Rings of Power: A New Thread to Rule them All

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

48 minutes ago, Isis said:

I feel exactly the opposite. 

All the Galbrand/Celeborn saying "Where is Halbrand, for I much desire to speak to him" memes are cracking me up. This is what is best about the internet. People are losing their minds and rage-quitting a show they haven't even seen yet based on a one second clip from a promo trailer. Twenty years ago the whole "XENArwen/Elves at Helm's Deep/ Tolkien is spinning in his grave" stuff used to really annoy me and I spent a lot of time arguing with people. This time round I just find it hilarious. I guess that older me has learned some things about arguing on the internet in those 20 years. 

But for the lack of explanation for how the Elves got to Helm’s Deep and the Elves (sans Legolas) dying to a man… I liked the Elves at Helm’s Deep.

[Slurktan]

34 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

But for the lack of explanation for how the Elves got to Helm’s Deep and the Elves (sans Legolas) dying to a man… I liked the Elves at Helm’s Deep.

why is that?  Is it because you actually watched it instead of reacted like an idiot to something you haven't seen?

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

2 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

why is that?  Is it because you actually watched it instead of reacted like an idiot to something you haven't seen?

If you want to bash people complaining about something they haven't seen, then you should also bash people hyping up something they haven't seen. If making judgements about an entertaiment product based on marketing and leaks is wrong, then it should go both ways.

[Derfel Cadarn]

40 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

But for the lack of explanation for how the Elves got to Helm’s Deep and the Elves (sans Legolas) dying to a man… I liked the Elves at Helm’s Deep.

Aragorn leading them into the breach instead of standing back and shooting arrows didn’t help.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

1 minute ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Aragorn leading them into the breach instead of standing back and shooting arrows didn’t help.

But Aragorn had really thick plot armor.  Those Elves had nothing…

[IFR]

3 hours ago, Isis said:

I feel exactly the opposite. 

All the Galbrand/Celeborn saying "Where is Halbrand, for I much desire to speak to him" memes are cracking me up. This is what is best about the internet. People are losing their minds and rage-quitting a show they haven't even seen yet based on a one second clip from a promo trailer. Twenty years ago the whole "XENArwen/Elves at Helm's Deep/ Tolkien is spinning in his grave" stuff used to really annoy me and I spent a lot of time arguing with people. This time round I just find it hilarious. I guess that older me has learned some things about arguing on the internet in those 20 years. 

Certainly one should not feel rage at these things. These discussions should be entertaining, regardless of whether one is optimistic or pessimistic regarding the material. I personally find it enjoyable to occasionally poke fun at how poorly Amazon is marketing this show.

If it turns out as bad as it looks, there are hundreds of other shows and books to move on to.

2 hours ago, Slurktan said:

why is that?  Is it because you actually watched it instead of reacted like an idiot to something you haven't seen?

Perhaps we can't all achieve your elevated perspective on how one should view marketing designed to generate enthusiasm.

But alas, some of us prefer to speculate and not hold our thoughts until the series is complete, or to whatever extent of contextualization you consider necessary to properly judge a work. Because it's fun to do so.

I recall speculating on The Wheel of Time pre-release marketing, and it turns out the negativity was entirely justified. The marketing effectively and accurately represented the show, which was indeed an abomination to humankind and all that is good in the world.

[Corvinus85]

Amazon announced the release schedule: 2 episode premiere with weekly episodes after until Oct. 14. 

As per usual, Amazon will release episodes at the same time everywhere which coincides with midnight in the UK, thus the evening before the actual release date for the Americas.

[Clueless Northman]

7 hours ago, Isis said:

Twenty years ago the whole "XENArwen/Elves at Helm's Deep/ Tolkien is spinning in his grave" stuff used to really annoy me

Yeah because XenArwen didn't happen. They tried, seemingly, at least there's footage of it, but thankfully Liv Tyler wasn't that good at it, meaning she was really good for the real role of Arwen - it's also possible that Tyler wasn't exactly happy at the prospect of being cricitized for everything wrong with the movie and might have in some way "helped" to cancel her participation in the battle. Well, I suppose this was genuine footage and they didn't just shot a few seconds to possibly leak it and piss off some fans at the time.

Elves at Helm's Deep did happen and, well, that wasn't that great.

XenArwen at Helm's Deep had one great side-effect for the movies: it lowered expectations, which were ridiculously high due to some of the casting choices, involvement of Howe and Lee, first pics (Rivendell, Moria and the like) and first videos which were amazing in design and at capturing quieter bits of LOTR.

[Isis]

11 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

Amazon announced the release schedule: 2 episode premiere with weekly episodes after until Oct. 14. 

As per usual, Amazon will release episodes at the same time everywhere which coincides with midnight in the UK, thus the evening before the actual release date for the Americas.

The first two eps are airing at 2am UK time. The subsequent eps in the following weeks will be at 5am. I'll just have to have a self-imposed internet blackout on the Fridays I have to come work. 

[Farerb]

Luckily for me I don't work on Fridays so I'll be able to watch it first thing in the morning. Unfortunately I do work on Mondays so I'll have to wait for Monday evening to watch House of the Dragon.

[Calibandar]

On 8/16/2022 at 7:39 AM, IFR said:

As more information was released about House of the Dragon, it seems like there is a legitimate desire to produce a work that is faithful to Martin's world, and there is some degree of courage in what the show is attempting. It also helps that I read Fire and Blood, and the story Hot D is adapting is really quite excellent.

Now I couldn't care less about RoP and I'm extremely excited about Hot D. (Unless against all expectations it turns out that RoP is reported to be good.)

 

I'm very interested in both shows, but more into Rings of Power. Its more of a mystery, I dont really know what to expect and what we will see, whereas House of the Dragon, you know what to expect ( and that will be very good and I will enjoy it).

This Second Age setting and timeline really means quite a bit is unclear, plus the tone of the show is also something that right now I am not sure on, how mature it will feel.

[Ser Drewy]

New video on the Southlanders storyline.

I wonder if this might be the origin of a future Nazgul. 

[Corvinus85]

13 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

New video on the Southlanders storyline.

I wonder if this might be the origin of a future Nazgul. 

Likely, but we're also getting the origins of Mordor. Because at the start of clip when the map panned to the region labeled as "the southlands" that was Mordor. Or the southern portion of Mordor to be precise. 

This does reek of fan-fiction. Is there even an inkling in Tolkien's writing that the Elves sent an occupation force in regions inhabited by descendants of Men who fought for Morgoth?

[Zorral]

Trailers and stills both look like a calendar telling of a folk tale or something.

Tolkien imbibed the Nordic sagas and mythologies into every fiber of his being, from a very early period of his life. So arcs such as the Children of Húrin are where his imagination went.

There are the ages of heroes and gods. But this means Ragnarok and Armageddon are as inevitable as death, as betrayal and greed, confronting a foe that is more powerful, oneself will be a fool. But along the way there are a lot of funny moments, and beer!  Thor drinking the ocean dry in the Giants' Hall, because he thought he was drinking ale, for one instance. But in the end it will end in fire, pestilence and blood.  Then the rebirth.  Note: rebirth, not as in the Christian eschatology, redemption.

This vision infuses Lord of the Rings. But it does not infuse those who are trying to cash in on Tolkien w/o having the first sense of how he got to those 3 books known as The Lord Of the Rings.

[Clueless Northman]

7 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

This does reek of fan-fiction. Is there even an inkling in Tolkien's writing that the Elves sent an occupation force in regions inhabited by descendants of Men who fought for Morgoth?

We're not talking about 2022 China. Elves simply didn't have the numbers to do that kind of things.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 6:44 PM, DMC said:

Well, the quotes you provided were specifically referring to LOTR, and frankly are very innocuous observations you really have to stretch to complain about.  For me, LOTR - like a whole bunch of great literature - is indeed about enduring hope.

Well, you have to understand what kind of hope Tolkien actually had.

He wrote numerous time about mankind's history being a "long defeat". We're doomed, we're all going to die, the end times will come and our current world will be over. Then will come the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This is actually Tolkien's hope, the Christian hope. Not that we can actually turn the tide, become better and save the world, but that eventually God will make things better for the worthy few, those who kept faith that eventually a new better world will come, trying to do good until this happens. Every victory is a passing victory, including actually the end of the Ring and of Sauron - Tolkien tried to write the New Shadow to show that humans are humans and fall back into darkness quite easily, but that was probably too depressing for him to go on.

So all that we have, according to him, is to try to do good, to fight evil, in the fool's hope that Eru/God might help us along the way so that we don't end up fully defeated right now, and that Judgment Day will wait a bit more.

[Ran]

A note:

 

Lets turn vitriol way down. Some people are acting like Amazon and members of the production have personally beaten them up, stolen their copies of LotR, and grafitted their maps of Middle-earth.

Civil language, even about third parties who are not members of the forum, please.

[Ser Drewy]

Embracer Group enters into agreement to acquire IP rights to LOTR & The Hobbit literary works.

[Werthead]

2 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

Embracer Group enters into agreement to acquire IP rights to LOTR & The Hobbit literary works.

Interesting.

So is Embracer going to maintain the SZ Company's line that Warner Brothers don't have the film rights any more, because WB made it clear they were going to sue anyone claiming that into the ground.

[Ran]

Sverige! Sverige! Sverige!

It's passing strange that the rights to both Robert E. Howard's works and now Tolkien's are held by Swedish companies (Paradox Entertainment and Embracer Group). Wonder who's next? C.S. Lewis? 

 

[Werthead]

A not-review of the first two episodes (starting at 23 minutes in).

Some interesting stuff, like the credits says prominently, "Based on The Lord of the Rings and its Appendices."

Also some other reactions slipping out and other information, like Finrod dies as described in The Silmarillion and Sauron appears in First Age flashbacks much as he does in the Jackson prologue, but Morgoth only appears as a vague outline or shadow. He is referred to by name though.