That smile was easily the single most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. I swear I won’t complain about the actress’s stiff, one-dimensional expressions ever again, just don’t show me the smile!
It’s reported she needed therapy to get through the shoot. I am a mental health advocate, so this tells me two things: 1) her authentic self was in rebellion for what she was being forced to do. 2). After the reviews of this episode, not from trolls but from normal, intelligent people: she gonna need more therapy.
It really does look weird. Probably because it's not genuine and she's trying too hard to look happy. So it comes across as fake and completely out of place.
Are we sure the smile isn't cgi? I mean from the rest of the show it doesn't seem her face is capable of that expression. On the other hand the smile made me think of catherine the great, but if it is cgi it is not her fault at least :)
It was comedy gold that Galadriel was surprised that her plan to go see the king was predicted by others after she was literally sent to jail for demanding to see the king. Imagine her leading the army with that level of foresight
Funniest moments : awkward shampoo smile, the sea is always right, weird ugly sonic - mufasa hyena wargs. This show is a meta-referencial semiotic essay on epic-comedy-bad writing amalgamations
I like how the captain pulls out a horn and blows on it to signal to the people standing 4 feet in front of him that they can stop moving the boats up the sand. Exquisite.
the time the prisoners cut the chain and the first guy trying to dun up the hill and gets turfed by an orc throwing a knife from a mile away made me laugh for some reason
This was legit hilarious. As a Legendarium fan, and bookworm, I very much do not think the show is good, but like you I find it oh so cathartic to take the piss out of it, because it does get so bad that it becomes funny! :D "Fro-Bag" 😂Please keep doing these. :)
Ok this was hilarious ! I'm much more looking forward to your reviews then to the next episodes 😂 I also have really no idea where they going with the show, I'm so confused
Liene's is Always Right! Nice job - light and witty. The RoP inspired so much YT rage-rants it is refreshing to hear someone laughing at it. I enjoyed your take on costumes too - one thing nobody raised so far is WHY those "sailors" are wearing such utterly impractical uniform - what do they need the cuirass for? Heavy clothing? are they at war? falling overboard in this clothing would mean sure drowning.
such a good point about the sailors - once again, the show has chosen form over function, the reason for anything/everything in the show is not because it would be necessary or that a character would actually choose to do/wear/say it, it's only ever that it "looks cool"
@@LienesLibrary and for a war ship (i assume here that this is no merchant vessel) it is without any weapons, like a ballista... if that water worm had attacked the ship, they would have been defenseless.
I don't think I'll ever get past the Harfoots' costume and set design looking... like costumes and set design. And the JoAnn Fabrics fake leaves in their hair. Wtf even is that.
A perfume commercial is most perfect analogy, I burst out laughing at that point in the show. At least this show is so bad its good, it could have just been nothing, or mediocre I guess I’ll take some comfort in that 😂
Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind! Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind! Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind! Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind! Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind! Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind! Sing it with me!
7:37 I guess the script writers were into the type of criticism which says "things should not be in a Medieval Stasis" ... "no, they aren't, Númenor is clearly Pre-Medieval!"
"Elves as centurions" reminded me of this... I'm pretty sure that Ismael-elf's leader was played by the same guy who did Marcus Licinus Crassus in Spartacus. If he'd been decked out in lorica segmentata, then made a slave, it would have been a laugh. "How the mighty hath fallen"
Honestly the best review of RoP that I've seen so far. Don't mind me chuckling at my screen over here, hahah. I watched episode 1, was bored out of my mind, and haven't yet returned to it, lol. Will probably catch up later on, just to be in on the conversation... but I am not in a hurry to watch it atm. Glad that some people are still enjoying it though, love that for them :)
Do you remember when Leg-dog was like "Yo, Frobro! I got a bow and I can shoot dem arrows foyo!"; and then Gimgim was like "For realz! And yo can count on my sick axe as well, bro!"
I am often accused of being overly negative about things I enjoy. Please keep that in mind as I want to take a critical eye towards the early plot progress in rings of power. This is a huge wall of text and thank you to anyone who reads it. I have been thinking about this for a while and want to share it. This show is developing a serious problem. That problem is with stakes. When I say stakes I mean specifically the consequences of a character or characters actions/environment. Rings of power is not handling stakes well, in my opinion. A key factor in storytelling is having characters overcome obstacles. This can be handled in so many ways but a very bad way to handle it is to have it vanish with little explanation or so little explanation that it starts to degrade the ability for someone to feel that the narrative is happening in a real place. This doesn't mean it has to be realistic but ideally should be consistent. At bare minimum conflict and obstacles should be handled with a logical or emotional thrust. So far many serious obstacles have been placed in front of our characters but many of them have been resolved in ways I do not believe are satisfying for a variety of reasons. When I mentioned above that an obstacle disappeared I'm sure at least one person thought of the sea monster. This is a fairly glaring example. A ship eating monster is introduced and then done away with. No one really overcomes the monster and it's threat vanishes very quickly, which will become a recurring theme. This can be redeemed somewhat by having the monster be a plot point sometime in the future. The issues didn't start there. Galadriel wiping out the troll singlehandedly might be the first example. The troll presented a large threat, one that viewers familiar with other LotR material will recognize as especially dangerous. Swiftly defeating it with no struggle from Galadriel takes much of the tension out of combat with foes of an equal or lesser power level. I can reasonably expect any combat will result in a victory for Galadriel as long as she is not fighting something like a Balrog. In my opinion this small mistep is also a missed opportunity. She is commander of an army and that troll was an excellent opportunity to show us she is a great leader. In Moria we are shown how much the fellowship has come to care for Frodo when they believe he is slain. They set aside any differences they had when they were introduced to us, work together and slay the troll using teamwork. They struggle to defeat the troll and by the end are all close compatriots which in turn makes Borimir's betrayal more emotionally impactful. Please don't take this as me just hating on Galadriel because I have a few more examples regarding her character. She has another opportunity to display the leadership skills she should have honed as commander of the northern armies on the boat. The stakes here are her being unable to finish her quest. This would be an excellent time to have her use her leadership skills to try to convince the elves to turn back. There is a very clear "will she /won't she" moment on the boat. Tension is created as the light engulfs everything. Music swells. She just jumps off the boat. No one tries to stop her. The kings underhanded benevolence is resolved by jumping off a boat. She could have delivered a "shields will be shattered" type speech on the boat heading through the golden light but instead the issue is resolved by jumping off a boat. Weirdly jumping solves another one of Galadriel's issues with power structures when she jumps out of a window when the queen confines her to a place. The show tells us that she is not to leave the grounds and in the next scene she leaves. No guards try to send her back, she gains an ally after escaping and is later freely walking into a jail by herself. Even worse there is a scene of her on a horse that is very evocative of freedom in it's framing and style. This new freedom is not earned. The show told us she was no prisoner but her moment should be restricted. She hops out a window and the issue is resolved. These issues are not confined to Galadriel. The harfoots have similar issues. Nory and poppy have to hide the meteor man but don't suffer any consequences when he wanders in to camp. Now, I assume that most people will take umbridge with that statemate and mention the de-caravaning. I disagree. We are told that anyone who falls behind gets left behind and names of those are read out loud in an emotional scene. If the caravan does not support it's members having one is a moot point. It doesn't provide any additional safety or social support. A wagon wheel breaks, an ankle snaps, someone stops too long to collect water and they are subject to a death entrance. The stakes of losing a support network are removed because none of the characters shave any reason to believe it existed. The issue of migration is still one that needs to be overcome hopefully Meteor Man has not already solved it. A cynical part of me fears that the broken ankle, the de-caravaning / back of the pack placement, and migration plot thread is just a way to have the other harfoots exit the series. I hope this isn't the case but the shot of the lone wagon and vast wilderness implies that Nory and company are already on their own. This is far less severe of an issue when compared to above issues. Unlike the rock breaking contest. The rock breaking contest is a really good example of the series mishandling stakes. Clear and defined rules are set up. The scene plays out, tension builds, Elrond forfeits and we the viewers think "how will he accomplish his goals now? he is about to be exiled!". He takes an elevator ride with Durin and there is a nice scene where he discusses his issues with Elrond. He then talks his way into dinner and all concepts of being exiled disappear. There was no reason to use exile as a punishment for failing if characters are just going to ignore it. It's a simple change to instead have the contest grant an audience if you win. Elrond could still display his skill in politics by forfeiting when Durin begins to struggle allowing him to keep his ego intact. Durin could notice this and the healing of their personal issues could begin. Or heck, exile him and give Elrond some real juicy issues to overcome using his political skill. Being exiled would be an excellent raising of the stakes moment. Arondir's plot thread experiences similar issues. If you have made it this far hopefully you can see why I'm concerned that these aren't small plot holes as much as systemic mishandling of stakes. I'll try to keep these last few short because I'm biased, as Arondir is my favorite character. Arondir comments that his comrades are looking for him. We never see him encounter any difficulty in avoiding them. Instead they are just at the slave camp and none of them mention his running off. They also were somehow captured before him as he came to with them in the camp already. In the slave camp before the warg is released the orcs just vanish with no scene of them retreating. Orcs use tunnels to stay hidden. This tells us that they can't be discovered, stakes. Then massive wasteland with chopped down trees. How did Galadriel not find it for hundreds of years of questing, or Arondir on any patrol or anyone's elf eyes. If the off screen archers never return it will be another issue of the same sort. They may have been left off screen because they are humans helping the orcs. That opens a whole other can of worms though. There are more smaller issues as well but this is already far too long. I didn't notice it at first but something didn't sit right. I didn't notice but my brain did. I've concluded that I'm left with uncomfortable questions. Why should I or any viewer believe in negative consequences if they keep evaporating? Without negative consequences how can there be tension and how can the characters grow? If the show cannot find it's footing on consequences, stakes and conclusions to issues I fear it's going to end up like the final season of game of thrones. None of this means I hate the show, I want to love this. Ask yourself and think for a moment about the original trilogy if you feel the need to accuse me of being a hater. Imagine if Frodo was warned about the ring but faced no issues using it. Imagine if Denethor just stopped treating farimir poorly one scene later. Imagine if Gandalf just eviscerated the Balrog no problem. What if it just showed up then left? Imagine if the ring wraiths never chased Frodo and co. for longer than one scene. The fellowship reuniting after Frodo leaves them would make the act of leaving hollow. Would the charge of the rohirrim be as impactful without Theodin's "shields will be shattered" speech cementing his redemption arc? What if they showed up even though Gondor never lit the beacons. Would the battle of helms deep have been as awesome if our heroes were never losing? What if the ents just said "Sure!"? Would we even love these stories if the stakes kept disappearing and characters didn't have to surmount challenges and they just vanished without huge amounts of effort? Imagine how much the story would suck if they just took the eagles to Mordor. How much worse would it have been if they did that and never even dealt with the nazgul. I'm concerned but hopeful these are just stumbles.
Me: “You have not seen what I have seen.” My friend: “I have seen my share.” Me: “YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I watched E1 - E8. You wisely stopped watching after E2.”
The library looks so dingy lmao. It sounds like it is supposed to be this great big important place, but they barely have room to move around. Also apparently they have Google image search ?
I'm glad I'm not the only who loves how bad this show is. I'm honestly having fun the same way I had fun with Roswell. And Isildur's nick name would be Izzy.
Hahahahaha. That's an amazing review, thanks for the laughs. I'm kinda glad for this show, it's an unending meme factory, and I don't have to watch it to know all about it !!
Thank you! For some reason I was lead to believe I was the only one that found this show funny and dumb! 😂 all my friends like and apparently they don't find anything wrong with it...
I think Galadriel was in a prescription medicine commercial for life threatening illness but with this medicine, she can ride horses - Altho still at risk for hemorrhage is still a thing
To be fair, the battle of the last alliance at the start of Fellowship of the ring featured Elrond alongside Roman or Spartan (not sure which) looking elf warriors fighting Sauron.
i have no idea who you are but I am so happy RUclips stuck your channel up in front of me. Your delivery is amazing. I just want to laugh along with you. Thanks for creating this!
Well the elf, whose throat was cut of cause has not much blood. You don't understand, it's an allegory (and we all know Tolkien's love for that) to the bloodless plot of all the story arcs so far. And the fragance of the perfume ad surely is "Piss and Vinegar"
Nice analysis......I like the Greco-Roman comparison. Cassandra vibes, too. The Hobbits would have to be worked in as aboriginal, first-people, multi-racial "cream-colored" pygmies, lacking the Great Spirit and sweat lodges. They need to go to Bath for a bath, but not leave anybody behind on the way. Lenny can be the Mayor of Casterbridge whenever they get to where-ever the hell they're going.
LMAO .Thanks for making me laugh friend. I agree about the way the elves look. Makes no sense. And why is Arondir the only dark skinned elf and all the other elves look exactly the same? I'm all for diversifying the cast but at the very least maybe his company should look similar? Instead they're all fair skinned with quaffed brown hair. Super weird. What happened to elves with cool long hair. Only Galadriel seems to have it. Bring back the long hair!
yeah, short-haired elves are really not it and I'm always saying that when they bring diversity into previously un-diverse properties they should make it make sense in the world, like have an entire region, or an entire small town be people of color, it really feels like tokenizing when you have one character of color mixed in with all white characters particularly if the group in the story/world are insular and wouldn't be mixing a lot with individuals from other regions
Liene, don't know if you see new comments on old stuff. I just rewatched Rings O Power ep 1 on my new home theater setup. I have to admit, the sound with dolby atmos is pretty awesome. I really enjoyed these videos you made a year ago now.
Its obvious the showrunners realized partway through filming that galadriel was an unsmiling, unlikable angry karen and they decided to shoehorn in the smiling horse scene to "fix" that.
Ahahahah, you're hilarious)) really, in the scene of elf-throat-cutting I also was like "wow, is this a real bad-ass orcish throatcut? is it like PG-13 or what is the problem?"
Pippin is short for Peregrin, Merry is short of Meriadoc, Sam is short for Samwise. LOL, but to be fair I think that's a hobbit only phenomenon, men usually seem to stately to use nicknames, but then again he was among his young peers.
both a hobbit-only phenomenon and those are natural abbreviations of those names (apart from Pippin, not sure how you get that from Peregrin) - Isil is just not a natural sounding nickname
I like your perspective of seeing this as a comedy show. I watch it to enjoy all the negative reviews and will be sure to get plenty of laughs while watching. Haha there’s a tempest in me 😂😂
The horse ride scene is an obvious knock off of that infamous slo-mo running scene from Chariots of Fire and failed epically. This show falls under the category of "So bad, it's good"...kinda like Reefer Madness.
As far as the nicknames, I would agree about Isil not sounding good. I can't understand why the characters or the showwriters would shorten it to that. It's not like they are trying to conceal who he is. But Tolkien did have nicknames. But they were only for the Hobbits. With Samwise shortened to Sam, Peregrin got the nickname Pippin, and Merry was the nickname for Meriadoc. The Human, Elves and Dwarves all had their whole first names and titles used. Nothing was shortened for them. I think because the Hobbits were the only characters that had first names as well as surnames. Hobbits and the countryside in general were all so distant from the rest of the world. They had their own culture and were far more casual and relaxed. There wasn't a lot the HObbits took seriously. Their surnames more established who they were amongst their neighbors and where they came from rather than their first names, anyway. The majority of the men of Middle Earth, like those in lands like Rohan and Gondor, had first names and then titles and lineage. Same with Dwarves and Elves. It honestly seems like the other races like the Humans in Tolkien's work were proud of their names, especially as they might have great family and titles associated with that name. Aragorn goes through an entire arc struggling to cast aside his adopted, unknown Ranger name of Strider and reclaim his true name of Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a title that makes it clear who he is to everyone who hears it (outside the Hobbits). Isildur, being the son of a great man like Elendil and related to other famous names and a member of the Numenoreans would likely have more pride in his name and wish for people to use it. As well as to start establishing himself and associate his actions and such to the name Isildur. Not Isil. I could perhaps see "Isil" being possible for a young, innocent boy among close friends. Maybe a nickname from a mother. But not something a young man his age would desire, especially while seeking acknowledgement he's not a child.
That smile was easily the single most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. I swear I won’t complain about the actress’s stiff, one-dimensional expressions ever again, just don’t show me the smile!
It’s reported she needed therapy to get through the shoot. I am a mental health advocate, so this tells me two things: 1) her authentic self was in rebellion for what she was being forced to do.
2). After the reviews of this episode, not from trolls but from normal, intelligent people: she gonna need more therapy.
"I'm gonna get freaky!"
It really does look weird. Probably because it's not genuine and she's trying too hard to look happy. So it comes across as fake and completely out of place.
Are we sure the smile isn't cgi? I mean from the rest of the show it doesn't seem her face is capable of that expression. On the other hand the smile made me think of catherine the great, but if it is cgi it is not her fault at least :)
There's a horror movie called "Smile" so maybe they're doing a tie-in/shout-out.
Maybe it was the same bee Amber Heard's dog stepped on, which would explain the back story of why everyone laughed.
It was comedy gold that Galadriel was surprised that her plan to go see the king was predicted by others after she was literally sent to jail for demanding to see the king. Imagine her leading the army with that level of foresight
Funniest moments : awkward shampoo smile, the sea is always right, weird ugly sonic - mufasa hyena wargs. This show is a meta-referencial semiotic essay on epic-comedy-bad writing amalgamations
I like how the captain pulls out a horn and blows on it to signal to the people standing 4 feet in front of him that they can stop moving the boats up the sand. Exquisite.
the time the prisoners cut the chain and the first guy trying to dun up the hill and gets turfed by an orc throwing a knife from a mile away made me laugh for some reason
This was legit hilarious. As a Legendarium fan, and bookworm, I very much do not think the show is good, but like you I find it oh so cathartic to take the piss out of it, because it does get so bad that it becomes funny! :D "Fro-Bag" 😂Please keep doing these. :)
Fro-bag killed me. I also loved the books, so much. This show has broken my heart.
if the show keeps delivering comedy gold I'll keep covering it lol
i really enjoyed your retelling.
"The sea is always right" seems to be Amazon's version of "This is the way!"
I think they were tryna outdo GOT’s Ironborn phrase “What is dead may never die”
Perfume commercial 🤣😂
Ok this was hilarious ! I'm much more looking forward to your reviews then to the next episodes 😂 I also have really no idea where they going with the show, I'm so confused
it's going....nowhere 🥲
@@LienesLibrary yeah... Lucky us, we at least get some great Perfume commercials
4:00 theory: Galadriel's father did not bought her a pony, when she was little elf.. That explains everything!
The scrolls are also feet away from burning lanterns.
Liene's is Always Right! Nice job - light and witty. The RoP inspired so much YT rage-rants it is refreshing to hear someone laughing at it. I enjoyed your take on costumes too - one thing nobody raised so far is WHY those "sailors" are wearing such utterly impractical uniform - what do they need the cuirass for? Heavy clothing? are they at war? falling overboard in this clothing would mean sure drowning.
such a good point about the sailors - once again, the show has chosen form over function, the reason for anything/everything in the show is not because it would be necessary or that a character would actually choose to do/wear/say it, it's only ever that it "looks cool"
@@LienesLibrary and for a war ship (i assume here that this is no merchant vessel) it is without any weapons, like a ballista... if that water worm had attacked the ship, they would have been defenseless.
I don't think I'll ever get past the Harfoots' costume and set design looking... like costumes and set design.
And the JoAnn Fabrics fake leaves in their hair. Wtf even is that.
Not JoAnn Fabrics 😆
bahaha, I was thinking more Michaels or Hobby Lobby, or maybe...Hobbit Lobby?
I just couldn't with the slow motion riding 🤣
Can we plz band together to scream from a mountain top that we aren’t “racist” for not liking the show, we don’t like it bc IT. IS. TERRIBLE!!!!
That sounds racist to me 🧐
@@georgechapman9688 What if i'm racist?
A perfume commercial is most perfect analogy, I burst out laughing at that point in the show. At least this show is so bad its good, it could have just been nothing, or mediocre I guess I’ll take some comfort in that 😂
My face was completely contorted. Honestly, still is. Some face-chiropractors in the audience?😂
I reckon it looks more like a tampax commercial 😂
Yeah it's def got to the 'so bad it's good' level now. "There's a tempest in me" was amazing 🤣
Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind!
Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind!
Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind!
Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind!
Nobody goes off the trail! Nobody gets left behind!
Unless they go off the trail, then they'll get left behind!
Sing it with me!
Bor, Leg & Fro-Bag - HILARIOUS!!🤣
Your reviews are the most funny reviews 😅. Excellent work 👍
Please, move this show to the back of the caravan and do not wait for it.
I will say the cast and crew did call Orlando/Legolas Leggy during the production of LoTR and the Hobbit and it’s just plain adorable. ❤
7:37 I guess the script writers were into the type of criticism which says "things should not be in a Medieval Stasis" ... "no, they aren't, Númenor is clearly Pre-Medieval!"
Jaw dropped when you said they're shooting the Odyssey.
Love that idea!
Gimme Scylla and Charybdis over the harfoots any day.
Izzy, Gal-gal and Gil-Gal, Aron-dude, Kellybimbim, Brad, Big Rod ... You're right, it's much better with nicknames!
5:45 NOOOOO! NOT THE BEES! AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!! 🐝
I have seen many people critique the show and your review is by far one of the most intriguing.
Right on. Thanks for sharing.
Netflix did an Iliad type of show and made Achilles black. Guess how good that show was.
"Elves as centurions" reminded me of this... I'm pretty sure that Ismael-elf's leader was played by the same guy who did Marcus Licinus Crassus in Spartacus.
If he'd been decked out in lorica segmentata, then made a slave, it would have been a laugh. "How the mighty hath fallen"
Honestly the best review of RoP that I've seen so far. Don't mind me chuckling at my screen over here, hahah.
I watched episode 1, was bored out of my mind, and haven't yet returned to it, lol. Will probably catch up later on, just to be in on the conversation... but I am not in a hurry to watch it atm. Glad that some people are still enjoying it though, love that for them :)
yeah, when I wasn't laughing I was so bored
The ole' Fro-bag. That's gold Jerry, Gold I tell ya!
Galadriels smile was the inspiration
for the new horror movie "Smile"
When she smiles she becomes Moe.
Elves were all like "i can excuse slavery but i draw the line at cutting trees"
First time here, you're awesome
Do you remember when Leg-dog was like "Yo, Frobro! I got a bow and I can shoot dem arrows foyo!"; and then Gimgim was like "For realz! And yo can count on my sick axe as well, bro!"
I am often accused of being overly negative about things I enjoy. Please keep that in mind as I want to take a critical eye towards the early plot progress in rings of power. This is a huge wall of text and thank you to anyone who reads it. I have been thinking about this for a while and want to share it.
This show is developing a serious problem. That problem is with stakes. When I say stakes I mean specifically the consequences of a character or characters actions/environment. Rings of power is not handling stakes well, in my opinion.
A key factor in storytelling is having characters overcome obstacles. This can be handled in so many ways but a very bad way to handle it is to have it vanish with little explanation or so little explanation that it starts to degrade the ability for someone to feel that the narrative is happening in a real place. This doesn't mean it has to be realistic but ideally should be consistent. At bare minimum conflict and obstacles should be handled with a logical or emotional thrust.
So far many serious obstacles have been placed in front of our characters but many of them have been resolved in ways I do not believe are satisfying for a variety of reasons.
When I mentioned above that an obstacle disappeared I'm sure at least one person thought of the sea monster. This is a fairly glaring example. A ship eating monster is introduced and then done away with. No one really overcomes the monster and it's threat vanishes very quickly, which will become a recurring theme. This can be redeemed somewhat by having the monster be a plot point sometime in the future.
The issues didn't start there. Galadriel wiping out the troll singlehandedly might be the first example. The troll presented a large threat, one that viewers familiar with other LotR material will recognize as especially dangerous. Swiftly defeating it with no struggle from Galadriel takes much of the tension out of combat with foes of an equal or lesser power level. I can reasonably expect any combat will result in a victory for Galadriel as long as she is not fighting something like a Balrog.
In my opinion this small mistep is also a missed opportunity. She is commander of an army and that troll was an excellent opportunity to show us she is a great leader. In Moria we are shown how much the fellowship has come to care for Frodo when they believe he is slain. They set aside any differences they had when they were introduced to us, work together and slay the troll using teamwork. They struggle to defeat the troll and by the end are all close compatriots which in turn makes Borimir's betrayal more emotionally impactful.
Please don't take this as me just hating on Galadriel because I have a few more examples regarding her character. She has another opportunity to display the leadership skills she should have honed as commander of the northern armies on the boat. The stakes here are her being unable to finish her quest. This would be an excellent time to have her use her leadership skills to try to convince the elves to turn back. There is a very clear "will she /won't she" moment on the boat. Tension is created as the light engulfs everything. Music swells. She just jumps off the boat. No one tries to stop her. The kings underhanded benevolence is resolved by jumping off a boat. She could have delivered a "shields will be shattered" type speech on the boat heading through the golden light but instead the issue is resolved by jumping off a boat.
Weirdly jumping solves another one of Galadriel's issues with power structures when she jumps out of a window when the queen confines her to a place. The show tells us that she is not to leave the grounds and in the next scene she leaves. No guards try to send her back, she gains an ally after escaping and is later freely walking into a jail by herself. Even worse there is a scene of her on a horse that is very evocative of freedom in it's framing and style. This new freedom is not earned. The show told us she was no prisoner but her moment should be restricted. She hops out a window and the issue is resolved.
These issues are not confined to Galadriel. The harfoots have similar issues. Nory and poppy have to hide the meteor man but don't suffer any consequences when he wanders in to camp. Now, I assume that most people will take umbridge with that statemate and mention the de-caravaning. I disagree.
We are told that anyone who falls behind gets left behind and names of those are read out loud in an emotional scene. If the caravan does not support it's members having one is a moot point. It doesn't provide any additional safety or social support. A wagon wheel breaks, an ankle snaps, someone stops too long to collect water and they are subject to a death entrance. The stakes of losing a support network are removed because none of the characters shave any reason to believe it existed.
The issue of migration is still one that needs to be overcome hopefully Meteor Man has not already solved it. A cynical part of me fears that the broken ankle, the de-caravaning / back of the pack placement, and migration plot thread is just a way to have the other harfoots exit the series. I hope this isn't the case but the shot of the lone wagon and vast wilderness implies that Nory and company are already on their own. This is far less severe of an issue when compared to above issues. Unlike the rock breaking contest.
The rock breaking contest is a really good example of the series mishandling stakes. Clear and defined rules are set up. The scene plays out, tension builds, Elrond forfeits and we the viewers think "how will he accomplish his goals now? he is about to be exiled!". He takes an elevator ride with Durin and there is a nice scene where he discusses his issues with Elrond. He then talks his way into dinner and all concepts of being exiled disappear.
There was no reason to use exile as a punishment for failing if characters are just going to ignore it. It's a simple change to instead have the contest grant an audience if you win. Elrond could still display his skill in politics by forfeiting when Durin begins to struggle allowing him to keep his ego intact. Durin could notice this and the healing of their personal issues could begin. Or heck, exile him and give Elrond some real juicy issues to overcome using his political skill. Being exiled would be an excellent raising of the stakes moment.
Arondir's plot thread experiences similar issues. If you have made it this far hopefully you can see why I'm concerned that these aren't small plot holes as much as systemic mishandling of stakes. I'll try to keep these last few short because I'm biased, as Arondir is my favorite character.
Arondir comments that his comrades are looking for him. We never see him encounter any difficulty in avoiding them. Instead they are just at the slave camp and none of them mention his running off. They also were somehow captured before him as he came to with them in the camp already. In the slave camp before the warg is released the orcs just vanish with no scene of them retreating. Orcs use tunnels to stay hidden. This tells us that they can't be discovered, stakes. Then massive wasteland with chopped down trees. How did Galadriel not find it for hundreds of years of questing, or Arondir on any patrol or anyone's elf eyes. If the off screen archers never return it will be another issue of the same sort. They may have been left off screen because they are humans helping the orcs. That opens a whole other can of worms though.
There are more smaller issues as well but this is already far too long. I didn't notice it at first but something didn't sit right. I didn't notice but my brain did. I've concluded that I'm left with uncomfortable questions. Why should I or any viewer believe in negative consequences if they keep evaporating? Without negative consequences how can there be tension and how can the characters grow?
If the show cannot find it's footing on consequences, stakes and conclusions to issues I fear it's going to end up like the final season of game of thrones.
None of this means I hate the show, I want to love this. Ask yourself and think for a moment about the original trilogy if you feel the need to accuse me of being a hater.
Imagine if Frodo was warned about the ring but faced no issues using it. Imagine if Denethor just stopped treating farimir poorly one scene later. Imagine if Gandalf just eviscerated the Balrog no problem. What if it just showed up then left? Imagine if the ring wraiths never chased Frodo and co. for longer than one scene. The fellowship reuniting after Frodo leaves them would make the act of leaving hollow. Would the charge of the rohirrim be as impactful without Theodin's "shields will be shattered" speech cementing his redemption arc? What if they showed up even though Gondor never lit the beacons. Would the battle of helms deep have been as awesome if our heroes were never losing? What if the ents just said "Sure!"? Would we even love these stories if the stakes kept disappearing and characters didn't have to surmount challenges and they just vanished without huge amounts of effort?
Imagine how much the story would suck if they just took the eagles to Mordor. How much worse would it have been if they did that and never even dealt with the nazgul.
I'm concerned but hopeful these are just stumbles.
Dude......
The scene where they are beaching the boat (the sea is always right),,,
Isn't that the same beach from The Goonies....
1+ year later, and "The sea is always right" will never not be hilarious.
Harfoots song is IMO more like reeducation/indoctrination marching songs than a natural song of a primitive forest tribe :)
lol yeeeeah....
It sounds like a sect, it looks so creepy when they start to sing it😂
Me: “You have not seen what I have seen.”
My friend: “I have seen my share.”
Me: “YOU HAVE NOT SEEN WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I watched E1 - E8. You wisely stopped watching after E2.”
The library looks so dingy lmao. It sounds like it is supposed to be this great big important place, but they barely have room to move around. Also apparently they have Google image search ?
I think their ratings would go up if they added a laugh track and confirmed it as a comedy. What do they have to lose at this point lol
I need an additional thumbs up button counter for every time I laugh. "parkouring around the city"
This video is hilarious. I only watched the first two episodes. I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
I'm glad I'm not the only who loves how bad this show is. I'm honestly having fun the same way I had fun with Roswell. And Isildur's nick name would be Izzy.
Hahahahaha. That's an amazing review, thanks for the laughs.
I'm kinda glad for this show, it's an unending meme factory, and I don't have to watch it to know all about it !!
lol at least we get to laugh
@@LienesLibrary You got me at " FroBag " lol
"Fro-bag" I screamed XD
Thank you! For some reason I was lead to believe I was the only one that found this show funny and dumb! 😂 all my friends like and apparently they don't find anything wrong with it...
Time for some new friends 🙃
You need smarter friends with better taste. You are NOT alone. ✌🐸
*Nobody walks alone!*
Let's talk about all the people we let walk alone.
Elven parkour is a serious sport, Liene!
I think Galadriel was in a prescription medicine commercial for life threatening illness but with this medicine, she can ride horses - Altho still at risk for hemorrhage is still a thing
Does anyone walk alone?
hardcore parkour!
You and Bookborn should do a show together discussing Rings of Power.
It's gonna be epic
We’re planning to do a live show discussing adaptations in general 🤫
That smile would have smoked Morgoth and Sauron combined.
I like how they have reverse image search in the SCROLL LIBRARY
The abbreviation of Galadriel would be cool though…. as in just say ‘Hey Guy, what’s poppin??’
“You’re bein a real Fro-bag, leg. Bore let’s hop on this boat” “the sea is always right”
😂
Ahahaha this was a great vid. Love it
Thank you 😋
To be fair, the battle of the last alliance at the start of Fellowship of the ring featured Elrond alongside Roman or Spartan (not sure which) looking elf warriors fighting Sauron.
i have no idea who you are but I am so happy RUclips stuck your channel up in front of me. Your delivery is amazing. I just want to laugh along with you. Thanks for creating this!
Well the elf, whose throat was cut of cause has not much blood. You don't understand, it's an allegory (and we all know Tolkien's love for that) to the bloodless plot of all the story arcs so far.
And the fragance of the perfume ad surely is "Piss and Vinegar"
"Because of bees" sounds like he died because of "reasons"
Nice analysis......I like the Greco-Roman comparison. Cassandra vibes, too.
The Hobbits would have to be worked in as aboriginal, first-people, multi-racial "cream-colored" pygmies, lacking the Great Spirit and sweat lodges. They need to go to Bath for a bath, but not leave anybody behind on the way. Lenny can be the Mayor of Casterbridge whenever they get to where-ever the hell they're going.
Your sarcasm (and way of delivering it) is hilarious :)
LMAO .Thanks for making me laugh friend. I agree about the way the elves look. Makes no sense. And why is Arondir the only dark skinned elf and all the other elves look exactly the same? I'm all for diversifying the cast but at the very least maybe his company should look similar? Instead they're all fair skinned with quaffed brown hair. Super weird. What happened to elves with cool long hair. Only Galadriel seems to have it. Bring back the long hair!
yeah, short-haired elves are really not it and I'm always saying that when they bring diversity into previously un-diverse properties they should make it make sense in the world, like have an entire region, or an entire small town be people of color, it really feels like tokenizing when you have one character of color mixed in with all white characters particularly if the group in the story/world are insular and wouldn't be mixing a lot with individuals from other regions
talking about ironic comedy, the ad youtube chose to run in this video is Amazon's "The Rings of Power"...a new legend begins...XD
Really enjoyed your take on the show. Laughing at it is probably the only way to take it. Much healthier than anger or sorrow.
Fro-Bag was a highlight.
My daughter told me not to watch it and since she’s such a LOTR fan, I listened 😀 I totally enjoyed your retelling though😂
Liene, don't know if you see new comments on old stuff. I just rewatched Rings O Power ep 1 on my new home theater setup. I have to admit, the sound with dolby atmos is pretty awesome. I really enjoyed these videos you made a year ago now.
Oooh!!! Maybe they’re actually saying, “The C____ is always right,” referring to Guyladriel, who is in fact the ONLY ONE who is always right.
Galadriel is not a warrior she a mage and royalty
"the seed is always right"
Johnny Sins: aight you got my attention
Thank you😂😂
You are really funny! And your videos have a great flow to them, love the music, keep it comin
Come to think of it, a lot of immortal elves die in this show.
I bet the show runners didn’t have enough money to edit the script for consistency after receiving it from the HS creative writing class.
Its obvious the showrunners realized partway through filming that galadriel was an unsmiling, unlikable angry karen and they decided to shoehorn in the smiling horse scene to "fix" that.
Frobag, I’m dying
The "In Memoriam" was hilarious because I thought of I Think You Should Leave. "Pancaked by drunk dump truck driver"
Ahahahah, you're hilarious)) really, in the scene of elf-throat-cutting I also was like "wow, is this a real bad-ass orcish throatcut? is it like PG-13 or what is the problem?"
This is my favourite review, it’s so much better just listening to you rather than watch the actual program.
Your content is good, don’t ask for subs etc, let it come naturally, genuine people will get an audience.
The Odyssey would be great!
And I’d call Gandalf “Gandy”.
Pippin is short for Peregrin, Merry is short of Meriadoc, Sam is short for Samwise. LOL, but to be fair I think that's a hobbit only phenomenon, men usually seem to stately to use nicknames, but then again he was among his young peers.
both a hobbit-only phenomenon and those are natural abbreviations of those names (apart from Pippin, not sure how you get that from Peregrin) - Isil is just not a natural sounding nickname
@@LienesLibrary Do you find Isildur a natural sounding name? ;D
@@MagusMarquillin Yes
@@LienesLibrary Izzy woulda been perfect because then it would make sense that his posse calls themselves "Izzy and the Doors"
I like your perspective of seeing this as a comedy show. I watch it to enjoy all the negative reviews and will be sure to get plenty of laughs while watching. Haha there’s a tempest in me 😂😂
(Graeco-Roman, btw)
Nice breakdown, thank you!
I'm not watching the show at all; instead, I just come here to RUclips for all of the updates.
What's wrong with "The See is always right"? Tolkien would have approved of that line. He was a devout Catholic.
"The Homeless Hobbits" lmao
I mean, they are though lol
@@LienesLibrary you’re definitely not wrong 🤣
This is better than the actual show lol
Gotta start saying that when I go out lol
I'm very much enjoying your positive negativity. Keep it goin!
Episode 4 was the reveal of Galadriel Auditore Di Firenza
This girl is way too cute XD Loving this take on this ridiculous "adaptation" of Tolkien!
I refuse to watch the show, but I'm having a good time listening to the mocking of it and thinking "We warned you!" Subbed.
lol at least we're getting some laughs out of it
@@LienesLibrary I think of how Gandalf broke Saruman's spell by laughing at him.
That hobbit cult is cold blooded.
I’m trying to imagine the actors they would get to play the famous historical figures. Lol. That would be great
The horse ride scene is an obvious knock off of that infamous slo-mo running scene from Chariots of Fire and failed epically. This show falls under the category of "So bad, it's good"...kinda like Reefer Madness.
As far as the nicknames, I would agree about Isil not sounding good. I can't understand why the characters or the showwriters would shorten it to that. It's not like they are trying to conceal who he is. But Tolkien did have nicknames. But they were only for the Hobbits. With Samwise shortened to Sam, Peregrin got the nickname Pippin, and Merry was the nickname for Meriadoc. The Human, Elves and Dwarves all had their whole first names and titles used. Nothing was shortened for them. I think because the Hobbits were the only characters that had first names as well as surnames. Hobbits and the countryside in general were all so distant from the rest of the world. They had their own culture and were far more casual and relaxed. There wasn't a lot the HObbits took seriously. Their surnames more established who they were amongst their neighbors and where they came from rather than their first names, anyway.
The majority of the men of Middle Earth, like those in lands like Rohan and Gondor, had first names and then titles and lineage. Same with Dwarves and Elves. It honestly seems like the other races like the Humans in Tolkien's work were proud of their names, especially as they might have great family and titles associated with that name. Aragorn goes through an entire arc struggling to cast aside his adopted, unknown Ranger name of Strider and reclaim his true name of Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a title that makes it clear who he is to everyone who hears it (outside the Hobbits). Isildur, being the son of a great man like Elendil and related to other famous names and a member of the Numenoreans would likely have more pride in his name and wish for people to use it. As well as to start establishing himself and associate his actions and such to the name Isildur. Not Isil. I could perhaps see "Isil" being possible for a young, innocent boy among close friends. Maybe a nickname from a mother. But not something a young man his age would desire, especially while seeking acknowledgement he's not a child.
1:34 I mean I hear you, but Samwise.