#trop review

[tolkiens-middleearth]

At SDCC showrunner John D. Payne said: “So, one, always back to Tolkien. And two, when Tolkien was silent, we tried to invent as Tolkienian a way as possible." Let's see how much of this is true...

Analysis of Amazon's "The Rings of Power"

Episode 1

Galadriel is on a quest for revenge, Gil-galad ships inconvenient people into the West, and a guy falls as a meteor out of the sky?

Let's see which parts of Tolkien's worldbuilding was used by the show, where they directly contradict what Tolkien wrote about his characters, and how much of the storyline is an Amazon invention (spoiler: all of it).

Spoiler warnings for the first episode.

Preface

I wanted to write a comprehensive overview about where Amazon's show actually adapted something from Tolkien's writing in their first episode, where they contradict Tolkien's writings, and where Amazon came up with their own inventions.

What I won't get into in this analysis is

most of the visual choices of the show. The series is a visual medium, while most of Tolkien's work isn't. Therefore I won't focus on visual differences unless a) Tolkien described something explicitly or b) it is relevant for the story, character or world building.

themes within Amazon's series or Tolkien's story. The interpretation of themes is heavily subjective, as is the assessment whether it was well integrated in the series or not. In addition, it can't be checked on an episode-to-episode basis and should be evaluated rather at the end of the season.

On a side note: I am aware that the show did not have the rights to all of Tolkien's work, but it still is their decision to either not read or consciously contradict his writings.

If I have overlooked anything in this episode, please let me know.

I'll add it with credit to the list.

Worldbuilding

Where the show references Tolkien

Locations

Tolkien's map is included, although with extensions made by the show.

Locations with the names Lindon, Rhovanion, Forodwaith and Valinor are shown.

Forodwaith is shown as a region of mostly ice and snow.

In Valinor, the Two Trees and a large city are briefly shown.

The destruction of the Two Trees is briefly shown and mentioned.

Races

The races of Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, Orcs and Trolls exist.

The Elves are immortal and have pointy ears.

The Hobbits are smaller than Men or Elves.

The concept of Elves sailing form Middle-earth to Valinor exists.

History

Elves journying from Valinor to Middle-earth is mentioned.

"The war" – probably refering to the war against Morgoth in general – is briefly shown with a few images and mentioned. Finrod is briefly shown fighting in a battle against Orcs. Morgoth's defeat is mentioned.

Somen Men have sides with Morgoth in the wars ages ago.

Language

Some of Tolkien's Quenya words and grammer are used in dialogue.

Tengwar letters and Cirth runes are used on some objects and in some places.

Where the show contradicts Tolkien

Elvish character design:

Age: Some Elves, like Celebrimbor and Gil-galad, look visibly too old. tolkien described his Elves either as youthful or as ageless in his writings, they are never supposed to look like middle-aged/older people.

Hair: The Amazon series shows most of the male Elves with short hair. However, whenever Tolkien describes the hair length of an Elf, it's long. For the Noldor and the Teleri as a whole the hair was described as long at one point.

Beauty: All of Tolkien's Elves are described as exceptionally beautiful. In Amazon's series this is not the case.

History:

The Prologue claims that it was Morgoth who "destroyed the very light of [the Elves'] home", but in Tolkien's story this was done by Ungoliant.

The Prologue also implies that the Elves went to war against Morgoth because of the destruction of the Two Trees, but in Tolkien's writings the Noldor rather left to avenge Finwë's death and the theft of the Silmarils.

Another implication of the Prologue seems to be that the Noldor never had been in Middle-earth before – or that there were no Elves in Middle-earth before their journey altogether.

No word for death: In the Amazon series, Galadriel in the intro says that they had no word for death yet. In Tolkien's writings however, at the time of Galadriel's childhood the Elves had already experienced death a) in Middle-earth during the Great Journey and b) in Valinor when Míriel died. Galadriel wouldn't have been born if Míriel hadn't died, because otherwise Finwë wouldn't have married Indis. The concept of death therefore must have existed.

Who is allowed to sail west: In the Amazon series, Gil-galad seems to decide which Elves are sailing West and which don't. This is heavily contradicting Tolkien's writings, where sailing West was open for all Elves – with the possible exception of the former leaders of the Noldorin rebellion, including Galadriel. This permission or ban came from the Valar, and not from any single elf, king of no king.

Sailing to Valinor: During the 2nd Age, the passage to Valinor over the sea was, more or less, a "normal" journey on ship. No special magic was needed to get there, and in fact sailors would reach Tol Eressëa first.

Elvish supervision of Mannish villages: The Silvan Elves in Amazon's Middle-earth seem to be ruled by Gil-galad and keep watch on human settlements east of the Ash mountains. In Tolkien's writings, Gil-galad ruled in Linon and at best over Eriador in general, but certainly not further east or south, were the Silvan Elves lived. The Silvan Elves kept to themselves and refused the rule of the Noldor, except for Galadirel in Lóthlorien in the 3rd Age. There is no record of any Mannish settlement being controlled by Elves against their will.

Meteor Man: It is impossible for any Man or Elf to fall down as a meteor and survive. However, for the few Maiar that came to Midde-earth no such incident was ever reported either: Sauron was already in Middle-earth in the 2nd Age, and the Istari came by ship.

Nori's name: Nori's full name is Elanor Brandyfoot. Elanor is a Sindarin name, and therefore an unlikely name for any Hobbit (or "proto-Hobbit") unless they had contact with Sindarin speaking Elves. However, this contact with the Sindar is unlikely to have happened in the Wilderlands east of the Anduin.

Language:

In Tolkien's 2nd Age, Westron did not exist yet. Elves and Men had trouble with communication. In Amazon's 2nd Age, everyone seems to speak the same language: Elves, Men and Harfoots. If they speak different languages, it is not made clear.

Elves are shown to speak English, but every now and then they switch to Quenya. However, it does not appear that their "English" is supposed to be Sindarin, because when Elrond writes Gil-galad's speech it's in Quenya, yet later Gil-galad gives the speech in English. Unless Elrond translated the speech into Sindarin afterwards the switch between Enlish and Quenya makes no sense.

Where the show invents their own content

Tirharad: The culture, history and current situation of Tirharad and its population is an invention of the show.

Harfoot-Hobbits in the Wilderlands: The culture, lifestyle and current situation of the Harfoot-Hobbits is an invention of the show.

Elvish culture:

Veiled Elf-women are nowere described in Tolkien's writings and an invention of the show.

The Greek/Roman-looking wreath is an invention of the show.

Elves calling healers "artificers", and they "labor [...] to render hidden truths as works of beauty" in order to heal the soul is an invention of the show.

Characters

Where the show references Tolkien

Galadriel: A character with the name Galadriel exists, who lived in Valinor for a while, has an older brother (named Finrod in the credits) and who has some connection to Gil-galad and Elrond. She has long, golden hair.

Elrond: A character with the name Elrond exists. He spends time in Lindon and has connections to Gil-galad and Galadriel.

Gil-galad: A character with the name Gil-galad exists. He is High King of the Noldor and has connections to Galadriel, Elrond and Celebrimbor.

Celebrimbor: A character with the name Celebrimbor exists. He is known as a great smith and has connections to Gil-galad.

Finrod: Galadriel's older brother (named "Finrod" only in the credits) exists. He is shown in the introduction, but is no longer alive in the present time of the show.

Sauron: A character with the name Sauron is briefly shown, and described as a servant of Morgoth, as a sourcerer and leader of armies of Orcs.

Morgoth: A character with the name Morgoth existed, and is described as the Great Foe. He is only mentioned, not shown.

Where the show contradicts Tolkien

Galadriel:

Amazon's Galadriel doesn't seem to have a husband nor a daughter. In contrast, in Tolkien's writings she gets married to Celeborn soon after the 2nd Age begins, and not long after gives birth to their daughter Celebrian.

Amazon's Galadriel has apparently spent a whole age (however long) searching for Sauron. In Tolkien's writings, Galadriel resists Sauron once she is aware of his presence, but there is no record of her actively searching for him anywhere or trying to take revenge.

Amazon's Galadriel is shown sailing West, although she stops and turns around. In contrast, Tolkien's Galadriel was "the last survivor of the princes and queens who had led the revolting Noldor to exile in Middle-earth. After the overthrow of Morgoth ath the end of the First Age a ban was set upon her return, and she had replied proudly that she had no wish to do so."

Elrond:

Amazon's Elrond has light brown hair and is rather young. Tolkien describes Elrond's hair as "dark as the shadows of twilight", and at the forging of the One Ring Elrond is already over 1600 years old, and at the Downfall of Númenor even over 3000 years old.

Amazon's Elrond is not considered an Elf-lord. Given that Tolkien's Elrond is the son of Eärendil, grandson of Dior and also great-grandson of Turgon, there is no way he would not be counted among the nobility or even royalty of any Eldar society he wanders into.

Gil-galad

Amazon's Gil-galad looks older than Galadriel, although in Tolkien's writings he is from a generation younger than Galadriel, and therefore most likely younger than her.

Amazon's Gil-galad refuses to acknowledge Sauron's presence in Middle-earth. In Tolkien's writings, Gil-galad is among the first to notice Sauron's shadow, to recognise it as a threat, and to try to form alliances against it.

Amazon's Gil-galad is dressed all in gold, including gold stars. In Tolkien's writing, he is instead associated with silver and white stars.

Celebrimbor

Amazon's Celebrimbor looks too old (see above).

Galadriel's brother (Finrod)

Amazon's Finrod is killed by Sauron, after having been on a hunt for Sauron. This heavily contradicts Tolkien's writings, where Finrod was supporting his friend Beren on a mission and is killed by a wolf in Sauron's dungeon.

Amazon's Finrod seems to have a very different philosphy compared to how Tolkien has written him. In Amazon's series, when a young Galadriel asks him how to differenciate between light and darkness, Finrod's advice response is that "sometimes we cannot know until we have touched the darkness". This seems contrary to any attitude that an Elf in Valinor before Morgoth's release would have, and especially strange for an Elf like Finrod, who had a very strong belief in Eru.

Sauron

Sauron in the series is said to have gained power after Morgoth's defeat, and that he found and killed Finrod. However, in Tolkien's writings he went into hiding until he appeared in fair form at the doorstep of the Elves. Finrod was killed by Sauron's wolf before Morgoth's defeat.

Where the show invented their own content

Galadriel: Galadriel's desire for revenge, her position as a warrior in and leader of the Northern armies, the expedition to Forodwaith, the journey with the ship and the subsequent jump into the ocean are all inventions by the show. See also the contradictions.

Elrond: Elrond writing speeches for Gil-galad is an invention by the show, as is his conscious decision to ignore warnings of Sauron's presence. See also the contradictions.

Gil-galad: Gil-galad's plan to get Galariel out of the way by sending her to Valinor because she is inconvenient is an invention by the show. See also the contradictions.

All other characters not already mentioned in the character section are inventions of the show. This includes

in Lindon: Thondir

in Tirharad: Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, Waldreg, Revion

in Rhovanion: Nori, Poppy, Sadoc, Marigold, Malva, Largo

... and naturally all the other characters in the background.

Storyline

All three storylines – Galadriel's, Arondir's and Nori's – are the show's invention and have no basis in Tolkien's writings.

Summary

Worldbuilding: The show only uses the basics for the setup of their world, but most of them can be found in many fantasy settings. When it comes to the details, the show often contradicts Tolkien.

Characters: Most of the characters are invented by the show. The characters that are inspired by Tolkien are very differently characterised in comparison to Tolkien's writings.

Storyline: All the storylines in this episode are invented by the show, they have no basis in Tolkien's writings.

#LOTR ROP #LOTR TROP #the Rings of Power #LOTR #LOTR on prime #Amazon LOTR #trop review #my posts #TROP spoilers

[izartn]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2022/10/18/the-rings-of-power-season-1-review-amazons-arrogant-betrayal-of-the-lord-of-the-rings/?sh=6957ae741839

What a scathing review XD lefting this here for reference.

#trop review

[wildwren]

Bronwyn + Elendil + Hands of Man by The Stray Birds

#okay but please go listen to this whole song and tell me its not sooo numenor coded #the rings of power #rings of power #trop #rop #lotr: the rings of power #lotr on prime #ringsofpowersource #elendil #bronwyn #nazanin boniadi #lloyd owen #my edits #my gifs #okay but the elendil and bronwyn parallels are rEAL #i had peer review on this #its not just my unhinge

[attheexactlyrighttimeandplace]

The Rings of Power is such a treat! Each episode is a gem in its own way and i can't get enough of it.

The best part being how each week is like an injection of a powerful mix of excitation for LOTR universe and desire to reread all Tolkien's work, as if rewatching the episodes multiples times isn't enough (I'm having very modest ambitions so far and starting with the appendices of the Lord of the Rings and planning The Silmarilion and the Unfinished Tales for next month...)

Some thoughts on episode 4 (full of spoilers for the series),

Episodes with no hobbits and more dwarves are a win. Actually anything involving Durin father and son, Disa and her children whom we see and don't see at the same time is a delight.

Howewer i don't see there a happy family story with their friend Elrond as a gentle and benevolent sponsor, like everyone seem to describe their bond. I think Elrond appreciate them a lot individually and as couple, enjoys truly their company, but he's by nature incapable to be a friend to them. I can't call friendship a relationship where he doubts his friend's intentions and invades their privacy with suspicious questions he has no right to ask. It could have been another kind of secret more personal to Durin like a real affair. So why did Elrond think it was ok to follow him and his wife and overhear their conversations? The little advice he gave to Durin in the end of the episode, under the form of a confession about his own his father, redeemed him a little bit, but only a little bit. I don't think the couple should trust him or consider him genuine. And it's not because they're dwarves that Elrond is acting this way in my opinion, but really because he can't trust people and can't resist manipulating them to serve his goals and ambitions, like he did in the first episode by colluding with Gil-Galad to send Galadriel to Valinor, out of their way, instead of discussing with her what the elves king has foreseen for her future.

The visuals of Númenor submerged by a giant wave were terrifying and stunning at the same time. What a way to start an episode! I totally empathized with queen Miriel: her panic is completely appropriate. This is the stuff of nightmares, more than any orc or Dark Lord could be and it's not even the work of the dark side. How could an alliance between elves (who are going to be blamed for it) and men work after so much destruction? But at the same time: what a way too to end a season! Because i can't imagine another season finale now than the real destruction of the island...

Loved all the scenes between Tar- Miriel and Galadriel. The verbal sparring between these two strong/competent women leaders was the best moment of the episode: be it the ego fight during the audience or the emotional revelation in the king's tower. In this later scene, the dialogues and acting were especially moving (all this inner conflict for Miriel, so ready to follow Galadriel but incapable to deal with any opposition and conflict, was really good characterization). My favourite part was Elendil staying by the side watching quietly "his" queens (queen of his heart for Galadriel and queen by legal authority and loyalty for Miriel) fighting each other, while trying a little joke to get some attention.

Romeo and Juliet aka Kemen and Eärien are too good and pure for this world, so of course, they will die. They had a dark cloud announcing their doomed fate on their head during the all episode, following them everywhere. It's insane how strong this vibe attached to them was despite all the cuteness of their dialogues and the extra romantic spirit of their costumes.

As expected Adar turned out to be an elf who has been seriously wounded, more likely tortured (captured or left behind by his squadron?) and has now joined completely the dark side. It's a charismatic and quite sad character and i'm really curious to know more about his past. I consider him to be literally the father of the orcs: the one who created them by torturing elves. In the first episode Arondir explained to Bronwyn that the elves healers are in fact artists who reveal the beauty inside everyone. I think Adar was doing the opposite job for Sauron Morgoth, a perversion of his past noble mission.

On the other hand i'm trusting less and less Arondir: did he make a deal with Adar or did Adar release him in a sick game to catch him later and make the hunt of the strong elf who deserted more interesting? Arondir got an interesting mix of action and romantic scenes for a character who was so close to die at the start of the episode. Almost too much, in as he's getting all the focus before getting really killed or turned evil like Adar. This dark turn wouldn't be surprising because the guy has no luck, not in love at least: the timing to kiss Bronwyn is never but never right. I think it will happen eventually (more than some kissing) but they might both deeply regret it. I mean i've got this theory that Theo's father is Halbrand, mostly because it's the only way i can explain for now the ongoing mystery about Halbrand's homeland (i think he was maybe from the same village as Bronwyn, the one that was emptied completely and burned to the ground by the orcs of Adar - that would explain Theo's attraction to the dark side if you believe like i do that Halbrand is the futur Witch King - and i fear his reaction if he catches Bronwyn and Arondir at one point (if Adar doesn't before him).

So far, all the human characters of the Southlands were invented only for the series and had little connection to the books or the films, that's why it was very satisfying when, intentionally or not the writers wrote the attack of the tower of Ostirith like a call back to the battle of Helm's deep. Of course it won't be as epic as in the LOTR films (there's no armies only civilians and the scale is something else), but just the awakening of my memories and of my nostalgia alone is a very nice feeling.

Halbrand and Galadriel keep getting a lot of attention and i still fail to see why? Sure they have chemistry but he's so clearly reducing her in the best case to her race, calling her elf all the time as if he's holding a grudge against elves, and in the worst scenario to someone he wants to dominate, to tame/control (like an horse to use a word that he used), and eventually possess sexually after the blacksmiths planted in his head that she wouldn't want him because she prefers men of better origin (the comment was clearly sexual, there's seduction/attraction but no really romantic feelings in his interactions with Galadriel)

Also this subplot makes Galadriel so stupid: why would she jump to the conclusion that he's a king in disguise just because he wears an insignia? Why does she refuse to believe his protestations and explanations that he found it on a dead man (whom he possible killed)? How can she believe that a real king would act like he did since she met him? He was traveling with poachers who were hunting the worm and have shot it with arrows, that's why the marine animal attacked them (she saw the arrow when she was underwater), he abandoned his shipmates to death, started a tavern brawl, stole the guild crest from the blacksmiths and beat them savagely etc.. In which way does this attitude compare to queen Miriel's regal posture in everything she says and does, or even a "lesser" noble man like Elendil? I don't know why she wants this bad to make him a hero, why she's being so blind to his objections. She keeps bringing his people and the emergency to save them and he showed no interest or care. It makes me crazy and that renders their scenes painful to watch, even though they were well acted and written.

EDIT: I just rewatched the episode and i realized that her position was clearly explained during the audience with Tar Miriel: Galadriel is desperately in need of a royal figure that could gather the men of The Southlands. They clearly won't follow an elf, and not even a numenorean queen can convince them given Númenor's closeness to the Elves. Only a leader born in the Southlands would be able to gather them under one banner. Thus Halbrand is her only and best shot at any attempt of an alliance, whatever the circumstances in which he came into the possession of the insignia, no matter if he's a real king or nobody. She's just trying praying very hard that he's not as bad as he pretends to be and taking a bet that nobody will detect his lies. Or rather, i really hope this interpretation will be proved to be true, because if not, i'm back to the part that i crossed out.

There's so much more to say, notably about Isildur who had a big episode, and his relationship with his sister Eärien, Pharazôn and his relationship with his son Kemen but this is already too long. I'm keeping the rest of my thoughts for future posts.

#the rings of power #episode 4: the great wave #numenor #durin iv #princess disa #elrond #galadriel #queen regent miriel #elendil #eärien #kemen #halbrand #arondir #bronwyn #adar #my trop reviews

[ringsreforged]

HIIIIIII!

Oh lord. We’ve just wrapped up recording for ep 6 ‘Udun’!

It’s going to go up a little later than planned because of work obligations and just how busy it has been lately but yay, it’s now done.

We were both extremely excited to record this one for obvious reasons. 😏 It was unanimously voted our favorite episode of the season and there was just so much stuff to talk about! Great musical moments, awesome action sequences, important tension loaded character moments, reveals… All excellent.

We did not keep it brief. We are unable not to dwell on things at this point. We both had just basic notes for this recording but it all escalated fast. And we’re not mad about it because we just had so much fun discussing, theorizing, HAVING MELTDOWNS.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for everyone’s continued support. It means so much to us, it really does.

You’re going to hear us soon when the ep goes up. ❤️‍🔥

Love,

Paulina & Natalie

#rings of power #the rings of power #trop #lotr rings of power #tolkien #sauron #halbrand #galadriel #haladriel #saurondriel #galadriel x halbrand #rings of power podcast #the lord of the rings #spotify podcast #tv podcast #galadriel x sauron #tv review #adar #udun #nampat

[anragaire]

So I saw the first two episodes of The Rings of Power last night and here are my thoughts and opinions (potentially lightly spoilery depending on how many trailers/interviews/reviews you've watched/read). I'll add more as I think about it throughout the day/ watch it a million more times tomorrow.

Overall it is jaw-dropping in its achievement

The visuals are truly a remarkable feat - from the word go they stun you with their beauty and epic quality.

The sets, the costumes, the VFX - just *chef's kiss*

Gods bless Bear McCreary. The music brings SO much to the show.

Due to the fact they don't have the rights to the Silmarillion, they have to skirt around some First Age lore (they don't necessarily change it overtly, but more brush over a lot of stepping stones they simply can't access due to rights issues). I think, given their circumstances, they summarise the Silmarillion events really well. There were one or two other lore moments where I was like huh? but to be honest, they're so minor in comparison to everything else and they narratively worked.

Morfyyd and Robert somehow manage to both make Galadriel and Elrond their own whilst from the get-go making it clear that these characters are deeply linked to the ones we will see in The Lord of the Rings. (I particularly loved Robert's adoption of a lot of Hugo Weaving's mannerisms). They are truly wonderful, as are the rest of the cast. There was such overt glee in my audience as well for the dwarves. Disa and Durin IV are nothing short of spectacular. It is a crime that we have not had female dwarves onscreen before.

Being Irish, I was incredibly skeptical about the harfoots being these travelling pseudo-Irish folk. Nevertheless, they completely won me over. They're both different enough from the hobbits that they don't feel like a copy and paste job, but you can see some of the hobbit mannerisms there. Nori and her family are a delight. I would protect Nori with my life. Sir Lenny Henry is brilliant.

I was so confident as to who I thought the Stranger was, now I'm back to the drawing board with multiple theories.

They've already said this in a number of interviews, but I LOVE that they lean into the arrogance of the elves. The politics between all the various races is super interesting on screen.

There's one scene with Elrond in particular that just shows that the writers are invested in the lore and ethics of Tolkien's work.

The design of the orcs is so cool - I love how you can tell they began as corrupted and tortured elves from looking at them alone.

Still not entirely here for the 80s haircuts on the elves, and some of the background ones sometimes border on the hair options for Dragon Age 3 *shivers* but some do work to be fair. The real glory is Gil-Galad's luscious locks.

Finrod. My love. My life. That's all.

I love how they're setting up the Southlands.

I can understand why some of the reviewers were wondering about the plot, but if you know your lore, you can see the mechanisms falling into place pretty quickly. These two episodes are doing a lot of set-up which I'm fine with. There are a lot of characters and I want to care about them all so I'm glad we're getting to know them. The second episode moved with a lot more gusto.

The things in the trees - I won't say anymore, but we need to discuss them.

#the rings of power #TROP #lord of the rings #lotr #tolkien #I wrote my masters thesis on Geoffrey Bache Smith and his shared love of mythology and mythmaking with Tolkien so I am a Fan for context #finrod #harfoots #gil-galad #elrond #galadriel #the rings of power review #the rings of power spoilers #potential spoilers

[random-thoughts-collection]

The Rings of Power: A brief look on Sauron

... and why Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series just isn't working for me.

There is a lot to be said about badly written dialogue, missing character moments, shallow mysteries and illogical actions. But I want to shine a light on the issues of the show by focusing on the character of Sauron in the first season.

[spoiler warnings]

Sauron's introduction

We as the audience first hear of Sauron when Galadriel tells us about him in the prologue of episode 1. He is briefly shown in his dark-lord-look, and that's officially all we see of him for a while.

Without knowing (theoretically), we meet him again in episode 2 under the name of Halbrand, when Galadriel coincidentally comes across his path in the middle of the ocean. He saves Galadriel from drowning, the two get picked up by the Númenoréan ship, and eventually the reach Númenor. Halbrand gives the impression to be happy there, and he wants to stay and start a new life, leaving his dark past behind. Galadriel however convinces him that he should join her on her quest to Middle-earth. Halbrand eventually agrees, so they end up fighting against the Orcs in soon-to-be-renamed-into-Mordor, and witness the erruption of the Orodruin. In the aftermath, Halbrand is hurt and Galadriel takes him to Eregion for healing. There he assists Celebrimbor a bit with the issue of combining mithril with gold and silver in order to create powerful Rings. Galadriel then realises that he is Sauron, and when confronted about it he offers her to rule together with him over Middle-earth, but in a "good" way. She refuses, and Sauron threatens her and leaves.

In this story the showrunners have hidden two possible arcs for Sauron as a character, but both possible interpretations contradict each other. But because both appear at different times, they also hinder each other in consistency, and as a result the character of Sauron falls apart.

The Redemption Arc

"And I knew if ever I was to be forgiven... That I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin."

Sauron being haunted by his past – allegedly.

One version of Sauron's story goes like this: he truly regrets what he did in the past, and is now trying to get away from it. This is who Halbrand seems to be and what he presents to Galadriel: someone burdened by the past, with a real fear that he can never be forgiven for his crimes.

This version of Sauron truly hides who he is because he is an enemy to everyone. In this version he really wants to stay on Númenor because he believes in a new and simple beginning. His hesitance when Galadriel tells him to join her is real, as is the scene where he first puts the crest down on the table, before he changes his mind and grabs it.

And when Galadriel eventually tells him "Whatever it was he did to you, and whatever it was you did... Be free of it", it really means something to him. In this arc, her encouragement lets him believe he really has something to contribute to the world, to right his wrongs. It's why he offers Galadriel a place at his side.

Sauron hoping for redemption – allegedly.

And this Sauron, with his fragile ego, imediately falls back into old habits and turns dark again when Galadriel turns him down. With his repentance rejected, he starts to resent Galadriel, and the chance for redemption is lost.

In this version of Sauron's story, none of the events have been planned by Sauron. He is relucant and only gets involved because Galadriel involves him in this again and again. In this version what he says about himself and what he presents to everyone as Halbrand is honest.

The Master Manipulator Arc

"In an instance like this, it seems to me that you'd do well to identify what it is that your opponent most fears. [...] Give them a means of mastering it. So that you can master them."

Sauron having a good time.

The other version is a very different story: in this, there are no coincidences. In this version, Sauron manipulates everyone in a way that will eventually lead towards his goals, whatever they may be.

So it's not by chance then that Galadriel crosses his path in the middle of the ocean. Getting to Númenor is also part of the calculation, and on Númenor he gently directs Galadriel in a way that she can win the queen's favour. He pretends to regret things in his past and to stay on Númenor (and maybe at first he wants to in order to then corrupt the Númenóreans), but he will eventually agree to come with Galadriel to Middle-earth.

Adar may or may not be part of his plan, but he certainly doesn't mind his actions. The wound Halbrand-Sauron has after the erruption of the volcano could even be self-inflicted, to convince Galadriel that she has to take him to Eregion. How much is planned when it comes to Eregion is hard to say, because we have no real knowledge about the origin of the tree darkening. In any case, Sauron takes the opportunities as they present themselves, and uses them to his advantages – he gains influence over Celebrimbor, and has some part in the creation of his rings.

Sauron returning to the dark land that apparently came to be without his help.

In this version, Sauron's words are mostly manipulation, not honesty. If he is implementing his plans, he has to use the people around him and has to deceive them to get them to where he wants them to be.

This version of the story is more difficult to see, because the manipulation – by nature – cannot be as obvious as what he pretends to be. But we see it in the advice he gives Galadriel in the cell about mastering the fears of others. And it's most prominent in his reaction to Galadriel figuring out who he is – he is not scared of being "cast out" as he seemed in Númenor. And although he still gets angry when Galadriel rejects his offer, in this story the reason is rather because she rejects his vision, not his chance for redemption.

The Atoner vs The Liar

These two character arcs are different interpretations of the same story. Both are possible, and at first this sounds like a fascinating situation: a character that could go either way, presenting many different options on how the story could continue.

And they truly can't be mixed: the whole point of Sauron's atoner arc is that he is honest, and for the liar arc the opposite is the case. Atoner-Sauron cannot plan anything in advance, because he has to go through an emotional journey – only slowly and thanks to Galadriel he develops the belief that he can do good in Middle-earth by ruling it. Liar-Sauron already has the aim to rule Middle-earth, he just has to move forward slowly and carefully to get what he wants.

For now the season doesn't give a definite answer on what version the correct one is, but most likely it will be revealed in a later season.

Sauron simply walking into Mordor.

So, what's the problem with either of these versions? I feel like they try to aim for both versions at the same time, and this just doesn't work.

Sauron as The Atoner fails to be a calculating, powerful villain. This Sauron has just been hiding, and hasn't really done anything and so far hasn't been much of a threat.

The creation of Mordor happened because of Adar and the Orcs, and Sauron had no hand in it.

The creation of the first Rings of Power wasn't part of his plan either, and anything he later does with the One Ring in regards to them is purely coincidence – it couldn't have been planned, because Sauron never intended for the Elves to create the rings.

His reaction on seeing Adar – if it's an honest reation – makes it seem like Adar was indeed able to hurt Sauron in a serious way. This weakens Sauron even further.

Sauron's attempt at redemption is given up too quickly. His change back to the dark side after this only seems to come from the rejection of a woman, which is a weak motive for the Dark Lord in Middle-earth.

Another important point to consider is the reduced timeline: if Sauron has been honest and "harmless" so far, his rise and fall as a Dark Lord won't last long – anyone who has read the books or seen Peter Jackson's movies knows that the players to end his reign are already in place.

And of course, this honest Sauron would not be the deceiver as the showrunners have described him in their interviews.

Furthermore, in the case of Sauron as The Atoner, Galadriel is indeed the one who has rejected his plea for redemption. This is not a storytelling-issue in itself, but has huge implications for her character and everything that follows in this Age and the following one. It irrevocably sorts her into a group with the likes of Túrin Turambar, and not a group with people like Gandalf, Faramir, Aragorn or Frodo.

Sauron as The Liar creates a character that doesn't exist. While Halbrand would be a character that Sauron has made up in order to fool everybody, her also told a story to the audience that wouldn't actually matter. The man lost at sea, the man with the dark past regretting his crimes, the man hoping for redemption – in this version there is no origin story here, not as the showrunners intended.

If we are supposed to believe that he has planned many things in advance, and has deceived everyone to further his own goals, then his strategy still depends on many many coincidences and contrivances:

Meeting Galadriel: he coldn't have known that Galadriel would jump from her ship.

Galadriel's demands in Númenor: he couldn't have planned for Galadriel to realise what the mark means and where it's located

Galadriel declaring him King of the Southlands: he also couldn't have planned for Galadriel to decide that his sigil meant he was King of the Southland, and that she wanted him to come back to Middle-earth.

While he could have had his hands in the erruption of Orodruin and could have faked his wound, he couldn't be certain that Galadriel would take him to Eregion on a ride that should have killed every actual mortal being.

Sauron hardly could have forseen the Elves getting mithril from the Dwarves to forge Rings. What happened in Eregion would have been mostly luck on Sauron's part.

In addition, any second attempt to get back to Númenor later on would hardly be an accomplishment – he had been there before after all, and hasn't used that chance.

Conclusion

Real of fake emotion? Was Adar part of Sauron's plan or not? Was he really able to hurt Sauron?

By trying to present Sauron mostly as the Atoner, the show failed to build up the foundations of Sauron as a threat. He hasn't created Mordor, nor were the Rings of Power his idea.

With the lack of focus on a manipulation arc for Sauron, any interpretation of this season in the light of Sauron the Liar struggles to be convincing because too many events in this plotline are purely coincidence. The fact that Sauron had been to Númenor already and that the rings can't have been part of his plan will most likely be a weakness in the storytelling of later seasons.

As so often with this show they may have had some good intentions here – but the execution was not convincing.

#Sauron #LOTR #Rings of Power #The Rings of Power #LOTR Rings of Power #TROP #LOTR TROP #LOTR TROP review #LOTR TROP spoilers

[laoih]

Middle-earth without Tolkien

Review of "The Rings of Power": Episode 1 & 2

I am a big fan of Tolkien's writings and the fictional world he had created. If you try to sell me a show that is supposed to be "true to Tolkien" and that is supposedly set in Middle-earth and uses the names of his characters and locations, I'm going to have expectations.

Unfortunately, in the first two episodes they were not met. While the show looks decent and could be an okay-ish start for an original show, at this point it does not work as an adaptation of Tolkien's writings at all.

Spoiler warnings for the 1st & 2nd episode under the cut.

The Production

Nice sets, overall good VFX and music

Let me start by saying that overall, the look of the show is mostly fine. This is especially true in regards to the sets and most of the visual effects: Moria looked impressive, Lindon has a few nice shots and the landscape shots are, of course, also beautiful. We also get some great VFX shots in the intro and whenever they introduce new locations. The music was good as well – for the most parts it was fitting for the atmosphere of the scene and was not distracting. However, I wouldn't say that it was anything special – only in seaso 2 I found one moment where the music really stood out for me.

Questionable character design

I wasn't a fan of the character designs when the casting and later the designs were announced, and this hasn't really changed:

Among the Elves, Galadriel's casting is probably the best of them, but the choices for her costumes are strange at times. Gil-galad is completely miscast in my opinion, and his golden costume just looks bad, especially the fabric. Elrond doesn't look the Elvish part, and especially his costume in Moria doesn't look good. Celebrimbor is way too old, and no acting can change that. And the fact that they make him walk from Ost-in-Edhil to Moria in his long robes is ridiculous. For Arondir, and other Elves, it's little details that sometimes just don't work or that are irritating – like the fact that most Elf-women besides Galadriel seemed to be veiled. And then there is, of course, the fact that all male Elves but Gil-galad have short hair, and I think this is a really really bad decision. Give the Elves their long hair back! Also, what's up with the Roman style of the Elves?

Among the Dwarves, things look a little bit better: Durin IV looks decent for a Dwarf, and most other Dwarves that we see look Dwarvish enough. But of course there is the issue of Disa, who according to Tolkien should also have a beard - which she doesn't. Her costume also looks not really Dwarvish at all. But since she is basically only in one scene in these two episodes, this can be overlooked.

For Men, the character designs are mostly okay – although Bronwyn sticks out in so far that she seems to be the only clean person in her entire village. The Harfoots have overall mostly fitting costumes, but the random plants in their give un unnecessary primitive impression.

Acting

The acting is overall decent – there is rarely a case where the acting feels off or pulls you out of the show. However, in these first two performances there wasn't really anything impressive to see either.

My favourite performance is probably Roberto Aramayo – his acting is charming, his line delivery is good and he displays the most interesting emotions. Especially in combination with Durin IV it's an enjoyable performance to watch. Notable is also Markella Kavenagh as Nori, who brings a lot of heart into her role.

My least favourite performance is probably Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, who seems to have the same facial expression throughout the two episodes.

Writing

The writing and directing is, together with the weak character design, the weakest part of these two episodes so far, but unfortunately it's also the most important part:

The story and character treatment has many issues I will describe further below. The dialogue feels clunky at times, especially when its Elves talking. While I understand that they tried to give the Elves a certain way of speaking that probably tries to mimic Tolkien's beautiful prose, it sometimes tries too hard and too much. The best example is probably the following excerpt:

" Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot? Because the stone sees only downward. The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible. The ship feels the darkness as well, striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under. But the ship has a secret. For unlike the stone, her gaze is not downward but up. Fixed upon the light that guides her, whispering of grander things than darkness ever knew." – The Rings of Power, Episode 1

There are also times where it works, but the times it doesn't are more memorable because I had to stop and go back once or twice to understand what they tried to say in their convoluted way.

And last but not least: language. Something that should be vital to any series that tries to tackle Tolkien, yet here we are in a series with some really basic mistakes: we see at least two instances between Elves where they switch to Elvish for a couple of lines and then go back to seaking English. ... why? Aren't they normally speaking Elvish and it was just translated to English for the viewer? Apparently not. Then why are they speaking English anyway? Did anyone even thing about this? Why is this not addressed when it's hinted at?

More details about the writing I will discuss in the story section.

The Story

The Intro

The intro of the show takes about 8 minutes of the first episodes, and it was my first big disappointment. While it works as a short summary of the history and gives a good insight into Galadriel's current situation, it is also filled with small details that are simply frustrating for me as a fan of Tolkien's writings.

There is, once again, the repurposing of character lines right at the beginning of the show: "Nothing is evil in the beginning" is said by Galadriel as the first line of the first episode, yet it is Elrond's line in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. And so far, this line stands without connection at the beginning and there is no follow up to it.

The first scene we see is Galadriel getting bullied by other Elf-children. The first of those children to speak sounds rather like Draco Malfoy than an Elf-child. It kind of sets the tone of how the Elves will be portrayed in these two episodes (and possibly in the whole first season).

Galadriel's conversation with her brother not only is written with weird metaphors (see above), it's also is illogical at times. "I won't always be here to speak them to you", her brother says to Galadriel, and she is surprised. In a voice over she than explains that they had no word for death – but then why does her brother believe he won't always be there? There are other instances like this, so I want to mention this one as an example.

The plot of the First Age is very quickly summaries with a few sentence. It's not very accurate, so not going too much into details is probably the best. The visuals combine several images that could belong to various different battles: the War or Wrath, the Dagor Bragollach, and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. There are some really impressive shots here, but half of them had already revealed by the teasers. Since there is not really much more there, I think it was a mistake to use them in the teaser.

There is a shot of Galadriel on the battlefield after the battle is over, and she just wearing a delicate white dress while walking through the mud. It's a distracting in this moment because all I could think about was "who on earth picks clothes like these to go to a lost battlefield..."

After the intro part, the episode then transitions to the main storylines of these two episodes, starting with:

Amazon's Galadriel and her quest for revenge

Galadriel's storyline is probably the most frustrating to watch, because out of the four storylines it's one of the two where the character names actually come from Tolkien.

However, there is not much else left that could be attributed to Tolkien beside the names. Amazon's Galadriel shows neither the greatness nor the nobility nor the ambition nor the wisdom that were central to Tolkien's Galadriel. Instead she is brash, inconsiderate and driven by revenge.

She spends the 1st episode as the Cassandra in the story - warning everyone of Sauron's return, but nobody seems to listen. But there is never a good reason given as to why everyone ignores her – instead, apparently most Elves have forgotten the pain of the past, Galadriel's men think it's too dangerous to search any further in the North, Elrond has no better reason than Gil-galad-said-so, Gil-galad actually knows Galadriel is right but apparently prefers to deny reality.

This leads to Galadriel basically getting shipped of into the West against her will – massively breaking the lore because it ignores the Ban of the Valar completely. Seeing the ship almost reaching Valinor wasn't as impressive for me as the creators probably would have liked, because it's not earned: in Tolkien's Middle-earth, sailing West is a personal choice, it's not something any Elven-king can hand out as a gift or keep from any Elf. It certainly shouldn't be used to remove the uncomfortable political opposition. It has no emotional weight because while the no-name-Elves in the background are all very happy, Galadriel obviously doesn't want to be there. Which is why she eventually decides to turn back by jumping into the sea. This decision is absolutely nonsenical, because anyone with half a brain would then expect to drown and die. This storyline may be impressive visually, but it's purely build on dump decisions by Gil-galad (+Elrond) and Galadriel.

Galadriel of course doesn't die, most of the 2nd episode she spends with not drowing, and during that she gets aquaintend with the human man Halbrand. About Halbrand there is not much to say yet – this episode mainly brings these two characters together for further story development in the following episodes. The other humans in these scenes are quickly forgotten, and only used for a quick example of human racism against Elves.

Galadriel is not the only mischaracterised Tolkien character here: with Gil-galad it's even worse. He is one of the biggest disappointments because he is an unsatisfying combination of being miscast, having a flawed character design and being written completely unsympathetically: Amazon's Gil-galad is a it patronising, lets Elrond write his speaches, and ignores Galadriel's warnings even though he knows she is right. The idea of trying to pretend the thing he doesn't want to be true will go away simply by ignoring it is directly contradicting Tolkien's writings, since there Gil-galad was one of the first to notice the growing shadow, and one of the first who tried to do something against it. I truly hate Amazon's portrayal of this character so far.

Other little things that caught my attention:

Climbing ice mountains with metal gloves is a stupid idea.

The fight scene against the snow troll is really really bad, especially because it seems to be so easy for Galadriel, and everyone else is just standing around doing nothing.

I'm curious what Galadriel's plan would have been if they would have found Sauron at some point during that mission. Did she plan to fight him one-on-one? If he had Orcs with him, would his not-so-merry band of Elves be enough to take them on?

All in all, this plotline was frustrating and dumb in the first episode, and got boring in the second one.

Amazon's Elrond and the Dwarves

Amazon's Elrond, as mentioned above, has the advantage of an endearing performance by the actor, but he simply is not convincing as an Elf – or as Tolkien's Elrond at this point in time.

Watching his scenes with Galadriel was frustrating because although they claim to be friends they don't really seem to understand each other at all. Elrond seems to act, more or less, on behalf of Gil-galad, which Galadriel resents. She is unkind in these conversations, and Elrond deliberately ignores that her concerns are valid - Galadriel has found some proof for her claims after all. And since I'm not a fan of Amazon's Gil-galad, I dislike the scenes of Elrond with him as well.

A recurring element here is also the attitude of the Elves – Elrond is not included in a council meeting because it's "Elf-lords only". ...who among the Eldar would refuse to count the immortal son of Eärendil, grandson of King Dior, great-grandson of King Turgon, among the Elf-lords? That's just absurd, but continues what was shown right at the start of the intro: the Elves as stuck-up bullies.

Elrond becomes a lot more interesting once he is in the company of the Dwarves. For me, his relationship with Durin IV was the only emotional storyline that really interested me and that felt like there was actually some depths to these characters. Incidentally, the issue of the Elvish immortality compared to the rather short life of a Dwarf (250 years on average, according to Tolkien) is one of the few moments where the show actually picks up on a Tolkien-related storyline. Had something like this story been front and center I would have been much more invested in the this two-parter. While the initial refusal of Durin IV to speak with Elrond and the following Rite are a bit cringe, the scenes that follow work quite well.

Durin IV and Disa are used well in this context. Durin III, while looking very Dwarvish, is less welcome because he really shouldn't be there without breaking another part of Tolkien's lore. But who is counting anymore at this point, I guess...? What is not clear is why Elrond ignored Durin IV. I mean, surely he got an invetation to Durin IV's marriage or the birth of his children. Even if time feels a bit different to Elrond, he still should know about the importance of such occations and that one can't just come a coupld of years later to them?

For this storyline I also have to quickly mention Celebrimbor. He is not well casted in my eyes because he simply does not look the Elf-part at all. And apparently Celebrimbor is aware of that: he has decided that he quickly has to build a large tower, until spring, because apparently he has no time left to be patient for no further explained reasons? If there is peace now, why can't Gil-galad's Elves help? Shouldn't Celebrimbor be a Lord in his own right in Eregion? What are all his Elves doing? WHAT ARE THE GWAITH-I-MÍRDAIN DOING? Anyway, Celebrimbor and Elrond seem to walk from Ost-in-Edhil all the way to Moria on foot, and Celebrimbor still wears his long costume and that's just funny to me. So far nothing that they have done with this character works for me.

Some little notes:

Fëanor's hammer in this series looks like a toy. Please don't show or mention it again.

The close-up reaction shots of the Dwarves during the Sigin-tarâg are just really uncomfortable to watch. This is one of the times where the editing draws attention to itself – and this is always a negative thing.

Overall, this is the storyline that works best in these two episodes. It's not ideal by any means, but at least it has a bit potential. Just keep Elrond away from Gil-galad and never show Celebrimbor again...

Arondir and Bronwn

Arondir, Bronwyn and Theo are one of the two storylines that have no foundation in Tolkien's writings at all so far. The characters are an Amazon invention, the location where the story is set is only vaguely defined, and the story itself is going nowhere known so far. It is most likely a setup for something bigger, but at the moment this part of the series is among the most boring parts to watch.

Arondir is the most uninteresting character to me, thanks to the writing and acting. His romance with Bronwyn hasn't had much chance to be developed and their scenes together show them mostly in a state of awkwardness or miscommunication. Nothing there makes me invested in their relationship.

Arondir's plotline mostly seems to emphasis once more that Elves are stuck-up bullies. So these human people have lived there for 1000 years, peacefully, but the Elves still keep a military presences there because they don't trust them? How lovely. There is a scene between Arondir and another Elf that tries to reinforce just how badly the Elves think of these people. "The blood of those who stood with Morgoth still darkens their veins", this Elf says, and that they had to be watched over not because of what their ancestors did but "because of who they still are" and "be grateful that you need never see them again". OKAY, WE GET IT. This scene is horribly forced and annoying exposition, because there is no need to tell Arondir this if he has been stationed there for 79 years. Take your indoctrination somewhere else please.

The humans on the other hand call Arondir "knife-ears", which is also racist but probably understandable after 1000 years or mistrust and control because of the ancestor's crimes. It's not very fitting for Arondir though, his ears are barely pointy...

Anyway. The Elves here also pretend everything is okay now, everything evil has somehow vanished despite there being signs that it's just around the corner, and it makes everyone look stupid. Before declaring peace on earth, maybe check around the next corner?

Some other little things that annoyed me:

When Arondir comes into the village, he has his hood so deep drawn in his face that it's hard to see how he can see where he's going. It looks ridiculous, put the hood further back, please.

Arondir has been promoted as a Silvan elf, yet he is under the command of the High King of the Noldor? How? Why? Since when did Gil-galad's kingdom ever go past the Misty Mountains in the East or the Isen in the South. Surely not as far as East of the Sea of Núrnen. Why did the show make Arondir a Silvan Elf and then just ignore a majority of the Silvan culture? Silvan Elves didn't want to get involved with the Noldor, they stayed in their own little corners.

Bronwyn has a Cassandra moment in the 2nd episode, similar to Galadriel in the 1st episode. I think it would have been better if Theo had been the one to do it this time, because now it just feels a bit obvious in regards to what the message is supposed to be...

The cut from when Bronwyn kills the Orc to where she slams the head of the Orc on the table is really really bad.

There is more, but I have to stop somewhere. Theo could also be discussed, but frankly there is not much to say about him aside from the fact that Orcs digging tunnels under his house sounds like mice to him, and that he found a sword and is possibly being possessed at the end? Either way, I can't bring myself to care for the boy.

Nori and Meteor Man

The storyline that is probably furthest away from Tolkien's 2nd Age is the HobbitsHarfoots storyline (trying to convince anyone that Harfoots aren't Hobbits is laughable, so let's just note that they are Hobbits. At least they are not yet in Eriador but somewhere in Rhovanion).

The focus is on Nori, a HobbitHarfoot with an Elvish name. The scenes with her and her family and friends are charming in a way, but I also don't have much to say about it because while watching it I mostly wondered where the point of all this was.

The point comes in form of Meteor Man at the end of the first episode: Nori finds him and decides to take care of him, and from then on her storyline becomes less interesting. Her interaction with Meteor Man is simply not particulary interesting, because Meteor Man himself is not particually interesting at this moment. It's a setup for something further down the line, and for itself it doesn't add much to the current state of the story.

As Nori and her friend correctly notice: Meteor Man can neither be Man nor Elf, so he'll most likely be one of the Maiar – probably Gandalf or another of of the Istari, or Sauron – depending on which plottwist route the showrunner will take. Coming as a meteor breaks the lore once more, no matter who it is, so that's annoying. And since we won't get any solution to this riddle any time soon I lost interest in that plotline half into the second episode.

Two small notes:

I quite liked the music that played when Nori first hid Meteor Man and explained to her friend why she was doing it.

In that scene there is the other small hint at a motif from Tolkien: Nori says she somehow knows that this is supposed to happen and that she is supposed to take care of Meteor Man. This is an echo of Gandalf's words to Frodo: "I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought." Which makes the idea that this Meteor Man is Gandalf much more likely.

One question that remains for me when it comes to Nori: her father was hurt wenn he fell, so they said he wouldn't be able to migrate. But in the next scene that we see the HobbitsHarfoots in, Nori says that they'll soon migrate, so... what's with the father now? Is he healed? Did I miss something?

Pacing & story coherence

The show juggles with four storylines in these two episodes, and often a single episode suffers when it is split between more than two storylines: as a result not enough time is spent on each single storyline. Because of this the pacing is usually not that great – while the eisode jumps form storyline to storyline, the viewer has to follow constantly with their attention and emotional investment, and usually that doesn't really work. Whenever the viewer has gotten used to and invested in a storyline, the episode is already heading to the next part.

Another issue with the pacing is the fact that for all of the storylines these two episodes were mostly setup. But there are only eight episodes in this season, so 25% of the season are already spent on setup. At this rate, I'm curious how they want to get to the Last Alliance in five seasons without rushing it, but maybe they'll speed things up in the next episodes.

Conclusion

As an adaptation of Tolkien's stories, these first two episodes completely failed. As a story set in Middle-earth, these first two episodes also fail because they keep ignoring some of the most basic elements of Tolkien's worldbuilding. Of course is can and most likely will change in future episodes or seasons, but we'll see to which extend and in which quality.

As a fantasy series, it's not completely bad, but it's lacking a lot. The pretty visuals can't hide the fact that the characterisations and the overall writing is unconvincing, at times dumb and at other times boring. So far there is nothing smart or subtle about this show.

Most frustrating is the portrayal of the Elvish characters, and the Elves as a people in general. While the Amazon oirignal plotlines my not be particulary interesting, at least they can't get as many things wrong as the Galadriel or Elrond storyline.

Overall it was a disappointing start for this series, both as a show supposedly related to Tolkien's work and as its own work.

#LOTR ROP #LOTR TROP #The Rings of Power #LOTR #LOTR on prime #Amazon LOTR #lotr rop review #TROP spoilers #my stuff

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

The Rings of Power 1x05

Again the landscapes and the places are beautiful, but the rest is so boring. Sorry but spending some much money for this is ridiculous. 

The only question I’m asking myself at this point is: Will Galadriel and Halbrand finally succumb to their feelings and fuck each other restlessly?

Oh yes, Queen Míriel’s outfits, hairstyle and jewellery are incredible. 

Finally, Slim Shady is back.

#the rings of power #the rings of power 1x05 #trop #lotr #galadriel x halbrand #queen mírel #galadriel #halbrand #review #trop 1x05 #pensée #pensées #thoughts #thought

[abnerkrill]

I posted 13,798 times in 2022

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I tagged 8,136 of my posts in 2022

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I sent 1 gift in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the sound i just made

120 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

#4

spoiled rotten by in the flesh giving me zombie protagonist boy with such a good kind heart he mostly just doesn't want to harm anyone anymore + angsty zombie cult leader gay love interest who throws aside everything he's ever believed in because of LOVE!!!! no one's doing it like them :(

131 notes - Posted September 29, 2022

#3

me about elrond in episode 1: why does he look like peter pan? not my type. where is hugo weaving

me about elrond now: sunshine child. most beautiful person alive. i am writing 20,000 words about him in 2 weeks to express my depth of love. best guy in middle-earth. the beauty of lúthien tinúviel herself radiates from his face. he is sweet and kind as summer. babygirl material.

134 notes - Posted October 28, 2022

#2

y'all were right about angel torres. now THAT'S babygirl material!!

269 notes - Posted August 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

wake up girls hozier collab with bear mccreary for god of war soundtrack dropped

891 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #dont talk to me about trop being my top tag when i literally just started trop posting in september. I'VE HAD A YEAR #oh and y'all really like the hurdy gurdy don't you #like valid but you REALLY like the hurdy gurdy

[killbilled]

kshgkjhsghsdjjhs

#I had to look up that moment from the review and omg it's even worse than it sounded #WHAT are those women #and those costumes.... #not to mention the billion dollar effects... #anti trop #anti rings of power #trop critical

[mal-zoya]

Finally watched the second episode of ‘The Rings of Power’ - I, for one, absolutely love it. I don’t know anything about Tolkien, I watched the first two movies, I think I watched the third one, which I don’t remember aside of the wedding and I fell asleep during the first Hobbit, so yeah, not LOTR nerd but I do love fantasy and I’m watching this as a fantasy show and it’s great.

After the poor ass visuals that TV Star Hars is delivering,and decent House of the Dragon, I can’t with the cinematography of this show. It’s beautiful, it’s stunning... the music? Howard Shore and Bear McCreary are delivering a score masterclass. Acting? Excellent... most of the time.

Writing? I don’t know. For me, it’s good but I am missing some stuff that I hope will be explained? I don’t understand how Valinor is destroyed with the trees in the beginning and then it’s just fine for elves to move back into. I get that it’s couple of millennia but what happened to those trees, I don’t get it. And perhaps this is crystal clear for the Tolkien readers but for the rest of us, I feel like there should be an explanation.

The characters, oh boy, Galadriel is unlikable and I love her for it. Elrond is by far my favorite, as is Disa and Durin. The previous evolution of hobbits are cute. Don’t know who the stardust guy is (yes, that’s a book i’ve read) but it’s strange. The weirdest thing is how humans annoy me, Bronwyn is the only human I saw so far that is likable and her relationship with Arondir is great... her son tho *sighs* that will be the character I’ll eventually stop watching the show for, I just know it. My eyes were rolling every time he was on screen, I can’t these types of characters, they get on my nerves.

tldr: I had fun. I’m looking forward the next episode! 8.5/10

P.S. I hope someone will use bow and arrow soon, like... come on now...

#the rings of power #the rings of power review #trop

[incorrect-lord-of-the-rings]

Listen LISTEN say what you want about the show, the music is good.

#i WILL do a full review of the music later on #as i must ALWAYS do #lotr #lord of the rings #rop #trop

[attheexactlyrighttimeandplace]

Anyone else excited by the place the show has made for the women so far?

The writers managed to create for almost each species, conflicts in which one woman dominates her community through her leadership skills (Galadriel, Tar Miriel) or her strong will (so strong that they seized the power and break the traditions under extraordinaire circumstances in the case of Bronwyn and Nori).

It used to be true for Galadriel who had as a commandant a high military status during centuries before falling from grace, it's ambiguously true for Miriel who must share the influence with Pharazôn to keep the peace in Nùmenor, it's spectacularly real for Bronwyn who showed an extraordinaire courage by killing an orc and who convinced entire villages to follow her to Ostirith, it's painfully true for Nori who forcibly included a complete stranger, a tall man to her small nomadic and peaceful community of gatherers, breaking an almost sacred rule and making her family pay a high price for it.

It's also so freeing to watch in a such big production main female characters who are not defined first and firemost by their romantic potentiel.

Miriel and Galadriel are single (even if Halbrand and Elendil are presented as potential love interests for Galadriel, though these subplots are written in such a soft and restrained style, that it requires attention to notice the signs), and they have been introduced with no discussion or commentary inside the plot about their marriage prospects or their child desire; Bronwyn is a single mother and the independent head of her family; Eärien has won her place in the Builder's Guild and has been wanting a career long before meeting Kemen; Nori is enjoying her free life and traveling all around Middle Earth; and Disa, mother of two children and the only wife of the lot is the most non conformist model. She challenges all the norms of feminity established by the more popular characters in term of skin color, weight and height and yet looks fabulous, all while she takes care of her family and helps her husband in his work.

They are not only modern heroines, they are also complex heroines: i'm still impressed that writers dared to make at times Galadriel so rude and bossy, Nori so frustrating and naive, Miriel so indecisive, that they have not been afraid to separate Eärien from her family because of her unpopular (in the fandom) anti elves positions.

Considering the conservatism and even religious traditionalism in Tolkien's work (things he wrote when was older and which were a censorship of his more "progressive" earlier writing), the writers have done in my opinion a really solid job at actualizing his work in regard to the current ethical standards, without breaking the unity of the universe he created.

If it was only about filling the quotas for diversity, the writers would have stopped at this point with their large main cast of wonderful femal characters, but they decided to add two more groups:

The women in white that appeared to be studying the crater where The stranger crashed. I loved everything about their appearance: from their outfits that gave a religious (as in "high priestesses") and warrior vibe, to their confident attitude and the impression left that they belonged to the" magical" world of the Valar.

Whoever they are, i'm thrilled the most by the risk taken by the writers, who seem determined to shake things even more by adding new players to the game and that they picked more women for that. I'm not even sure at this stage that i want them to reveal their identity, i'm just satisfied that those women (spirits?) looked so powerful, cool and fierce and that they seemed to lead the hunt, be it for good or bad reasons.

The veiled Elves servants: they have been giving all its meaning to the idiom "hiding in plain sight" since episode 1. So silent that i could sometimes almost forget that they are present in every scene related to Lindon while performing their many tasks: messengers in episode 1 when one of them informed Elrond that he couldn't participate to the Council, assisting others elves in religious rituals on the elf ship that was taking Galadriel and the company she lead to Valinor, or domestic servants during the dinner with Durin. That's why i easily noticed and reacted during the post dinner scene between Gil Galad and Elrond, when they stopped and turned back to watch the two male elves accusing each other of lying. It was ethereal and i was almost expecting them to break their "vows" and make some commentaries like chorus do in the ancient greek tragedies. It seems to me it was filmed to look like a group move, and it's one of those details that make me want to know more about them collectively, (how they are hired, trained etc).

Not that i believe that they have any influence on the plot, but just because of the light they can shed on the elfic society and its hierarchy. I need to understand better the contrast between their position and the trajectory of Galadriel's career, especially in a community like Lindon which seem too wise to judge people based on their gender (though the family lineage and class seem to play a big part in the assignment of social roles). And this thirst came probably from the fact that Galadriel is the only woman elf developed so far (there was one fighting at her side during the discovery of Morgoth's lair in episode 1 and one other captured by the orcs of Adar in episode 3, but they weren't even named and the one in the Southlands died quickly during the failed escape).

It's not perfect but it's enough to say that a show written with this level of attention and care for its heroines, is a show that knows how to tell properly a story.

#the rings of power #galadriel #queen regent miriel #princess disa #eärien #elanor nori brandyfoot #bronwyn #the elves #my trop reviews

[ringsreforged]

Hi everyone!

First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who has recently followed and messaged us. It means a lot to us that fellow fans respond to what we create and how we react to the show. It is genuinely so very heartwarming when it’s not just the two of us putting stuff into the void. Feedback and sharing to like-minded fans out there—that’s always and forever greatly appreciated. ♥️

We are now preparing our new pod episode to go live tomorrow morning. The ep tackles ‘The Great Wave’ - Reforged and - to be completely honest - we discuss everything in such great detail that it was a real pain to edit and to get it under 2 hours. 😂 Big shout-out to everyone who gets to the end. There was a lot to discuss though as with every episode it just piles on, you know? There are new things to remember about as we go on.

We dissect everything with care. I can promise a lot of Halbrand/Sauron and Haladriel talk. We know there’s people waiting for that and of course, we shall provide. ❤️‍🔥

We also spend time appreciating Elrond’s chill nature, Miriel’s devotion to making an educated choice and humorously trash talking Theo a bit (he’s such a little shit but we love him, too).

Let us know your reforged thoughts, what your Hall of Lore for ep 4 is and perhaps some Penitence Watch input? We’d love to hear from you!

Leave a rating, share on social media and just tell your friends about us if you haven’t already. Lots of love for everyone’s enthusiasm and support. You are the best. 😘

Think like a Harfoot and live good!

Pau & Nat

#rings of power #the rings of power #sauron #halbrand #galadriel #trop #elrond #haladriel #tolkien #saurondriel #rings of power podcast #galadriel x halbrand #the lord of the rings #spotify #tv podcast #tv review #spotify podcast

[goawaywithjae]

“Business Proposal” relies on the love contract trope, where a man hires a woman to be his pretend girlfriend. Almost all of the men are drop-dead gorgeous and would have no problem finding a real-life partner. But real relationships also come with real problems that these men don’t want to deal with.

In the case of Tae-moo, he is the heir to his grandfather’s packaged-food dynasty. Orphaned after his parents died in a car crash, Tae-moo was raised by his grandfather (played by the puckishly charming Lee Deok-hwa), who he describes as someone who was his father, mother and grandfather. Chairman Kang Do-goo wants nothing more than for Tae-moo to get married and give him lots of great grandchildren to dote on. And you know what’s coming next, right? He orders Tae-moo to go on blind dates with young women whose families’ wealth matches their own.

Read my full review here.

#Business Proposal #Kdramas #Kdrama review #ahn hyo seop #kim se jeong #Kim min kyu #seol in ah #I wrote this #love contract #trops