Yup, in most prequel series you know where you’re going to land, so there’s a huge pillar of engagement (ie “what’s gonna happen?”) just kicked out from under you. That means the performances and character work need to be on-point or it just becomes “meh.” Like I said, I didn’t hate s1. Prettyboy Sauron was engaging enough, the dwarfs were fun, and the protohobbits had some heart, even if they were baffling in many ways.

However, nothing came together quite right. The Elves are aloof and unengaging, the plot is on rails, and the specific era of the setting was never really meant to support the weight of person-scale storytelling, so the whole thing just felt like an extended video game cut scene.

I guess I’ll watch more eventually, but I’m in no rush.