SPOILER LotR - The Rings of Power

Glorfindel’s canon story is amazing and I wish he was kept in the LOTR movies…..his battle with a Balrog in the First Age is what legends are made of.

Actually his canon timeline of returning to ME in the Second Age would fit this situation perfectly.

 

I will freely admit that I went into this series WANTING to like it but apprehensive given all the negativity that's surrounded the project ever since it was first announced that Amazon had bought the rights.

That said, I have enjoyed the first two episodes. In an earlier post I mentioned the show's incredible production values but I also want to mention the casting. Obviously, the first two episodes were all about beginning to set the stage for what's to come. But I was blown away by the actress, Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel along with the show's make-up and costuming teams. She WAS a young Galadriel for me. If anyone wants to argue what she did or didn't do in the Second Age, go ahead and do it if that's your thing. But for me, it all depends on the story about her they're telling. if the story that gets told is anywhere as good as the production values and the acting, we should be in for a fun ride. If it's not 'Tolkien Canon' then I suggest relaxing and enjoying it as an old story told around the campfire that may, or may not, be true.

And I have to confess that if I would have known the show would be featuring hobbits before I saw anything, my anxiety level would have gone off the charts and I'd have been crying, "Ooooooh Nooooooo." But surprisingly, I found myself buying into the whole idea of the harfoots, the Hobbits' nomadic, ancient ancestors, existing in the Second Age. It was obvious from the start that they wanted to give us all a female 'Frodo' in Nori Brandyfoot. But nevertheless, I have to admit, I bought it and find myself intrigued with her storyline with The Stranger.

One last thing about the cast, I was initially turned off by the young Ned Stark that they have playing Elrond because he looked nothing like Hugo Weaving. But by Episode 2, I was starting to buy in on him too. I really enjoyed young Elrond's 'reunion' with Durin. Both actors -- plus Durin's wife -- were great.

Obviously, it's still very early and we really don't have a strong notion of where the storylines are going with all of the show's main characters. But IMHO, it's sure off to a promising start!

 

We’ve spent so much time talking Meteor Man….how about two other mysteries ?

1. the partial sword-hilt the boy has….what is it? I say a part of a sword of Morgoth maybe, or one of his Lieutenants?

2. what is in the box that is glowing upon Durin’s face? I say the Arkenstone , huge gem “the heart of the mountain”….or….how about some mithril?

 

Does anyone think Theo (the boy with sword) is someone who we already met before?

I like the theory of him becoming the Witch-king of Angmar. Yes, I know, the Nazgul are meant to be "leaders of men". But maybe he becomes a leader before he falls to the dark side.

He probably is an original character though.

 

Yes, amazing --- and one of the most critical ingredients to the series working.

I always believed the key to Peter Jackson's success in his film adaptation of LOTR is what he told his cast and crew from the outset of the project: We need to keep it Real. We need to approach everything as if we're filming a historical event, not a fantasy tale.

We've yet to really dive into the various storylines but this Amazon series has already proven to us by the artists they've hired and the high-quality of the production values and the soundtrack, that they understand the importance of 'keeping it real' for their audience.

 

I'm with you on that.

I was initially really confused why they cast this guy as Elrond, but he really shined in Episode 2. Honestly, he's one o my favorite characters now.

 

Indeed. The very definition of courage and valor.

Also: the entirety of Gandálf the Grey vs Durin's Bane

is my second favorite part of Peter Jackson's LOTR saga.

Right behind King Théoden's EPIC delivery of:

"How did it come to this?"​

 

I haven't seen any of this yet, but could the meteor man be Beorn? Even Gandalf said he didn't know who he is iirc.

 

But shouldn't his name be Annatar?

 

I laughed when I read your reaction to Ep. 3, Angelman. I came here to post my own reactions to the latest episode but after reading yours, this post has been reduced to Ditto...Ditto...Ditto!

For a LOTR fan who thought he would've HATED seeing the early ancestors of Hobbits appear in this series, I have to confess that they're one of my favorite things about the show thus far.

 

You said it, LadyMusashi! The visuals were pretty spectacular too. The combination - IMHO - was pure LOTR!

It seems to me the show has done everything short of hitting us over the head to indicate its Gandalf. I'll admit, at this point I'll be disappointed (and a tad upset given all the 'it's Gandalf' hints) if the showrunners decide to throw us all for a loop with a big plot twist involving The Stranger's identity.

I was really impressed with the whole concept of the orcs' 'covered' tunnels. It's was a great plot device that enhanced Tolkien's old mythology surrounding 'the goblins.'

For some reason, Helbrand is the only main character that hasn't done anything for me yet. On the other hand, my first impressions of Earendil were positive.

I thought the same thing when the end credits appeared.

 

I was wondering about the sword as well, but maybe they'd make a bigger deal out of it?

 

Seeing Numenor and Elendil brought to the screen was just awesome for me. I cannot wait to see the meeting between he and Gil-galad.

My musings so far:
-Where did the did Elendil's daughter come from? Are we jumping off of the canon-cliff here? I was not aware this show was going to take "artistic liberty" with the books.
-Where is Anárion? I don't remember them showing him.
-I hope/believe that the "meteor man" is Sauron. The wizards came from over the sea. The timing would put this 1000's of years off, waaay before the Battle of Dagorlad. I can also see it being Eru Ilúvatar, checking in on how his creation is doing.
-The orcs being burned by the sun was fantastic and the early warg was cool to see.

 

Yes, but it seems pretty clear that the show's timeline is going to be very different from the books, for practical reasons.

Unless

Spoiler

Isildur and Elendil

just happen to be ironically named individuals, then that's just one way that we're already well than a thousand years off the timeline.

And tbh, that's totally fine. An adaptation doesn't need to just regurgitate the original story word for word. Rings of Power is telling the story of the precursor to LOTR, in a timeline that's actually filmable as a show (and not just a series of individual vignette episodes). It's a stylistic choice for sure, I'm sure the showrunners are well aware that they've had to make concessions to actually make this thing work.