The Rings of Power

[fph]

Any opinions on the first two episodes? I like how the races were portrayed, but for now in my view it fails to paint a strong, interesting story. I hope there is more to the plot coming.

[Nick]

I'm not rushing to judgment, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet.

[debo]

Any opinions on the first two episodes? I like how the races were portrayed, but for now in my view it fails to paint a strong, interesting story. I hope there is more to the plot coming.

I found it pretty, but boring. They have 5 seasons in mind already so I guess they're keeping the pace slow. There's not really any single plotline that I'm particularly interested in yet.

My brain keeps crashing when they mention characters from the First Age that now have different / idealized stories compared to the Silmarillion, but as with you I'm glad they chose a period that isn't particularly well-trodden ground.

[debo]

Oh, and by the way, my money is on that melty broken evil sword being Anglachel 🙂

[bio_hazard]

I didn't have super high expectations going in and so far I'm pleasantly surprised and enjoying it after 2 ep.

It is starting slow and with a lot of threads all at once. I'd probably prefer it if they got us a little more centered in one or two stories, but since they payed all that money for Middle Earth rights they are for sure going to show us Hobbits (Harfoots), Dwarfs, Elves, Men, mystery man, all at once even if it hurts the narrative. I loved the dwarf civ but I wish they had kicked that to Ep 3 so we get more invested in some of the other stories. Galadriel's adventures at sea were cool looking I guess but really felt like <insert adventure here to get us to the next plot point>.

Liked the Harfoots, dwarves. Didn't hate the Southland love story because it's serving as a way to enter into the human/elf history in that area.

I really don't mind if it's not hyper-accurate to the source if it keeps the flavor and tells interesting stories. This isn't the history channel.

It's funnier than I expected and (not entirely) fart/burp jokes. It captures some of the balance of the first Peter Jackson trilogy.

It's mostly great looking.

Like: The (e2) intro with the sand patterns
Don't like: the map (goes too fast for me)

It's better than the last couple of Hobbit movies. It's not as good as the Peter Jackson LoTR or early seasons GoT but that's an almost impossible benchmark to hit as those were phenomenal adaptations of already excellent stories. I think it's maybe better than the WoT after 2 episodes but in the same ballpark.

[EugeneLesnov]

All I hope for is this "Fallen from stars man" is not Gendalf.
That would explain his special relationship with the hobbits, but lol (I mean, lore) haha..

[Nick]

All I hope for is this "Fallen from stars man" is not Gendalf.
That would explain his special relationship with the hobbits, but lol (I mean, lore) haha..

I'm kind of assuming it is.

[debo]

I think the man from the stars is Sauron. His magic killed the fireflies, and his lava vibes seem appropriate for a servant of Aulë.

Either that, or he's someone new. I don't think it's Gandalf.

[Pete Mack]

Yep. In the original text, the fall from heaven lasts nine (?) days and all of Book 1.

I think the man from the stars is Sauron. His magic killed the fireflies, and his lava vibes seem appropriate for a servant of Aulë.

Either that, or he's someone new. I don't think it's Gandalf.

[Nick]

Yep. In the original text, the fall from heaven lasts nine (?) days and all of Book 1.

Which text is that?

[Pete Mack]

Paradise Lost, Milton

[fph]

Wouldn't that conflict with the Tolkien canon if the Fallen Man were Gandalf? Not a Tolkien expert myself, just asking.

[Nick]

Wouldn't that conflict with the Tolkien canon if the Fallen Man were Gandalf? Not a Tolkien expert myself, just asking.

Well yes, he's not meant to arrive until the third age. But then they seem to be having the rings of power being forged in Ar Pharazon's time, which is about 1700 years too late, so sticking to the timeline clearly isn't a priority.

[tangar]

My comrade, fan of black speech - Un4givenOrc wrote:

"I've started collecting Neo-Black Speech from Amazon's "The Rings of Power" show. However, without translations yet. I'm afraid they will be published after closing the show, or at least the 1st season. Currently the list is posted on my closed forum."

http://blackspeech.ru/board/viewtopic.php?id=194

[debo]

-- Spoilers --

I like what they did with Adar. The idea that the initial mockeries of the firstborn were closer to Elf than to Orc is kinda neat. When I initially saw his elf-ears, I thought he might be a Maeglin-ish character, but not so much.

I didn't feel great about Dark Evil Sword being a key to a volcanic mouse-trap, but it looked cool nonetheless.

This most recent episode was a lot more watchable for me because it stuck to one of the plot arcs. It's harder for me to stay engaged in the episodes where they jump around between the groups.