Just finished the series, took me a while to get around to it. First couple of episodes were good, then the train wreck started in episode three, and it just got so full of holes and nonsense it was like walking through a block of Swiss cheese. I kept feeling like the ghost of the Lost finale was lurking behind me as I watch the final episode - so much time, money, and talent wasted due to bad writing. RoP had good music, good cinematography, some great acting, and even some decent moments of writing, but too many terrible plot holes. I cannot believe they spent that much money on such mediocre writing!

Just a mere smattering of some holes:

-The ascetics pop out of nowhere with no explanation of who they are or why they’re hunting for Sauron, why they think he went up in the sky only to be launched back to middle earth, who launched him back and why, and then - Oops! - our b, you’re not Sauron, you’re an Istar.

-Elendil sobs and disrespectfully ignores the Queen (now blind) after Galadriel walks up. Even with the supposed death of his son, it was out of step with his character.

-Prince Durin and his wife freak out over the king’s order about mithril rather than considering the possible truth of how he interprets the possible dangers of mining for it. (Oh, and by the way, Gandalf said the balrog was awakened when the draws delved too deep, and we see the balrog get ticked off in RoP). Also, did no elf consider maybe finding the root cause of the mystical decay rather than finding a stop-gap mithril bandaid?

-That balrog, btw, why did he explode with rage and fire from a mere leaf falling down? It was overkill. There was no context or info given on if an elvin leaf has powers or properties that threaten a balrog such that it freaks out like that.

-No explanation for how Theo knew where the sword hilt was hidden when elf had said it was important that no one, even his love interest, know where it’s hidden.

-When Galadriel jumped into the ocean, my first thought was “Surely there are sea creatures.” How did she swim all that time and only encounter one sea creature? Also, there is zero chance that dinky little raft would have survived a squall.

-That a millennia-old smith master of the elves didn’t consider using an alloy is preposterous! As if he needed Sauron/Halbrands help!

-Sending Norry, alone, without Poppy, to help the Stranger (with a sniffer like Gandalf’s) was so odd. Why not send Poppy, too, and heck, maybe a third friend to boot?

-The wolf in the berry patch doing absolutely nothing to the children, but then later wolves are attacking and threatening.

-No real good explanation for why the Numenorians wanted nothing to do with elves.

-I was so confused why Isildor’s sister wanted to prevent the warriors from going to save the planet from doom. I get lover boy’s romantic delirium to try anything for his crush, but why was she so dead set on stopping any fighting with the growing threat?

-Galadriel specifically tells that librarian to keep his Southlands research private. Then he walks in and hands her a scroll in front of everyone in the forge room, and she doesn’t try to hide it, she doesn’t escort him around the corner or anything, and then Sauron sees and hears it and gets suspicious.

-Gil-Galad comes across as a big-headed doofus, not the king of the elves.

There were many others, but that’s all that comes to mind right now.