#trop liveblog

[violetaeons]

Charles and Charlie, the duo that you are. Their scenes this episode have been so good

[celebrimbor-apologist]

Rings of Power Liveblog 2x06

Spoilers you guys

I’m not ready you guys fucking hell

At least the promo picture is not Tyelpe losing it this time haha

Okay let’s go. Im scared. 

Hey at least we are still at rating 12 years hahahaha

Why do I always watch the recap I already know what happened but…

I just realised that Durin doesn’t even doubt Celebrimbor, just Annatar. And Tyelpe’s face. Oh my dearest silverfist I want to kidnap you from Eregion. PleASE. Gotta re-read that fanfic my friend wrote after this 

Hey Arondir is running that’s okay, for a second I was worried they made Elrond run EVEN MORE. I love Arondir in action. I love Arondir. I don’t care much about the southlands sadly but I do care Arondir. 

Oh. MAP. Wait. 

OH TOWER.

Monologue <3

Oh Tyelpe no. HOLY CRAP. WHAT. Ohohohoh 

OH FUCK FUCK NO. 

HE IS NEVER MEAN TO--

HE FORGOT HER NAME HE FORGOT MIRDANIA’S NAME IM NOT OKAY IM NOT OKAY IM NOT OKAY NONONONONONoo 

whatdoyoumean he can Shout stop it stop it

oh he remembers when HE comes in 

oh no i hate this i hate this please please stop. 

OH. NO. 

ANNATAR. NO. GO AWAY. 

“I am well” No you are not. The fucking ring theme coming in. 

Oh no. Oh NO. I just skipped back ten seconds and he- the shards and the mess is all gone. Annatar what have you done please please please

ANNATAR YOU FUCKING BASTARD DIE IN A HOLE TYELPE SAID NO SUCH THING 

And now Celebrimbor is alone in the forge and everyone else thinks it’s good. 

“and pray” BITCH. “pray that he finishes his work before it finishes him” I am unwell I am unwell I am unwell.

Oh Mirdania 

OH FUCK OFF SAURON LEAVE HER BE. 

Mirdania I love you. Run away. Take Tyelpe. 

Yes Annatar, gather your skirties and walk up the stairs 

Omg the smile. 

Ah, yes, Galadriel and Adae at dinner. Must be nice. 

Oh Adar you GET it. 

He promised you what. Adar. Uh. Yeah moving on-

OH THE CROWN

Morgoth’s Crown 

omg this dramatic bitch. He wears what could kill him, huh? 

omg Adar KNOWS it. Is he kneeling??? “the fate of that city now rests on your ability to put aside your pride” and he already has. He already put it aside. And kneels. Fuck 

Oh Sam Hazeldine you GENIUS 

NÚMENOR 

Pharazon die in a fckign ditch and take Sa-

ELENDIL ELENDIL NOOOO 

Fucking Kevin with his arm in a sling. 

“I do” 

“I do not” 

Oh Elendil i love you you insane- Oh I love him. 

Oh, Pharazon is pissed at his son huh 

Eärien listen girlie i didn’t much care for you and then I understood your grief and how alone you felt but you could really, really back out now. Please? 

Oh hi Stranger. 

TOM TO THE RESCUE

Oh hi Nori! Harfoots travel every month? 

Gundabale I love you. 

Oh Nori, still looking for that destiny 

Merimac and Poppy huh? That was a fast burn, but I am not mad about it. She’s been lonely enough. 

“I say we fight for it” Oh I love him 

TOM (yes, this will forever be my reaction) 

ASDFGHJKL Tom is like “Let him find his stick in that mess”

“you must choose” I am Unwell. 

Gandalf having to choose between his friend and his destiny? I…AnD TOM IS GONE HAHAHAHA

Khazad Dum Theme my lovely 

Wait, it sounds different, it sounds… less. 

Is that just what they do now? Make gold treasure? I see now why people say the Arkenstone was a silmaril. Mithril is the light of a silmaril, isn’t it? 

OH FUCK. 

ANNATAR FUCK OFF

Timber, huh? 

“precious” huh 

Annatar getting rejected and not liking it meanwhile Sideeye by Durin. I love it. This is a man who has never been told no. 

King Durin losing it to Greed. 

“You belong to it” Oh Durin you have such a good heart I can barely cope. HOLY SHIT 

Durin are you okay?? No I don’t think so. 

Disa the amount of love I have for you? 

Durin crying <3 Oh love. 

Oh sea trial here we go. Funky horns. 

Eärien hellooo girl you are teenage rebellion gone too far but I love you. I get both sides and they are both breaking my heart. she is getting manipulated left and right and- 

Míriel???? MÌRIEL??? 

MÌRIELLLLL I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I MISSED YOU MY LOVE I MISSED YOU 

Eärien you are forgiven now get another dad hug. 

“What of my heart” OW

“What if it isn’t”. DOUBLE OW

“the sea is always right” 

Oh my heart. My heart is breaking apart to shatters. Oh my loves

DISA HI MY QUEEN

Narvi just try moving her if you want to lose, uh- 

SHE IS JUST SCREAMING AT THEM. 

OMG DISAAAAAAAA  

I AM CELEBRATING IN MY SEATTTTTT

“I LOVE YOU”

“Love me later.” 

THEMMMMMM 

Númenor is so beautiful

Oh the theme in the background. The theme. 

Omg they devised a plan huh??? 

Namarie. Namarie. They said Namarie. Bury me now. 

Oh I’m so not fine. He is crying. Nononono. I am sobbing please Ulmo, please-

Míriellllll

I am rooting for her 

QUEEN OF THE SEA 

QUEEN OF THE SEA 

Pharazon has Palantir+ Huh

Galadriel scheming I love you 

ELROND MENTION (I miss him) 

My ring huh 

“What then for the Uruk” yeah he SEES it. 

HOOOO BOY 

HOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOYYYYYYYY 

Yeah, Adar is going to die. 

Galadriel tastes some of Elrond’s medicine now, huh? 

THE SIEGE BEGINS HUH 

And they all see it. 

Malendol is the commander’s name, huh? You are now officially adopted. There’s this elf named Vorohil who I’d like to introduce you to. 

And he just watches. Annatar just watches. 

Art therapy Celebrimbor <3

And he can’t leave the forge huh 

what 

YES GET HIS ASS TYELPE

when I tell you I screamed

AGAINST THE WALL 

The quote it is the quote the quote

nononono

Oh no. 

OH DEAR No

I can’t

So this is the scene

Ow ow ow ow ow 

Am I weeping? Well let me tell you I’m not revelling in this diner tonight

all is fine outside and this hurts 

I cannot forge more rings 

be at ease 

no do not be at ease. 

The ring song theme. 

I give up 

“precious” 

THE FUCKING HAMMER 

I KNEW IT WOULD BE THE SCENE BEST FEANOR NONONONONONONNNKKJNKJN GUDIjlwneköjbvühfbi

One last time. 

Oh I hate this I hate this I hate this please please please.

I knew it. And he is just walking around there. 

The siege begins. 

find me in the garden where I shall be buried because I am dead 

I screamed less than last episode I feel

Fuck I knew this was gonna happen but I love Eregion so much 

I miss Elrond. 

[reactions-and-lattes]

Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 7

"Go back to your hill and be buried!" is the closest thing to 'fuck you' that we get in this series and you know what? I'm loving it.

And Gil-Galad's spear fighting is just

[normallyiminsane]

Please, babies, can you be friends again? I don't think I can stand another episode of this friendship breakup.

[lonesomedreamer]

“The Rings of Power” Liveblog: Alloyed (Episode 8)

What a bad title.

So these spooky witch ladies are evil, and they think the Stranger is Sauron.

Not how I would have designed Eregion, but very pretty.

“The Sun itself began as something no bigger than the palm of my hand.” People who haven’t read The Silmarillion: ???

The visuals have really improved this episode.

Is Celebrimbor a healer? Shouldn’t Galadriel be asking Elrond (who is definitely a healer) for help?

Visually, a nice call-back to Episode 1, which featured this same shot but in Lindon.

No tension, then, Halbrand’s just back on his feet nine minutes into the episode? Okay. I guess time’s a-wasting.

This mithril subplot is so stupid, and the fact that it’s now obviously going to be a catalyst for the forging of the rings is even more so.

Elendil’s OC daughter (I’ve already forgotten her name) isn’t Míriel, so why is she casually going to have a look at the palantír? The king thinks he’s talking to his daughter, and she knows that.

Are any of the Elves sick? (They can’t actually get sick, but are any of them weak? Bedridden? Losing weight?) If not, why is Gil-galad so certain that the death of Lindon’s tree translates doom for the Elves of Middle-earth???

Celebrimbor has some serious crazy eye action going on.

Unsure why Gil-galad calls Halbrand the “low” man…as opposed to what, a Númenórean?

So pretty.

Did anyone, watching this at the time it aired, really believe that not-Gandalf was Sauron?

Wow, they actually mortally wounded a Harfoot…

“He is not Sauron. He is the other, the Istar.” Literally how could these Sauron cultist girlies mistake anyone for Sauron who wasn’t Sauron? Lord, this writing is dumb!

They’re not going to have not-Gandalf offer to help Sadoc? Just going to shrug and let him die??

I don’t care about the Númenor melodrama. At all.

Stunning.

To be 100% fair, Galadriel was the one who came up with the “King of the Southlands” idea.

“I have been awake since before the breaking of the first silence.” People who haven’t read The Silmarillion: ?????

Confronting the evil Maia with the knowledge that he is both evil and a Maia, then trying to stab him, is…not the smartest plan.

She really is so gorgeous, it’s unreal.

I don’t think Sauron has this level of direct mind-control power, but okay…

At least the writers are being honest: they’ve never been subtle about “Halbrand” being Sauron.

Not them taking Galadriel’s actual lines from Fellowship when Frodo offers her the Ring and putting them in Sauron’s mouth here. Yuck. (That said, ambition, not vengeance, should be Galadriel’s true motivation at this time, so…)

Me, out loud to my computer: Celeborn’s not dead!

Galadriel’s not going to tell them the truth about Halbrand—or anything about him and what happened by the river, where she almost drowned, for that matter, except that he can’t be trusted???

Nothing about the ring forging subplot makes sense. Supposedly, the purpose of the object they were forging (Celebrimbor originally suggested a crown) was to protect/preserve the Elves, but now it will be so powerful they need to make three of them (rings, not crowns) to ensure they’re used responsibly? Come again??

The character who is obviously Gandalf is, in fact, actually Gandalf…shocking.

The Harfoots are leaving right after they traveled half the season to get here? Have they even rebuilt their wagons?!

They’re messy, but I love them.

It would probably be too cliché, but I’m sad that Poppy isn’t going with Nori and not-Gandalf. She’s one of my faves.

“Always follow your nose.” This is a PJ adaptation reference. Gandalf does not say that in the books. Thanks, I hate it.

They literally have crops growing, and they’re just leaving?

Even though I don’t think you can just melt down a whole-ass dagger that way, I do like the symbolism of Galadriel giving up Finrod’s dagger.

So Elrond discovers the genealogical record and then rushes up to the forge to stare at Galadriel…are they implying that he knows Halbrand is actually Sauron just because he’s not the King of the Southlands? That’s a pretty big leap.

Lmao, how did he even get up there? More random magical powers?

The Good:

My wish for “a few more of those gorgeous visuals” was fulfilled…this was a much prettier episode than the last 2-3

I liked most of the Harfoot stuff, and Nori’s goodbyes to her family and Poppy were genuinely touching

No Southlands/Mordor nonsense! Yay!

Galadriel is allowed to grow a little bit as a character

Identity reveals for the Stranger and “Halbrand” so we can stop dicking around with that in S2

Some unexpected Silmarillion references!

The Bad:

Nothing makes sense! I have so many questions!

The Weird Sisters (which resulted in Sadoc’s death)—pointless.

The mithril subplot—still nonsense.

Every decision the Harfoots make—illogical.

Elendil’s daughter being left alone with the dying king, resulting in her (probably) looking into a palantír—ridiculous.

Everything about the forging of the Three—confusing af!

What are Sauron’s powers, exactly??? (The reveal doesn’t even begin to explain why he was alone on a raft in the middle of the ocean, either.)

Why does Celebrimbor look like a comic book villain in this episode?

The lack of Dwarves/Khazad-dum was also a bummer, because despite the exaggerated accents and manufactured drama, they were one of the best parts of this show.

Finally, a petty observation: Morfydd is a gorgeous woman and a decent actress (considering what she’s given to work with), but I wish she’d stop doing that rapid-blink thing in just about every emotional scene. Find another way to emote, ma’am!

Well, that was a season of television. Tolkien-lite. Tolkien-inspired fanfiction. Some of it was visually appealing, some of it was sweet/heartwarming, and most of it was really poorly written. I watched it out of morbid curiosity, and unfortunately it wasn’t that much better than the critics led me to believe.

That said, though she might not be Tolkien’s Galadriel, I don’t loathe or disdain Morfydd’s character the way many (male) viewers did. Still nuts to me that people ship her with “Halbrand,” though—before or after the reveal. There’s just no chemistry there. Also, Sauron wasn’t interested in having a “queen.” He wasn’t about to share power. Especially not with Finrod Felagund’s sister!

I was also pleasantly surprised by the Harfoots. You can pry Nori Brandyfoot out of my cold, dead hands, and I mean…it’s Gandalf. Give Daniel Weyman his Emmy already!

I will be watching (and liveblogging) Season 2, partly for funsies but mostly because I cannot resist watching the first-ever on-screen depiction of Tom Bombadil. And for Galadriel’s new Looks, to see if Celeborn ever shows up, and because (again) I love Nori, Poppy, and Gandalf.

[daincrediblegg]

well. watched through season 1. had a decidedly mid time. bon appetit.

[lokinas]

We're all crying in Baghera's chat because IRIS IS SO CUTE!! SHE PLAYED THE FLUTE!! AAAAAAAH WE MISS THE EGGS SO MUCH!!!

[ahalliance]

SOIRÉE SQUEEZIE LOUP-GAROU SUR MC ?

[katurdayss]

Rings of Power live-blogging, LETS GO! (below the cut to avoid spoilers)

Just finished watching Ep1. There were some interesting parts, but it was… a little rushed? The writing had solutions just magically appear. I don’t know why 8 episodes seems to be the episode count for streaming seasons now but I dearly miss the days of 22 episode seasons. Tolkien is so damn long because his writing took breathing room ( sometimes too much). Wish the showrunners would keep that in mind.

Just as an aside, in the days of streaming do we really need this long of a recap? You know, the old adage of show rather than exposition. Just saying.

Think it could have been cool to do a cold open on Sauron/Halbrand’s face and then have a cut/ morph into other Sauron’s face. Would hype up his shapeshifting abilities from the get go.

Well that was brutal. Sauron is not great at campaigning obviously.

Also why does Sauron need to be crowned by Adar/the orcs. He’s a dark lord, the second to Morgoth. Just go in and BE A DARK LORD. Take that crown and slaughter anyone who says differently. Don’t gotta campaign for it, it’s not a democracy.

Et tu Brute? Real Caesar vibes.

Well that’s kinda revolting. The black squiggly thing not the bug eating.

Guess they needed a bigger boat.

Hot damn. Horse chase.

Oh. Damn. Really Galadriel? Also they’re like children fighting in front of dad.

OBVIOUS call back to Elronds mother there and interestingly casting Galadriel in the role that the Feanorians played.

Really hope the stranger is a blue wizard. It would be really lazy writing to make him Gandalf.

Why would you wear a METAL MASK IN THE DESERT?

ANOTHER obvious call back to Sam and Frodo. lazy writing.

There’s a good dogo. Bad good dogo? Good bad dogo?

Looks like a Nordic fishing village

BEN DANIELS

Check every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse! (Tommy Lee jones? The fugitive? No? I’ll see myself out)

Elrond operating from a whole bunch of family trauma right now.

Lazy writing. Well more like clumsy writing.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN WE GET SOME PROPER LIGHTING FOR NIGHT SCENES. can’t see shit.

Well something wanted Cirdan to change his mind.

I know they don’t know this but probs best to NOT antagonize Sauron.

Can Elrond just leave? Like isn’t he under arrest?

Oh Celebrimbor. Sigh.

[flashbic]

Update sur la traduction d'épisodes: beaucoup de passages marrants dans cet épisode, mais mention spéciale aux multiples fois où cet assassin est 100% prêt à tuer Cartouche et se prend inévitablement une branche ou une porte ou Fleur d'Épine en pleine gueule par accident.

[pigeonneaux]

Ok le moment le plus drôle c'est le truc avec le prince au masque de bambou

[violetaeons]

the troll theme music is kinda catchy

[celebrimbor-apologist]

I transcribed Celebrimbor's parting words if anyone wants them as much as I did:

But perhaps the elves need only remember that it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise. Hearts may fail. Yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.

[reactions-and-lattes]

Rings of Power, Season 2 Episode 6

I love Tom Bombadil more every time he appears, what an absolute delight!

also galadriel reacting to adar's plan

[normallyiminsane]

oh no, they're cute

[lonesomedreamer]

The Rings of Power Liveblog: “Shadow of the Past” (Episode 1)

Two years late, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided I had to see this thing for myself ahead of the second season premiere…spoiler: I didn’t hate it.

I’m not going to gripe about these children looking decidedly human (or at least not Elvish), because I understand the limitations of using, you know—actual human children as actors. But I will question the notion of Elvish children being smug bullies.

But baby Galadriel definitely looks the part.

“It’s not going to float, it’s going to sail.” Not off to a strong start with the dialogue…

Oh, the Elf children are…throwing rocks at her paper boat? All of them? Why?? I know the behavior of Elves in the First and Second Ages tended to be less detached/noble and whatnot, but little Galadriel is literally about to punch this Elf boy…

I have so many questions about this hairstyle choice.

“We have no word for death.” Somehow, I doubt that. This is the Second Age, right? Elves had definitely already experienced death.

Why does this seem like a slightly retooled Minas Tirith design? Is this supposed to be VALINOR??? (Actually, this would be a decent Amber design…)

A very underwhelming depiction of the destruction of the Two Trees…this is what Amazon spent amlost a billion dollars on? I know they can’t accurately depict what happened because, you know, no rights to The Silmarillion, but it still underwhelmed me.

This sequence is just all so obviously CGI. While I’m no fan of the original Jackson films (sorry, I know—boo, hiss), a lot of it looks real.

“See, it’s just like that Game of Thrones spinoff you like, but with terrible CG!”

It would be so helpful if Galadriel’s voiceover told viewers that Orcs were created as a mockery of the Elves, or hinted at why Morgoth created them/why he hated the Elves. Unfortunately, this is what happens when you try to adapt a work to which you don’t have all the rights.

She is very, very pretty.

“What devilry is this?” Is that a word in Middle-earth?

Lots of Galadriel confidently assuming she knows things she can’t possibly know (for the sake of hurrying the story/journey along, I guess)…if only the streaming services didn’t limit themselves to eight or ten episodes and gave their stories room to breathe!

Anyone watching who’s never read The Silmarillion (or even the trilogy): who the fuck is Morgoth? What are the Trees?? What year is it??? What’s going on here??!? Again, the huge problem of adapting a larger story/universe when you only have partial rights…

Insert obligatory video game-esque troll battle that’s also a callback to the Moria scenes of the FOTR film. You can use the bathroom here and miss nothing.

Some proto-Hobbits, because why not? I did like the “hidden village” reveal thing, though!

I kind of love them?

There’s a lot to be said for the charm and appeal of the Shire from an audience perspective, the comfort of it (which is why the Scourging of the Shire is so thematically important and excising it was an irredeemable sin…but I digress), so I actually 100% understand why they included these guys. TTT is by far the bleakest book of the trilogy, my least-favorite, and the lack of the Shire is a huge reason why.

23 years later and I’m still not over the utter miscasting of Hugo Weaving. Visually, this Elrond isn’t really better. Why is Elrond so damn hard to get right??? And his hair is described as black!

The best costumes a billion-dollar budget could buy?

“Elf-lords only.” Such a dignified, Elvish thing to say…

Yes, Elves could be haughty and unkind; just ask Bilbo! But Elrond is an Elf-lord. Hmm.

Also…Elrond and Galadriel appear to be approximately the same age. It doesn’t matter that Galadriel is actually much older (and his eventual mother-in-law!), because TV is such a visual medium.

This is actually a larger overall problem. Because most of The Lord of the Rings takes place over the course of one year, an adaptation doesn’t need to hold the audience’s hand regarding the passage of time. But in this case, as Galadriel’s narration too-briefly mentions, events are taking place across hundreds and even thousands of years. Elves like Galadriel are significantly older than others, like Elrond, but unless you tell the audience that, they won’t know, and the story loses something as a result.

Even though this design is clearly based on Rivendell in the Jackson films, it is quite lovely.

Pretty!!!

How do Galadriel and Elrond know each other? They seem close. Inquiring minds want to know!

The content and context of this scene is meaningless, but I don’t care—it’s just so pretty!

Even though I know they get worse, for now I don’t really mind the proto-Hobbits. They’re obviously not Tolkien, but they’re an homage, and they’re fun/visually appealing.

The casting director gets a D+ for the male Elves. (Then again, they were poorly-cast in the Jackson films too.)

“And as a reward, you will all be exiled!” lmfao. Being shipped off to Valinor doesn’t seem like much of a punishment, though. Where do I volunteer?

Still, it makes sense that Galadriel, who (correctly!) believes Sauron to still be alive and a threat and who wishes to avenge her brother, would be upset about this. They’ve changed her backstory/motivations—which I hate—but her attitude does track with those changes.

Nuns??

This set design is magical, no notes.

Luthien??

She really is perfectly cast.

Elrond, one of the wisest and kindest of all the Elves, is being written as some smug royal enforcer. Just like the Jackson films wrote him as a grumpy, condescending overprotective dad. Sigh.

“[Evil] waits. And at the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.” I mean…yeah, that’s basically how it goes down in Middle-earth. Repeatedly.

Not Elrond mansplaining about Valinor to someone who was literally born there…

None of these people look like Elves.

“I’m going with you!” But why?!? This lady is a healer with a youngish son still dependent on her at home!!!

I really hate them saying “mum” instead of “ma” or “mama” or something similar. (I’d also hate it if they were saying “mom,” to be clear. It’s just so modern-sounding and breaks any immersion they’ve built so far.)

Wow, the hilt of a broken sword with Sauron’s symbol on it… Generic “halfling” characters I can enjoy as a homage. This is lazy writing. And see? I knew her son needed adult supervision. (It’s also a ripoff of Pippin and the Palantir.)

(muttering) None of these people look—oh, forget it.

Elves don’t age as Men do (or age extremely slowly/imperceptibly), so what’s going on with this dude?

Gorgeous, all.

Ents???

Galadriel jumping off of the ship and just…floating there in the middle of the sea is as silly as the naysayers said it would be. However, I thought the scene leading up to it was fairly well-executed, though I wish they’d done a better job animating the rain of silver glass that leads into Valinor…that image has always resonated with me.

The Good:

Many absolutely stunning visuals thanks to great set design (with Valinor of all places somehow being the least-impressive!) and, apart from some cheap/underwhelming looks, costume design that varies from good to great

A solid score that seems to be trying a little bit too hard to mimic Howard Shore’s from the films

Morfydd Clark, in her entirety; the writing for Galadriel might be awful in upcoming episodes, but her casting was inspired

I find the Harfoots whimsically charming, at least so far, especially Nori.

The use of Tolkienesque maps to indicate location changes

An attempt was clearly made, in this episode if nowhere else, to pay homage to the source material, even the source material they don’t have the rights to use outright (the Two Trees, Morgoth, perhaps Luthien)…it’s better than nothing.

The Bad

Every single male Elf is miscast; yes, I said every single one, from Galadriel’s brother to Elrond to the OC Arondir. Gil-galad and Celebrimbor look like they’re in their late 40s/50s, at best, and idk…there’s nothing “Elvish” or “ageless” about any of the male actors playing Elves. (Full disclosure: I don’t remember being impressed by the male Elves in the Jackson films, either.) I also saw someone say that Gil-galad looks like Liam Neeson in a mullet, and now I can’t unsee that.

Some really clunky dialogue

Lack of adequate backstory/exposition…but exposition in an adaptation like this is hard, because most of it is contained in The Silmarillion, for which they don’t own the rights.

Building on that theme, I appreciate the idea of “showing not telling,” however…did they ever tell us Galadriel’s brother name (Finrod)? Or that “the king” is Gil-galad? Or even suggest that there are a variety of different Elves in Middle-earth? A lot of people know these things, because we know Tolkien. But I’ve got to assume that a lot of others don’t. Heck, it took them until almost the end of the episode to name one of their OCs (Bronwyn).

Some worthless scenes, like Galadriel’s company fighting the “ice troll” in the mountains. Actually, the entire sequence in the mountain lair was badly-written.

I don’t care about the “forbidden romance” subplot between the OCs Arondir and Bronwyn…if they’d spent longer than a few minutes in the first episode establishing their relationship/characters, maybe I’d be more invested. (See my earlier complaint about unnecessarily short seasons—some stories need room to grow!)

Even though my criticism outweighs my praise, even though I’m a self-identified Tolkien purist, I thought this was…fine. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, truly gorgeous to watch (even with all those woefully miscast male Elves)—visually, apart from a few moments of obvious CGI, it’s what I would expect/want from a Tolkien adaptation! My expectations aren’t high for the rest of the series. There are upcoming plot points that I know will disappoint, infuriate, and disgust me. But considering that I went into this episode expecting to loathe it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Besides, I’m going to keep watching no matter what to see more of Nori and Morfydd’s face. This also makes me want to finish The Silmarillion, which I have been starting and then “saving for later” since I was a small child.