The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (S2 Ep4)
Welcome back to the greatest running mystery in TV… Will Ryan crack what the deal is with The Rings of Power?
If you read my review of the three episode Season 2 premiere last week, you saw me wrestling with just how I feel about this show. In short, everything is there I should like, I watched the entire first season but still… something is missing… but I don’t hate watching it… is there something wrong with me?
This week we bounce around as the main story of Galadriel and Elrond trying to give a wellness check on Lord Celebrimbor who has gone silent. We also check in on the rescue of Theo and The Stranger runs into a Tolkien fan-favorite character. The episode flows well but this episode again shined a light on one of my biggest issues with the show and that is a severe lack of competent people. So far through 4 episodes, I can think of 2 in the expanding list of people we have met that to me show competence in their mission. And one is the greatest villain Middle Earth has ever seen. The other we spend a decent amount of time with this week and that is Arondir the elf. Elves are supposed to be wise, and formidable, the chief species in Middle Earth and almost every one we see in the show is a complete moron. We see an entire team with two of the most powerful elves and some hand-picked warriors all get snuck up on by grungy nasty orcs grunting and slogging their way through the woods carrying literal flaming torches. I am fine with characters in shows making dumb decisions to help facilitate the plot but this show is FULL of them. We have to sprinkle in a few competent people to help balance out the stupid but everyone in this show minus the two I mentioned makes dumb decision after dumb decision. I suppose the Stranger will get there and his character has the most reason for bumbling around but he doesn’t even stand out as every other person we follow is right on his level.
But again the show is pretty and looks fantastic, there was enough there to keep me entertained for the hour but I just can’t get over how unlikeable so many of the people we are meant to care about are. This show would be great if it weren’t for all those characters.
Observations
- They’re putting a team together.
- Well not going that way.
- Oh, hey a bunch of randos!
- I just don’t like either of them.
- Not exactly what I thought was going to happen. Eaten by a tree
- Yes let’s make a racket and kick up a bunch of sand
- Impressive set for the sand hard foots
- Those dude’s armor and aesthetic is pretty slick, but whats their deal?
- Hey that person’s not dead?
- Do they know who or what The Stranger is?
- Tom Bombadil is a popular character to Tolkien heads. That’s about all I know.
- So Tom is Yoda in this tale
- Oh this dumb ass is dead
- Oh hey Elrond maybe you should have listened to the obvious trap.
- This would be a pretty dope DND encounter
- Smooth moron.
- Probably should have thought that story through better.
- It’s amazing what just one capable person in Middle Earth can do.
- Oh dang, I just thought it was quicksand.
- I know this isn’t a direct prequel to Jackson’s LotR but I just don’t see how that Elrond becomes who we have in the trilogy.
- Dudes just stoked there is no betrothed
- Tree Tamer
- Damn…so close chief
- So is that dude gonna take them all on by himself?
- Elves are supposed to be like elite and they just got snuck up on by some orcs.
- Why? Why would she abandon her mission now?
