The hour was so late and the episode was so long, we’d no rest nor comfort, no comfort but song, not enough rest to tackle 202 and 203. Unlikely to watch them before Saturday, so any posts on them would go up Sunday at the soonest. These are impressions, rather than deep thoughts, and below the cut, they include spoilers for anything that crosses my mind, including rumors about late-season-two plot developments.

The Short Version: so far, I really feel like the events of season one should have been covered in about four or five episodes, and the events of this episode should have been part of the second half. If we get to a moment in a later episode where I can honestly say: “I think season one should have ended here,” I will try to remember to point it out. Maybe the editing geeks who spend their time endlessly recutting the PJ Hobbit movies and the 1980s Dune will take a shot at ROP whenever it ends. ROP’s acting and visuals remain good overall, but dark scenes are barely watchable even in a dark room, and the day for night shooting in the Rhun scenes could have come out of the old spaghetti westerns that the Spanish location used for Rhun undoubtedly hosted at one time or another. Thought the directing was good if self-indulgent. Writing seems somewhat improved, but is a long way from flawless.

Continue reading “Rings of Power: episode 201 impressions” →

This was the only one that seemed addressed to the kind of viewer I am:

https://decider.com/2024/08/28/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-season-2-on-prime-video-review

Yeah, I liked Krull, and the best fifteen or so minutes of Labyrinth and Legend, and the climax of Return of the Jedi, where Star Wars really doubles down on the fantasy. I liked Jason and the Argonauts and Seventh Voyage of Sindbad (even though I find stop-motion kind of overrated as a technique.) I liked Darby O’ Gill. I’m indulgent of the “Arwen and horse mystically rescue Aragorn” sequence in the Two Towers. I’m indulgent of the Hobbit movies, which somehow magically improve a fair amount in the extended version. This guy makes the case that ROP is flawed but also endearingly nerdy and mystical, and that’s probably the best summary of what it has going for it that I’ve seen.

(Disclaimer, watching at least the opener and maybe all three episodes this evening with my co-watchers; if I manage a reaction post it will probably land on Friday.)

Note: my co-watchers and I were originally planning on watching 108 and 201 as a double feature on Thursday and maybe holding off on 202 and 203 until Friday, but a mystery anthology series we watch handed us one of those bummer episodes where the murderer is the only sympathetic character, and we wanted something to wash off the taste.

Continue reading “Weird Wednesday: Rings of Power Rewatch: Episode 108” →