# 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:** 67
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1323 "2022-10-17T14:01:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Judging by that poll, nobody here thought it an unqualified success, > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > As in not a single 5 vote. In 35 votes as of this morning. That’s pretty shocking. And damning. Don’t read too much into that. I love the show, and I only gave it a 4. 5 is for something _truly_ special. It’s not _Spirited Away_, is what I’m saying. Note that I would only give the Peter Jackson movies 4, as well. ---
**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, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1324 "2022-10-17T14:06:00Z")
I would give the 3 LotR movies 5s. They were really well done. The extended versions even more so. I have some complaints, but almost all minor. The Hobbit movies would have been 3,2,1. They last was truly awful. ---
**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, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1325 "2022-10-17T14:06:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I know it is silly complaint, but couldn’t they keep Galadriel tall? She didn’t grow between the 2nd and 3rd age. I didn’t even notice her height. To me it was the voice that seemed off, after being familiar with Cate Blanchett’s narration to open _Fellowship of the Ring_. ---
**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, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1326 "2022-10-17T14:08:26Z")
I would have given the 3 LotR movies 5s, too. But I would have given the Hobbit movies 1, \*, \*. Star for “didn’t watch”. ---
**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, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1327 "2022-10-17T14:10:38Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > 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. I’m tempted to agree. But when you spend that much money to get the rights to make a large-scale Tolkien series, it’s no surprise you’re tempted to think big and do as much with it as you can. I really appreciate how Tolkien started LotR with a narrow focus, letting us see the world and learn about events through the eyes of one character, before broadening out. But the trend in much epic-scale modern fantasy seems to be to jump around between a whole bunch of different characters and settings and storylines that may or may not eventually converge, and _Rings of Power_ seems to be taking that approach. ---
**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, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1328 "2022-10-17T14:26:07Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The Hobbit movies would have been 3,2,1. They last was truly awful. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > But I would have given the Hobbit movies 1, \*, \*. Star for “didn’t watch”. I know there have been at least one, and probably several, unofficial attempts by fans to edit the Hobbit trilogy down into a single movie. I haven’t watched any of these attempts, but I suspect you could get a pretty good movie that way, that fixes much of what’s wrong with the trilogy. Would it be possible to do something like that with what we have so far of _Rings of Power_? I’m not sure. ---
**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, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1329 "2022-10-17T14:32:15Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Would it be possible to do something like that with what we have so far of _Rings of Power_? I’m not sure. I don’t think so. The Hobbit movies were full of annoying filler. The problem with RoP isn’t too much, it’s too little. Too little character development, too little drama. That’s why the last one was the best in season one. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1330 "2022-10-17T14:53:00Z")
Resons they’re a 4, not a 5, to me: Faramir got shafted. Stupid glowy Dead, like extras from a cheap horror. Stupid troll and Ent designs Board-surfing elf Sean Astin was terrible. ---
**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, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1331 "2022-10-17T14:57:55Z")
Agree on Faramir, also Aragorn was a bit more EMO than I liked. Do you mean the scrubbing bubbles dead for the Erech? Cave Troll (which was suppose to be a large orc chieftain, was a dumb looking CGI. I was fine with the Ents. Board-surfing Elf was silly, but hardly a major demerit for a 3 hour movie. I disagree on Sean Astin, I liked his Samwise. I didn’t love the warg designs, but that was minor. They did such a great job capturing the look of Middle-Earth that I give extra points for that. Most of the casting was great. ---
**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, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1332 "2022-10-17T14:58:10Z")
Well you also know that Sauron will succeed in making the rings, that part of the end has to be his finger being cut off by Isildur, and the arc for Numenor … There are events that are, shall we say, fixed points in time, that the story has to include. Agree on Galadriel’s height. I actually feel that major elements of the story presented could have worked wonderfully well. Part one being partly the arc of Galadriel going from driven and arrogant to realizing that her being such has brought disaster death and destruction upon all of Middle Earth, and grappling with the fact that Great Powers above Fate alone have made pushed her along that path … bringing her to a humbled low point, which we know she will rise from, but we don’t know how she will … Seeing how she becomes the person wise enough to know that she should not trusted with the power of the One Ring. And otherwise yes more focus on character development without as much melodramatic speechifying exposition, more by their actions. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1333 "2022-10-17T14:58:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I would give the 3 LotR movies 5s. They were really well done. The extended versions even more so. I have some complaints, but almost all minor. > > The Hobbit movies would have been 3,2,1. They last was truly awful. I gave RoP a 4. I am much stingier with my 5s. The only TV shows that I would even consider for a 5 are _Breaking Bad_, _Better Call Saul_, and _The Good Place_. And I need to round up to 5, since all of them had their 3 and 4 moments. Movies? _The Godfather_, _Casablanca_, _The Shawshank Redemption_, _Amadeus_, _Inception_ might be 5s. Not the LotR movies - those would be 4s mainly because I was pissed off at the portrayal of the Hobbits - emo Frodo; Merry and Pippen as buffoons with little of the growth shown in the books. Sam and Bilbo were fine. The Hobbit movies? 2 (mainly because of the Bag End party scene), 1, and 1 (because 0 is verboten). ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1334 "2022-10-17T15:00:23Z")
My university students’ only critique is that they think Elrond was miscast. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1335 "2022-10-17T15:02:46Z")
I would have agreed at the start, but he’s grown on me. -@What_Exit yes, the dead that bounced like fleas leaving a dead dog and glowed like they were radioactive. Jackson does love going back to his cheesy schlock roots more than I care for. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1336 "2022-10-17T15:03:52Z")
I thought Sean Astin was great. I was really disappointed in Denethor – they made him a small-minded, bigoted, incompetent mess, while in the books he was a highly damaged, but well-meaning and intelligent leader. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1337 "2022-10-17T15:09:42Z")
Sean Astin was a giant ham. On rewatching, I’ve grown tò really _loathe_ the way he says Frodo. _Froh-Doh_!! ---
**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, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1338 "2022-10-17T15:10:23Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m tempted to agree. But when you spend that much money to get the rights to make a large-scale Tolkien series, it’s no surprise you’re tempted to think big and do as much with it as you can. Oh I can see why they did what they did, and you are right that the temptation is there to go hard or go home but at some point a strong and knowledgeable voice to steer them might have been in order. I think it is notable that Peter Jackson was initially contacted by them but then was ignored. Not sure why but I think he would have had a lot to offer. ---
**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, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1339 "2022-10-17T15:10:59Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Sean Astin was a giant ham. On rewatching, I’ve grown tò really _loathe_ the way he says Frodo. _Froh-Doh_!! But that is the way someone with that accent would say that name. ---
**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, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1340 "2022-10-17T15:11:21Z")
Hard to say, LotR was done really well. The Hobbit Trilogy was crap. All Peter Jackson. ---
**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, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1341 "2022-10-17T15:12:30Z")
I suspect having done both more with less and less with more, Jackson would be in a well-informed position to say which was the better approach. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1342 "2022-10-17T15:13:47Z")
By stretching it out 2x its natural length? I’m not talking about his Mummerset accent, I’m talking about his personal diction when saying that name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=66) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=68)