The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Amazon Prime Series)

Wow. That was super interesting. If Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon come up several times in an uncomplimentary fashion during this review, don't be shocked.

New Line Cinema IS one of the production studios here. Considering both Galadriel and Elrond are portrayed as younger as they were in the films, this show is so far part of my movie head-canon. If and when they start contradicting stuff, I'll reassess. For instance, the differences in the Hobbit holes and dwellings, bothered me until it's revealed they are nomads at this point and moving from place to place. It makes sense the holes are far less elaborate than those in Hobbiton.

It's very difficult to believe this was done on a TV budget. It is the most lavish show I have ever seen, including stuff from Marvel Studios and Star Wars.

I think more than one person has suggested they are more interested in this show than House Of The Dragon. It's definitely a far better and more interesting show. Let also offer another opinion about why it is better than that AND Game Of Thrones. It's not tough to watch. Bad things happen, but the show doesn't punish the viewer for liking the characters. We are allowed moments of hope, and well, GOOD. And that means while House Of The Dragon is a bummer, this show is entertaining. This show fills me wonder instead of dread.

A few other things to note. I am one of those people who have read the entire Silmarillion, not because it was a good book, or because I am a huge Tolkien fan, but simply because I'm weird. Somebody told me once that if a person can sit down and read the entire Silmarillion they can pretty much read anything. I haven't read a phone book or the Bible cover to cover, but I DID read the entire Star Trek Encyclopedia as well, so I think I'm well-suited to believe that about myself. But Morgoth was a pretty big deal there, and even if we don't see him, he's mentioned for the first time.

Also we get a good and fascinating glimpse of Valinor, and better context for the Elves going to the West to Grey Havens. It's a combination of Eden and Heaven in my mind. The one thing I'm unclear on is why it's hinted nobody can ever return. Obviously the Elves had to actually leave to fight the war in Middle-Earth. I'm not sure why nobody can ever come back again.

Nice to see faces of color. This will upset people, but maybe those people SHOULD be upset. There really was no reason for Jackson to cast white people exclusively. Tolkien didn't spend much (if any) time describing skin tones on humans, Elves, and Hobbits. The fact that they were all supposed to be white was an assumption on both Jackson and the fans' part. I don't recall a single thing in the Big Four books or The Silmarillion that said everybody is white.

This is the first episode, so things can change. So far the violence is gorier than the movie. But the language is mild (the closest thing to cursing is a human saying "Bloody") and (so far) the romance is quite chaste (also consistent with the franchise). This IS the first episode, and things can change, but I can safely say there won't be Dwarves dropping F-bombs or full frontal Elves. Which will be nice.

I don't like giving Pilots five stars too often because they ARE the kitchen sink, and a lousy way to establish a baseline. But if I had seen that as a movie I would have given it five stars. So yeah, I'm gonna have to rethink and adjust my curve here at some point (probably). 5 stars.

The Stranger is obviously Mithrandir. It would explain Gandalf's weird affinity for Hobbits. Predict he is gonna heal Nori's father's foot unexpectedly.

The Silmarils were mentioned.

I'm thinking the Dark Sauron-looking blade that Theo is hiding might wind up the material the Rings are made out of, specifically the One Ring. Theo's hoarding and secretive behavior over it it a big clue about that.

Mistake: Drawf females are supposed to have beards. Perhaps off-putting on a TV show, but they were shown in the Hobbit movies.

I'm digging this show. If I had any complaints, it's that the runtime feels a little long. But that's true for the movies too. 4 1/2 stars.

Wow. Just wow.

Man, seeing that wide shot of Numenor makes me realize this show must cost a mint.

That Warg was freaky.

The bit with the Orcs and the water bottle was brilliantly built-up tension. Your waiting for the Elves to start hacking up poison, and the Orc then brutally slits the dude's throat instead. Genius.

But as gory as the show is, the stuff with the Harfoots also proves it is nice. While I find the idea of the Maybe-Mithrandir pulling the cart on the caravan less romantic and epic an idea as his healing Nori's father's foot, it not only works just as well, but perhaps doesn't tip off The Stranger's obvious Gandalfness too badly.

Halbrand being a king is not actually a surprise. He uses a surprising amount of diplomacy to head off fights and conflicts.

Galadriel remains quite lovely. I have a crush on her actress already.

Still loving this. Game Of Thrones producers should hang their heads in shame. ****1/2.

At this point in the run of this amazing show it doesn't seem feasible to give every episode five stars. I have a feeling when all is said and done this will be considered an average episode. So I have to take that into consideration along with the fact that I was still wowed. For now, this gets four and a half stars in my final grade. I might have to continue adjusting my curve if the show continues to never disappoint me.

I love Elrond and Durin's friendship. It works because even though it's a new show, and Elrond's actor is young, the performers still make me believe they have known and liked each other for years. And that's a VERY important part about portraying old, years-long friendships. And it's also something Peter Jackson famously strived for with the Fellowship, so this show is in good company.

I suspect the scene between Durin and father might get a tiny bit of criticism from reviewers who delve as deeply into various TV shows as I do. It's an amazingly personal and profound scene, using characters we barely know, and thus shouldn't care about. A scene as meaningful as this shouldn't happen this early on while the audience has little attachment to those specific characters. And while that idea has some truth in it, I feel showing it this early on is instructive about the kind of show this is, and how it views familial relationships and friendships. And them not feeling the need to save it for a later pay-off suggests this mindset of valuing both strongly is simply normal instead. I will understand the argument that the scene is not as special as it could be if we had seen more of the Durins in action together. But I think the show is trying to brace us for the idea that as far as old-world fantasies go, scenes like that will be COMMON, rather than special. This is not the cynical bummer Game Of Thrones is. It's positive. If Game Of Thrones is Blade Runner about the past, then The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power is Star Trek. Maybe they don't need to save this for a special occasion because the idea of showing characters treating each other decently is going to recur A LOT. I'm fine with that.

I never liked the old barkeep, but he has an extra level of creepiness attached to him when it's revealed he serves Sauron.

Speaking of which, I might get into it in a later review why I think Sauron is one of the worst genre villains of all time, but I have other things to talk about this week. Good things. I'll probably save my Sauron gripes for an episode I don't like. And I'm sure there will be one or two. Eventually.

I thought the beginning of Pharazon taking the wind out of the sails of the populist talking about the threat the elf posed to Numenor was great and surprisingly timely. Not to get too political, but it amazes me that people who stand against populists and authoritarians never point out their fear-based arguments always seem to come from a place of weakness and cowardice. I would argue the guy railing against immigrants coming to kill you thinks you are a bedwetting wuss and that you can't handle yourself. I find those types of speakers always come at their arguments from a position of weakness. It amazes me not only are these populists thought of as strongmen, but too few people who debate them bother pointing out every one of their arguments reveals abject cowardice and weakness.

I don't know the deal with Adar, but his position with the Orcs intrigues the hell out of me. I can't wait to hear his story.

Every review seems to end with me declaring that was a great episode. This cliche of mine is not going to be busted just yet. That was a great episode. ****1/2.

I love Elendil refusing to cut Isildur to the front of the line just because he's his son. Other men have put in the work to show their allegiance to Numenor while Isildur was farting around from job to job. Elendil isn't just being a good commander for refusing to play favorites. He's being a good father.

You know why Isildur's a turd? He tries to pull the same trick on Valandil. I was pleasantly surprised Valandil turned him down too.

In Isildur's (small) defense, when he DOES get his chance, he's still grateful for being made the stableboy. It's not much, but it's SOME progression for him at least.

I still can't wait to find out the deal with Adar.

The stuff with the Harfoots and Maybe-Gandalf is charming! The journey portions being similar to the map sections of the Peter Jackson films (replete with Gaelic ditty carried over to the end credits) was pleasurable for that specific callback. It makes it much easier to put this show in the same continuity as the films in my headcanon.

If that IS Gandalf, he's kinda hunky. And judging by the scene with the ice, he can also be a bit unintentionally frightening.

Sorry, Galadriel, the notion of Halbrand having used you simply doesn't fly. Nice try.

Pharazon is smart and playing a LOOOONG game. But after what he said here, I will never trust him. Good to know for sure. I was wavering on whether or not I liked him. This helped. I don't.

I love that there are so many women in power here. House Of The Dragon loves showing women being abused and mistreated because they was their lot in Olden Times. But Westeros isn't actually Olden Times. It's a fantasy alternate world. Same goes for Middle-Earth. There is nothing stopping the producers of Lord of the Rings media from putting women in positions of power. It makes for good storytelling. Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon don't mistreat women out of a sense of real-world authenticity or because it makes the story better. It's because George R.R. Martin, the producers of those shows, and the fans enjoy seeing them mistreated. That's the only real logical justification there is for that at this point. The Lord Of The Rings feels a lot more real-world familiar to me, not to mention more ethical, because it doesn't believe treating women like chattle and breeding farms is the only dramatic thing they are good for. And shocker, the show is better than anything from the Song of Ice and Fire franchise, written or filmed.

I mentioned in the first review I ever did for this show, that Game of Thrones and House Of The Dragon would invariably be brought up by me from time to time, and slammed at several points negatively in comparison, and even though I quit House Of The Dragon in pure disgust after week 4, it's probably gonna be a recurring comparison even still.

Interesting that the Mithril ore may be Simarils. In my humble opinion, it's too early in the show's run to be getting around to stuff like that. That's the kind of thing that would make a good second or third season ending cliffhanger. Episode 5 feels too soon. Gil-Galad and Elrond's talk about the nature of souls and hope was an interesting debate though.

I laughed that Durin made the thing with the table up. That had me steamed for the whole episode and to find out he just wanted the table for himself both made me mad and giggle at the same time.

An s-bomb from Durin was cut off. I wouldn't have accepted one if we heard it. Frankly, I don't accept the cut-off implication either. It makes me unhappy.

Waldreg is a ninny for believing Adar is Sauron. Because Adar is present. Sauron never is. And he must not love Sauron as much as he claims if he'll swear fealty to Adar so easily instead. The character is a real zero and a total turd.

Impressed Theo came clean about the knife with Arondir. I'm glad. I also didn't expect it and was pleasantly surprised.

Galadriel looks particularly radiant at the end. Even for her.

I'll tell you the interesting thing about the scene between Galadriel and Halbrand near the end where she convinces him to help her. I was actually leaning towards Halbrand's way of thinking the entire episode, mostly due to the fact that he correctly pointed out that she used him (and he was right). What's interesting about the scene for me is that Galadriel doesn't just convince HIS skepticism. She convinces MINE too. And I love that.

Speaking of which, like the shots I take at Game of Thrones, I suspect I am going to be complimenting this show for the next specific thing a LOT in these reviews. But I love that Elrond refuses to break his oath, goes to Durin with the problem like an adult, and Durin decides to help him. Partly because they are friends and he is a good person. And partly because it's good to hear the idea that the fate of the entire Elven race is in his hands from Elrond, and could you please repeat that. It's episode 5, but one of the things the show has done so far multiple times is showing characters being awesome to each other. Avoiding a big, fat juicy conflict solely because they are spectacular people. And it's mostly occurred between Elrond and Durin. But I like scenes of characters treating each other decently, and coming together to find common ground. As this episode proves it makes great drama. Why? For the sole reason that it's unusual. It's refreshing because it's so damn rare, and television, genre or not, is SO damn cynical instead, that I'm dying for positive messages elsewhere, and this show is a rare tonic to get me drunk on good vibes. The Orville has this gift too, and to a lesser extent so does Star Trek: Picard. But neither of those shows makes it seem this effortless. Mostly because The Orville isn't about conflict resolution as much as Star Trek was, and on Picard, Patrick Stewart is simply not on-screen for every second. Picard himself is still that awesome. But the rest of the ensemble there is sadly (and understandably) not. This show makes the idea that friendship is grand and people can be good to each other seem easy and normal. Maybe it isn't for everybody. But it is for SOME people. And I feel like good people are disproportionately underrepresented in fiction. And I've always felt that. So this show's positivity is great, while House Of The Dragon is so toxic I've already checked out after four episodes. And in just five episodes of this show I already love it a hundred times more than the entire 8-year-run of Game Of Thrones. I have enough self-awareness of myself to understand I'm not the bad guy when I watch television. I don't deserve to be repeatedly punished for liking a show or caring about a group of characters. Shows making people feel good, like this show does, should be far more common than they are. Period.

What bothers me the most is that whenever you DO see a feel-good show with positive messages, it's invariably insipid kiddie crap like Power Rangers. I respond well to a series with characters doing the right thing because it's interesting to the story instead of because the story is dumb and being written down to toddlers. That too should not be as rare as it is. But this show being both great AND "good" makes it something very special and unusual, and something I really respond well to.

Getting the hang of the curve. Compared to everything else so far, that was a four star episode. That's a lower grade than the previous episodes got, but that's not because it was worse, but because I'm getting a better and more accurate hang of the curve. Don't mistake me giving this the lowest ever grade for this being the worst episode. That's not the grade's intention at all. ****.

I think we just witnessed the birth of Mount Doom and Mordor.

The battles were way too gory for my taste. It's because of them this is the first episode I didn't like. All the interesting stuff happened after the battle was over.

It's interesting that when Halbrand ask Adar if he remembers him he claims he doesn't. Is he being truthful? To be determined.

Adar has an interesting (and almost certainly untrue) "alternate interpretation" of what Sauron was doing. But what Galadriel was promising to him was genocide. It was an ugly look not just on her, but on the entire franchise itself.

Adar turning out to be a Uruk and one of the first Orcs is interesting too.

Big, watershed episode. That I just happened to not like. **1/2.

The birth of Mordor. Big moment for the last shot done entirely through a subtitle.

I didn't much like the episode. It was too dark for my tastes. There were some empowering moments like Largo's speech to the Harfoots at the end, Durin ALMOST telling Elrond his Dwarven name, and Miriel surprisingly telling Galadriel to save her pity for their enemies. But I hate the stuff between Durin and his father because Durin III had never been shown to be that unreasonable before, and the Balrog at the end means he was actually right. I'm very unhappy with this whole turn.

The Balrog using the exact same design from the film makes this easier to place my headcanon for the film continuity. I suspect the design is the same not because the show is definitely film canon. But because they wanted us to automatically recognize that as what it was.

I feel bad for the Stranger and I felt the Harfoots' story was a bit too cruel with their tents and carts burning. I think Peter Jackson was absolutely 100% right to skip The Scouring Of The Shire in the last film because it's just too brutal. It hurts enough to read. But this shows why it was a good thing Jackson skipped it.

I wasn't feeling this episode. About the best I can for it is that it remains the only show on television I currently watch that doesn't remotely seem like television (because television is terrible). That's a big selling point for me most of the time, but as far as this week goes, it's not enough. **1/2.

When the evil guys at the beginning declared The Stranger Sauron, I was impressed. Simply because TV doesn't surprise me too often, and that qualified. And of course in reality, he's The Other One (as we always guessed) but it gives added weight and surprise to Halbrand actually being the real Sauron.

For the record as far as The Stranger goes, finally hearing him speak tells me David Heyman was the absolute best casting choice they could have made. Both Elrond and Galadriel's actors are also terrific for those specific roles, so I'm happy.

There is a weird, sexual tension between Galadriel and Sauron that I like because it was always there between her and Halbrand, and she feels tricked for it existing at all. It never would have if she had known who he actually was the entire time. And the thing that kills me is that Halbrand's alternate interpretation of events of how he presented himself to Galadriel was actually kinda true. But it's the fact that he thinks healing and ruling are the same thing which is why he's not looking to reform in any way and why she won't be his Queen.

The series is named after the Rings and this is the first we've seen of them. Already the Elves seem a bit under their spell at the end, much more than they should be. What's weird is I was always under the impression Sauron made the One Ring first before the others. If not, that's interesting. If so, Sauron already has it and the heroes are already at a serious disadvantage.

Fiona Apple singing the famous Ring poem to the book to a melody out of James Bond over the end credits shouldn't work, and it weirdly does. I can't explain it.

The series is not perfect, (nor need it be). It's had ups and downs over the weeks. But those surprising revelations tell me the series' story WAS worth telling, and I'm glad it exists. *****.