I have watched The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies but I’ve never been invested in the lore or was very gripped by this world. However, I jumped to this with an open mind, ready to be entertained like I’ve been in the past.

The first two episodes of the series don’t look like a TV-Show, it looks expensive and grandiose. I suspect that this will be the case for the whole season but the two-hour premiere is truly visually impressive. As pretty as it is there is not much happening so far. I wouldn’t call it boring because I was engaged but it’s two hours of setup. It’s long enough that I found myself noticing some minor things that distracted me a little, like the fact that I don’t think that Galadriel can blink. Seriously, it seems like the actress is fighting to keep her eyes wide open as if she’s in a staring contest, and it looks weird. I could reach and say that it works for the character by saying that she’s the only one with her eyes open to the threat but it’s just weird.

As colorful and bright as the episodes are, there were some dark moments, a horror movie feel that I appreciated because I could see how dark and scary the show could get. I am no horror fan but it was at a level I can withstand.

Of the many characters we were introduced to in these two episodes, some already stand out to me. I loved the dwarf prince and his wife, the prince’s relationship with Elrond – who I didn’t realize is supposed to be Hugo Weaving’s character from LOTR – was also entertaining and well explained in their scenes.

The premiere left me with a lot of questions and theories – based on my very limited knowledge of the lore – I want to see more, I enjoyed it but like the earlier films I’m not very invested.

Streaming now on Prime Video

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The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien