Yeah I didn't mind the music. It reminded me of the classic Game of Thrones trailers like this one and this one. Which may in fact be direct inspirations.

 

What's wrong with music in this trailer?

 

It sounds like an Evanescence song remixed by P. Diddy.

 

Autotuned vocals + synth'd instrumentals annoy the fuck out of me. Not really something that screams high fantasy either.

Taure is right though. It is very similar to your standard low fantasy hype trailer made for the broader audience.

 

Trailer music was fine and people need to chill.

More importantly, what the fuck is going on at 2:18 lmao

 

Do you mean the chain the riders used to clothesline those orcs? Yeah, a bit impractical. Don't think it would work in reality. Those bros would just get yanked off their horses.

But it looks cool so *shrug*. There is going to be a lot of silly Legolas physics in this.

 

At this point, i think everyone hires the same people or the marketing course is that devoid of imagination xD

 

Social Media embargo was just lifted. Reactions are coming out and they are overwhelmingly, almost ridiculously positive. A lot of Tolkien people on Twitter that I trust are hyping it hard.

 

Yeah, Gaiman said it was fun for what that's worth.

 

Neil Gaiman?

 

Yeah

https://mobile.twitter.com/neilhimself/status/1562283022854098944

No idea if I embedded that right.

 

The common theme to the reactions seems to be that the production values, script and acting are all really good, but that the first two episodes are very much an extended prologue which set the scene in terms of the characters and factions etc. without much in the way of plot development.

I think that is probably fine, in terms of mainstream appeal. Game of Thrones hardly hit the ground running, back in season 1, and that didn't prevent it from becoming a phenomenon. But it does probably mean that (like Game of Thrones) the mainstream response will be a slow build-up of interest over time, rather than everyone loving it immediately.

 

So.

I thought 1.1 was magnificent. It was visually stunning, I liked all of the cast, the hobbit-folk Harfoots were charming. Morfydd Clark good god. Good god

 

Hey. What do you know. Episode 1 was good. Most if not all of the silly stuff from the trailers remains silly, but they honestly are inconsequential in the of, you know, actual content. And the content is solid. Lots of setup, but it didn't feel forced and kept my interest well enough. Everything is, of course, beautiful, sound design was lovely and performances were good across the board.

Here's hoping it stays that way.

 

The first two episodes are a 9.5/10 for me. On a par with the first two episodes of House of the Dragon. They are very different shows to be sure. Low fantasy vs. high fantasy. But within their respective genres, I think each is excelling at what that genre is all about.

If I had to compare their respective strengths, I would say that Rings of Power's dialogue/character work isn't quite as strong as House of the Dragon (but still good). But on the flipside, Rings of Power has grander themes that have greater potential to tug on your heartstrings and create within you a feeling of awe. House of the Dragon is excellent drama, but Rings of Power is an almost spiritual experience.

Now, admittedly, I am the target market for Rings of Power. I am someone who loves the lore enough that I get a shiver of delight from the mere mention of Fëanor, but I am not so bound to the lore that I get upset when it is deviated from in an adaptation. The only mild lore-related head-scratching moment I had was Gil-Galad having the authority to send Noldor to Valinor as a kind of reward which is not available to other elves.

In any event, I thought it was excellent. Visuals and music speak for themselves - top tier. Characters were all great.

Morfydd Clark is knocking it out of the park as Galadriel, managing to pull off the sense of great age while still retaining a certain youthful vigor. I keep wanting her to bust out the "I'm the biggest badass in Middle Earth" moves but I appreciate they need to build up towards Galadriel displaying power beyond physical combat skill, they can't just open with it. Her opening with the younger actress, with the magical boat, was a very nice touch, and a good reminder that she is not just a warrior but also basically a elf-witch. I do wonder if the elf who was teasing her/throwing stones is named somewhere. No doubt some shithead Fëanorian XD

Harfoots were enjoyable, particularly once the Stranger appears. Who the Stranger is and what role he will play remains one of the big mysteries and a major plot hook.

Elrond I am liking, especially in Lindon with Galadriel and Gil-Galad. The politics and hierarchy are something I appreciate, bringing some depth and realism to the elf kingdoms (something which we see throughout the First Age) rather than treating them as some communist utopia.

Arondir and Bronwyn have a good dynamic. Both are engaging and they have good chemistry. Love the horror elements in the Southlands. Enjoy the resentment felt towards Arondir by men, and the arrogant dismissal of men by the elf leader there.

The Dwarves are... fine. I think they've been done well in terms of their depiction as characters and as a society. It's just that the "genre" of their storyline is not my favourite - warm-hearted family comedy, almost. But it's not like I'm disliking those sections. I just don't like them as much as the other threads. The discussion of perception of time was good though.

I think the only character I disliked was Theo, who already gives off major cunty vibes. But perhaps he is supposed to, in which case they are doing their job properly. Also his surprisingly deep voice was jarring AF.

Plot-wise, it's hard to judge how much a casual fan would be gripped. Certainly I am. I think there's plenty of cliffhangers and mysteries to make the watcher feel the need to find out what happens next - who the Stranger is, what he is, why he is there. Galadriel and Halbrand's rescuer. The growing threat in the Southlands. What the Dwarves have found. Galadriel's greater quest.

My one regret is that the structure and direction of the plot in the first 2 episodes was more or less exactly what I guessed from having spent far too much time watching the trailers and teasers and clips. My own fault on that front.

 

I would say it's a good beginning, but in my opinion it could be better with its characters. I have yet to start care about them and they had a two hours, a movie, to make me. Everything else is excellent. Still, it's 8/10 for now.

 

Some similar thoughts as Taure, but I'm not rating the eps as highly.

I'll begin with some ratings:
EP1 = 8/10
Visuals & Music - 10/10
Story & Dialogue - 8/10
Directing and Editing - 6/10
Acting - 8.5/10
Tolkien Feel - 7/10

EP2 = 9/10
Visuals & Music - 10/10
Story & Dialogue - 9/10
Directing and Editing - 7.5/10
Acting - 9/10
Tolkien Feel - 9/10

I've already rewatched both. Have my lucid thought word vomit review:

The prologue was pretty epic, if way way way too short. Those elf kids sinking Galadriel's boat were 100% Feanor spawn and no one can tell me otherwise. I saw that redhead. Fucking Maedhros, man. And only 6 of them. Maglor off writing his poetry and not being a cunt.

The scene with Finrod talking to Galadriel was a little obscure with the dialogue, but overall very tender and well-acted.

On the whole though I think the prologue section just skips too much important stuff. Even with the mention of the theft of the Silmarils by Celebrimbor later on, I still feel that this, Ungoliant, the Oath of Feanor, and the kinslaying needed to be touched upon in the prologue rather than completely glossed over.

Not getting into the detail of Galadriel's hatred of Feanor is just a missed opportunity to give her and Celebrimbor some built in room for character growth. It also creates problems for the audience in that they don't understand the Ban against the Noldor's return to Valinor, or why the Valar offering amnesty again, ages after they did the first time when the war ended, would be a big deal (And on that point Gil being the one to grant amnesty, as Taure said, annoyed the absolute fuck out of me. That would have been the province of the Valar alone, and unless it's revealed that Gil has some hot-line to Manwe, I'm going to continue to be annoyed).

"The war left middle earth ruined. And would last centuries" - this was a nice way to skip the bulk of the battles of the First Age. Finrod's death seems semi-canon, as it was kept vague. His "hunting" for Sauron does somewhat distort Beren and Luthien's quest, but I'll deal with it.

Clearly the Tolkien Estate said "no touchy touchy Silm" and thus the very truncated version of events.

Thondir's role 100% should have been given to Celeborn. That cheesy handreach before Galadriel jumped off the boat later in the ep would have actually had impact. And Celeborn "returning" from Valinor with Glorfindel or something would have been great for a future season.

This may all sound negative but I'm really enjoying everything I see for the most part. Dialogue is solid Tolkien throughout the whole of the first two episodes, except for a handful of pretty bad lines. "Orcs and troll blood", I'm looking at you.

The Utumno stuff (I'm assuming the northern ruins were Utumno yes) was solid.

The Harfoots are delightful. The showrunners basically were like "okay let's do this Hobbit/Istari/possiblySauron story, but this time we make Merry and Pippin the heroes." Fucking love it. Nori and Poppy are going to be fan favs.

Lindon is gorgeous and that shot of Elrond in the tree was peak LOTR callback. Big Kudos to Aramayo. He is killing it as Elrond. Literally the best character in the show right now. He has Hugo Weaving's speech mannerisms and expressions down pat.

The editing/pacing really needs work, and this a problem throughout both eps. We're constantly jumping back and forth between groups, leaving no time to settle into a scene. I think they are just trying to squeeze too much into these first two eps. Hope things slow down next episode.

"Where song would mock the cries of battle in my ears". Some of this dialogue is so so so good.

I am actually really digging Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, and the Southlander sections. Ismael seems like a very talented actor. This section of story feels very "television" though. I can easily see the Befordor stuff going off the rails.

Really love the title credits at the start of episode 2. I feel like it is supposed to be a metaphor for the Ainulindulë?

Episode 2 is where things really start to come together. The Stranger stuff is just great. Brimby was great (although I'm confused why Elrond is the one introducing him to dwarves and not the other way around). I hope Narvi shows up next season at least.

Everything with the Harfoots in Rhovanion and the Dwarves in Khazad-dûm was stellar. The 'scale' work here was incredible from a technical standpoint. Durin and Disa were just the right amount of cheese for me. As long as they don't go full comedic effect with the Dwarves, I will stan them forever.

Halbrand remains very Sus. The Halbrand Galadriel shipwreck stuff is kinda meh.

The orcs in tirharad were adequately scary.

Overall very enjoyable stuff. Some things that annoyed me lorewise, but no deal breakers. It is wonderful to return to Middle-earth after so long away. I felt there were enough callbacks to Peter Jackson era films to bring on that familiar LOTR feeling, but it has an entirely new visual and cinematic flavor.

Acting and dialogue is good across the board. Visuals and music are spectacular and I sorely wish I had a bigger TV and more expensive sound system than a 48incher with soundbar to really capture it.

My biggest critique is that the editing needs work. We are jumping between scenarios at a breakneck pace.

Edit: Must.... keep.... simpery.... in check.

 

Yeah with respect to the condensed prologue, I think they simply do not have the rights to most of that stuff. So we are operating within a universe where the ban of the Valar does not exist, where the Kingslaying did not happen, etc. The Valar definitely exist but I suspect are going to be almost entirely glossed over - referred to, but never explained. Similarly I don't think Sauron's nature as a Maia is ever going to be explained - he is a "sorcerer".

 

I wouldn't go as far as to say such events didn't happen in the universe. Elrond's bit about the pain wrought by Feanor's hammer and the Silmarils indicates it did. Think they pretty successfully wrote around these things, and will continue to do so unless the Tolkien Estate lifts the boot on their throat.

 

Speculation on the Stranger based on episodes 1 and 2:

Spoiler

I'm now struggling to see how the Stranger (Meteor Man) can be anyone other than Sauron.

They are playing the "Sauron music" during his scenes.

Big red eye when he appeared.

The fire around him didn't give off heat, the same as in the fortress in the north touched by Sauron.

His magic with the fireflies, while beautiful, imposed order at the cost of life.

And on the flip side, Halbrand, the other main Sauron candidate, ends up running into Galadriel in such a random way that it's hard to see how he could possibly have planned it.