Kaka

If we ignore the fact that it actually revolves around one town, one village and one army, and thus doesn't have nearly the breadth and monstrous epicness of its cinematic predecessor, the sixth episode is quite fun. It's properly dark, there are a few elven perks and properly gritty fights that are quite decently edited and suspenseful. If the whole series was in this style, I would be satisfied.

A showcase of breathtaking sets, impressive landscapes and solid music that seeks to build on the success of the films once again. In terms of characters, drama and plot development, it's still a bitterly hard slogging average.

The fourth episode feels like beating around the bush the whole time, just waiting for the slapping to happen in the next episodes. Many of the dialogue passages are terribly tedious and annoying. It has its passable moments and some decent characters, but unfortunately that doesn’t include the main ones.

So far, the LoTR series feels more like a whodunit, it has a lot of names and questions, but it’s very sparse with the answers. Compared to the classic epic films, this is quite a difference, but it can be managed. The third episode also has a little better dynamics, fewer hobbits and a beautifully rendered Númenor, whose creators were heavily inspired by Gondor in Return of the King.

If it wasn’t for Moria, this episode would be even less entertaining than the first one. So far, it's a shame the potential of the characters hasn't been exploited, because hardly any of them are interesting. Whereas in the films the Hobbits were cute, here they are annoying, while the noble Elves look like members of a religious sect. So far, this patchwork looks very disjointed.

The first few minutes are truly gripping, unfortunately, in the worst sense of the word. Because when you get two elves philosophising under a tree about why a rock doesn't float and a boat does, the level of screenwriting is somewhere near primary school. Fortunately, after a few minutes, the LoTR series, at least as far as visual and aesthetic qualities go, gets off to a fairly solid start and makes us remember the old days of the most successful fantasy films ever, which did several times better for barely half the money. The actors are a big question mark so far, technically it’s OK, but lacks ingenuity, directorial skill and a sense of cinematic epic. So far, at least the first episode, looks rather like a polished version of medieval Indiana Jones.

A film about how important it is to have a family, or at least friends you can rely on. A feel-good movie that, aside from decent performances and a few too many tear-jerking scenes, keeps itself mostly wholesomely civil and enjoyable, peppered with great jazz and "Shawshank" voiceovers that are dosed just when they're needed.

House of the Dragon is too drawn out for my taste, and insufficiently skilful in dealing with the intrigue, power struggles and psychological warfare of the main characters. It often goes to such an extreme that it basically "takes away" even one whole episode. And watching hours of brooding gazes in darkened (albeit fantastically arranged) sets is not why we love the world of Game of Thrones so much. There is a lack of balance, there are no strong characters to carry the story and when there is one, or one is finally formed, it is raped by the replacement of the main protagonist – another big problem that was not handled well at all. But the truth remains that HoD solidly replicates the trademarks that worked well from the beginning. It can create a gripping atmosphere in places, the character of Daemon is great and when the dragons kick it up a notch it's worth it too. Considering how the first season ends, the second one could finally be the real deal with about three times the budget of its older sibling. Overall, the first season is surprisingly rather intimate and lacks any spectacular battle.

The right alliances, fateful dilemmas and key twists. It is good to know that the creators did not forget to produce breathtaking material, it's just a shame that it had to come in the last few episodes with the exception of the opening one. Exceptional visual effects, great set design, a conclusion in a tension that could be cut, and probably the best scene of the whole series.

Without that ending, this episode would be barely half as good. But it's true that we're slowly reaching a boiling point between the characters and their motivations. Matt Smith is in a different acting league than the rest.