A wise approach in life, and much appreciated here on these boards. Vehement disagreement is welcome, but it is important that we be kind to one another.
As far as I know, Corey Olsen never had the opportunity to meet Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, or Phillipa Boyens (someone please correct me if I am wrong about that). And so, yes, his "Riddles in the Dark" podcast was conducted completely separate from the creative team behind
The Hobbit films. It certainly would be possible to contrast his take on the first Hobbit film to his take on the first season of Rings of Power. I did not listen to "Riddles in the Dark," but it is my understanding that their enthusiasm for the Jackson project waned over time (to put it lightly). They reached a point of...'We could do a better adaptation ourselves.'
I imagine he will eventually do the same with Rings of Power - point out choices where he would have done something differently, or how this detail they included in an early part could be used to build up to something awesome later, etc. Because most of the first season seems to be the groundwork of establishing the world/characters/dilemmas, I can understand taking a 'let's see how this plays out' approach to aspects of the adaptation he and Maggie Parke aren't thrilled about so far. If it pays off later, great. If not, then I would expect the disappointment to be voiced. Perhaps even in the form of 'we did it better in Silm Film'
I agree that taking part in fandom is not an objective experience - it is by nature subjective. Everyone who is experiencing this show via watch parties, getting involved with the internet discussions, making memes, creatively engaging with the show by making costumes or writing fanfic (yes, that already exists)...is already part of a community experience, not a solo experience. There's a reason fans go to movie theaters on opening night for a show - the idea is to experience it with a room full of people who are also very excited for the movie, and you can laugh out loud or cry or gasp or have whatever reaction is evoked...alongside a bunch of other people having a similar response. [And, also, you avoid spoilers if you see it as soon as possible.] Enthusiasm is contagious, so surrounding yourself with people who are excited for something can help stoke your own excitement. And, of course, if it's terrible...you have fellow fans to share your disappointment with.
Corey Olsen is good at generating enthusiasm for the things he is enthusiastic about. I have to imagine he is very genuinely enthusiastic himself about what he is seeing in this show, and thus happy to encourage others to share in that experience. One doesn't have to go along for the ride or share the enthusiasm to appreciate his analysis, though. I've heard him give two academic talks on the prosody of Eminem. To my knowledge, no one in the audience was particularly interested in or familiar with Eminem's music (I am not). But it was interesting to watch him break down what was happening, as he would look at any other poem. I've only listened to some of
Other Minds and Hands and
Rings and Realms - I have not kept up with everything he's doing recently. But I do think that, even if you are someone who disagrees with his enthusiasm for the show, the discussions he is having are thoughtful and interesting. Your mileage may vary.
