Eli Idle

Beautiful visuals, sets are amazing, and there were some incredibly well done scenes (such as the volcanic eruption and fallout). But this show is sorely lacking in good writing, they are in dire need of shaking up the writers room. It seems like they have a lot of good characters in place, but just don't know how to write for them. Most disappointingly done character was by far Galadriel, which is a shame because I was very excited about seeing her in this show. I enjoyed the Harfoots, Nori was great, but there were things about their storyline and society that didn't make sense. I think the unfolding story between her and "The Stranger" that we are all 99% sure is Gandalf will be fun to watch. Elrond and Durin were by far the best part, as others have put it, it was the closest a storyline came to capturing that original Tolkien magic. Was not particularly pleased with the portrayal of the Elves, definitely fell badly short of Tolkien’s lore (although all their cities looked amazing). Although Numenor looks breathtakingly awesome, it failed to capture my heart or my interest, which again is disappointing because I was very excited about it being in this show. Overall there were some changes made to the lore the ultimately detracted from the story. I think if the writers can get their acts together (and they bring in some fresh blood) and they make some tweaks and adjustments to the storylines and to the world building, this show could perhaps be saved. In the mean time I will continue to watch mainly for the nostalgia, the beautiful visuals and music, Nori’s spunky spirit, and the Elrond and Durin bromance.

Although I absolutely love Kirsten Bell, unfortunately this show fails to live up to its comedic potential. Overall disappointing.