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

[mormont]

8 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

They seem to be vegetarian.

Snails aren't vegetables...

[Clueless Northman]

11 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

 

  Hide contents

I kinda want to vote Sauron because it would be such a slap in the face for Galadriel to get laid by the very evil she’s been hunting for decades. Though you know, maybe she thinks she can change him. 
and anyway, what’s stupider from a lore perspective? That she has a rando human love interest or that Sauron is her love interest? 

 

Yeah, considering that Galadriel, Gil-Galad and Elrond saw right through Sauron's shtick as Annatar and told him to buzz off, and only Celebrimbor got taken in for a ride, that would be a glorious change. What was it? "subvert expectations" by making nonsense?

[TheReal_Rebel]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

Don't know what to make of the round domed Ironkeep ediface of King's Landing, and the round domed ediface -- the palace? -- of Numenor, both looking like the Hagia Sophia, when all three are viewed from a distance.

Do a google and check it out!

I still like it and look forward to new episodes.  I love looking at it too (except for orcs and other monsters -- how we hates them).

The Dragon Pit is the one that looks like Hagia Sophia most . Y’know where they stable the Dragons.

The one in ROP looks like a half dome of it.

I am enjoying both shows.  I still haven’t ruled out Halbrand being Sauron despite his reveal that leans into his more likely to being a possible witch king.

 I would enjoy a monologue from Sauron on what his experience being human is like.

[Zorral]

Still, as with Númenor and Istanbul, viewed from a distance, on water, in ROP its the first thing that draws the eye.

https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Milly-Alcock-as-young-Rhaenyra-Targaryen-on-the-back-of-Syrax-in-House-of-the-Dragon-with-a-backdrop-of-Kings-Landing.jpg?

https://screenrant.com/kings-landing-looks-different-house-dragon-game-thrones/

 

[IFR]

Yeah, I think I'm done with this show. I hope people who enjoy it continue to do so, but for my part the show isn't entertaining in a good way, and it's not in so bad it's good territory either. 

Oh well. This show did get me to start rereading LotR the book again, and it's great fun. So not a total loss.

[TheReal_Rebel]

41 minutes ago, Clueless Northman said:

Yeah, considering that Galadriel, Gil-Galad and Elrond saw right through Sauron's shtick as Annatar and told him to buzz off, and only Celebrimbor got taken in for a ride, that would be a glorious change. What was it? "subvert expectations" by making nonsense?

Celebrimbor paid the heavy price but Elrond, Galadriel and Cirdan reaped the rewards of having those three rings for thousands of years.

Always seemed unfair given what happens to Celebrimbor.

 

[Vodalus]

Finally, horses! Three horses in episode three, two of which were actually ridden. Unfortunately the horse riding sequence was sort of bizarre. I guess it was supposed to be a moment where saint maud was feeling herself, but it reminded me of those demonstration reels they play on the flatscreen TVs in best buy.

I don't hate this show but it's extremely mid to me!

[The Bard of Banefort]

Visually, this show is beautiful, and I have a hard time seeing how anyone could disagree. I love the music too.

I know the popular theory is that Halbrand is Sauron, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re much more straightforward and have that old guy who is with Theo in the trailers be Sauron instead. 

I really like Elendil. He even looks like Aragorn!

I know there was some controversy around the Harfoots appearing, but it’s a damn good thing they did. They’re by far the best part of this show. When everyone else is a snobbish elf or a long-lost king, you need someone a bit more humbler to relate too. Even if their dialogue is a little cheesy, it’s zippy and fun enough to lift your spirits.

It looks like they’re going for a repeat of ArwenxAragorn with Galadriel and Halbrand. And as much as it must irk book purists, it’s probably a wise move. People like these forbidden romances. (They didn’t put the dwarf/elf romance in The Hobbit for nothing!) Plus, if Bronwyn and her elf boyfriend are as boring as they were in the premiere, they’re going to need a better romance in its place.

 

[SpaceChampion]

I want to know how the Harfoots are baking pie when they can't be farming wheat to make the flour?  Maybe they're making chestnut flour to make their chestnut pie.

I think Harbrand is definitely not Sauron, and it's incredible to me anybody still thinks he or Meteor Man is.  Could be a future Nazgul though.

No, the fireflies don't indicate the wizard is evil, it indicates he doesn't have control of his own power yet.

[The Bard of Banefort]

1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

I want to know how the Harfoots are baking pie when they can't be farming wheat to make the flour?  Maybe they're making chestnut flour to make their chestnut pie.

I think Harbrand is definitely not Sauron, and it's incredible to me anybody still thinks he or Meteor Man is.  Could be a future Nazgul though.

No, the fireflies don't indicate the wizard is evil, it indicates he doesn't have control of his own power yet.

Yeah, I don’t think they’d make him both a long-lost king AND Sauron. If they really wanted to trick viewers, they’d have Sauron be disguised as a woman, which would surely piss off the YouTube bros even more. 

[Wade1865]

I wanted to like the show, so I'm a little biased. Thus far (EP 3) it's fair, but I've the advantage of not having read the books. After three episodes, I'm starting to like -- not love -- it, and am hopeful on one aspect: the absurdity of Galadriel's every scene turns into something more appropriate. There's still opportunity, in that her story arc improves beyond being an amusingly horrible leader and into someone genuinely good, caring, and charismatic; and yes, I'm talking about someone like me.

***

Galadriel. So far she's behaving worse than a noob Lieutenant with unearned authority. I may be a little bit sexist, but in a former life, the best and worst company-grade commanders I knew were both women. They were sooo beautiful, very intelligent, held presence. The better one -- also a blonde -- took care of her Soldiers, cooperated with peers, secured resources, planned and prepared, and accomplished the mission. The lesser one -- a brunette -- was an arrogant piece of poop -- a wannabe Rakkasan who could never have become one. Galadriel behaved like the latter.

Youth. The star of the show began poorly. When she was a girl building her paper boat in alienated isolation, she should instead have been practicing the 48 Laws of Power on those bastard children, consolidating authority over them and even dominating the bitch who sank her warship. The only good part was the brother -- I wonder if little Galadriel was his barber?

Mountain. She has the idea to climb K2 despite lethal wind gusts while wearing body armor and leaving her tiny company over a 100 meters below her. They almost killed her Sergeant! In reality, she'd have lost 80% of her command. The scene continues with her leading point, which was bizarre (wut!), while her fighters barely cling to survival, almost abandoning their weakest during a blizzard. And of all the fighters, it was her alone (while floating on air, turning her back to a dying threat -- no! no! no!) who Mary-Sue'd the troll killing!? No wonder her entire company rebelled; I'd have, too.

Elrond. Is this how you treat an ally and close friend? Sure, if you're a sadist who enjoys jack-booting a friend who treated you with kindness. Notable "quotes" and ::behaviors:: included, but are not limited to, "why Elrond ... you really have become a politician" ; "I demand to speak with the King directly" ; ::staring down the King long enough to show him who's boss:: ; "a gift I have decided to refuse" ; "conflicted" as her ::ear / eye freaks out in some odd jerking motions:: ; "you have not seen what I've see" ; and, the one dialogue I just made up, but wouldn't be shocked if she had said it herself, "Elrond, go fuck yourself."

Númenor. Being snotty with a ship's captain who just saved you from death, and showing no gratitude, was dumb. Interrupting her savior, Halbrand, and shutting him up in shame, was stupid. Demanding transportation, undermining their human achievements by claiming all civilizational success was due to elves (even if true), and challenging the leader's authority despite being treated in a civil manner; was ludicrous.

Again, I want to like the show, but please -- for the love of God -- stop any future albino-horsed, beach-side rides with creepy smiles and daytime soap opera music. I still have hope, e.g., the prison scene with Halbrand shows promise in her leadership. Sideline, or evolve, her.

[karaddin]

On 9/8/2022 at 8:01 AM, polishgenius said:

 

This is a somewhat circular response to a post suggesting it's unlikely to be Gandalf if he's breaking random people's feet. 

In any case I can't judge for myself till I see it myself but clearly the creators got something about that moment wrong if your take is what they intended, because multiple people are assuming he did break the guy's foot. 

I did actually interpret the scene that way as well - that we were seeing a terrible consequence from Nori not being there to help, but I think its a fair criticism when a bunch of people get something completely different from it.

12 hours ago, Zorral said:

Don't know what to make of the round domed Ironkeep ediface of King's Landing, and the round domed ediface -- the palace? -- of Numenor, both looking like the Hagia Sophia, when all three are viewed from a distance.

The gold of the dome actually put me in mind of Temple Mount in Jerusalem, but the shape wasn't quite right for that. It certainly looks like a blending of the two to me now you put the Hagia Sophia in mind.

If people are going to put in their live stream of thoughts ranting at the stupidity of the show, can you at least then acknowledge when the show actually does what you were complaining they wouldn't do? For example, if you think its dumb that Halbrand would get in a fight like that and it should land him in prison, at least give a sliver of credit to the show when he does actually land in prison for it.

That slow mo on the horse was about 3x longer than "overly indulgent" would have been, no idea what they were thinking.

[Ser Drewy]

I think I liked this episode less than the other two. 

Khazad-Dum was missed.

Really, really don't care for Bratdriel. Her aggressiveness doesn't maker her seem impassioned or hot-headed; it makes her look stupid more often than not. I get arrogance is quite common of the Noldor... but eh, I feel their depiction makes her look like a pouting teenager (and not a particularly bright one) rather than someone with a few thousands years of life under her belt. 

Numenor looks great, but the drama there is rather... eh. Halbrand swiping the dagger in front of about 100 witnesses feels contrived. Later on, I'm not really sure what Halbrand's plan was. Stealing the medal will... what? Surely not get him in.  I also don't understand why Galadriel, an escapee, is able to visit him in the dungeon. The Sauron mark stuff is serviceable, I guess, though rather underwhelming as an explanation. So far I mostly wonder how the theme of death will play out in Numenor. I'm thinking the timeline smoosh is going to make it difficult to convey. Elendil family seems okay. See where they go, I guess. 

The Harfoots, weirdly, are the most compelling here. They're a pretty amusing bunch. Poor Poppy.  I'm fully expecting to dislike where Meteor Man goes, but for now it's pretty solid. 

The scene with the Orc water was fine until that hilariously melodramatic death scene for that bit-part elf. It conjures up the memory of Jackson trying way, way too hard to make a big deal out of Haldir's death. Of all the things to borrow from Jackson, his overwrought emotionality is not something I'd have chosen. Also I feel we needed some explanation as to how the other elves ended up there. The warg CG was really bad and its design on the comical side and I'm really tired of these implausible Legolas/Spiderman style stunts. 

I don't think Adar's Sauron. I'm sorta curious about the elf-orc hybrid being. But the rumours he's Galadriel's brother or even Maglor are really off-putting. 

[mormont]

It's interesting to see the common trope of dismissing Galadriel as being like a 'teenager' because she acts like, well, a whole range of male protagonists in TV.

I would actually say that she and Arondir are my two favourite characters, and the main reasons I enjoy the show in spite of some clumsy missteps it's made. Nori annoys me (though I like her parents), Halbrand seems uninspired so far, I'm not sure about this version of Elrond, and I haven't seen enough of Theo or Bronwyn or Celebrimbor or the rest. But Galadriel takes no shit, and I am a sucker for a stoic character so Arondir is fun.

[The Bard of Banefort]

5 minutes ago, mormont said:

It's interesting to see the common trope of dismissing Galadriel as being like a 'teenager' because she acts like, well, a whole range of male protagonists in TV.

I would actually say that she and Arondir are my two favourite characters, and the main reasons I enjoy the show in spite of some clumsy missteps it's made. Nori annoys me (though I like her parents), Halbrand seems uninspired so far, I'm not sure about this version of Elrond, and I haven't seen enough of Theo or Bronwyn or Celebrimbor or the rest. But Galadriel takes no shit, and I am a sucker for a stoic character so Arondir is fun.

Plus, they needed to create some kind of arc for her. She’s clearly going to evolve into the serene lady we met in LOTR. If she started off that way, she’d have no way to grow. Elrond’s arc is bound to be less pleasant, as we’ll see him lose a lot of his optimism and friendliness.

[SeanF]

12 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

Yeah, considering that Galadriel, Gil-Galad and Elrond saw right through Sauron's shtick as Annatar and told him to buzz off, and only Celebrimbor got taken in for a ride, that would be a glorious change. What was it? "subvert expectations" by making nonsense?

Imagine if Celebrian is really the daughter of Sauron?

[Darryk]

This show has some really naff dialogue in it.

"The sea is always right" 

The Harfoots are sociopaths, they leave someone behind if they sprain an ankle.

Galadriel reminds me of a guy in my D&D group who keeps arguing with the DM and plays all his characters as antagonistic toward everyone.

When Elendil said "it's a day's ride from here" and Galadriel responds "a ride you say?" I was expecting porn music.

[SeanF]

12 hours ago, Zorral said:

Still, as with Númenor and Istanbul, viewed from a distance, on water, in ROP its the first thing that draws the eye.

https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Milly-Alcock-as-young-Rhaenyra-Targaryen-on-the-back-of-Syrax-in-House-of-the-Dragon-with-a-backdrop-of-Kings-Landing.jpg?

https://screenrant.com/kings-landing-looks-different-house-dragon-game-thrones/

 

That's a nice comparison.  Armenelos ought to be a capital to rival Constantinople under Basil II or Justinian, or Istanbul under Suleiman the Magnificent.

[SeanF]

1 hour ago, Ser Drewy said:

I think I liked this episode less than the other two. 

Khazad-Dum was missed.

Really, really don't care for Bratdriel. Her aggressiveness doesn't maker her seem impassioned or hot-headed; it makes her look stupid more often than not. I get arrogance is quite common of the Noldor... but eh, I feel their depiction makes her look like a pouting teenager (and not a particularly bright one) rather than someone with a few thousands years of life under her belt. 

Numenor looks great, but the drama there is rather... eh. Halbrand swiping the dagger in front of about 100 witnesses feels contrived. Later on, I'm not really sure what Halbrand's plan was. Stealing the medal will... what? Surely not get him in.  I also don't understand why Galadriel, an escapee, is able to visit him in the dungeon. The Sauron mark stuff is serviceable, I guess, though rather underwhelming as an explanation. So far I mostly wonder how the theme of death will play out in Numenor. I'm thinking the timeline smoosh is going to make it difficult to convey. Elendil family seems okay. See where they go, I guess. 

The Harfoots, weirdly, are the most compelling here. They're a pretty amusing bunch. Poor Poppy.  I'm fully expecting to dislike where Meteor Man goes, but for now it's pretty solid. 

The scene with the Orc water was fine until that hilariously melodramatic death scene for that bit-part elf. It conjures up the memory of Jackson trying way, way too hard to make a big deal out of Haldir's death. Of all the things to borrow from Jackson, his overwrought emotionality is not something I'd have chosen. Also I feel we needed some explanation as to how the other elves ended up there. The warg CG was really bad and its design on the comical side and I'm really tired of these implausible Legolas/Spiderman style stunts. 

I don't think Adar's Sauron. I'm sorta curious about the elf-orc hybrid being. But the rumours he's Galadriel's brother or even Maglor are really off-putting. 

I don't think the elves ever developed military tactics other than "up at and at 'em."  The history of Middle Earth is full of stories of elves getting slaughtered in vast numbers, because they placed honour before reason.  The less naturally gifted men were actually a lot more cautious and thoughtful in war.

[ASOIAFrelatedusername]

4 hours ago, karaddin said:

If people are going to put in their live stream of thoughts ranting at the stupidity of the show, can you at least then acknowledge when the show actually does what you were complaining they wouldn't do? For example, if you think its dumb that Halbrand would get in a fight like that and it should land him in prison, at least give a sliver of credit to the show when he does actually land in prison for it.

Was that supposed to be directed at me? My original complaint was that Halbrand's behavior was absolutely moronic not that the show would let him get away with it. And no, the show does not deserve credit for having consequences follow actions. Nevermind that he is almost certainly going to get out of prison soon anyway and the whole thing will be forgotten.