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[captainnapalm]

Hmm, let me check my notes on deep, meaningful Rings of Power wisdom for an answer:


The sea is always right.

There is a tempest in me.

Stab, twist, gut.

There can be no trust between hammer and rock.

Nothing is evil in the beginning.

An avalanche can start with one stone.

Faith may bind one heart, but it is too fine a thread from which to hang a kingdom.

Cleverness is for men of small ambition.

It's folly to kick against a current.

Loyalty to a friend ought to be expected regardless of his race.

A kingdom should be led, not dragged.

A burden shared may be halved or doubled, depending on the heart that receives it.

Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness.

Find the light, and the shadow will not find you.

Despise not the labor which humbles the heart.

The iron that must bear the most heavy of burdens must also endure the most rigorous tempering.

It darkens the heart, to call dark deeds good. It gives place for evil to thrive inside us.

What cannot be known hollows the mind. Fill it not with guesswork.

Every war is fought both without and within. Of that every soldier must be mindful.

Good lord. Really sums this show up. A pale imitation trying desperately to imitate the work of actually talented people who understand the genre and had the right motivations.

It really is like a monster going around wearing the Lord of the Rings like a skin suit.

 

[negator2vc]

‘The Rings of Power’ Debuts Fiery Season Finale Trailer, Official Podcast to Be Hosted by Felicia Day

The season finale trailer for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" debuted at New York Comic-Con on Friday, where moderator Felicia Day announced she's hosting the official podcast.

variety.com

Hosted I guess by another paid "superfan"???

 

[jason10mm]

‘The Rings of Power’ Debuts Fiery Season Finale Trailer, Official Podcast to Be Hosted by Felicia Day

The season finale trailer for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" debuted at New York Comic-Con on Friday, where moderator Felicia Day announced she's hosting the official podcast.

variety.com

Hosted I guess by another paid "superfan"???

I don't mind an enthusiastic podcast host, it is a form of marketing after all. I'd just like more disclosures in this space so opinions can be weighed in light of compensation.

A real professional reviewer/critic would mention that they got a free screening, a paid trip to tour the set, exclusive interview access, or any conditions placed upon content (i.e "I can't talk about these aspects freely, so I'm going to bypass them completely and focus only on what I have free license to speak..." etc) Certainly things like "I work for xyz media which is owned by ABC media which is partially owned by amazon.com" should be MANDATORY.

 

[Alex11]

It would be a 10/10 season for me if they arrive in Eregion and Halbrand transforms into Sauron and brutally kills Galadriel & co. in the first 5 minutes.

 

[AJUMP23]

It would be a 10/10 season for me if they arrive in Eregion and Halbrand transforms into Sauron and brutally kills Galadriel & co. in the first 5 minutes.

He gives Galadriel the Mithril Ring of the elves.....

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Hmm, let me check my notes on deep, meaningful Rings of Power wisdom for an answer:


The sea is always right.

There is a tempest in me.

Stab, twist, gut.

There can be no trust between hammer and rock.

Nothing is evil in the beginning.

An avalanche can start with one stone.

Faith may bind one heart, but it is too fine a thread from which to hang a kingdom.

Cleverness is for men of small ambition.

It's folly to kick against a current.

Loyalty to a friend ought to be expected regardless of his race.

A kingdom should be led, not dragged.

A burden shared may be halved or doubled, depending on the heart that receives it.

Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness.

Find the light, and the shadow will not find you.

Despise not the labor which humbles the heart.

The iron that must bear the most heavy of burdens must also endure the most rigorous tempering.

It darkens the heart, to call dark deeds good. It gives place for evil to thrive inside us.

What cannot be known hollows the mind. Fill it not with guesswork.

Every war is fought both without and within. Of that every soldier must be mindful.

The war without and the war within? Are they taking lines straight out of warframe?

 

[BadBurger]

I'm not sure if they are implying the attack is imminent or if it was just a tease of what's under the mines.

Lore wise they should first mine a lot more mithril. It was rare but they still mined enough that there were armors, jewelry and other stuff made from it.

But as I said, they already changed it into a magic healing rock so maybe they don't mind further changing the story of mithril

That's Durin IV in the show. The balrog doesn't awake and start killing until Durin VI, when it earns its name. So it's going to be a long while.

 

[Tams]

That's Durin IV in the show. The balrog doesn't awake and start killing until Durin VI, when it earns its name. So it's going to be a long while.

Not in this clown show.

 

[IDKFA]

There is a tempest in me.

Ripped from the film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

"I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare to try me"

 

[King Jaffe Joffer]

What pisses me off about the Halbrand=Sauron thing is that they've perfectly set him up to be the Witch King, he can be a great foil to Galadriel, he gets corrupted and she has to fight him in the Last Battle. Heck he's even going to the Elves right now, so that he can be the first human king to get a ring. But they're going to throw all that great setup away to turn him into Sauron. Sigh.

Yes, Halbrand should be the Witch King, but he'll end up being Sauron. My guess is they don't have the rights to the name Annatar, so they've redone the whole lore behind it.

 

[negator2vc]

I don't mind an enthusiastic podcast host, it is a form of marketing after all. I'd just like more disclosures in this space so opinions can be weighed in light of compensation.

A real professional reviewer/critic would mention that they got a free screening, a paid trip to tour the set, exclusive interview access, or any conditions placed upon content (i.e "I can't talk about these aspects freely, so I'm going to bypass them completely and focus only on what I have free license to speak..." etc) Certainly things like "I work for xyz media which is owned by ABC media which is partially owned by amazon.com" should be MANDATORY.

But is Day that host you are looking for? Is it about enthusiasm or just for the money?
I liked her as an actress until around 2012.
Considering that after that I don't recall her in anything memorable I really think that they just using her previous fame and she is just for the money.

 

[John_Ryder]

I like the show, but I so hate those fake hobbits sooo much. Fuck them all.

Some day they'll discover soap and water and they'll evolve into Hobbits.

 

[jason10mm]

But is Day that host you are looking for? Is it about enthusiasm or just for the money?
I liked her as an actress until around 2012.
Considering that after that I don't recall her in anything memorable I really think that they just using her previous fame and she is just for the money.

I'm guessing she will be interviewing folks from a script. While I assume she has seen the films and perhaps read the books, I doubt she is out there scouring text to find comparisons to the show like theonering.com or the like.

 

[pramod]

Can anyone who believes in the Halbrand = Sauron thing explain this scene to me?

The one where he tried to steal money and got caught and got into a fight.

Just think about that again. A dark lord who cant even successfully steal a few coins from some drunks. And he is supposed to be the greatest deceiver of all time.

 

[PhaseJump]

Can anyone who believes in the Halbrand = Sauron thing explain this scene to me?

The one where he tried to steal money and got caught and got into a fight.

Just think about that again. A dark lord who cant even successfully steal a few coins from some drunks. And he is supposed to be the greatest deceiver of all time.

He was probably nerfed all this time, after he was defeated by Orc king fuckface who I already forget the name of.

The elvish medicine will probably fix him up to OG retard strength and make him another profoundly melodramatic source of purple prose; turning bad while Galadriel and all the mental midget fans that somehow love this show watch it happen like:

 

[AJUMP23]

That's Durin IV in the show. The balrog doesn't awake and start killing until Durin VI, when it earns its name. So it's going to be a long while.

Not in this clown show.

You are getting a Balrog now wether you like it or not. He is actually there to help the dwarves get the mythril.

 

[Alex11]

Can anyone who believes in the Halbrand = Sauron thing explain this scene to me?

The one where he tried to steal money and got caught and got into a fight.

Just think about that again. A dark lord who cant even successfully steal a few coins from some drunks. And he is supposed to be the greatest deceiver of all time.

Maybe he's like your character in a video game, where he loses his memory, skills, etc. starting from lvl. 1.

In all seriousness, maybe it's intentional, like many other scenes, to be this big reveal in the finale or there's a chance he's not Sauron.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

In all seriousness, maybe it's intentional, like many other scenes, to be this big reveal in the finale or there's a chance he's not Sauron.

I’m betting on lazy writing - he will get the blade and his memories of being Sauron will come back. Then we will learn it was actually a clever plan to give himself amnesia and tie it to the blade because reasons.

 

[killatopak]

Halbrand will deal the final blow to Adar after fighting Galadriel. An explosion occurs and Sauron appears.

Spoiler

 

[H4ze]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

 

[AJUMP23]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

Haze now that was a dumpster fire of a game I haven’t thought about in a long time.


The hate is strong here. Only because the love for Tolkien is so great.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

We are fans of Tolkein and most of us respect Jackson's interpretation of the books with the original 3 films. Nothing wrong with shitting on what is so far a trainwreck produced by corporate shmucks that have squandered the sacks of money given to them and Tolkein's incredible template and produced a stinker.

 

[H4ze]

Haze now that was a dumpster fire of a game I haven’t thought about in a long time.


The hate is strong here. Only because the love for Tolkien is so great.

True, Haze was shit

I understand that most people here are big fans, I consider myself one too. But not everything can and will always be goat material, it's cool to have a fun to watch 7/10 series as example.

Just like with Star Wars, a lot of the new stuff is crap, but not everything and usually most of it is still pretty entertaining. Not everything has to be a Episode IV.

 

[jason10mm]

True, Haze was shit

I understand that most people here are big fans, I consider myself one too. But not everything can and will always be goat material, it's cool to have a fun to watch 7/10 series as example.

Just like with Star Wars, a lot of the new stuff is crap, but not everything and usually most of it is still pretty entertaining. Not everything has to be a Episode IV.

Why not? RoP isn't set in stone for 5 seasons. Enough complaints and they can course correct, hire new, better, writers, and in general start reading the lore rather than just grabbing names and slapping them on their own story. Plenty of shows have stopped, listened, had the maturity to look inward and see their own flaws, and become better.

At this point you would be hard pressed, if you remove the names, to point to anything in this show that actually comes from Tolkien. Almost every sequence of events or backstory has been altered, often quite radically, in ways that not only directly conflict with the lore, but actively undermine the themes that appeal to readers and have stood the test of time. Characters that stood for one thing now often stand for the total opposite. Motivations are nebulous. The incessant need for "mystery boxes" robs the show of any understanding because NOTHING makes any sense. Characters glom on to a specific thing, seemingly at random, and never let go, against all logic and common sense, because the show KNOWS they will be 'proven' right in the end, but the story shown (or more often told) to us doesn't let them earn it.

As an example, the symbol carved into Galadrial's brother. Was this random mutilation? She holds to it for CENTURIES and then sees it again, also on a random part of a castle, and then GNAWS at it until, surprise surprise, the "mystery" of this symbol turns out to lead her, on a map of the ENTIRE KNOWN WORLD, to the EXACT SPOT she needs to be at the EXACT time she needs to be there. It's a ludicrous chain of events that you can't work backwards from. Why was it in the castle in the far north of the world? How would an orc know to get a map of the exact right scale to match it up? Was Sauron ALWAYS planning on turning this area into Mordor? If this was more of a rally point design used before, why did the elves never come across it throughout the long war? Who carved it on the body and why? Why was this GPS coordinate not ANYWHERE else? Why why why? And this is just ONE of these types of mystery boxes in this show, not even a main one since the info it gives could have been deduced in several other ways!

 

[PhaseJump]

I’m betting on lazy writing - he will get the blade and his memories of being Sauron will come back. Then we will learn it was actually a clever plan to give himself amnesia and tie it to the blade because reasons.

If thinking lazy and stupid: I think he'll be in elf land getting healed up, he will overhear the rest of the scooby gang and their elf saving, ring forging plans. The Mithril fragment will heal him back to dark lord status. Maybe Galadriel won't believe he's Sauron when he goes full shithead, she'll just think he's corrupted and wonder if it extends to all men coming from those who served Morgoth. We will get season 2 dedicated to Galadriel trying to save Halbrand, believing he is under a red kryptonite ring macguffin, like when Clark Kent turned into a douchebag.

The endless depths of emotionally charged teenage melodrama will be mined more than the mithril, and all the retards that defend this awful shit will feast for years, as Prime membership rates go up.

 

[Alex11]

If thinking lazy and stupid: I think he'll be in elf land getting healed up, he will overhear the rest of the scooby gang and their elf saving, ring forging plans. The Mithril fragment will heal him back to dark lord status. Maybe Galadriel won't believe he's Sauron when he goes full shithead, she'll just think he's corrupted and wonder if it extends to all men coming from those who served Morgoth. We will get season 2 dedicated to Galadriel trying to save Halbrand, believing he is under a red kryptonite ring macguffin, like when Clark Kent turned into a douchebag.

The endless depths of emotionally charged teenage melodrama will be mined more than the mithril, and all the retards that defend this awful shit will feast for years, as Prime membership rates go up.

Good God, man, I hope not, this melodrama of him being Sauron or not and the cliche of revealing him in the finale is more than I can take. I still want to watch it and have hope for the next season.

 

[Tams]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

Because it's enjoyable to complain and I'm a completionist. I can't exactly leave the season unfinished with only one episode left to go.

There are a few good points. Not enough to make me come back for season 2.

'Far from perfect' is a gross understatement.

 

[AJUMP23]

True, Haze was shit

I understand that most people here are big fans, I consider myself one too. But not everything can and will always be goat material, it's cool to have a fun to watch 7/10 series as example.

Just like with Star Wars, a lot of the new stuff is crap, but not everything and usually most of it is still pretty entertaining. Not everything has to be a Episode IV.

I like the stuff with the dwarves. But the stuff with Galadriel and Numenor seems forced and trite. The stuff with the Harfoots is dishointed because they talk about how great they all work together unless you can’t walk, then see you later lame-O.

 

[balls of snow]

Wait, Halbrand was NOT healed before he rode off? he rode off to get healed? I assumed he was healed in the tent or something, because riding off to the elves is gonna take weeks, and he had a gash across his entire fucking body.

They used the molten lava from mordor * formerly southlands* to cauterised the wound.

 

[Trunx81]

Think of all the fan fiction we can get! Ship Galadrieon. Or Sauriel. Whatever. It’s canon now in my head - they will bang.

 

[Saber]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

Maybe because they love LoR and cares about them?
Might be a difficult concept for you, but usually the critical ones are the most devoted. They don't wanna see their most beloved series to end in the dumbster of trash because someone decided to poop what is great just for a nickels and social points over the internet.
Tbh if you think one of greatests(if not the best) stories in the world being handled that way is ok, maybe the problem is in you. It's not the first time I see people that don't care about what they're reading, watching, etc.

 

[BadBurger]

Alright, I'll throw out a stupid suggestion I think these writers will do for the finale, let's see if I'm right (and let's see what else we can come up with):

That's not Gandalf. It's one of the blue wizards. So is that woman that burned the harfoot's caravan. How? Remember when Tolkien wrote that he didn't know if the blue wizards went into the east to fight Sauron and failed, or stuck around and found magic cults? What if they did both? The woman is the first blue wizard who works for Sauron and founded a magic cult. The dude is the second blue wizard who will fight against Sauron.

I could see the writers thinking it's genius that they somehow found a way to go with both possibilities, while also luring viewers along with a red herring of that being Gandalf learning how to human from proto hobbits.

 

[Alex11]

Alright, I'll throw out a stupid suggestion I think these writers will do for the finale, let's see if I'm right (and let's see what else we can come up with):

That's not Gandalf. It's one of the blue wizards. So is that woman that burned the harfoot's caravan. How? Remember when Tolkien wrote that he didn't know if the blue wizards went into the east to fight Sauron and failed, or stuck around and found magic cults? What if they did both? The woman is the first blue wizard who works for Sauron and founded a magic cult. The dude is the second blue wizard who will fight against Sauron.

I could see the writers thinking it's genius that they somehow found a way to go with both possibilities, while also luring viewers along with a red herring of that being Gandalf learning how to human from proto hobbits.

Well, my guess is we won't find out who "not Gandalf" is, also won't find out who the Mystics are. I think it's gonna be just the Sauron reveal, and that at the very end, because we need to have a cliffhanger.

 

[Tams]

Maybe because they love LoR and cares about them?
Might be a difficult concept for you, but usually the critical ones are the most devoted. They don't wanna see their most beloved series to end in the dumbster of trash because someone decided to poop what is great just for a nickels and social points over the internet.
Tbh if you think one of greatests(if not the best) stories in the world being handled that way is ok, maybe the problem is in you. It's not the first time I see people that don't care about what they're reading, watching, etc.

The worst part is that technically it's pretty shit too.

If they didn't have Tolkien lore to lean on/butcher, can you imagine the level of retardness this would reach?

 

[PhaseJump]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

 

[darrylgorn]

Alright, I'll throw out a stupid suggestion I think these writers will do for the finale, let's see if I'm right (and let's see what else we can come up with):

That's not Gandalf. It's one of the blue wizards. So is that woman that burned the harfoot's caravan. How? Remember when Tolkien wrote that he didn't know if the blue wizards went into the east to fight Sauron and failed, or stuck around and found magic cults? What if they did both? The woman is the first blue wizard who works for Sauron and founded a magic cult. The dude is the second blue wizard who will fight against Sauron.

I could see the writers thinking it's genius that they somehow found a way to go with both possibilities, while also luring viewers along with a red herring of that being Gandalf learning how to human from proto hobbits.

But he's not blue.

 

[pramod]

Alright, I'll throw out a stupid suggestion I think these writers will do for the finale, let's see if I'm right (and let's see what else we can come up with):

That's not Gandalf. It's one of the blue wizards. So is that woman that burned the harfoot's caravan. How? Remember when Tolkien wrote that he didn't know if the blue wizards went into the east to fight Sauron and failed, or stuck around and found magic cults? What if they did both? The woman is the first blue wizard who works for Sauron and founded a magic cult. The dude is the second blue wizard who will fight against Sauron.

I could see the writers thinking it's genius that they somehow found a way to go with both possibilities, while also luring viewers along with a red herring of that being Gandalf learning how to human from proto hobbits.

Nice theory.

Problem i have with this is, why spend so much runtime of a season just introducing a minor character?

And you still have to spend a lot more time explaining to the audience what exactly a "blue wizard" is, unless they just kinda do a really lame long expo dump.

So my own crazy theory is: the Stranger is Sauron, or part of Sauron, or some kind of vessel of Sauron's power.

The scene where we see the Eminem chick blowing fire, it could be trying to "burn off" the Stranger's "shell" to reveal the real Sauron. Or trying to kill him and absorb his powers.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

The hate-boner most of you guys got raging is just pathetic. Why do you even bother watching every episode if you despise it so much?

Yeah, it's far from perfect, but still entertaining for me, but this thread is a dumbsterfire.

Guys, the show is entertaining for him - let’s all stop posting negative comments.

 

[GloveSlap]

There is such a thing as not liking a show, but enjoying the discussion and critiquing of it.

Like Picard was utter shite and yet i always looked forward to the Red Letter Media episodes on it.

 

[LordCBH]

Well. Caught up with the currently aired shit. Wish I didn’t. These writers have exactly zero talent and are just making shit up as they go.

 

[PhaseJump]

Future writers testing if they are up to the standards set by Amazon's Rings of Power.

 

[jason10mm]

Will people STOP giving that damned kid swords?!?!?!??

And they seem to get a theme and then use it to death in each ep. Last ep was the "Imma gonna stab you....""STOP" moment, this one was thinking someone was a loved one but NOPE, it's not.

Couldn't help but laugh at the plight of the Harfoots. You'd THINK the writers would have had a scene of them planting some appleseeds, "Not for us, but for future Harfeet who come this way" to emphasize their patterned longevity, but NOPE, just casually accepting the slow guys caught up without help, oh wait can the big'un do anything about the burned trees, and HEY, let's all go off course after those pyromaniacs now that we don't have to bother with pesky things like wagons or food because a guy who can regrow an entire orchard at night has a lot to fear from 3 clowns in white.....

 

[Alex11]

So, what are the chances that we won't get to see who Sauron is? I'm standing at 50/50.

Also 50/50 about Halbrand, still can't see him as Sauron. I was thinking a few episodes back could it be Celebrimbor? He always struck me a little shady, or Sauron is already there and has corrupted him off screen.

 

[Toytown Assassin]

episode 8 is up

 

[darrylgorn]

Well I don't think it turned out to be who it should have been, but you can infer a few things to make it work.

 

[Toytown Assassin]

That episode wasn't terrible. Almost good even. Quite a bit of stupid and lots of borrowing from the films but it was kinda fun at least. Maybe there is hope for this show yet. If only a fools hope

 

[Alex11]

I really can't make anything about this episode, think I need to see it again, maybe that I am too tired but didn't understand anything that these characters are doing or thinking.

At first glance, seems like a bunch of random or half baked decisions, again, maybe I missed something so I'll need to watch it again.

 

[BeforeU]

That was predictable,

Spoiler

Initially they caught me off guard when she called the stranger Sauran, but how much those village people were invested in his plot and trying to help him, I knew he wasn't going to be sauran lol
so yeah as most saw it coming halbrand is indeed Sauran and the stranger is the wizard.
One thing I found pretty stupid is that Halbrand was invested in crafting this ring/weapon, but as soon as Galadrial caught him, he got the fuck out of there? lol why?

 

[balls of snow]

So was Halbrand ( Voldemort) saving Galadriel the person who was hunting the shit outta him made any sense now. Or did he just wanna bang.

 

[Nico_D]

This was one of the stupidest exchanges I've seen in Movies/TV in a while

Oh wau. Haven't seen the show yet but that is bad. How are there writers who don't see how used and easy that is? How are they able to both write and film that and thinking "yup, that works".

I think actors should take some responsibility and say "fuck no, I'm not saying this, come up with something better". Actors can be brats but sometimes they can be right.