Ella West

I was initially skeptical about this show, and I actually hadn’t planned on watching it at all. In my opinion, Lord of the Rings was one of the best movies in cinema history, and Amazon, who had recently butchered Wheel of Time, was really just going to destroy another epic fantasy I loved in a watered down, cash-grab type of show. I was not excited to see the world which Tolkien worked so diligently to create and explain twisted in the hands of people who didn’t know or care about the unique backstory of middle earth. But, after a friend forced me to watch the first episode, I was hooked. This show is absolutely incredible! There are some minor problems that I have with certain characters, (Galadriel is a little too bloodthirsty in the first few episodes, even if she redeems herself later, and Gil Galad deserves to be portrayed as a little less of a jerk in my opinion) but overall, the new characters were intriguing, (Aronidr has quickly become one of my favorites, his relationship with Bronwyn is very well written!) and the old characters were handled with care and their stories were expounded upon rather than destroyed. The writers, surprisingly, stayed very true to Tolkien’s works, and even if they added a few details or changed timelines slightly, nothing was drastically different enough to make me upset. The finale of this show is really what did it for me though. The big reveals were not obvious, but nor were they shocking. I didn’t feel like the creators were dragging the mysteries out just for the sake of keeping viewers watching—the plot twists felt very natural and compelling, leaving me not feeling stupid for not having guessed it, but also making me excited for season 2. Good job Amazon! I am impressed! Please keep this up and don’t ruin it!