Welcome to Take the Black, the weekly chat show where we talk about all things sci-fi, fantasy, movies, TV, books and nasty hobbitses. This week, we're talking about the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which wraps up its second season this week. I've seen the finale early while Daniel has not, but we're both ready to give our takes on the season as a whole: what worked, what didn't, and should the show continue?
Before we get to that, we briefly stop by Westeros to report on the latest, vaguest twist in the ongoing story of the feud between Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and the creative decision-makers on the Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon. Watch the newest episode below!
The Rings of Power is an interesting beast. Amazon has spent a ton of money on it, and the show does indeed look good, but I'm still not sure it has a good enough reason to exist. It's passably similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's books but changes way too much to be called a truly faithful adaptation. But the stuff it's added seem comparatively aimless and lightweight. The show is a pleasant watch, but doesn't seem worthy of the huge investment.
In fact, there are several fantasy and sci-fi shows that match that description. Is it possible we're approaching the popping of a bubble for expensive genre shows? Speaking of that, we also touch on The Witcher, which is filming its fourth and fifth seasons — neither of which will feature original star Henry Cavill — back to back. Finally, we share what we're watching and reading these days (we're loving The Penguin along with every else) before running through the WiC News Lightning Round.
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We stream new episodes of Take the Black every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. on the WinterIsComing YouTube and Facebook pages. Join us!
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.