Eric Svoboda

I have been waiting for this show to come out since it was announced five years ago. As a huge Tolkien fan who has read all three of his main Middle-Earth books (LOTR, the Hobbit, the Silmarillion), I was excited to learn that it would beyond just the War of the Ring and cover the Second Age. However, as more information came out about it, I began to grow worried, and seeing the first three episodes proved my fears right. The lore was butchered overall (granted, they didn't have the rights to all the material, but then again, why would you make a show based on something you don't have the rights to?) and what I did not expect to feel from this show at was boredom. The pacing is so slow and I just couldn't care less about the original characters and their storylines (the Hobbits especially, they shouldn't even be in it). The actual Tolkien characters were the only ones I vaguely cared about seeing and despite a few good scenes (the Dwarves and Celebrimbor talking about the Silmirils were pretty good), they just felt wrong, especially Galadriel who isn't even the same character anymore (she got bullied as a child, really?). I gave this two stars solely because the visuals were astounding, though there's room for improvement (Galadriel's fight with the snow troll looked absolutely horrible). I doubt I'll keep watching and will probably cancel my prime subscription because this is the only reason I got it.