LOTR - The Rings of Power [SPOILERS]

[Emphyrio]

I felt they hit a lot of milestones/resolutions. It came across as a proper season finale.

[Ollkiller]

That finale was deadly. Loads of great bits. The first 5 mins were my favourite. What an intro.

[Caomhaoin]

The first season was, in my opinion, not praiseworthy at all and I gave up on the new one after an episode and a half. I hear the dogs barking about what's coming but I'm reluctant to continue. Girl boss/DEI gripes aside, it's tedious and the acting is often pish.

What they spent the majority of the gigantic budget on eludes me.

[Ollkiller]

I'd say they spent the majority of the budget on the last 2 episodes.

[Emphyrio]

The first season was, in my opinion, not praiseworthy at all and I gave up on the new one after an episode and a half. I hear the dogs barking about what's coming but I'm reluctant to continue. Girl boss/DEI gripes aside, it's tedious and the acting is often pish.

What they spent the majority of the gigantic budget on eludes me.

S2 is a big step up all round. Acting, canon and clever choices filling in things that are absent in the lore.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Think I'm home alone next weekend, will def aim to watch all of S2 again across, say, two 4 hour sittings. I still personally think S1 was great and that S2 is just a natural extension from it, drawing the viewer in more and feeling better as a result, but on the whole both seasons, imo, started strong, dipped a wee bit in the middle, and then ended really well.

[Giggles]

Those last 2 episodes were bangers

[Ollkiller]

Those last 2 episodes were bangers

When I heard they were doing this show I had hoped for what the last 2 episodes delivered. Proper LOTR done well. Season 1 really tested my patience but it was world building. Season 2 I thoroughly enjoyed. Going to watch those last 2 again in a few days. So good.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Did you watch S1 just the once or a second time after? I found the entire Halbrand-Galabriel story so much better on a re-watch, post-reveal, which I think has to have been intended.

[Emphyrio]

S1 has to be rewatched. The first time to get the grievances out of the way, the second time to enjoy on its own merits and to appreciate how the writing decisions make total sense heading into S2.

[jobrok1]

Elrond grew some kind of a pair of balls in season 2, as well.

Fuck me, he was some waste of screen time in season 1.
Pivotal to the overall plot, I know! But he just seemed to be in there to look wise and Elvish.

[Born of Fire]

All the elves could've been replaced with planks of timber apart from Celembrimbor and even he had that one line that felt like it was hamfistedly jammed in. A far cry from the commanding presence Hugo Weaving had as Elrond.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

I genuinely couldn't stand Weaving as Elrond when I first saw Fellowship  It certainly didn't help that the Matrix was at a cultural climax at the time, but compared to how Elrond is described in the books, it felt to me, and sometimes still feels, a bit like Agent Smith strutting around a Rivendell simulation in an elf skin 

[Born of Fire]

Ha fair enough! I'll take Agent Elrond any day over the current crop of mopey cunts though 

[John Kimble]

The elves were always a bit one dimensional though, even in the books if I remember. They're supposed to these immortal, otherworldly beings. Any complexity, character-wise, was to be found in the race of men...Boromir, Aragorn, Theoden etc, with their inner-conflicts and flaws. I actually have to give the new series credit for fleshing-out the elves somewhat. Celebrimor was obviously corrupted by the promise of power, and Arondir is very much driven by revenge.