The Guardian review of RoP, Season 1

[Ugluk]

Ouch

The world’s most expensive show – which looked like an episode of Hollyoaks, only with woeful acting – was so inept that every episode left you sniggering

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/17/now-its-over-lets-come-out-and-say-it-the-rings-of-power-was-a-

 

[Radaghast]

That link is broken.

 

[Deimos]

Try this one: Guardian review of RoP

 

[Radaghast]

Interesting. If I'm not mistaken The Guardian was one of the show's early defenders

 

[ZehnWaters]

Even ignoring all of the normal contentious issues like accuracy to lore:
The acting was weak.
The dialogue was weak but thought it was deep.
There were internal contradictions.

 

[Radaghast]

Agree with the article, except for this bit:

At its best – largely thanks to the thrilling, urgent Morfydd Clark, who clearly felt the sting of every word she spoke — The Rings of Power came off as a pretty good prestige drama.

Just... no. I don't know what is meant by 'prestige drama' but Clark "thrilling" and "urgent"? Well, maybe, but not in a good way.

 

[Deimos]

Interesting. If I'm not mistaken The Guardian was one of the show's early defenders

And the Guardian admitting that it was wrong about its initial assessment is a mark of integrity.
No one, least of all the media, has crystal ball (tho 'some may think they do 🙄)

 

[ZehnWaters]

Just... no. I don't know what is meant by 'prestige drama' but Clark "thrilling" and "urgent"? Well, maybe, but not in a good way.

She was...okay. Mostly she just screwed up her face when...frustrated? Angry? Upset? Her dialogue didn't help. Just reflexively replying back to people "What're you doing here?" "What are YOU?" "You came in a tempest-" "There is a tempest in ME!"

 

[Ugluk]

That link is broken.

They seem to have updated the link

Interesting. If I'm not mistaken The Guardian was one of the show's early defenders

They have had a range of reviewers, not just one. Different reviewers, different opinions.

 

[Maeglin]

She was...okay. Mostly she just screwed up her face when...frustrated? Angry? Upset? Her dialogue didn't help. Just reflexively replying back to people "What're you doing here?" "What are YOU?" "You came in a tempest-" "There is a tempest in ME!"

I cringed almost every time she spoke. Partially that was the dialogue - she reminded me of Holden Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye." The incessant woe-is-me and complaining while having no faults of her own was maddening, especially since she never seemed to have any development past that or self-awareness of any of her own flaws. The rest was the acting, though. Just overly dramatic throughout and seemed like she was trying too hard (not that perhaps many others could do much better with that dialogue).

 

[Radaghast]

Sample dialogue:

Elrond: How is it you are here?
Galadriel: How is it you are here?

😑

$90 million per episode, folks. Yup, money well spent.

 

[ZehnWaters]

I cringed almost every time she spoke. Partially that was the dialogue - she reminded me of Holden Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye." The incessant woe-is-me and complaining while having no faults of her own was maddening, especially since she never seemed to have any development past that or self-awareness of any of her own flaws. The rest was the acting, though. Just overly dramatic throughout and seemed like she was trying too hard (not that perhaps many others could do much better with that dialogue).

Sample dialogue:

$90 million per episode, folks. Yup, money well spent.

It really did come off as a weak fan-fiction. There's a reason these two haven't had ANY success in the past 10 years.