I finally watched Season 2 to see what all the fuss was about, and it was worse than I thought. The acting is mostly decent but the writing for this show is terrible. The storytelling, sense of geography, and the timeline of events are all disjointed, and nothing makes sense.
* Arondir's whole motivation all season was revenge on Adar. He finally confronts Adar in Episode 2.7. He gets fatally stabbed, and then he's just fine? What the hell? How did he get healed? What was even the point of that?
* The timeline of events makes no sense from Episode 2.7 to 2.8. When we last see Gandalf/The Stranger with Tom Bombadil in 2.7, Gandalf is looking for his staff in that sea of branches, and Gandalf is wondering if he should help Nori and Poppy or find his staff. And then he's just confronting the Dark Wizard in the next episode? What the hell? Did they leave entire scenes on the cutting room floor? Did they run out of budget. The continuity of all this makes no sense. It's like half of or an entire episode was deleted and they forgot to tell everyone. The whole finale feels rushed, and nothing makes sense.
* I'm not sure why we are supposed to care about the Dark Wizard? We never really see him do anything. Is he a tyrant? Is he a despot? Is he abusing the Stoors? Why should we care about him? Why is it necessary that Gandalf has to deal with him? Why does he have no name? You create a brand new wizard character, but you can't give him a name? There are no stakes with this storyline or Gandalf/Stranger fighting Dark Wizard at all. It's absolutely ridiculous. You could name him Tim for all I care, but the fact that you apparently set up this major villain with no stakes and no motivation is just bad writing and bad storytelling.
* OK, they used Tom Bombadil. But why is Tom Bombadil like a wizard now? Why does he care about this conflict? Why is he training Gandalf like he's Obi-Wan Kenobi? He acts nothing like Tom Bombadil from the book. Why does he lie to Gandalf about Goldenberry's presence? Tom Bombadil gaslighting a wizard doesn't seem like something Bombadil would do. Also, why would he even be called Bombadil at this point? Didn't the other people of Middle-Earth refer to him by different names?
* I'm so confused about Galadriel's behavior, attitude, and the elf hierarchy in general. Isn't Galadriel a very old, wise, and respected elf? Why is she taking orders from Gil-Galad? Isn't she his elder? Also, why are we supposed to care when no one listens to Gil-Galad's orders anyway? Throughout the entire season, Elrond and Galadriel violate his orders with no repercussions, so what do Elven laws matter? It's hard for me to like Galadriel because nothing she does makes sense. She wants to use the Rings of Power against Sauron even though she knows Sauron helped make them. That seems to be the opposite of something Galadriel would do. I've heard other people suggest her character should've maybe been Celebrian, Galadriel's daughter, instead. That would've maybe made a bit more sense.
* I'm so confused why Elendil and Isildur are in this show. So basically, you are going to have the Fall of Numenor next season, and like the rise of Gondor/Minas Tirith almost right on top of each other? The Numenor stuff was bad and also makes no sense. It's too far removed from the events happening in Middle-Earth. It's trying too hard to be like all the palace intrigue in Game of Thrones, yet it's nowhere near as edgy or intriguing. Also, I'm not really sure why I'm supposed to care about any of these characters? Also, Ar Pharazon is already an unlikable jerk, so why am I supposed to care when he causes Numenor to fall from grace?
* How did Adar and his Orc army move across Middle-Earth without issue to get to Eregion? Don't they have trouble moving through daylight?
* IMHO, the Tolkien Family owe Peter Jackson a giant apology because this entire series falls on them. And frankly, the show can only try to glom off of Peter Jackson's greatness with the original trilogy, as they constantly try to do that throughout season 2 with the numerous callbacks to the movies. Even the Balrog uses the same design from the films.
* I get why this show exists, but they clearly didn't put any love and care into writing it. The writers were clearly rushed and out of their depth. They have no grasp on the mythology or worldbuilding. Character arcs are rushed and make no sense. Characters aren't properly developed or fleshed out. They just throw in fan service and have Tom Bombadil recite lines from the books and act like it's a big deal. The character arcs and motivations make no sense. The season finale feels like it's missing entire scenes. Galadriel basically causes Eregion to get sacked and laid siege to. And she's basically the series lead, and the series doesn't properly establish her motivations and behavior, or how elven hierarchy is supposed to work.
* I'm assuming the series will end with the Last Alliance or Sauron forging the One Ring and starting the Last Alliance conflict. But on the way there, they will show fall of Numenor and the rise of Gondor/Minas Tirith. I'm assuming the Harfoots/Stoors will finally settle in the Shire. Grand Elf will finally become Gandalf or some nonsense. Again, it's not really the actors I take issue with. I feel the actors are doing their best with what they are given, but the writing is terrible, disjointed, and lacking the epic grandeur of this material.
variety.com
