Eldest

After a strong start, episode 4 of *The Rings of Power* season 2 feels like a step backward. Familiar elements from *The Lord of the Rings* films are recycled without offering much new. Galadriel's combat scenes come across as overly choreographed and lack the intensity they promise. The orcs, though well-designed, seem less menacing, losing their impact. The shift away from key characters like Sauron and Númenor introduces familiar figures from Tolkien's lore, but their inclusion feels more like fan service than essential plot development. While the episode has potential, it feels more like filler than an engaging continuation.

"Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow., Bright Blue his jacket Is, and his boots are yellow."

I would never have imagined a more unexpected episode! We have now reached the goal of the series with a gear, perhaps, more than the last season: action, fighters, barrows (and respective ghosts), new creatures and old acquaintances! The only negative note is the absence of Annatar and Celebrimbor, curious given that their "partnership" should be, all things considered, the beating heart of this season... However, it is wonderful to see the effects of the "return of Sauron" on the whole world , prelude to war...

The show has truly fallen to its lowest point. Terrible West Country accents abound with dumpy looking Stoors and Xena-level visuals. More mystery boxes surrounding the Istari and the likelihood of Saruman both existing and becoming evil long before he should (I don't trust the writers at this stage to have the two being Blue Wizards). Calling a staff a "gand" as the origin of Gandalf's name. Barrow wights in the barrow downs before the war with Angmar which takes place in the Third Age, and before they could ever exist through the Witch King. Tom Bombadil referring to willows in the East plus a lazy Old Man reference. Terribly repurposed lines from both Tolkien and the PJ movies without the appropriate context (nameless things). Geographical teleportation and lands existing when and where they shouldn't. All of these lore issues on top of a poorly written, poorly acted show with sometimes-nice, sometimes-awful design and cinematography. All this shows an absolute lack of respect for Tolkien who I suspect the writers have not even read.

I'm enjoying this season quite a bit despite all the negative reviews.

But one thing bothers me above all else. Too many of the scenes taking place in a dark area are just too dark for me to see anything.

It's really difficult to make out what's happening in too many of the scenes for the whole series.

All you see are darker blobs and hear noises, but you can't make out anything else. No plot, no nothing. It's like watching a show blind.

Some scenes are actually lit properly, despite being at night, but others are just flat and overall disappointing.

I wish they didn't do this. But they're not the only show with this issue. Between the lack of visualization and when the music is so loud but the actors' voices are so quiet, you're constantly turning the volume up and down. It sucks that it's so prevalent in most TV shows nowadays.

I liked a few things in the newest episode of The Rings of Power, but mostly I was bored. This was a dull one, ladies and gentlemen.

One of the problems with The Rings of Power is that many of the plotlines are isolated from each other, and some are more entertaining than others. My favorite characters are the dwarves. They seem more human than everyone else, including the humans. They fight, make up, snipe, joke, work and laugh. I'm invested emotionally in them. I've also been Celebrimbor's time with Sauron, who is manipulating the craftsman elf into making rings of power. Now that we know that Sauron is Sauron, we can enjoy his turn into over-the-top villainy.

I think the show should have just been about the dwarves and the harfoots and it should have been called Wee The People. Because they're wee little folk? You get it.