# Amazon Lord of the Rings series; The Rings of Power **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, amazon-prime, tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 3, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497 "2019-03-03T20:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 66
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1303 "2022-10-17T04:40:11Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Maybe we can just assume a _Dunkirk_ kind of timeline, where sequential scenes are not necessarily happening at the same time? That’s what I always assumed. The meteor probably (though maybe not) synced everyone up, but aside from meetups, the parallel timelines are fluid. The Numenorians might have arrived in ME days earlier than we see them; time to unload the ships, set up camp, and send out scouts. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1304 "2022-10-17T08:44:06Z")
An amusing snippet of an interview with Daniel Weyman, the actor playing Probably-Gandalf; [![](https://i.redd.it/v1s7dq27zau91.jpg) ](https://i.redd.it/v1s7dq27zau91.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1305 "2022-10-17T09:16:53Z")
He really is channeling Ian McKellan at times. Assuming he is Gandalf, I wonder if he’ll bump into Radagast? Two meteor man plots sounds repetitive. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1306 "2022-10-17T09:42:22Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Slate had an interesting article on women in _Rings of Power_ compared to the earlier books and movies. It doesn’t actively shit on Tolkien’s writings or the other movies (with the exception of Tauriel), but it highlights some things we’ve learned about representation in the last 20 years. If the best thing that can be said about your $1 billion series is that it is “more representative” (and maybe that it looks OK in parts) then you have royally screwed it up. “Representation” is irrelevant, It isn’t a good thing in and of itself and can’t save a bad series. “I didn’t enjoy it but I agreed like hell with its political stance” isn’t a great review strapline. Perhaps try writing a coherent and interesting story first and see where that takes you. I watched two episodes, thought it was poor, wondered if I was being unfair. So I tried a third and if anything it got worse. It is a dismal, wooden, depressing, incoherent mess that felt nothing like Tolkien and simply isn’t written well enough to stand on its own merits. I’ll be surprised if it does huge numbers for this series and amazed if it gets anywhere near its intended run. Judging by the comments of those I know who have seen it, there are a few who enjoyed it, many more who struggled to get to the end of the series and who’s general considered opinion was somewhere between eh? and meh! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1307 "2022-10-17T11:12:09Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > If the best thing that can be said about your $1 billion series is that it is “more representative” (and maybe that it looks OK in parts) then you have royally screwed it up. I missed the part where someone said that that was the best thing that could be said about the series… ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1308 "2022-10-17T11:26:31Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I missed the part where someone said that that was the best thing that could be said about the series… Well if the writing, acting, effects, pacing and coherence are all over the shop I’m struggling to know what else it can be praised on. Perhaps the music as well? that was OK I suppose. My point is that if people are generally struggling to find things to like about it, then it doesn’t seem like $1 billion well spent. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1309 "2022-10-17T11:41:10Z")
About 29% of the people rating it on IMDb give it a 10, so I’d say some people are definitely liking it (about 20% give it a zero, so clearly some people have issues with it). That includes an average rating by females of 7.5, and a rating of the last episode of 7.9, which is very strong. Clearly there are people very much liking it. Only Amazon will know what that means in terms of value. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1310 "2022-10-17T12:00:13Z")
sure, but then IMDB is owned by Amazon. I’m not too sure that I put too much store by their ability to remain completely impartial on something of this magnitude. What is a reliable review site for this? Rotten Tomatoes gives it a very low viewer score. Is that more representative of what the viewers actually think? It is certainly more in line with what I’ve heard by word of mouth. If it is then Amazon should indeed be worried. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1311 "2022-10-17T12:28:32Z")
An [interesting article about the actor playing (hot) Sauron](https://deadline.com/2022/10/lotr-rings-of-powers-sauron-reveal-charlie-vickers-halbrand-clues-spoilers-season-1-finale-1235145363/). I know the spoiler warning is off but it’s mentioned in the link just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1312 "2022-10-17T12:35:13Z")
Well, my only word of mouth is this board, which may skew a bit pedantic. But I just dropped #RingsOfPower into Twitter search, and it’s pretty clear that people freaking love this show. They definitely seem to be younger, so they may not be invested in canon. On a different topic, but interesting in terms of canon, a quote from Tolkien in one of his letters.: > There was nothing wrong essentially in their [the Elves] lingering against counsel, still sadly with the mortal lands of their old deeds. But they wanted to have their cake without eating it. They wanted the peace and bliss and perfect memory of ‘The West’, and yet to remain on the ordinary earth where their prestige as the highest people, above wild Elves, dwarves, and Men, was greater than at the bottom of the hierarchy of Valinor. They thus became obsessed with ‘fading’, the mode in which the changes of time (the law of the world under the sun) was perceived by them. They became sad, and their art (shall we say) antiquarian, and their efforts all really a kind of embalming – even though they also retained the old motive of their kind, the adornment of earth, and the healing of its hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1313 "2022-10-17T12:45:02Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Well, my only word of mouth is this board, which may skew a bit pedantic. But I just dropped #RingsOfPower into Twitter search, and it’s pretty clear that people freaking love this show. They definitely seem to be younger, so they may not be invested in canon. It shows that some subset of people on Twitter love the show, no more than that. But I wouldn’t say that gives you an unbiased assessment of how it is being received more generally either. I haven’t heard people criticising it due to adherence to canon, It really seems to be that overall it is just rather shoddy. Simply not very well done. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1314 "2022-10-17T13:09:37Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > What is a reliable review site for this? Rotten Tomatoes gives it a very low viewer score. Not that I’m claiming that this is a “reliable review site,” but did you see the [Doper poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2134) that @John_DiFool linked to upthread? The most common rating there was 3 (out of 5). Judging by that poll, nobody here thought it an unqualified success, but the majority found some things to like about it (though there were a significant number who didn’t). ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1315 "2022-10-17T13:15:49Z")
So, as a thought experiment-do the folks in this thread who don’t like it feel that a good show could have been made with the sources given and the runners simply failed, or that it was unfilmable from the start? I can understand that making a show where many characters and events are set in stone would be tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1316 "2022-10-17T13:25:15Z")
I’m probably not who you’re asking, since I rated it 3 out of 5. But if you want my opinion: No matter what they did, they wouldn’t have pleased everybody. There would inevitably have been people calling it out as a failure no matter what. But overall, there were lots of things that the show’s writers, etc. _could_ have done better—and perhaps will do better in subsequent seasons. So, I vote the former. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1317 "2022-10-17T13:31:44Z")
I, also, rated it 3. I obviously liked the show enough, or i wouldn’t have finished the series. And i plan to watch the next series. No, i don’t think it was unfilmable. I think someone could have made a fabulous series out of this material. Instead, i think they’ve produced a serviceable series. They have some very strong characters, and some characters i want to follow. I’m really interested in how Isildur will get to his grand finale, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1318 "2022-10-17T13:47:17Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Not that I’m claiming that this is a “reliable review site,” but did you see the [Doper poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2134) that @John_DiFool linked to upthread? The most common rating there was 3 (out of 5). Judging by that poll, nobody here thought it an unqualified success, but the majority found some things to like about it (though there were a significant number who didn’t). As in not a single 5 vote. In 35 votes as of this morning. That’s pretty shocking. And damning. As I said upthread, they devised a 5 season plot, and by golly they are sticking to it, no matter what mad gyrations they must thus induce their characters to do. Annnd Amazon did NOT cancel my Prime membership like I thought I did-they make you have to click on like 6 different sequential buttons, and despite what the penultimate button said, apparently I did NOT cancel it after all. I may watch the finale then, but my enthusiasm for doing so right now is pretty low [ftr my vote was a 2] ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1319 "2022-10-17T13:48:56Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > So, as a thought experiment-do the folks in this thread who don’t like it feel that a good show could have been made with the sources given and the runners simply failed, or that it was unfilmable from the start? I can understand that making a show where many characters and events are set in stone would be tricky. they would have been better advised (in my opinion) to stick to a much narrower group of characters and a much more manageable story. They were throwing so much at the wall and trying to do too much and trying to tie up too much. I can’t help but compare this to the LOTR trilogy. There was a tight central story with some peripheral action that all led to a coherent whole. I think less was more in that case and I could well have got on board with just one well told strand from the second age. It doesn’t have to sprawl in order to feel epic in scale. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1320 "2022-10-17T13:51:46Z")
Definitely a good show could have been made. A great show could have been made. Prequels are challenging to be sure though. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1321 "2022-10-17T13:59:08Z")
I think a prequel with a gap of over 3000 years should not be hard. Only 2 characters from the LotR had to be kept consistent. (Galadriel and Elrond). Optionally Fangorn could have been another, but that would not have been tough anyway. Stranger/Gandalf wasn’t even suppose to be there. Sauron wasn’t really a character in LotR, he had no body. Here he could have been more interesting. But lots of looseness in presentation. Everyone else new to the screen. * * * * * * I know it is silly complaint, but couldn’t they keep Galadriel tall? She didn’t grow between the 2nd and 3rd age. Or are they going to give her some Entdraught later in the series? Things I liked, the Harfoots and the Dwarves. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1322 "2022-10-17T14:00:36Z")
Started a [Peter Jackson poll series](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2142) in the polls only thread, which will eventually cover all 6 of his films. [I may do Bashki/Rankin-Bass too] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=67)