Silmarillion is a journey to read. Thought music creating Ea was cool

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'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

Its really strange what they did with the rings. The elves were tricked by Sauron in disguise to make the rings for the humans and dwarves so he could control them. Then the elves found out who he really was and made their 3 rings in secret so he wouldn't have power over them. So when are they going to make the other rings? They aren't going to make them now since they exposed Sauron. Why would they change that?

Did anyone know there was going to be a Sauron reveal? I asked a few times on here who everyone thought was Sauron but it didn't seem anyone knew what I was talking about. I only knew because a guy on the show leaked it after 2nd episode that the guy on the raft was Sauron. Did they ever mention Sauron was out there walking around? It seemed like last time they mentioned him was when Galadriel was looking for him in the North Pole then they came home.

Season 2 will be a romance between Sauron and Galadriel. That's why they got rid of her husband and daughter in Season 1. Its also why she didn't tell them the guy on the raft was Sauron. The showrunners say Season 2 is already written and they started shooting last week.

I’m impressed with those of you that made it past episode 3. You have more patience than I that’s for sure.

I was hoping it would be good but I'm a fan of inept films so when it wasn't I still found it entertaining. I'm glad other people enjoy it and think its good. I think you're like a lot of people...there was an 18% drop in viewers after 3rd episode.

One of the showrunners said they were the "witches of Macbeth". I am not familiar with Macbeth so I don't know what he means by that. He wouldn't get any more specific.

official time line as it pertains to the story so far:

- Sauron corrupts Eregion for a while. he gives them the knowledge to be able to make the other rings including for 9 for men and 7 for elves are created.
- Sauron departs eregion Celebrimbor makes the 3 rings.

A LONG time later like 1600 years later:

Elendil and Tar-Muriel are born.
Arpharazon takes the scepter (obviously we can tell that will happen)

So the complete condensing of these things makes sense I guess to give us multiple timelines or events (along with the completely made up hobbit/mystery man crap) to follow.

So either the 19 other rings were already made (that we'll find out) or they are just completely hackjobbing this storyline.

There is someone connected with show who has been leaking info. I think he's legit as he's been right about everything like who Sauron was after 2nd episode. He says they tried to do a real story that was faithful to books. They even hired the #1 ranked Tolkien expert (however that is decided lol). They found it too difficult so they scrapped it and went with the generic story we watched. They fired the Tolkien expert and really did the guy dirty because they said he leaked info during an interview with a German magazine. The reality was they were tired of him telling them their story didn't make any sense.

Nielsen ratings came out for Sept. 25th week. House of Dragon passed Rings of Power for 1st time. This is just streaming so that has to sting for Amazon. Someone had to tell Bezos. I am hoping enough bad news will force changes.

I don't know how head of Amazon Studios still has a job. The showrunners of House of the Dragon were working on Conan for Amazon and when she took over as a MeToo hire she told them to tone it down. When they refused she fired them and they went to HBO and pitched House of the Dragon.

There is rumor that the showrunners of Rings have been relieved of their duties and moved to the writers table. They are trying to find a showrunner with experience to take over. We'll see if this is true when that person comes on board because Amazon won't be able to hide it. They're still being 100% positive even with the bad news that has been incoming about viewership.

I don't know how they can fix it though. They really made every mistake they could make. Going cheap with a no-name cast and directors was a strange choice for a billion dollar production.

Mods please create a separate incel forum section for discussion of this permanent adolescence clap-trap.

Spent a billion dollars and only 37% watched all the episodes. There were only 8 of them lol. People should of lost their jobs but its the same inept people doing Season 2. I don't know how they'll top a hobo creating a volcano with some water and a rusty sword but I'd like to see them try.

I'm one of the 37% I enjoyed the fantasy setting and didn't hate the plot. Not a huge fan of LOTR so that helped.

Reminded me of some of the foreign Chinese films I've watched. Low budget, high fantasy themed flicks.

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I think I made it about half way through before pulling the plug. Just not a big enough fan I guess. Just didn't resonate with me and thought it was very slow at times. I did finish The Wheel of Time which also had some of the same shortcomings.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I liked Wheel of Time better. Both were slow but I think Rings Of Power doesn't even compare to the second set of 3 movies they made and even those weren't great. It was slow and confusing outside of Elrond and Durin. Hobbits that weren't hobbits but also were hobbits or at least related to hobbits. Mystery homeless Gandalf. Galadriel was at times Superman and other times completely helpless.

I'll watch season 2 though. I hope it is a lot better.

It also didn't help that House of the Dragon was just a much better show at the exact same time.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I remember maybe 5% of the whole season. I remember it getting better but it was really bland.

I watched all the episodes but it was because I enjoyed the ineptitude not because it was good. I have to think Season 2 will be a total trainwreck and I'll be there for it. Isildur is still under a burning building waiting for his horse to come dig him out. They had a horse die on set the other day I hope it wasn't the one they'd trained to dig someone out of a burning building.

season 2 starts on 8/29. i'm very iffy on this...i don't know that i can do another whole season if it's as bloated as the 1st was.

I'm in. This show is hilarious. They chased Sauron off in Season 1 but he's returning and they have no idea its him because he's wearing a blonde wig.

They stole the plot of season 2 from Mrs Doubtfire.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

watched the bloated opener. or, at least, tried to. it was so dark like 80% of the episode it was impossible to tell what was going on.

most of it centered around sauron, galadriel, the elves, and the creation of mordor. mattresses don't have this much padding.

I’m through the first two episodes and it’s much better than last season. Not great, but decent.

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the 2nd and 3rd episodes were better but it just made me think a lot of the exposition could've been condensed. we adjusted our picture (to "Dynamic") that seemed to help with the brightness but it's still ridiculously dark in scenes.

there are so many characters to keep track of, as well. you need a notebook to follow some of these subplots.

my favorite character didn't appear until almost halfway through the 3rd episode, so i guess i was kind of impatient as well. Arondir. and it bugs me that his name is so close to the villain Adar, who is the leader of the orcs.

i think there are 3 episodes left, and things have picked up immensely. strangely, the dwarf subplot has become the most interesting. most of episode 5 focused on the rings given to the dwarves have begun to "corrupt" the mind and turn them to greed.

in numenor, we have a foppish villain as a new king was "chosen" and his son reminds me a lot of the king's son in "braveheart". it's a bit annoying to have these cliched characters in such a thick story that really doesn't need it. but, like i said, the show isn't that well crafted or written.

the characters are stronger, though, mainly because we can finally identify who they are and keep track a little better.

one more episode to go, and it really heated up in the penultimate episode.

what was missing? the centerpiece of the whole series--numenor. this has been a huge weak link for this show, and it's a shame. numenor and the valar should be *driving* this narrative. that's where the sauron story has most of its breadth. they fucked around so much in season 1, that so much has been lost between these stories.

the episode itself is probably the most exciting and powerful. because it focuses on battles, and the rings. that's the crux of the whole show. it really makes stuff like tom bombadil/the stranger (gandalf) stick out like a sore thumb. this show needed so much more tightening, from the storytelling perspective.

there's a sequence in which lord celebrimbor figures out that he's being played by sauron. that is classic fantasy writing. it's the strongest moment of the season. there should be way more stuff like that. arondir, probably my favorite singular character, comes alive in this episode. he was shelved for a lot of this season. that's the stuff that could make this so much stronger.

it looks like we will get another season, because amazon can just shake money out of mount khazad-dum, which is fine. i just wish there were more stakes for the team that puts it all together. this could really be up there with the best of fantasy fiction in television. it remains mediocre.

the finale was pretty strong for the most part. it finally started to look like a Bonafide fantasy show. the one big eye-roll scene was the reveal of Gandalf's name (which we've literally known since probably halfway through season 1). i didn't mind tom bombadil being in this, but it made it more clear that he didn't belong in jackson's "lord of the rings" series.

the biggest arc was galadriel. i wasn't a fan of the actress or the character in most of the 1st season. this time, she really grew and became one of the stronger characters by the end.

there is a lot of stuff they should've cut, obviously, to make this a better product. i can't give too much credit. this was almost an accident that it worked out. but i think a 3rd season has been earned by now, and the show will probably get stronger. the stakes have finally been raised.

I thought it was fairly solid, especially the musical score. Looking forward to next season, which I assume will center around Sauron making the One Ring.

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I liked it for the main stories. I don't even totally remember what is going on with the blind queen story or the lady with the neck tattoo and that's fine.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!