The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV Series) Udûn (2022) User Reviews

Here we go!

[aodhanmulholland14 · 9/10 · 30 September 2022]

I haven't minded the series up until now, but I have been yearning for a great fight scene/battle. In this episode we get that and more. I was honestly on the edge of my seat and when I checked the run time expecting the episode to finish there was still 25 minutes left of the episode. The story is still quite messy, with a few plot lines not making much sense and alot of things happen by chance. But Im willing to ignore these negatives with the fight scenses in this episode and some of the choreography. The music was brilliant this episode, it really captured the lord of the rings feelings that the series has missed. The ending was fantastic too, I honestly can't wait until the next episode. 9/10, I hope the next two episodes are as action packed as this one.

Best episode thus far.

[alasdairboswell · 9/10 · 30 September 2022]

There's no question this week that Rings of Power has delivered an exceptional hour of television. After a couple of slower episodes that meandered from time to time, this was the payoff of all the build up we've had for three weeks now.

An amazing battle sequence! Finally! Throughly enjoyed it. The visuals were wonderful to behold. Lots of familiar feelings from watching the Jackson LOTR films came to mind while watching the calvary charging. The cinematography was beautiful, and the director handled the action sequences brilliantly.

Beyond the action, the plot was interesting as well, especially concerning Adar. We learn he is one of the first Orcs created and tortured by Morgoth, as well as some more obvious clues to Sauron's true identity.

The ending alone was worth getting to, as we see the destruction of the Southlands, and the creation of Orodruin (yes that's right, Mt. Doom). It was brutal and beautiful spectacle from start to finish.

Best episode ever in the season

[tejrockz-fca · 9/10 · 30 September 2022]

Spoilers **

SO far I am not so much impressed with director choices of elfs with short hair, Galadriel casting. Dwarves was shown good and Orcs are decently good and Awesome visuals with very slow narrating

BUT!! Every episode has built up to this episode the way Elf (Arondir) & Villagers made their strategic stand and the then the tide has changed when enemy over smarted them. The Galadriel with Numenors entered to save them making them prisioners itself has impressed me.

Well Galadriel entrance could have been better because LOTR/ Habbit movies are knows for the sudden & awesome entries of allies that's a little disappointment but still okay, this is the way director wanted might me.

When all this going well, there comes a better twist with an Souron sword activating the tower to release water following through the tunnels/ path digged by Orcs leading to activating an Dormant Volcono....its just MIND BLOWING & AMAZING!!!

Now I am vested & interested to check out the next episode.

Wow, wonderful episode!!

[fayreynolds · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

Wow. Seventy minutes of exciting action, beautiful and moving moments. This episode made all of us, almost shout at the tv worrying about our favourite characters. Arondir is just so terrific and Bronwyn and Galadriel are too as is Halbrand. The exciting battles were reminiscent of true LoTR Helms Deep. You just had to see what would happen next!! All the people who have criticised the colour and gender mix of this series are missing so much, Numenor and the boats were just too glorious to behold, tonight's episode built on character development and shows so much promise for what's coming next. The people who might criticise this brilliant episode, they just need to turn off the tv and go to bed!

Best episode so far

[sergeifranson · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

Amazing episode. Yes there are still a lot of conveniences and characters are protected with plot armor, but this episode was just thrilling from start to finish with the ending image quite a sight to see. Some serious tension throughout but also still found so much time for levity with the villagers. Adar has been so cliched so far but this episode gave him some fascinating development. The real star though was the directing from Charlotte Brandstrom. Really felt like out of all the directors so far, she replicates Peter Jackson style in the best ways: the sweeping shots of the armies and horse riding, the almost slasher body horror of war, but also real moments of emotion. I kinda squealed when Isildur got that side hug from daddy. This is fun TV!

The plot takes an unexpected but very welcome turn

[GwydionMW · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

From Episode 5, we were expecting the big battle between Orcs and the humans of the Southlands. Which happens, but with several surprises.

What really astonishes is what Adar later explains. His relationship with Sauron, which is not what was expected.

From Episode 5, I had thought of an extra. Tolkien's own notes, written up for The Silmarillion, suggest that Sauron tried to repent. So he could both be The Stranger and genuinely trying to help. I wrote a blog on this: 'The Rings of Power: Not All Who Wonder Or Wander Are Lost'.

What comes out now is nothing I expected, but supporting this view. Watch it and be amazed!

We now see why the start was slow. What is unfolding is different from what Tolkien wrote. But very consistent with his repeated point that it is easy to become evil by using the wrong methods with a real intent to do good.

Epic story

[brawlmedia · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

Adar has been the standout performer of all the characters, which was let down by galadriel. Also, arondirs acting is also worthy noting. This episode provides immense action scenes, and often take you to the battlefield of Lord of the rings, but this episod has successfully passed in creating a legacy of its own. The Tolkien fans may be disappointed and say they spoiled Tolkien's works, but it is better to have a new perspective and backstory of middle Earth. The final twist was magnificent, as we now know how southlands eternally became mordor and sunlight never touches there.

Also the biggest waiting is continued for next week as well, because the main villain entry has not yet happened. Also there are many susceptible culprits who might turn out as sauron including the stranger, halbrand, Theo, pharazon, annatar etc.

Can't wait for next episode.

Finally the story is progressing

[gerger-02015 · 8/10 · 30 September 2022]

Overall it was a nice episode.

Some fighting coreography was a bit lame, especially related to Arendil. It was like he was pulled by wires at some parts but overall the story progressed and we got some more info about characters and the ending was amazing and very spectacular.

Finally there was, only 1 story line, not 3 at the same time. I think this season whould have needed, only 2 not 4, which is way too much.

I am still not sure where the story is heading as we have not seen any rings yet, inspite of the fact the series is called "rings of power".

2 episodes left of this season, I really hope the mystery box characters will be all revealed, at least...

And so it begins

[UpAndAboveTheHorizon · 9/10 · 30 September 2022]

What a breath of fresh air compared to all the episodes we have had so far. I'm still not sure why we needed 5 episodes of build up for this and let's be honest, all the episodes didn't build up any tension or hype for this episode.

I consider this episode from now on as Episode 1 and forget about the horrible previous episodes.

In this episode we finally get to see some raw action. There were nice twists and you can now feel where the story is going. The action scenes were nice, gory and beautiful. We finally start to feel affection for some of the characters and the acting was also on point.

9/10.

Great visuals, nonsensical writing that treats viewers like children

[kollozal · 6/10 · 1 October 2022]

The Good:

• Visuals, cinematography were top-notch as always
• Soundtrack was particularly good this episode
• The choreography of the fight scenes was decent
• Orcs are well-done
• Captured a very peter-jackson LOTR feel at various times
• Ok the ending scene was pretty cool even if everyone should of been cooked alive by super-heated volcanic ash

The Bad:

• We've reached episode six and most characters are still almost wholly undeveloped, especially Arondir/Bronwyn. I will go so far as to say half the characters featured in this episode could of been removed without any tangible change to the episode structure
• Most characters still exist as cardboard cutouts to fill necessary elements of the plot rather than moving the plot along themselves
• The romance or pseudo-romance scenes all felt very forced
• So much cringey dialog
• Silly theatrics
• Writers need to start consulting individuals who understand how military tactics and strategy work. There is no logical reason why a force would abandon an easily-defensible position like that castle and to move a village consisting of a few wooden buildings. It's pretty clear this was written in solely so the Numenor horseman could come save the day on ground horses could actually reach
• Speaking of the Numenor horsemen, how did they charge at full gallop across half of middle-earth without a baggage train or supplies, conveniently knowing exactly where and when they were needed to arrive and save the day?

The wait has finally paid off - big time!

[lykkegaardrichard · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

I try not to use the rating 10/10 too often, in order to keep it for more special occasions. This is definitely one of them!

The episode is action packed and spectacular - we get a lot of really great scenes that makes you unable to sit still while watching, because it's so intense or just from pure hype. But it's not all just plotless action, as we also get a lot of answers to many questions in this episode and the dialog between characters is meaningful and well written.

Many elements in the previous episodes has built up to this and now we're finally here. I can't wait to see where this show takes us next!

A few nice action scenes yet all boring

[mertafor · 7/10 · 30 September 2022]

This show has so many issues I don't even know where to begin. Especially Galadriel and Browyn are probably the most terrible actor choices. Galadriel couldn't be more cringy, how come they found this girl for a very important role. Worst is writing. I have no idea how come she's become the most respected person in numenor all of sudden? She was a prisoner a few days back. Writers failed to reflect this transition. And her motives don't make single sense ; "I cannot stop...". Is that it? Some angry girl goes after revenge. This episode gave the hint she's in the dark side actually, clearly it's the reason they found this actor. But it doesn't justify her behavior and earnt respect. As for Browyn, she was a helper at the bar at first, now she's leading people. Killing orcs and everything. I would buy it if she could be an Elf yet again she earnt respect of everyone in the village. I think Woke is killing this show so fast. Aragorn's doppelganger again is pretty weak, I can't see any ambition in him, in any sense. Black elf is doing a really good job though.

At the final scene, the moment everywhere was in under smoke due to volcano, it looked like all main characters died there. After I saw that moment all I thougt was "I couldn't care less". If it's the final scene of entire show and there won't be any other episode, it's fine by me.

On the other hand, people are talking about great visuals, CGI etc. I think it's a given nowadays. All big budget productions have it, so I don't see anything exceptional here.

Alright, GOT and LOTR are totally different productions but they are the only ones we can compare with this. After I'm thinking cliffhangers, character developments, actors and eveything in those show/movies, this one falls terribly short. Directing, actors, writing are simply boring, uninteresting. I'll watch the entire season of course but I have zero excitement.

Best episode so far... but still extremely incoherent and inept

[vaderis · 3/10 · 2 October 2022]

This is the best episode so far, mainly because there is less dialogue and more action. Not that I prefer action to dialogue: It's just more difficult for the writers to mess up an action sequence. The action sequences are okay-ish, but not exactly what you would expect from the most expensive series ever made. Armor looks cheap, fighting style is ninja Hollywood and everything seems a bit fake. The writing - especially the dialogue - continues to be extremely bad, and this episode is plagued by the same problem as the previous episodes: Things simply do not make any sense.

The show constantly demonstrates one thing, then proceeds to do the opposite. The characters say one thing, then proceed to do the opposite, and so on. Here we are not even talking about how the show contradicts Tolkien lore on so many essential levels. I'm way past that and I have accepted that this show is not Tolkien at all. So the inconsistencies are internal to the show: The show sets up one thing and then ignores it afterwards. It's like they hired a bunch of writers who didn't talk to each other at all.

For instance we have the orcs. Sometimes they can tolerate sunlight, other times literally burn like vampires. Suddenly the orc army is huge, but then suddenly it's not really huge at all. Suddenly one orc is a better warrior than Arondir or Elendil himself, but then suddenly the orcs are so weak that peasants can kill them with a stick. Suddenly orcs have no weapons. And so it goes on and on. It's all a matter of what is convenient in the particular scene.

Time and space is another issue. Nothing related to time and space makes sense. Things that should take days take hours or minutes in this show. People and entire armies teleport to whereever the writers need them to be for whatever reason at any given moment. I challenge every super fan to make a timeline of events in this show. You simply can't. But you should be able to do it because alle the stories are connected through the meteor.

There are so many unbelievable, contradictory and plain stupid things in this episode that you have to turn off your brain to not go crazy. Nothing makes sense when you think about it. A sword hilt that is the primary object so far (like the master ring) is switched with an axe and nobody notices. Ask yourself: If you were handed the most important object - a sword hilt - wrapped in a cloth; would you check that it was actually the sword hilt? And would you be able to notice that it was actually an axe? Could you tell the difference by the shape and weight? Of course you could. Next thing, peasants and an elf (who also told us that he's a peasant) makes an entire stone tower into a deadly booby trap within a couple of hours. We don't see how, but the entire tower is literally made to rest on a single rope, so that when the rope is cut, the entire tower falls. It's insanely stupid. But the stupid goes on and on. The villagers left their village for safety at the fortress with the tower: They literally said so in a previous episode. In this episode, however, they decide to leave the stone fortress for safety in their village. Do you see the problem? The show does this over and over again. It reverses everything all the time. In this episode Isildur says that he left Numenor because he just wanted to get away and that Numenor is not really Numenor anymore. In the previous episodes he said that he wanted to be a valiant soldier fighting for the glory of Numenor. The inconsistencies never end. It's mind-boggling.

I won't go into the amazingly stupid plan of Sauron to build a dam hundreds of years ago that can be unlocked by a magic sword-key so that if you spend years digging tunnels just the right way, water can flow into a volcano causing it to erupt. And please don't even ask the question why Adar searched for the key to unlock the dam instead of simply tearing down the wall of the dam by force (remember, in this episode a single elf tore down a stone tower by shooting a rope with an arrow). I mean, he used years and hundreds of orcs searching, when he could have just have the orcs hit the walls of the dam with a siege engine. A single ballista would have done the trick nicely. If he didn't have a ballista he could just have the orcs use pickaxes on the wall for a couple of days.

There is one good thing about the episode: When the volcano finally erupts, almost all of the poorly written characters die: Galadriel dies, the Queen regent, Theo, Single mom, Arondir, Elendil, Isildur, Halbrand and so on - they are all struck by the pyroclastic flow of the volcano; a brutal mixture of rock fragments, gas, and ash that is around 1000 degrees Celcius. This is clearly shown. So they are vaporized, melted, burned and gone. All of them. And if one of them managed to be vaporized, they are choked to death by the toxic gasses. So they have a survival chance of zero percent.

But somehow I have feeling that in episode 7 we will probably learn that they are not dead after all. So we will have yet another huge inconsistency where the show demonstrates one thing (they die) and then goes on to tell us the exact opposite (they live).

Good progress.

[moviesknight · 9/10 · 3 October 2022]

This was the culmination of all the slow development. Not one dull moment. The Adar uruk is smart, unlike all other evil lords we know of. He is full of emotions. He is going to be an interesting character. Good action sequences. Even with all the action there were tender moments which clearly contrasted the action but were so delicate. Hope is with the brave. But we tend to shun it sometimes and it leads to the things like guilt and loss. Now we are familiar to the most of characters, the pacing should not dwindle away. The carefully orchestrated plan always work, all we have to do is to have the will to sacrifice for the goal. Uruks (Orcs) have done it for now but the other races not so much. Good visuals. The horses and the sequence of fighting were visually pleasant. Finally good to see Isildur getting close to his father. Also galadriel and halbrand, their chemistry is something to watch. Love to see it. Lets go lets go lets go.

Holy Crap! This Is the LOTR We Were Waiting For!

[abheet-35873 · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

I mean what the hell was that?! So, much happened in this episode that never once did I take my eyes of screen. From a glorious and bloody battle to a highly catastrophic ending, this episode is probably the best thing I've seen on TV entire year except for The Boys maybe. The stakes of the series rose faster than viewers could contemplate and the episode ended with a huge WTF moment and a cliffhanger ending. First things first, however, let us talk about that glorious battle we were all waiting for! Since the last 2-3 episodes this battle was being built up, and it won't be too far fetched, should I say that it exceeded all expectations. It was full of twists and turns, and blood and gore, basically all you need from a fantasy battle. Spears were shaken, shields were splintered, a sword day, a red day, and a mount exploded! Deaathhh!

what an amazing episode!

[mirmahmudum · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

The amount of fun, anger, thrill, fear, and chill I felt this episode is immaculate. It is the first episode of the rings of power, that I really felt like watching the original lord of the rings. We finally so a battle in the series. It felt like the coming of elves to the aid of aragorn in the lord of the rings. The music also leveled up. In the previous episodes, the score used to feel like spiderman or game of thrones. But here, I really felt my presence in the middle-earth. And the plor twist at the end. I really thought Arondir gave the axe to Theo to teach a lesson. But it was the opposite indeed. And lastly, do you think that the volcanic eruption at the end, will make the Mordor?

Best episode

[rd80 · 10/10 · 1 October 2022]

Best episode thus far. Don't listen to critics. If you watch from the beginning you will enjoy the story now. This episode will keep you engaged. Fight scenes are amazing. Visuals are stunning. Best moment for me is at the end of this episode. Orcs have done a great job. Fights are not as grand as Lord of the rings but we are only in 6th episode and we have several more to come. The best thing I like about this series there is no profanity or nudity unlike House of the dragon series. You van enjoy this show with your family and children definitely. Big kudos to Amazon for such a great project.

Now it starts coming together...

[tim-Chinchen · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

In an age, where we need everything in "Episode 1", it's great to see it pay off. This was an episode that had you glued! Not quite the intensity of the Two Towers, but felt like very familiar territory. Some may say lazy writing, but I loved the "to and fro" with the traps, ending with Waldreg's moment (without spoiling) (I did have to whizz back to see when the change over happened) The battle scenes were done well enough to keep it safe for a 12/14 audience (helps having kids of that age!) & hopefully satisfy the more bloodthirsty viewer. HoTD it is not but doesn't have to be! LOL! (I love both BTW..)

Great build up love so far. If this wasn't LoTR, then the series would be rated higher than 6.9!

MOVIE QUALITY EPISODE!

[jeersNcheers · 10/10 · 10 October 2022]

I don't understand all the trolls and haters! I'm a big fan from way back, having read the books several times, and watched the PJ movies many times. There are fans, there are purists, and then there are the religious nuts, the ones who treat the Tolkien world as you would a religion's bible. These critical-spirited trolls are trying to ruin a show for the rest of us that just want new bits of a beloved world. LOTR is entertainment, not a religion that is thousands of years old. I'm being entertained, and I appreciate it beyond words. It started off a little slow, primarily because I wasn't invested in the new characters. But WOW, each episode is better and better! Thank you!

Forget Sauron: Galadriel is the show's main villain

[valentinilicea · 7/10 · 9 October 2022]

This episode is action packed and follows - mostly - one story line, so I found it easier to watch than the previous ones. The scenery, action, special effects, and battle scenes are - as usual - top notch. The music comes also good into play. The focus of the episode are twists: you will find a lot of them, and unfortunately a few times this will seem forced (with convenient last minute save the day scenes). I believe many will find this episode entertaining, and action-packed, after such a slow five episode build up.

But let's cover now the obvious minuses. Maybe the top #2 problem of the show (and I will come later to what I think is #1) is the lack of character development, backstory, and motivation. Three examples: Brownwin: how do you expect of her to perform such battle acts, killing orcs left and right, giving her profession? Either she could serve by healing others, or - much better - in the five-episode build up, some scenes could have been included in which she was trained to fight (for example, it could have been a "secret" hobby she and her Elf love-interest could have shared, while he would have train her) Isildur - he was the potential to become a big hero, as he started to save the day - but his motivation is so weak and there is little congruence from episode to episode. Does he fight for Numenor - or doesn't he even believe in Numenor?

Galadriel - here is maybe the top issue of the show - the hero with the most screen time - it's a bloodthirsty villain. Her dialogue with the orcs' leader proves it: she thinks that all orcs are 'a mistake' and she wants him to be alive only so that he can see how she kills all 'his children' (orcs) and then she will kill him as well? Really? The writers didn't feel the Nazi vibe here?

Then ok, if they want to go to such an extreme in her inner conflict of what is bad vs good, then I would expect that the next episode and seasons will focus on her redemption: realizing her mistake and fighting for peace, even protecting orcs.

Personally, I found this framing too much and too risky: how can we get attached to the show if the main character's motivation is "I can't stop" and kill orcs, as all orcs are a mistake?

Too bad as the story had so much potential. I still hope the writing gets better and that we will see a fully-round show (that doesn't rely on the scenery and music to deliver really bad character lines and development)

The episode i've been waiting for!

[and_mikkelsen · 9/10 · 30 September 2022]

After a lot of set-up and introduction to characters, motivations, goals and different locations we finally get an episode where it feels like there is a plot and story moving forward!!

The production value really shows! Everything looked great in this episode! Great direction and visuals! This was the first episode that bad me on the edge at some parts! The show felt boring at times doing some of the previous episodes, but this was the first episode that i enjoyed from beginning to end!

Overall i feel like we are closing in on the ACTUAL show and story! The last 5min blew me Away! I have not read the source material but i think i know what it means!

This episode was the closest to Peter jacksons movies!

Very well directed.... everything else - meh

[Dannyboi94 · 7/10 · 1 October 2022]

We are not 6 episodes in, and finally something has happened. This episode was actually pretty good, for the most part at least. One thing I noticed, and I don't know if it was just me, or was the colour grade different this episode? I was much darker and more bleak, which I believe helped set the tone of this episode. This was rated 15 (UK) and they took full advantage of this with the gory action scenes.

The action scenes were pretty well done, you could clearly see what was going on, with several long shots and no quick jarring edits. I have heard some say the episode was too dark, but I watched this on a 75" 4K TV and it looked amazing. The director of this episode does a reall good job with this one, she has directed some good TV episodes in the past, and ep6 really benefits from her style. However, her good directing could not save this from the awful and bland characters. The battle scenes could have been even better if we actually cared about those in them. Each time a main character's life was at risk, I felt nothing. This is really bad for a series now 6 hours in. The dialogue is the same as the previous episodes - silly and horrid. It tries to sound wise, and while there are some good lines in this particular episode, they come across as cheesey because the actors delivering them, just aren't right.

Udun is the best episode in the series by a long shot, it is well directed, shot and is visually stunning. But that's all it has going for it. The characters are all still boring, the story is all over the place and the writing is poor. Undun did leave us on a pretty good cliffhanger, the whole 'creation' of Mount Doom was nice to look at.

No logic whatsoever

[ozguncirakman · 1/10 · 21 October 2022]

This episode is the lowest point in terms of logic.

Towers held together with a single rope. Abandoning a castle to defend an open village. Orcs forgetting battering ram at home while assaulting castle, but bringing it for a tavern assaulting. Hiding the magic key under the floorboard. Numenorians galloping from their first step on soil until they magically teleport into a battle just in time. No one bothers to check the package with an extreme importance. That package is given to the stupid teenager, for what?

Nearly every single action, dialogue and character are just laughable, what a shame.

That was amazing

[firashattar · 10/10 · 2 October 2022]

It was amazing. It is the actual beginning of the world of The Lord of the Rings.. It really shows in this genius episode that gives us the impression of the beginning of an epic world in every sense of the word..... ..................... This episode makes us forget how this work started with a lot of boredom and slow events.. Some characters became close to the viewer.. The awaited king is very similar to the character Arjun from the movies. This is a great embodiment of this character and the actual beginning of the King of the Middle Lands.. Much applause....................................

We've been waiting for this...

[kiranparkashsingh-54364 · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

Wonderful episode in every way. We finally got our dose of high stakes action and welcomed story and character development, finally the series has taken its turn with this episodes grande finale. Arondir in particular stood out in this episode and you can't help but love his character more and more. Seeing the Numernorians ride through the Southlands really threw me back into the LOTR I know and love, we saw more depth between Isildur and Elendil's characters and Adar couldn't have been better written. The ambiguity surrounding Halbrand's character and his past grows more with each episode and Galadriel seems back in her natural environment on the battlefield rather than the Numenorians courts... And Mount Doom. Just wow. We now know the Southlands are no more, but who and where is Sauron? Amazon keep toying with us...