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I am listening to parts of the soundtrack (so far, the ones sung by Snow White and the Prince), and while I like the new songs, I'm disappointed they decided to cut most of the songs from the original animated film. I really wanted to see and hear live actions of "Someday My Prince Would Come" and "I'm Wishing / One Song" (as old-fashioned as they may be). The new songs feel less Snow White and more like other musicals written by Pasek and Paul, much more modern sounding. Snow and Charming's song in the musical felt more in-line with Snow White. From the songs, it sounds like the Prince From the trailer, it seemed like they were going for a carbon copy, but maybe not? I haven't heard the Evil Queen songs yet, so it will be interesting to see if they are Regina-esque.

True. Though I did watch him in "The Crown", when I think of him, I always see his character from "3rd Rock From The Sun".

Me too, I was hoping they would cast less well-known character actors.

I still need to finish Season 2. I agree it has been better, though I also haven't been very motivated to keep going. Still, I hope they can find a new home for the show.

Did anyone watch "Mufasa" yet? I was just looking at the song list and saw one called "I Always Wanted a Brother". I had to laugh. I rewatched the live action "The Little Mermaid" with someone who loved the original and she said she was disappointed because they added almost nothing new. She said she preferred the live action "Beauty and the Beast".

The official trailer is out for the new Snow White live-action: https://youtu.be/iV46TJKL8cU?si=sjBciJQso8nowPKp Some trailer spoilers below... The visuals seemed more acceptable in this trailer than in the short teasers. However, in a few scenes, the faces of Snow White and the Evil Queen looked unreal (especially one particular shot of the Evil Queen... didn't even look like the actress, and it's not when she's an old hag, either). Sometimes, movies nowadays over-do CGI too much. Plot-wise, it reminded me a bit more of the "Once" angle, since Snow wants to "restore the kingdom". So she has some of her own political ideas, sort of like Jasmine in the live-action. There was almost nothing about the Prince in the trailer, so how he plays into the story will be a surprise, I guess. They seem to be keeping the "fairest of them all" aspect of the Queen's motivation? I can see why they disposed of it in "Once", because they will need to sell how the Queen would feel like she had to compete with looks with a teenager. Overall, I would still be interested to see it.

Overall, I mildly enjoyed this season. It was less intense than the first two, but in some ways, I think it was less frustrating to watch. The first two seasons revolved around the mysteriousness of non-Bridgerton characters like Simon or Kate, who acted in strange ways for reasons that we weren't privy to for awhile. This finale was fine, but didn't really pack much of a punch. I expected a more interesting climax than Penelope just announcing to everyone that she was Whistledown. The plan was entirely contingent on how the Queen would react, and she's as fickle as they come. I'm not convinced she would have acquiesced so easily. I expected Eloise would try to go to plead Cressida to back off. After all, they spent the entire season on their "friendship". Colin spilling his heart to Cressida was just awkward. Why would she even care about his sob story? I liked how Penelope and her mother became closer. Though Mrs. Featherington blaming her scheming to keep stolen money on the lack of options for women in society was a bit much. Benedict's conclusion for the lacklustre subplot was that he's not ready for anything serious yet? That's it? The thruple all looked like they were in their mid-40s. I still don't feel like I know Lord Kilmartin enough... I wanted more stuff like him running off to have the music written for Francesca. I wouldn't say their relationship was "different" because it happened slowly, as the dialogue suggested. It was more accurately just lacking in drama. Francesca was the one who rushed the marriage process. I haven't read the book, and I too thought Michaela was going to be a love interest for Eloise, so I was surprised to read otherwise in this thread. Frankly, I would have been fine with Francesca being offscreen in Scotland for the remainder of the show.

I have mixed feelings about the whole Colin/Penelope disagreement, where I can't say I totally back either of them. I agree the better scene between Colin and Penelope was the one at night in the street, but once again, it had to end with reaching under her dress. So is he still mad about what she wrote about him? He wants her to quit because it causes problems for his family? Or he wants her quit because he wants to protect her from the Queen? On Penelope's side, she doesn't want to lie low for awhile? She doesn't want to try publishing in a different medium? The Queen's deduction doesn't make much logical sense, either. The real Lady Whistledown had humiliated the Bridgertons on multiple occasions. Her new pamphlet came out at the exact same time as Cressida's fake Whistledown pamphlet, so it wasn't like she wrote something in response to Cressida's lies. And wouldn't Lady Whistledown naturally "come out of hiding" if someone is impersonating her? Of course she would be pissed off. As for the other subplots, it was disappointing Francesca was giving her mother the cold shoulder for not talking to the Queen for her. Lady Danbury's scenes were great. The Lord Marcus actor played Dr. Facilier on "Once Upon a Time" and I can't unsee that yet, which is affecting how I'm seeing him and Violet together. I can see Benedict agreeing to a threesome, but full on kissing that guy right away? They could have shown him showing a bit more curiosity first. Where did Anthony and Kate go off to, since they abruptly returned halfway through the episode. Why didn't they bring back Daphne for an episode, since it was an actual wedding. I wish they wrapped up all the drama before doing a wedding with Colin and Penelope. But then again, I'm assuming Penelope will be the rare leading love interest who will remain center stage on this show, as the narrator. Reading that list above with the plots with the last two seasons, I might enjoy this one more because the Featheringtons' screentime are fun instead of frustrating to watch. Why was Penelope's older sister giving her the death stare for two episodes, but then genuinely clapping and cheering for Penelope at the wedding itself? Is this all actually leading somewhere? I have to give Penelope kudos for being so "observant" with people's debts and such while she's going through so much turmoil. I guess she was eavesdropping in between crying and giving Colin tense looks from across the room.

I'm glad Colin at least has a goal now, writing a manuscript. It's interesting to read here that his character in the book had a personality. Colin and Penelope hardly had any scenes in Season 2... they sort of needed that if they were planning to have them be the main couple of Season 3. It was obvious Penelope was pining over Colin, but they needed to show Colin valuing her as a friend before suddenly falling for her this season. They are making the same mistake with Benedict, wasting his screentime this season yet again with whatever the heck is going on at Creepy Manor. I was a little annoyed at Francesca in this one, pushing her mom to talk to the Queen. What's the rush with getting married? I would like to see a bit more of Lord Kilmartin's own life, too. I liked his shyer personality previously, which seemed unique, but he seemed totally at ease at the club in this one. Speaking of the club, they need to tell us why he cares so much about it, for us to care about its closure. I vaguely remember the club was funded by underhanded means, but I don't remember the specifics anymore. Penelope's pity party at the beginning was a bit much, but I did like that conversation with her mom. Lady Danbury trying to smother her brother with those throngs of widows and eligible older women was funny. I'm glad the secret is finally out. Though they should have had a scene of Colin following Penelope near the end to increase the tension before she turned around and saw him.

Colin does know he might get her pregnant before the wedding, right? The focus on sex made it harder to buy that Colin is actually in love with Penelope, since his change of heart occurred so suddenly, and only after a kiss. In true soap opera fashion, Penelope was interrupted when she was about to tell Colin the truth. I hope Penelope tells Colin the truth sooner rather than later. Dragging it out could make this annoyingly frustrating to watch. I didn't expect Cressida to announce that she herself was Lady Whistledown. That was a nice twist. Good points above that she really didn't think things through, though. I do want her to get out of that old guy's clutches. I'm glad Anthony and Kate are still on the show, but they didn't do a great job of integrating them into the story very well and seemed to have lost the depth they had as main leads. I'm glad they are happy, though, so I have mixed feelings about this, since I know it's common to create new problems to keep characters occupied on long-running series. Yes, and in the previous episode, Lord Vegetarian even asked Penelope who he should ask for permission to marry her, since there is no male relative in the picture.

I liked how Colin finally revealed his feelings to Penelope but the stuff in the carriage was way too fast, not to mention ridiculous. Wasn't it a huge faux-pas for Colin to be alone in a carriage with her? Not to mention all the noise they were making. Colin needed more development, though. When he blew up at his "friends" about feeling lonely after a night at the brothel and how it was socially acceptable to be cavalier about relationships, it just felt hollow and unconvincing. It's not like he couldn't control his own choices and actions. They sort of overplayed his sexual desires to the point where it was unclear if he wanted to bed Penelope because he couldn't have her, or if he was truly in love with her. Though Colin's characterization was still miles above Benedict's. I thought the courtship with Lord Vegetarian ended appropriately, since his reasons made sense, but it was still sad to see Penelope dumped like that after such hope. I think her arc over the last few episodes have been good. The quiet suitor who got the sheet music was sweet and unique, and I look forward to seeing more of him, though now Francesca will be in the Queen's crosshairs for rejecting her pick. I felt badly for Cressida again. I don't think Lord Vegetarian is the one for her, but I do want to see her find someone to escape her monster of a father. Their house really did look like a mausoleum. Even though the idea of Eloise becoming friends with Cressida was hard to believe, this has been a nice subplot for both of them. Like others, I think I was enjoying Mrs. Featherington for the first time this season. She was actually (sort of) supporting Penelope, which was nice. Even the sisters have been entertaining. I think my favorite scenes in this episode were between Colin and his mother. With the main couples leaving the narrative each season, Lady Bridgerton has been an excellent constant. The character felt unremarkable when the series started, but I've grown to like her interactions with each of her children thus far.

I thought the Colin actor is stepping up quite well now that he has more screentime. His scenes with Penelope were amusing and I am starting to see their chemistry with one another. I liked his scene with his mother at the ball too. I did like Lord Debling, but so as many said above, I hope he isn't too heartbroken if Penny chooses Colin over him. Does he actually think Cressida is genuine? I did find it amusing to see Eloise awkwardly in the middle. I found this episode quite beautiful and atmospheric with the outdoor fair and the hot air balloon. I thought it was a little weird that Penelope would write about herself again as Lady Whistledown at the end. Isn't it a bit risky to declare herself as winning over Dr. Debling with a single dance? I'm not feeling the Benedict-widow connection. It felt a bit forced. I need more one-on-one scenes with Francesca and her various siblings since she still felt a little disconnected from the show. It seemed like she only had one-liners with Eloise and Colin. I understand why she didn't want to be the Queen's diamond, because now she will need to gracefully decline the I-want-8-children guy.

I thought this episode was engaging enough, no less than earlier seasons. If they are trying to make us root for Colin and Penelope, why would they show Colin having threesomes? I know they showed plenty of sexual adventures with Anthony, but that was mostly in Season 1 before his "true love" romantic story began. If Colin is so sexually satisfied all the time, it's harder to believe a simple kiss would make him change his feelings for Penelope. Nevertheless, I do like their rapport with one another. I know it's for the drama, I found it unbelievable that Eloise would casually spill what Colin told her about Penelope. Who knew Cressida now has morals (which is a total 180). Still neutral about the Francesca storyline, though I like watching the Bridgerton mom and Lady Danbury at work, so I'm glad it gives them something to do.

I had to look up what happened at the end of Season 2. It took me awhile to get into the episode, but I started to get more engaged in the last 20 minutes or so. Part of it was Francesca being basically a new character, so I'm still getting used to her and not sure what to think yet. I agree Colin hasn't had much of a personality so far, but he felt a bit more interesting after explaining to Penelope that he learned the art of charm during his travels. I vaguely remembered he went travelling after Season 1, but I don't remember him leaving again at the end of Season 2? Anthony and Kate felt like a cameo. I don't buy Eloise would have become friends with that mean girl. I also didn't think Penelope would be that bad at making conversation. I did like how she tried to update her look. The setup with her (as Lady Whistledown) writing something about Colin that she regretted was good dramatic fodder, so it does make me want to watch the next one, after not being too motivated to start this season.

I wanted to find this episode funny, since the setup was relatively solid, but the jokes didn't land for me. A few moments in the middle were mildly amusing, though. This is the first episode where they actually used Roz well, so that was good. I personally don't find David that bad, no better or worse than the other new reboot characters. I wanted more of that board game in this one.

I guess it takes a lot of skill to choreograph and direct a fight to the "death" that also highlights their latent primal attraction towards one another. Galadriel gave herself and the 9 rings up so those female elves she was leading through the tunnels would be saved/spared. I find it hard to believe the orcs would keep their word, and Galadriel would trust them to not just attack them after she's gone. We never see them again.

This was definitely one of the funnier episodes so far. The criticisms from "Niles" were funny and I too could sort of imagine Niles saying them. An older Bebe has lost some of her creepiness, but she was still used well. Much better than Roz. Bebe's daughter also had an energy and a connection with Frasier that few of the guest stars so far have had.

This episode was on par with the mediocre episodes of last season. Getting the file back into the filing cabinet was very mildly amusing, but the rest was forgettable. The acting is alright, but you can't elevate characters with no personality or depth. We've watched these characters for 7 hours now, which is the length of 2 movies, and there is still nothing interesting about them.

I was so excited to see Roz, but this episode was beyond unfunny. I know Roz guest starred last season, but I didn't buy she was so familiar with this new cast already. I didn't feel any chemistry between Roz and any of them. She was also rather unlikeable pushing babysitting on the guys when they already had plans that night. None of the jokes worked, and neither did the emotional component. Alan has no redeeming qualities as a character, so I couldn't care less about the story about his daughter being pregnant. Though I think the only line I laughed at was uttered by him.

Not sand, but when I first saw the opening credits, it reminded me a little of the opening credits for "The Crown", another animated close-up with a black background and you're not sure what you're looking at with the growing bands of metal making up the crown.

I didn't realize that was their intent. It was hard for me to tell what Sauron was genuinely thinking. Yes, she did a good job. I kept forgetting her name, though it does sound nice.

Now that Season 2 is over and thinking back, I have mixed feelings. By the middle of the season, I would have said this season was better than the first, but by the end, I was beginning to think the second season wasn't any better. The same underlying problems were still there - uneven pacing, clunky dialogue, unearned character moments, and poor worldbuilding especially in regards to time passage between subplots in different places and travelling between them. Visually, I think I liked this season even more than the last. There were some beautiful shots, and I liked the look of the various places. My details of earlier this season is already fuzzy, but to go through the various characters/subplot before everything disappears from my mind... Elrond: I really liked him in the first season, and one of the few slightly-better developed relationships was between Elrond and Durin, though the mithril stuff was weak. He started this season distrusting the rings, and ended it by putting the ring on to heal Galadriel. So what exactly was his arc? Realizing he was wrong? I actually agreed with his original suspicions of the rings, but his actions/arguments with Galadriel felt childish, which made his character incredibly annoying. Galadriel was no more likeable this season than the last. I'm not sure what she learned from the season, either. That she can't win taking on Sauron alone? You can't have characters learning lessons that are so obvious, or they seem stupid. Overall Elrond/Galadriel/Gil-galad conflict: This whole subplot was not enjoyable to watch. Galadriel and Elrond had so few scenes in Season 1 that I never bought them as close, so their rift did not work on an emotional level. Gil-galad, Galadriel and Cirdan all immediately embraced the rings with zero reservations, and it made them seem simplistic in their thinking. The lack of urgency getting the message to Celebrimbor that Halbrand was Sauron on everyone's part felt plot-oriented, because no one even tried. The Elves came off as incompetent. They seemed to have no scouts. No one knew about the damaged bridge before Galadriel and Elrond happened upon it? The Elves acted like humans... nothing they did or said indicated they had been alive for eons. Eregion: Similarly, the defence of the capital city was a total joke. They spent so much on the visuals for the big battle episode, but I didn't enjoy watching it. It was hard to feel much for the city when it was never a living breathing place. Celebrimbor/Sauron/Eregion subplot: It wasn't a living breathing place because we only really had three speaking characters - Celebrimbor, Sauron and the female smith. The other elves working in the forge felt like extras. I never felt that any of them were close to Celebrimbor, so Sauron's manipulations of them fell flat. Season 1 did such a bad job of developing Celebrimbor that I never understood or bought his reason for wanting to craft rings of power against his better judgement (not that he was shown to have any) That completely undermined the Celebrimbor/Sauron plot, and Celebrimbor's arc sadly left me cold, because he remained a one-dimensional character. Sauron/Halbrand/Annatar: At least they didn't have Celebrimbor not recognize Annatar even though he looked exactly like Halbrand. I'm not even sure what we are supposed to think about Sauron's level of evilness. Was he actually considering being less evil in Season 1 as Halbrand? Rewatching Season 1 after this season wouldn't clarify anything. They added stuff like Sauron crying at the end when he was torturing Celebrimbor, as if that showed he still had a bit of a heart, but all I could do was roll my eyes. In an interview, the showrunners even validated why some viewers might think Celebrimbor and Sauron had some sexual tension. I'm not sure the headwriters are capable of writing characters in an organic fashion because they're so busy thinking about wow factor. It just felt like characters were chesspieces being moved around based on the very bare outlines of Tolkien's plot. Everything felt convenient. Sauron was also way over-powered, with undefined abilities of mind control, which made his battle with Galadriel at the end predictable and lacking in tension. We knew she wouldn't die, even though she would've. We knew he wouldn't get her ring, even though he should've, given his powers. Adar: This was supposedly a very smart character, which basically spent all season falling for Sauron's plan. He let Halbrand go, yet supposedly suspected he was Sauron, yet he still took his orc children to Eregion. They made sure to have him look like an elf and suddenly preaching peace before having him ruthlessly murdered by his "children". On paper, it was clearly supposed to tug at our heartstrings, but I couldn't care less. Harfoots/Stranger: I didn't hate Nori/Stranger in Season 1. I actually thought they were one of the few true friendships that was actually developed. But I couldn't feel it this season anymore, for some reason. In hindsight, the headhunter in the desert wearing that mask was clearly just a way to kill time, considering how quickly he was killed off in the finale. The Dark Wizard's actions made no sense if he simply wanted to convince Gandalf to join his side. The Tom Bombadil stuff with him acting the complete opposite of his book version and taking on the role of Yoda and the wand maker in Harry Potter was boring because we had seen that all before, written way better, in other movies/stories. Isildur/Woman/Theo/Pelargir: I'm starting to get bored and lose patience writing about this season, LOL. This got the least screentime this season, though I surprisingly liked this subplot in the middle of the season, maybe because it was just simpler and I could at least understand why the characters were acting the way they were acting. By the finale, though, Isildur's "love" for that random woman made him seem like a gullible teenager and totally lacking in morals to boot. Theo still looks way too young to be considered a leader, despite his mother being such an important person (sarcasm). Dwarves: The season started with Durin mad at his dad and Disa wanting them to make up, and then they make up and dad puts on the ring and turns evil and Durin is mad at his dad again for other reasons and Disa now wants Durin to oppose his dad and then the dad dies and Durin is sad. The effects of the dwarven ring was so over the top that it would be impossible to buy Durin ever using it or allowing others to use it, but you know he will. This plotline was supposed to be emotional, but the Dwarven King was always such a jerk that I never bought the two Durins ever had a good relationship, so the King's "sacrifice" left me cold. Numenor: Leaving me cold was the consistent pattern for all the subplots. I don't think any emotional moment landed this season except the death of Isildur's friend, which was promptly forgotten and served no purpose other than telling us Kemen was evil even though he was already a cartoon villain every time his mouth opened. Numenor was another subplot that suffered from lack of development stemming all the way back to Season 1. Political dramas require a lot of worldbuilding, but all we got were fickle crowds being swayed by whatever swooped in, whether that be an Eagle or a sea monster. At the end of the day, Pharazon could clearly impose any dictatorial order and no one would oppose him, even the so-called passive "hero" Elendil. I wanted to like and root for him, but the writers didn't give him anything to do to make us cheer for him. The relationship with the daughter (who just seemed evil) was again so thinly drawn, that their rift wasn't sad at all. This show makes me sad because of the lost potential. But I still found this season watchable enough, so the series didn't get worse. I think the fault lies ultimately with the showrunners. Cosmetic changes with a few new writers aren't going to cut it if the overarching story and character arcs are so poorly planned out despite having such rich source material.

This finale was a convoluted mess. Most of the scenes and scenarios felt so staged and the dialogue and character responses just didn't feel natural to me. I guess I will start with, hate to say it, Gandalf. How did he suddenly know where Nori and Poppy were? Gandalf arrived just in time for the masked desert guys to walk Nori and Poppy down the stairs at knifepoint. Was the Dark Wizard trying to win Gandalf on side by breaking his alliance with the masked guy? And then suddenly, all the Stoors came out of the shadows on cue. Then, after he blasted the cliffside, the Dark Wizard just left? If all he wanted was a chat, why didn't he just find Gandalf himself and have a convo with him in the desert instead of sending those "mysterious" masked men? He could have visited his old mentor Tom Bombadil, who apparently also steals lines from Harry Potter. The writing made Gandalf seem like such an idiot (or was it assuming the audience were idiots). "So that was just a test, right? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?" Meanwhile, what made Durin the Elder think jumping into the abyss would save the rest of the dwarves from the Balrog? From where he left his ring, wouldn't it be inaccessible and unreachable due to where the rocks caved in to shut up the hole? How convenient the Balrog was satisfied and Durin the Younger felt safe enough to send the rest of the army onto Eregion. Disa listing all the threats at the end made her seem like the exposition fairy. Knowing what he knows about the extreme negative impacts of his father's ring, would Durin just hand the other rings out to the other dwarf lords? I liked Isildur earlier in the season, but openly going after an engaged woman made him seem like a total jerk with no scruples. I hate Kemen but I had to laugh when the Southland guy was saying, "This is Theo, Bronwyn's son" like that meant something. I didn't realize Numenor was a one-day boat ride to where Theo and Isildur were. I was confused when I first saw Kemen because I thought the scene was taking place in Numenor. Muriel surviving the sea monster was pointless, then. Pharazon was still ruler. Did the Palantir print out a document to proclaim Miriel was allied with Sauron? Huh? Meanwhile, Elendil was just standing around clueless and needed his daughter to warn him he was going to be arrested. The Elf soldiers defending Eregion were made to look totally inept, cartoonishly getting killed left right and center. Adar's about face felt so sudden and unearned. Now he was all for peace because he put on the ring? Conveniently just in time to die a "hero"'s death at the hands of his beloved "children". Galadriel and Sauron's sword fight felt contrived to me as well. He could have killed her at so many points. He could have used his mind tricks to compel her to give up the 9 rings. Meanwhle, Gil-galad, Elrond and Suddenly-Alive-Arondir conveniently saw Galadriel falling off a cliff from afar just as they got reinforcement from the Dwarves, and they could run over to save her. I'm surprised we didn't see Elrond putting out the fire to save some of those scrolls before going off to Galadriel. Good thing she survived the impact of the fall, eh? Overall, I just couldn't lose myself in any of the stories in this one, which was disappointing for a finale.

I think this episode actually worked pretty well. The dialogue was amusing and Frasier carried most of the episode, which is preferable considering the unremarkable supporting characters. It was certainly more entertaining than any episode thus far.

This was alright. Not good but not horrible. No better or worse than last season, which doesn't do much for the hope that this season will be better. When Frasier was still going on about Freddie quitting Harvard, I thought it was Season 1 again. Did they feel they needed this in case viewers skipped the first season? David's clumsiness was just too over-the-top to be funny. I was mostly cringing over the waste of food. The main plot was predictable and did not move me emotionally in any way. For that, you sort of need to care about the two of them as friends.