Amazon's Rings of Power.

[RonB]

I think the worst aspect of this series is it is slow and boring. They seem to be stretching this out to be a six season series instead of what should probably be one.

 

[CallMeSangy]

Someone asked what exactly makes this show “woke.” I personally find the term and subject somewhat wearisome, so while I’m not accusing them of wokeness, some of what they are doing just doesn’t work.

The ethnically-diverse cast isn’t the problem: but because they have characters of different ethnicities in the same biological family at times, it does make it harder to follow the story.

Example: the king of Numenor is an old white man with a white beard. His biological daughter is a black woman. It took me longer than it should have to figure out who was who because this doesn’t make sense and makes the story harder to follow.

A black elf? Who cares? But (hypothetically) if the black elf and a white woman have a child that looks Asian, it would not work visually, and it breaks up the viewer’s ability to get lost in a story. This is just common sense.

Wokeness isn’t what’s ultimately wrong with this show: horrible writing and an incoherent storyline is.

I don't think anything pertaining to this story as really woke, but the king of numenor situation had me scratching my head aswell haha. Most of the relationships in this story seem to be interracial from our own terms. Nothing wrong with that, but I just find it funny how much it happens in this show.

 

[gervais]

I finally got around to watching the season finale last night, and while the writing seemed considerably better in this particular episode, I still believe they have failed to present a coherent story for viewers to follow. All during the finale I kept thinking to myself: I still have hardly any idea what the hell is actually going on in this story.

But the main thing I keep coming back to is how this just doesn't FEEL anything like Tolkien. Not even a little. Instead it feels like a poorly-done but beautifully-presented fantasy story of some kind. The set, costumes, etc. are pretty impressive - I'll give them that. But it's like putting lipstick on a hog. I doubt I'll watch the second season.

I'll bet you all your pipes that you WILL watch the second season

 

[brian64]

Someone asked what exactly makes this show “woke.” I personally find the term and subject somewhat wearisome, so while I’m not accusing them of wokeness, some of what they are doing just doesn’t work.

The ethnically-diverse cast isn’t the problem: but because they have characters of different ethnicities in the same biological family at times, it does make it harder to follow the story.

Example: the king of Numenor is an old white man with a white beard. His biological daughter is a black woman. It took me longer than it should have to figure out who was who because this doesn’t make sense and makes the story harder to follow.

A black elf? Who cares? But (hypothetically) if the black elf and a white woman have a child that looks Asian, it would not work visually, and it breaks up the viewer’s ability to get lost in a story. This is just common sense.

Wokeness isn’t what’s ultimately wrong with this show: horrible writing and an incoherent storyline is.

@CallMeSangy said:

I don't think anything pertaining to this story as really woke, but the king of numenor situation had me scratching my head aswell haha. Most of the relationships in this story seem to be interracial from our own terms. Nothing wrong with that, but I just find it funny how much it happens in this show.

So it is a series that shoehorns in racial elements in an obviously contrived manner, and in ways that defy common sense and insult the intelligence...and contradict the basic origins of the story...and someone is still wondering what is "woke" about it?

Seriously?

 

[maker]

By far the worst character in the show is the protagonist Galadriel. She embodies "wokeness" A "Mary Sue" archetype in every way. She is also as white as she is wooden. I thought the "ethnic" elf storyline was actually one of the better ones until Mary Sue showed up and he just kind of disappeared after being absorbed by her teleportation ability.
What is not "woke" about the show is the portrayal of hobbits as dirty, stupid, hippy Irish travelers. The Irish Times even did a story on how racist it was towards an already discriminated ethnic group. Furthermore, when did all dwarves suddenly become stubborn, stocky,cheap, stingy Scotsmen?
The show basically uses the JJ Abrams playbook. Steal the best ideas from the movies and books and make a bunch of "like" scenes. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make any sense at all when you put it together since the majority of the audience haven't the attention span of a goldfish.

 

[maker]

Tolkien and the Roman Catholic Church

Though J.R.R. Tolkien said that the Roman Catholicism only entered "The Lord of the Rings" consciously in its revision, one finds prayer, notions of hierarchy, and Catholic sacramental elements in the earliest conceptions of the legendarium... (essay by Bradley J. Birzer)

theimaginativeconservative.org

Not saying I agree...just sayin'

 

[Sam Gamgee]

By far the worst character in the show is the protagonist Galadriel. She embodies "wokeness" A "Mary Sue" archetype in every way. She is also as white as she is wooden. I thought the "ethnic" elf storyline was actually one of the better ones until Mary Sue showed up and he just kind of disappeared after being absorbed by her teleportation ability.
What is not "woke" about the show is the portrayal of hobbits as dirty, stupid, hippy Irish travelers. The Irish Times even did a story on how racist it was towards an already discriminated ethnic group. Furthermore, when did all dwarves suddenly become stubborn, stocky,cheap, stingy Scotsmen?
The show basically uses the JJ Abrams playbook. Steal the best ideas from the movies and books and make a bunch of "like" scenes. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make any sense at all when you put it together since the majority of the audience haven't the attention span of a goldfish.

I was pretty excited about the (pre)Hobbit-like characters, but as in other parts of the show there wasn’t much to follow. The diversity-factor in the cast threw me off yet again here.

Example: when Nori was leaving the group to follow the Stranger (who only a couple episodes before couldn’t speak English, but by season’s end was waxing poetic), I finally realized the darker skinned woman was her mother.

As for Galadriel’s character, I understand they were going for full-on girl-power, etc., but so far they’ve taken anything remotely feminine about her away. In the LOTR she is a woman of face-melting beauty, charm, and grace: but here she is all “warrior.” It does not fit.

But, hey, at least they got one thing right for sure: the most evil character of them all (Sauron) turns out to be a white male.

 

[CallMeSangy]

Galadriel is too obsessed with commiting orcish genocide. Her character is essentially the same from the the first fifteen minutes onward, but with more reasons why she hates orcs.

I was surprised when it first clicked in my head that she's the same elf from both LOTR and the Hobbit. How do you go from "must kill orcish babies" (which is essentially all of them at this point i assume), and with no capacity to have any other emotion than anger, to the LOTR or Hobbit Galadriel who is intantly more likable even if she's only in each film for a moment. She needs to sit down and watch It's a wonderful life.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'll probably watch it. It sounds like if I don't give a rat's ass about Tolkien, I am better set to enjoy the show. Now that House of the Dragon is over for this season, I can watch it without getting all confused between them. I prefer for movies to just stab the writers in the back and make whatever they want as long as it has plenty of violence and nudity. If I wanted a good story with morals and all of that crap, I'd just read a book.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

I'll probably watch it. It sounds like if I don't give a rat's ass about Tolkien, I am better set to enjoy the show. Now that House of the Dragon is over for this season, I can watch it without getting all confused between them. I prefer for movies to just stab the writers in the back and make whatever they want as long as it has plenty of violence and nudity. If I wanted a good story with morals and all of that crap, I'd just read a book.

FYI: No nudity in Rings of Power. And yes, if you’re not into Tolkien you will just be watching a poorly-done show with no expectations.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

FYI: No nudity in Rings of Power. And yes, if you’re not into Tolkien you will just be watching a poorly-done show with no expectations.

Crap, no nudity? WTH is wrong with TV these days. It's the decline of of the country.
Thanks for the heads up. I was hoping that it was just not staying true to the writer, whatshisname. But, this sounds serious.

 

[olkofri]

But, hey, at least they got one thing right for sure: the most evil character of them all (Sauron) turns out to be a white male.

But of course, and some are still asking "where's the wokeness?" ???

Somebody should remind them that in the original work, the evil men who followed Sauron, the Haradrim, were all swarthy.

 

[Zero]

The only way that I watch Rings of Power is through this comedic, Charlie Hopkinson, roasting it.

 

[Zero]

*comedian

 

[Akousticplyr]

The only way that I watch Rings of Power is through this comedic, Charlie Hopkinson, roasting it.

This guy is good! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Zero]

This guy is good! Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome. He's definitely talented, when he used the elvish word for friend to open the stubborn cocktail shaker...that put me in stitches I'm guilty of watching him over and over.

 

[LeafErikson]

I’m afraid to watch Amazon’s new show and have how my mind’s eye envisioned Tolkien’s masterful work irreversibly tarnished. The movies were great. Even the first hobbit wasn’t terrible. From the trailers I saw this new show looks very meh.

 

[Dyakoff]

Even the first hobbit wasn’t terrible.

I still shudder when I remember the Battle of Five Armies…especially the moment when orcs were charging a perfect wall of dwarven shields with elven archers behind their backs and then, seconds before the clash, elves jump over the dwarves into the melee…
Only the GoT stupidity of the Long Night battle managed to outshine this blunder.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

For LOTR fans (no Rings of Power fans allowed - kidding!), I wanted to share this truly beautiful piece. Enjoy.