Luvlyquants
56738
1211
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#lotr #tolkien
Sep 28, 2024 3:53 PM
Luvlyquants
56738
1211
46
#lotr #tolkien
doctorId
I feel the same about Star Wars. I'm glad Pedro Pascal did a good job and you enjoyed it, but I'm not gonna watch the mandolin man or whatever tf it's called.
PuckerScream
Tried it. Couldn't stick with it.
thotterpop
I'm keeping up with it and it's entertaining.
DreadZeppelin
I couldn't get past the fact they climbed a giant ice wall and then discussed if they should keep going. Instead of before.
blipkrimple
Same
override367
loving orc families in nuclear family units XD
override367
Little susie falls over and gets a booboo on her leg, Mom smiles endearingly and says "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!" they all fall upon Susie and devour her, laugh track
JarJarBinksKisser
Same, I Was pretty much just skipping through it just to watch the dwarf and elf guy in the mines. But that didnt hold my interest & I bailed.
baals
Trash, beautiful trash
WienerBeener
I made it to the scene where they're on the raft and galadriel is doing something with the ropes the whole scene but not actually doing anything with the ropes the whole scene. Lazy storytelling combined with bad scene design and boring exposition. Like they really thought the whole show could be carried by the franchise and they didn't need to put in any effort at all. Disappointingly bad.
BumpusMcPhumpusAngeletes
Same. Glad I dropped it, honestly, cause from what I heard as bad as it was at the start it only got worse
Malcondrion
I consider myself a Tolkien mega-fan. I’ve read all the books, may of the biographies, and a ton of supplemental writing. I want to like RoP. I want to say “it’s not cannon so relax” but I just can’t. It’s so divergent from Tolkien’s writings I just get frustrated. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t care if they make up new stuff. I’d just like the people who are from the main cannon to, you know, act like they do in the cannon.
rainehdaze
you'd never guess that galadriel's most famous trait is being an astoundingly perceptive judge of character, since before she ever set food in middle-earth
deadsies
Same. If these were all new characters it would far more acceptable. It's just a classic case of writers cherry picking some favorite characters and ignoring timelines to accumulate key events. The Balrog doesn't awaken for 2000 years, the siege of Eregion lasted 200+, the 3 elven rings were the culmination and all the others were prototypes (and all made for elves), the istari show up in a group at the havens in 1-2 thousand years, the light of the elves was metaphorical due to immortality
ornamentaal
Where you say cannon, you mean canon.
Malcondrion
Yah sorry. Was typing on my phone and didn’t notice that Siri had “helped” me.
baals
The time line is just so wrong, like barrow wights from the 3rd age? Those mens kingdom hasn't even existed yet! Plus the fucking travel, oh he is in the north and now next scene he is in Mordor, like the entire journey of the Lord of the rings
deetatron
Malcondrion
I just did a fitness challenge to walk from the Shire to Mordor and it took a year because it’s like the equivalent of walking from Chicago to the Florida keys.
ryan2one3
Guys, it's not that bad. And nowhere in the text did Tolkien specifically state Elrond did not make out with his mother in law, Galadriel.
LincLoud
I'll admit, I am a "the book is better" type of person but I didn't much care for the Witcher series, I can't find the energy/drive to watch Rings of Power, and have zero interest in Wheel of Time.
Minterfresh
It can be too slow at parts but I'm enjoying it.
deetatron
Minterfresh
Yeah it actually got even better since that comment. I'll be sad waiting after s2e8.
giacommeti
It is so slow and boring
deetatron
Season 1 was awful, I forced myself to watch it, soo pooor, what annoys me are all the reviews (they must be bought) as they cannot justify positive reviews
tekcor
I was hoping season 2 would be better, but... it's not. It has exactly the same problems as season 1.
PeeterGrant
In bed, I put it on with a 15 minute shutoff timer. Right to sleep....
[deleted]
[deleted]
PeeterGrant
Perhaps if they spoke even softer!
Pilgrymm
I've seen all 15 seasons. Spoiler: Jeremy Clarkson pilots the USS Enterprise into Hogwarts to stop Obi Wan from converting Galadriel to the dark side.
Cranbananarama
Again? They did that five seasons ago! Ugh...rehashing ideas already.
AThreeFootTallChocolateMooseWithFudgeEyes
that bit with Malcolm Reynolds flying the Bebop though...
DrKonrad
FTUG
Zoroasterisk
bhobby1212
Galadriel chocolate is good especially the dark.
BryanLaserEpee
How the fuck did Jeremy Clarkson make his way in?
OlofBorrbrottsson
Dude, spoilers!!!
Pilgrymm
Spoiler: Frodo gets baked with Samwise and Gandalf behind the 7/11 on 4th.
Richter12x2
I'd watch this.
Heisanevilgenius
Pfft, get real. It's been confirmed by Gene Roddenberry that Obi Wan was trying to save her from the dark side, and it was Maleficent that was trying to convert her.
BoraDaExplora
Carkson! you cock!
DrKonrad
casinodoug
So this is what happens when they let us have tom.
Icantthinkofacleverusernametouse
Shiney
secretdpp
I've missed 2005 Deviantart fan fic crossovers.
LookNoHands119
figuringeights
"I'm good"
TechIsForEveryone
Shiny. I'll be in my bunk.
aerodynamit3
NotACanadian
I actually would watch the shit out of that. You just know Jeremy has done something fucky to the Enterprise because he thinks it would run better. Spoiler: It does, but also doesn't.
Pilgrymm
Meanwhile Hammond has replaced his warp drive with four Camels and is standing in the corner giggling with a cameraman.
MutteringMisanthrope
LordBrandonTheBold
That's honestly more creative and interesting than what they're slopping up on Amazon. I have no experience or money nevertheless, I offer to executive produce the project.
Pilgrymm
I can play Katee Sackhoff as Captain America
AsianLeprechaun
Good news! You're more qualified than the idiots who wrote the last 2 seasons of GoT.
DinosaursCameFromSpace
And on that bombshell…
Dogman1227
This would normally work...but that ending of The Grand Tour...
Pilgrymm
Equinox13
The only reason I know you're lying is because if that happened, we'd ALL be watching it.
Equinox13
Okay, maybe not the ONLY reason.
Pilgrymm
One of us always lies and the other never lies. Choose which one and get a free Vitamix!
IllegalDuckling
HAMMOOOOND
Bollramm
..from Texas.
AdmiralLightningrod
CLARKSON!
Dogman1227
MAY, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!
NoImDirtyDan
It’s so cheap
deetatron
Yet cost $75million+ per episode…
Just terrible, I forced myself to watch all of season 1…it was a struggle, so poor, poor story, poor writing, just poor!
NoImDirtyDan
Acting, costumes, hair and sets are so bad
NoImDirtyDan
There’s no reverence and it shows
banjak
If there was an Oscar for 'Un-intentional Comedy' then RoP would finally win an award.
MrKNRJ
all they had to do, was not say it was in Middle Earth, or LoTR related, and they could've had a decent fantasy show
JayDeeDubs
Except of course for getting any funding to get it made, or getting any eyeballs on the finished product. This is not a defence of rings of power; I think it's way off the mark, but I understand why Hollywood wants to keep tying things in to existing successes.
InTheBeginningWasTheNerd
Step 1: Streaming Service A buys popular IP.
Step 2: Fandom of IP generates buzz online entirely for free.
Step 3: Streaming Service A produces a series designed for the most average mainstream viewers, which generally tends to involve shitting on everything the fans hold dear. They've already done their job and are too small an audience.
Step 4: Any criticism of the series, justified or not, is blamed on [racist/sexist] [men/trolls] to prevent potential audience from engaging with critiques.
InTheBeginningWasTheNerd
Step 3 may also include forcing a political ideology of the platform's choice into the series without any concern for the author (or, indeed, any logic). If the author is dead, just say that it's what they would have wanted.
imwrongontheinternet
I thought it was ok until I found out they spent $1B on it. That's the best they could do with all that money?
PaleChapter
I actually liked some of the first season. Durin and Elrond are great together--to say nothing of Durin and Disa--and the guy who's Definitely Not Olorin does a wonderful job of channeling the guy they're not allowed to say he is. And there was one moment where Galadriel actually looked like she might grow up to be Scary Backlit Cate Blanchett.
jimmythehat1
I loved Galadriel in her armor and how she speaks elvish. I've enjoyed the show so far.
Raszagil
I am really enjoying it, many of the haters have a conservative "anti-woke" agenda or some such thing, they were hating on it before it even started, I just ignore them. The first season was slow but setting up the framework, second season has been more exciting. Invested in the characters, but I know what happens to one of them in particular, it's not going to be pretty. /cry
PaleChapter
They keep alternating between calling Galadriel "too angry" and "totally emotionless." One guy I saw slipped up and just called her "the angry empty girl."
GoddessPurpleFrost
I dont know why people hate on it so much. The acting is great, i love the songs and setting, everyones doing a good jorb with the show. Yea, the plot may not be canon or whatever and some of the decisions made in season 1 were.... not the best... (We want you to LEAVE OUR ISLAND but wont let you leave or help you leave... ) but without any knowledge of pre-history i think its pretty neat. Im only 3 eps into S2, so i dunno if my opinion is valid haha
Dobbies
S2 E7: absolute banger!
BahbusTheGreat
A lot of people hate it because they have a boner for Peter Jackson, who explicitly wasn't allowed to be part of the project.
I think they have done a wonderful job. In my mind it helps blend and bridge the gaps between what I remember from all the books, plus the LotR Online game, plus the two Middle Earth games. I see certain parts of stories from each of these elements syncing up and it's just brilliant to me.
SadToSay
I think S2 has actually been really good. I like it more than season 1.
Aaron42J
I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I'm with you. I like it, although it's not perfect. I think Season 2 is overall better too.
pakaste8888
Yes. Especially the scenes with annatar and celebrinbor are well written and excellently acted.
Main gripes I have with the show is to do with pacing, and scale.
DarthGoodguy
Haters downvoting anyone who didn’t hate the fantasy show they hated
GoddessPurpleFrost
I just try to take things at face value, whether I know the lore or not. Any adaptation is going to have things in it that dont stick 100% to whatever lore it's based on. The Expanse also had stuff in it that wasnt in the books and characters dieing in it that didnt die in the book (even LOTR did this). As long as the story is good, acting is good, and all that, i dont see a reason to hate on something.
Looshora
Everything with Durin and Disa is fantastic. I'm hit-and-miss with Elrond here, I liked him with those two, but not so much out of that setting.
Problemwoodchuck
Joseph Mawle was really good as the B villain in season 1
ThatGuyWithAScarf
I enjoy the scenery of second age landmarks. Dialogues and scenario not so much.
Samja192
I think it's more likely the unnamed wizard is one of the blue wizards who failed. Timeline fits better, and there is also a second wizard who "failed" in the series
sherlockhooves
Agreed its a good show and season 2 has gotten better. I'm really curious how the story will go in the future. My only complaint is the costuming. The armor doesn't look as good as in the movies. But that's the only real nit pick I've got.
hamburgerhands
Really? Near the end of season 2 and there's a scene where a horse rider rears back and the armour in that fucker is GLORIOUS
sherlockhooves
Haven't gotten there yet, but the armor of Neumenor and the armor of the elves just looks... well it looks pretty fake. Which is a major shame cause the dwarves look amazing and the costuming and weapons are spot on
hamburgerhands
Be patient. It gets better
dcl88
Season 2 I really like how they portray Sauron. I feel that there are places where the acting and dialogue are a bit weak but his path and actions make a lot of sense and it is fucking cool.
iamnoobplzhelp
Unpopular opinion: I actually love ROP. Haven't seen the 2nd season yet, though. I look at it like a fanfic in the same universe. So the inaccuracies don't bother as much. Durin + Elrond are super cute and the twist at the end was actually surprising. Other than Isildur, I loved the Numenor story line. And the Harfoots were super fun and played well imo into the back story of some of the main characters.
Usersubmadememakethis
That's fine, but it's good.
3Davideo
"What? I said *Tolkien*, not Tolkien-derived-fan-works. Wanna kvetch about the stretched-out-mockery of the Hobbit movie trilogy while reading the Silmarillion?"
carrotsonfire
Everything outside the letters and the books is a fan-work. Some of them are good, some are bad, with an IP like Lord of the Rings, you're bound to get some duds.
Problemwoodchuck
There's a common problem with a lot of recent fantasy shows putting a good looking production together with a solid cast, and then completely forgetting about telling a well paced, well written story. Wheel of Time, RoP, House of the Dragon all fall into the same traps of limited plot movement and weirdly prolonged, repetitive arguments for the sake of drama. If you've got 2 good episodes and 6 that go in circles with characters that can't solve puzzles for children, just make a limited series
ChorizoPig
You can't make an argument about pacing then cite Wheel of Time. You just can't.
Problemwoodchuck
There's a really good story in those books that could've translated better to TV than what Amazon went with, it would just take one hell of a creative team to make the cuts necessary to make it work
Kiore
It's probably the autism but I particulatly struggled with season 2 of House of the Dragon because too many characters look the same with those stupid wigs. Never realised how much I rely on features other than the face to recognise people until watching that.
ElectricChairJ
WoT sucking so hard broke my heart.
simianruler
Poor pacing makes RoP true to its source material.
SergeyPrkl
Yeah Silmarillion isn't the easiest read. But the settings and stories behind are pure gold.
NaughtButOne
The problem is 10 episodes is simultaneously too many, and not enough. It's not enough to tell the 'fluff' stories you could get away with, or filler arcs, backstory etc, that you could get away with, with 24 episodes. But it's also too many because writers treat "one season" like "one movie", and only lay down one movie's worth of content - that's why you get two 'good' episodes per season.
Imustntrunaway
Seconded. Anime has this issue too. 12 thirty minute episodes isn't really enough unless you really limit the scope of the story, 24 eps gives a LOT more breathing room and lets you get to know the characters/ larger scope. The 40 ep behemoths like we got with FMA and the older Gundam series were the freakin GOAT though.
barstr7
They wouldn’t have to treat a season like a movie if they got multi-season deals. Streaming is known to cancel after 2 seasons so writers try to jam everything into a single season when it should have been a few. Writers used to plan out arcs for several seasons but now they just do one then when they do get renewed they have to scramble to come up with enough for a whole new season and you end up with slapdash bullshit plots.
NaughtButOne
That too, absolutely.
sadurdaynight
Fuckin THIS! I try getting into shows, but they have characters starting drama for no reason, and thats like 75% of the show ..just people being unjustified dicks to each other. And when they cut to something interesting the characters are like "wow, that's interesting...but instead if jnvestigating it now let's spend even more time being dicks to each other or dancing around someone's mysterious past that nobody will outright discuss." Uhhgh
SkittishLittleToaster
Good writing costs. And really good writing will affect all other aspects of production, I imagine, which might be more than some egos can handle. But all Netflix / Amazon / etc need to do is look at the movies and shows that have been the most successful, and see that they're generally the ones that didn't skimp on the writing!
AgnosticPaladin
Writing costs are trivial compared to... anything else involved. If you fire all the writers, you get money for a few seconds of special effects.
That doesn't stop the studios to use the cheapest writers, ones that have no idea of the universe they write about, or worse, actively hate it.
thedarkcanuck
The Game of Thrones technique
theaccountformyporn
Idk, I've had dnd games that go like that last part.
mikeatike
Not just recent. It's been like this for decades.
UncleMartha
Kind of related, I just finished Fear The Walking Dead. All 8(?) seasons. I can comfortably say that I fast-forwarded through 2/3 of the whole series. So much wrought dialogue and repetitive interpersonal drama which moves the story not at all. By the end of it, I was convinced that the three (sometimes four) major characters were the villains. and I hated almost all of the cast. I guess it's cheaper to have dialogue than to pay extras to dress as zombies.
Problemwoodchuck
Dude, that show was a soap opera with zombies. Character driven drama isn't nonstop arguments.
UncleMartha
Right? Their characters were fairly two-dimensional as well; not a great jumping-off point.
DarthGoodguy
I thought that show was pretty good until maybe season 3, then . I still haven’t watched the last year & a half.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I had a big crew of friends who were Walking Dead fans around the beginning & at least one of them said they’d heard the plan was for the mom to become an anti-Rick Grimes, Governor/Negan type dictator. Seems like that got scuttled.
UncleMartha
I expect so, I can't imagine anybody really being all-in for arc for Madison; there were plenty of repugnant characters as it was. Virginia was the most interesting villainess because she was nuts; otherwise the baddies were pretty boilerplate, or Madison would make tenuous situations worse.
The last two or three seasons of FTWD just spiraled out of control. Especially the nuclear submarine arc. When it was introduced, I literally said "fuck you" to the TV.
DarthGoodguy
blipkrimple
Four episodes in and while visually stunning, I couldn't help but wonder when I was supposed to start caring about any of it. Haven't even wanted to watch e5.
pomax
Sorry, if you want well written, well paced shows, stop watching US glamour productions and start watching stuff from the UK or Denmark.
Problemwoodchuck
My relationship with sci fi fantasy is basically a raccoon diving into a dumpster. The trash is why I'm there.
TheSkleebler
Watching UK television really emphasizes all the violin stings and huge crescendos that cut to commercial in American stuff when nothing to warrant it is even happening.
deetatron
Cthulhu2121
Or anime! Granted you have to avoid borderline porn and trashy power fantasies, but there's some fantastic fantasy anime out there
pomax
So the youtubers claim, and then I watch it, and 80% of that is extremely poorly written too.
Cthulhu2121
So a majority of live action is bad and a majority of anime is also bad are you surprised? Do you want some recommendations?
pomax
No thanks, you're guaranteed to just recommend bad shows.
Rufferstuff
It's one thing when the movie/series doesn't follow the book(s), but the people that wrote season 2 of Wheel of Time contradicted things in season 1.
RoyalWithChz
Wheel of time disappoints me at a molecular level. It’s my all time favorite series: I started reading in middle school, Knife of Dreams came out just as I finished the previous book in 10th grade, I was distraught when Jordan passed as a senior in HS, and ecstatic to finish the series after I graduated college. Wheel of Time was a big part of my life for so long and the series is just so freaking MEH
kadaeux
The series molests the books so hard I wonder if it was on Epsteins flight logs.
worm61
SAME
redpilljunkie
Thanks for that rundown. I read the first 3 books and was into it for awhile, and couldn't get into the show. IIRC it has like 14 books, with his son finishing up the story, and I remain curious about what actually happens. And I refuse to ruin that by going through the wiki
marsilies
There's 14 books if you don't count the prequel New Spring, and Brandon Sanderson isn't Robert Jordan's son, but Jordan's widow hand-picked Sanderson to complete the series.
mikeatike
Lol Brandon Sanderson is now Robert Jordan's son.
(You are probably thinking of Brian Herbert butchering Dune)
broadwaynut9
I’m hoping post strikes that the writing is finally allowed to be better. Everything we’re watching now was made/written pre strikes. Too much of studio execs manhandling the stories. That on top of producers wanting to recreate the phenomenon early GoT and LOtR was. A slow burn of moving chess pieces. But there were powerful performances and every small plot movement actually WENT somewhere eventually. It had a purpose and wasn’t just filler. Superb source material doesn’t hurt either…
IDontKnowWhatToDoAnymoreAndImTired
You say "early GOT" but it kept increasing viewers up to the end. It was far more a "phenomenon" in the later seasons than the early ones.
VikingsAreNinjaPirates
I'm giving House of the Dragon another season. I agree that this most recent season lacked velocity, but it also felt like they were setting up the game board for an amazing next season. Now everyone is in place to wreck shit.
Problemwoodchuck
It's DOA to me. The middle of the season was just a blur of bad writing. Daemon has a bad dream! Rhanerya yells "What would you have me do?!?" Alicent wanders away!
You want answers? Fuck no, here's Otto in a cage without context.
Banzai51
Just a short 5 years away.
worm61
WoT completely abandoned every major theme of the books and twisted the characters into bland archetypes. It made so angry.
Werewolfoflondon
Limited series should be made of MANY topics: Dune is a good start.
umlcat
..., and the opposite case, The Last Airbender already had a succesful established plot that was forcibly reduced to fewer episodes, because the streaming studio network executives wanted to save money, for a show that may be rewatched several times on the future ...
nation543
I'll always advocate for Wheel of Time. ... ... but... yeah........
:\
Noodlesocks
Seems to be an issue with shows in general. So many high production shows struggle to fill out a season of 6-10 episodes with meaningful content, trying to stretch a single story over several hours. For me the most egregious of this was Picard season 2. An entire season dedicated to a story that would only have needed a single (maybe two) 45 minute episode of TNG to tell.
AoShin
God Picard was bad. Like really bad. All of it. Which is wild, because they made Strange New Worlds just after Picard S1, and that show was great.
IDontKnowWhatToDoAnymoreAndImTired
Picard was great. Especially the final season.
znuff
S2 was pretty bad tough... Totally redeemed by S3, but it was still painful to go trough.
IDontKnowWhatToDoAnymoreAndImTired
I'll concede I didn't love S2 either, but then I've never been a big fan of when Star Trek does "Let's time travel back to the current day to save on scenery and costumes" stories.
TheZerax
To be fair, that's pretty true to the Wheel of Time books IMO. There's hundreds of pages per book where shit all happens.
Renza0
they did absolutely fuck the wheel of time series though, even looking at it as an AU kinda thing, they arent even consistent and do shit that doesnt make sense, like how did nobody at the festival see shit coming in the middle of the torch lit town until it was 3 feet away. or going on foot "tracking" someone thats on horseback on the opposite side of a murder horde and also went through the impassable shithole of death, and left on a random side of a river.
PrometheusSmith
I don't know about that. I've listened to the audio version by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. I'm sure the performances help, but over the whole 460 hours of books I'm not really ever bored. There are parts where action isn't happening, but stuff is still happening through most of that.
Problemwoodchuck
A better written adaptation might've been able to capture the essence of what Jordan was writing about in minute detail and streamline it in ways that don't bring a TV show to a grinding halt. Sort of like the difference between how Peter Jackson adapted lotr vs how he adapted the hobbit.
kitamuramiike
Or the live action One Piece. It captures the fun adventurey pirate vibe and the major plot and character points while also being streamlined to a reasonable pace. It also manages to rewrite the characters dialogue so they sound like normal humans (which is an absolute necessity in live action anime adaptation so things don't feel overexaggerated). And they tone down Sanji which is a fantastic choice. He's actually charming instead of a perv. I say this as someone who loves the manga.
Pear120
For starters, Perrin didn't need to have a wife he accidentally killed just for the drama and angst of "oh no I've killed my wife I'm horrible"
Problemwoodchuck
Yeah, exactly. That's a series to not just trim down, but chop away at. Don't add stuff to it needlessly.
andHeLaughed
And they didn't need to complete destroy Mat's character. This summed him up perfectly: "You remind me of my uncle Huan. No one could ever pin him down. He liked to gamble, too, and he’d much rather have fun than work. He died pulling children out of a burning house. He wouldn’t stop going back as long as there was one left inside. Are you like him, Mat? Will you be there when the flames are high". As written in the book, yes he would be there
Kittynomnoms
My main memory of reading those books is how unbelievably long the prologues were, and how many of them just made me go "what?"
kadaeux
As someone who loves the books. Your *first* time through them can be and is a bit of a slog. You get a LOT of information that just seems to be there for no reason at all.
But 5 books later, you discover that there WAS a reason that was there, but you might not remember it. However, on your second (or more) read-throughs of the series, you begin to see the sheer volume of foreshadowing going on throughout it all.
Except for the excessive length he describes clothing at. That's odd.
IMakeLotsOfReferencesAndRemakes
And yet the costuming department took all that direction and ran with it. The clothing in the show, while not 100% lore accurate, is fantastically detailed.
Kittynomnoms
Oh yes, I know. I was just talking about my first time reading them (and I binged a lot of them over a very long and boring Summer). I just remember picking up each book and immediately just going to check how long the fucking prologues were because they're huge. I still enjoyed reading them, but most books have prologues that are like 5-10 pages. Meanwhile WoT...
kadaeux
I have seen people argue that he could have cut down the series by a whole book if he had cut out describing everyones clothes :P
TinyLiehon
Who'd a think that in a series called Wheels the characters go in circles :p
Megaultraman
What?
TheMightyMollusk
Between the immense cast and Jordan's tendency to meander, the WoT books spend a lot of time on recapping things you've already seen from other characters' perspectives. "Crossroads of Twilight" is especially bad about it.
Megaultraman
Ok fair enough. But I would say Crossroads of Twilight was the only one that was actually difficult to get through. I think the recapping is fairly necessary when each one of your books is 800+ pages and all the stories intertwine. That's not the case with this show;it just meanders pointlessly.
mikeatike
I think it was Winters Heart and the shaido plot that actually went backwards.
mylastusernamewasmylastname
The slog is 7-10.
Winters heart has like 6 chapters that move the plot. They’re great but 6 chapters.
Perrins entire arc stalls between 7 and 10.
The plot of 2/3 are “Rand chase”
I love the series but some of the choices 100% made sense.
If they adapt shadow rising well, and considering they’ve said it’ll have minimal changes, it sounds it. I think it’ll blow up
mikeatike
I just gave up after the 80 page intro of the last book Jordan wrote that added 3 new plot lines and half a dozen characters I couldn't give a shit about. And thr first fee words of the first chapter made it clear "nothing is getting resolved in this book".
mikeatike
And this was after several ENTIRE BOOKS where the main plot didn't move AT all.
mikeatike
And don't bother with telling me "But Brandon Sanderson is a much better writer." I know that. But I couldn't give a crap about how Wheel of Time ends (assuming it did). And it's been over a decade and I've managed to forget most of what happened.
PrometheusSmith
You're surprised that he wasn't trying to wrap up story lines when he had enough material planned for the last book to be nearly 3,000 pages long? I suppose that you were also pissed that George didn't wrap up the story at the end of Empire Strikes Back?
Eiladar
I had more of an issue with the changes that didn't make any sense. Like Perrin being married. Or our favorite gleeman, who's mustache was mentioned so often in the book it was practically a character itself, was... clean shaven. Just to name 2.
TheZerax
Well yeah I don't think the show is without problems, I was just mostly joking about how the WoT books have a lot of empty chaff in them. I definitely agree that production companies take too many 'creative liberties' without being true to the source books basically every time
Eiladar
Yeah, no doubt. I agree, there are some things that didn't need to be there, or needed to be moved in sequence so it had some context; but changing things, especially things that didn't need to be changed or could have just as easily been left as is, got annoying. Halo and Rings of Power had similiar issues.
LeSethX
Well, there was an issue for awhile with studios not paying writers. And then trying to move to AI for various ways to cut costs, so I wouldn't be surprised if some are using AI to write stories
imasneakypineapplehead
Hey look I don’t get home til like 4am, I’m using it to fall asleep, so it’s working for me.
ruint
it's about as good as star trek discovery; a soap opera in a familiar setting.
FireSolvesProblems
Say what you want about Dan, but he knows what he likes & won't be played for a sucker. And if you do? Well it was nice knowing you.
dearbluey
I enjoyed it so far. I find it's best to treat it like other adaptations: a professional alt-universe fanfic.
TheJackKetch
It’s glossy and has some of the mysticism of middle earth. I could do without the Harfoots, but I guess they’re leading up to Sméagol, so a bit of depth in the back story. It’s cerebral, it’s not meant to be action all the time. I enjoy it, whatever. I’m not a gatekeeper
Raoul97533
I have problems with the "professional" part and the "fan" part of "fanfic, because I dont think anyone responsible for this is a professional or a fan of Tolkien xD
dearbluey
Eh. They work in the industry, presumably studied, likely got paid - professional. We can pick apart words if you like, I'm not great with them. Whether true fans or not, taking someone else's work and making your own stories out of it is close enough to fanfic. It's not the books, it never can or will be, so I'm just sharing how I define it to enjoy it as its own thing.
tekcor
I'm watching it, but I don't know why. It has serious pacing problems. There are 5ish stories being told at the same time, and as soon as *anything* interesting happens, the scene ends and the story shifts to another of the stories. It completely kills all momentum. Plus it has lighting problems, and in most episodes, nothing at all happens. S2E7 is probably the first episode to focus on a single story.
CheeseborgarSoop
I refuse to watch it because they literally just threw Tolkien's entire legacy out the window. They did whatever they wanted to do, and said fuck his 100 year old established canon. That, and the acting looks atrocious, and the production value is lacking.
Zobbie
and they had to send Hobbits on a journey again. But wait it is female Hobbits this round, so bad.
carrotsonfire
You say that like it somehow damages canon. There's nothing RoP can do to the canon, because it's not canon and isn't intended to be. Peter Jackson's trilogy isn't canon either, and was never intended to be. People like the Jackson trilogy, but don't pretend it's even close to canon, or that Tolkien would have liked it. Tolkien famously disliked anything outside of his own books and letters.
iCanSeeTheFnords23
heard the second season is better, but haven't personally watched it
BDSMThroatHugs
I'm really enjoying the second season, a factor may be that I'm not a hard core Tolkien fan and for the most part I don't know how accurate it is.
VibratingNipples
Can confirm. Feel like season 2 is better by a long shot. Seem like they hired someone better to write the episodes. I finally got to see what a female Ent looks like
Ornado
I like Rings of Power. The Harfoot shit is annoying as fuck whenever it pops up, but both S1 and S2 are pretty okay. It's got a good budget, the music is pretty stellar, the acting is solid (mostly) and the plot keeps intune (about 60%) with the actual lore itself. It's not perfect, but I would love to see this crew do the First Age, i think that would be stellar.
Mithelen
60%? I can't think of a single thing they didn't mangle somehow beyond simple statements like "elves made rings" or "numenor exists, just ignore none of these characters were alive when the rings were made"
Ornado
They get the overarching details correct, but LOTR has so many nuance small details (that sometimes matter) but at the same time sometimes really don't. For the story they're trying to tell and the fantasy setting they're going for, its pretty solid. It's not as good as LOTR obviously, but i do think its pretty good. Hardcore fans especially LOTR fans will never like anything they can put out. Shit i remember fans shitting on the movies for being inaccurate as fuck, you can't please the LOTR ppl
Mithelen
What overarching details did they get right? Just basic ideas like elves made rings? Numenor is an island? Harfoots are proto Hobbits? Those are such basic ideas they shouldn't get credit for.
neddyhill
Oh FFS, stfu. So fucking what if they've changed stuff. It's all bullshit anyway. You need to get some priorities straight.
Mithelen
If you're going to change everything anyway, why not just make your own original story? Our media landscape is sorely missing originality.
You're the one who came to tell me my opinion is wrong, insulting all the way. Why don't you get yours straight first then come talk to me?
frischcode
I'll watch Rings of Power with her.
Crowlands
You'll watch her with Rings of Power on in the background, you mean.
datphone777365
Background? Hell ill be wearing it.
andexer
"Watch"
IceWeaselX
̶N̶e̶t̶f̶l̶i̶x̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶C̶h̶i̶l̶l̶
Amazon Prime and Shill
iDrinkDrano
She can have my ring of power.
deetatron
You call it your ring of…. Power?
iDrinkDrano
I corrupt souls with it
reverendbonobo
She'll destroy your ring with the fires of Mount Doom. And a 14-inch strap-on.
beoluves
Literally finished season 1 yesterday.
It's good.
It's an alternative universe, so it's not exactly what it says on the books.
Is it a masterpiece? No. But it's good. To pretend otherwise is to be a pedantic contrarian following the ragebait of chuds and incels hating everything they perceive attacks their fragile egos.
Mithelen
Yes anyone who doesn't think it's good must be every insult you can throw at the wall, what a good argument.
But no, its not good. There are good parts, like every time any dwarf or elrond are on screen, but that doesn't make it good. You can still like it, but to sit there and act like anyone who doesn't agree is all that is ridiculous.
IAmNotNSAsodonotbeparanoid
Some will like it, some won’t. It doesn’t hurt anyone but the gatekeepers.
dontrike
This has nothing to do with gate keeping and just calling out a low quality product for what it is
IAmDrBanner
Apathy towards lowering industry standards is what brought us here. Criticism is important.
CareerKnight
Saying that anyone who likes it is a shill isn't much of a criticism.
IAmDrBanner
It is a joke set up for a meme, not a real argument. I was taking in general, not about this image in specific, same as the person I responded to.
qtRaven
Because having hack writers completely rewrite the author's established story doesn't hurt anyone?
carrotsonfire
No, it doesn't, because Rings of Power isn't canon, it's an adaptation. Nothing outside the books and Tolkien's letters is canon. Shadow of Mordor had a load of stuff that wasn't in the books, but nobody cares because it's not canon.
AgnosticPaladin
Then they should try to do something else, something *gasp* original.
carrotsonfire
If everyone did that, you wouldn't get the Peter Jackson trilogy, and I'm about 70% sure you'd have never heard of Lord of the RIngs at all.
AgnosticPaladin
1 movie adaptation is original. Milking the source with a second trilogy and a series that the only thing it has in common with the books are some names... not that much.
I've read LOTR, a loong time ago, 15-20 years before the Jackson trilogy (i'm old). If your premise would be true (everything original, meaning no movies done after books), i'd still take it.
avavilina
They can't use the established story, the Tolkein estate woudn't sell them the rights.
qtRaven
Then they should have made a different show. All they did was anger the established fanbase.
FluffyKittyLover
I've been enjoying it *shrug* Like theres stuff that kinda makes me roll my eyes sometimes but people act as if its some giant sin or something. It's a solid 6/10 show. I'm more invested in these characters than Game of Thrones tbh.
Mithelen
If we're talking from a story perspective, it kinda is a giant sin. The rings were made in the wrong order and sauron helped with the only ones he didn't in-book, events thousands of years apart are now within a couple of months, even the messaging gets mangled, the distill numenor's growing distrust and jealously of the elves into "tHeY'lL tAkE oUr jErBs".
FluffyKittyLover
Yeah they are trying to tell a story rather than make a historical novel, changes are bound to happen dude, don't know what to tell ya. If you take books as a bible I guess yeah it's a sin but if you see it as entertainment I think they are doing an ok job. Reminds me of the people who think Fallout is bad because they moved a date by a few days or some shit, like who cares.
Mithelen
Changing things is inevitable as you change mediums, it's just a question of degrees. RoP's changes change the dynamics of all the whole story. Compare that to Jackson's lotr trilogy, where the changes are mostly necessary and fit what's needed (minus a few things like stripping denethor of all his complexity). The hobbit trilogy does largely suffer the same issues as RoP. I honestly might like RoP better than the hobbit trilogy, idk. They both have very high highs and low lows.
FluffyKittyLover
I just think for the most part it's the spiderman web shooter debate, some people get so into these details and I just want to see him swing through the air. One being better than the other is ok, but when someone says "it ruins it" I just don't get it, also people hated on the show before it came out so it makes me think they just want something to hate.
Mithelen
For sure, there are definitely people who just wanted to hate it and would always be bad. I was actually the opposite, I really wanted to like it and the first time through I tried to make myself like it, but as time went on i just couldn't find anything I liked that wasn't named Durin, Disa, or Elrond. It's great you found enjoyment out of it, but I just can't.
As to ruining it, I think there's two camps. Those that just hate all changes, and those that feel it misses the heart of the story.