Frustration about RoP

Let me get this out of the way: I don’t care about politics, social agendas, or “woke points.” This isn’t a culture war rant. I’m talking about writing, story logic, and adaptation. I love adaptations when they understand the world they’re working in. I hate them when they replace centuries of carefully built mythology with plot-forcing, character-confused chaos. This show does the latter, and that’s what makes it infuriating.

I can handle adaptations changing events. I cannot handle a fundamental misunderstanding of character.

In Tolkien, characters have weight. Frodo carries the Ring because he is weak and kind, and every choice echoes through a world older than him. Boromir falls because his desire meets an immutable moral reality. Even Saruman’s pride is philosophical, slow, inevitable. Dilemmas matter because the people facing them are already fully themselves.

In this show, moral ambiguity is sprayed everywhere like glitter. Galadriel acts rashly because someone said she needs a story arc. Númenor collapses in dramatic gestures and shouting matches because writers decided “history is boring.” Harfoots display heartwarming loyalty while immediately abandoning people, just so the plot can pivot. Every ethical conflict feels shallow because no one is a complete being, they are vehicles for “twists” and talking points. The weight is gone, replaced with broad strokes and hand-waving.

Characters in Tolkien make mistakes because their natures meet the universe’s rules. Characters in this show make mistakes because someone needed them to move a scene forward. One is organic. One is script convenience masquerading as moral complexity.

The sets look epic. The scripts do not. The world feels lived-in. The writing does not. Watching it is like a beautifully filmed fanfic where every character’s soul was lost in pre-production.

If you’ve actually read Tolkien, think about what you’re signing up for when you cheer this on. Remember the weight, the history, the people who are already fully themselves. Don’t let them sell your mythology as a reality show. It’s your turn to notice the difference.