[SPOILERS] Rings of Power: Ah, Mithril, that's the good stuff!

[fionwe1987]

This show doesn't seem to know who their Galadriel is. She directly contradicts herself, in words and behavior, episode by episode.

And it's really pitiful character work when Mirliel wows to come back to Middle Earth. Why? What's driving her? Revenge for her eyes (which Bronwhin the healer didn't even look at)? 

And I'm having the same issues with most of the characters. This many episodes in, they should be this bland and forgettable. 

[Farerb]

‘The Rings of Power’ Writers React to 5 Fan Criticisms of Their Show

[Cas Stark]

The problem with ROP Galadriel isn't that she's a warrior or 'masculine' but that she is an asshole.

[Heartofice]

10 minutes ago, farerb said:

‘The Rings of Power’ Writers React to 5 Fan Criticisms of Their Show

This actually makes me feel kinda sorry for them. Clearly it’s a massive task to make this series and it was maybe an impossible job, and they were not ready. They at least acknowledged they didn’t get it right and there is hope next season is a lot better. I’m not angry, the show just makes me feel a bit sad.

[Cas Stark]

17 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

This actually makes me feel kinda sorry for them. Clearly it’s a massive task to make this series and it was maybe an impossible job, and they were not ready. They at least acknowledged they didn’t get it right and there is hope next season is a lot better. I’m not angry, the show just makes me feel a bit sad.

It's so deja vu for GOT.  Two random showrunners who are deeply familiar with the book(s).  And off we go. Mistakes will be made but look at that XXX.   I have a feeling I am eventually going to have to walk back some of my scathing criticism of D&D, they will always be hacks for the downward spiral they sent GOT into...but hacks at the top of the hack pile because they managed to create a great show for at least 4 seasons.  GOT had great casting, acting [mostly], pacing, characterization and plot [in the beginning]...none of which this show has for a price tag of $1B.  ROP being a mediocre fantasy series on par with The Witcher and god forbid, the horrible Wheel of Time is sad.

[The hairy bear]

4 minutes ago, Cas Stark said:

 they managed to create a great show for at least 4 seasons-

But they had great completed material to adapt. It's only when they had to start making up original storylines that they failed big.

Payne and McKay only had vague lore, sketchy stroylines and very little character work. They had to build a story from scratch.

[The Bard of Banefort]

28 minutes ago, farerb said:

‘The Rings of Power’ Writers React to 5 Fan Criticisms of Their Show

Man, the marketing for this show has been a disaster. It’s like that quote from the THR cover story about critics being “patently evil”—they may have been only talking about the people who have made genuinely bigoted comments, but that’s never going to be the way it comes across when you make statements like that. It’s always going to be interpreted as a degradation of anyone who hasn’t jumped on the hype train. And good PR agents know this.

I talked a little bit about this yesterday, but Amazon is trying desperately to cumulate a Gen Z audience when that simply isn’t who their audience is (nor is it for HOTD, for the record). For all the time they spend on their phones, Gen Z just doesn’t watch that much television (note: I am Gen Z). And in ROP’s defense, the show really isn’t anywhere near as “woke” as critics make it out to be. Except for one dumb scene about “them elves takin’ our jobs!” there really isn’t any overt modern political allegory present. Hell, I’d even go as far to suggest that Adar’s line to Galadriel about orcs having just as much a right to live in this world as she does as a kind of clumsy defense of “the deplorables.” 

But going back to the article, it’s clear that they’re very defensive about the show. And I would be too, in their position. A lot of YouTube bros complained about Disa’s actress being so over the top in her praise of the show’s diversity, but I found her enthusiasm very refreshing. She seems so genuinely stoked to be in LOTR. She was even really excited at the prospect of having a beard haha.

[SpaceChampion]

4 hours ago, LynnS said:

I'm leaning toward blue wizard now that he is a Wanderer.  If it wasn't for the beard; I'd say there was imagery suggesting Glorfindel.  The yellow flower looks like celandine which is associated with The House of the Golden Flower, Glorfindel's sigil which is either a golden flower or rayed sun.  The crater where Nori finds him looks something like a rayed sun or golden flower.

That's interesting.  I had to look his history up on the The One Wiki, and it states a bit of trivia at the bottom of the page that says Tolkien considered for a bit that Glorfindel might have been one of the Blue Wizards, but ultimately decided against it.

 

[Cas Stark]

I've always thought the meteor guy would be Gandalf.  This show is already mid-stage GOT level, where the audience is spending more time filling in the blanks and creating back stories and explaining away plot holes than the writers.

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, Cas Stark said:

The problem with ROP Galadriel isn't that she's a warrior or 'masculine' but that she is an asshole.

And the character is supposed to carry the show (or at least is one of the linchpins). Yeah, I've heard the character arc excuses but surely the writers could have come up with something better than making the character so unlikeable in addition to having a being who is supposed to be thousands of years old acting and speaking as though she is a 16 year old angsty teenager.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Consigliere

[karaddin]

I quite enjoyed this one, which probably supports my disappointment last week being migraine induced. I liked that we actually spent a fair bit of time in the literal ashes from last week, I was expecting that to be jumped over. I think it's fair to say a bunch of the Southlanders and Numenoreans were killed, we just happen to be following the stories of the ones that survived.

I do find the pacing of the season really odd though, the last 2 episodes feel like they're using the GoT approach of climax in the 2nd last and then a denouement for the season to take stock and set things up for the next season... But there's still one episode to go. Are they going to have a second climax or is it going to peter out unsatisfyingly?

8 hours ago, The Marquis de Leech said:

• Yes, we know Isildur and Celeborn aren't dead. It's dramatic irony, not tragedy.
• The Harfoot self-image is a bit... off, considering episode three.
• The evidence that mithril heals the leaf really bugged me - it's not entirely a lie.
• Durin's Bane can wait, damn it. I realise they're trying to make Durin III into less of an arsehole, but this is only season one.

1) Yeah the idea of getting upset about this "change" seems weird to me when it's so obvious that she's simply wrong

2) I laughed at that a lot for exactly this reason

3) If Sauron isn't Halbrand then it's still possible that he's behind this whole thing. Mithril works on the "corruption" because getting the elves to go after mithril is the goal. Probably not the case but a girl can hope

4) That felt like it could just be a cameo/set up for much further down the line, there's a lot of mithril to mine before they get down to it

5 hours ago, The Marquis de Leech said:

I'll tolerate Galadriel here. She has a temper, knows what it means to fall to the temptations of temper, and is basically telling Theo "do as I say, not do as I do." 

Yeah this didn't bother me at all. The shock of how badly things have gone caused enough introspection to understand that she's not in a good place, probably also realising how dark her behaviour was towards Adar as well. Then the Queen gives her a rope to cling onto for vengeance and her blood gets back up, goodbye introspection.

I liked Theo though, and after the speculation he's destined to be a Nazgul I feel like it would be a really nice subversion for him to actually wind up a genuine, and ultimately tragic, hero thanks to this conversation.

If I could trade this show for getting Bronwyn to go back to a 3rd season of Counterpart I'd do it in a flash though lol. Still upset that one was cancelled.

[Cas Stark]

6 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

And the character is supposed to carry the show (or at least is one of the linchpins). Yeah, I've heard the character arc excuses but surely the writers could have come up with something better than making the character so unlikeable in addition to having a being who is supposed to be thousands of years old acting and speaking as though she is a 16 year old angsty teenager.

Yes, Clark plays her like she's a 22 year old, not already having lived for many centuries.  She may not be all Cate Blanchett serene queen yet, but she shouldn't be acting like an unhinged teenager.  

[The Bard of Banefort]

Young Elrond may be the most “relatable” elf we’ve met so far, the most human—which I’m guessing was intentional, since he seems proud of being half-human. Of course, this creates a bit of a continuity error, since Elrond is the human-hater by LOTR. That’s mostly Isildur’s fault, but seeing how easily tempted Galadriel was by the ring, it seems a bit unfair.

[Ser Drewy]

Anyone else find Disa's greedy/opportunistic turn kind of weird? Doesn't seem like the Disa we've been seeing throughout the show. Which is a pity, since I thought the Durin/Durin and Elrond/Durin scenes were pretty good (healing Mithril aside...)

[Farerb]

24 minutes ago, Ser Drewy said:

Anyone else find Disa's greedy/opportunistic turn kind of weird? Doesn't seem like the Disa we've been seeing throughout the show. Which is a pity, since I thought the Durin/Durin and Elrond/Durin scenes were pretty good (healing Mithril aside...)

She sounded like Alicent when she told Aegon that he'll be king.

[slant]

Really liked the Elrond/During scenes. Largo's rousing speech reminded me of the president's speech in Independence Day. Almost cried. Then Sadoc and the others agreeing to go help Gandalf only took the feels up a notch. 

Halbrand/Galadriel still give me heebiejeebies tho. I guess the name of her horse is 'Raft'. At least they did not have a slow motion shot of her smiling when riding Raft. 

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by slant

[Corvinus85]

2 hours ago, farerb said:

‘The Rings of Power’ Writers React to 5 Fan Criticisms of Their Show

When the first question they answer is about the lack of beards on dwarf women, I don't know if I should take the rest of this seriously. A bunch of easy questions and deflections. 

Loved this one

Quote

“The costumes look too new”

McKay: I certainly don’t agree with that note. I think we are always talking about a lived-in world, and we’re always talking about adding breakdown [to give costumes a more worn-in look]. But also: That’s not a bad shirt you got on. Is it new?

A world lived in means people get to wear different clothes. Here most characters wear the same clothes, pristine or not, episode after episode. Galadriel and Halbrand had a couple of wardrobe changes. Durin, otoh, seems to wear that studded cuirass all the time. Compare that with House of the Dragon where every major character has had multiple wardrobes. Even Criston Cole started with a different armor set.

A world lived... ha. Got that impression somewhat with Numenor and Khazad-dum, but the Southlands stuff was just so small scale. 5 elves stood over a couple of human villages in Mordor. lol And the Harfoots are a tribe of about a dozen families.

Where did Galadriel and Halbrand ride at the end? Bronwyn mentioned that the survivors will settle in Pelargir. Halbrand states that he will not abandon these lands, and then they ride off into the sunrise?

 

[Heartofice]

The costume answer was an acknowledgment that the costumes do look too clean and are generally not great I think. The whole show looks too clean and not lived in though, it’s not just what people are wearing. From young squirt actors to a serious lack of detail and aging in sets , the whole thing has the same problem.

One of the reasons I liked the volcano scenes, it added some needed grime and dirt

[The Bard of Banefort]

13 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

When the first question they answer is about the lack of beards on dwarf women, I don't know if I should take the rest of this seriously. A bunch of easy questions and deflections. 

Loved this one

A world lived in means people get to wear different clothes. Here most characters wear the same clothes, pristine or not, episode after episode. Galadriel and Halbrand had a couple of wardrobe changes. Durin, otoh, seems to wear that studded cuirass all the time. Compare that with House of the Dragon where every major character has had multiple wardrobes. Even Criston Cole started with a different armor set.

A world lived... ha. Got that impression somewhat with Numenor and Khazad-dum, but the Southlands stuff was just so small scale. 5 elves stood over a couple of human villages in Mordor. lol And the Harfoots are a tribe of about a dozen families.

Where did Galadriel and Halbrand ride at the end? Bronwyn mentioned that the survivors will settle in Pelargir. Halbrand states that he will not abandon these lands, and then they ride off into the sunrise?

 

I think the implication is that once Halbrand is healed, he’ll return to rule the Southlands. He sounds pretty serious about it, so I’m not sure how he’s going to be in two places at once, forging the One Ring and ruling the Southlands. Unless the rings are all forged in the next episode, which I can’t even imagine how they would manage to pull off.

[LynnS]

1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

That's interesting.  I had to look his history up on the The One Wiki, and it states a bit of trivia at the bottom of the page that says Tolkien considered for a bit that Glorfindel might have been one of the Blue Wizards, but ultimately decided against it.

 

I didn't know that!  Considering that the writers are certainly making connections between the Stranger and Gandalf - his appearance, garb, etc.  In Deep Geek was saying that the showrunners may have wanted something more recognizable to casual viewers, something to connect to Peter Jackson's films.  What I find curious are the similarities in Glorfindel and Gandalf history with Balrogs.  They both killed a Balrog and died but were re-embodied and sent back to Middle Earth.

Also checking around the various wikis, apparently elves in their second or third incarnation may have a beard but it's rare.  So I don't know.  I think the Stranger might clean up really well.   His hair might be blonder than it looks and he may not be as old looking.  According to the legendarium, Glorfindel does arrive around this time.  

Sadoc recognizes that the Stranger is speaking a language that the trees understand.  That's a very elvish thing.  He also gives him the page, from his almanac with the mysterious constellation and tells him that the Harfoot haven't wandered in the lands, where you can see that constellation, in a thousands years.  So are we talking different hemispheres?

But I'd be just as happy with the Blue Wizards making an appearance.  I definately don't think he is a malign force ;although he is perilous because he doesn't know his powers and doesn't have them completely under his control yet.