this show feels so lifeless, if not for the characters and locations this could be any mid-tier fantasy show, nothing feels inherently tolkienesque beyond the setting. it’s frustrating as i had really high hopes for this show and we are now halfway done and it feels like nothing has truly happened, this suffers from similar issues as the marvel and star wars tv shows, the people involved in it just feel so ill-suited for the television format, instead the pacing is cinematic, which when you’re doing a tv show that will last 8+ hours long in total that just does not work cohesively. all that being said there is some very solid staging and acting happening at times, but sadly it feels like the actors are being stifled by the script and world they’ve been shoved into, rather than that giving more emphasis to their performances