- Based on the novel The Lord of the Rings and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay (Showrunners)
- September 1, 2022 to Present
- Prime Video
Series Cast
- Galadriel-Morfydd Clark
- Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot-Markella Kavenagh
- Poppy Proudfellow-Megan Richards
- Elrond-Robert Aramayo
- The High King of the Elves Gil-galad-Benjamin Walker
- Arondir-Ismael Cruz Córdova
- Celebrimbor-Charles Edwards
- The Stranger-Daniel Weyman
- King Durin III-Peter Mullan
- Prince Durin IV-Owain Arthur
- Sauron / human Halbrand / the Elf Annatar “Lord of Gifts”-Charlie Vickers
- Disa-Sophia Nomvete
- Elendil-Lloyd Owen
- Queen Regent of Númenor Míriel-Cynthia Addai-Robinson
- Pharazôn-Trystan Gravelle
- Isildur-Maxim Baldry
- Eärien-Ema Horvath
- Adar-Sam Hazeldine
- Kemen-Leon Wadham
- Círdan-Ben Daniels
- The Dark Wizard-Ciarán Hinds
- Estrid-Nia Towle
- Tom Bombadil-Rory Kinnear
Sauron makes his move.
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Doomed to Die
- Directed by Charlotte Brändström
- Written by J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay and Justin Doble
- September 26, 2024
Doomed to Die is the prelude to the climax of the season and, well, it just doesn’t feel like part of a climax to anything. We have a big battle occurring and it feels like nothing. Maybe it is because the battle is hard to follow. Not in ‘I don’t know what’s going on’ but ‘I have no sense of how it’s progressing.’ Who has the upper hand at a moment? What effect is one event or another that gets shown have on what’s going on? I can think back to the older Star Trek shows. Despite being in space you knew what was going on and you knew how things were progressing. Here not so much.
And who is commanding the elves? Elrond (Robert Aramayo) seems to be in charge of the forces but the High King of the Elves Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) is present, though I can’t recall any commands or any real lines coming from the character. You would think that a significant leader would be in charge. It would be like the President turning over a cabinet meeting to his wife.
The appearance of the troll should have been a significant moment. It’s a big and powerful creature and its inclusion in something was teased two or three episodes ago. A behemoth shows up and gets taken out. I don’t think it spent maybe three minutes on screen. And given the way it died laughing I expected it to of been a distraction for something else, but nope.
I guess that element was supposed to parallel that the suicide bombing orc in the Lord of the Rings films. While that one was shocking this had absolutely no impact. That was the culmination of events. This was just randomly tossed in.
Adar, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), and Elrond all know Sauron is in Eregion. They all know he is a serious threat the likes of which must not only be stopped but utterly destroyed. Not only a threat to some but a threat to all things. Yet a battle amongst themselves is called for. This is after Elrond and Adar have a confab over Galadriel.
And that leads to something nonsensical. After they talk, Galadriel loses her usefulness as a hostage because Elrond decides to attack anyway. So why does Adar keep her alive? Oh yeah. For the cool escape scene because the guards never searched her when Elrond was right up on her. Nobody thought to check?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a series that has relied heavily on coincidence to get to the next leg of the story. Used properly coincidence can be uplifting and cool. They try to do that here with Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) coming across Galadriel at just the right moment. It felt like more rushing to get to the next point.
This episode does not think things through like the damming of the river around Eregion so they can run across the riverbed that has been underwater for ages rather than cross the newly created rock bridge. Dams back up water and that dam should flooded the forests and woods. While there is magic and fantasy creatures, unless they are used you cannot ignore real world consequences of actions.
The direction and the acting are indifferent making what should have been an epic episode and the prelude to the climax to everything that has been occurring in the season falls flat. At $1 billion this is the most expensive show ever made and it’s as if these people have no idea how to tell a story.
Doomed to Die wanted to be cool rather than engaging, and it certainly shows.
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Shadow and Flame
- Directed by Charlotte Brändström
- Written by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay
- October 3, 2024
While the Balrog scene was cool it just didn’t have the punch that should have. It felt…obligatory. What was meant to be the culmination of the emotional struggle between King Durin (Peter Mullan) and Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) was dropped in. No sense of a strong closeness before he wore the ring and no sense of struggle while wearing the ring unlike the films.
The problem with King Durin’s death redemption as well as other elements in this episode and show is that none of its earned. It is handed to the audience. That is why there’s no impact. It’s just a part of the story, but not a part of the story that makes you feel anything.
With all the plots crammed in per episode (usually) when did The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) find the Harfoots in their settlement? Was something left out? Or did I forget because it was shown and they moved on quickly? In the context of the episode it felt like it happened a few minutes before we saw them and a few minutes after their last appearance.
Perhaps the best moment of the episode is between Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers). It has some dramatic tension and alludes to what we know will happens but making the ultimate summation of evil cry shed a tear? Celebrimbor may point out all the things that will happen but ultimate evil feeling sad? I think perhaps this episode, as well as many others are plagued with moral relativism.
There are several moments in Shadow and Flame meant to be shocking but because of plot armor we know they are not. A prequel of any type is always tough. You need to be careful of what you do with characters that the audience knows survives. Putting them in perpetual danger or situations where they should die but you know they don’t rarely works. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) fell from a very high cliff. How does she survive? Elves are immortal but not indestructible. Barring some physical damage which would kill a human being they live forever. Humans can’t live falling off of a high cliff. It was placed in for drama but you cannot create drama with blatant plot armor.
The Númenor subplot comes and goes rather quickly. It has all the intensity of a CW teen drama. And that is being kind. Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel looks irritated rather than blind. Plenty of blind individuals posting videos on social media to study. Watch those rather than take on the stance of an irritated patron at Applebee’s about to go off on the manager.
The big reveal of The Stranger storyline? We learned how Gandalf (Daniel Weyman) got his name. Yay? Ciarán Hinds was kinda waisted here. The parting of ways between Gandalf and Nori was ‘Meh.’ Why was this such a downswing? It did nothing to give a sense of conclusion or excite for another season.
Visually impressive. Shadow and Flame looks fantastic. From the costuming to the special effects-all impressive. But much like a beautiful car with a busted engine it’s ultimately not worth it.
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The major issue with this whole series is that there are too many plotlines going on. Eight episodes of a season is not enough to juggle everything they wish to juggle. At least not well. They know what they want to do but they don’t know how to set it up. Or they can’t because they don’t have enough time. Visually it’s worth the reported billion dollars. As a story no. So much is simply wasted. It’s extraneous. It does not feed into the larger narrative.
But then again there are multiple storylines going on in the show at any given time and it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on. Making what should be a dangerous and serious moment lack impact. Though this episode is finally pulling together disparate elements.
And what was the point of the Númenor storyline? I believe I said it a few times that it that wants to be like Game of Thrones but is not nearly as sophisticated. Sauron is a concern, but his presence is tangential to this narrative and not significant.
As American fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is adequate. It’s better than most fantasy that originates from the United States. But as Tolkien or fantasy in general it’s just not good. It’s rushed. It checks off a list and relies on coincidence to get to the next stage of the story. Little is earned.
If you want something cool to look at then this is not a bad option. But if you want something meaty and substantive, there are better things out there. I think Farscape is still available on Amazon Prime. Go watch that. Not fantasy but definitely better.
Warren Watched A Movie 