mikehole

I'm enjoying it, but there are a few issues with the timeline so far. First of all, it appears to be set when Elendil and Isildur are alive, and yet Celebrimbor is still in it. Celebrimbor is meant to have died about 1,400 years before Elendil was born.

Some of the titular rings of power were made by Celebrimbor and the One Ring was also made in his time. We are only up to Ep 3, so it's not clear if they are deliberately jumping around in different time zones, or just dumbing it down for some reason. I guess we will know when the different rings of power come into it, and whether they have already been made or not. (By the time of Elendil all the rings were well and truely made.)

There are two great story lines to choose from - The forging of the rings with the involvement of Anatar, and also the being back of Sauron to Numenor and his corrupting of the Numenoreans. Many evils happened from both of these events but they are around 1,500 years apart...

One thing that also seems a bit silly is the loss of detail around heights. Galadriel is meant to be very tall - 6'4" - as are all elves. They are meant to be taller than normal men - and yet Halbrand towers over her. The only explanation for this might be that he is a Numenorean himself?

I would also expect the elves to have a more ethereal look and feel to them, especially the Nolder. After all, Galadriel is thousands of years old and should be wise and knowing beyond all others.

It seems there is a lack of reverence paid to The Lady of Lothlorien, which doesn't make sense as she would be almost angelic, Even to the average elf.

Maybe it's just that our Kate did such a fantastic job in the films that this new actor is taking a different approach... I know I'm being kind, but ultimately it comes down to choices of the producers...

What else...

I am enjoying the character of Arondir, plus the Harfoots are shaping up well. I love the look of the cities, especially Numenor. It's great having the maps too. I'm just hoping that it all comes together as it develops.

Obviously I'm a big fan of the Tolkien books and histories, and I hope the producers are too! The potential to keep these prequels going for many years is huge, so here's hoping they honour the integrity of the books.

I am enjoying this series though it is a bit drawn out. There is some good acting - Sam Neil, Kate Mulvany and a few others.

I find it hard to connect with a lot of the characters. Largely because they make such obviously bad decisions so often and try to cover up their tracks most of the time. It gets a bit predictable.

There have been quite a few twists and turns, most of which are implied an episode or so before they are revealed, making them less impactful when we find out.

It has a classic Australian feel to it, though I would love to see some Aussie drama that has characters that represent a smarter, more self aware side of the Australian psyche.

A good concept to work with but could have been so much more. It looked good visually but really just devolved into a Lord of the Flies story in space.

Most of the acting was like watching a high school play, suitable to the young adult genre and so quite predictable. Entertaining nevertheless.