r/lotr • u/DarkSkiesGreyWaters • 8h ago
TV Series The Rings of Power - Season 3 Official Trailer | Prime Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maP_Kyy3DCA100
u/Excellent_Chemical23 8h ago
Y'all realize in ten years Tolkien will be open to the public and we are gonna get slammed with so many rings of powers
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u/Mask___DeMasque 2h ago
I'm going to guess that most of those projects will not have one of the richest corporations in the world behind them or cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce.
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u/Pjoernrachzarck 3h ago edited 3h ago
I’m a lifelong Tolkien reader from long before the movies, and I’m excited for the show, but I’m annoyed at how much supposedly ‘Tolkien’ media is now somehow about lame aphorisms, monsters, slow motion martial arts, death and destruction.
That’s not what this world is about. Middle-Earth is a quiet, sad, fading world, in which violence is quick and regrettable, and never supposed to tickle you. The main thing that happens in Lord of the Rings, the main thing that Tolkien was interested in, was different cultures with rich histories meeting in friendship. (over a backdrop that is equal parts “war!” and “the quiet end of the world as we know it”)
And I don’t blame Rings of Power for this development. In fact I think the show is worst whenever it tries to emulate the Jackson movies.
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u/BetweenTheRoots 1h ago
They gotta make money at the end of the day and it's safer to do what's common and popular and tested vs do something original. They invested a ton of money into ROP.
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u/Silmarien1012 2h ago
Well I’ve got bad news for you, that’s the only thing they know to do is member berries and straight copy paste lines from the trilogy
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u/SehnsuchtLich- 29m ago
My biggest problem is that there is a dedicated rings of power subreddit, go there plz
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u/lirin000 8h ago
People are going to hate on this (and there's obviously some things in the trailer that seem again, a bit off from the "real" lore) because they hate on anything Rings of Power, but the story direction here seems like another improvement over season 2 (as 2 was an improvement over 1). We'll see what it looks like in reality, but this looks pretty good as far as trailers go.
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u/R4808N 7h ago
A few months ago, I read a post that addressed a lot of the controversy surrounding this show and the gist of it was - even though there's lots of plot holes and lore changes etc... it is an opportunity to spend some more time in a world that I love.
This trailer does look awesome and I'm definitely going to watch the show.
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u/lirin000 7h ago
This is precisely where I fall as well. I would watch characters in Middle Earth if they were going to a laundromat if it was filmed in New Zealand or in similar looking locations.
Bonus points for all the new casual fans it is creating who don't know how silly some of the changes are, but it brings them into the Tolkien fandom and gets them reading the "true" source material.
As long as it's entertaining and the major story beats are in line, I'm ok with it. Tolkien himself understood that adaptations mean changes.
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u/sandalrubber 1h ago edited 52m ago
Tolkien himself understood that adaptations mean changes.
Yes but that doesn't mean he'd just approve of those changes carte blanche and be done with it, particularly the show's (and the movies') specific changes if he'd lived to see them. We know what he privately thought about that proposed cartoon movie, he was indignantly protective, and about people making their own additions to his work, he privately called them impertinent young asses making tripe, though politely dismissing them directly.
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u/lirin000 28m ago
It wasn't actually the cartoon movie that he commented on it was a proposed screenplay that was thankfully rejected and never made, allowing the PJ version to be made.
RE: Tolkien approving or not approving of the films or show, I suspect he would not have liked the PJ films either though. His son (and guardian of all things Tolkien) hated the movies.
So my point here is that it's not about what the original author would think of an adaptation. If that were the case we would all hate the movies too. But very few people who hate RoP hate the movies, or at least are not as passionate about their hatred for the movies as they are for RoP.
Every book/story that gets adapted to screens gets changed. I hated the changes Spielberg made to Jurassic Park! But I still enjoyed the movie version for what it was. What I don't care for are people who pick and choose what THEY think are "acceptable" changes vs not acceptable changes, when often (but not always!) the things they are most mad about are driven by their politics or whatever.
If you think Galadriel kissing Elrond is lame (I do!) but aren't even MORE outraged at Frodo sending Sam away AND SAM AGREEING then I can't really take you seriously. Not saying YOU of course, but just people who rant and rave about this stuff tend to overlook extremely egregious changes (Faramir kidnaps Frodo/Sam and brings the Ring to OSGILIATH and then watches Frodo try to GIVE IT TO A NAZGUL and lets him go free?! WTF???) from the films. I can look at that scene and say yeah no, that's a bunch of crap, while still enjoying the other 95% of the movies that do work.
So with RoP it's not 95% it's more like 50%. But to me 50% is much better than 0%.
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u/sandalrubber 16m ago
He wasn't talking about Bakshi's movie but Zimmerman's script.
A lot of readers do dislike both the movies and the show, and the movies as much as the show. This place is just movie-dominated so it's not as apparent.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 23m ago
The thing is when you own an IP you use it or lose it. Tolkien is long gone. He feuded with Simon for helping with the films, but they made up eventually. Simon is currently helping and advising the show rn. We are in decent hands.
Most of the stuff people are idolizing from the film are stuff that he didn't like, while there is a fair amount of stuff he would probably like about the shows, in a hypothetical vacuum of course.
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u/sandalrubber 12m ago
It was Christopher who feuded with Simon. But Simon isn't Christopher, not by a long shot, so on what basis can we say we're in decent hands? No one has stepped up or rather can step up to fill the space Christopher left in the same way.
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u/blodgute 47m ago
I don't understand how anyone can watch the opening titles and think it is only a cashgrab.
Is it a cashgrab? Yeah, sure. Did they also get Howard Shore to make a theme that reflects the aunilindale with an opening sequence of grains of sand acting that out? Yes.
The show is not perfect, not even sure if it is good tbh, but claiming that the creators haven't even read the silmarillion is obviously bollocks.
Reminds me of certain people I met who claim that the film trilogy is a disgusting mistreatment of the books. They've got a point but let people have fun.
I've certainly enjoyed RoP more than Battle of the Five armies. I saw that at a midnight premiere and let me tell you, Ian McKellen's speech before it started was the best bit.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 26m ago
A cashgrab? That could be said of any big budget production. When they reduce their concerns down to lazy insults like cashgrab, or fanfiction etc, I know their opinion can be instantly dismissed without a second thought.
"Have you read the bible lately?"
"Bro didn't you know that is just some knock of fanfiction of the Epic of Gilgamesh."
Not that I like the bible, but you get the picture. Tolkien himself was fan fictioning Macbeth lol. History rhymes.
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u/lirin000 21m ago
The comparison to the Hobbit trilogy is very apt because there were equally ridiculous moments (Legolas defying gravity, dwarf gatling gun sled) , equally egregious lore violations (is Galadriel like... somewhat romantically involved with Gandalf there ???), and actually worse special effects/CGI than RoP (it's literally like 90% green screen).
Having said that, I still have a hard time turning it off when I stumble upon it on TBS or whatever and wish we could get a version that cuts out all the bad stuff because I do enjoy the good stuff.
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u/hegartyp 2h ago
Yeah I agree with this, I think season 2 was pretty dam good. But to read about it online it's the worst show ever made. Like others I'm happy to spend time in middle earth, hell i even enjoyed season 1 for what it was. This show is not perfect but it's far from the sh*tshow it's portrayed to be.
People can take this stuff far too seriously and I say this as a Tolkien lover - although I'm not a lore expert.
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u/Pretend_Purchase_893 5h ago
I am just enjoying it for what it is. Is it the Lord of the rings show I would have wanted as a Tolkien fan? Absolutely not. But this is it. This is the only Lord of the rings show we have. So why not just enjoy what you can and try not to take it too seriously eh?
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 4h ago
I do my best to enjoy it, but some of the scale issues and poor CGI have really bummed me out. Could have been so much better than it is.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 1h ago
The scale is noticeably better this season, just from the trailer alone. As for the CGI, people were complaining about the same thing when the Hobbit switch from film to 4k digital 48 fps. Weta workshop is still making the props, we are just seeing the sets and makeup in much higher definition which makes it look off compared to LoTR.
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u/ArsenalinAlabama3428 36m ago
I agree with you about the definition thing. A lot of it can be attributed to that.
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u/NoPossibility 4h ago
Is it any worse than LOtR or Hobbit where they travel hundreds and hundreds of miles in a single day montage ride?
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u/MozhetBeatz 2h ago
LOTR, yes, it’s worse. Hobbit, debatable.
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u/NoPossibility 2h ago
lol thanks for actually answering. I was really asking. 🙄 Reddit strikes again I guess.
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u/_Nick7 7h ago
Rings of Power is a perfectly average fantasy TV show, some people just don't like it because it uses the LOTR brand.
Eh, I'm okay with it. I'll keep watching it because no matter if it isn't done well, I like seeing new stuff with characters I like and the visuals are pretty.
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u/Exact-Blueberry6066 7h ago
Imo is a mid fantasy show with a huge budget which add a couple points for sound and picture. As a middle earth adaptation is bottom of the barrel. That's my 2cents as someone who has read the main books (Hobbit, Lotr, Silmarillion) and is a huge Tolkien nerd
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u/_Nick7 7h ago
Lord of the Things is my favourite thing ever. I've read all ofit—the Silmarillion, Children of Hurin, The Fall of Numenor, etc. etc. I would definitely call myself a Tolkien nerd as well.
And yes, you're very right that ROP is a terrible, terrible adaptation. I don't even consider it one; it's genuinely just a whole different show just using familiar names and settings. I don't watch ROP because I want to experience more Tolkien, it's just another show to follow loosely because it hasn't yet dissapointed me enough to fully abandon it.
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u/Exact-Blueberry6066 7h ago
As long as you enjoy it, go for it. For me, it doesn't exist and I stopped after s1
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 1h ago
You have a strong opinion for someone who didn't even watch the second season. Its a perfectly fine show. Its only a matter of time till it is no longer the highest budget show too. A lot of that went straight into getting the rights. A show was going to get made either way, we are lucky its this, because Netflix pitched a marvel style cinematic universe, and no way HBO touches it with the GoTverse.
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u/Exact-Blueberry6066 1h ago
My main gripe with the show is the writing and story, which deviate a lot from the source material. I'm aware that most of the budget went to getting the rights and they only got rights to the appendices and limited material to work with. I cannot stop comparing it to the Silmarillion, knowing Tolkien's work and world building, to me, it doesn't get even close. I expected an adaptation rather than a new headcanon, which is the reason I stopped watching it.
Others will not have such expectations and enjoy the show for their own reasons, and I'm ok with that. My opinion won't change no matter how good the new story gets, which I doubt will match, let alone surpass The Silmarillion
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 30m ago
It deviates far less than PJ films, who had 3 books of material to adapt of what, a few decades of story? While RoP has a few chapters for 3k years of story, with many of the main characters being human. The changes are massively overstated.
Its funny that you mention headcanon, because at the end of the day your headcanon is not more important than anyone elses, especially the team making RoP who probably studied the source material more than anyone one of us, not to mention help from various experts, and Simon Tolkien himself who helped with the PJ films.
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u/Exact-Blueberry6066 12m ago
Where are you trying to get with this?
For the sake of argument I'll address what I think is a mistake to say Lotr deviates more than RoP. Of course you'll find more deviations just from the difference in source material, one large story divided in 3 books (which Tolkien planned to be just one book but was talked out of it), compared to a few pages and notes, that leave a lot of room for creativity.That being said, there is a structure already laid within the legendarium and I'll give you that Amazon does not have the rights to The Silmarillion so they have to come up with their own ideas, further reinforcing my first point, it does deviate so much because it CANNOT draw from the foundation of middle earth world building.
Its funny that you mention headcanon, because at the end of the day your headcanon is not more important than anyone elses, especially the team making RoP who probably studied the source material more than anyone one of us, not to mention help from various experts, and Simon Tolkien himself who helped with the PJ films.
I'll give a few examples of how it deviates and of which the advisors and people researching the material are also wide aware.
The Second Age lasts about 3,400 years. The Rings are forged around the 16th century, Númenor falls in 3319, and the Last Alliance comes in 3441. The show squeezes these events into what feels like a single generation, with the same characters living through all of it. In the books, the Rings are forged roughly 1,700 years before Númenor falls.
Sauron whole portrayal and interactions... I won't say more, it is plain to see to whoever read the books.
Tolkien’s Galadriel is a noble, wise elf of great age and power, but not primarily the warrior hunting Sauron that the show depicts. Her obsession with Sauron, and the idea that she fought him after the first age, are the show’s own.
The whole harfoot ordeal is the shows invention, which by many accounts is one of the weakest part of the show.
The Istari are not supposed to arrive but until the third age, by sea
The Númenórean conquest of middle earth and the fall of Númenor happen long after the rings in the books, not at the same time period.
Claiming the movies deviate more is funny
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u/Jasy9191 7h ago
It's not even average, it's below and closer to something like Shannara Chronicles.
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u/RPGThrowaway123 Elf-Friend 7h ago
(as 2 was an improvement over 1).
Frankly I found season 2 worse. As insane as the chain of events in season 1's plot was, at least there was a connecting chain. Season 2 starts with a massive hole and continues to make several more.
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u/lirin000 7h ago
I thought everything Sauron/Celebrimbor alone made the show worth watching.
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u/Willpower2000 Fëanor 46m ago
Eh, the writing was as bad as the rest of the show: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rings_Of_Power/s/bZOrWco8jL
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u/RPGThrowaway123 Elf-Friend 7h ago
The acting was fine, the writing was shit (as usual). Sauron and Celebrimbor are both idiots and the former only succeeds because the latter exceeds him in that department as well as because of contrivances.
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u/badgerbaroudeur 3h ago
I thought S1 was on a stable lvl, while S2 had highlights that were way better than S1 and low points that were worse than S1.
But thats coming from someone who overall moderately quite liked the series.
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u/IIlIIIllllIlIIlllllI 7h ago
A bit?
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u/lirin000 7h ago
Yeah I mean, there's a lot to nitpick here (why is the balrog back?? why is Gandalf involved in anything in the 2nd Age, why does everything in this show seem to take place over the span of 6 months instead of thousands of years, etc etc etc), but the overall thrust looks to be Sauron waging war on the elves who are losing and get bailed out by the Numenoreans. And creating the One Ring and Ringwraiths.
If the overall arc fits I'm ok overlooking individual items that make me cringe a bit as a Tolkien reader. Particularly if it brings more people into the fandom and then to read the books and get the "real" story.
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u/Turin_Hador 7h ago
And reversing the timeline of the creation of the Rings, robbing Celebrimbor of his greatest achievement as well as butchering the lore of the Silmarils and Galadriel's character.
There's nothing Tolkien about this other than the names used.
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u/TheBorkotik 7h ago
Idk sure the timing and stuff got thrown away but the scenes between Sauron and Celebrimbor were probably the best of the show. Really well done. If you don't want any lore changes, the books will never change. Adaptation will always have to make tweaks for the medium and it can still be pretty good!
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u/Turin_Hador 7h ago
Mostly carried by some great acting, which doubly amazing given how abysmal the script is.
I don't mind changes in an adaptation, as long as they are done to facilitate the transfer from one medium to another without compromising the themes or focus of the story.
The films mostly managed to do just that. This hasn't even been close.
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u/lirin000 7h ago
Yes I am well aware of the changes you don’t need to demonstrate your incredible fidelity to Tolkien. There were plenty of changes in the films too. And while I “approved” of far more of those changes than the RoP changes, the minute make any changes you are going to make some people unhappy.
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u/Turin_Hador 7h ago
If you think that the changes made in the films and the ones made here are the same in terms of reasoning and significance, then I don't know what to tell you.
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u/lirin000 7h ago
I actually think some the more whacko stuff in The Hobbit films was arguably worse. But I’m not going to debate the changes because I agree they are bad. I just can look past them and if it gets more people into Tolkien that is fine with me.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 1h ago
Just off the top of my head Aragorn being reluctant king wasn't a thing, they gave Arwen at the river crossing was actually Glorfindel, there were never elves at Helms Deep, Erkenbrand saved the day not Eomer, the ghost army was not at the battle of Pelenor fields, it was an army of Gondor vassals who showed up with Aragon. Tons of huge changes in the films.
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u/lirin000 41m ago
Tons of changes. They massacred Faramir's character! And Frodo's character! But that's ok, it worked in the film and so we accept it.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 1h ago
Peter Jackson made far greater changes, and he had three books of material to work off of, while RoP only had a few chapters for a period of over three thousand years. The timeline was always going to be altered. Its a complete non issue, from an adaption standpoint. Celebrimbors arc was a highlight of season two. Like really fucking good.
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u/stablegeniuscheetoh 7h ago
The premise of the Second Age is the “corruption” of elves overstaying their time in Middle Earth and the long slow fall of the Numenoreans, both exasperated by the manipulations of Sauron.
The series plays around with the first and ignores the second.
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u/lirin000 7h ago
How do you know it will ignore Sauron’s role in the fall of Numenor? I think they have been building towards that since season 1.
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u/stablegeniuscheetoh 7h ago
“Long slow fall” of Numenor. If they can’t show you the greatness of Numenor at the peak, the fall is meaningless.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 37m ago
Tolkien debated till the day of his death the morality of sentient beings like orcs being depicted as the unrepentant brain-dead evil of the PJ films. You clearly don't understand his work or mind-set that well.
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u/vdcsX Elf-Friend 5h ago
"as 2 was an improvement over 1" The what? It fell of a damn cliff harder than Aragorn.
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u/lirin000 5h ago
Aragorn did not actually fall off a cliff
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u/vdcsX Elf-Friend 4h ago
He did in the movie.
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u/lirin000 3h ago
Yeah which was a departure from the book and made no sense in the context of the film or the story and only existed to create the weird Arwen horse hallucination. Which is exactly the kind of thing people claim to hate about Rings of Power.
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u/Mavman31 3h ago
Also it was for him to see the army. In the books, their force defending the river pass was destroyed so they fled to helms deep.
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u/lirin000 3h ago
Right for sure. But that's all my point - once you start making changes from the books there will be more changes to deal with those changes and some people will not like them while others will like them.
People claiming that RoP is bad because of lack of fidelity to Tolkien are not being consistent when accepting the many changes PJ made in LOTR and even more in The Hobbit. I love the movies so don't think this is a knock on them. And I agree that some of the changes in RoP are more egregious than LOTR's changes. But like, Christopher hated the movies because of the changes! If we're going to go by "fidelity" we should all hate the movies too! We don't because they're awesome. And ultimately that's what it boils down to.
But that's a matter of preference. Not objective fact.
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u/VardaElentari86 2h ago
Yep. I still remember some people absolutely kicking off about the LOTR films back when they came out. Whole essays about how they were awful due to changing some details.
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u/lirin000 2h ago
The young bucks have no idea. Some of those threads on Onering.net were crazy. Aragorn with a BEARD?! Frodo is a teenager?!
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u/sandalrubber 4m ago edited 0m ago
But the beardless Numenoreans stuff was not published in full until 2021, until then only a partial quote/paraphrase was buried in a footnote in Unfinished Tales pertaining to Imrahil. One could argue it must apply to Aragorn too but the main text of LOTR contradicts it directly with Gondorian king statues having beards. When the beardless stuff became a beatstick, people dug up him endorsing Pauline Baynes' art and she drew the Argonath with beards. I never saw people making an issue about it on OneRing.com.
Plus Frodo's aging was halted, so he was supposed to look like a human who just came of age, so him looking 18 is fine, I never saw people making an issue about Wood's age either. It's more of the mentality as he doesn't act mature and 30ish = hobbit 50.
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u/Mavman31 2h ago
For me, I hate rings of power because the amazing lore the second age already has. I don’t like any of the additions and can’t stand the omissions. I still watch it but it could have been amazing if they stuck with the source material more closely.
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u/lirin000 2h ago
You hate it but you still watch it?
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u/Mavman31 2h ago
I enjoy it for a fantasy tv show. I hate it because of what it could have and should have been. It’s like going on a vacation in winter but it rains the whole time. Yes I like it better than home but it could have been amazing if it was nice out.
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u/MemeMaster240 2h ago
People claiming that RoP is bad because of lack of fidelity to Tolkien are not being consistent when accepting the many changes PJ made in LOTR and even more in The Hobbit.
I disagree, people seem to be pretty consistent with it. People can accept the changes in the movies because for the most part, they're necessary. RoP makes changes for the sake of, it takes it to a degree of asking, why is this called The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Events are out of order, events happen at the wrong time, characters exist when they shouldn't, characters live where they shouldn't and that's just lore wise where its gone wrong.
I know it has rights issues but that begs the question, if you don't have the rights to tell the tale as needed, why make it? For the most part, you are not writing it better than the original. author.
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u/lirin000 2h ago edited 16m ago
There was no reason for the Tauriel romance or Legolas to defy gravity. Oh but wait those are just in The Hobbit which gets criticized right? Well no Legolas walks on the snow in Fellowship without sinking into it and does the crazy leap onto the horse in Two Towers. Frodo is a teenager and there’s barely any time that passes after the party and Gandalf coming back. Frodo is a damsel in distress. FRODO SENDS SAM HOME AND SAM LISTENS. Aragorn beheads an emissary under a banner of truce!! There are so many more.
Look I’m not here to bash the films. I love them! They are better and more faithful adaptations than RoP BY FAR. But these are all subjective things. Christopher Tolkien famously hated the films. We love the films and so we accept the changes because they align with what WE like.
But again I say, if the show appeals to casual fans, I am ok with that if it brings more people into the fandom to learn the “real” story. While enjoying the parts of the show that are in line with what we know and/or look good.
Someday, many years from now, Lord of the Rings will be like Beowulf or Robin Hood or Shakespeare. More people will come to it from adaptations than from the source material. That day is actually already here but at least now we are not so far removed from the original text that it is inaccessible to modern fans. We have to accept that adaptations will change what we love and just try and use them as an entry point into guiding people into learning about the “real” story.
Or just ignore them. The original is still there and unchanged.
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u/vdcsX Elf-Friend 3h ago
"I suppose you think that was terribly clever". Everyone knows this in this sub brother you're not being smart.
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u/lirin000 3h ago
That line was also a change from the books
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u/vdcsX Elf-Friend 3h ago
☝️🤓
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u/adiputinica 1h ago
He must be fun at parties
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u/lirin000 1h ago
No you’re right what’s actually fun at parties is going to them and telling the people having fun that stuff they like is actually bad and they shouldn’t enjoy. Good call, my bad!
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u/Whyyoufart Sauron 7h ago
I mean.. this trailer looks kinda sick. Lots of lore beats in here that we're finally going to see on screen. Excited
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u/Nice-Preparation6204 7h ago
I’ve read almost all of Tolkiens works including Silmarillion, unfinished tales, HoME. It’s ok to get excited for this! More time in middle earth is always a treat for me.
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u/speedwitch 7h ago
This show is not nearly as bad as all these Comic Book Guys act like it is. I'm excited.
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 39m ago
People are generally getting sick and tired of the enlightened contrarian personality. Love to see it. They infest every fandom sub, not just LotR.
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u/Direct_Week_2091 51m ago
I’m shocked by the level headedness of this comments
Pleasantly surprised
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u/Dramatic_Mixture_789 7h ago
I have to say, season 3 looks the best of the ones we have gotten so far. Season 2, was at least a step in the right direction, with Season 1, being…well, whatever it was supposed to be. So far, this season looks like it’s much more in the line of what a Lord of the Rings show is supposed to be. But still, we need more context from the show itself to make a final verdict on that. I’m just glad that dark Wizard isn’t Saruman, and he in fact one of two blue Wizards.
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u/Snoo_47023 Dernhelm 7h ago
The visuals look sick even if I'm still annoyed they use the aesthetics of the movies and refuse to have original ideas.
I'm pretty stoked to see the Numenor storyline and my boy Elendil, his failson Isildur (will Anarion still be mia?) and his bestie Gil Galad.
I'm also super intrigued by the pre nazgul kings, I think it's a cool idea to show them
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u/ishneak 6h ago
Anarion is in the trailer.
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u/Snoo_47023 Dernhelm 5h ago
yesss no idea which one he is but I've been waiting for him to show up instead of his awful sister
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u/TheMightyCatatafish The Silmarillion 3h ago
Wait what?! This will sound dumb but he’s easily the character I’ve most been looking forward to seeing, since he’s completely omitted from the PJ films (which I understand as a creative decision).
Which scene? They clearly set him up last season. But I don’t think I realized they even announced the actor.
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u/DarthMMC 4h ago
Charlie Vickers as Sauron is geniuenly so good. He got me hyped with that speech at the end.
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u/mascachopo 59m ago
I almost feel like watching it, but this is like that hot girl you know it’s going to disappoint you.
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u/NowWeGetSerious 2h ago
This looks amazing!! I loved s2 (and S1). Fuck the haters, this is such a fun show
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u/belle_enfant 1h ago
Season 2 was a huge improvement on 1 and this seems like it could be an improvement of 2.
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u/RedundantConsistency Huan 7h ago
Hating on RoP is so old. Keep it at the sub of RoP.
Everytime with the drama, jesus.
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u/BetweenTheRoots 1h ago
I'll watch it and enjoy it but it's def. not the best rendition of Tolkien's work in the modern age. I don't get why they copied the look for the Balrogs and Nazgul and stuff though, they should've done their own original look for everything.
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u/No-Flounder-9143 1h ago
Cannot wait. It looks awesome. This and invincible are always my most anticipated shows.
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u/girlwithopinionss 8h ago
As much as everything annoyed me about the show I still continued to watch until they made GALADRIEL AND ELROND KISS!!! 🤮
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u/Voondaba 8h ago
I have plenty of gripes with the show. A fake kiss as a distraction certainly doesn't rank among them. Grow up
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u/RPGThrowaway123 Elf-Friend 7h ago
See they didn't need to have them kiss for a distraction. They CHOSE to do so and have it accompanied by swelling music solely to drum-up controversy. That's awful writing and disrespectful to the source material.
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u/TotalDweebling 7h ago
Exactly. What the heck is wrong with everyone in this thread? Saying a kiss isn’t implying a romantic connection between Galadriel and Elrond. Even if it was under the guise of a distraction. Have the other commenters ever seen literally any other film or TV series? It’s a common trope. The writers shat on the source material.
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u/TotalDweebling 8h ago
I don’t think they are worried about the kiss. They aren’t happy that the writers have written a romantic relationship between Elrond and Galadriel
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u/FreshBert Tol Eressëa 7h ago
Yes, the point is that the writers aren't actually doing that. The kiss, in the show, was a distraction. It wasn't meant to imply anything romantic between Elrond and Galadriel to the audience.
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u/Jasy9191 7h ago
They literally wrote a romantic kiss scene in the script, how is that not the writers doing it, the fuck?
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u/ishneak 7h ago
jfc it was not officially romantic. the composer said it was about FORGIVENESS, for chrissakes! https://bearmccreary.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-episode-207/
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u/Jasy9191 7h ago edited 7h ago
Kissing on the lips is romantically and sexually tied.
Are you trying to say you kiss your mother in law on the lips? Or was it just a distraction? 😂
And why am I supposed to care about the composers opinion or the writers? You can have benign intentions and still write bad/awkward scenes.1
u/RPGThrowaway123 Elf-Friend 7h ago
The score swells with a soaring rendition of the Galadriel theme as he kisses her goodbye. Despite the moment’s dramatic theatricality, eagle-eyed viewers might notice what the Orcs do not: Elrond uses the opportunity to remove a pin from his cloak and slip it into her hand! Despite the clever hand-off, each character firmly believes it unlikely they’ll ever see the other alive again. The swelling of the Galadriel theme here reinforces the depth of their friendship, reinforced by a Quenya lyric in the choir, “Melda meldë, namárie,” meaning “Beloved friend, farewell.”
From your link
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u/ishneak 7h ago
EXACTLY. i read their friendship as platonic and totally not romantic!
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u/RPGThrowaway123 Elf-Friend 7h ago
Still nothing about forgiveness.
(and you usually don't kiss your friends like that)
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u/ishneak 7h ago
it was a mix of things. okay i'll try to be patient with you since you're probably confused with my interpretation of that scene. Galadriel and Elrond are obviously very close friends in the show and are each other's confidante at a time when Gal thought she lost her brother, her husband and Elrond his family basically. even when they disappoint each other, they still turn to each other as close friends do. in season 2 Elrond is very disappointed in Galadriel about keeping the Elvish rings and chasing after Sauron and before they could make up she gets imprisoned in the orc camp. Adar demands Elrond to hand over Nenya but he refuses after Gal made him promise never to surrender them, basically dooming her to her death. as a last ditch effort at chance, he creates a ruse/passing to her the lockpick while also at the same time seemingly apologizing for ever doubting her. so yes it is about their deep friendship, because friends make mistakes and friends forgive. beloved friend is also a term i associate more with platonic friends and not romantic ones.
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u/zurnic 7h ago
I have no context for this as I stopped watched after season 1 but they had Elrond kiss the mother of his future wife?
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u/PhysicsEagle Buckland 7h ago
It was in the context of they were both captured and Elrond wanted to give Galadriel a key he had hidden in his mouth, but yeah…not a good look
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u/milkowskisupertramp 7h ago
LotR is my favorite film trilogy of all time. When we have a yearly marathon my youngest kid falls asleep so I'm basically rewatching one to two hour segments of it within a day of one another (my oldest wants to keep it going). I can't do that with anything. I too am disappointed by this show. But I separate it from canon (yes I'm aware that the movies took liberties too) and consider it more time in middle earth. s1 wasn't very good. s2 was a step up. I'd love to see s3 be an improvement again. I don't rewatch them but I enjoy them for what they are.
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u/HenriEttaTheVoid 2h ago
I can’t wait! I love how they are leaning into his motivation being to “bring order” in contrast to more orbs desire for chaos.
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u/CapitalWatchClub 6h ago
Yes its gonna be shit compared to LOTR. But in my mind its seporite media ans im looking forward to it.
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u/Flameofthewest99 8h ago
Looks just as bad as previous seasons. Also, that throne looks cheap. Like the amateur showrunners Trying to copy Game of thrones.
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u/Silmarien1012 2h ago
Lmao. This show is so bad. It would’ve been canceled but like the “naznagol” (lmaooo) it’s kept alive by a malign force . Shocker the top upvoted post was made instantly after OP and they are ALL over the subsequent threads too.
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u/Open_Sky8367 2h ago
Saw someone say that they were essentially watching only for Sauron and I have to admit that pretty much sums it up for me. The Mordor storyline is essentially the only one that’s interesting for me. As much as Charlie Vickers differs from the Sauron/Annatar portrayal I had in mind (still have in mind) his performance still offers a very interesting and intriguing alternate take on Sauron.
In a way, he humanises him almost, and that makes it very compelling to watch even though in my head Sauron is that otherworldly, supernatural, untouchable, all powerful deity. Charlie makes him more approachable, more palatable. You might almost want to root for him.
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u/Clitorasaurus_Rex 1h ago
I doubt it’s a conscious decision but his charisma is precisely what I would have expected from Sauron the Deceiver in the second age. His greatest power was influence and coercion not outright power
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u/BetweenTheRoots 1h ago
I really enjoy Sauron as of S2, Numenor's corruption, Khazad-dum's plot, and Isildur + Elendil plot. The worst part is the Elf stuff and the Elf stuff is the majority of the plot unfortunately, at least for me.
Numenor is compelling since it feels relatable to modern politics, Khazad-dum because Dwarves are fucking dope in this universe and Durin's depiction is entertaining and endearing, and I like seeing Isildur and Elendil as I know what role they'll play by the end of things and I'm very curious to see how they develop and lead to that moment, plus the fall of Khazad-dum should be fucked to watch and I can't wait, plus Dwarf culture. DWARF
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u/SahibTeriBandi420 46m ago
We haven't seen him in his true form. That one elf lady did and she was terrified. After the fall of Numenor he loses his fair form and can no longer shapeshift.
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u/adiputinica 1h ago
Maybe after crafting the ring, he becomes that untouchable, all-powerful deity. I mean, he has to. But at this point, I think his nature is understandable. After all, not even Morgoth was untouchable.
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u/No_Armadillo_8773 2h ago
Im kinda put off by turning Gandalf into john wick. I didnt watch the first two seasons other than like episodes one and two but I might watch this one just for the eye candy. sauron feels a little too "normal guy" for me though, is that how he was in the earlier seasons? I always imagined him more regal and god-like.
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u/yesrushgenesis2112 1h ago
He is regal and god-like as Annatar in S2. S1 he is "normal" for a show-story reason.
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u/danohero5291 1h ago
why is sauron sitting on the Iron Throne?