# 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:** 75
**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 27, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1483 "2022-10-27T23:00:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep. I find the one star ratings in our poll to be suspect. why do you find those to be suspect? What are you implying about anyone who really disliked it? > [@DrDeth](#): > > I gave it a 5 on Amazon to balance out the racist 1 star reviews, but I rated it a 4 here. Enjoyable, very watchable, but flawed. So you are admitting that, as well as Amazon removing alleged racist reviews, you also inflated your own rating to make up for reviews that are no longer there or counted? Sounds like there are multiple good reasons for avoiding drawing any conclusions from what Amazon ratings say. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1484 "2022-10-27T23:00:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Or _BLACK Hobbits!!??!!_ (one type of hobbit was known to have brown skin- we were not told how brown) Specifically the Harfoots were of darker skin than the Fallohides and Stoors, and the Harfoots are who were depicted in the _Rings of Power_. I thought that it was one of the aspects of lore they did really well. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1485 "2022-10-27T23:11:10Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > how is that part of the statistics How is it not a part of the statistics? It does not matter what review site you name. If they crowdsource the reviews then it is relevant to make note who makes up that crowd. Which I did. You are using statistics to make a claim but ignoring what made up those statistics. I’m not sure what you are missing. ---
**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 27, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1486 "2022-10-27T23:17:41Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > How is it not a part of the statistics? It does not matter what review site you name. They can go anywhere. When talking about the statistics from Metacritic I specifically removed _all_ negative reviews from consideration. i.e. lets assume that 100% of them are invalid (an idiotic suggestion but for the sake of argument, let’s do that) Are you then suggesting that this supposed band of internet trolls who were frothing at the mouth with hate and outrage waited for the release of the show and then review-bombed Metacritic with a mixed review? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1487 "2022-10-27T23:21:17Z")
It is naive to assume the frothing trolls had no effect on others. It is not an either/or thing. It is a continuum and those frothing trolls can have a larger effect. 12 months of ranting about how awful the show will be can color the opinion of many downstream. I showed above there was no shortage of these rants. As mentioned, even though you managed to completely miss all of that, it was discussed here. This was not some weird, dark corner of the internet no one sees. This was mainstream. ---
**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 27, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1488 "2022-10-27T23:29:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It is naive to assume the frothing trolls had no effect on others. > > It is not an either/or thing. It is a continuum and those frothing trolls can have a larger effect. 12 months of ranting about how awful the show will be can color the opinion of many downstream. By the same token any gushing praise (of which there was plenty) can also inflate people’s experience yes? Why would those not cancel out if people are so very easily influenced? If it actually were really good why would lowered expectations not result in positive user reviews? I think it is really uncontroversial to say that, taking the totality of critical reviews, user reviews, word of mouth, heck even our very own threads and polls here, ROP has had a mixed reception at best. ---
**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 27, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1489 "2022-10-27T23:45:23Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > If they crowdsource the reviews then it is relevant to make note who makes up that crowd. Which I did. no, I don’t think you or I actually know who makes up that crowd, Who do you think makes up the crowd of Metacritic reviewers that post mixed and positive reviews and how do you know that? > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > You are using statistics to make a claim but ignoring what made up those statistics. The most important thing for any statistic is to be sure that your sample is representative. If you are saying that we can’t be _sure_ that this is the case for any of the review sites (and I agree, we can’t) then we cannot truly trust or compare any of the reviews for any show on any site. Shall we do that? disregard all reviews for all shows as meaningless and untrustworthy? My metacritic breakdown would then be invalid, as would anyone’s reference to a positive review summary. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1490 "2022-10-27T23:45:56Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > By the same token any gushing praise (of which there was plenty) can also inflate people’s experience yes? Why would those not cancel out if people are so very easily influenced? I am unaware of any “gushing praise” prior to the show’s release. No one had seen it. No one could say. But there were haters who trashed it because it had black people (and some other issues). Again, I showed you an example above which listed the howling that was out there. Those people were not kind. If there was an equal amount of gushing praise for a show that had not been released yet feel free to show us. You keep dancing around this. I’m done. ---
**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 27, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1491 "2022-10-27T23:54:39Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > If there was an equal amount of gushing praise for a show that had not been released yet feel free to show us. I don’t know what “equal” means but in terms of pre-release I found these very quickly > **['Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Early Reactions Call It a...](https://collider.com/lord-of-the-rings-of-power-reactions-reviews-is-it-good/)** > > You can hop on your eagle and make your way back to Middle-Earth, it's safe. > **['The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power': First Reactions Are Here](https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-first-reactions/)** > > Tweets from fans and critics about the first two episodes of the Amazon series seem overwhelmingly positive. > **[The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Early Reviews - The Next Game of Thrones?](https://highoncinemaa.com/tv-shows/amazon-prime/the-lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-early-reviews-the-next-game-of-thrones/1701/)** > > The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power is Amazon’s biggest leap in the cinematic world yet and it set to debut on 2nd September 2022. I... > **[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power review – so astounding it makes...](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/aug/31/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-review-so-astounding-it-makes-house-of-the-dragon-look-amateur)** > > The visual splendour of this rich, gorgeous Tolkien drama will make you gawp throughout. Watch it on the largest TV you can > **[People Are Loving The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power](https://gizmodo.com/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-reviews-amazon-tolkien-1849451293)** > > If you love fantasy, 2022 is the place to be. Not only is there a brand new Game of Thrones show on HBO, but Prime Video is gearing up to debut the latest installment in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series. And apparently, it’s quite good. There is more if you want it, and this doesn’t even touch upon the massive push that Amazon gave it across multiple platforms and multiple media outlets. I mean, this wasn’t hidden under a plantpot. they were not shy about promoting it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1492 "2022-10-28T02:12:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Specifically the Harfoots were of darker skin than the Fallohides and Stoors, and the Harfoots are who were depicted in the _Rings of Power_. I thought that it was one of the aspects of lore they did really well. Yes, very good, thanks. 👍 > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > By the same token any gushing praise (of which there was plenty) can also inflate people’s experience yes? Not really, unless you are assuming that the 5 star reviews are Amazon Employees or people who REALLY liked a mixed race cast, etc. The one star- “woke crap” reviews are not valid, they are racist drivel. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1493 "2022-10-28T04:03:59Z")
I stopped after episode 4. I was just done, and couldn’t bring myself to care about any of it, in fact I felt like they had somehow sucked all of my interest out of the whole LotR experience. I’m tired of speculating about which character is going to turn out to be whom, among the characters I know from LotR, and I just don’t care any more. Maybe one or two of the characters are interesting, but it’s just not enough. I don’t care about the scenery or costumes, certainly not enough to watch just for that. LotR by itself is nearly perfect, and the movies were close enough for me, with some real revelations (Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, for example). All the other Tolkien content, even the standalone stories like The Children of Hurin, were of peripheral interest to me as background to what I still believe is the main (if not only) story. I used to follow two or three YouTube channels explicating details of LotR lore. Now I just don’t care any more. I’m afraid to watch any more episodes lest they completely obliterate what I loved about LotR before I saw them. I haven’t read any comments here since episode 4, so now that the season is over, please tell me frankly and honestly if it gets any better, without spoilers if possible. ---
**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 28, 2022, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1494 "2022-10-28T04:27:25Z")
Yes, i thought it got better. I thought the last episode was the strongest. But in general, i felt that there was more plot and more focus on characters as the series went on. ---
**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 28, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1495 "2022-10-28T04:29:07Z")
That being said, i didn’t think it was great. But i kinda despaired at first as to whether it would ever go anywhere, and by the end i enjoyed it and looked forward to the next episode. ---
**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 28, 2022, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1496 "2022-10-28T06:42:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not really, unless you are assuming that the 5 star reviews are Amazon Employees or people who REALLY liked a mixed race cast, etc. You need to rethink that statement because that simply doesn’t follow does it?. Why would any potentially inflated 5 star reviews have to be a result of “anti-woke” reasons? They’d just have to be a response to being influenced by positive online and other media opinion. (the content of which seems to be full of other criteria _not_ based on the race of the cast). When I look for ROP opinion and articles before the air date of Sep 1st I see page after page of mainstream opinion. Most of which is either praising it or is neutral on the quality. Looking beyond the headlines there are reports of people being bothered by it for racist reasons but clearly hardly any (if any at all) mainstream platforms were carrying a message “this is shit and you should hate it because it is woke”. That being the case, what is the average viewer more likely to be exposed to? A torrent of hateful racists bile from the darkest corner of the web that they are unlikely to inhabit? Or the most positive popular media that says “this is great you should like it” and sometimes “people who hate it are racist” and be left to draw their own conclusions from that? I don’t know what actually happened and nor do you but my money is on more or the latter than the former. If online and media influence is a thing it is hard to argue that it can only go one way. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1497 "2022-10-28T09:01:46Z")
If you really only care about LotR, then, no I don’t think it does. It doesn’t get any more Tolkien-y, and arguably gets less. ---
**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 28, 2022, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1498 "2022-10-28T10:48:42Z")
While I do like the series thus far (for the pretty people and costumes if nothing else) at times it does almost feel like an RPG set in Middle-Earth. One person rolled a wizard, one a Ranger, ect. ---
**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 28, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1499 "2022-10-28T12:24:50Z")
You don’t think that RPGs being largely derivative is causing some blurring of cause and effect, there? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1500 "2022-10-28T12:44:59Z")
It reminds me of when a friend came over when I was watching an episode of NuWho, and he remarked that they ripped the idea of the TARDIS off of Bill and Ted’s Adventure. 🙄 ---
**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 28, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1501 "2022-10-28T13:34:32Z")
@Love_Rhombus will speak for themself but I read that not as a comment on originality but of depth and range of characterization by writing and acting. Obviously YMMV. But for many of us who were meh to the show that was the overall sense of it and the _biggest_ (not only though) reason for our feeling so meh. Or at least the sense for too many of the characters. Some have a hint of depth and interest. ---
**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 28, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1502 "2022-10-28T14:06:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You don’t think that RPGs being largely derivative is causing some blurring of cause and effect, there? I genuinely didn’t even think of that, but you’re quite right. The characters do feel a little generic, but obviously, Tolkien was a massive influence on RPGs like D&D. > [@DSeid](#): > > @Love_Rhombus will speak for themself but I read that not as a comment on originality but of depth and range of characterization by writing and acting. Perhaps not the acting (I feel like most of the actors are doing what they can with what’s given to them) but the writing in general sometimes feels thin. Perhaps not surprising given the amount of canonical information they have as a resource. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=76)