[Formendacil]

There's a few different ways to do this, so I'm going to start with Boro's proposed categories:

• Visuals/Special effects: A- Look, the show IS pretty.

• Costumes/Make-up: B- I thought the costumers and designers did well for a budget--I'm just not sure that the most expensive television show ever made should be identifiably "on a budget."

• Acting: B+ In general, I liked the actors and there were a few standouts (Celebrimbor, Durin III, Elendil being MY favourites). No one really sunk the ship for me--though WHAT they were asked to act.

• Plot: C Even on its OWN terms, RoP's plot doesn't quite make sense to me. Too much of it is glancing at material it can't use OR for future seasons OR for the algorithm. The tiny Númenórean fleet that is somehow a big deal politically in that giant metropolis happens mostly because Galadriel says it must. The Lugrom blade as the key to Orodruin isn't great, and the actual eruption strains credibility. The size of the Southland is very unclear and I don't understand why NO ONE in the Southland didn't say "we haven't had a king for 1000 years!"

• Writing/Dialogue: C: this wasn't a strength. The most I can say is there weren't really any memorably bad lines.

• Music: A and I'd be tempted to go A+, except that it was a bit too "safe" (i.e. similar to the movies) at times. I think I pointed out the opening theme as something I enjoy every episode, and I think RoP outdid the PJ movies for diagetic music--yes, even considering "Far Over the Misty Mountains" and Aragorn's coronation song: something about RoP's approach seemed closer to the books to me. And "3 Rings for Elven Kings" after the final episode was chilling.

• Themes/Motifs: B I've mentioned before that I like the thoughtfulness, where the writers were clearly transparent about having digested Tolkien. But there are also things that are clearly there because the movies had them, and this brings it down some.

• and, before we get to the end, let me add a couple: as a Tolkien adaptation: B- An adaptation was always going to be different and the writers are hamstrung by WHAT they could use. But the decision to fold the timeline as severely as they did was all them, and it has consequences. It might have more detrimental consequences as an adaptation than the Silmamithril, which is an annoying plot device/ticking time bomb, but at least can be explained as "the Fading of the Elves" made more dramatic, which contains its fallout--so far. I'm willing to go as high as a B- here, though, because of the theme/motif little things and because, at least, the bare plot of the Rings is recognisable in the original texts, even if distorted. In a world of bad adaptations, this is still a work that puts a lot of store in the author.

• And filmography (how things are shot, how they're editing--pacing, etc.): C+ This is the biggest reason I find it hard to recommend the show--Tolkien fidelity matters to ME, but if you just want a fantasy adventure flick... it's still a little bit weird. There's the slow-mo, of course, but there's also things like how they intercut the storylines (killing momentum in some episodes), what they show or don't show. Who survives the volcano? It's not a smooth ride, even if it's a pretty one.

• Overall: B- Most of my grades were in the low B/high C area, but there were a couple of individual things that I really liked, so the mean is higher than the median or the mode. RoP was good enough, even without all the renewed Downs activity that is REALLY why I liked it, that I will come back next season. Importantly, I went into the show DREADING it and I've come out as a "well, you have to fair to it" defender.