Critique of Rings of Power Season 2 - Episodes 1 to 3 - LotR: The Rings of Power Season 2 Review

Here is my Critique and Review of Episodes 1 to 3 of The Rings of Power Season 2. I focus less on the lore side and more on what problems the show still has on a structural and writing level. Though I think many elements got better, there is still room for improvement.

I hope the writing quality of LotR: The Rings of Power Season 2 increases further.

► Links:

► Disclaimer:
I have permission of the artists to use their art works.

► Artwork and special thanks to:

► Sources:
The Lord of The Rings (1954-1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion (1977)
The Hobbit (1937; 1951)
Unfinished Tales (1980)
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
Morgoth's Ring (1993)
The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)

Maps:
Amazon (John Howe)
Edited by: Murdo
Aman map by ThePhilosophersGames

► Mistakes:
-

► Playlists:
If you are interested in Tolkien's legendary fantasy Epic The Lord of the Rings and his related works, here some recommendations:

► Time Codes:
Intro - 0:00

► Social Media:
The Philosopher's Games / TPhGames / TPhLore aka Chris

► Of Games and Rings Podcast:

#RingsOfPower #LotR #LordOfTheRings

[theamazingbatboy]

Chris getting worked up over the ongoing wizard-baiting in Season 2 🤭

[Enerdhil]

You are right about the pacing being a problem. They lull you to sleep and then suddenly wake you up.

[fpvx]

The Venom crossover in EP01 was weird :D

[phoule]

I was hoping it would be a Blue wizard, but the Harfoot connection and the fact that Gandalf eventually gets given Cirdan's ring, makes it pretty clear now that it's Gandalf.

[AnthonyBerkshire]

12:32 Sauron is also really lucky that Adar turned the Southlands into Mordor and that he wants to fight him now with orcs in Eregion.

[dobri]

What a great analysis. Always love your videos, mellon :)

[gang-ridertv]

What burns me about the end of Galadirel's season 1 arc and the begining of her season 2 arc is that she had no reason to rat out Sauron the literal demon she is hell-bent on destroying. And they almost write a reason for this when they mention Celeborn is missing: WHY NOT HAVE SUARON HOLD CELEBORN HOSTAGE AND BLACKMAIL GALADRIEL FOR HER SILENCE OVER THIS?

[istari]

The show will always be handicapped by its failure to follow what Tolkien wrote. Furthermore, the writing remains abysmal and until that is fixed, the show won't even manage to be mediocre.

[geir]

I enjoy your work on analysing the rings of power.

[redscorpion]

I enjoy your work thoroughly. You have a natural talent for narrating.

PS: How cool is Charles Vickers?

[reflectiverambling]

*raises hand* Um, look I don't have confirmation on this... but I know you're not afraid to call a spade a spade as the saying goes. I keep hearing people say they cut Bronwyn because Naz decided to pull away from acting. Naz made a post/statement saying that her decision not to come back for season two was made before she decided to step back for her activism. this is PURELY speculation but with the writers saying they had most of season 2 written the same time as one, I have high suspicions that they always planned to kill her, but didn't let the actors in on everything they planned for their characters. Because of the different tones of the announcement I'm lead to assume that Naz pulled out/didn't want to come back for a death scene because what would be (and I am thinking is) a textbook case of fridging given that her other career is centered around giving a voice to women whose lives are controlled by and viewed in relation only to men. I hate to be the broken record. You've seen me in your streams, you know I try to be a positive force and I genuinely like this show a lot more than many... but it truly pains me to not see people call the show out on this. I fully admit that I developed a strong attachment to the character and personally admire Naz for her other efforts and work. So yes, I am bias. That doesn't make it an invalid possibility that I believe deserves to be questioned.

now that I'm off my pedestal, i'm under the impression specifically because eagle doesn't talk that it's not a manwe-eagle. The gossip about it before makes it stink of an opportunity to find an eagle trainer of sorts and manufacture that.

also, dwarves do remain a highlight for me. And CIrdan. He felt perfect to me.

[Enerdhil]

Also, when Elrond figured out Halbrand was Sauron, he didn't day anything either. A totally lazy and talentless team, Payne and McKay have become.

[ManikSethisuwan]

I agree. This tedious suspense over who the "Stranger" is has gone on so long many just don't care anymore.

[melvinpjotr]

excellent analysis. I also mostly like the acting and the scenery is nice too. The writing is better than season 1, meaning the dialogues (of the individual scenes) are generally well written. However, the overarching plotline seems quite often implausible and the actions of the main characters often seem so "out of character". I fully agree with you, that Gilgalad, Galadriel and Celebrimbor, e.g. the wisest of the wise, act in ways that seem incredibly shallow. The wisest of the elves with centuries of experience, look like they cannot properly evaluate the risks of their actions. Hey, Eregion is in grave peril, so lets send a normal messenger - without giving a lot of thought about what could happen when the message does not reach its recipient...

[lyannastark]

Just watched episode 4, it's surprisingly good.

[Etlelele]

I don't really agree with the criticism about the messengers. They show two; we don't know how many there actually were, or who they were. A few good riders is a perfectly reasonable way to send an urgent message.

[develhuntr]

I enjoyed season 1 while still having dome issues with it. Season 2 is looking amazing so far.

[SaintFort]

I'm hoping that this will be an objective review, rather than a collection of sarcastic compliments and exaggerated negative criticisms.

[_Scrazy_]

I think Galadriel keeping things to herself actually isn't that far off from the text. While they don't have the rights, "Then Galadriel spoke to Melian of the Silmarils, and of the slaying of King Finwë at Formenos; but still she said no word of the Oath, nor the Kinslaying, nor of the burning of the ships at Losgar"
She could have told Melian important info just as she could have instantly revealed Halbarand as Sauron.

[AnthonyBerkshire]

Galadriels brother wears the mark of Adar. We learned that in S2