos” or “The Wire.” It is true that having a full writing staff can lead to very average compromises like we see so far but you never want a sole writer dictating everything otherwise you get terrible results.

Great review guys - totally on-point with every aspect of the episode and the show overall!

I think you missed it with Isildur. He wants to go to the west side of the island. Where his brother is. The show didn’t do the best at explaining but I’m pretty sure that’s what they mean by west.

What if they are trying to play Adar as one of Morgoth's early tortured Elves experiments to make orcs and that is why the orcs call him Adar, and he may even be functional enough to produce more orcs. He reminded me a little to Eol the dark elf

what strikes me as interesting is that they whipped up a storm with overtly woke marketting but the show isnt particularly woke at all. at first i was looking at galadriel and thinking "oh okay its the standard "we need to make her a badass and all the men around her dumb" thing but they didnt o that; they made the baffling choice to make galadriel the way she is, but they know what hses like nd they write around it, making other characters try to calm her down. they have diverse casting but thats it, its just that some of the characters are not white despite being in white ethnicities. which creates the weird questions like "how did the Numenoreans get Haradrim to numenor and have the king marry one" or "why is there two races of harfoots in the same tribe, with no acknoledgement, why arent they all mixed given its such a smal population? Is there any tensions there?" but it's just not addressed. this is frustrating and inconsistent, but less annoying than if they went all the way with the ideas.

dream sequence was really cool and well done.

Celebrimbor looks like a grandmother

Again, very similar thoughts to my own. Definitely seems like a lot of people thought this to be a pretty lackluster episode. Sad, since I felt like there was a positive trajectory with the first 3 eps. Maybe it’ll pick back up going forwards though.

I know you guys want to be fair, but at some point if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Just substitute duck for crap

I got the impression Elendil and Isildur wanted to go to the western side of Númenor, in Andunie where the faithful were removed from so they could be more easily kept under supervision by the king’s men in the capital… not that Elendil wanted to travel west in violation of the ban of the Valar.

Same here - the episode wasn't awful but it was rather bland. I didn't hate it but didn't like it all that well. Overall I'm enjoying the show but some of it is like "ahh yeah! Okay!" Galadriel? Well yeah I'd classify as a sorcerer and she is a barbarian in this show. She's angry and brooding all the time - where is the mysterious, wise and often friendly(?) Galadriel we all know? Bronwyn - seems they are trying to make a new heroic female so she, nor her son Theo, did not flinch at those arrows. I like Arondir - I knew he was going to be like a Legolas in this series when I first saw him. He's pretty cool. Disa - I like her and her husband Dain. There relationship is fun, awkward and good. The dwarves are really helping this series to be more entertaining. Elendil and Pharazôn are great. Celebrimbor is enjoyable - even if he's a bit older than the books. Halbrand is interesting. I've got to finish this series - see where they take this.

I'm just glad to see glimpses of Numenor ultimate fate.

I hate Galadriel. I’m glad to see no Poundland hobbits though

Honestly we BETTER get a reveal of Sauron, who Adar is, and who meteor man is by the end of the season. Especially when we will be waiting another year or 1.5 years for another episode

Adar is the first Orc. He is the first Elf turned by into an orc. He still looks much like an elf, but thats due to him being the first orc. He is the first and most powerful.

I got way too much schadenfreude from Miriel throwing Galadriel in the dungeon. I know I shouldn't feel that way but Galadriel has no redeeming qualities so far and really annoys me.

I agree that this is a show at a medium pace. The thing in my mind I struggle with is the sentiment that 'this does not feel like Middle Earth' because when I think long and hard, I am pretty sure that the Second Age should not feel like the Third Age at all. Hell, the very first words in the films spell it out: The World Has Changed. IMO the Second Age should be grandiose and epic, especially for Numenor and for the Elves (and the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum). The show is very spotty in capturing that. The Numenoreans, even in their decline, should seem borderline superhuman -- not like a bunch of MAGA hats. I do agree that the scripts feel like they were written by committee and sometimes episodes feel like someone ticking off checkboxes on a to-do list more than an actual story.

It’s nice to hear Lotr KZfaqrs that weren’t bought out by Amazon

Because of the warning he got, Pharazon had time to round up a bunch of servants and make them bring wine. I totally bought that bit and thought he was brilliant.

Mid term report card - a solid D+

Guyladeriel's fighting 5 guards reminds me of the plot armor of Batman.

Royyon is really underrated as a Lore expert

Your analogy abot this show being put together on a generic factory assembly line is a perfect way to describe it. I'm not blown away from this show in any way but I'm more existing waiting for your next lore video than this shows next episode. Cheers

I think they really need to get the show on the road as far as the actual story is concerned. We've sat through four episodes of this now, and what has happened if any significance? We the viewers already know how this goes, we are here see the details fleshed out. I mean, Star Wars might have begun it's prequel with a trade dispute, but things got moving in good order, or at least by the third movie, however goofly it was handled at times. This is just dragging and dragging. Especially since we all know what happens: Sauron turns up and starts wrecking sh!t because that's what he does. I think we should at least have been introduced to Annatar, the giver of gifts by now. The second age is a long time and there's a lot that happens, so they don't need to pad it out like this.

Thanks for being honest guys and not just another shill channel for RoP. I've got mixed feelings with this show. Some parts are interesting and pretty good, some parts are just like, meh, not horrible but not awesome, and then some parts are just soooooooooo dumb. I do not like Galadriel in this show at all so far.

Isildur wants to go to Andustar, the west part of Númenor. Not west to Valinor.