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Ornate

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      Mae govannen!

      Herein are the musings and tidings regarding The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

      What are your thoughts on the series? Do you have a favourite character or storyline?

      Cast:

      Incomplete as of August 3 2024.

      Galadriel - Morfydd Clark
      Elrond - Robert Aramayo
      Gil-galad - Benjamin Walker
      Celebrimbor - Charles Edwards
      Círdan - Ben Daniels (season 2)

      Sauron - Charlie Vickers
      Adar - Joseph Mawle (season 1), Sam Hazeldine (season 2)

      Míriel - Cynthia Addai-Robinson
      Elendil - Lloyd Owen
      Isildur - Maxim Baldry
      Eärien - Ema Horvath
      Pharazôn - Trystan Gravelle
      Kemen - Leon Wadham
      Valandil - Alex Tarrant (season 1-2)
      Ontamo - Anthony Crum (season 1)

      Durin IV - Owain Arthur
      Disa - Sophia Nomvete
      Durin III - Peter Mullan
      Narvi - Kevin Eldon (season 2)

      Arondir - Ismael Cruz Córdova
      Bronwyn - Nazanin Boniadi (season 1)
      Theo - Tyroe Muhafidin
      Waldreg - Geoff Morrell (season 1-2)
      Snaggleroot - Jim Broadbent (season 2)
      Winterblossom - Olivia Williams (season 2)
      Estrid - Nia Towle (season 2)

      The Stranger - Daniel Weyman
      Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot - Markella Kavenagh
      Tom Bombadil - Rory Kinnear (season 2)
      Dark Wizard - Ciarán Hinds (season 2)
      Poppy Proudfellow - Megan Richards
      Sadoc Burrows - Lenny Henry (season 1)
      Largo Brandyfoot - Dylan Smith (season 1)
      Marigold Brandyfoot - Sara Zwangobani (season 1)
      Dilly Brandyfoot - Beau Cassidy (season 1)
      Malva - Thusitha Jayasundera (season 1)
      Vilma - Maxine Cunliffe (season 1)


      Season 2:

      Premieres August 29, 2024.

      Teaser:


      Trailer:


      1x1 cast interviews:


      Season 1:


      The Rings of Power premiered September 1/2, 2022 with the first two episodes, followed by the third releasing on the 8th/9th.

      I wasn't sure of what to expect at first. It has a massive budget, so it has to look good. But would the writing be of quality? How closely would it follow the material? How might it compare to The Lord of the Rings films?

      Here is where I'm at so far... spoilers ahead!

      My overall tl;dr opinion:
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      Episode 3:
      Galadriel
      Definitely not the Lady of Light at this point. But can we expect anyone to be the exact same person for decades, centuries, millennia? I do believe it was a good idea to start her off with room for character growth, else her storyline would be incredibly flat with Mary Sues everywhere.

      She certainly carries that know-it-all arrogance which might remind one of book Legolas, and it becomes clear how blind she is to it when her party mutinies and when she raises hackles when first meeting the Númenóreans.

      I'm curious to see how she navigates the King's Men and The Faithful in the episodes to come.


      Elendil and Isildur
      I appreciate Elendil's ability to avoid detection of living up to his name so far. I'm curious to know how his family's story will unfold.

      Isildur - uh, whose voice was that?


      Elrond
      I don't like his hair either. I suppose the designers are making a statement that this hairstyle was in fashion at this time since other male elves share it... so at least they're being consistent.

      I love how his introduction made it crystal clear of his role as herald, as well as his lower standing.

      I was amused at how he navigated dwarven mentality.


      Durin IV and Disa
      Omg I love them.

      I can totally understand Durin being hurt by Elrond's absence. I'm glad he was able to soften a bit.

      Disa is one of my faves. The perfect amount of sass.

      When they talked about the tree my heart melted.


      Nori and the Harfoots
      Okay I absolutely LOVED how the Harfoots were introduced. Marvellous.

      Nori reminds me a bit of Pippin but with the heart of Frodo. Inquisitive, impulsive, but also caring and braver than most Harfoots.

      When the left-behind list was read and Poppy started tearing up- AHHH my heart. Poor girl. crying

      I can see how the constant drilling of how the Harfoots sticking together and staying hidden can get annoying, but at the same time, it makes sense. They can't exactly defend themselves.


      The Stranger
      Who is he???

      One of the wizards?

      Glorfindel?

      ... Sauron?


      Bronwyn and Theo
      Not much to go on so far with these new characters but I am interested and invested at this point. Will Bronwyn succeed in leading her people to safety? Will Theo be lured into the dark?

      Is that blade that Theo took the item that the orcs are after?


      Arondir
      I am a simp for Arondir. Ismael's nonverbal acting is superb.

      The romance with Bronwyn is cute, though I hope its progression and conclusion is different than what we've seen with other elf x non-elf relationships.

      When he said "Ánin apsene" I was tearing up. (It means forgive me.)

      Episode 3's scenes with Arondir felt like a nod to Tolkien, referencing the harshness of WWI as well as Tolkien's love of trees.

      I wonder what's in store for Arondir...


      Halbrand
      While he does seem Aragorn-esque, I can already see that there's efforts of a fresh spin on the wayward-king trope.

      I had to watch episode 3 twice to spot when he took the guild badge. LOL that was smooth. I wonder how many takes that took?

      At the same time, with his charisma and reluctance to do what's expected of him, combined with his seeming obsession with smithing, I can't help but wonder...

      ... Could he actually be Sauron? Or is he a red herring?


      All in all, after three episodes, I am currently of the opinion that the folks involved took great care in creating a show that's both watchable but also respectful of the material.

      Episode 4 thoughts.

      Episode 8 & overall thoughts.

Swashbuckling Bookworm

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Wow...
Only saw one episode so far and all I can say without any spoilers. Still, for every question answered more are instigated.

Never forget heart
Always remember 💐

Feral Squad

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I absolutely am invested in this series, I haven't watched the 3rd episode yet, but as budget goes, they are delivering what to expect!

Star

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sweatdrop Has anyone read the Silmarillion? I was wondering if they were drawing stories from it. I remember parts but it was a complicated read.

Ornate

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sweatdrop Has anyone read the Silmarillion? I was wondering if they were drawing stories from it. I remember parts but it was a complicated read.

      The storyline in the show is based on events from the Second Age. There is some mention and Easter eggs of earlier events.

      The opening credits appears to be inspired by Ainulindalë.

Celestial Champion

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Just watched the third episode and I wont mind sticking around for the rest~ (8 total for this season right?). It's still slow-world building but it's gaining some traction..! just give me less (how about none) of those stylized shots and pick up the plot~! sweatdrop
But I only know Tolkien's world through the eyes of Peter Jackson (LotR/Hobbit trilogy) so I don't know what to expect and that's fine~

Dapper Guardian

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Not a fan. Really irritated by the condensed timeline. They chose to set the series in the second age to have more of a clean slate, but almost instantly deviate from the few things that were set? Meh. If anyone else is enjoying it I’m happy for them, but definitely not for me.

Aged Regular

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Failure. They completely ignored Galadriel's mysterious and almost godlike status at this point in time in favor of making her a warrior lady. Far too much time and budget was given to CGI over actual acting talent. The show ran over its already gargantuan 500 million budget for one season into SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION. I could deal with omissions and contractions of the story. Even some deviation. But they immediately took a left turn and continue to march further and further from the source material.

On top of this these budget overruns have affected the CGI budgets for multiple shows and movies released in the last couple years. Note WoTs often less than impressive CGI or The Boys S3 a SUPERHERO show where most of the superpowers just... aren't used through most of it. I get that there is way more to the show but wow. And these are shows with like less than 20% of the budget RoP got.

Honestly this whole thing has been a farce for me. I wanted it to be good. Especially after the Hobbit being stretched out and less than impressive. But this is 3/4ths of a BILLION dollars of blunder to me that kneecapped other IPs to prop up this half baked show.

Anxious Shapeshifter

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Rings of power is crap.....cant believe they turned it into political agenda instead of following Tolkiens world....a million down votes for this piece of crap

Dapper Guardian

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Weaponshold
Failure. They completely ignored Galadriel's mysterious and almost godlike status at this point in time in favor of making her a warrior lady. Far too much time and budget was given to CGI over actual acting talent. The show ran over its already gargantuan 500 million budget for one season into SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION. I could deal with omissions and contractions of the story. Even some deviation. But they immediately took a left turn and continue to march further and further from the source material.

On top of this these budget overruns have affected the CGI budgets for multiple shows and movies released in the last couple years. Note WoTs often less than impressive CGI or The Boys S3 a SUPERHERO show where most of the superpowers just... aren't used through most of it. I get that there is way more to the show but wow. And these are shows with like less than 20% of the budget RoP got.

Honestly this whole thing has been a farce for me. I wanted it to be good. Especially after the Hobbit being stretched out and less than impressive. But this is 3/4ths of a BILLION dollars of blunder to me that kneecapped other IPs to prop up this half baked show.


Couldn’t have said it better myself. I think what’s worse to me is how disingenuous Amazon’s been about the whole thing as well. Insisting “we’re paying close attention to the lore and are doing what Tolkien would have done.” Gtfoh. I’d almost respect it a tiny bit more if they were at least honest with their intentions. And don’t get me started on how they’ve treated the fans that have voiced their displeasure. Look, racist people are definitely gonna racist— but to label EVERY fan that complains as racist/ sexist/ etc? Come on now. It’s so blatantly disingenuous. Idk. This whole thing has been such a farce.

Ornate

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Lady Venger
Just watched the third episode and I wont mind sticking around for the rest~ (8 total for this season right?). It's still slow-world building but it's gaining some traction..! just give me less (how about none) of those stylized shots and pick up the plot~! sweatdrop
But I only know Tolkien's world through the eyes of Peter Jackson (LotR/Hobbit trilogy) so I don't know what to expect and that's fine~

      Yep! 8 episodes.

      I appreciate the slow build. It echoes the pacing of FotR and AUJ. To me it gives a chance for everyone, especially those new to Middle Earth, to become familiar with key locations and characters. In episode 3 I got the impression that the pace is ready to quicken - we'll see!

Original Guildswoman

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I'm enjoying the plot development so far, and the naughty Harfoot is the most annoying character so far. Her curiosity is such a bad omen. She's a tragedy waiting to happen!

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Just nope. Would have worked better as it's own show instead of wasting all that money and effort trying to expand on the LOTR series that most fans do not enjoy. Maybe okay for new fans but not the old. Might be a bit biased I'll admit but no, I can toss all that aside and judge it as it's own show and honestly I can say the visuals are are breathtaking but that's pretty much were all the money went. The actual writing is very lacking in most regards and I worry about how they're going to expand on Galadriel.

Ornate

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I'm enjoying the plot development so far, and the naughty Harfoot is the most annoying character so far. Her curiosity is such a bad omen. She's a tragedy waiting to happen!

      Oh yes I agree. Nori is caught between doing what she feels is right, and her tendencies making her a trouble magnet.

      Episode 5 trailer:
      It looks like the first major trouble might come up soon based on the quick clip of the wolf coming at Nori.

Ornate

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      Thoughts on episode 4:

      I'm all ears for the Tolkien-esque dialogue in this episode. Warms my elven heart.

      Númenor

      I laughed so hard when Galadriel's arrogant behaviour landed her in jail. But then- character development!

      I noticed Halbrand was being rather manipulative this episode, so he's remaining on my list of potential Sauron candidates.

      Was that Narsil?!

      I'm still confused about what's going on with Isildur.

      Not sure how I feel about Eärien x Kemen. Eärien doesn't seem overly interested, while Kemen has some dialogue that made me laugh in a good way.

      That stare between Tar-Míriel and Elendil was powerful.

      The end confused me a bit, perhaps because they cut a scene that would have tied the boat and meeting scenes better.

      Elrond and Durin IV

      I was fascinated throughout their scenes. From Disa and Elrond's conversation, to the mental whiplash when I realized how Elrond was eavesdropping, and OMG the singing!

      Can't wait to see what comes of this.

      Southlands

      AAAAHHHHHHHH

      Absolutely loving the practical effects.

      The relationship between Adar and the orcs blew my expectations. And the conversation between Arondir and Adar? WOW. Is Adar Maglor??? He's still tentatively on my potential Sauron list however.

      I'm pissed at Rowan for lying. Glad Theo made it out. The arrow catch by Arondir looked even better in the scene than it did in the trailer. The conversation between Waldreg and Theo was creepy in a theatrical sense.

      I wonder what the Men will do?

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