The Reel Rejects - REJECT RECAP: The Rings of Power SERIES PREMIERE "A Shadow of the Past" - REVIEW!!

Episode Date: September 2, 2022

THE LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES PREMIERE! The Rings Of Power Ep 1 Reaction, Review, Recap, & Breakdown with PLENTY of Easter Eggs throughout. Galadriel is disturbed by signs of Sauron return; Arondir makes an unsettling discovery; Elrond is presented with an intriguing new venture; Nori breaks the Harfoot community's most deeply-held rule. The J.R.R. Tolkien universe continues expansion post Return Of The King & The Hobbit! #TheRingsOfPower #LordOfTheRings #LordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower #AmazonPrime #PrimeVideo Become A Super Sexy Reject For Full-Length T.V. & Movie Reactions + RINGS OF POWER WATCH ALONGS! https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects Support The Channel By Checking Out Our High-Quality Merch: http://shopzeroedition.com/collections/reel-rejects-merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-reel-rejects/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flying first class with Alaska Airlines isn't just about getting there. It's about enjoying the journey. Stretch out with industry leading leg room. Sink into an adjustable headrest and cozy up with a custom filsen blanket on long flights. Savor hot fresh meals, never frozen, and sip on our custom stump town coffee. Brewed to taste great at 30,000 feet. Upgrade your next trip. Book now at alaskaair.com.

Tires matter. They're the only part of your vehicle that touches the. the road. Tread confidently with new tires from tire rack. Whether you're looking for expert recommendations or know exactly what you want, tire rack makes it easy. Fast, free shipping, free road hazard protection, convenient installation options, and the best selection of Rettestine tires. Go to Tyraq.com to see their Red Astine test results, tire ratings, and reviews, and be sure to check out all the special offers. Tyraq.com, the way tire buying should be.

Nation, apparently this is my Lord of the Rings voice, and I'm here to welcome you to our season premiere review, our first thoughts following the Lord of the Rings, the Rings of Power, episode one. We did our best with this one, not to talk too long, just because they premiered two episodes at once, and we immediately watched the second one right after doing the first one. So if you want to get our full kind of view on the premiere experience, both episodes included, keep an eye out or an ear open for our second episode review. But for right now, we're talking episode one. And if you'd like to join us for the experience,

we've got reaction highlights over on our YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash the Real Rejects. Or if you want to bring your own copy and sync up with us, enjoy the full episode alongside us with our commentary, things that don't appear in the highlights. Those are over on our Patreon page, patreon.com slash the Real Rejects. And if you love the channel,

you just want to represent or support or whatever, check out our zeroedition.com store. Got some fun merch over there, and we're going to have exclusive new designs and drops coming at you over the, you know, frequently enough to keep you sated. But for right now, we've got a lot to talk about. This has been quite a divisive show and definitely gave us some things to chew on. So here we go. Lord of the Rings, the Rings of Power, episode one review from us to you. Dang.

Oh, J. Bayona directed that. Wow. Was that, that's not a Sauron, is it? I don't think so. I'm going to go on a limb here and say probably not. Huh.

But you never know. I mean, it's just like it's a big ring of fire. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely supposed to invoke the eye. Yeah. And just the general, you know, lava-oriented. quality that Mount Doom has Mordor has. What did you think? That was quite striking and quite

sweeping. I mean, it's a lot, a lot, a lot of place setting and, you know, getting to kind of meet everybody, but I was very engrossed in all the different places we went. It feels novel-esque in the way that, like, yeah, there are some action scenes. There are some, like, thrilling moments, but it's not

just trying to get to that stuff, you know? Yeah, so far, so good. What did you think? It's good. It's good. I wouldn't say I love it. I think there's a reason they released two episodes,

so I don't think there's a point in talking forever. Yeah, sure, sure. Because, like, yeah, I mean, obviously, visuals look awesome. Yeah, production buyers are insane. They should. There's one thing this should get right. It's look good.

Yeah, this needs to look expensive. With all the money you've thrown at it, you better look the best than ever. You need to be complete Game of Thrones and beyond in terms of, yeah, sets and CG effects and costuming and all that stuff. And I mean, I think that quality is very locked in. That was the one thing I never had any worries about. I heard there was like 20 plus series regulars on this show.

I do think that even for a first episode, it is a little bit affected by it because there wasn't anyone, at least for my taste, my viewing. It's not like I don't care about anyone. It's that I'm not, I don't find myself that emotionally drawn. or emotionally attached to anyone. Because there's, it's so much, there's so much they have to set up. There's so much they have to establish and reestablish,

mainly newly established and also help distinguish due to the fact that there's just so much going on and there's so much people and to meet that it also becomes very expositional heavy. Yeah. And then, you know, explain the backstory, explain this, explain this, you don't really get time to like,

just kind of hang out with the characters. you know it's like a lateral's one note is i want revenge i want revenge and everyone's kind of annoying me because nobody believes me yeah i want revenge but i am true of heart and and then you have the i'm forgetting his name the the elf yeah and uh the girl in the village to me that's the one that's the easiest to connect to because it's it's a it's a tale that's been told yeah it's been a tale has been told a gazillion times uh but i thought it was effective like that was the one i was most uh drawn to you know so a lot of this is about being caught up in the emotions of pretty much what the imagery and the music and the set pieces and what whatever emotions generate from experiencing

that is where it comes from because yeah i mean if you're going to be out this isn't going to be like a five-season show or some shit yeah so if it's going to be that long you know i imagine there's a lot to set up and a lot of world building but i don't want to just be a world i feel like it starts to become like, you know, I don't want to watch an essay. Yeah. And I feel like there's a reason they're released too. Yeah. So I'm not going to say, this is the show.

I was really pulling at me in the last like 10 to 15 minutes of this hour-long episode. So, yeah, I like like the last 15 minutes a lot and the last 15 minutes or like, yeah, last like 10, I would say. I always enjoyed it, but I never really found it that compelling. Okay. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely something that I was engrossed more in moments than the whole flow of the episode. and it is a bit daunting because you are like, okay, you know, if you're not an expert on the second age, there's a lot you've got to make sure that you catch

and that you, you know, distinguish, and, you know, there's that game of, you know, not to, I know, Lord of the Rings predates Game of Thrones, but on TV, you know, I feel like there is that sort of pressure to deliver on, yeah, that, like, really distinct ensemble of realms and the really fleshed out world. And it's funny because you think about the movies and you're like, okay, it's,

three movies, nine-ish hours, but even still, like, the first installment you do get in a more compact package, time it feels like to just live with and be with the life of, you know, your different characters, whether it be the hobbits or whoever. And here, there are moments like that, but yeah, it's a lot of place setting. It's a lot of figuring out, okay, what is the world of the Hartford's like right now, and how are they affected by the overall situation? And then the elves and then the realms and then the realms of men. we don't really get that much dwarf action in this episode but yeah lots of playsetting lots of

set up well it's also a lot of like stoic way of speaking everyone's pretty stoic which makes sense to me based off of the characters you're primarily following like you're following the harfoot's like okay they're the pre-hobbit so they make sense why they'd have more personality infused within them whereas the other ones are a lot more poetic and the elegance of them so actually i i like gladriel you know as for for a main character i don't know the actress is playing her i like how this is sound weird i like how traumatized she is like she carries that trauma in her eyes there's this constant like there's this constant like wide-eyed paranoia pain that is in her presence she's so sincere in her pursuit of this and it doesn't feel like it comes from a place of ego like i need to be

right yeah it feels like no this is i know this is i know intimately the horror of this situation and I can't rest until it is stopped and I think what's cool about the connective tissue of when you think about that scene actually in Lord of the Rings when Frodo is tempting her with the ring

and then she does her whole like big speech and she becomes all like witchy Gothic like every queen in the darkness and all that a dark lord and then you're seeing that yeah no there is a lot of darkness within her and I think they had a good they did a great job in the beginning especially with

contrasting that of really just you're plucked into you're like dropped into her world how beautiful and sunshine and glimmering it is and then the Morgoth character as we're excited of this of yeah

with them with Morgoth and seeing how their world was like I actually really felt that which I think they do a little stronger here than they do in the movies because I love that prolog in the opening narration in like fellowship of the ring. I

even enjoy the one of the Hobbit. But at those start off like, in the darkness. Yeah. And then here you get to really feel the effect of the darkness because they thrust you first into like, look how look how I did like it's beautiful. Yeah, basically. This is so good. Everything we got going. Even the

bullies, yeah, whatever. We got a couple of like bullies, but that's just sort of bored little white kids. We're fine. We're fine. Yeah. There's good stuff. We've got a good thing going. In general, this is a lush, beautiful place and we are a harmonious people, yeah. And then, yeah, you feel the real harsh grit when the things that are more familiar, the dark aspects set back in and reality hits.

And then that adds to the whole tension of like, nobody knows what's coming. Yeah, true. I feel like there's a lot more to unpack and a lot more to set up still. I have stuff like, you got a lot more to set up, don't they? Yeah. Solid start. Solid start, yeah, but there's, we got to still meet the whole dwarves situation. Yeah, it's true.

Oh, yeah, you got to meet the dwarves too. I mean, but beyond that, like, what we currently got here, I'm already immediately finding myself just kind of craving some just real conversations. Yeah. What two people just kind of talk to each other for a little bit? You want two characters to lay down, like, the pretences, because that is a thing, and it's, you know, it's, I won't begrudged them just yet, but yeah, when the elf guy shows up and he's in the village especially, and even when he's talking to his love, they're both,

like, just so serious and stoic, and it's all like. the most important you know like it would be nice to see and the hobbits or the Harfoot Harfoot being one of the types of hobbits they bring that life through them but it would be nice to see some of the other characters

be more at ease as they communicate and speak because yeah I think that's something that dogs the Hobbit movies even is like there are certain characters with whom you only get the stoic you know burdened by duty kind of approach and that

can hold you at an arm's length from characters sometimes. Not that it's not cool to have that mystique, but yeah, you've got to balance it out. Yeah, I mean, like, not that the only way to get to know characters is through, is through dialogue. You get to know characters through their actions as well. I was finding some of that, like when you're going past the monologue, the prologue,

and then you're in the top of the ice mountains and stuff. It was kind of moving a little quick. I think we just need a little bit more time with it for it to settle in if you're a book readers of this isn't like I don't it's based after that what was the book the Salmaryllian this is after that yeah because that's most of like first age stuff and then the second age was filled in I think by Tolkien's son to a degree and and those books like the Salmarylian and a lot of the other writings from from my vague understanding is that they don't play they're not written like stories the same way Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit

are where it's like, oh, characters interacting. They're more history books. And in a way, I appreciate, like, I'm curious to hear what the Lord of the Rings fans have to say once they actually see the show and everybody stops freaking out about the trailers. Because there's a quality of this that I do kind of associate with the reading experience of the actual Lord of the Rings, which is like there is a sort of like historical, like, there are characters to love and get attached to, but it's not the most forward about those kinds of things. And so having

this intro here through the show, it feels akin to the sensibilities of the books in that way. But at the same time, yeah, I feel like for a show you need to bridge that gap and to give us these moments of humanity that you might not have seen the same way in the

book. Yeah, I am sick of that excuse of it's like in the comics. It's like it in the comics. It's how it is in the books. I'm like, it doesn't mean it. makes for truly entertaining visual medium and so I'm curious yeah I'm curious if that's what some people want and not to say that that's like right or wrong but yeah you're you're correct it's like how do you split that difference while honoring that but also bringing us a little closer you know to your to the emotional cores of the character yeah yeah yeah because I feel like if you're going to go slow moving in your first episode

then you should not just primarily only do world building. It shouldn't feel like a lecture that you have to take no time. You should get really invested in the characters first and foremost before you go. But then again, I don't know. In fact, in some ways, this first experience kind of reminds me of the Witcher. Sure. Of when I was like, man, I don't know lots of wrap my head around. Yeah.

Jesus Christ. And then it was like the third episode where I was like, oh, damn, the show's getting great. And I was like, oh, I love this show. Yeah, yeah. And I could see it being a very similar experience. 100% of, man, there's a lot of people. There's a lot of world here. I got to get a lot of this out of a lot of things.

Yeah, they actually have a map for you to look at once in a while. Yeah, there's a lot for you to keep up with. And then once we can get that all out of the way, then you can go, all right, it's good. Because, yeah, everything on a technical standpoint is good. I think every actor here is doing a great job. I think everyone's doing a really great job. I think all the performances are good I think everything on a technical standpoint is solid

the music is phenomenal the visuals are about as phenomenal as you'd expect when you hear $60 million per episode like yeah they better be amazing and I think they're great yeah now it's just about now I don't need to really give a shit

about the characters yeah you know yeah because right now everyone's just like yeah they're cool yeah everyone's like they're cool they're cool and there's a I got to make sure I remember them all

They're going to keep track of them. I bet, you know, you kind of do hope that they would strike lightning in a bottle with at least one or two characters that you're like. Off the bat. Off the bat. Love them. Yeah, I can't wait to see more. Yeah. Yeah.

And the only one who really, who got me close to feeling that way was the, God, what is his name? The Black Elf. Yeah. I'm just, I'm sure what I just call him that. We will have a whiteboard of all the names. But he was the closest one who, like, within a scene, was like, I like this guy. He's cool. I feel like a lot of history with him.

And then, like, that's an example of learning about a character through actions, I think. Totally. And you can feel the greater context of this guy's story, but you can also feel the direct personal here and now stakes of his story. Yeah. At least in a way that feels kind of well-rounded at the outset. I think where I'm at with Galadro right now is I'm at a point of like, I'm understanding. Now I'm understanding Galadro better

and understanding her backstory better. But it was so like the plot heaviness of Sauron's out there. We got it from like that. I feel like I'll watch like a bunch of hours of this. Except with less certainty now.

Just like other characters worried about Sauron. Yeah. Well that's a pitfall that I think this kind of like these kinds of fantasy stories, these epics can fall into is is the character is being so purpose driven to the point that that's kind of it.

And not that I again begrudge her the purpose that she has or anything like that. But yeah, it seems like, okay, this is most of your character right now is just all about this. And it would be nice to see the rounding and some of, maybe some of the internal conflict

in the sense of like, she must, this doesn't seem like she has any level of doubt. But it would be interesting to maybe have some doubt in there or some kind of, you know, she seems to have like a close relationship with Elron. They seem very familial. Even that, like, she is so assured, which is fine, which could grow into a good character trait, you know, as we see more. But at the same time, yeah, it can make it a one-track mind character. It's like, this is what took away from Torin Okunschild so much for me in the Hobbit movies is like, this guy kind of only thinks and talks about this. Whereas in the book, that's his purpose, that's his mission, but he's a character as well as that. And I feel like that's a thing that media like this often has to transcend, especially in the visual media,

because it is easy to just be like brooding, purpose-driven badass, and that's it, you know. Well, I think in a book, too, you can also, especially if it's not like Lord of the Rings, it's not a first person perspective. so you can occasionally just write a few lines about what they're thinking and feeling internally to clue you in where this relies on the body language of the actor, which is why I'm crediting the actors a lot because I think they really brought their A-game here.

And it felt like the actress who plays Colladryo was really trying to show all that, even though she was kind of given a bunch of repetitive scenes. Yeah. But I did like the scene when she is debating with Elron. I thought that was good. Like I think that context was the best. that emotionally clicked with me because yeah

I don't set up to hate I've been I've been rooting for this show I so want this to be great I want this to shut up everyone I want it to be great so I'm not here to try to like pick things apart and you know and even though we talked for longer

than I would have liked to there was a reason to release two episodes yeah so decent solid start And I'll take that I'll take that as compared to what it could have been But yeah Let's build on this I don't know man

When you say $60 million an episode I'm like your first episode Better rock my fucking socks And maybe it does for most people That's the thing is like I gladly acknowledge that I am I can very well not be the voice of many Well that's the thing is I hear $60 million an episode

I'm like you know that a lot of that money Did not go to the script So I feel like that's been the whole thing the entire time for me is like, the scripts have to be great because I know they can make it look like it cost $60 million. Which they do, but that means nothing

to me. Like, I get, even for me that sheen wore off like 20 minutes in. I'm like, it looked great throughout and then there was a couple of moments. I'm like, wow, it was really good. But then after a while, it was like, all right, I'm used to this. I didn't. I've accepted the fact

that you look phenomenal. I've seen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've gotten used to how incredible you look and now I need to hear more about your personality. I did really like the ending bit on the ship. That was really well done. Yeah, that was really well done. Especially having, you know, alluded to

and seen, you know, glimpses of people traveling to that, to the name of the realm escapes me here in this moment. But yeah, traveling into that sort of, into the east to the elven, you know, after life land, essentially. It feels so ominous and like, I don't know if I'd want to go with you. I know, you're like, is this a good thing,

or are they being fed to some kind of primordial creature? But yeah, that whole thing of the ceremony and the maidens, like, taking off their armor and really making this visual transition and then them being, like, swallowed into this light. I thought that was, like, that was one of those moments where, like, I was like, wow, I didn't even think about how you would go about depicting this,

but this is pretty beautiful. Yeah. but yeah agreed agreed gotta get those character bits going yeah no i think the as i said the first like 10 to 15 in the last 10 really solid and everything in between was good it was fine it was pretty yeah yeah um all right guys we got to watch the next episode so we'll see we'll see what opinions change