The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power has come to an end, with the eighth episode titled, ‘Alloyed,’ airing on Friday, October 14. I must say it's been a long journey filled with disappointment and too many cringeworthy moments to count.
Now one of the most common complaints among J.R.R Tolkien fans and popular critics was that male characters were portrayed as ‘weak’ and ‘cowardly’ throughout the series, among other things.
This is something even Tesla CEO Elon Musk Tweeted about after the first two episodes dropped over Labor Day weekend.
Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2022
I think it’s safe to say that most of us don’t take issue with strong female characters in shows - I certainly don’t. That being said, it would be nice if there was a little balance, right?
The key to good fiction is believability, and one could argue that the writers of Rings of Power focused on cramming in the woke feminist agenda, in turn, throwing plausibility out the window.
In this Amazon series you get the sense that the writers wanted you to know that women are stronger, smarter and better than men. It felt forced to say the least, which lead to a plethora of cringy, awkward, and unrealistic looking scenes — filled with beta males.
For example Galadriel’s (Morfydd Clark) prison escape in episode four, 'The Great Wave.' In this scene, she successfully takes on four large armored guards with ease. Sure it's fantasy, but excuse me while I 'LOL.'
Guard: Step forward.
(Fighting)
Halbrand: I wouldn’t advise that.
Pharazôn: I can’t very well let her leave.
Halbrand: You could, if you knew exactly where she was going.
In episode 5, ‘Partings,' Galadriel wields two swords against soldiers in training - of course effortlessly - and then twirls around with her sword while the others continually trip over themselves.
And if that wasn’t believable enough for you, then maybe the ice troll versus Galadriel fight scene from episode one, 'A Shadow of the Past,' will be.
(Fighting scene)
Elf: We should have never have come in here.
Galadriel: We’ll leave soon enough, the order is given, we march at first light!
Elf: Then you should do so alone.
Galadriel wasn’t the only female hero in this series. Bronwyn Saves Arondir from a giant, scary orc in episode 6, 'Udun.'
Speaking of heroes, take a close look at this scene from episode 3, 'Adar.' Another brave and fearless female character is the first to try to take on the terrifying, beastly warg, while the male characters initially stand behind her as she takes action. (Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well.)
Big oof.
Some of this may explain why Metacritic users gave the series an unfavorable user score of 2.4 out of 10. And over at Rotten Tomatoes, the audience reviews hovered in the upper 30's (out of 100), which hasn't changed since the release of the first two episodes. Ouch!
Forbes senior contributing writer Erik Kain, who covers entertainment and culture for the outlet penned another unfavorable review after the release of the finale headlined, “‘The Rings Of Power’ Season 1 Finale Recap And Review: A Dreadful Mess.”
The Rings Of Power has wrapped up its first season and all I can say is...shame on everyone who had a hand in this travesty.
I’ve never seen an adaptation of a major work so badly abused, so fundamentally altered or so disrespectfully handled as the creators of The Rings Of Power have treated The Lord Of The Rings. Tolkien’s creation barely shines through the dreck.
I gave this show a chance. I went in with low expectations and for a moment was charmed by what I saw, but quickly the cracks began to show in the story and its heroes. Of Mithril, this show is most certainly not crafted.
Popular YouTuber Gary Buechler at Nerdrotic didn't mince words either when it came to his thoughts on the Amazon series, referring to the show as an "unmitigated disaster."
In the video below he hilariously explains everything that went wrong from his perspective.
Amazon is in full PANIC mode now that all 8 episodes are out of this abysmal, repurposed, contrived, predictable, boring, hot flaming dumpster fire of a show known as The Rings of Power. Possibly the worst show in the history of the primary world.
Some in the media and the "woke mob" have been labeling those with legitimate critiques about the series as “racists" because of the diverse cast.
You see, no one is allowed to have a negative opinion about the series because of Middle Earth’s new more diverse and gender-balanced characters - or at least that's what is seems like.
Those who are accusing critics of 'racism' are dishonest and lazy. Want proof? Take a look at the difference between audience scores for The Rings of Power and House of Dragon.
The House of Dragon is also a high-profile, fantasy TV show with a diverse cast, and it happens to be hugely successful, with an average audience score of 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
So it appears the so called 'racist backlash' against Rings of Power actually had nothing to do with the new diverse cast and more to do with the plot, the dialogue, the special effects, the list goes on.
So far there's no word on when exactly season two will come out. But according to The Hollywood Reporter the fantasy series has already begun production.
Hopefully season two won't be as dreadful.
