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Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power [Amazon] *Spoilers*

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Comments

  • #872
    nix
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,943 ✭✭✭nix


    Yeah warping around to different destinations, its bad writing. It's what they started doing towards the end of GOT's also, where in the earlier seasons it would take them a season or two to get to their destination. I'm well aware not all journeys need to be shown and a jump in time is necessary, but in my mind, the entire story needs to make that jump in time, otherwise it just comes off as sloppy.

    GOT done it in the beginning, and done it well, planning out your story or staying true to the detailed source material helped. ROP being this sloppy from the get go is worrying, it shows very little effort went into the planning of the story :(



  • #873
    Tony EH
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119612248#Comment_119612248

    Something tells me that Amazon doesn't give a toss about Tolkien's description of the races he created.



  • #874
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119613380#Comment_119613380

    Absolutely, but if we are going to be pedants we should at least be correct.

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



  • #875
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119612876#Comment_119612876

    There is no challenge to the journey. The elves control most middle earth. They aren’t any goblins, orca or trolls will to stick their heads out year because Sauron is off hiding.


    There is no one to be scared of between Eriador and Moria. The few non elves in those lands are friends to the elves. What’s the point in showing them calmly walking or riding through the peaceful countryside in a completely uneventful way.

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



  • #876
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,194 ✭✭✭corkie


    There is no one to be scared of between Eriador and Moria.

    The locations are relatively close to each other?

    This Lord of the Rings Middle-earth map can help you navigate The Rings of Power

    Tolkien loved a map and you should too

    https://nerdist.com/article/a-guide-to-rings-of-power-locations-middle-earth-lord-of-the-rings/

    Eregion, Realm of the Elven-Smiths

    Celebrimbor brings Elrond to this Elvish city along a river. He endeavors to build a great forge to make objects of both beauty and power (like rings, perhaps?). For some reason, this also requires a tower to be built and Celebrimbor simply doesn’t have the workforce to finish the project on his desired timeline. He and Elrond travel to nearby Khazad-Dûm to enlist the help of the dwarves in this great engineering feat.

    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
    "But that's balanced out by the fact that it's a mandate not to do very much." ~ Prof. Eoin O'Malley



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  • #877
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119614362#Comment_119614362

    That map isn’t Middle Earth at the time of the show. It’s after the world is bent and Numeanor is gone.


    Edit: forgot that. I was wrong.

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



  • #878
    BruteStock
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,274 ✭✭✭BruteStock


    A good read...

    And another one asking why the trolls of Nilbog I mean Harfoots are offensive but its behind a paywall unfortunately.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2022/09/12/the-rings-of-power-has-a-galadriel-problem/
    https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2022/09/13/rings-of-power-why-are-the-harfoots-hungry-simpletons-with-stage-irish-accents-we-ask-the-showrunners/




  • #879
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 2,264 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    In fairness, it looks lovely. Just skip through the hobbit bits until Gandalf v0.1 kicks in proper. Be grand.



  • #880
    PTH2009
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,723 ✭✭✭✭PTH2009


    How come the Easterlings and other Men turned to the evil side are ignored for the most part in both this series and in the movies

    On this series wasn't mad about episodes 1 and 2 but episode 3 really shot the series in the arm



  • #881
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,194 ✭✭✭corkie


    https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Easterlings

    They had a small role in the movies?

    The Complete History of the Easterlings | Tolkien Explained

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUxo-rYa7XU


    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
    "But that's balanced out by the fact that it's a mandate not to do very much." ~ Prof. Eoin O'Malley



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  • #882
    PTH2009
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,723 ✭✭✭✭PTH2009


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119617740#Comment_119617740

    Would love a series about them and showing the interactions with the orcs etc



  • #883
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,194 ✭✭✭corkie


    https://www.cbr.com/lotr-rings-of-power-stranger-wizard-prime-video/
    https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Wizards

    However, in a text found in The Peoples of Middle-earth, alternate set of names are given, Morinehtar and Rómestámo (or Rome(n)star), "Darkness-slayer" and "East-helper". It is not clear whether these names were intended to be replacements for Alatar and Pallando, or whether they had a second set of names (for instance, their names used in Middle-earth).

    A good name for 'Meteor Man'?

    The Blue Wizards are said to possibly have started a cult of magic in the far east of Middle-Earth. It could be that this Wizard has returned from the East and what he learned there left him confused. While that would go against traditional J.R.R. Tolkien lore, The Rings of Power has already made some divergences from the established world to build the story the series is trying to tell.

    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
    "But that's balanced out by the fact that it's a mandate not to do very much." ~ Prof. Eoin O'Malley



  • #884
    is_that_so
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,132 ✭✭✭✭is_that_so


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119617468#Comment_119617468

    Well, they long had issues with Gondor and even before he set up shop in Mordor it was very easy for Sauron to exploit that. A lot of the details of that part of Middle Earth describe almost constant raids and regular battles.



  • #885
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119617954#Comment_119617954

    I’m telling ye, he’s an ex Balrog.

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



  • #886
    silverharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,853 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119618544#Comment_119618544


    goes through the case for that here

    https://youtu.be/mySuzXuWqGs


    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



  • #887
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,194 ✭✭✭corkie


    https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Balrogs

    Second Age

    Sauron gathered "all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth and beneath it", starting the Accursed Years, however no Balrogs are mentioned as being active at this time.


    In later writings, however, Christopher Tolkien notes that:

    In the margin my father wrote: 'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most 7 ever existed.


    As Balrogs feature more in 'The Silmarillion' and don't think amazon have the rights to that.

    How powerful was the Balrog?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_DpjEhufhM

    The Balrogs of Morgoth | Tolkien Explained

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLBd1Z4ktL8


    Yes, I know one appeared in trailers early in the year, but that could have been a flashback?

    Post edited by corkie on

    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
    "But that's balanced out by the fact that it's a mandate not to do very much." ~ Prof. Eoin O'Malley



  • #888
    breezy1985
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,056 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    Latest episode definitely has me interested and the pace has finally picked up (except the boring Harfeet)

    Seeing Numenor was cool and the beginning of Mordor.

    Some of the production is terrible though like the amateurish overuse of slow motion.



  • #889
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119619540#Comment_119619540

    Yeah, why don’t we see any other Balrogs? Because they changed form are the capture of Morgoth. I suspect this Maia is sent for penance after some Balrogging. Even better would be if it was the Balrog Glorfindel killed.

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



  • #890
    liamtech
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,836 ✭✭✭liamtech


    all joking and criticism or the show aside

    I love how the debate around the show, has sparked a chat on Tolkien lore - discussions of Maia, the fact that Sauron and Gandalf are TECHNICALLY The same species

    Sic semper tyrannis - thus always to Tyrants



  • #891
    liamtech
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,836 ✭✭✭liamtech


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_gFEN-GhiQ


    fantastic video

    Sic semper tyrannis - thus always to Tyrants



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  • #892
    liamtech
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,836 ✭✭✭liamtech


    Episode 4 - Poor IMHO - 4/10 - but average for the series

    The Good:

    • Adar - interesting character, and one of the few plot threads that has me interested
    • Mordor - Yea the orcs seizing the land - interested in this
    • The sword - which is now OH SO CLEARLY a morgul blade
    • there are no Harfoots - so this gives the episode a bonus point

    The Bad

    • Time jumps - if we assume that all plots are concurrent then i have to believe the Elves have master DE-materialization Transporter technology. Aside from the fact that the construction of Celebrimbors 'thing' looks well under way - Elrond once again BEAMS to Moria
    • the pacing is literal madness for this episode - once again what is interesting (Adar, the sword, etc) is short - and what is long, (everything else) is uninteresting
    • I genuinely hate Galadriel - her literal madness as she climbs a tower - is insane - and she is a VERY annoying character
    • Isildur and the sailors thread is wrecking my head -
    • we dont see much of Halbrand - except for some reason he is released at the end
    • The dialogue is pathetic
    • Numenor, is Rome - I know Tolkien modeled it on Atlantis, etc - but the Themes, the design, etc - is more Roman than proto-Gondorian

    anyway - interested to see what people think

    Sic semper tyrannis - thus always to Tyrants



  • #893
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 5,121 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119625610#Comment_119625610

    I agree with you. I’m not as into the detail and so the timejumps and pacing doesn’t bother me as much. But Galadriel is the issue for me. She is less like an elf, and more like a pointy eared human with ADHD. I find her very annoying and that, along with some of the dodgy dialogue, may be the thing that loses me.



  • #894
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,194 ✭✭✭corkie


    https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/The_Great_Wave_%28episode%29

    Halfway point and that episode was kind of tedious.

    https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/rings-of-power-episode-3-recap-1235373897/

    “The Rings of Power” is in no great rush to reveal its secrets, instead taking a cue from Gandalf and arriving precisely when it means to; few fictional worlds have put as much emphasis on the journey as they do on the destination, however, and so this remains a leisurely stroll through Middle-earth and beyond punctuated by occasional reminders of its epic scope rather than the other way around.

    Is this season, just world building for future season's? Will we get to even see Sauron (or reveal of a character we have already met)?


    https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Jed_Brophy

    Orc Vrath in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series.


    Untitled Image


    Post edited by corkie on

    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
    "But that's balanced out by the fact that it's a mandate not to do very much." ~ Prof. Eoin O'Malley



  • #895
    breezy1985
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,056 ✭✭✭✭breezy1985


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119625610#Comment_119625610

    To me Numenor just looks like they took the Jackson design language and added Roman togas but also a lot of eastern and southern Mediterranean symbolism and colours. Also lots of stereotypical Atlantis style fish and sea imagery (fish scale armour and the likes)



  • #896
    silverharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,853 ✭✭✭✭silverharp



    Watching it later but..ha ha!

    https://twitter.com/TheCriticalDri2/status/1570819314261069825


    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



  • #897
    pjohnson
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,632 ✭✭✭✭pjohnson


    Clark might be the weakest actor in the whole cast. Thats a huge problem.

    I thought she was young and might learn/improve on the job like Maisie Williams/Sophie Turner did on GOT.

    Clark's 33 so unlikely to improve by now.



  • #898
    thomas 123
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,905 ✭✭✭thomas 123


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119627728#Comment_119627728

    I think her character is beyond saving the be honest. It would not matter who’s playing her.



  • #899
    The White Wolf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,614 ✭✭✭The White Wolf


    I've said it already but after the start of this episode, I'm convinced they've taken inspiration for their orc make up from Coppolas Bram Stoker's Dracula, particularly the final monster form.



  • #900
    kowloon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 13,959 ✭✭✭✭kowloon


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119627883#Comment_119627883

    Do I remember correctly that the final form was just a rubber suit?



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  • #901
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 23,059 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119625610#Comment_119625610

    how can it be a morgue blade when there is no Morgul or any Ring Wraiths to create it?

    they/them/theirs


    The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.

    Noam Chomsky



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