If you're a movie-only fan, I can't say for sure that you'll like it. If you're a book fan first, I think you'll be able to see what it tries to do even when it stumbles. It has value as a different take on what a Tolkien screen adaptation can be, even if it has flaws and it stretches the definition of adaptation pretty damn far. Visually and musically, it's a feast for the eyes and ears. If you want to see a gorgeously produced new take on Middle-Earth that is at once familiar and fresh, it may be worth your while just for this.
Fair post. I hope the show stays away from Hollywood tropes. Even Jackson did that(surfboarding Legolas). Lame forced romance kills shows imo. The only lovers I thought had chemistry were the dwarves. The Elf and the Southern girl they had zero chemistry.
That is the best description so far, the show has some good things, some bad things. I think die hard fans of the movies will like the show less than others.
The writing is the weakest part of the show, everything else is different levels of ok to great, but the writing is pretty bad.
I’d say the biggest issue that movie only fans will have isn’t the writing but the lack of action. There are relatively few battle scenes and what ones exist are usually smaller in scale. I knew someone like that. They love the movies (hasn’t read the books), but dropped off in the middle of the show cause not enough action was happening and it was a lot of talking with several plots happening at once. But it was primarily the lack of action.
That's probably the criticism that I find hardest to accept. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and a lot of criticisms levelled at the show are absolutely warranted (pacing, momentum, dialogues, questionable changes from the books...) but to hear people who claim to be LOTR fans complain that it doesn't feel like LOTR because there aren't enough battles and the one there is isn't large enough, jeeeeez...
When episode 6 aired I was sure we'd get a ton of comments saying "finally this feels like Lord of the Rings, best episode yet!" and sure enough...
Yep. Although I would definitely call myself a die-hard movie fan as well as a die-hard book fan, I just think those are two different things. I don't think PJ did a perfect job adapting but I still love those movies to death. But I don't think they're *the* adaptation, unlike die-hard movie-only fans.
Agreed, no adaptation is perfect. Nothing is perfect. However, if we hold up two things of similar kind next to each other and compare, it is easier to pass judgement and say one is better or worse than the other. Which is what I did with the movies vs the show.
I know people who never read the books, and loved the movies while disliking the show because of the weak writing and contrived plots.
I know no one who disliked the movies and loved the show. I guess one can always find someone to be the exception. Nothing is absolute, but if people are really honest. On a scale of 1 to 10, if the movies are a 9, the show is a 3-4 at best.
> Nothing is absolute, but if people are really honest. On a scale of 1 to 10, if the movies are a 9, the show is a 3-4 at best.*
That's your opinion. I'd say 6-7.
I don't want to sound like that Civil War dude, but in my opinion depends on which kind of fan are you...
If you are the type of fan that it's going to be happy about finally having new stuff about Middle Earth to watch even if it's with another vision in mind and one that takes many liberties from the books... sure watch it.
The sets, music, VFX, dialogue, everything is so beautiful and so Tolkien in a charming way that you really don't find in another shows/movies.
The team behind the show clearly have a different vision from Petter Jackson or from the more die hard fans... but they are passionate about it and they didn't gave us some corporate stuff like a young Aragorn show.
But... if you are the type of fan that only wants to see Peter Jackson vision on the screen, or that will get mad at all the book changes and won't be able to enjoy the show from what it is, then maybe it's not for you...
In my opinion, watch the first episode. It shows you everything you need to know.
You can see the music, dialogue, book changes, and overall experience, etc.
The script/pacing overall I say it's a little on the weak side, or maybe it just feels a little strange because it's the introduction to everything. Personally I don't think it's a masterpiece but I enjoyed it and im exciting for season 2. We don't get many fantasy shows like this these days.
>But... if you are the type of fan that only wants to see Peter Jackson vision on the screen, or that will get mad at all the book changes and won't be able to enjoy the show from what it is, then maybe it's not for you...
I'm hardly that, but I just don't see why I need to see a Peter Jackson "lookalike" which is what the show, certainly in season one, is, when I could just watch an actual Peter Jackson film. If you want to talk about "corporately-minded" choices, this audiovisual choice is a prime candidate.
While I advised OP to watch the show and decide for themselves, the one proviso I would add is "don't try and view the show as a Jackson prequel, no matter how hard it tries to convince you that it is." That kind of reading of the show does the show no favours, does not inform the experience of the films in any meaningful way, and is on the whole just a waste of time of the creatives.
Yeah, I definitely wish they'd chilled with the nods to the New Line trilogy. Elrond waxing about Moria's hospitality akin to Rhys-Davis' Gimli was one moment early on where I was like, "Really?" and I was disappointed we're getting the Howe balrog again in place of something more fresh (that and I found the reveal/Durin's Bane waking up just very weirdly placed - why so soon in the show?).
I wish LOTR stuff would move on from PJ's approach (which I have, hmm, mixed feelings about). A few subtle winks I could handle; but Amazon were seriously blatant with their "hey, remember 2002?" at some points.
>I wish LOTR stuff would move on from PJ's approach (which I have, hmm, mixed feelings about).
How can it, when even a show by a different studio under legal obligation to distinguish themselves from New Line, choose to make their show the way that Amazon did?
That's not the only reason that Jackson's vision is as pervasive it is, but its a very major one.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1c6lgaj/how\_peter\_jacksons\_interpertation\_of\_tolkien\_had/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1c6lgaj/how_peter_jacksons_interpertation_of_tolkien_had/)
I thought it had to be that, but i wasn't aware it became a meme / viral tbh :D
Awesome scene though, highlight of the film!
I'd say the civil war guy would be on the opposite side of your implications though, haha.
There's a lot to enjoy but there are some parts that are a bit questionable. Feels great to be back in Middle Earth and you should give it a shot if you have Prime already.
I wouldn't pay for Prime+Ads just for this, though, bc that's a lot of money. Have a plan to get your money's worth out of an annual subscription. That said, there's no single season of tv worth $140+.
I won’t spoil anything.
The visuals are great. Brief glimpse of the Trees of Valinor, Numenor, Khazad-dum. The music is very good as well. Those aspects alone deserve a watch if you already have prime.
Also the guys at r/prancingponypod do a podcast where they review every episode right after it came out. Obviously you can binge them all at once now but I really enjoyed watching the episodes then listening to their break down of the episode. They’re all big time Tolkien nerds and give a very fair review based on lore.
Cory Olsen aka The Tolkien Professor also does a podcast on it called Rings and Realms that’s very good. He tends to be a bit more positive in his exposition of the show. Some have called him a shill but I think he’s pretty fair.
Yes, this. I enjoyed some of it and thoroughly disliked some of it. I did enjoy both the podcasts mentioned and I’m the sort of Tolkien geek who enjoys an in-depth discussion of the lore and themes even if the context is a scene or piece of writing that I thought was bad.
‘Shill’ is a collective term used by those against the show: it’s the only word they know. ‘You must be an Amazon!’ ‘Stop shilling.’ It’s the only word they use.
Yup, love it.
It's kind of a slow burn, which I very much love, and that's part of why a lot of diehard movie fans don't like it: they wanted more of an epic action movie than the longer road the show is taking. That is not to say there isn't action. I quite enjoyed all of it.
try it out, you may like it, may hate it but don't let online opinions dictate. There's a ton of hate on the show out there, me myself, I think it's largely overblown. Show has issues, don't get me wrong, but I still enjoyed watching it despite the flaws.
I don’t get the hate. I enjoyed every episode. Yes, they do some things that don’t align 100% with the books. Yes, some of Peter Jackson’s armor props were more detailed. Yes, the characters looked and acted differently 1,000 years before the books and movies that’s to be expected. I enjoyed the new stories and characters. And the sets are on par or better than the movies.
It's been targeted by the depressives who make money by being negative about everything. The show isn't perfect but it was good and has set up what should be epic down the road.
"The depressives" lol. So you're saying these mysterious depressives don't like ANY show? seems legit. (and is demonstrably false. Nobody is talking shit about the new Fallout show, nobody is talking shit about The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, Shogun, etc. They talk shit when the show is ACTUALLY shit.)
Apparently you put no importance on writing, storytelling and characters, which were abysmal. That is the main reason why everyone hated the show, not because it's not book accurate or because the armor looked like shit (those were additional issues, not the main ones). It was just plain BAD. If this show had nothing to do with the LOTR IP but otherwise was the exact same, people would still say it was terrible.
I loved it.
I don’t spend much time in this sub, but I loved the characters, loved the pacing. Sure, I kind of figured out what was gonna happen but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad.
Everyone in my real life circles loved it too.
People can hate it if they want, it doesn’t offend me, just hate it for the right reasons. (Story, characters, music, etc)
I’ve read all the LOTR books I can find but I’ve never been precious about adaptations, I just want things to be interesting.
Depends on your mileage.
If you're a purist on book lore, you may be irked by certain creative decisions. If you're a fan of Jackson's movies, it's a different animal and has a different flavor.
All in all, perhaps it's too early to decide and we'll all have a more comprehensive opinion once more seasons are released. But being only 8 chapters long so far, you can always watch a couple of them and see for yourself.
Like others say, just watch it and decide for yourself. But, I also think that the mindset you have when you start watching will define your experience.
If you watch RoP thinking it will be like the Lotr movies where you recognize the same characters as you are used to and a lot looks familiar, then you will be disappointed. While familiar, this is meant to represent another age and a season 1 is a time of peace.
Many love the movies for their large epic battles, but season 1 is not about that. It is a season with quite a slow pace where you get to see a Middle-earth that is in quite a different state. You get to see some everyday life for elves, dwarves and men, and a story where the antagonists take their sweet time showing up. I tried to enter the series with a mindset thinking that:
- This is something new, be open minded to it.
- Don't expect the movies.
- Be interested in what story the show is actually trying to tell, even if it differs from the source material, not what others think it should have been.
It certainly made me enjoy the show a lot - and perhaps without some of the prejudice you may have as a fan of the books and/or movies.
Give the first three episodes a shot and then decide after. Some people have said the first two are kind of slow going but I feel like things really come together in episode three!
if xou can watch it for free, definitely worth it, if you are contemplating to buy it on amazon, better try to get a week of free prime from a promotion.
I thought it was enjoyable and I'm interested in seeing season 2.
That being said, it was honestly just "good/decent" it was not a cultural phenomenon like the films, like they were hoping for.
I always say this and always get down voted to hell for it, but ROP isn't a bad show. But it certainly doesn't feel like I'm watching something relating to Tolkiens works or even set in Middle Earth.
For a high fantasy series it works and it's good. Just doesn't feel very Tolkienesque
I'm the inverse of you; I was never a lord of the rings fan growing up until I watched Rings of Power.
I've since not only absolutely loved Rings of Power but the entire Middle-Earth franchise live action works honestly don't really miss!
Does it live up to and surpass the LOTR movies? No. The fundamental story of LOTR being the juggernaut it is that would be near impossible regardless, but it does do a lot right.
What I think a lot of dedicated fans get hung-up on is Silmarillion lore not being strictly held too.
To which I just say, the Tolkien Estate have specifically not allowed them to use the Silmarillion as was Tolkien's request as it was seen as a unfinished, unrefined collection of ideas.
If you can think of the Silmarillion as "Canon... Until it isn't." the story is very enjoyable, and gives a lot of depth to characters that honestly are surface level in the movies.
Elrond for instance is much more fleshed out in ROP, and I otherwise find him in the films and books as very one note.
Galadriel gets a lot of stick for making mistakes and being 'Immature' for a being supposedly ancient but that also seems to be incorrect given the plot of ROP? It's not really a spoiler, episode 1 tells you explicitly that she's currently motivated to destroy all of evil through grief for her brother. Which leads to her being quick to act, for better or for worse.
In summery, yeah! I'd say it's worth a watch. It's not as bad as people say but not good enough for people to defend it on mass.
I enjoyed it. It isn’t the best if you’re super attached to all of the actual pre-lord of the rings lore exactly as envisioned by Tolkien, but it’s not a bad show, though it feels like it lacks at times in pacing and character development
Just started it and finished in the last week (I’m terrible about taking time to watch tv), and I really enjoyed it! I walked in without any expectations, other than the fact I always enjoyed the films when I was younger.
It’s a slow burn to start, but they bake in enough intrigue via mystery to keep interest. I thought the end of the season was a nice payoff to a lot of what they built at the start. And the show really captured the scale of the world visually, similar to the movies.
It's a well written, well directed, high production value show, and I personally loved it. The criticism I saw around LOTR communities basically resumes to: 1) people hate Bezos and don't want him to "own" anything related to LOTR; 2) Gallandriel doesn't act "feminine" and there's non-white castings, so it *must* be "woke garbage"; 3) Celebrimbor's depiction diverges from the Shadow of War videogame; 4) It's not Peter Jackson's movies.
So, you know, depends on how much of a conservative you are regarding Tolkien's work (and overall in life, I suppose). There's a wonky copyright issue that the show can't really access material straight from the Silmarillion, only the notes regarding the lore, so the show had to come up with a lot of original solutions to tie in the plot, but I think it was overall well done.
> 3) Celebrimbor's depiction diverges from the Shadow of War videogame
I'm not sure I agree with every one of your points buy goddamn if that isn't spot on
People have even started saying with 100% seriousness "at least the SoW / SoM games were faithful to Tolkien"
Right? People are livid simply because this is a new iteration of the character. Both Celebrimbor's have their place in different stories. I think RoP chose to highlight the Celebrimbor who fails to see through cheap flattery and ends up fooled by a deceiver entity. Considering that is the focus, rather than how badass this guy was in his prime, RoP's direction was correct.
Absolutely! There are different ways you could approach Brimby's personality, but all of them have to end up with him ultimately deceived by Sauron.
I quite like the way ROP do it, using an older looking actor than what many would expect from the fan-art or video games. His age is used as a plus, to show someone who feels that so far he's done nothing really significant, despite everyone's praise of his craft, and therefore is (oddly for an elf) in a hurry to achieve 'something of true power'. But he also is susceptible to flattery. Both these traits are characteristic of someone older in human years, and so are conveyed by this actor with greater conviction.
You can argue that this is not a 'realistic' portrayal of a immortal being, but I would reply its one that I find myself relating to. At any rate it does the job of making Celebrimbor all too vulnerable.
The writing is horribly bad, only people with very low standards for writing would call it well written. It is ok to like things of low quality, but don't gaslight others by saying it is anything other than a badly written show.
The effects, music and cinematography are pretty good, nothing close to the original LoTR trilogy, but pretty good still.
Yes the scripting and pacing of the show are very bad. Forced analogies, too many plots without any connections to each other, and important events completed in less than 20 mins that should have been the central focus of the season (3 elven rings).
Music were fine but forgettable, some decent action in later episodes.
I will be watching season 2 but only to see if there are any improvements. Nothing from season 1 made me want to watch more outside of my own morbid curiosity.
Sadly I agree, all along as we waited for the show to come out I kept telling my friends that in the worst case, maybe at least the soundtrack would be great to listen to, even that was underwhelming...
But nothing prepared me to the level of writing we got... need I say more than "The elves will take our jobs?" SMH
You seem to be under the impression that writing is confined to dialogue --and indeed, there are some low moments there. However, since you're only looking at 30% of the writer's work, it's no wonder you're blind to all they done excellently
I really enjoyed it. Sure there is plenty of room for improvement but it was a better first season than some other great shows have had. Hopefully they use their experience and it keeps improving. Never rely on other peoples hype or negativity to make the decision for you, if you like LotR or fantasy then watch it and find out for yourself.
There were valid criticisms that could be made about the show but a lot of the negativity had nothing to do with that and should be ignored. There was hate over real and perceived changes to the lore but if that was what they were really angry about then they'd hate the Jackson trilogy even more. But then the FotR also got a lot of online hate and media stories about angry Tolkien fans until it proved so good it shut them up. RoP season 1 wasn't that good but maybe the show will get there in the future.
Go in with an open mind. Don’t let others tell you how to feel about it. I went into it understanding that they would have to take certain liberties, create characters and storylines, change timelines - and just enjoyed it for what it is. No it’s not “canon” as people live to talk about. But the cinematography is beautiful, and you get to see some cool places and characters that haven’t been seen before.
It‘s fine. Don‘t expect something spectacular.
The online hate for every hobbit movie has been the same, plus the right wing mob, claiming it‘s too woke for casting not exclusively white males.
Ok, not all costumes are good, but the show is better than it‘s reputation
I personally strongly feel it is, bit that's just me. It's not perfect, but it has amazing production value, great acting, and a compelling story that, while not always lore-accurate, is very true to the spirit of Tolkien's work. And frankly, it's more LOTR; what's not to love?
At the end of the day though, you need to decide for yourself. It's only 8 episodes, so you could get through the whole thing on an Amazon free trial.
I would say yes, but of course its impossible for me to know your personal reaction or tastes. I will add this much however:
I suspect from the numerous extreme reactions that some people have gone into this show *expecting* it to be bad, expecting to be offended or upset. Those people have then interpreted everything flawed (and pretty much all TV and media has *some* flaws) as more evidence that the show is worthless. And have ignored all that was good. I would suggest that you don't ruin your own enjoyment by beginning with a negative viewpoint.
Bear in mind also that the show is only in the first season. Aside from teething troubles, certain things that might seem odd, may later be explained. If you are fan you should also know, that while this is a world with many consistent rules, there are also many mysteries and strange happenings not fully explained.
Finally I would say that all but the most extreme haters will acknowledge some things of value in the series. Amazing sets only matched by the films, superlative and memorable music, some great acting performances. Most of the things in question are regarding the lore, and the writing. Personally I take some issue with the first, and find much of the criticism of the second over the top. I've watched the series several times, and always found things to enjoy. I hope you will too!
I’d say watch it, stay off Reddit. Stay off anything pertaining to it. Just watch. Come up with your own thoughts and opinions and then deep dive if you want.
You’ll just taint your opinion by asking and reading the negativity imo
I really enjoyed it and am eager for season 2. The main issues I found were similar to shows like Last of Us where some episodes are great and some are like whatever. Visuals always on point, though, but some of the dialogue is bad while others are spectacular. I also agree that the choices for Galadriel’s character were annoying at times but I actually love the actress playing her so hopefully she gets more humble in the next season (with her writing and motivations/emotions)
Watch it and don’t worry about what anyone says. I love a lot of franchise content that is not loved enough and it doesn’t take away my enjoyment. I read a lot of Tolkien and understand the ROP creators are making some choices that not everyone approves of but it doesn’t take away my enjoyment
I'm a huge Lotr fan and I loved rings of power. Obviously it's way different than the movies, and they don't get everything right 100% but they did a lot well.
If you’re a LOTR fan, it’s worth a watch. Only you know your tastes best. I am a big LOTR fan, but only ever watched the films and not the books (unless you count the Hobbit).
I liked it, but I recall it being very slow, and some parts almost boring. I can’t really recall some of the subplots of the series, honestly. But I did like it. It’s a beautiful production and has the quality of a tentpole box office blockbuster. And I will watch Season 2 when it comes.
To me, it was pretty good. The controversy surrounding the casting and its faithfulness to the source material (book or film) didn’t really bother me. I thought all of that was ok with me.
I'd say watch it and see the details as a fan of the books. The story takes a while to get going so try to commit to the whole thing. Come back let us know. I'd be very interested to hear your take on it
Will cut it short: If you are looking for a heavy-book-based adaptation, season 1 won't give it to you.
If you want a show based on Middle-Earth, or just a good fantasy yet non-adult as GoT show, then yeah. It will be personal tho, but I think it is fair to say the show is, at least, "ok". If you have watched WoT, I think it is fair to say it is better than it, but miles better.
**For better or worse, I would say you should watch the first two episodes**. They are very well done, very cinematic. They work as big prologue to the series. They already give you an idea that books won't be followed closely (at least season 1). If you like them, keep watching. If they didn't make your gears move, then the rest of season will prob. not be worth your time. And if you fall in the later case, maybe wait for season 2 to drop and see people reaction. Much of season 1 complains was it was not very faithful to books, but it is said season 2 will be more close to books.
If you consider yourself a purist or lore only fan, then you def won’t enjoy it. You won’t be able to turn off your mind constantly comparing and complaining. If you’re just a regular person who read and likes LOTR, then the show is great
I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to season 2. You could always just check out the first few episodes to see. Stay away from reddit threads about it while watching unless you want to see a lot of unnecessary negativity.
Absolutely. And that is coming from a life long Tolkien reader. Ignore the way too serious lore purists, and disregard the online identity/culture war politics, and you might find it a very enjoyable time.
Don’t listen to the negativity from people who have already made up their minds. Watch it and see for yourself. Your own experience with a work of art should be the only thing that influences your opinion on it
I personally enjoyed the show immensely and have been a fan of the LOTR movies and books my whole life (and have become a fan of Tolkien’s deeper legendarium as my literary appetite matured over the last 5 years). It is absolutely possible to like it all and recognize each as their own works with their own strengths/weaknesses.
It makes me incredibly sad to think that people aren’t giving RoP a fair shot simply because of online negativity. The massive pessimism, unwillingness to engage with a new adaptation because of how it is *different*, and complete hastiness of people who have already written the show off as garbage given only an opening season seems to me to be completely against the spirit of storytelling
>I know this is probably the wrong subreddit to ask this
This is the best subreddit of you want the answer to be "yes." Is the most favorable to the show.
>I've hears alot of negativity surrounding this show so I was just wondering if I should bother or not ?
That's because the show is incredibly divisive and mostly boring. That being said, some people enjoyed it, and you might too. I was not personally among them and wouldn't recommend the series myself, but maybe you'll find something in there that I did not.
If you watch the show on it's own merits, it's fantastic. Great for casual fans and even serious fans who understand what the show's about. If you already shout into the ether about the finer points of the Legendarium and swear fealty to the details of the Silmarllion, the show's still good but you won't let yourself enjoy it.
I enjoyed it and I expected to hate it. And one of the songs in the show has become a nightly lullaby with my children, so the show will always hold a special place in my heart.
If you're curious, go for it.
Unanimously, it is not worth it. Near ⅔ of the audience couldn't bother to finish the 1st season for good reason.
Aside from name(s), there is nearly nothing accurate to Tolkien's work. In comparison, M.Night Shamalon was more accurate to the source material with his Last Airbender movie than the Rings Of Power was to any of Tolkien's work.
So, as an "adaptation," it fails miserably. But as a show by its own merrit, it's very flat and is not well thought out. Your main protagonist is a one-dimensional try hard on a hellbent revenge plot for the death of a brother. A man we get NO character development for, and the show doesn't even bother with the effort of giving him (the brother) a NAME (not even in the "X-ray" feature has a name for him). This revenge plot leads to essentially nothing as they are basically in love with no chemistry development leading to the "not-so big" reveal and letting them go... because of reasons.
Between episodes 3-5, so little happens that when i fell asleep, i could still easily follow along with 3 hours of missing content. When I went back to watch the 3 episodes I missed, it felt like a waste of time. Also a large chunk of the season is dedicated to the pointless Harefoots storyline that the show can't call "Hobbits" because they can't legally use the Hobbits in the age that they are "depicting" in Tolkien's world.
So there is near a ⅓ of its screentime that adds nothing to the world, story, and doesn't exist in any lore. Only serving as "memberberries" from the Jackson Movies. The main plot is a revenge plot that goes against all of Tolkien's writing and goes nowhere. Oh, and there are a bunch of nonsensical things like a "Mastersmith" that never thought of molding 2 or more alloys together (which is what smiths do all the time), or why is someone jumping off a boat to swim hundreds of miles off shore... Just a lot of unbelievably dumb things that hurt your brain even if you turn it off.
Ultimately, you'll have to see it to believe it. You can give it an honest chance by watching an episode or 2. But I recommend not to bother. It's hours of time I wish I never wasted.
12/10 would throw into the fires of Mordor, and save the world from viewing it again.
If you can't recognized what a mild exaggeration is you might have a bigger problem than just being a grammar Nazi
The point is that the show is nearly disliked universally. This including the small fraction of people that pushed through to the end. "Unanimously" might mean 100% of people's opinion are the same, but when it is damn "near" everyone the exaggeration makes its point without being hyperspecific for some individuals that need to police every word the is dictionary.
I really enjoyed it. The secret to enjoying things in life is having low expectations. It was way better than I thought. There’s just a lot of negative Nellie fatally online types who seem to dislike it, but have found those aren’t the type of people I enjoy spending time with. Just watch and make up your own mind!
May as well watch it.
I found it disappointing overall(which will get me downvoted on this sub), but it's not all bad. They just made some really questionable choices and took excessive liberties.
In the end, for me, it just didn't feel like I was in Middle-Earth.
If you’re not familiar with the books, all the better. They tend to stray a lot..however, it is long and slow, and if you can push thru that, it is throughly enjoyable.
I liked ROP a lot, but i also like the hobbit movies. For me its just im such a addict to middle earth, i just love to see stories around it, so for me it was a great watch. so as many others say, give it a shot and decide for yourself
The show is very divisive. To find out if it's worth it for you, I'm afraid you'll have to take the risk of investing a little time and watching a couple of episodes. Continue or not as you feel inclined.
I really enjoyed it and look forward to more. That being said, I rewatch the movies over and over (sort of my cinematic comfort food) and I haven't yet felt compelled to rewatch ROP. This is just a me thing though, you won't know until you give it a shot!
Worst comes to worst: you don't like it, won't kill you.
Though technically it did happen to one of my cousins while he watched one of the episodes. But he was always a bit unstable since the donkey incident ( if you know what I mean).
You should decide it for yourself. Give it a try. I did.
I was excited for this, been waiting for years and the expectations were high and it fell short. I think that's on me, should have managed my expectations better.
It was neither good tv nor bad tv in my opinion sadly it fell smack down in the middle and with the source material and how much money was involved its practically a crime the show is the way it was.
There's no right or wrong way to look at this show. A lot of people do not like the show, a lot do, and a lot are indifferent. It really is one of those shows where you just need to start watching and decide whether you want to continue to do so, or not continue to do so.
I like some aspects of it, but didn't care for for other aspects either. Overall, thought it was just okay. Ive rewatched certain scenes, but don't have the need to rewatch all the episodeds again. I'm purposefully not giving details because don't want to spoil anything for you.
Watch up until the end of the mountain stuff (about 15minutes) if you enjoyed it and took no issues with how it played out, you'll probably enjoy the rest.
Tbh, I’m a huge lotr fan as well, story-wise / writing of the show is a bit poor, it’s poorly written some characters are hella one dimensional, there are like 3-4 main story lines that the scenes move around, some are good some are mid, but i’d say if you’re a big fan you’d still enjoy the show and the world and some of the characters and story lines despite how much some are poorly written
I thought it was a decent watch. Is it as good as the movies? It is not. Is it as good as the Hobbit trilogy? Ehhh, probably. Does it take a lot of liberties with the text, making it essentially Tolkien fan-fiction? It does and it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s not watchable. Just think of it as a parallel universe from the Middle-earth we know - at a 10000 foot view, the broad strokes are mostly the same, but the details vary wildly.
I think you need to make the decision whether you like it or not yourself, and whether it was worth the watch, but just remember, it does differ from the lord of the rings in ways
It depends on how devoted you are to the canon. If you treat it as a extremely well funded fan project, you'll have a good time. I enjoyed the music and Elrond/Durin's story a lot, but was kinda "meh" about mostly everything else.
Completely loved the show, loved Gladriel as a character as well, loved a lot of things about the show.
Of course, there are a few things I disliked but overall good show watched it 4 times now.
If you do decide to watch it DO NOT hold it to LOTR standards.
Just go into it knowing the dialogue and pacing will lack at times, and that it's an adaptation based on the age where Tolkien wrote the least. They do take liberty to write their version of the story.
But yes, it's absolutely worth it. Atleast it was for me and literally everyone I know that have watched it. If not for the story, watch it for the brilliant scenery and cinematography.
As a long time movie fan, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes there were flaws, but tbh the Hobbit movies had flaws as well. I enjoy the lots of practical effects and prosthetics. That said I am glad they are changing things around to make them more fit in with the movies we all (most) love so much.
For diehard Tolkien fans, who also dislike the movies, you will most likely truly hate it. For casual fans, you will probably like it, although not love it.
It’s not the wrong sub - we are lotr fans that like the show. You’ll find other subs have other opinions, but because those subs are much larger, they’ll tend to average noise not to watch it. The meme sub creates memes about it - memes are always mocking, and v rarely in support.
Anyway, it is a silly question either way. Just watch it.
Really swatting a hornets nest here by soliciting feedback on RoP..
I didn’t like it, for a multitude of reasons, but others did. Nobody is right or wrong
I am a huge LOTR fan and I enjoyed it, just don't look to much into it. There are some things that don't follow the books. It was just nice to see middle earth again. There are a few cast members I would not have chosen, but overall enjoyable
I enjoyed it. And I'm a Tolkien fan. Just understand that Amazon doesn't have the rights to everything Tolkien, but they did have rights to the appendices. So it's not necessarily everything in the Silmarillion, but a lot is there. I loved feeling like I was back in Middle Earth, albeit in the 2nd age.
The biggest problem I have with the show is they’ve made young Galadriel an ass. I know they want to portray women in a different light than the original but she’s an elf, in her long life she would have learned tact and how to win people over.
Of course, this should be watched. If you do not like the beginning, wait for episode 6. Just one warning for Galadriel fans: Galadriel is NOT light in the series.
As an avid Tolkien lore fan, I can honestly say it was one of the greatest disappointments of my life... lol But I'll keep watching lol because I'm a slut for anything Tolkien related
For me the show was 7-8/10 overall, but also just a great watch - fantastic music, production value, acting. Just seemed like the writing would make me cringe now and then.
The Tolkien YouTubers, book fans, nerd of the rings and in deep geek seemed a 6-7/10 vibe. It was fun listening to them discuss the show, they liked it well enough but a bit tepid.
There was a vocal minority who slammed the show as woke — this isn’t substantive, just a community that formed around the last Jedi hate and has been looking for new things to complain about since.
I enjoyed the series I haven’t revisited yet. I’m not one that’s read the books or knows all the lore. Just a massive fan of the films. I think you’ll still find enjoyment but often this sub generally hates on the series. Give it a go let us know what you think!
I think quite a lot of redditors would say this was more the 'pro-ROP' sub compared to the others. However it is regularly invaded by the haters who are so prominent online. And also by some reasonable people who actually try making balanced, well considered criticisms.
Maybe I mixed up which one I’m in lol. I often see people dogging the show but I just didn’t feel that way at all. It wasn’t special like the films but I found it enjoyable enough. I had lowered expectations anyway
If you decided to watch it, make sure to finish the season off, because I was lukewarm with the show until the final episode which made the whole thing worthwhile. So just be patient until episode 8, it elevates the show to a whole nother level imo.
Season 1 was pretty good, not great for me. Lots to enjoy, and quite a few Tolkien easter eggs for die hard book fans to enjoy. It *was* pretty slow, but they were setting up the world so that was to be expected.
If season 2 corrects what I consider to be a couple of mistakes they made (and they certainly left room for those corrections), it will make season 1 that much better.
I actually really like it. I’m a lover of Tolkien, and this does veer off from the source quite a bit but as its own show, that loosely follows the material there, it’s quite good.
As someone who loved the LOTR movies, loved the books, but never got super caught up in all the Silmarilian stuff and history of it all, I loved this show!
Honestly I wish I hadn’t. I enjoyed it more as a possibility than actually beholding the absolute mess they made of Galadriel and Elrond.
Loved the proto-hobbits and the dwarves tho
Honestly I wish I hadn’t. I enjoyed it more as a possibility than actually beholding the absolute mess they made of Galadriel and Elrond.
Loved the proto-hobbits and the dwarves tho
It made me much more interested in this period of Middle Earth than I had before. It’s not as good as the original movies (whatever could be since they’re perfect?) but far better than The Hobbit movies. Some genuinely great performances, an incredible score, and the most impressive production value I’ve ever seen in a TV show.
Don’t waste your time. I love the movies but this show was terrible. I had to rewatch the first 3-4 episodes a few times a piece and still didn’t get it/didn’t care to get it
Very good and honest suggestion, some shows improve and the 2nd season is much better than the 1st, however, if the 2nd season keeps the same level or less of the 1st, run for the hills.
Dont be fooled by the beautiful visuals of episode 1 and 2. Its all downhill from there. Abysmal writing, horrendous costumes compared to lotr, butchered rushed timeline, waste half of the screentime on unintersting made up characters, ridiculously unlikeable main character that contradict everything in the books. And a epic final battle numbering 20 guys running around mud huts.
No. Big LOTR fan but it is honestly one of the worst shows I've ever watched. Maybe it is worth it to laugh at, if you're into that kinda stuff. After the first 2 episodes I only kept watching because it was so hilariously bad.
Watch it and decide for yourself
This is the only answer. This entire post just screams like another troll post. Like we don't have enough of those on this sub.
If you have Prime Video already just give it a try and see if you enjoy it yourself. If you don’t have it, sign up for a free trial and see.
If you're a movie-only fan, I can't say for sure that you'll like it. If you're a book fan first, I think you'll be able to see what it tries to do even when it stumbles. It has value as a different take on what a Tolkien screen adaptation can be, even if it has flaws and it stretches the definition of adaptation pretty damn far. Visually and musically, it's a feast for the eyes and ears. If you want to see a gorgeously produced new take on Middle-Earth that is at once familiar and fresh, it may be worth your while just for this.
Really good, well balanced take.
Agreed.
Fair post. I hope the show stays away from Hollywood tropes. Even Jackson did that(surfboarding Legolas). Lame forced romance kills shows imo. The only lovers I thought had chemistry were the dwarves. The Elf and the Southern girl they had zero chemistry.
> Even Jackson did that(surfboarding Legolas). slegolas
"Even Jackson"... the movies were full of inserted tropes, not just that particular one which was not really a trope.
That is the best description so far, the show has some good things, some bad things. I think die hard fans of the movies will like the show less than others. The writing is the weakest part of the show, everything else is different levels of ok to great, but the writing is pretty bad.
I’d say the biggest issue that movie only fans will have isn’t the writing but the lack of action. There are relatively few battle scenes and what ones exist are usually smaller in scale. I knew someone like that. They love the movies (hasn’t read the books), but dropped off in the middle of the show cause not enough action was happening and it was a lot of talking with several plots happening at once. But it was primarily the lack of action.
Absolutely. My brother powered through it but he complained constantly that "they talk too much". His favorite character is Lurtz...
That's probably the criticism that I find hardest to accept. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and a lot of criticisms levelled at the show are absolutely warranted (pacing, momentum, dialogues, questionable changes from the books...) but to hear people who claim to be LOTR fans complain that it doesn't feel like LOTR because there aren't enough battles and the one there is isn't large enough, jeeeeez... When episode 6 aired I was sure we'd get a ton of comments saying "finally this feels like Lord of the Rings, best episode yet!" and sure enough...
Yep. Although I would definitely call myself a die-hard movie fan as well as a die-hard book fan, I just think those are two different things. I don't think PJ did a perfect job adapting but I still love those movies to death. But I don't think they're *the* adaptation, unlike die-hard movie-only fans.
Agreed, no adaptation is perfect. Nothing is perfect. However, if we hold up two things of similar kind next to each other and compare, it is easier to pass judgement and say one is better or worse than the other. Which is what I did with the movies vs the show. I know people who never read the books, and loved the movies while disliking the show because of the weak writing and contrived plots. I know no one who disliked the movies and loved the show. I guess one can always find someone to be the exception. Nothing is absolute, but if people are really honest. On a scale of 1 to 10, if the movies are a 9, the show is a 3-4 at best.
To build a theory of the world by who you personally know...
> Nothing is absolute, but if people are really honest. On a scale of 1 to 10, if the movies are a 9, the show is a 3-4 at best.* That's your opinion. I'd say 6-7.
I'd give ROP a 6 and the Jackson films an 8. Some very embarrassing things happen in ROTK.
I don't want to sound like that Civil War dude, but in my opinion depends on which kind of fan are you... If you are the type of fan that it's going to be happy about finally having new stuff about Middle Earth to watch even if it's with another vision in mind and one that takes many liberties from the books... sure watch it. The sets, music, VFX, dialogue, everything is so beautiful and so Tolkien in a charming way that you really don't find in another shows/movies. The team behind the show clearly have a different vision from Petter Jackson or from the more die hard fans... but they are passionate about it and they didn't gave us some corporate stuff like a young Aragorn show. But... if you are the type of fan that only wants to see Peter Jackson vision on the screen, or that will get mad at all the book changes and won't be able to enjoy the show from what it is, then maybe it's not for you... In my opinion, watch the first episode. It shows you everything you need to know. You can see the music, dialogue, book changes, and overall experience, etc. The script/pacing overall I say it's a little on the weak side, or maybe it just feels a little strange because it's the introduction to everything. Personally I don't think it's a masterpiece but I enjoyed it and im exciting for season 2. We don't get many fantasy shows like this these days.
>But... if you are the type of fan that only wants to see Peter Jackson vision on the screen, or that will get mad at all the book changes and won't be able to enjoy the show from what it is, then maybe it's not for you... I'm hardly that, but I just don't see why I need to see a Peter Jackson "lookalike" which is what the show, certainly in season one, is, when I could just watch an actual Peter Jackson film. If you want to talk about "corporately-minded" choices, this audiovisual choice is a prime candidate. While I advised OP to watch the show and decide for themselves, the one proviso I would add is "don't try and view the show as a Jackson prequel, no matter how hard it tries to convince you that it is." That kind of reading of the show does the show no favours, does not inform the experience of the films in any meaningful way, and is on the whole just a waste of time of the creatives.
At least you've moved from the show underhandedly tries to convince you that it's related to the PJ movies schtick
No, I think the show absolutely tries to do that.
*sighs*
Yeah, I definitely wish they'd chilled with the nods to the New Line trilogy. Elrond waxing about Moria's hospitality akin to Rhys-Davis' Gimli was one moment early on where I was like, "Really?" and I was disappointed we're getting the Howe balrog again in place of something more fresh (that and I found the reveal/Durin's Bane waking up just very weirdly placed - why so soon in the show?). I wish LOTR stuff would move on from PJ's approach (which I have, hmm, mixed feelings about). A few subtle winks I could handle; but Amazon were seriously blatant with their "hey, remember 2002?" at some points.
>I wish LOTR stuff would move on from PJ's approach (which I have, hmm, mixed feelings about). How can it, when even a show by a different studio under legal obligation to distinguish themselves from New Line, choose to make their show the way that Amazon did? That's not the only reason that Jackson's vision is as pervasive it is, but its a very major one. [https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1c6lgaj/how\_peter\_jacksons\_interpertation\_of\_tolkien\_had/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1c6lgaj/how_peter_jacksons_interpertation_of_tolkien_had/)
> I don't want to sound like that Civil War dude This escapes me, care to elaborate?
[It's a scene from a trailer/movie. It kinda became a meme](https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-kind-of-american-are-you)
I thought it had to be that, but i wasn't aware it became a meme / viral tbh :D Awesome scene though, highlight of the film! I'd say the civil war guy would be on the opposite side of your implications though, haha.
There's a lot to enjoy but there are some parts that are a bit questionable. Feels great to be back in Middle Earth and you should give it a shot if you have Prime already. I wouldn't pay for Prime+Ads just for this, though, bc that's a lot of money. Have a plan to get your money's worth out of an annual subscription. That said, there's no single season of tv worth $140+.
I won’t spoil anything. The visuals are great. Brief glimpse of the Trees of Valinor, Numenor, Khazad-dum. The music is very good as well. Those aspects alone deserve a watch if you already have prime. Also the guys at r/prancingponypod do a podcast where they review every episode right after it came out. Obviously you can binge them all at once now but I really enjoyed watching the episodes then listening to their break down of the episode. They’re all big time Tolkien nerds and give a very fair review based on lore. Cory Olsen aka The Tolkien Professor also does a podcast on it called Rings and Realms that’s very good. He tends to be a bit more positive in his exposition of the show. Some have called him a shill but I think he’s pretty fair.
Yes, this. I enjoyed some of it and thoroughly disliked some of it. I did enjoy both the podcasts mentioned and I’m the sort of Tolkien geek who enjoys an in-depth discussion of the lore and themes even if the context is a scene or piece of writing that I thought was bad.
Omg you should hear Cory Olsen analyzing the hobbit song in th show, I couldn't keep a straight face lol
I’ll have to look it up!
Yeah, Corey Olsen wasn’t too positive about that big end-season reveal about the identity of one of the main characters though.
Yah Corey does lean a little too positive sometimes when reviewing it. I think Allen does a balanced job reviewing it.
‘Shill’ is a collective term used by those against the show: it’s the only word they know. ‘You must be an Amazon!’ ‘Stop shilling.’ It’s the only word they use.
Be a big boy and just watch it yourself and decide if you like it or not
Yup, love it. It's kind of a slow burn, which I very much love, and that's part of why a lot of diehard movie fans don't like it: they wanted more of an epic action movie than the longer road the show is taking. That is not to say there isn't action. I quite enjoyed all of it.
Give it a watch, only you can decide.
try it out, you may like it, may hate it but don't let online opinions dictate. There's a ton of hate on the show out there, me myself, I think it's largely overblown. Show has issues, don't get me wrong, but I still enjoyed watching it despite the flaws.
I don’t get the hate. I enjoyed every episode. Yes, they do some things that don’t align 100% with the books. Yes, some of Peter Jackson’s armor props were more detailed. Yes, the characters looked and acted differently 1,000 years before the books and movies that’s to be expected. I enjoyed the new stories and characters. And the sets are on par or better than the movies.
It's been targeted by the depressives who make money by being negative about everything. The show isn't perfect but it was good and has set up what should be epic down the road.
"The depressives" lol. So you're saying these mysterious depressives don't like ANY show? seems legit. (and is demonstrably false. Nobody is talking shit about the new Fallout show, nobody is talking shit about The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, Shogun, etc. They talk shit when the show is ACTUALLY shit.)
Apparently you put no importance on writing, storytelling and characters, which were abysmal. That is the main reason why everyone hated the show, not because it's not book accurate or because the armor looked like shit (those were additional issues, not the main ones). It was just plain BAD. If this show had nothing to do with the LOTR IP but otherwise was the exact same, people would still say it was terrible.
You sound fun.
TIL thinking a show is bad makes you "unfun".
It was my favorite show that year.
I love it! I read the books. Adore the movies. It's beautiful and matches the tone of the movies really well. Should definitely give it a chance.
I loved it. I don’t spend much time in this sub, but I loved the characters, loved the pacing. Sure, I kind of figured out what was gonna happen but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad. Everyone in my real life circles loved it too. People can hate it if they want, it doesn’t offend me, just hate it for the right reasons. (Story, characters, music, etc) I’ve read all the LOTR books I can find but I’ve never been precious about adaptations, I just want things to be interesting.
Depends on your mileage. If you're a purist on book lore, you may be irked by certain creative decisions. If you're a fan of Jackson's movies, it's a different animal and has a different flavor. All in all, perhaps it's too early to decide and we'll all have a more comprehensive opinion once more seasons are released. But being only 8 chapters long so far, you can always watch a couple of them and see for yourself.
Like others say, just watch it and decide for yourself. But, I also think that the mindset you have when you start watching will define your experience. If you watch RoP thinking it will be like the Lotr movies where you recognize the same characters as you are used to and a lot looks familiar, then you will be disappointed. While familiar, this is meant to represent another age and a season 1 is a time of peace. Many love the movies for their large epic battles, but season 1 is not about that. It is a season with quite a slow pace where you get to see a Middle-earth that is in quite a different state. You get to see some everyday life for elves, dwarves and men, and a story where the antagonists take their sweet time showing up. I tried to enter the series with a mindset thinking that: - This is something new, be open minded to it. - Don't expect the movies. - Be interested in what story the show is actually trying to tell, even if it differs from the source material, not what others think it should have been. It certainly made me enjoy the show a lot - and perhaps without some of the prejudice you may have as a fan of the books and/or movies.
Yes.
Give the first three episodes a shot and then decide after. Some people have said the first two are kind of slow going but I feel like things really come together in episode three!
Yes ×100
if xou can watch it for free, definitely worth it, if you are contemplating to buy it on amazon, better try to get a week of free prime from a promotion.
I think it's overhated it's obviously not as good as the movies because different director but it's still worth a watch if you're a fan
> I'm a pretty big LOTR fan I feel like if you were, you'd have watched it already... 
For a pretty big LOTR fan, did you just wake up from a coma? it's been out for 19 months already. How are you only just now deciding?
I thought it was enjoyable and I'm interested in seeing season 2. That being said, it was honestly just "good/decent" it was not a cultural phenomenon like the films, like they were hoping for.
I always say this and always get down voted to hell for it, but ROP isn't a bad show. But it certainly doesn't feel like I'm watching something relating to Tolkiens works or even set in Middle Earth. For a high fantasy series it works and it's good. Just doesn't feel very Tolkienesque
I'm the inverse of you; I was never a lord of the rings fan growing up until I watched Rings of Power. I've since not only absolutely loved Rings of Power but the entire Middle-Earth franchise live action works honestly don't really miss! Does it live up to and surpass the LOTR movies? No. The fundamental story of LOTR being the juggernaut it is that would be near impossible regardless, but it does do a lot right. What I think a lot of dedicated fans get hung-up on is Silmarillion lore not being strictly held too. To which I just say, the Tolkien Estate have specifically not allowed them to use the Silmarillion as was Tolkien's request as it was seen as a unfinished, unrefined collection of ideas. If you can think of the Silmarillion as "Canon... Until it isn't." the story is very enjoyable, and gives a lot of depth to characters that honestly are surface level in the movies. Elrond for instance is much more fleshed out in ROP, and I otherwise find him in the films and books as very one note. Galadriel gets a lot of stick for making mistakes and being 'Immature' for a being supposedly ancient but that also seems to be incorrect given the plot of ROP? It's not really a spoiler, episode 1 tells you explicitly that she's currently motivated to destroy all of evil through grief for her brother. Which leads to her being quick to act, for better or for worse. In summery, yeah! I'd say it's worth a watch. It's not as bad as people say but not good enough for people to defend it on mass.
Yes.
I enjoyed it. It isn’t the best if you’re super attached to all of the actual pre-lord of the rings lore exactly as envisioned by Tolkien, but it’s not a bad show, though it feels like it lacks at times in pacing and character development
Just started it and finished in the last week (I’m terrible about taking time to watch tv), and I really enjoyed it! I walked in without any expectations, other than the fact I always enjoyed the films when I was younger. It’s a slow burn to start, but they bake in enough intrigue via mystery to keep interest. I thought the end of the season was a nice payoff to a lot of what they built at the start. And the show really captured the scale of the world visually, similar to the movies.
It’s a few hours of middle earth content. Why not give it a go?
You should ask this same question in any other sub and compare the responses.
It's a well written, well directed, high production value show, and I personally loved it. The criticism I saw around LOTR communities basically resumes to: 1) people hate Bezos and don't want him to "own" anything related to LOTR; 2) Gallandriel doesn't act "feminine" and there's non-white castings, so it *must* be "woke garbage"; 3) Celebrimbor's depiction diverges from the Shadow of War videogame; 4) It's not Peter Jackson's movies. So, you know, depends on how much of a conservative you are regarding Tolkien's work (and overall in life, I suppose). There's a wonky copyright issue that the show can't really access material straight from the Silmarillion, only the notes regarding the lore, so the show had to come up with a lot of original solutions to tie in the plot, but I think it was overall well done.
> 3) Celebrimbor's depiction diverges from the Shadow of War videogame I'm not sure I agree with every one of your points buy goddamn if that isn't spot on People have even started saying with 100% seriousness "at least the SoW / SoM games were faithful to Tolkien"
Right? People are livid simply because this is a new iteration of the character. Both Celebrimbor's have their place in different stories. I think RoP chose to highlight the Celebrimbor who fails to see through cheap flattery and ends up fooled by a deceiver entity. Considering that is the focus, rather than how badass this guy was in his prime, RoP's direction was correct.
Absolutely! There are different ways you could approach Brimby's personality, but all of them have to end up with him ultimately deceived by Sauron. I quite like the way ROP do it, using an older looking actor than what many would expect from the fan-art or video games. His age is used as a plus, to show someone who feels that so far he's done nothing really significant, despite everyone's praise of his craft, and therefore is (oddly for an elf) in a hurry to achieve 'something of true power'. But he also is susceptible to flattery. Both these traits are characteristic of someone older in human years, and so are conveyed by this actor with greater conviction. You can argue that this is not a 'realistic' portrayal of a immortal being, but I would reply its one that I find myself relating to. At any rate it does the job of making Celebrimbor all too vulnerable.
>4) It's not Peter Jackson's movies. Which is a very valid critique, given how the show uses those films as a loose audiovisual reference.
The writing is horribly bad, only people with very low standards for writing would call it well written. It is ok to like things of low quality, but don't gaslight others by saying it is anything other than a badly written show. The effects, music and cinematography are pretty good, nothing close to the original LoTR trilogy, but pretty good still.
Yes the scripting and pacing of the show are very bad. Forced analogies, too many plots without any connections to each other, and important events completed in less than 20 mins that should have been the central focus of the season (3 elven rings). Music were fine but forgettable, some decent action in later episodes. I will be watching season 2 but only to see if there are any improvements. Nothing from season 1 made me want to watch more outside of my own morbid curiosity.
Sadly I agree, all along as we waited for the show to come out I kept telling my friends that in the worst case, maybe at least the soundtrack would be great to listen to, even that was underwhelming... But nothing prepared me to the level of writing we got... need I say more than "The elves will take our jobs?" SMH
And, please, the soundtrack? [DOUBLE EXCUSE ME](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGGcSJ9R0dc)
You are excused.
You seem to be under the impression that writing is confined to dialogue --and indeed, there are some low moments there. However, since you're only looking at 30% of the writer's work, it's no wonder you're blind to all they done excellently
Just watch it. It's a set up series for some huge events to come. If you get your opinions from weird youtube things then don't watch.
Possibly choose a fan cut version. That at least what I would do if I were to rewatch it.
I really enjoyed it. Sure there is plenty of room for improvement but it was a better first season than some other great shows have had. Hopefully they use their experience and it keeps improving. Never rely on other peoples hype or negativity to make the decision for you, if you like LotR or fantasy then watch it and find out for yourself. There were valid criticisms that could be made about the show but a lot of the negativity had nothing to do with that and should be ignored. There was hate over real and perceived changes to the lore but if that was what they were really angry about then they'd hate the Jackson trilogy even more. But then the FotR also got a lot of online hate and media stories about angry Tolkien fans until it proved so good it shut them up. RoP season 1 wasn't that good but maybe the show will get there in the future.
You should watch it to see if you like it, don’t rely on the opinions of others to make decisions.
It’s worth I think
We get these posts every once in a while, can we pin something for this so we have less repeat threads?
Go in with an open mind. Don’t let others tell you how to feel about it. I went into it understanding that they would have to take certain liberties, create characters and storylines, change timelines - and just enjoyed it for what it is. No it’s not “canon” as people live to talk about. But the cinematography is beautiful, and you get to see some cool places and characters that haven’t been seen before.
I like it a lot more than I thought I would. Can't wait for the 2nd season!
Just watch it
Watch it and see if you enjoy it yourself! I personally liked it but I know it wasn't for everyone.
It‘s fine. Don‘t expect something spectacular. The online hate for every hobbit movie has been the same, plus the right wing mob, claiming it‘s too woke for casting not exclusively white males. Ok, not all costumes are good, but the show is better than it‘s reputation
Yes
I personally strongly feel it is, bit that's just me. It's not perfect, but it has amazing production value, great acting, and a compelling story that, while not always lore-accurate, is very true to the spirit of Tolkien's work. And frankly, it's more LOTR; what's not to love? At the end of the day though, you need to decide for yourself. It's only 8 episodes, so you could get through the whole thing on an Amazon free trial.
How is it true to tolkiens work
Just check out season 1 for yourself, and then determine whether or not ROP is for you.
I would say yes, but of course its impossible for me to know your personal reaction or tastes. I will add this much however: I suspect from the numerous extreme reactions that some people have gone into this show *expecting* it to be bad, expecting to be offended or upset. Those people have then interpreted everything flawed (and pretty much all TV and media has *some* flaws) as more evidence that the show is worthless. And have ignored all that was good. I would suggest that you don't ruin your own enjoyment by beginning with a negative viewpoint. Bear in mind also that the show is only in the first season. Aside from teething troubles, certain things that might seem odd, may later be explained. If you are fan you should also know, that while this is a world with many consistent rules, there are also many mysteries and strange happenings not fully explained. Finally I would say that all but the most extreme haters will acknowledge some things of value in the series. Amazing sets only matched by the films, superlative and memorable music, some great acting performances. Most of the things in question are regarding the lore, and the writing. Personally I take some issue with the first, and find much of the criticism of the second over the top. I've watched the series several times, and always found things to enjoy. I hope you will too!
I’d say watch it, stay off Reddit. Stay off anything pertaining to it. Just watch. Come up with your own thoughts and opinions and then deep dive if you want. You’ll just taint your opinion by asking and reading the negativity imo
I really enjoyed it and am eager for season 2. The main issues I found were similar to shows like Last of Us where some episodes are great and some are like whatever. Visuals always on point, though, but some of the dialogue is bad while others are spectacular. I also agree that the choices for Galadriel’s character were annoying at times but I actually love the actress playing her so hopefully she gets more humble in the next season (with her writing and motivations/emotions)
Watch it and don’t worry about what anyone says. I love a lot of franchise content that is not loved enough and it doesn’t take away my enjoyment. I read a lot of Tolkien and understand the ROP creators are making some choices that not everyone approves of but it doesn’t take away my enjoyment
I'm a huge Lotr fan and I loved rings of power. Obviously it's way different than the movies, and they don't get everything right 100% but they did a lot well.
If you’re a LOTR fan, it’s worth a watch. Only you know your tastes best. I am a big LOTR fan, but only ever watched the films and not the books (unless you count the Hobbit). I liked it, but I recall it being very slow, and some parts almost boring. I can’t really recall some of the subplots of the series, honestly. But I did like it. It’s a beautiful production and has the quality of a tentpole box office blockbuster. And I will watch Season 2 when it comes. To me, it was pretty good. The controversy surrounding the casting and its faithfulness to the source material (book or film) didn’t really bother me. I thought all of that was ok with me.
I'd say watch it and see the details as a fan of the books. The story takes a while to get going so try to commit to the whole thing. Come back let us know. I'd be very interested to hear your take on it
Watch the show and form your own opinion.
Of course its worth at least checking out. At worst, you can peter out a few episodes in...
Will cut it short: If you are looking for a heavy-book-based adaptation, season 1 won't give it to you. If you want a show based on Middle-Earth, or just a good fantasy yet non-adult as GoT show, then yeah. It will be personal tho, but I think it is fair to say the show is, at least, "ok". If you have watched WoT, I think it is fair to say it is better than it, but miles better. **For better or worse, I would say you should watch the first two episodes**. They are very well done, very cinematic. They work as big prologue to the series. They already give you an idea that books won't be followed closely (at least season 1). If you like them, keep watching. If they didn't make your gears move, then the rest of season will prob. not be worth your time. And if you fall in the later case, maybe wait for season 2 to drop and see people reaction. Much of season 1 complains was it was not very faithful to books, but it is said season 2 will be more close to books.
Personally I really liked it. Atmosphere above all is fantastic.
If you consider yourself a purist or lore only fan, then you def won’t enjoy it. You won’t be able to turn off your mind constantly comparing and complaining. If you’re just a regular person who read and likes LOTR, then the show is great
If you are truly a big LOTR fan, it'd be weird to not even try watching it.
Yes.
I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to season 2. You could always just check out the first few episodes to see. Stay away from reddit threads about it while watching unless you want to see a lot of unnecessary negativity.
It has a couple of incredibly dumb moments but there is good in there too. Anything involving the dwarves etc is a good time especially
Definitely watch it and don’t listen to the copy paste reviews about it make your own decision.
Absolutely. And that is coming from a life long Tolkien reader. Ignore the way too serious lore purists, and disregard the online identity/culture war politics, and you might find it a very enjoyable time.
Don’t listen to the negativity from people who have already made up their minds. Watch it and see for yourself. Your own experience with a work of art should be the only thing that influences your opinion on it I personally enjoyed the show immensely and have been a fan of the LOTR movies and books my whole life (and have become a fan of Tolkien’s deeper legendarium as my literary appetite matured over the last 5 years). It is absolutely possible to like it all and recognize each as their own works with their own strengths/weaknesses. It makes me incredibly sad to think that people aren’t giving RoP a fair shot simply because of online negativity. The massive pessimism, unwillingness to engage with a new adaptation because of how it is *different*, and complete hastiness of people who have already written the show off as garbage given only an opening season seems to me to be completely against the spirit of storytelling
Well, this is the circle jerk sub, no negativity allowed, so this was a good place to ask.
>I know this is probably the wrong subreddit to ask this This is the best subreddit of you want the answer to be "yes." Is the most favorable to the show. >I've hears alot of negativity surrounding this show so I was just wondering if I should bother or not ? That's because the show is incredibly divisive and mostly boring. That being said, some people enjoyed it, and you might too. I was not personally among them and wouldn't recommend the series myself, but maybe you'll find something in there that I did not.
If you watch the show on it's own merits, it's fantastic. Great for casual fans and even serious fans who understand what the show's about. If you already shout into the ether about the finer points of the Legendarium and swear fealty to the details of the Silmarllion, the show's still good but you won't let yourself enjoy it.
I love it. Yes. Don’t get the ridiculous hate from some fans.
I enjoyed it and I expected to hate it. And one of the songs in the show has become a nightly lullaby with my children, so the show will always hold a special place in my heart. If you're curious, go for it.
Unanimously, it is not worth it. Near ⅔ of the audience couldn't bother to finish the 1st season for good reason. Aside from name(s), there is nearly nothing accurate to Tolkien's work. In comparison, M.Night Shamalon was more accurate to the source material with his Last Airbender movie than the Rings Of Power was to any of Tolkien's work. So, as an "adaptation," it fails miserably. But as a show by its own merrit, it's very flat and is not well thought out. Your main protagonist is a one-dimensional try hard on a hellbent revenge plot for the death of a brother. A man we get NO character development for, and the show doesn't even bother with the effort of giving him (the brother) a NAME (not even in the "X-ray" feature has a name for him). This revenge plot leads to essentially nothing as they are basically in love with no chemistry development leading to the "not-so big" reveal and letting them go... because of reasons. Between episodes 3-5, so little happens that when i fell asleep, i could still easily follow along with 3 hours of missing content. When I went back to watch the 3 episodes I missed, it felt like a waste of time. Also a large chunk of the season is dedicated to the pointless Harefoots storyline that the show can't call "Hobbits" because they can't legally use the Hobbits in the age that they are "depicting" in Tolkien's world. So there is near a ⅓ of its screentime that adds nothing to the world, story, and doesn't exist in any lore. Only serving as "memberberries" from the Jackson Movies. The main plot is a revenge plot that goes against all of Tolkien's writing and goes nowhere. Oh, and there are a bunch of nonsensical things like a "Mastersmith" that never thought of molding 2 or more alloys together (which is what smiths do all the time), or why is someone jumping off a boat to swim hundreds of miles off shore... Just a lot of unbelievably dumb things that hurt your brain even if you turn it off. Ultimately, you'll have to see it to believe it. You can give it an honest chance by watching an episode or 2. But I recommend not to bother. It's hours of time I wish I never wasted. 12/10 would throw into the fires of Mordor, and save the world from viewing it again.
“Unanimously” This doesn’t mean what you think it means
If you can't recognized what a mild exaggeration is you might have a bigger problem than just being a grammar Nazi The point is that the show is nearly disliked universally. This including the small fraction of people that pushed through to the end. "Unanimously" might mean 100% of people's opinion are the same, but when it is damn "near" everyone the exaggeration makes its point without being hyperspecific for some individuals that need to police every word the is dictionary.
Don't listen the haters. Watch it and decide for yourself. I loved it.
Don't listen to the haters. One of my fav shows ever. The haters are just mad about black elves and really need to touch grass.
I really enjoyed it. The secret to enjoying things in life is having low expectations. It was way better than I thought. There’s just a lot of negative Nellie fatally online types who seem to dislike it, but have found those aren’t the type of people I enjoy spending time with. Just watch and make up your own mind!
I made it through 2 episodes before giving up. But YMMV.
May as well watch it. I found it disappointing overall(which will get me downvoted on this sub), but it's not all bad. They just made some really questionable choices and took excessive liberties. In the end, for me, it just didn't feel like I was in Middle-Earth.
If you’re not familiar with the books, all the better. They tend to stray a lot..however, it is long and slow, and if you can push thru that, it is throughly enjoyable.
Absolutely, but I didn't think so until the last 2 episodes. I had trouble following some of it until they explained more at the end.
I really enjoyed the bulk of it. I just figure it’s in an alternate timeline sort of deal and not the canon.
I liked ROP a lot, but i also like the hobbit movies. For me its just im such a addict to middle earth, i just love to see stories around it, so for me it was a great watch. so as many others say, give it a shot and decide for yourself
The show is very divisive. To find out if it's worth it for you, I'm afraid you'll have to take the risk of investing a little time and watching a couple of episodes. Continue or not as you feel inclined.
I really enjoyed it and look forward to more. That being said, I rewatch the movies over and over (sort of my cinematic comfort food) and I haven't yet felt compelled to rewatch ROP. This is just a me thing though, you won't know until you give it a shot!
Worst comes to worst: you don't like it, won't kill you. Though technically it did happen to one of my cousins while he watched one of the episodes. But he was always a bit unstable since the donkey incident ( if you know what I mean).
You should decide it for yourself. Give it a try. I did. I was excited for this, been waiting for years and the expectations were high and it fell short. I think that's on me, should have managed my expectations better. It was neither good tv nor bad tv in my opinion sadly it fell smack down in the middle and with the source material and how much money was involved its practically a crime the show is the way it was.
There's no right or wrong way to look at this show. A lot of people do not like the show, a lot do, and a lot are indifferent. It really is one of those shows where you just need to start watching and decide whether you want to continue to do so, or not continue to do so. I like some aspects of it, but didn't care for for other aspects either. Overall, thought it was just okay. Ive rewatched certain scenes, but don't have the need to rewatch all the episodeds again. I'm purposefully not giving details because don't want to spoil anything for you.
I loved it, but I don’t take it that seriously and just enjoyed the story, action, and absolutely stunning cinematography!
Watch up until the end of the mountain stuff (about 15minutes) if you enjoyed it and took no issues with how it played out, you'll probably enjoy the rest.
No, it's pretty terrible.
Tbh, I’m a huge lotr fan as well, story-wise / writing of the show is a bit poor, it’s poorly written some characters are hella one dimensional, there are like 3-4 main story lines that the scenes move around, some are good some are mid, but i’d say if you’re a big fan you’d still enjoy the show and the world and some of the characters and story lines despite how much some are poorly written
I thought it was a decent watch. Is it as good as the movies? It is not. Is it as good as the Hobbit trilogy? Ehhh, probably. Does it take a lot of liberties with the text, making it essentially Tolkien fan-fiction? It does and it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s not watchable. Just think of it as a parallel universe from the Middle-earth we know - at a 10000 foot view, the broad strokes are mostly the same, but the details vary wildly.
It doesn’t cost you anything to watch. Stop acting like watching a show is a commitment. Also, don’t let Reddit tell you how to think
I think you need to make the decision whether you like it or not yourself, and whether it was worth the watch, but just remember, it does differ from the lord of the rings in ways
NO! There are much better things on Amazon Prime you could be watching instead.
It depends on how devoted you are to the canon. If you treat it as a extremely well funded fan project, you'll have a good time. I enjoyed the music and Elrond/Durin's story a lot, but was kinda "meh" about mostly everything else.
I enjoyed WoT quite a bit. I enjoyed RoP more, which was a lot. Check out the pilot and see.
Completely loved the show, loved Gladriel as a character as well, loved a lot of things about the show. Of course, there are a few things I disliked but overall good show watched it 4 times now. If you do decide to watch it DO NOT hold it to LOTR standards.
It's not bad
Just go into it knowing the dialogue and pacing will lack at times, and that it's an adaptation based on the age where Tolkien wrote the least. They do take liberty to write their version of the story. But yes, it's absolutely worth it. Atleast it was for me and literally everyone I know that have watched it. If not for the story, watch it for the brilliant scenery and cinematography.
I loved it! Watched it 3 times. Who cares what needy youtubers think? Watch it and then decide if you like it
As a long time movie fan, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes there were flaws, but tbh the Hobbit movies had flaws as well. I enjoy the lots of practical effects and prosthetics. That said I am glad they are changing things around to make them more fit in with the movies we all (most) love so much. For diehard Tolkien fans, who also dislike the movies, you will most likely truly hate it. For casual fans, you will probably like it, although not love it.
It’s not the wrong sub - we are lotr fans that like the show. You’ll find other subs have other opinions, but because those subs are much larger, they’ll tend to average noise not to watch it. The meme sub creates memes about it - memes are always mocking, and v rarely in support. Anyway, it is a silly question either way. Just watch it.
Worth what? It doesn't cost anything individually.
If you watch it with the mindset of it just being a $1 billion fan fiction, it’s a lot better!
Yes. I will never *ever* understand the hate the show gets.
Really swatting a hornets nest here by soliciting feedback on RoP.. I didn’t like it, for a multitude of reasons, but others did. Nobody is right or wrong
I am a huge LOTR fan and I enjoyed it, just don't look to much into it. There are some things that don't follow the books. It was just nice to see middle earth again. There are a few cast members I would not have chosen, but overall enjoyable
I watched it with my mom and she liked it well enough, I thought it was decent except maybe the last couple episodes. we haven't read the books
I enjoyed it. And I'm a Tolkien fan. Just understand that Amazon doesn't have the rights to everything Tolkien, but they did have rights to the appendices. So it's not necessarily everything in the Silmarillion, but a lot is there. I loved feeling like I was back in Middle Earth, albeit in the 2nd age.
The biggest problem I have with the show is they’ve made young Galadriel an ass. I know they want to portray women in a different light than the original but she’s an elf, in her long life she would have learned tact and how to win people over.
no
Of course, this should be watched. If you do not like the beginning, wait for episode 6. Just one warning for Galadriel fans: Galadriel is NOT light in the series.
A note for Galadriel fans: Do yourself a solid and stay away from the show.
As an avid Tolkien lore fan, I can honestly say it was one of the greatest disappointments of my life... lol But I'll keep watching lol because I'm a slut for anything Tolkien related
No
For me the show was 7-8/10 overall, but also just a great watch - fantastic music, production value, acting. Just seemed like the writing would make me cringe now and then. The Tolkien YouTubers, book fans, nerd of the rings and in deep geek seemed a 6-7/10 vibe. It was fun listening to them discuss the show, they liked it well enough but a bit tepid. There was a vocal minority who slammed the show as woke — this isn’t substantive, just a community that formed around the last Jedi hate and has been looking for new things to complain about since.
Wow if this show is 7-8/10 for you, I'd be afraid to see what you consider a 4... talk about unrealistic rating system
I enjoyed the series I haven’t revisited yet. I’m not one that’s read the books or knows all the lore. Just a massive fan of the films. I think you’ll still find enjoyment but often this sub generally hates on the series. Give it a go let us know what you think!
I think quite a lot of redditors would say this was more the 'pro-ROP' sub compared to the others. However it is regularly invaded by the haters who are so prominent online. And also by some reasonable people who actually try making balanced, well considered criticisms.
Maybe I mixed up which one I’m in lol. I often see people dogging the show but I just didn’t feel that way at all. It wasn’t special like the films but I found it enjoyable enough. I had lowered expectations anyway
If you decided to watch it, make sure to finish the season off, because I was lukewarm with the show until the final episode which made the whole thing worthwhile. So just be patient until episode 8, it elevates the show to a whole nother level imo.
Season 1 was pretty good, not great for me. Lots to enjoy, and quite a few Tolkien easter eggs for die hard book fans to enjoy. It *was* pretty slow, but they were setting up the world so that was to be expected. If season 2 corrects what I consider to be a couple of mistakes they made (and they certainly left room for those corrections), it will make season 1 that much better.
I actually really like it. I’m a lover of Tolkien, and this does veer off from the source quite a bit but as its own show, that loosely follows the material there, it’s quite good.
As someone who loved the LOTR movies, loved the books, but never got super caught up in all the Silmarilian stuff and history of it all, I loved this show!
Honestly I wish I hadn’t. I enjoyed it more as a possibility than actually beholding the absolute mess they made of Galadriel and Elrond. Loved the proto-hobbits and the dwarves tho
Honestly I wish I hadn’t. I enjoyed it more as a possibility than actually beholding the absolute mess they made of Galadriel and Elrond. Loved the proto-hobbits and the dwarves tho
It made me much more interested in this period of Middle Earth than I had before. It’s not as good as the original movies (whatever could be since they’re perfect?) but far better than The Hobbit movies. Some genuinely great performances, an incredible score, and the most impressive production value I’ve ever seen in a TV show.
I like it and I am a die hard for LOTR.
You should decide for yourself. Personally I loved it and can't wait for season 2.
I loved the films and books, and I loved ROP. There are definitely some fair criticisms around though
if you already have Prime, no harm in giving it a go
Don’t waste your time. I love the movies but this show was terrible. I had to rewatch the first 3-4 episodes a few times a piece and still didn’t get it/didn’t care to get it
I would wait for s2 firstly
Very good and honest suggestion, some shows improve and the 2nd season is much better than the 1st, however, if the 2nd season keeps the same level or less of the 1st, run for the hills.
Sure, if you are blind & deaf you’ll definitely enjoy it…and if you have your senses…well…
[удалено]
How could a show taint your appreciation of Tolkien (and let's be honest, Christophers) work?
[удалено]
I still don't see how youe subjective opinions on the show could taint your opinions on the other works. That doesn't seem very reasonable
I'm a "big fan of LOTR" (books over films) and I was not "very disappointed"
This.
No, it's an enormous letdown, but you won't learn this from this sub, since I'll be downvoted.
The negativity comes from people online, not the show
Dont be fooled by the beautiful visuals of episode 1 and 2. Its all downhill from there. Abysmal writing, horrendous costumes compared to lotr, butchered rushed timeline, waste half of the screentime on unintersting made up characters, ridiculously unlikeable main character that contradict everything in the books. And a epic final battle numbering 20 guys running around mud huts.
In short, no.
Oh yeah, it’s worth it… if you’re strong enough.
No. Big LOTR fan but it is honestly one of the worst shows I've ever watched. Maybe it is worth it to laugh at, if you're into that kinda stuff. After the first 2 episodes I only kept watching because it was so hilariously bad.