Amazon's attempt at Game of Thrones - expensive flop, or the next big thing?

I've just read the book for the first time and rewatched the films (incredible all-around experience) so I'm in a good place to watch this!

 

In truth, I think it's impossible to tell right now but from what I can gather, I certainly think it's worth giving a shot given it clearly had an awful lot of work put into it and they are honouring the source material and taking details from the lengthy appendices, half of the fanboy whining I've seen seems to be relating to the more diverse casting and prominent female characters which is typical toxic fandom (I'm quite new to Tolkien, so I'm sure there are more genuine concerns from those invested in the deeper mythology, but I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to comment on that x).

 

There are definitely reasons to be cautious - Wheel of Time hasn't gone down so well and this is likely having no input from any creative team for the films or surviving people linked to Tolkien's work (though that's pretty difficult) - but I feel we know so little yet, it's hard to say. It will definitely get review bombed when it comes out, how well it holds up depends on how good the overall critical reception is and if the initial detractors can be converted.

 

Watchmen is a recent show that has shown it isn't impossible to make a modern adaptation of a seminal 'unadaptable' piece of work that tells its own story yet honours the themes of the original, even when fans and the original creator aren't convinced. Obviously, this has very different circumstances and a lot more to live up to, but if it's more of that and less Disney's Star Wars, we could be in the right hands.

It looks like a video game.

 

 

I want it to be good but first impressions aren't great so far

The main thing I've seen so far that annoys me is the dwarf woman character - literally supposed to be a race without sexual dimorphism. And the fact that they're condensing events that take place over thousands of years but that was inevitable - the rings are forged like 1300 years before the final battle you see at the beginning of the LOTR movies.

 

The concept is good, it's a great era of Middle-Earth history that's been pretty untapped by Tolkien's full-length writings and potentially the Sauron and Ar-Pharazon dynamic could be legendary if they get to that (though I imagine that'd be the climax to the ending based on roles announced so far). The first season probably being set in Eregion (the ruined area south of Rivendell and outside Moria) where the whole forging happens seems the right start.

 

I have a lot of more underlying concerns about that trailer that seem like it may be trending towards the Hobbit on production values and not the legendary LOTR ones too. Whelmed, I guess.

It looks like a video game.

That was my thoughts too, I don’t understand why everyone is covered in glossy CGI? Maybe it’s an early version and they’re still working on it but if is representative of what the whole show will look like, I think it’ll vastly underperform. They’re not really showing where the money is being spent.

Anyone watched yet?

I have watched episode 1 and I thought it was brilliant!

I rather enjoyed it too, it certainly looked amazing, I was worried about that first trailer but Middle Earth looked wonderful with so many different environments. I confess though I finally read the books, I never got round to the appendices so this is mainly new, but I mainly got it. I did really enjoy Galadriel's parts, and the actress seems quite the spitting image of her, the stories outside of that particularly with the Harfoots seemed a bit less engaging, but I certainly get why they were there to invoke the spirit of the hobbits etc. Arondir's story and meeting someone seemed to move way too quickly, but I did really like the Human-Elf conflict.

 

I'd put it around on par with House of the Dragon, both solid openings with room for improvement that I hope they can achieve. This hasn't been review bombed as much as I thought so far at least from first glance, maybe there's hope for it yet x

yeah this isn't looking all too bad!

 

I've watched episode 1, and I'm going straight onto episode 2. Very nice setting in Forodwaith and Tirharad in particular, both beautiful vestigial regions of Middle-Earth and the latter is great for depicting the start of evil and what will eventually become Mordor.

 

I was expecting a huge car-crash but production values admittedly look great so far, the hobbits perhaps don't seem so important yet but surely will become later, Galadriel has a great actress. Elrond seems a bit smarmy and the elf-king (I presume Gil-galad, but his name wasn't said) hasn't really shown too much. Definitely looking forward to seeing Celebrimbor in action though.

 

I rather enjoyed it too, it certainly looked amazing, I was worried about that first trailer but Middle Earth looked wonderful with so many different environments. I confess though I finally read the books, I never got round to the appendices so this is mainly new, but I mainly got it. I did really enjoy Galadriel's parts, and the actress seems quite the spitting image of her, the stories outside of that particularly with the Harfoots seemed a bit less engaging, but I certainly get why they were there to invoke the spirit of the hobbits etc. Arondir's story and meeting someone seemed to move way too quickly, but I did really like the Human-Elf conflict.

 

This is mostly new as well! The appendices just give you an abridged version of the Silmarillion (which if you haven't read it, is a HUGE Bible/history book covering the First Age and the war that was talked about in the first 5 minutes), some important family trees, and then a timeline of the 3441 years of the Second Age and the 3000 years of the Third Age where LOTR happened.

 

This is set at the end of the Second Age now - though events that happened midway through the Second Age in the appendices are also happening here, condensing the timeline, but I don't believe we ever got any full-length writings on the Second Age, just a description of the main events.

 

edit, they didn't mention familial relationships between Elrond, the king and Galadriel so I guess they're not making that bit so important but if it helps, this is the Noldor noble family tree which includes all of the main elf characters (outside of Arondir, who I think is a creation for this show) - adds a bit to their interpersonal dynamics that the king is sending away his cousin for example:

 

(silmarillion spoilers)

 

(also almost ALL of the names on here that aren't Galadriel, Elrond, Gil-galad and Celebrimbor died in the First Age war, to give an impression of how brutal that was. Galadriel's brother mentioned here I guess is Finrod Felagund, as he did indeed die in battle with Sauron)

 

Watched episode 2 now, hope my comments aren’t spoilers as it’s been available to watch for a day now.

 

So, hobbits are Irish, Dwarves are Scottish and Elves are English? :lol:

 

If the meteorite man turns out to be a wizard, I’ll be well annoyed as they arrived by ship at the Grey Havens.

Watched episode 2 now, hope my comments aren’t spoilers as it’s been available to watch for a day now.

 

So, hobbits are Irish, Dwarves are Scottish and Elves are English? :lol:

 

If the meteorite man turns out to be a wizard, I’ll be well annoyed as they arrived by ship at the Grey Havens.

 

All dwarves are always Scottish :D the curse of British and Irish accents signifying an old otherness of English that's still intelligible to the USA audience.

 

I feel he might be a wizard, he has to be a Maiar because of already shown magic powers. I just hope it's not Gandalf and they're trying to do a cutesy origin story for his affinity with hobbits. Some sources say that the Blue wizards arrived in Middle-Earth earlier so I wouldn't be mad if it's one of them - though then where's the other one? The other reasonable option is that this is actually Sauron.

I've only seen the first episode, but from all the reviews I've read it's mostly world building and setting up all the different stories so I have no idea of names except I can't look past Lenny Henry :lol:

Really enjoyed those first two episodes, can't wait for next week's episode.

A solid first two episodes, not been mind blowing but there’s a lot of shows that started of slow in this vain and became epic so I still have high hopes

I feel similarly. They’ve been okay but nothing all out amazing. I feel like it would have benefited from fleshing out certain stories more rather than split time evenly across the arcs, it’s difficult to get particularly attached at the moment

New episode, they've focused on a few stories, added in a few more compelling threads (episode spoilers)

as a longtime Númenor fanboy, that panned reveal over Númenor's city looked stunning! Really got me emotional. Especially with all the anticipation as to who the sailors were, though I figured that the main reason Galadriel was out at sea in the first place was to bring Númenor into the story. Especially given that it so clearly looked like another Gondor which I'd never really thought about in terms of design choice but makes so much sense. Of course it looks like Gondor, that's the whole point! And then Elendil and Isildur's family looks like a great and interesting start for a bit more human drama, with Isildur having a sister, potentially very good. And I was so afraid they'd cut Anárion but he got a mention even, though it does sound like they've made him the older brother of Isildur instead of the younger. Definitely a nice bit of conflict in Númenor between what's already there and the new arrivals. Pharazon, I was expecting him to be younger and more full of himself but I can see where they might go with this, Miriel and Elendil are both great casting for sure though.

Meanwhile, it seems weird but hearing Orc voices and seeing their petty cruelty was nostalgic even, they captured the spirit of the Orcs in the original trilogy very well there, far better than the Hobbit's attempt at making Azog an unhinged beast.

 

The Harfoots were the weakest part of the episode - without any lore connection, their society seems really strange and even cruel that they are nomads but they leave their weak behind and put a struggling cart at the back because of the misadventures of one of the family members. But I'm mostly treating it as a chance to put more light-hearted stuff into the episode and carry this mystery of the Stranger for a little longer. Sadoc's speech was pretty funny and then later moving as he went through the harfoots who'd been left behind.

 

(future spoilers using info I know from the Appendices/theorising)

 

Nice choice to put Pharazon in the 'chancellor' role just so genre-savvy people know from the beginning he's going to betray the Queen (well, forcibly marry her, his cousin at that, and declare himself King as the Appendices go but that's by-the-by). The Appendices do say that Tar-Palantir, the Queen's father, is still king at this point, and Miriel never rules as an official Númenor queen, so I was a bit surprised to see her ruling but she's a regent and Palantir was a bit of a discredited ruler as far as I know so that makes sense.

 

Halbrand is real interesting, I thought he might be a member of the house of Haleth (a powerful First Age tribe of Men) because of his name but the way this is shaking out, he's a strong contender for being Sauron. Sauron is supposed to arrive in Númenor and corrupt the royal household, in disguise of course, that is one of his most famous specialties, perhaps, say, as the displaced leader of a tribe of men from the South.

 

Actually, that's the thing. Sauron is also supposed to work his way through Eregion, influencing the creation of the Rings AND also corrupt Númenor, leading to their downfall. Now it's apparently happening concurrently, the main thing I'm watching out for is where he's going to be. So perhaps he goes to Eregion first, and Halbrand isn't Sauron. There's no one, yet, in Eregion who's a candidate for being Sauron in disguise.

 

And also, who is Adar? And The Stranger? They can't ALL be Sauron - inb4 they actually all are.