Edmund

Agreed, but the transition from that fantastic, too-short moment into the rather pedestrian 4/4 trailerized statement of Horner's main theme and (especially) the generic chugging strings and percussion that follow sum up my frustrations with the score's action music as a whole. Yes, Horner's score also had more than a little bit of "standard blockbuster" influence, but he managed to apply it in so much more of a dynamic way than Franglen seems capable of, especially in "War" which is full of delightful little sections that build upon one another: the Nicholas Dodd nearly-slurred brass at 5:28, the absolutely monumental tolling bells at 6:06, the call-and-response trumpets at 6:33, the full-on 00s-Zimmer-style go-for-broke melodrama at 6:57... The hits just keep coming and it's constantly gripping. Franglen has his moments too but they are separated by too much standard-issue material that feels like it's marking time more than anything else. And don't get me wrong, I think Franglen did a solid job overall, it's one of the better scores of the year and the more ethereal parts are spot on. But this is where the difference emerges between a competent craftsman and an actual great, for me.

Halbrand's theme being an inverted version of Sauron's theme (or vice versa) turned out to be relevant after all! I like that. Although it's a bit weird that it will continue to carry that association if it is used for the Southlanders going forward.

The joke is that Jay has already opened two alternative positivity threads for this score/show, and thus it's funny to imagine that he would have to open even more. Granted it is hardly the pinnacle of wit, but it is still identifiably a joke, a bar which "Lol, y'all are so fragile" fails to clear. Hell, for all you know my joke was at Jay's expense and not yours.

I didn't mind your comment, but I do mind this lame attempt to cover your tracks. What part of "Lol, y'all are so fragile" is the joke? What about it is supposed to be funny?

@Jay, is it time to open a Rings of Power Themes APPRECIATION thread?

Or, as Tolkien himself put it: "the tale grew in the telling." I agree with you that there is something that feels just a little too calculated about McCreary's score and how it's constructed. I still think you are too eager to find the most uncharitable reading possible of him and his work (where do you get the impression that he thinks he's equaling Shore's music?) but you are right that you can't approach a massive endeavor like this by making a master plan and then following it letter by letter without any deviation. And while McCreary isn't exactly doing that (e.g. repurposing "Nolwa Mahtar" from a one-off idea into a recurring theme) I do think it would be nice if he deviated from his rigid thematic structure a bit more than he's doing.

Bit dramatic, no? Let people like what they like; it's not healthy for it to influence your own opinion so much whether they do or don't. I feel like you see yourself as some lone crusader for righteousness with regards to this score, and that makes me a bit uncomfortable - you speak of the music's quality in very absolute terms, as if you are the only one who "sees the truth" that it's mediocre or something. It's a bit Principal Skinner "no, it's the children who are wrong!" For the record I actually do somewhat agree with some of your criticisms of the score, I just think you are making these flaws out to be far more fatal than they are (in my opinion, of course).

It's actually kind of impressive how utterly determined you are to dislike this show and its music. McCreary could write the literal Ainulindalë and you'd still find some way to trash it.

So a similarity that could tie McCreary's music to Shore's in a thematically appropriate way is a mere "footnote", but one that might not be thematically appropriate is "violating the sonic framework"? From all your posts surrounding this score I really just get the impression you don't want to give McCreary the benefit of the doubt whatsoever and are looking for any excuse to tear into it.