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I have a hard time believing the authenticity of the critics' reviews. The Rings of Power is a complete snoozefest. Stuff is happening, but it's a confusing me

I have a hard time believing the authenticity of the critics' reviews. The Rings of Power is a complete snoozefest. Stuff is happening, but it's a confusing mess and there are no stakes to make anything interesting. The dialogue is stilted and cringeworthy. The show just isn't good, and Amazon knows it.

panick21_ 4y ago
After 2 episodes we still don't know what the central conflict actually is.
- antisthenes 4y ago
  It's the same as in every other mediocre fantasy with poor writing: the "Good" people against "Great Evil", which is usually manifested as some kind of deformed monsters, deep voices, nefarious deeds and ominous music. Meanwhile, this conflict is padded with needlessly elaborate, yet meaningless side storylines and fake drama appealing to the 18-25 demographic.
  - panick21_ 4y ago
    To be fair, in good fantasy it can also 'good' vs 'evil'.
  - vehemenz 4y ago
    Say what you want about mediocre fantasy shows, but I thought The Wheel of Time, another Amazon show, was much more interesting than The Rings of Power after a mere two episodes.
    - nl 4y ago
      I managed to read all 11,898 page across 14 books of Wheel of Time but thought the Rings of Power was much more interesting than the first couple of episodes of Wheel of Time I made it through.
      - panick21_ 4y ago
        I read and listen to all those books multible times plus prequal plus podcast and so on.
        nl 4y ago
        You made it through books 6-10 multiple times? I'm both impressed and sorry for you :|
        panick21_ 4y ago
        Well yeah sure. But I often just jump in in random places and I don't might skipping over stuff. I listen to the audiobooks to fall asleep or if I don't want to start something new. When you have like 10 books you want to listen to in theory but can't decide, listen to some Wheel of Time.
    - panick21_ 4y ago
      Mhhh yeah it was. But the real collapse in quality with Wheel of Time started with Episode 4 and got worse with every single episode. In total Wheel of Time was terrible, and didn't look good. Rings at least has some good visuals. Lets hope Rings gets better. Sadly for now it looks like both shows will end up rated button tier. At least House of the Dragon and The Sandman didn't disappoint.
      - nl 4y ago
        The Sandman was excellent.
      - midoridensha 4y ago
        >In total Wheel of Time was terrible, and didn't look good. Rings at least has some good visuals. It looks good so far, except for one huge problem, which I think is by far the biggest problem with the whole show so far: the lens flares.
      - OrvalWintermute 4y ago
        > The Sandman didn't disappoint. saw a few ads for it, and watched it. Well-written, picturesque, excellent acting, and a number of fresh faces. The visuals for Gault's suit found to be better than anything I've seen thus far in the Marvel universe, which are themselves no slouches. I think it is turning out rather excellent, and would be a great source for spin-offs too.
  - wudangmonk 4y ago
    Well I completely agree but I'm surprised you went out and said it since usually people only praise Tolkien and never judge it objectively.
- mcphage 4y ago
  Does it count as spoilers to say that it's Sauron forging the One Ring, given it's in the name of the show?
  - panick21_ 4y ago
    Thanks for ruining the show for me.
    - mcphage 4y ago
      Apparently plenty of people here think I'm doing you a favor :-)
    - bigtex88 4y ago
      Don't be such an ass.
    - ineedasername 4y ago
      I’m going to really ruin things for you: eventually, in the end, the ring dies.
      - alasdair_ 4y ago
        > I’m going to really ruin things for you: eventually, in the end, the ring dies. Well, obviously. I mean, the goodies have access to giant eagles and all they have to do is to give the ring to one of them and drop it in Mount Doom and the whole thing is solved, right?
        b112 4y ago
        Mind blown Wait, it must be that eagles are easily corrupted? Or not fully sentient, and thus the ring can control them?
        troutwine 4y ago
        The eagles could be corrupted, yeah. They're sentient and (some at least) are ancient. One of the central themes of The Lord of the Rings is that the Powers of Middle Earth are very, very tempted by the ring and must overcome the test of the ring at cost to themselves: Galadriel is doomed to travel to the West, Boromir loses his mind temporarily, Saruman becomes a tyrant and eventually his staff broken etc. The eagles are themselves a Power and if they picked a Ring Bearer up they'd be tempted to drop said bearer on the ground and fetch the ring from their dead hand, become some type of eagle tyrant. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. Big risk either way. Anyway, this theme is why the most meek people of Middle Earth -- the Hobbits, who desire basically nothing more than a quiet life -- are the only ones in Middle Earth that could actually cart the ring into Mordor. Even then it's not a sure bet, considering Gollum.
znpy 4y ago
I watched the first two episodes yesterday and basically nothing happened yet. I really can’t understand how people can yet have good or bad opinions or how they can say it isn’t good.
- addicted 4y ago
  It’s been 2hrs 12mins of runtime and “basically nothing happened yet”. That’s a pretty strong review itself.
  - znpy 4y ago
    Well for a thing that is supposed to last a whole season (and maybe more) it’s fine to spend one or two episodes setting the scene and introducing characters
  - sdflhasjd 4y ago
    To be fair, some series just start off like that. The Expanse felt like a slow start too, but after episode 4, everything starts paying off and the first 3 seasons were (imo) some of the best Scifi on television. That begin said, I haven't watched any RoP, the "nothing" could be complete fluff because the story is too thin.
    - jostmey 4y ago
      I love the expanse but the first few episodes were slow and a little confusing. This is more a problem with the story writing. However, the acting, visuals, and physics were fantastic and the show quickly corrected the story telling. Amazon seems like it would rather hide reviews than fix the story telling. I couldn’t finish episode 1 without falling asleep
      - verisimilidude 4y ago
        The Expanse is different. Different premise, rules, and stakes compared to other sci-fi on screen. It’s complex. Easing us into the story could have taken a whole season. Instead, they dumped as much of the setting as possible into those first few episodes. We learn so much about the players, cultures, technologies, physics, histories, economies, even languages, etc. It’s exhausting. So much detail! Go back and watch. But then when the Donnager battle hits, you get it, and the payoff is huge. I don’t think the writing is bad. I think they had to rush the setting-onboarding to get to the good parts of the story, to create excitement, to better their chances of justifying additional seasons, all within the constraints of their budget. I think the writing is excellent in hindsight.
Salgat 4y ago
Confusing? We get introduced to the main villain, we learn how the elves came to middle-earth, and we setup the story for how Galadriel will get a second chance for vengeance while Elrond is setup to unite the Elves and Dwarves in a common goal. I'm enjoying it so far, and it's certainly not confusing.
- vehemenz 4y ago
  I was confused why the antagonist was the same as LotR, why there were hobbits (they were an obscure race in The Hobbit), and whether this story was supposed to be continuous with the existing Lord of the Rings. These are just a few examples, but while I was watching many details didn't add up to me.
  - Salgat 4y ago
    Those don't seem confusing to me considering LotR shows Elrond facing off against Sauron in the Second Age and Hobbits were never indicated to not exist in the Second Age (why would you think that?). They tell you right off the bat that this is well before LotR, so I don't know why you're making these strange assumptions.
bmy78 4y ago
That “sink or float” metaphor was clumsily written and reminded me of someone wanting to convey something important, but didn’t know how or what to say. I’ve only watched one episode, but that episode was not good. In contrast House of the Dragon is better written, equally gorgeous, and is far more interesting. At least it is 3 episodes in compared to the 1 RoP I’ve seen.
- jlmorton 4y ago
  I watched the first episode of House of Dragons passively in the background while doing work, but it kept catching my attention. I watched it again in the background, and other parts of it kept catching my attention. By episode three, it had my devoted attention. This is definitely a great show.
- denlekke 4y ago
  fwiw, to convey that not everyone on either side is a bot, i can barely get through an episode of HOTD despite it's visual appeal while i wasn't even tempted to look at my phone during ROP. HOTD, to me, lacks even one compelling, relatable, or likable character and has a boring story that feels as though is lacks any weight. maybe it's because i just rewatched all of GOT thrones though and it's been a few years since i watched any of the Peter Jackson films. (and even longer since i read the books from both authors)
- adastra22 4y ago
  I would suggest watching the second episode. It gets better. I think the first two episodes should have just been one long episode. The first felt like it didn't go anywhere, and then the second pulled it together.
onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
It has a 71% on metacritic. That's in line with a mediocre Marvel movie. Why is it so hard to believe the reviews?
- ekianjo 4y ago
  How does it even rich 70 when it deserves a much lower rating? The scale goes from 0 to 100 not from 70 to 100.
  - lolinder 4y ago
    Maybe your subjective opinion is different than other people's subjective opinions?
  - hedora 4y ago
    In fairness, mediocre marvel movie is absolute bottom of barrel. For comparison, The Room got a 9. Maybe metacritic scores follow a bathtub curve with "worst possible" sitting somewhere in the middle?
  - frenchy 4y ago
    Distribution of grades is rarely even, and I'd guess that if you looked at the median grade on Rotten Tomatoes is would be much closer to 70 than 50. Things less than 50 are usually "very horrible".
tenpies 4y ago
> I have a hard time believing the authenticity of the critics' reviews. It's sitting in the 70s in other review aggregators, so I think it's okay. It's worth also considering that many critics are not reviewing this with Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy in mind, but rather with the exceedingly mediocre The Hobbit trilogy.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  The Maple Films edit version of The Hobbit was a very good movie.
lolinder 4y ago
What this whole stupid controversy is emphasizing to me is how many people are living in a post-subjectivity world. I've enjoyed this show more than any other I've watched recently. I like basically every actor. I've really appreciated the attention to detail in the world. The dialog was awkward at first but after I acclimatized to the style I actually kinda like it—it's quirky, but consistently so. It turns out, people like and dislike different things! But both sides of this ragefest are in all seriousness accusing the other of not existing because no one could possibly have a different opinion. It's weird.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

panick21_ 4y ago

After 2 episodes we still don't know what the central conflict actually is.

antisthenes 4y ago
It's the same as in every other mediocre fantasy with poor writing: the "Good" people against "Great Evil", which is usually manifested as some kind of deformed monsters, deep voices, nefarious deeds and ominous music. Meanwhile, this conflict is padded with needlessly elaborate, yet meaningless side storylines and fake drama appealing to the 18-25 demographic.
- panick21_ 4y ago
  To be fair, in good fantasy it can also 'good' vs 'evil'.
- vehemenz 4y ago
  Say what you want about mediocre fantasy shows, but I thought The Wheel of Time, another Amazon show, was much more interesting than The Rings of Power after a mere two episodes.
  - nl 4y ago
    I managed to read all 11,898 page across 14 books of Wheel of Time but thought the Rings of Power was much more interesting than the first couple of episodes of Wheel of Time I made it through.
    - panick21_ 4y ago
      I read and listen to all those books multible times plus prequal plus podcast and so on.
      - nl 4y ago
        You made it through books 6-10 multiple times? I'm both impressed and sorry for you :|
        panick21_ 4y ago
        Well yeah sure. But I often just jump in in random places and I don't might skipping over stuff. I listen to the audiobooks to fall asleep or if I don't want to start something new. When you have like 10 books you want to listen to in theory but can't decide, listen to some Wheel of Time.
  - panick21_ 4y ago
    Mhhh yeah it was. But the real collapse in quality with Wheel of Time started with Episode 4 and got worse with every single episode. In total Wheel of Time was terrible, and didn't look good. Rings at least has some good visuals. Lets hope Rings gets better. Sadly for now it looks like both shows will end up rated button tier. At least House of the Dragon and The Sandman didn't disappoint.
    - nl 4y ago
      The Sandman was excellent.
    - midoridensha 4y ago
      >In total Wheel of Time was terrible, and didn't look good. Rings at least has some good visuals. It looks good so far, except for one huge problem, which I think is by far the biggest problem with the whole show so far: the lens flares.
    - OrvalWintermute 4y ago
      > The Sandman didn't disappoint. saw a few ads for it, and watched it. Well-written, picturesque, excellent acting, and a number of fresh faces. The visuals for Gault's suit found to be better than anything I've seen thus far in the Marvel universe, which are themselves no slouches. I think it is turning out rather excellent, and would be a great source for spin-offs too.
- wudangmonk 4y ago
  Well I completely agree but I'm surprised you went out and said it since usually people only praise Tolkien and never judge it objectively.
mcphage 4y ago
Does it count as spoilers to say that it's Sauron forging the One Ring, given it's in the name of the show?
- panick21_ 4y ago
  Thanks for ruining the show for me.
  - mcphage 4y ago
    Apparently plenty of people here think I'm doing you a favor :-)
  - bigtex88 4y ago
    Don't be such an ass.
  - ineedasername 4y ago
    I’m going to really ruin things for you: eventually, in the end, the ring dies.
    - alasdair_ 4y ago
      > I’m going to really ruin things for you: eventually, in the end, the ring dies. Well, obviously. I mean, the goodies have access to giant eagles and all they have to do is to give the ring to one of them and drop it in Mount Doom and the whole thing is solved, right?
      - b112 4y ago
        Mind blown Wait, it must be that eagles are easily corrupted? Or not fully sentient, and thus the ring can control them?
        troutwine 4y ago
        The eagles could be corrupted, yeah. They're sentient and (some at least) are ancient. One of the central themes of The Lord of the Rings is that the Powers of Middle Earth are very, very tempted by the ring and must overcome the test of the ring at cost to themselves: Galadriel is doomed to travel to the West, Boromir loses his mind temporarily, Saruman becomes a tyrant and eventually his staff broken etc. The eagles are themselves a Power and if they picked a Ring Bearer up they'd be tempted to drop said bearer on the ground and fetch the ring from their dead hand, become some type of eagle tyrant. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. Big risk either way. Anyway, this theme is why the most meek people of Middle Earth -- the Hobbits, who desire basically nothing more than a quiet life -- are the only ones in Middle Earth that could actually cart the ring into Mordor. Even then it's not a sure bet, considering Gollum.

znpy 4y ago

I watched the first two episodes yesterday and basically nothing happened yet. I really can’t understand how people can yet have good or bad opinions or how they can say it isn’t good.

addicted 4y ago
It’s been 2hrs 12mins of runtime and “basically nothing happened yet”. That’s a pretty strong review itself.
- znpy 4y ago
  Well for a thing that is supposed to last a whole season (and maybe more) it’s fine to spend one or two episodes setting the scene and introducing characters
- sdflhasjd 4y ago
  To be fair, some series just start off like that. The Expanse felt like a slow start too, but after episode 4, everything starts paying off and the first 3 seasons were (imo) some of the best Scifi on television. That begin said, I haven't watched any RoP, the "nothing" could be complete fluff because the story is too thin.
  - jostmey 4y ago
    I love the expanse but the first few episodes were slow and a little confusing. This is more a problem with the story writing. However, the acting, visuals, and physics were fantastic and the show quickly corrected the story telling. Amazon seems like it would rather hide reviews than fix the story telling. I couldn’t finish episode 1 without falling asleep
    - verisimilidude 4y ago
      The Expanse is different. Different premise, rules, and stakes compared to other sci-fi on screen. It’s complex. Easing us into the story could have taken a whole season. Instead, they dumped as much of the setting as possible into those first few episodes. We learn so much about the players, cultures, technologies, physics, histories, economies, even languages, etc. It’s exhausting. So much detail! Go back and watch. But then when the Donnager battle hits, you get it, and the payoff is huge. I don’t think the writing is bad. I think they had to rush the setting-onboarding to get to the good parts of the story, to create excitement, to better their chances of justifying additional seasons, all within the constraints of their budget. I think the writing is excellent in hindsight.

Salgat 4y ago

Confusing? We get introduced to the main villain, we learn how the elves came to middle-earth, and we setup the story for how Galadriel will get a second chance for vengeance while Elrond is setup to unite the Elves and Dwarves in a common goal. I'm enjoying it so far, and it's certainly not confusing.

vehemenz 4y ago
I was confused why the antagonist was the same as LotR, why there were hobbits (they were an obscure race in The Hobbit), and whether this story was supposed to be continuous with the existing Lord of the Rings. These are just a few examples, but while I was watching many details didn't add up to me.
- Salgat 4y ago
  Those don't seem confusing to me considering LotR shows Elrond facing off against Sauron in the Second Age and Hobbits were never indicated to not exist in the Second Age (why would you think that?). They tell you right off the bat that this is well before LotR, so I don't know why you're making these strange assumptions.

bmy78 4y ago

That “sink or float” metaphor was clumsily written and reminded me of someone wanting to convey something important, but didn’t know how or what to say. I’ve only watched one episode, but that episode was not good. In contrast House of the Dragon is better written, equally gorgeous, and is far more interesting. At least it is 3 episodes in compared to the 1 RoP I’ve seen.

jlmorton 4y ago
I watched the first episode of House of Dragons passively in the background while doing work, but it kept catching my attention. I watched it again in the background, and other parts of it kept catching my attention. By episode three, it had my devoted attention. This is definitely a great show.
denlekke 4y ago
fwiw, to convey that not everyone on either side is a bot, i can barely get through an episode of HOTD despite it's visual appeal while i wasn't even tempted to look at my phone during ROP. HOTD, to me, lacks even one compelling, relatable, or likable character and has a boring story that feels as though is lacks any weight. maybe it's because i just rewatched all of GOT thrones though and it's been a few years since i watched any of the Peter Jackson films. (and even longer since i read the books from both authors)
adastra22 4y ago
I would suggest watching the second episode. It gets better. I think the first two episodes should have just been one long episode. The first felt like it didn't go anywhere, and then the second pulled it together.

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

It has a 71% on metacritic. That's in line with a mediocre Marvel movie. Why is it so hard to believe the reviews?

ekianjo 4y ago
How does it even rich 70 when it deserves a much lower rating? The scale goes from 0 to 100 not from 70 to 100.
- lolinder 4y ago
  Maybe your subjective opinion is different than other people's subjective opinions?
- hedora 4y ago
  In fairness, mediocre marvel movie is absolute bottom of barrel. For comparison, The Room got a 9. Maybe metacritic scores follow a bathtub curve with "worst possible" sitting somewhere in the middle?
- frenchy 4y ago
  Distribution of grades is rarely even, and I'd guess that if you looked at the median grade on Rotten Tomatoes is would be much closer to 70 than 50. Things less than 50 are usually "very horrible".

tenpies 4y ago

> I have a hard time believing the authenticity of the critics' reviews. It's sitting in the 70s in other review aggregators, so I think it's okay. It's worth also considering that many critics are not reviewing this with Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy in mind, but rather with the exceedingly mediocre The Hobbit trilogy.

midoridensha 4y ago
The Maple Films edit version of The Hobbit was a very good movie.

lolinder 4y ago

What this whole stupid controversy is emphasizing to me is how many people are living in a post-subjectivity world. I've enjoyed this show more than any other I've watched recently. I like basically every actor. I've really appreciated the attention to detail in the world. The dialog was awkward at first but after I acclimatized to the style I actually kinda like it—it's quirky, but consistently so. It turns out, people like and dislike different things! But both sides of this ragefest are in all seriousness accusing the other of not existing because no one could possibly have a different opinion. It's weird.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]