Forget the lore or diversity hires...
It's just a very bad TV show.
No one wants a LOST in Middle Earth. And "mystery boxes" are no substitute for good storytelling.
What we wanted was a new epic adventure set in a world we know and love.
What we got was repurposed stuff lifted from the movies and dialogues written by a random cliché generator.
The only logical explanation remains: someone with a grudge is actively sabotaging the most expensive Amazon TV project.