The Eagle and the Sceptre

I really wanted to like this and after the poor reviews for the first season I hoped there might have been a rethink. But no, just the same, still looks fantastic but also still slow, the actors struggling with an average script. Hard to escape the conclusion there is just not enough decent source material in all the various assorted add-ons in the original book. Every time I watch an episode I get drawn back to the original trilogy and have to ask, why bother? I feel sorry for everyone who worked on this to make it what it is, but at the end of the day - it's just not enough. I will stick with to the end but I'm really not sure why.

I won't go into great detail, as others have already covered the various issues with this show.

The original story is undeniably fantastic, and the scenery is visually stunning. Unfortunately, that's where the praise ends. The show has a superficial tone that undermines the depth and mystique I was expecting as a fan. It attempts to deliver a serious, dramatic atmosphere but ultimately falls short.

Good acting should be seamless, where you forget you're watching a performance. Here, it's painfully evident that the characters are acting, which detracts from the immersion. Rather than feeling like I'm watching a high-budget production, it often feels like a staged theatre play - though without the charm and nuance that such a setting can provide.

The dialogue is another weak point, often coming across as superficial or nonsensical, with the wrong tone for the scenes. The characters strive to appear deadly, mysterious, or emotionally complex, but they fail to convey these qualities convincingly.

While I can't pinpoint the main flaw that makes the show fall flat, the overall execution just doesn't work.

The Rings of Power, without a doubt, is made by people who fundamentally do not understand either the work or the message of Professor Tolkien. It's at best a fan fiction of Peter Jackson's movies (they shamelessly copy scenes and dialogue) but, unlike the original trilogy, this series lacks good writing, terrible acting, and appalling direction. The only thing I can rescue is the photography, but that's not enough. Friends, I'm a fan of Tolkien's work, but not a fundamentalist. I'm not offended when they change the race, color, or appearance of the characters as long as they do what they're supposed to do according to the original work. The Rings of Power borrows character names from Professor's legendary work to tell a kind of low-quality afternoon soap opera. I don't know who's to blame for such a calamity, but already into the third episode of the second season, things are getting worse and it's becoming increasingly boring.

Such a shame! Episode 1&2 were so much more exciting and entertaining than all of last season, really made me think they've learnt from their mistakes. Then this episode came on, started good but then just more and more and more boring talking scenes with the humans. And I enjoy good acting and dialogue, unfortunately this is more of the boring nonsense from Season 1. This show should do itself a favour and just focus on the characters that are actually working and driving the story forward as episode 3 really left me thinking "I may stop watching this show" being bored for an hour is not what entertainment is about. And to have such an amazing source material of stories and characters to use, and then present it in such a dull boring manner is a real shame to all Tolkien fans.

Like others, I thought the first series dragged, but I stuck with it. Then the first two episodes of season 2 dropped, and I thought things were looking up. Could it be that the showrunners, writers, and directors actually listened to all the criticism of the first season and injected some much-needed life into what should be a bit of an epic? Err... apparently not.

The overall impression from watching episode 3 of season 2 is that this has turned into a run-of-the-mill soap, complete with all the well-worn tropes and characters. It is simply set in a fantasy world. The writers are obviously more at home with daytime TV than adapting the masterpiece that is Tolkien's writing. They have taken the template of a soap and shoehorned Tolkien's world into it.

There are some flashes of good acting here, but they are few and far between. Although, I think a lot of the blame falls on the director. Even the best actors can appear wooden if the directing is wrong.

Of course, I will watch the rest of the season, but I am expecting the worst and hoping for the best. And what a sorry thing that is to say about a show based on the work of Tolkien.