Rings of Power: Three Threads for the Elven Lords (book spoilers)

[Ran]

33 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

I guess we have The Hobbit, the animated movie to compare.

I have an inordinate fondness for the cartoon, and definitely like it better than Jackson's version. But even it is not perfect, and could certainly be done better if someone put their mind to it. What I'd love to see someone like Cartoon Saloon (Wolfwalkers) or LAIKA Studios (Kubo and the Two Strings) take a crack at it.

[RhaenysBee]

Ah the Musk tweet  he’s quite the character, isn’t he? 

[LynnS]

12 hours ago, Calibandar said:

The Stranger scenes are fascinating. I dont think its Sauron at all. The use of fireflies to me seemed a clear callback to Gandalf speaking to moths. Still they are deliberately making it unclear who he is but surely at this point an Istar or something else is far more likely than Sauron. Nothing about the character says Sauron to me. They are suggesting he literally fell from the sky and is from a different constellation..... that has nothing to do with Sauron.

Yes, who is meteor man?  Something created by the Secret Fire?  One of the Maia but not Gandalf?  And not Sauron who corrupts the holy fire of creation?

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/27801/what-does-gandalf-mean-by-secret-fire-flame-of-anor-and-flame-of-udûn

 

[polishgenius]

3 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

 Will the question ever be answered that anyone else would do a worse job? 

Well, they could have given it to JJ Abrams or Zach Snyder.

[The Anti-Targ]

3 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Oh, super good! This fucking human decided to weigh in.

 

Tolkein might be turning in his grave, but not for that reason. I mean, I think pretty much the only named female characters in LOTR are Mary Sues, the flawed individuals are all male.

[The Anti-Targ]

3 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Well, they could have given it to JJ Abrams or Zach Snyder.

So you're saying Michael Bay would do a better job. I completely agree

[Ran]

1 hour ago, The Anti-Targ said:

the only named female characters in LOTR are Mary Sues

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is pleased to know you consider her a Mary Sue. Now, let Mary Sue rifle through your silverware.

[Werthead]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

Well, they could have given it to JJ Abrams or Zach Snyder.

According to rumour, when Del Toro bailed, Jackson wanted to find someone else and only agreed because he was involved enough to be able to go into production immediately, and Warner Brothers and MGM indicated that if he did not play ball, they would move production from New Zealand and hire Zach Snyder to direct. I suspect the last was an empty threat as Snyder I think was already committed to the DC movies.

[Corvinus85]

Re-watched episode 1 and then went on to episode 2.

For all that they make use of a map to let people know where characters are, which is a good idea, they are playing fast and loose with some of the places. These 'southlands' are the main example. The map keeps pointing towards Mordor, but then we meet the character of Halbard who, with a number of people, apparently fled from somewhere there on a ship that got all the way to the great sea only to be attacked by a sea monster. And somehow they intersected with a swimming Galadriel that had left from Lindon, which is pretty in the north and presumably her ship went into a straight line (or even further north) because Valinor is closer to Middle-earth in those parts. Or how did the meteor that brought the Stranger actually travel to let pretty much all the major characters see it, including Arondir and Bronwyn?

I don't think the Stranger is Sauron because the Orcs have already been starting to do stuff and gather their strength. I saw some people think it might be him because the fire around him doesn't burn Nori and the eye symbolism of the crater. But at this point I would be annoyed if it's a Maia sent by the Valar, like the Istari were. (Though of course it's likely a Maia) I may accept it if the Stranger is a Maia who went against the will of the Valar to go help the peoples of ME against Sauron, and that is why we got the whole amnesia plot.

Is Arondir the father of Bronwyn's son? It sure feels they set it up that way, both with the casting, the kid's hair that covers his ears, and the talk about him not knowing who his father is. Though maybe not, because Arondir seems to ignore the kid, caring only for Bronwyn.

I disliked in episode 1 how apparently Elrond is not considered an Elf-lord. Excuse me? Do the Appendices not mention his lineage?

Khazad-dûm has been my favorite place so far and the character interactions were a highlight. It's a shame none of that was given to Celebrimbor though. And I did like what I've seen of Celebrimbor so far, how much the legacy of Fëanor weighs on him.

I've quite liked the Harfoots on how they have been represented, as a migratory people who are excellent at keeping a low profile. They shouldn't have been needed for this story, but here we are. Each race does feel unique and developed, so I have some hope for the Dúnedain.

 

[SeanF]

1 hour ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Tolkein might be turning in his grave, but not for that reason. I mean, I think pretty much the only named female characters in LOTR are Mary Sues, the flawed individuals are all male.

Eowyn is not a Mary Sue.

[SeanF]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

Well, they could have given it to JJ Abrams or Zach Snyder.

Or Benioff & Weiss.

[Tongue Stuck to Wall]

1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said:

I disliked in episode 1 how apparently Elrond is not considered an Elf-lord. Excuse me? Do the Appendices not mention his lineage?

At first I thought it was something lame like Elrond has been ostracized because he's Half-elven, but I guess they were setting him up as Gil-Galad's admin assistant who has to earn his spurs before he can be elevated to elf-lord status (which is also lame).

Celebrimbor's speech about the silmarils was kind of funny given Elrond's heritage.  Too bad the scene didn't take place in the early evening or dawn; Elrond could have shrugged a shoulder at Earendil out the window - "Yes, my family has some passing familiarity with these jewels of which you speak."

 

[IFR]

1 hour ago, SeanF said:

Or Benioff & Weiss.

I think their star has renewed some of its glitter with all the other failed fantasy works that have come out.

Even at their most burned out and indifferent point (seasons 7 and 8), the writing there was still better than this show. It just suffered from the uncanny valley effect with respect to the earlier seasons being so good. The benefit for RoP is that it starts out utterly cheesy and with atrocious writing, seemingly only interested in special effects, and so it sets expectations incredibly low right from the start.

I think for Weis and Benioff, The Three Body problem will settle their television legacy. If it turns out a disaster then one can attribute the quality early seasons of GoT as a fluke; if it turns out well, then I think people will once again appreciate their talent as showrunners (and perhaps shift more of the blame to Martin, whose irresponsible writing habits I feel deserve more blame for the fall of GoT).

[Nabarg]

I think meteorman is the Man in the Moon (propably looking for plumpudding).

[GallowKnight]

I think meteor-man i Gandalf simply because I don't think there's any way Amazon could resist some of that sweet Gandalf/Hobbit-nostalgia action.

I'm also think that raft-boy is Sauron.

[Darryk]

Gaiman's response to what Musk said was pretty funny:

 

 

[Le Cygne]

Really enjoying Rings of Power so far. The second episode was better than the first. By the time the second one ended, I was wishing it hadn't ended yet.

Elanor Brandyfoot is maybe my favorite so far, and the mystery of the Stranger. I liked the Elrond and Durin friendship, too. Galadriel and Halbrand was intriguing.

Beautiful cinematography and music. It was fun to see visualizations of places I'd only read about before. They did a nice job of continuity with the movies.

For a con, I wish they'd just let the dwarves have their own noses (not fake ones), but I felt that way about the Hobbit movies, too. But the acting shines through.

If anyone wants an elves refresher, this article was nice:

https://www.looper.com/240238/the-backstory-of-the-lord-of-the-rings-elves-explained/

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

4 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Tolkein might be turning in his grave, but not for that reason. I mean, I think pretty much the only named female characters in LOTR are Mary Sues, the flawed individuals are all male.

Whatever their virtues or their flaws, If Tolkien were alive today he'd see these adaptations increasing the overall interest in his mythology and juicing the sales of his books. He's also see his families' waistcoat and motor car budget funded in perpetuity thanks to those fat Amazon moneys. His post-mortem revolutions might not be as vigorous as some might think.

35 minutes ago, Darryk said:

Gaiman's response to what Musk said was pretty funny:

In the immortal words of J.R.R Tolkien, Gaiman woke up this morning and decided to, "Stunt on this Hoe."

[The Marquis de Leech]

On the food front: it's just something Tolkien himself is patchy on. Never mind Khazad-dum, how the hell does Angband feed itself? Mushrooms and bats?

I am hoping that we are "over the hump" so far as getting plot-silliness out the way. They wanted to show Galadriel reject Valinor, and find herself stuck in Middle-earth. They wanted to get her to Numenor (she's a focal point character, after all). OK. They've done that, in a hamfisted way. Time to move forward with the story.

With the possible exception of Mirkwood - if it's there - and Celeborn, there are little further introductions needed, once we see Numenor.  

[The Marquis de Leech]

BTW, the Southlands storyline is heavily Tal-Elmar meets The New Shadow. This is a strange adaptation, in that the writers are painfully aware of the source material (far better than Jackson, frankly)... but they are limited by the scope of what they are allowed to show. Thus we get given The Silmarillion without The Silmarillion.