Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 5, 2024 4:04:36 GMT -5
This is going to be long so I don't want to put it in "What Are You Watching?"
I watched the Rings of Power Season 2 finale. So, here is something of a Season wrap-up review, moreso than a specific episode post. Buckle in, this will be lengthy because this show is still messy. Spoilers ahead, obviously.
First of all, Season 2 is a big improvement over season 1. I didn’t like a lot of Season 1 and felt it was a massive waste of time. So I want to make clear that this is a big improvement before I list everything that is still a mess.
For what is going poorly:
I'd like to know who forced the producers into making only 8 episodes a season. It is clearly hurting the show. I know their original plan was for 10 episodes, so why did this change? The pacing is horrendous. The showrunners did an interview on a podcast I listen to and said they really think about the pacing a lot. But, their problem is that there simply isn't enough time to do what they are trying to do. This finale had bits of 6-8 different stories, depending on how many stories you want to break the Elf stuff into.
The show works great when it focuses on no more than 3 stories. But if they do that, they make the next episode a catch-up episode stuffed full of the plots they didn't get to. Which is what happened in E7 vs E8. They need to cut down how many stories they are telling, or make longer seasons.
They have a golden opportunity to ditch the Hobbit story entirely at this moment. This is such a low-stakes story compared to everything else. Like, every other story is "Sauron destroys this person/city/region". But the Hobbit story is "Hobbits searching for a home". Maybe the writers think it is good to balance out the heaviness of the other stories with this lighthearted tale. But instead when this story airs, it feels like all the momentum is being sucked out of the show.
This episode also finally had them solve their "who is this mysterious wizard?" mystery from Season 1. Surprise! It's Gandalf. Who cares that he wasn't really there at this time! Certainly not in Rhûn. As the showrunners say in this interview, "How can we make a Middle-Earth show and not include Tolkien's most beloved character?" Guys, I try to defend you, but this is pitiful. It is cheap and lazy. ESPECIALLY because they've had several pointless scenes of a new "Dark Wizard" this season. So, they solve the mystery of one wizard only to introduce *another* mysterious wizard! The mysteries are KILLING this show. Stop it! Why do they need Gandalf when Tolkien provides them with two unknown Blue Wizards? And now they indicate this "Dark Wizard" is one of those Blue Wizards. Which means that in a show which should feature zero Wizards, they'll now likely have three. Ugh.
What is truly indefensible about this is that these stories have to - by necessity - be about why two or three powerful wizards couldn't stop Sauron. And is this really the best use of our time? With eight episode seasons? Isn't it fine to just show that Elves and Men couldn't stop Sauron? Like, we *know* there are no wizards in the Siege of Eregion, the Downfall of Númenor and War of the Last Alliance. So, we have to come up with other stories to explain why the wizards didn't do anything. And wow, talk about the momentum being sucked out of the show.
The showrunners also have an obsession with answering questions about Hobbits and Wizards that A. Tolkien already answered or B. are simply not compelling. Like, "Ooh, why does Gandalf want to talk to Tom Bombadil at the end of LOTR?" Because they're old buddies? Gandalf knows everyone. Who cares about this, really? Or worse, "We want to know how Gandalf met the Hobbits and why he has this connection with them." Guys, Tolkien already answered that. (Pulled these showrunner quotes from the interview they did that I just listened to.)
Next, instead of just leaving Isildur in Númenor as it falls apart, they wanted him to have this whole separate story being in Middle-Earth, so they need screen time for this. But they don't really have that time for this, so we get a few scenes scattered over only 3 episodes.
The Númenor story in the finale kinda made no sense because the writers can't seem to decide what they want Pharazôn to be doing. There are missing story beats here. Pharazôn just proclaims "the Faithful are traitors who are in league with Sauron!" and it isn't revealed on screen why he thinks this. Is this all bullshit to keep himself in power? Does he really think Sauron has an influence on Númenor? We don't know. But... It is kind of important for the audience to know which rationale it is. Especially considering what happens to Númenor later! He's willing to kill his own people over this, and we don’t know if he really believes it? Again, everything is being rushed because they only have eight episode seasons. So, rather than showing us why things are happening, they are just moving characters to where they need to be.
So, all of that is to illustrate the problems the show continues to have: Characters are moved like game pieces without explaining to the audience why that stuff is happening, there are too many inserted plots not from Tolkien which are sucking up screentime, which then kill the momentum of the show. And truly, this lazy obsession with having Hobbits and Gandalf in a Middle-Earth story is really dragging it down.
For the stuff that really works:
Wow, everything around Sauron as a character is fantastic. The actor playing him, Charlie Vickers, was superb this season.
The writers said they figured that the Celebrimbor/Sauron story was at its core a psychological thriller about a toxic relationship, and wrote it accordingly. This was a great move. Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor were truly sensational in this. Edwards said in the post-show that they filmed all their scenes in chronological order. That was also a great idea, because you really do feel Celebrimbor's ongoing deterioration as he suffers under Sauron's torture. They also gave a lot of strength and dignity to Celebrimbor in the two final episodes as he realized how badly he fucked up and tries to fight off Sauron's grip on him. Wow, in that death scene the writers give him several awesome taunts to hurl at Sauron, and Vickers portrays Sauron as getting more and more pissed off and ultimately unhinged with anger over this. Great, great, great. I am truly going to miss both Charles Edwards and the chemistry these two actors had.
I also like that when the podcast interviewer asked the showrunners about Sauron’s motivations in this Celebrimbor death scene, they actually disagreed about this. Their apparent disagreement about this is making the character a bit inscrutable in a fun way, and Charlie Vickers is having a good time portraying this. They give all these lines to Sauron that make it seem like he really does desire a relationship with these Elves, but you’re not really sure if any of that is real, or if it is real, you can’t figure out why he wants this. And even while doing this, they still make him seem truly evil, scary and dangerous.
The writers do a fantastic job writing Sauron’s skill with manipulation. They understand that he succeeds because of how much truth he tells. They use his magical powers in fun ways. This is all good and it is the strongest part of the show.
For a season finale-specific thing, I want to commend the fight choreography between Galadriel and Sauron. Particularly the choreo for Sauron, and the way his crown was used as both an offensive weapon and defensive shield in this scene. I also liked how the choreo slyly emphasized how in control Sauron was, as he was mainly just using defensive moves for about 3/4 of the fight and clearly did not take several obvious opportunities to actually kill Galadriel. It makes it feel like he's just toying with her, while she's going full out trying to kill him. This makes it extra fun at the end when pulls out his magical reality-bending powers and succeeds in messing with her mind. I also like that he eventually lost patience and then truly attacked her in a pretty vicious way.
First of all, Season 2 is a big improvement over season 1. I didn’t like a lot of Season 1 and felt it was a massive waste of time. So I want to make clear that this is a big improvement before I list everything that is still a mess.
For what is going poorly:
I'd like to know who forced the producers into making only 8 episodes a season. It is clearly hurting the show. I know their original plan was for 10 episodes, so why did this change? The pacing is horrendous. The showrunners did an interview on a podcast I listen to and said they really think about the pacing a lot. But, their problem is that there simply isn't enough time to do what they are trying to do. This finale had bits of 6-8 different stories, depending on how many stories you want to break the Elf stuff into.
The show works great when it focuses on no more than 3 stories. But if they do that, they make the next episode a catch-up episode stuffed full of the plots they didn't get to. Which is what happened in E7 vs E8. They need to cut down how many stories they are telling, or make longer seasons.
They have a golden opportunity to ditch the Hobbit story entirely at this moment. This is such a low-stakes story compared to everything else. Like, every other story is "Sauron destroys this person/city/region". But the Hobbit story is "Hobbits searching for a home". Maybe the writers think it is good to balance out the heaviness of the other stories with this lighthearted tale. But instead when this story airs, it feels like all the momentum is being sucked out of the show.
This episode also finally had them solve their "who is this mysterious wizard?" mystery from Season 1. Surprise! It's Gandalf. Who cares that he wasn't really there at this time! Certainly not in Rhûn. As the showrunners say in this interview, "How can we make a Middle-Earth show and not include Tolkien's most beloved character?" Guys, I try to defend you, but this is pitiful. It is cheap and lazy. ESPECIALLY because they've had several pointless scenes of a new "Dark Wizard" this season. So, they solve the mystery of one wizard only to introduce *another* mysterious wizard! The mysteries are KILLING this show. Stop it! Why do they need Gandalf when Tolkien provides them with two unknown Blue Wizards? And now they indicate this "Dark Wizard" is one of those Blue Wizards. Which means that in a show which should feature zero Wizards, they'll now likely have three. Ugh.
What is truly indefensible about this is that these stories have to - by necessity - be about why two or three powerful wizards couldn't stop Sauron. And is this really the best use of our time? With eight episode seasons? Isn't it fine to just show that Elves and Men couldn't stop Sauron? Like, we *know* there are no wizards in the Siege of Eregion, the Downfall of Númenor and War of the Last Alliance. So, we have to come up with other stories to explain why the wizards didn't do anything. And wow, talk about the momentum being sucked out of the show.
The showrunners also have an obsession with answering questions about Hobbits and Wizards that A. Tolkien already answered or B. are simply not compelling. Like, "Ooh, why does Gandalf want to talk to Tom Bombadil at the end of LOTR?" Because they're old buddies? Gandalf knows everyone. Who cares about this, really? Or worse, "We want to know how Gandalf met the Hobbits and why he has this connection with them." Guys, Tolkien already answered that. (Pulled these showrunner quotes from the interview they did that I just listened to.)
Next, instead of just leaving Isildur in Númenor as it falls apart, they wanted him to have this whole separate story being in Middle-Earth, so they need screen time for this. But they don't really have that time for this, so we get a few scenes scattered over only 3 episodes.
The Númenor story in the finale kinda made no sense because the writers can't seem to decide what they want Pharazôn to be doing. There are missing story beats here. Pharazôn just proclaims "the Faithful are traitors who are in league with Sauron!" and it isn't revealed on screen why he thinks this. Is this all bullshit to keep himself in power? Does he really think Sauron has an influence on Númenor? We don't know. But... It is kind of important for the audience to know which rationale it is. Especially considering what happens to Númenor later! He's willing to kill his own people over this, and we don’t know if he really believes it? Again, everything is being rushed because they only have eight episode seasons. So, rather than showing us why things are happening, they are just moving characters to where they need to be.
So, all of that is to illustrate the problems the show continues to have: Characters are moved like game pieces without explaining to the audience why that stuff is happening, there are too many inserted plots not from Tolkien which are sucking up screentime, which then kill the momentum of the show. And truly, this lazy obsession with having Hobbits and Gandalf in a Middle-Earth story is really dragging it down.
For the stuff that really works:
Wow, everything around Sauron as a character is fantastic. The actor playing him, Charlie Vickers, was superb this season.
The writers said they figured that the Celebrimbor/Sauron story was at its core a psychological thriller about a toxic relationship, and wrote it accordingly. This was a great move. Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor were truly sensational in this. Edwards said in the post-show that they filmed all their scenes in chronological order. That was also a great idea, because you really do feel Celebrimbor's ongoing deterioration as he suffers under Sauron's torture. They also gave a lot of strength and dignity to Celebrimbor in the two final episodes as he realized how badly he fucked up and tries to fight off Sauron's grip on him. Wow, in that death scene the writers give him several awesome taunts to hurl at Sauron, and Vickers portrays Sauron as getting more and more pissed off and ultimately unhinged with anger over this. Great, great, great. I am truly going to miss both Charles Edwards and the chemistry these two actors had.
I also like that when the podcast interviewer asked the showrunners about Sauron’s motivations in this Celebrimbor death scene, they actually disagreed about this. Their apparent disagreement about this is making the character a bit inscrutable in a fun way, and Charlie Vickers is having a good time portraying this. They give all these lines to Sauron that make it seem like he really does desire a relationship with these Elves, but you’re not really sure if any of that is real, or if it is real, you can’t figure out why he wants this. And even while doing this, they still make him seem truly evil, scary and dangerous.
The writers do a fantastic job writing Sauron’s skill with manipulation. They understand that he succeeds because of how much truth he tells. They use his magical powers in fun ways. This is all good and it is the strongest part of the show.
For a season finale-specific thing, I want to commend the fight choreography between Galadriel and Sauron. Particularly the choreo for Sauron, and the way his crown was used as both an offensive weapon and defensive shield in this scene. I also liked how the choreo slyly emphasized how in control Sauron was, as he was mainly just using defensive moves for about 3/4 of the fight and clearly did not take several obvious opportunities to actually kill Galadriel. It makes it feel like he's just toying with her, while she's going full out trying to kill him. This makes it extra fun at the end when pulls out his magical reality-bending powers and succeeds in messing with her mind. I also like that he eventually lost patience and then truly attacked her in a pretty vicious way.
It was very fun watching Sauron viciously attack both Galadriel and Celebrimbor in this episode. Making him get really up-close and personal while trying to kill two people he'd had strong relationships with. This is why the inscrutable nature of the writing for him works. He can claim he values their partnerships, but also tries to kill them both in really messy, painful ways.
The Elendil side of the Númenor story is very strong. Lloyd Owen has proved to be a great casting choice. I also liked the relationship that developed between Elendil and Míriel. This was a genuinely good attempt at filling in some blanks in Tolkien’s story. This part of the story doesn’t suffer as much from the rushed nature, because these characters have clearly established motives. In fact, the writers used Season 2 to strongly define Elendil's character, which was desperately needed. So, we still understand why they are doing things, even against the backdrop of Pharazôn’s shifting proclamations.
The creation of the character Adar is a true strength of the show. This is a villain character who is understandable. He made a great foil for Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron. The writers also use him to show what happens to characters who get duped by Sauron and then get obsessed with revenge. They gave him clear motivations, and then showed how his obsession with Sauron overrode his logic and principles, flipped him to doing Sauron’s bidding, and in the end, it got him killed. By Sauron. This was a nice parallel story to what was going on with Sauron/Celebrimbor. And they manage to tie this to their not-great Season 1 story of how Galadriel gets duped by Sauron, perhaps making that story stronger in retrospect. I'm kind of sad to see this character go. He was a great show-only invention.
Finally, I’m putting the Khazad-Dûm Dwarves story here in the Positive column, because this was a positive with only one caveat, which I’ll get to at the end. All three main Dwarf actors are great. And this story was used to great effect to show exactly how the Dwarves Rings affected the holders. This story showed how a political crisis affects the characters on a deeply personal level. Family dysfunction by way of politics. The pacing wasn’t a problem here, everything playing out makes sense, and it has a strong link to the Sauron side of the story.
My only caveat here is that the timeline compression of the show has prompted the showrunners to move the Third Age destruction of Khazad-Dûm forward to this time in the Second Age. And in the S2 finale, the Dwarves find the Balrog. The King battles it, and then there’s a cave-in and the rest of the Dwarves are blocked off from the King and Balrog. So, the writers are now claiming this Balrog attack happens in waves. I’m not sure I like this, because now I’m left wondering why the hell these Dwarves remain in Khazad-Dûm when they know there is a Balrog there. Is “It’s behind a rock wall” really a sufficient reason to stay there? No one even proposes leaving? Really? I hope this is discussed in Season 3. Because it feels kind of insane to stay in a place where you know a Balrog is only one shift of rock away.
So, overall, a big improvement over season 1. Largely due to the writers abandoning most of the mysteries and instead doing a straightforward telling of the story. They nailed the Sauron/Celebrimbor Rings of Power story. And I’m saying that even though it went against some of the lore. The way the show did it worked for dramatic purposes. The Númenor story improved, but still needs work. The Khazad-Dûm story continued to be a strength.
Season MVPs: Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards, damn, they were both so good
The creation of the character Adar is a true strength of the show. This is a villain character who is understandable. He made a great foil for Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron. The writers also use him to show what happens to characters who get duped by Sauron and then get obsessed with revenge. They gave him clear motivations, and then showed how his obsession with Sauron overrode his logic and principles, flipped him to doing Sauron’s bidding, and in the end, it got him killed. By Sauron. This was a nice parallel story to what was going on with Sauron/Celebrimbor. And they manage to tie this to their not-great Season 1 story of how Galadriel gets duped by Sauron, perhaps making that story stronger in retrospect. I'm kind of sad to see this character go. He was a great show-only invention.
Finally, I’m putting the Khazad-Dûm Dwarves story here in the Positive column, because this was a positive with only one caveat, which I’ll get to at the end. All three main Dwarf actors are great. And this story was used to great effect to show exactly how the Dwarves Rings affected the holders. This story showed how a political crisis affects the characters on a deeply personal level. Family dysfunction by way of politics. The pacing wasn’t a problem here, everything playing out makes sense, and it has a strong link to the Sauron side of the story.
My only caveat here is that the timeline compression of the show has prompted the showrunners to move the Third Age destruction of Khazad-Dûm forward to this time in the Second Age. And in the S2 finale, the Dwarves find the Balrog. The King battles it, and then there’s a cave-in and the rest of the Dwarves are blocked off from the King and Balrog. So, the writers are now claiming this Balrog attack happens in waves. I’m not sure I like this, because now I’m left wondering why the hell these Dwarves remain in Khazad-Dûm when they know there is a Balrog there. Is “It’s behind a rock wall” really a sufficient reason to stay there? No one even proposes leaving? Really? I hope this is discussed in Season 3. Because it feels kind of insane to stay in a place where you know a Balrog is only one shift of rock away.
So, overall, a big improvement over season 1. Largely due to the writers abandoning most of the mysteries and instead doing a straightforward telling of the story. They nailed the Sauron/Celebrimbor Rings of Power story. And I’m saying that even though it went against some of the lore. The way the show did it worked for dramatic purposes. The Númenor story improved, but still needs work. The Khazad-Dûm story continued to be a strength.
Season MVPs: Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards, damn, they were both so good