From the get-go, the set design, the characterisation, and the portrayal of middle-earth was finally at the standard it should be. Amazon’s decision to get a new team of writers massively paid off. With their limited manoeuvrability canon-wise (they only have the rights to the three Lord of the Rings books, the Hobbit and the appendices) they created a plot and characters that I actually care about, and the introduction of Tom Bombadil and the Balrog didn’t hurt either.
The change in the quality of character writing has been the shining star this season. Celebrimbor and Sauron’s scenes together were a highlight for me - heartbreaking but oh so engaging. The development of Sauron brought out new complexity in his character, not only as the Great Deceiver and a master manipulator, but as an embodiment of domination and destruction, therefore complicating him in a way that serves the series better than the two dimensional shadow of evil represented in the original trilogy. Galadriel’s character also benefited from these new writers. Whilst still the headstrong elf of season one, she was crafted much more carefully this time round and her connection to the Galadriel we see in the films became clearer: the all-seeing elf who walks a knife edge between light and dark, purity and corruption.
The change in the quality of character writing has been the shining star this season. Celebrimbor and Sauron’s scenes together were a highlight for me - heartbreaking but oh so engaging.
The decision to drop the over-the-top CGI was also one of the best things Amazon could have done to lift this show out of the quagmire of bad TV. The awesome shots of mountain ranges and forest-covered hills were much more reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s cinematography as opposed to the falsely animated cityscapes that made the first season seem so silly. The design of the orcs was also massively improved with each individual orc displaying outstanding character design and very poor dentistry, harking back to the original trilogy.
But is all this enough to pull it back from the brink? The viewership numbers were down for season two, and a disappointing first season rarely leaves a show unmarked. Only time will tell, but, hopefully, season two could be the one season to save it all.
