SPOILERS INBOUND - DON'T READ UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND
Yeah... this is going to be a tough sell for me going forward.
What I didn't like:
- All was as I (and I assume most people) predicted. Halbrand as Sauron wouldn't piss me off so much if it didnt actually replace and distort WHAT TOLKIEN ACTUALLY SAID HAPPENED!?!?! Like, I'm one for taking liberties with the text, but for god sakes NO ANNATAR!?!?! No seduction/collaboration with Celebrimbor and corruption of the Elves, the show called Rings of Power did the actual rings bit in 5 mins! This show has seemingly discarded the actual known plot of the Second Age, as little as there is already, in favour of their original creations... there are enough gaps in the story of the Second Age that there is PLENTY of room for original stories and characters WITHOUT removing what little there is to anchor it to Tolkien!
- The show also has made it so that Galadriel - perhaps the most dislikable character in the show (and its protagonist) - is seemingly set up for a character arc and some growth.... only for her to learn nothing, change in no way and perhaps end the show on an even less likable footing than before... IF she KNOWS that H = Sauron then there is NO reason for her not to tell! In the Books she merely has bad vibes about Annatar, she doesn't think he is the Dark Lord himself!
- The show again seems determined to make Gil-Galad a complete ****** in order to make everyone else and especially Galadriel look more reasonable...
- Celebrimbor is criminally side-lined despite being perhaps the key figure of this period of the Second Age.
- Whoever wrote this was SUPER into Sauron/Galadriel fanfiction
- Adar and his story feels pretty much half-formed, needed better thought and time without so much focus on silly elven/human romance or the sword/key thing so much (seriously they could have just torn down a dam - Two Towers style - the magic sword key was SOOOO DUMB). Would have been more impactful if the Southlands thing was an isolated tragic story unconnected to Numenor or Galadriel etc, all the humans die and Adar's hopes for the Orcs are dashed by the return of Sauron.
What I liked:
I liked the emotional level of the reveal, the imagery of it by going into Galadriel's mind - the temptation angle, the use of her brother's face (very like Sauron), the discussion of his motives etc... It hit the right tone, despite my other problems with the reveal.
I loved the tone of the forging of the 3 - very ominous
loved the final shot of the "eye" of Sauron reflecting Mordor.
The Dwarves are this shows redeeming element for sure.
The Stranger/Gandalf story could be heading somewhere interesting and this episode was alright with the Cultists thing - but spending 8 episodes building to a reveal we all knew already is a waste of time, just get on with it.
What will/has already killed the show - the big narrative mistakes:
- Making Galadriel the protagonist - this is a problem that will create more problems, in order for this to work they have had to steal pieces from other characters stories and give it to her and force the plot to move around her in a way that feels unnatural. For example the closeness to Sauron and the betrayal is Celebrimbor's story - perhaps his DEFINING story as a character! and now it is ruined because its already been used for Galadriel. Secondly she has also taken the logical place of Elrond in the Numenor story for forging an alliance between the Numenoreans and the Elves - Elrond is the one with the strong emotional connection with Numenor, not Galadriel, and is the one who would logically be there as Gil-Galad's herald. Gil-Galad has to seem unreasonable to make Galadriel's decisions (jumping ship, keeping the truth about Sauron from the others) not look completely awful. And again her insertion into EVERY plot thread in the season (Except the dwarven storyline) is unnatural and jarring, she feels out of place in these other stories, like a piece being made to fit.
- The better choice for protagonist would be Celebrimbor - who is not only the central figure in the forging story but it is HE not Elrond who has a very close and famous friendship with the dwarf Narvi - indeed this plotline from Elrond seems to be completely stolen from Celebrimbor's character. In choosing to split this plotline and giving to a different character the show has created issues - 1: Elrond is now not free to be the Elven ambassador for the Numenor plot, 2: Celebrimbor has YET ANOTHER major plotline stolen from him and thus he is further diminished as a character, 3: it forces more pieces onto the board than is necessary, thus resulting in the too many plotlines complaint that has slowed the story down. 4: We are now robbed of a tragic protagonist storyline - with our hero betrayed by his friend (Annatar), failed to "redeem" his family legacy and his tragic end... imagine how much harder Celebrimbor's death would hit NOW after a season of his charming friendship with Narvi.... such a waste all to pander to people who only understand recycled LOTR characters.
- The time compression - already written on this a LOT so will keep it brief - compressing the time forces the character arcs to lurch from point to point unnaturallly, forces elements into the plot that don't make sense (like the seemingly instant fading of the Elves, the Numenoreans already being anti-elven etc.) and has ruined the narrative structure. The fading of the elves in particular is stupid as it removes the more folly-like element of the Forging of the Rings, in the books it is the elves own love of knowledge, their desire to use their power to make Middle Earth the equivalent of Valinor, and their desire to heal and preserve sure, but not like in the show. The Show's decision to make the Elves face an existential threat of fading is... idiotic - they have no choice here, there is no sin in doing this to survive, there is no hubris to take advantage of, no moral to be passed on. This is a result of the show compressing the timeline to the extent that the events of the LOTR is getting sucked in - as Tolkien suggests that the fading of the Elves (in body only, not spirit) is tied directly to the creation/fate of the 3 rings, which were bound to Sauron by being forged by his knowledge (if not his hands - like the other 17 - which is why he cannot directly control them) and as his power grew, the elves faded. This decision by the Elves then, in Tolkien, to preserve and embalm the world according to their design ironically forces them to lose their place in it. But in this show... they have no choice because they are going to die (seemingly any day now) without it. It undermines the whole thing. Plus it also makes older Durin look like a grade A jackass for decided to disown his own son and doom and entire race to extinction "just coz". And AGAIN it makes Gil-Galad look like a ****** for being "no we will not try, I have decided for arbitrary reasons" about the whole rings idea - its stupid.
So, so, so stupid......
So to cut a long story short - no I am in no way excited for or eagerly awaiting season 2, I might watch it if nothing else is on... but I doubt it. This has left a bad taste in my mouth to be honest. Let it die.
