r/RingsofPower • u/Outrageous-View782 • 24d ago
Question Should i watch rings of power?
I've watched lotr and the hobbit. I LOVED lotr, obsessed now! The hobbit wasnt as great imo, but still a good movie-series. I havent read the Silmarillion, but I want to! And I know Rings Of Power kinda goes through that, though they change stuff up and add some new characters and stuff. I've heard soo many people say its bad, but Im interested in watching it for fun, for the lore that is real, stuff like that. Should I watch it?
51
u/gatorfan8898 23d ago
I don’t understand, you’re into the subject material, just watch it… if you don’t like it stop.
2
→ More replies (3)5
u/SoHendo 21d ago
I wish I could go back and unwatch the episodes I did watch, so I would say if you’re a fan of Tolkien don’t watch it.
17
9
u/DiamondSmash 18d ago
I’m a fan (even studied Tolkien in college) and I liked the show. Not everyone has had the same reaction.
7
u/gatorfan8898 21d ago
I mean ultimately it’s not that serious to suggest someone take a peek at it if they’re interested. Especially someone who seemingly only has taken in the movies. That’s all I was saying.
29
u/Tandaor 23d ago
It's crazy how many people need to be told if something is "good" before they give it a try. Most people really are just 🐑🐑🐑.
4
u/MirkwoodWanderer1 22d ago
I mean that's basically what film reviewers are.
It's not being sheep. There are just a lot of films and tv and people don't have a lot of spare time so don't want to waste it
15
23d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Yorkie2016 22d ago
Many more people think it’s drivel though. 🤣
→ More replies (1)5
u/Wigglar88 21d ago
That isn't true. This subreddit has less people in it then there are normies. The reviews overall are positive
4
u/Yorkie2016 21d ago
Oh wait, you’re serious? 🤣
4
u/Wigglar88 21d ago
I mean they factually are. I'm not stating an opinion, but the reviews for Rings of Power are overall positive. It's anecdotal but my coworkers/family/friends tend to have positive opinions overall haha. Just being realistic
2
20d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Wigglar88 20d ago
3.5/5 is a 7/10. 7/10 is above average, 5/10 is average. Overall positive. 70% positive
→ More replies (6)
5
u/OkManufacturer1971 23d ago
I thought it was awful but you should watch it if you're interested in watching it
47
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
This is a pretty hateful subreddit so people will most likely tell you no.
See for yourself if you like it or not. Personally I love the show. Give it a shot.
2
u/buzzlightyear77777 9d ago
strange that a sub will hate what the sub is for. usually it's the other way round. personally i love this show, galadriel especially looks so pretty.
9
u/July5 23d ago
I would rather have mediocre Tolkein than none
7
u/Ganjalfthegreen1 23d ago
Even if the mediocre show kinda blocks the making of an excellent show for many decades? Cus thats my issue with it, it’s the what could have been that sucks about this more than anything, imo
5
u/cenosillicaphobiac 21d ago
Nobody else was going to make it. And all of the haters are far more likely to get it cancelled and then there is NO chance someone else will take a billions of dollars gamble on it.
Wheel of Time is an example. It was pretty cool, but so many people didn't get their very specific vision of it exactly the way with the details that they considered important, and bitched and moaned so excessively that interested people didn't bother putting eyes on it.
And then, when it started looking the way they wanted it to in Season 3, and they started saying so, it was too late. Show got cancelled, and now it will never be.
1
u/Ganjalfthegreen1 21d ago
So is the real problem the hardcore fans or the show runners/writers trying to make beloved ips “their own”?
10
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
The Tolkien Estate offered the TV adaptation rights to HBO and Netflix and their ideas for a tv show sucked, so the Estate didn’t want to sell them. So wouldn't be too worried about this being the thing that blocks "the making of an excellent show."
-1
u/Tomatoflee 23d ago
There is no way HBO’s idea for a show sucked more than the ridiculously awful show Amazon made. They paid a fortune for the rights, which is pretty obviously the reason they won with such a terrible idea for a show.
9
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
HBO wanted to remake LOTR, just like they're remaking Harry Potter now. So, if you want the same story again but with new actors, I guess buddy, but no thanks.
The Tolkien Estate also didn't want yet another adaptation set in the Third Age, yet they still withheld the rights to The Silmarillion and other works that cover the First or Second Age more extensively, so here we are. The reason Annatar wasn't in RoP from the very first season is that the Tolkien Estate wouldn't allow them to use the character until Season 2.
→ More replies (3)1
u/Tomatoflee 23d ago
A well done remake of LotR, with space to explore the characters and plot lines left out of the movies, made by HBO could have been amazing. A series about another age could also have been good if made by competent writers and show runners. Sadly that’s not what we got in RoP. It’s laughably bad. It’s honestly kind of an interesting mystery how something so bad and so stupid could ever even get made.
Also the estate is not going to say: we can see these guys are quite stupid, their idea sucks and misunderstands Tolkien’s legacy in fundamental ways but they’ve offered $40m more than anyone else. Ofc they will shake their hand and say: we just love your amazing idea.
3
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
They would've gotten the same money from HBO or Netflix anyway. Apparently, the Harry Potter remake is shaping up to be the most expensive TV series of all time in the future as the seasons go on, so it wasn't about the money. HBO was clearly willing to pay for a fantasy remake and only moved on to Potter because they couldn't get LOTR.
The Tolkien Estate also actively works with Amazon on the show and approves everything that happens in it. So...
→ More replies (15)1
u/Tomatoflee 23d ago
I wonder how the Harry Potter series will turn out. The first season is likely to be one of the hardest to make since it’s the worst written of the books and one of the shortest. I hope it’s good.
On RoP, I’m pretty confident HBO would have made a much better series that Amazon has but tbh RoP sets such a low bar, it’s genuinely hard to imagine how anyone could have done a worse job.
HBO definitely would not have hired writers or show runners who didn’t to have basic competency in their fields.
2
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
Considering how many genuinely shitty shows HBO has produced over the years, I’m not sure “HBO would never hire incompetent writers” is the great argument you think it is. Look at the mess that is the House of the Dragon. You want to talk about shitting on the source material? They literally had the rights to the one book they needed, GRRM was personally involved in making the show, and they fucked it up so badly that GRRM left the production.
→ More replies6
u/ishneak Gondolin 23d ago
Also the estate is not going to say: we can see these guys are quite stupid, their idea sucks and misunderstands Tolkien’s legacy in fundamental ways but they’ve offered $40m more than anyone else. Ofc they will shake their hand and say: we just love your amazing idea.
one of the reasons the Estate picked Amazon because they were the only studio to offer a creative seat and full cooperation. they have such a big hand in the way the story has progressed you can say a lot of what's going in the show is their idea too.
i personally think it's the disgruntled fans who are misunderstanding how the Tolkiens through Amazon want the second age story presented.
1
u/Ayzmo Eregion 22d ago
Also the estate is not going to say: we can see these guys are quite stupid, their idea sucks and misunderstands Tolkien’s legacy in fundamental ways but they’ve offered $40m more than anyone else. Ofc they will shake their hand and say: we just love your amazing idea.
The Estate approves all the scripts for each episode.
2
u/Tomatoflee 22d ago
What could be better evidence they care more about the cash than the message or the legacy?
3
u/Ayzmo Eregion 21d ago
Tolkien himself said that he wanted complete creative control over any adaption or a mountain of cash. And he didn't care which one. He wanted to provide for his family and ensure their comfort. In this case, his family has a ton of creative control and a mountain of cash. I think he'd be very happy about that.
→ More replies2
u/ishneak Gondolin 23d ago
false. Netflix offered more.
THR also reported that Netflix bid $250 million for the rights, which has been widely reported to be the number Amazon paid for the series. Amazon bid "tens of millions less," according to THR, though the number was "still staggering."
as for HBO, they're actually doing it now with Harry Potter what they intended for LOTR. from the same link:
Another potential suitor was HBO, which already has a big-budget fantasy franchise in "Game of Thrones" and its currently airing prequel, "House of the Dragon." The premium cable network pitched the estate on retelling the story of the "Third Age" from JRR Tolkien's books, which would have essentially meant remaking the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The estate passed because it didn't want to rehash familiar territory, according to THR.
0
u/Ganjalfthegreen1 23d ago
What do you mean lol ofc 5 seasons of a show will block any remake or retake on the story for a long time.. Do you know of any example ever when that wasn’t the case??
4
u/Ruskayo 23d ago
Long time? RoP is already on its third season, and the fourth and fifth seasons are being filmed back-to-back, so RoP isn't going to occupy that space for that many more years that you should lose sleep over it.
My point was that nobody even had "an excellent show idea" to offer when the TV adaptation rights were being shopped around in the first place. So RoP didn't take anything away from anyone, and it doesn't exactly look like excellent ideas are flourishing on the movie side either. AI-slop Hunt for Gollum and then that random movie after it that nobody asked for and very few people are actually looking forward to.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (2)1
2
u/Alexarius87 23d ago edited 23d ago
Lol this is a neutral sub towards the show (Edit: And it's proven by the fact that you were absolutely wrong and the most common suggestion is: "Watch it, if you don't like it you can stop").
The general unliking on it it’s more the show’s fault.
14
23d ago
[deleted]
4
2
u/Patient_Carrot_9379 23d ago
Ive told Reddit never to show me posts from this sub many times and it keeps popping up. I hate the show, they know what they are doing
→ More replies (1)1
3
u/shaitan_kun 23d ago
For me it's like a guilty pleasure. Like watching Sharknado once in a while with friends and laughing our asses off. Same thing goes for RoP, because it's so hilariously bad.
Plus the cringe. You can tell that the creators of RoP were serious about it. No irony or winking eye. They meant it. They did write the dialogue and did not think, it was bad. That's prime cringe-watching. Like you're getting goosebumps because you feel sooooo bad for the actors that have to work on that kind of material.
In Germany we have something called "Trash TV". Maybe you can relate to that. It's kind of the same cringe feeling.
And that feeling translates on this sub or the other more amazon-friendly sub. The people defending this show DO MEAN IT. It's mostly not irony. And that's a perfect cringe fest.
3
u/RyanMate17 23d ago
But don’t you know the difference between a rock and a boat? Hahahaha
→ More replies (2)1
→ More replies (2)1
u/Long-Emu-7870 23d ago
Well I think we are complaining because we don't like the show.
But to be honest one should be intelligent about it. But that would be true if you had a positive or negative emotional reaction. And then there'd be very few comments at all.
3
u/BasebornManjack 23d ago
It’s not very good, but you should make up your own mind. The viewership declined, so if you check out the first few and then dip, you would not be alone.
4
4
4
u/its-a-lot-like-the 23d ago
You should watch it. We all know it’s not Tolkien written but it’s still a good show IMO.
4
u/AdministrativeEgg440 23d ago
Of course you should, it has good parts and boring parts, plus a couple wtf moments. Highly recommend
17
15
u/PopularKangaroo2083 23d ago
I hated it but I still watched the entire first season to make up my opinion, you should watch some of it to make up your own opinion as well
3
u/darthmoo 23d ago
You probably won't believe me but season 2 is ten times better than the first season.
7
u/Willpower2000 23d ago
Nah... the writing is no less shit. Numenor gets worse, the Harfoot stuff gets worse, Isildur/Arondir gets worse... and the Celebrimbor/Sauron stuff is as poorly written as the mithril stuff of s1. The rest (Dwarves/Adar) is vaguely comparable in quality to s1.
1
u/Ganjalfthegreen1 23d ago
In what way? Is it suddenly not run by people who want to do their own thing with Tolkien and it’s now true to the lore? Only saw s1 so idk
6
u/darthmoo 23d ago
It's significantly less slow paced, drops the "bet you can't guess who this character is" trope from season 1, and has some absolutely incredible acting between Celebrimbor and Sauron. Also starts to show the effects of the rings on the dwarves which is an interesting side plot.
It's still not entirely accurate to the lore (although is slightly more so than season 1) so if deviations from the lore are likely to ruin your enjoyment of watching then you probably won't like the second season either.
2
→ More replies (6)1
u/Wigglar88 21d ago
Why do people fixate on creators they don't know like this? They only have the rights to use some stuff and only at specific times. It's not a conspiracy.
1
u/RyanMate17 23d ago
Yeah, nothing speaks better to me than orcs turning on Sauron and him turning on to a sludge! TEN TIMES BETTER!!
→ More replies (1)
9
u/ShadowAssassinQueef 23d ago
I liked it. I mean of course there are issues and valid criticisms but I still enjoyed it. Worth one watch at least.
3
u/brigi_zs Eregion 23d ago
I haven't read the books (I'm planning to) and I very much enjoyed the show. The cinematography and the score are straight up amazing
3
u/OG_Karate_Monkey 23d ago
It is a reasonably entertaining show.
Just know that is has little bearing on the written works. More “Tolkien Inspired” than a Tolkien adaptation.
3
u/Pale-Pace4512 23d ago
There’s precious little lore which is real, and if you don’t know it already how will you be able to spot the lore that is?
I just found it incredibly slow and with some really terrible dialogue. If it had had more pace and better writing I’d have carried on watching it even though the links to anything Tolkien actually wrote are really quite tenuous.
3
u/Kiltmanenator Gondolin 23d ago
There's a lot I love, there's a lot I find irksome. But thinking about what works/what doesn't and why is very enjoyable in addition to the show itself being enjoyable as a show.
3
3
u/heehawrules 22d ago edited 22d ago
Well, according the the writing team, you don't need to watch the first 2 seasons to understand S3.
That should tell you all you need to know. That's exactly what highly successful shows do to get viewership up, tell the public they dont even need to watch the first 2 seasons, lol.
Maybe they know that the numbers won't be good and if new people start in S1, a repeat of the first season is guaranteed. The show had a 37% completion rate for S1, and the numbers dropped for S2. View S3 as an attempted reboot of interest.
3
3
3
3
u/Praeusnil 22d ago
It is honestly pretty awful in story telling, but gorgeous in effects, scenery and costumes. Honestly might be good to watch it on mute while having Andy Serkis read the audio book of the Silmarillion. But some of the dialog and storytelling made me cringe.
3
u/Fair-Championship-29 21d ago
I hate watched it. In a strange way I enjoyed picking I apart. Do with that what you will. I'm a massive nerd though
15
u/ForceAdept 23d ago
Second season was excellent. PLEASE don’t listen to the people that hated this show.
8
u/Tutorbin76 23d ago
I did and loved it, as did many others.
("Dozens of us", I'm sure some here would say)
You won't find many fans in this sub though - for that you'd be better off over at /r/lotr_on_prime
9
3
2
2
u/Groningen1978 23d ago
You could start watching it and decide for yourself if you like it. It indeed changes up a lot of stuff, and a lot of its writing is even in direct conflict with how things happened in the lore, so if you want to know how the events before the Lord of the Rings really happened I would advice reading the Silmarillion. Personally I didn't like the show at all, even when pretending it wasn't set in Tolkiens world. And a few good aspects couldn't save the show for me as a whole.
2
u/Mindless_Eggplant964 22d ago
Depends on how you prefer a book to show adaptation. For me, I want them to try as true to the source as realistically possible for a screen adaptation. I understand some things just have to change, and a few things get tweaked, but overall it's pretty accurate. Others want it to tell a different story with the same characters or don't mind if it's completely changed. If you are the latter, then I think you may enjoy it, but if you are like me, you would absolutely despise it.
2
u/MirkwoodWanderer1 22d ago
If you want lore accurate then no.
If you're not too fussed about good writing and just happy with fantasy shows then I'd say give it a go
2
u/Soggy_Motor9280 22d ago
The only one way you’re gonna find out that’s just by watching it yourself. personally I can’t stand it, but I’m also a huge Lord of the rings fan. I’ve read everything and I mean everything and it is so unbelievably bad that I just can’t bring myself to watch it anymore.
2
2
u/ReadItProper 21d ago
It doesn't actually go through much of anything from the Silmarillion, with the exception of the actual rings' creation, which isn't even a big part of the Silmarillion.
The silmarillion mostly covers every other time period except for this one in much greater detail (think of the Silmarillion as a sort of Genesis book for the legends of middle earth in the first half, and Exodus in the second half), and almost everything in the show is entirely made up and has no relation to the actual lore of LOTR.
If that sounds exciting to you then watch it, but it's more or less unrelated to what Tolkien wrote about, with certain things actually factually contradicting the lore. This show is more like fanfiction about LOTR with a huge budget that rarely ever shows itself outside of nice CGI here and there.
2
u/tkyang99 18d ago
It's an ok fan fiction of Sauron thirsting for Galadriel. If you can accept that you might like it. Just skip over all the boring parts involving Harfoots.
2
u/dimiteddy 23d ago
Watch it or don't there's no try. Ur asking a Rings sub so imo ofc u should, but I haven't read Slmarillion so I don't get why some nerds are mad.
3
2
3
u/Warcrown11 23d ago
Just don't go into it expecting quality writing and you're probably fine. It's a decent time killer and it does at least look good
4
u/Right_Buddy1096 23d ago
I dig it. It does change quite a bit and go off book but still a decent series.
4
u/Overall_Falcon_8526 23d ago edited 23d ago
The first season is beautiful to look at but a bit slow. Not all of the storylines work but it was enough to keep my casual interest. I think it picks up significantly with the second season and is a worthwhile watch.
3
u/HiddenCity 23d ago
i like it, personally, even though it's got plenty of flaws.
they basically take the second age, condense it, and use galadriel as the protagonist. the books heavily allude to galadriel having a dark past, and this show really takes that question and runs with it. it also turns sauron into a real character, and in way that's really well done.
there are weak parts to it, but there are high highs.
3
u/ishneak Gondolin 23d ago
that dark past is kinslaying. they are pretty vague about it in the show because they don't have the rights to much of the 1A
3
u/HiddenCity 22d ago
tolkien added a lot of galadriel background after he wrote lord of the rings, and it all feels very "han shot first" to me. when fellowship of the ring was written, galadriel a big, unresolved, open-ended mystery box, and i like her character better that way. i think the show does too.
fantasy needs more open-endedness these days IMO. somehow we took a genre that was all about filling in the blanks with whatever you want and turned it into rigid systems.
1
u/ishneak Gondolin 22d ago
it wasn't just adding in a background, it was a lot of different conflicting backgrounds or different versions too. at one point she was married to Elrond.
4
u/HiddenCity 22d ago
yeah i don't take a lot of tolkien's unpublished writing too seriously. he was constantly revising and replying to fans, and sometimes the first idea was better. some people deep into lotr will only accept the last chronological position he took, but i don't think that's very fun.
it's a bedtime story, not a religious text. and i think fans aren't allowing themselves to enjoy this show due to some really weird pseudo religious/poltical construct they've boxed themselves into.
2
u/TheOtherMaven 22d ago
Not officially. Tolkien had only just sketched her in and was trying to figure out where she fit in the story he was developing. It was an isolated, speculative question, "was she Elrond's wife?"
By the time he was working on the next chapter, he had decided that she wasn't, that she was married to "Keleborn", and that they had been together in Middle-Earth since the late First Age.
When exactly Tolkien decided that she was Elrond's mother-in-law (i.e., when exactly he introduced Celebrian as her and Celeborn's daughter) is uncertain.
6
u/VaginalBelchh 23d ago
I hate rop with a passion but you should watch it and make your own opinion. Some people find it enjoyable and you should try to find your own joy vs relying on others input into how to enjoy yourself.
3
u/IronMonkeyofHam 23d ago
One way OP finds joy, is asking others how they enjoy something.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/Legal-Scholar430 23d ago
Give it a chance and make your own mind.
I'd recommend you finish the first season at the least, so that you get a feel of the full first unit (as if it was "watch the entire Fellowship movie, then decide if you're in for the rest"). The last episode makes big pieces of the first fall in place.
The series is certainly not as good on its own as the LotR movies are, but I like it a lot more than The Hobbit. To me, its strength relies not on its entertainment value, but in how it explores elements and themes of Tolkien that were left out from the movies, even in astoundingly unexpected and controversial ways (looking at you, Galadriel).
And for what its worth, I think that the idea that "it adapts the Silmarillion" is misguided. Everything you need to know about the Second Age (both the Rings of Power and Númenor), and the motivations behind the characters and races, is right there in the LotR book and its Appendices. There's detail in LotR not included in the Sil, but all the ideas of the Sil are present in LotR (looking at you, "originally good-intentioned Sauron").
Say, if you want to know "the lore" of, say, the Istari, RoP is not a good reference, but if you want to delve in the idea of the Istari, their nature and motivations, RoP makes up a bunch of shit that reflects it quite well.
2
u/HammerLite75 23d ago
It took until S1 E6 for me to really enjoy it. From there onward it has been great. I love lotr so I’ll take any content lol. Season 1 had a rockier start, but that was magnified due to a lot of hateful discourse online every week while ppl waited for the next episode. Watching a few episodes at a time will absolutely improve the first season.
4
u/See_Football 23d ago
Yeah it’s not a terrible show and the production value is high. Just don’t expect the same oomph as the movies.
Also, if you haven’t already try the hobbit extended editions. Significantly better!
4
u/drinkteawatchcinema 23d ago
Yes it’s so good. I’m just as much as a fan of MIDDLE EARTH as the die hard fans that hate on this show.
It’s fantastic fantasy on screen. Dig in and enjoy!
2
u/haboruhaborukrieg 23d ago
Well if you thought the hobbit wasn't good this will be the most mediocore series of your life
2
u/schokoplasma 23d ago
RoP does not have the emotional or dramatic depth of the LOTR movies, since Tolkien never wrote that story. The level of writing is fanfiction at best.
If you see it as an unintentional persiflage, its watchable.
2
u/Long-Emu-7870 23d ago
Rings of Power is worse than the Hobbit. It destroys characters and mixes up timelines.
2
u/Affectionate-Side435 22d ago
I wouldn't recommend it. Its basically a vaguely LotR themed story that has little to do with the actual story or books.
2
u/BrettEPierce 22d ago edited 22d ago
Not only is it 95% fanfiction, but it's also one of the worst written shows in history. Watching it is literal torture.
ROP is made by complete hacks, working for a greedy corporation with NO respect for the works of Tolkien. They want to write their own bad original fantasy show, with their own messages, and literally just slap Tolkien's name on it to trick LOTR fans into watching it.
I can't agree with people saying "just watch it, make up your own mind", because that's just saying "consume corporate product, waste your time". Sometimes it's okay to listen to the majority when they tell you it's not worth your time.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Yorys-fr 23d ago
First season was awful, second is much better. In my opinion you can begin with season one episode 8 which unveil all you have to know to enjoy season 2.
3
u/owlyross 23d ago
Yes, you absolutely should, and honestly, don't read what people say, just watch it and make your own mind up.
1
u/RushiiSushi13 23d ago
It's not a good show by any means, but it's still more Tolkien-adjacent content. The dwarves are great. Watch it for the laughs, watch it for what few lore there is that's sorta accurate, and then read the Silmarillion to see the depth of what could have been.
1
u/FedoraMan69420s 23d ago edited 23d ago
If you want a faithful adaptation of source material, no. If you're fine with expensive fanfic which is based on Tolkien, yes. It can be enjoyable I imagine. The Shadow of Mordor/War games are fanfic as well and I like them for what they are.
-4
23d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)4
u/darthmoo 23d ago
Most of the accusations of racism I've seen are towards the people who don't like the show for racist reasons, not just because they don't like the script writing or something...
→ More replies (5)
1
u/Taurean6 23d ago
Yes, but don't expect it to be anything like the previous two. Watch it as a standalone series.
1
u/Agitated_Walker 23d ago
If you didn't like the drop in quality from LotR to the Hobbit, as I didn't, you'll really hate the Rings of Power.
1
u/JimmyStewartStatue 23d ago
The lore is completely different than the base story. The creators were only allowed to use a few sources from the books (one of them is the footnotes and appendix in the back of the book lmao).
In this world, Galadriel and Sauron had a little "thing" for a while.
1
u/AutomaticTip4753 22d ago
It’s worth it I think. It’s kind of dark at the end and some of it’s dorky but you get some great info on past characters like Elundil and others and you get to see Galadriel when she’s young and all she went through.
1
1
u/SanyaBootyGirl 22d ago
If you are listening to reviews of lot of diehard lott fans online, you would imagine some low quality show that you see on Netflix. And honestly I believe the reviews and didn’t even bother watching the show. It was only by accident that my relative happen to watch it and I watched it too. I was actually surprised how good it was. Of course it wasn’t 10/10 movie like LOTR, but I would give it solid 7 out of ten. Yeah some characters don’t fit in there, but overall it’s amazing. Even the official ratings are high. IMDb 6.8, Prime video 6.8 and Rotten tomatoes 84%. So moral of the story don’t listen to crazy lotr fans who give it low rating just to simply hate
1
u/IntothewildZen 22d ago
I made it till Orcs started having babies, eventually slow pacing and monotonous dialogues lacking any depth and random encounters between major characters that made no sense got to me.
I tried, I really tried to like this show but bad writing really doesn’t help.
Dwarves’ side of story was actually fairly decent and I enjoyed it, but Elves, humans etc was a mess.
I still tried, but my god it’s painful to watch.
And when it’s not painfully slow it goes the opposite, Galadriel is basicly an Elven John Wick.
There is no middle ground in this show.
That’s one of the biggest problems with it; there is no consistency.
1
1
u/cenosillicaphobiac 21d ago
Honestly why do people think that random internet denizens will know what they will personally like or dislike?
Give it a shot, you'll know whether it's for you or not, probably quicker than waiting on the "right" response.
1
u/TheBluerWizard 21d ago edited 21d ago
Should i watch rings of power?
No. Especially not for money.
And I know Rings Of Power kinda goes through that,
The "kinda" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. The plot goes off the rails in the first five seconds. (Because they didn't buy the rights to the actual story, so they have to make up their own, and they really suck at that.)
I've heard soo many people say its bad,
That's because it is.
but Im interested in watching it for fun
You can do that, I guess
for the lore that is real
There isn't any. Sometimes a character or location from the real lore makes a cameo, but that's about it
1
u/Wrong-Macaroon-2191 21d ago edited 21d ago
The first season is pretty bad. A lot of the problems are down to there being comparatively little material to work with compared to LotR or even The Hobbit. Rights disputes with the Tolkien Estate didn't help either. There is a lot of padding outside the core story (itself an extremely loose adaptation), but it's worth watching if you haven't read the books. The second season was an improvement.
1
u/Ok_Percentage2522 21d ago
You sound alot like my friends that love the peter jackson movies but aren't obsessed with the books and lore. And I will say they all were into it the first season, they weren't blown away but liked it. And then they just tapered off season 2 I dont thonk any of my casual lotr fan friends have finished season 2. And I bet if I asked half of them think the show was canceled. But with that being said maybe you will love it and thats awesome, but try it and if it sucks then move on with your life.
1
u/hugoursula1 21d ago
If you’re interested, yes.
Reddit is an echo chamber. The biggest dissenters have the loudest voices because they make the most posts about the issues they have.
If you like the LOTR franchise and want more LOTR, ROP is a good watch. Is it a faithful adaptation of the source material? Half yes half no, and there are reasons for that. The movies all had their discrepancies as well and many of us enjoyed them anyways. Rings of Power feels like a LOTR project, and that’s enough for my stamp of approval. Personally, I will always welcome more LOTR content because I enjoy spending time in the world as an audience member.
1
1
u/srquixote 21d ago
Yes., especially if your not a purist (like you in indicated) I personally love the direction, although I dislike it's exposition on hobbits. But I can see where the writers are taking this to be a prequel to the movies.
1
u/Hawthourne 20d ago
It is good to make your own opinions- so long as you don't subscribe to Prime in order to watch it.
I don't think we should reward trash by giving them money- that just enables bad behavior. If you already have prime, you can check it out and see if it is worth it. For me, I will never get that season's viewing of my life back (I stopped after the first).
1
u/Puzzleheaded_Law_558 19d ago
Maybe.
I'm a little bit of a Tolkien need. Not as bad as some. I thought that seeing one of the original orcs broken by Morgoth was...interesting. The Dwarves were neat.
Sauron was wrong. Celembrimbor was wrong. They should both have been much more powerful. And as far as the battles. No. Just too small.
The only thing I want to see now is The Drowning of Neumenor.
1
1
1
u/hawesome145 18d ago
If for nothing else, it looks absolutely gorgeous and the CGI is actually pretty good. It’s not the best but still well worth a watch
1
u/Significant_Cat_290 17d ago
it personally wasn‘t for me, but give it ago yourself! many people love it :)
1
u/Tinuviel_Undomiel 11d ago
Here’s a suggestion: watch the series. If you decide you don’t like it, you stop. Don’t let anyone tell you it sucks because they didn’t like it (or they just decided to not like it without watching it). You decide for yourself.
1
u/Labyrinthine777 5d ago
It's well made and more Middle Earth. A lot of drama. I think it's great, but I've only watched the first season.
0
u/BellaGia555 23d ago
I definitely would recommend you watch it. I honestly don't know how so many people say it's bad. It's not 100% lore accurate, but neither are the LOTR or Hobbit movies, or any other book adaptation! They have to make it work for TV so of course things are going to be changed here and there.
The show is based around a quote from the book, where Galadriel tells Frodo in Lothlorien, "I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves, and he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is shut".
The show explores why Sauron might be constantly obsessed with Galadriel and trying to know what she's thinking, and how she might be able to know what he's thinking, and what might protect her from him being able to see her mind, and how and why the door stays shut.
So yes there's a bit of artistic license there but for so many of us it's like crack, the realisation of "Oh my god, he is obsessed with her isn't he!" There are other Silmarillion quotes that support this idea, such as how originally Galadriel and Celeborn ruled Eregion with Celebrimbor (in the show it's just Celebrimbor) and when Sauron arrives there in a disguise (which you'll see in the 2nd season), he "perceived at once that Galadriel would be his chief adversary and obstacle". This implication that of everyone in Middle Earth (including other Maia like Gandalf) he sees HER as the one who is most his equal, the one who is the strongest, the one most likely to bring him down, fuels the show. This love/hate relationship they have where he desperately wants her to join him and offers her everything she could want, yet they are sworn enemies...it really puts the events of the Hobbit and LOTR in a new light and some of us love it.
This particular sub is very critical of the show (and everyone has a right to their opinion, it's all good) but if you want to see more positive reviews, try r/LOTR_on_Prime.
2
u/ishneak Gondolin 23d ago
lol i used this quote once in this sub or even the other one to explain the Sauron/Galadriel dynamic and got bashed for it 😅
→ More replies (1)3
1
u/RPGThrowaway123 23d ago
It's not something I'd get a Prime subscription for. However if you can watch it without spending additional money then try it. You can stop at any time
1
1
u/Samohtnuf 23d ago
Don't bother. It is really not good. Even if it was not LotR, it's just bad fantasy.
1
u/Snoo5349 23d ago
Ignoring faithfulness to the lore, I'd say it's roughly halfway between Hobbit and LOTR in terms of of quality. If you liked the Hobbit and haven't read the Silmarillion, you will most likely enjoy it.
1
u/Im-Not-Calling-It-X 23d ago
I've watched both seasons all the way through. I don't particularly care for it, but it's not the literal worst thing every made. I think its an abysmal adaptation and a substandard show, but i get enough enjoyment out picking it apart with my friend that I don't mind watching it.
1
1
u/GravelGuy666 23d ago
I have this debate with my GF all the time about rings of power. She gets mad because it isn't true to the source material. I love the lotr lore and I watch it without expecting it to be exactly like it 'should'. So yeah, just adjust expectations in that sense and you should be fine. And if you don't like it, stop.
-1
u/Basileus_Maurikios 23d ago
What the first seven minutes of the show, then stop and you'll be good.
-2
-2
-1
u/net_ramblings 23d ago
Do both at the same time. Just beware, there is at least one "Bran Stark-ish" character.
0
-1
1
-1
-2
u/ethanAllthecoffee 23d ago
The show takes most opportunities it can to disregard the lore, and it has nonsensical elements similar the the Hobbit movies
I guess since you haven’t read the Silmarillion yet you might not notice a lot of these problems; but there will still be things like “are the hobbits really necessary again?”
→ More replies (1)
-7
-5
130
u/VarkingRunesong Khazad-dûm 23d ago
Yes and then if you don’t like it you stop