S01.E03: Adar

[JTMacc99]

Episode Synopsis:

Arondir finds himself a captive; Galadriel and Halbrand explore a legendary kingdom; Elendil is given a new assignment; Nori faces the consequences.

Reminder: 

This is for discussion of the TV show only, no book talk allowed - including saying "but it's different in the books". Any spoiler from outside the books and stories (including previews or the movies) should be in spoiler tags.

[Camera One]

The first two episodes were alright, but nothing special, and I was hoping the series would finally start to find its stride, so I was really disappointed in this third episode.  It felt like a bit of a narrative mess.  I liked it less than Episode 2 and it was worse than Episode 1 but in a different way (that one was boring, this one was convoluted).

How did Arondir's fellow elf soldiers get captured?  It felt random when they suddenly showed up.  The elf "watch" never noticed all this destruction until now?  Their escape "plan" was very poorly thought out and the orcs' fear of sunlight felt rather inconsistent.  The violence in this subplot with all the other elves dying was off-putting and a total downer.

I was looking forward to seeing Numenor but while the last two episodes provided a too-simple premise anyone could understand, I wasn't sure what some of the characters were talking about or referring to in this episode.  The brief explanation Galadriel gave about the history of Numenor was not enough to understand the motivations of the various characters or the hatred towards elves/Galadriel.  Galadriel said both she and Halbrand could "redeem our bloodlines".  Nothing said in the episode explained why Galadriel's bloodline needed to be redeemed.  How did her people "start" the war with Morgoth?

As entertainment, the biggest problem for me was a lot of the characters were actively unlikeable.  Galadriel's demeanor continued to be abrasive.  To the point where she looked foolish/dumb not understanding when to show a bit of diplomacy.  It was difficult to cheer for her despite being the main protagonist.  At the same time, Miriel with her hatred of elves was equally abhorrent.  Halbrand was smarmy as usual (what's the point of stealing that guild badge when the guild members probably all knew one another?  where did he get money to buy drinks for all?).  Even that Halfoot elder was a jerk putting Nori's father at the back of the caravan in one breath while chanting "Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks along" in the other.   I liked Nori in the last two episodes, but she was getting way too obsessive in her quest to "help" the meteor man (how did he know to look in Nori's bag for the map, anyway?).  

The only part of the episode I liked was the conversation with Elendil and his son and daughter.  Isildur actually seemed likeable.   Galadriel was actually a much better character when she let down her guard at Elendil's place.  This episode should have focused on establishing the characters in Numenor.  I wish Elendil gave Galadriel the dagger back himself rather than Halbrand stealing it back for her.  That would have been a nicer way of revealing he was pro-elf.

Weirdest scene award goes to Galadriel riding the horse happy as Joker escaping from Arkham.  Mood swing much?

Edited September 9, 2022 by Camera One

[Constantinople]

Elves sure like to mouth off.

[mrspidey]

10 hours ago, Camera One said:

I was looking forward to seeing Numenor but while the last two episodes provided a too-simple premise anyone could understand, I wasn't sure what some of the characters were talking about or referring to in this episode.  The brief explanation Galadriel gave about the history of Numenor was not enough to understand the motivations of the various characters or the hatred towards elves/Galadriel.  Galadriel said both she and Halbrand could "redeem our bloodlines".  Nothing said in the episode explained why Galadriel's bloodline needed to be redeemed.  How did her people "start" the war with Morgoth?

The explanation is in the Silmarillion, which the show does not have the rights to use. 

Short summary:

Spoiler

Morgoth does horrible stuff on Valinor. The Noldor, super angry and against the council of the Valar, swear vengeance and leave for Middle Earth to wage war on Morgoth. In the process, they commit kinslaying on other elvish houses. The war then goes horribly and almost all of the Noldor die. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by mrspidey

[tennisgurl]

I was hoping that after the last episode things were picking up, but this was a real downturn again. Like all of the show, its gorgeous but the actual story is lacking. I was excited to see Numenor, and it looked amazing, but actually hanging out there wasn't any fun. Everyone there except for the ship captain and his kids are assholes and I am not even sure why anyone there is doing anything yet, so I cant even really enjoy the scenery and world building. All of the plots this week were generally depressing, and I'm not even sure to what end. Did we need to watch a dozen elves get brutally killed to show us that orcs suck? Or watch Galadriel have no idea what diplomacy is as she goes up against a new batch of bigots? Even Nori and the Halfoots were getting on my nerves, and I have mostly enjoyed their comic relief. Probably because even that story was dismal to watch. You really can see where all of the money has gone, everything looks incredible, I just wish I was more invested in the actual story and characters. 

These elves vs humans scenes are so tedious, its scene of people being dicks to each other and for no reason that I can understand. I don't even get what their problem is or why they all hate each other so much, humans blame elves for Orcs, and elves hate humans because some of them sided with the bad guy a million years ago and elves just generally think they're better than anyone? Obviously all prejudice is stupid and I know what they are going for here, but watching people who hate each other over nothing just argue and be snippy over and over isn't a very interesting viewing experience. 

Galadriel really needs to find a few more emotions besides being angry. She doesn't really come off as an ageless warrior determined to find a rising evil, she mostly comes off like a surly teenager with a massive sense of entitlement who's rude and is incapable of reading a room. 

I liked meeting Elendil and his kids at least, they seem likable so far. 

[peridot]

I don't have a lot of background knowledge of the story, so I'm enjoying seeing all the factions.  When they showed the map view of Numenor to the Southlands, I realized just how far from home they were.

I don't know what Galadriel is thinking, insulting everyone that she meets.  Does she think she can just kill all the obstacles in her way??  The slo-mo of her riding the horse was very odd, not sure why they decided to use that.

I'm interested to see what's calling Isildur.  It's probably why his dad is pushing him so hard to have a career on the sea.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the Spartacus actors again.  It makes me want to do a rewatch of that show!

[quarks]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

These elves vs humans scenes are so tedious, its scene of people being dicks to each other and for no reason that I can understand. I don't even get what their problem is or why they all hate each other so much, humans blame elves for Orcs, and elves hate humans because some of them sided with the bad guy a million years ago and elves just generally think they're better than anyone? Obviously all prejudice is stupid and I know what they are going for here, but watching people who hate each other over nothing just argue and be snippy over and over isn't a very interesting viewing experience. 

I don't necessarily think the show needs to give a reason for why elves and humans are on bad terms -

[Very mild movies spoiler]

Spoiler

The Lord of the Rings never bothered to explain that either - and The Hobbit never even brought it up. The films do have Elrond making a couple of comments about how men are weak, and Denethor in a scene cut from the theatrical release but in the extended edition making it clear that he doesn't trust Elrond, but that's it. Same with the history between the dwarves and the elves - there's a couple of comments here and there showing mistrust, but no explanations about why - especially in The Lord of the Rings. Gimli just makes it clear that he doesn't trust elves, and vice versa. It worked.

But I do think that these very vague comments should either be cut out entirely, or expanded so that viewers know what's going on.

[thuganomics85]

Great seeing Cynthia Addai-Robinson as the Queen Regent of Numenor, although of course it ends up being the same episode where they kill off Simon Merrells's character, so I guess only one former Spartacus cast member is allowed at a time!

Other than that, yeah, I'm struggling to get into this show, which is surprising.  It looks great, the cast seems solid, and it certainly seems like they have the right ingredients here.  But the execution just seems to be lacking in a lot of areas and, honestly, I just don't have any real emotions for any of these characters: both good or bad.  I know I'm suppose to think Galadriel is awesome, but I was just annoyed by her need to show no tact with anyone and just makes everything worse.  Halbrand just feels like your atypical mysterious, snarky dude, who acts like he won't do the right thing, but clearly will at the end.  None of the Halfoot stuff is working for me at all and Arondir is just kind of there at the moment.  I guess Elendil and his kids have potential at least.  I did kind of miss Elrond, so maybe I do kind of like him (or at least his story)?

New Zealand still looks great though!

I'll definitely keep watching, but I'm still kind of amazed that I was already more interested in The Wheel of Time series by its third episode compared to this show, which I never would have predicted.  Sure, it had its own flaws, but despite a likely way smaller budget, I was at least curious to see where it was all going and felt something for the majority of its characters.  As of now, this is almost feeling like homework instead of entertainment.  Weird.

Edited September 12, 2022 by thuganomics85

[Constantinople]

I'm not saying Galadriel is Sauron but

1. The Orcs are all in the South. She leads her team on a wild goose chase in the North
2. She's the one who found the mark of Sauron
3. She killed the snow troll like it ain't no thing while the elves stood around like dopes
4. She really, really doesn't want to go to Valinor
5. Right after she was picked up from the sea, the first time, the sea creature shows up and kills everyone except her exposition buddy Halbrand
6. She's really interested that Halbrand descends from royalty that fought for Morgoth
7. As Galadriel, she fought against Morgoth. The only way the underboss gets promoted is if someone puts a hit on the capo di tutti capi
8. She gets on everyone's nerves

[dramachick]

Is Uncle Benjen the leader of the orcs? 😲

[Tachi Rocinante]

What a fucking mess.  I had to keep reminding myself that I hadn't missed an episode.

[Welshman in Ca]

14 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

 As of now, this is almost feeling like homework instead of entertainment.  Weird.

Pretty sure a lot of people who read the books originally felt that way the first time they read them as well but they plowed on to the end & were eventually glad they did, or maybe that was just me.

[johntfs]

On 9/9/2022 at 1:53 AM, Camera One said:

Even that Halfoot elder was a jerk putting Nori's father at the back of the caravan in one breath while chanting "Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks along" in the other.   I liked Nori in the last two episodes, but she was getting way too obsessive in her quest to "help" the meteor man (how did he know to look in Nori's bag for the map, anyway?).  

The Harfoot elder didn't want to abandon Nori, who is still considered to be a child, to die alone in the wilderness.  The back of the caravan is the most dangerous part, but it's still part of the caravan.  It was a compromise.

Nori wants to be more than she is (a Harfoot child among other Harfoots who want to stay as they have always been).  The Stranger is extraordinary so of course Nori is kind of obsessed with helping him because then she'll be a little extraordinary as well.

The only person the Stranger knows is Nori so of course he'll look in Nori's bad.

[wanderingstar]

I really liked this episode and found it to be a big step up from the first two, which were mostly setup. Particularly like the scenes in Numenor.

The Harfoots just leaving people behind is…not great. I know they’re all about survival, but what about community and compassion?

I don’t entirely trust that Halbrand.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Gillian Rosh

[johntfs]

20 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I really liked this episode and found it to be a big step up from the first two, which were mostly setup. Particularly like the scenes in Numenor.

The Harfoots just leaving people behind is…not great. I know they’re all about survival, but what about community and compassion?

I don’t entirely trust that Halbrand.

The people the Harfoots left behind were dead.  By landslide, wolf, etc.

Nori's family is not being left behind.  They just got stuck at the back of the caravan, which is pretty much the most dangerous spot.

That said, somebody was going to have to be in that spot no matter what because that's how trains/caravans work.

[Ottis]

I wish the Orcs would take out the Harfoots.

[Camera One]

2 hours ago, johntfs said:

That said, somebody was going to have to be in that spot no matter what because that's how trains/caravans work.

Probably poor Poppy, who had to pull everything herself with no help from other members of the community.  Though I'm sure the heartfelt "left behind" tribute to her dead relatives helped her soldier on.

[silverstream]

Add me to the people who are not impressed by the Harfoot "community" - I get you can't do anything against landslides or wolf attacks, but setting up your society so that a broken leg is considered just next door to a death sentence is really stupid. They don't have any surplus adults or adolescents who can help out family units other than their own? They can't distribute some of Nori's family's things onto other waggons to lighten the load, or have Nori's family jettison things that aren't immediately essential and then work together to refashion them once they've arrived?

Does this happen everytime someone is injured/ill, is around their pregnancy due date, or is simply very old? I'm suprised that list at the remembrance ceremony wasn't at lot longer, supposing they didn't just cut out the reading of a lot of names.

Lol'd a bit at the elf garrison there to explicitly guard the "evil" humanspawn not noticing that orcs had set up shop in their backyard and had been kidnapping people for quite some time. Also, this series continues to be visually stunning (loved seeing Numenor!) but that orc prison was the first thing that looked really weird/cheap to me, even if all those chainswinging fight moves were sort of fun. Having skimpy pieces of fabric be all between you and the sky is probably not a good idea if you're allergic to sunlight and your captives are generally tall enough that they could just reach up and rip them down if they wanted - looks like Sauron needs a better financial backer.

Overall I did like the episode though.

[johntfs]

5 hours ago, silverstream said:

Add me to the people who are not impressed by the Harfoot "community" - I get you can't do anything against landslides or wolf attacks, but setting up your society so that a broken leg is considered just next door to a death sentence is really stupid. They don't have any surplus adults or adolescents who can help out family units other than their own? They can't distribute some of Nori's family's things onto other waggons to lighten the load, or have Nori's family jettison things that aren't immediately essential and then work together to refashion them once they've arrived?

Does this happen everytime someone is injured/ill, is around their pregnancy due date, or is simply very old? I'm suprised that list at the remembrance ceremony wasn't at lot longer, supposing they didn't just cut out the reading of a lot of names.

Lol'd a bit at the elf garrison there to explicitly guard the "evil" humanspawn not noticing that orcs had set up shop in their backyard and had been kidnapping people for quite some time. Also, this series continues to be visually stunning (loved seeing Numenor!) but that orc prison was the first thing that looked really weird/cheap to me, even if all those chainswinging fight moves were sort of fun. Having skimpy pieces of fabric be all between you and the sky is probably not a good idea if you're allergic to sunlight and your captives are generally tall enough that they could just reach up and rip them down if they wanted - looks like Sauron needs a better financial backer.

Overall I did like the episode though.

Stories take some liberties for the sake telling themselves and being dramatic.

Nori's families needs to be in a bad position so The Stranger can help them and show his value to the rest of the Harfoots so they'll help him with his stuff and Nori will be re-accepted.

Galadrial aside pretty much all the elves wanted to believe that the war/conflict was over.  The elven "guards" (aside from "hot for human" Arondir) are there out of habit/racism.  They don't think there's any threat.

Sauron here isn't Sauron from the movies.  He's not the super Dark Lord ruler of Mordor.  Right now there is no Mordor, just the Southlands.  He's likely more of a bandit chieftain with orcs than anyone with a real army.  So of course he's cheaping out on stuff.  He can't afford not to cheap out.

At some point I wish someone would make a series where every character acts with cold, tactical logic at all times.

[silverstream]

10 minutes ago, johntfs said:

Stories take some liberties for the sake telling themselves and being dramatic.

Nori's families needs to be in a bad position so The Stranger can help them and show his value to the rest of the Harfoots so they'll help him with his stuff and Nori will be re-accepted.

Galadrial aside pretty much all the elves wanted to believe that the war/conflict was over.  The elven "guards" (aside from "hot for human" Arondir) are there out of habit/racism.  They don't think there's any threat.

Sauron here isn't Sauron from the movies.  He's not the super Dark Lord ruler of Mordor.  Right now there is no Mordor, just the Southlands.  He's likely more of a bandit chieftain with orcs than anyone with a real army.  So of course he's cheaping out on stuff.  He can't afford not to cheap out.

At some point I wish someone would make a series where every character acts with cold, tactical logic at all times.

Eh, I get what they were going for with Nori's family, but there would have been plenty of ways to do that without making the Harfoots look this awful. Just off the top of my head, this episode they could have had the stranger cause a fire that destroyed some of their wagons or provisions or even injured more people (in fact, I actually thought this was going to happen when he was futzing around with the fire), thus showing why the situation was so dire they weren't able to help each other (and also presenting more of an opportunity for the stranger to step up) rather than e.g. have an orphaned minor struggle with her possessions at the end of the wagon train all alone with nobody helping out (Poppy hasn't even been implicated in Nori's stranger shennanigans yet!).

As for the Sauron situation - I don't actually mind what they're doing, I just find the situation pretty amusing. I don't think orcs are supposed to be particularly intelligent, so it'd make sense that they're not particularly great at architecture and planning.

[Camera One]

4 hours ago, silverstream said:

Eh, I get what they were going for with Nori's family, but there would have been plenty of ways to do that without making the Harfoots look this awful.

I wonder if the writers realized this episode made the Harfoot seemed quite horrible.  Up until now, they seemed to be portrayed as a rustic cohesive family-knit community who willingly cooperated on activities.

[PeterPirate]

Tar-Miriel is an intriguing character.  I hope she turns out to be in favor of an invasion of Middle Earth or Valinor (if not its leader) and not one of the Faithful.  

Edited September 14, 2022 by PeterPirate
Make it less spoilery.

[QuantumMechanic]

46 minutes ago, PeterPirate said:

Tar-Miriel is an intriguing character.  I hope she turns out to be

Spoiler

in favor of the invasion of Valinor (if not its leader)

and not one of the faithful.  

Hmm.  I suppose that'll probably happen because
 

Spoiler

a) the show needs to invade Valinor
b) the writers will feel they can't have a subservient woman, and will need to have Pharazon as her right-hand man rather than as a usurper running the invasion, and therefore
c) Miriel will be required to be evil (in another 180 from canon).

[TV Anonymous]

On 9/9/2022 at 2:53 AM, Camera One said:

Even that Halfoot elder was a jerk putting Nori's father at the back of the caravan in one breath while chanting "Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks along" in the other.

That scene made me confused. Why Largo and his family acted as if being put on the back of the caravan was a death sentence? Somebody needed to be in the back, his or other family.

[QuantumMechanic]

2 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

That scene made me confused. Why Largo and his family acted as if being put on the back of the caravan was a death sentence? Somebody needed to be in the back, his or other family.

I imagine because they will be slow (because of Largo's injury) and so will fall further and further behind, with no one to keep an eye on them, until they are abandoned/picked off.

[PeterPirate]

51 minutes ago, QuantumMechanic said:

Hmm.  I suppose that'll probably happen because
 

  Reveal spoiler

a) the show needs to invade Valinor
b) the writers will feel they can't have a subservient woman, and will need to have Pharazon as her right-hand man rather than as a usurper running the invasion, and therefore
c) Miriel will be required to be evil (in another 180 from canon).

I see I will need to be more careful about not revealing book material.  I've edited my previous post to be speculative and not declarative.  I think this is OK since we cannot count on anything in the books appearing in the show.  

[QuantumMechanic]

2 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I see I will need to be more careful about not revealing book material.  I've edited my previous post to be speculative and not declarative.  I think this is OK since we cannot count on anything in the books appearing in the show.  

Yeah -- in the Book Talk version of the episode threads you're free to not spoiler tag something like that.  Though even so since many who have read LotR have not read The Silmarillion or the HoME stuff some will spoiler-mark stuff from those sources that they think might be spoilers for the show. (And others won't, which is fine, since as I understand it they are not required to.)

Edited September 13, 2022 by QuantumMechanic
because a spoiler tagging != spoiling

[quarks]

I think, too, that some of us are being a bit cautious because we are not entirely sure if we are seeing things from the books. For instance - SPOILERED mostly to make a point, not because these are actual spoilers:

Spoiler

I don't think anyone on these forums is sure who the Stranger is, so we don't know if we are seeing Gandalf - a potential spoiler for the books (including Unfinished Tales and a late draft reprinted in the recent The Nature of Middle-Earth, which suggests that Gandalf and the other wizards may have first traveled to Middle-Earth in the First Age), or if we are seeing another one of the wizards, or if this is just an original character created specifically for the show, like Arondir. So the Stranger might be someone from the books! Or might not be! So does discussing Gandalf count as a book spoiler? Arguable!

[johntfs]

3 hours ago, QuantumMechanic said:

I imagine because they will be slow (because of Largo's injury) and so will fall further and further behind, with no one to keep an eye on them, until they are abandoned/picked off.

On the other hand the Harfoots seem like they're on a schedule with their migration.  Like, they need to be in specific places at specific times.  Presumably because the weather will be worse, other races/men will be there, the food won't be as plentiful, etc.  So they put the slower folks in the back to keep them from delaying and possibly killing everyone else.

[PeterPirate]

23 hours ago, quarks said:

I think, too, that some of us are being a bit cautious because we are not entirely sure if we are seeing things from the books. For instance - SPOILERED mostly to make a point, not because these are actual spoilers:

  Reveal spoiler

I don't think anyone on these forums is sure who the Stranger is, so we don't know if we are seeing Gandalf - a potential spoiler for the books (including Unfinished Tales and a late draft reprinted in the recent The Nature of Middle-Earth, which suggests that Gandalf and the other wizards may have first traveled to Middle-Earth in the First Age), or if we are seeing another one of the wizards, or if this is just an original character created specifically for the show, like Arondir. So the Stranger might be someone from the books! Or might not be! So does discussing Gandalf count as a book spoiler? Arguable!

I will be extra cautious from now on.  I plan to stay in the No Book Talk threads out of general principle.  For me it's a good exercise to analyze this show on its own merits.  After three episodes I'm not ready to give this show a numerical rating or say if it is "Fresh" or "Rotten".  But I still find it intriguing.  

Edited September 14, 2022 by PeterPirate

[iMonrey]

Quote

As entertainment, the biggest problem for me was a lot of the characters were actively unlikeable. 

That's definitely a problem. But more than that, the show is reminding me of The Wheel of Time. It's gorgeous to look at but the story itself is virtually impenetrable if one is not already immersed in the source material. It's also lacking any charm or humor that would otherwise make this type of genre accessible to the casual viewer. I'm trying really hard to follow it but it does feel like a chore. There doesn't seem to be any effort to make the story accessible to anyone other than Lord of the Rings fans.

[shrewd.buddha]

Yes, the show is very visually impressive. The landscapes and the statues of Numenor were incredible.  I'm sure the music is great, too.
But .. none of that is making this a must-see television series.  We got around to seeing this third episode, but there was no rush.

All the stories feel so predictable and loaded with the typical hero/fantasy tropes.  Maybe that is  inevitable since they are adapting a story that was written decades ago (coincidentally creating many of the tropes that have been done to death).
This show doesn't create the type of need-to-see excitement as something like Stranger Things does (a show which could also be considered family-friendly).

On 9/9/2022 at 2:53 AM, Camera One said:

As entertainment, the biggest problem for me was a lot of the characters were actively unlikeable.  Galadriel's demeanor continued to be abrasive. 

Galadriel is a problem for the show. She seems to have been set up as the show's anchor character -- as are the elves in general.  By nature, they are supposed to be arrogant and superior (because they actually are superior in many ways).  
There is a reason Frodo, Aragorn and Bilbo Baggins were the central characters of the other books -- they are relatable.

When Galadriel was in Numenor, it looked as if she could easily blend in by hiding her pointy ears.
Shouldn't elves  be so striking in appearance that they always stand out in a crowd of humans?

Also - is there any point in putting Galadriel or Elrond in any 'mortal' danger?  We know they are destined to live for hundreds of years to come.

On 9/10/2022 at 11:27 PM, Gillian Rosh said:

The Harfoots just leaving people behind is…not great. I know they’re all about survival, but what about community and compassion?

Yeah, there were some mixed messages with the Harfoot community.  They are portrayed as very close-knit and folksy, but everyone seems to live in fear of being left behind during their migrations (which has been mentioned since episode one). 
Besides the BrandyFoots, BrightApples, etc., I would like to see a family named the HoneyBadgers. 

Overall, the show is ... good.  Just not very exciting.  
Maybe kids and Middle Earth super fans find it more engaging than I do.   That's great for them, really. 

[MJ Frog]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm trying really hard to follow it but it does feel like a chore. There doesn't seem to be any effort to make the story accessible to anyone other than Lord of the Rings fans.

That? Is super interesting. As someone who is very familiar with the story they are (kind of) telling, it's hard for me to see this from the point of view of someone coming at it fresh. This could turn out to be a big problem.

I have often thought of late that instead of spending time on a tiny Galadriel, the beginning should have instead gone ahead and taken a nice big exposition dump, but in the style of say, the first Wonder Woman movie, which I thought was really effective. Something animated or highly stylized, which would have suited the (much) larger than life subject matter, been fun to watch, and laid the groundwork for the series. And perhaps narrated by Galadriel, as in the movie-films.

[Diapason Untuned]

On 9/13/2022 at 12:28 AM, Camera One said:

I wonder if the writers realized this episode made the Harfoot seemed quite horrible.  Up until now, they seemed to be portrayed as a rustic cohesive family-knit community who willingly cooperated on activities.

The point is that no, living a transitory life with no guarantee of safety with people out there ready and willing to kill you is not going to create a society conducive to kindness towards the less advantaged.

[blackwing]

On 9/9/2022 at 1:53 AM, Camera One said:

The first two episodes were alright, but nothing special, and I was hoping the series would finally start to find its stride, so I was really disappointed in this third episode.  It felt like a bit of a narrative mess.  I liked it less than Episode 2 and it was worse than Episode 1 but in a different way (that one was boring, this one was convoluted).

I'm on Episode 3 and I agree that so far I've been a little disappointed.  There's too many characters, there's not enough exposition.  I feel like I got dropped into the middle of the story and the show seems to act like I'm supposed to know who all these characters are and exactly what they are doing.  Besides Galadriel and Elrond, I don't know if I'm supposed to know who they are.

I feel like I have absolutely no idea what is going on.  Galadriel is trying to destroy Sauron.  I think?  That's about all I've got.  Not sure what is going on with "The Stranger" or the family that is running away from orcs.

The only thing keeping me interested and watching is the amazingly beautiful CGI depictions of the various cities.  There was one elf city that had the waterfall cascading off the ramparts that looked like it could have come straight from the pages of Dinotopia.

[Anduin]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

I'm on Episode 3 and I agree that so far I've been a little disappointed.  There's too many characters, there's not enough exposition.  I feel like I got dropped into the middle of the story and the show seems to act like I'm supposed to know who all these characters are and exactly what they are doing.  Besides Galadriel and Elrond, I don't know if I'm supposed to know who they are.

Ep 3 was my personal low point of the show so far. Hang in there, it picks up.