With the COVID still hindering business’ going back into what they used to be, and me being someone who can’t possibly teach with a mask on and again being struck with that lightning once already, meaning bed-ridden for two weeks with a savage strain of the virus and so not daring to risk infection for the second round, I’m still working from home.
It means, I get the chance of spending the commute time on watching series and although it’s a totally yay factor for me, I have challenges of my own, including fighting hard not to binge watch for example. One of the most recent challenges I’m facing is this: How many episodes should you watch before you decide for certain it worth your time?
Most of the cases are easy. With those series that I love and keep going back for re-watch, Person of Interest, Fringe, Evil, Taboo and of course my latest obsession, totally Neil Gaiman’s fault, the Sandman, I was hooked up from the first 10 minutes of the show.
I admit, I didn’t like the first episode of Lost so much, maybe it was a wrong time for me, but when I came back to it, and I have to admit again, it was because of Michael Emerson, yeah I know how it sounds, I liked it so much that I practically forced my gentleman of husband to watch it with me.
photo from Wikipedia
With Rings of Power, and after two episodes, I’m still not sure. I mean, I am a serious Tolkien fan and I simply love to see those characters somewhere outside my own mind and I’m not against adaptations at all. I mean, Hello? Anything bigger than changing John Constantine of the comics to Joana Constantine in the series? No, I loved the changes.
So, I can accept short haired elves, I can close my eyes on mis-readings like fireworks which Gandalf brought in the third age of Middle Earth and the fact that it wasn’t Morgoth who actually destroyed the trees but Ungoliant who drank their sap to kill them. But for the life of me, I don’t get why eleven soldiers should wear wreath so much alike olive wreath and even worse, wear an armor of a bearded masculine figure on the chest with obvious six packs like Roman Gladiators?
Yes, I liked the hobbits being pictured in a more pastoral setting and Khazad-dum was also very close to heart but a stubborn Galadriel who jumps off the white ship just to track Sauron who actually wasn’t called Sauron at the time in the source material, doesn’t somehow sit with me.
Yeah, sure the writers don’t have to follow Tolkien word by word but shouldn’t the changes be conducing rather than misleading? I understand and follow the narrations because I’m fully familiar with the universe of Arda, not just Middle Earth but for someone who isn’t, it brings utter confusion, especially with a new strange character who my best guess is one of the Istari before Gandalf.
photo from Tolkien Gateway
So I’m still in two minds whether I should continue watching it or spend the time on Moon Knight. Can someone help me choose please? Would you continue watching it knowing it’s not a loyal adaptation? If you’re watching it and you’re not a Tolkien fan, are you able to follow the plot and characters easily?
Maybe I’m biased like my husband says in favor of Peter Jackson’s trilogy. What do you think? Should I give it another chance?
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