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Message: <blockquote data-quote="OB1" data-source="post: 8809144" data-attributes="member: 6796241">I'm not a fan of Inglorious Bastards either and really didn't care for Avengers Endgame.  I also stopped watching HotD after 3 episodes (after being a GoT fanatic).  If I was reviewing any of these on a site, I'd give them 3 stars, because while they don't engage me personally, I can recognize the technical skill and creativity that went in to all of them.  Having watched thousands and thousands of hours of scripted film and tv in my life, I can think of maybe three or four that I would actually give a single star.  When I see a 1 star review of something, I instantly think that it is because the reviewer has an axe to grind or another agenda. Now, I could be wrong, and the reviewer could have given it 1 star in good faith, but the only way I'd be able to suss that out would be to look at a few dozen other reviews by that person to get a feel for how they see media in general.  On the other hand, a 2 or 3 star review I might take the time to read the users comments on, to see if there is any illumination. But typically, 1 star reviews use a lot of review jargon like 'poor characterization', 'fan-fiction' or 'pacing issues' without any specific examples to back up those claims.  They've heard those words used in negative critiques of other media, and repeat them in the review to justify their low rating.  One of the things that RoP does very well is clearly communicating the goals of it's main characters, then putting those goals into conflict in scenes.  There is rarely a scene in the show that I don't know what a character wants and what is preventing them from achieving that in the moment.  It's a technical storytelling concept that when used well can make almost any story functional (and something that the three examples I listed above don't do very well, IMO).  Galadriel, for example, is an extremely powerful elf who's tragic flaw drives the narrative through the first season.Now, there is a valid question as to whether the show is using the cultural familiarity with Tolkien as a short-hand to get around having to build it's own unique character-conflict-resolution narrative (Marvel movies have been especially guilty of this lately).  And there are definitely times that the show expects the viewer to be aware of the LotR films (if not Tolkien's writing), but for the most part, I feel it earns its moments.  That said, I can understand arguments from those who know Tolkien's writings well who would argue that the show is using the Tolkien brand to give the show gravitas it hasn't earned on it's own.  I also understand arguments from those who say that the show does do Tolkien's work justice, and is retelling the story for a new medium and era.  I don't know Tolkien well enough to comment either way, but those types of arguments do illuminate and deepen my understanding of the work itself.</blockquote>

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