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beyonddarkness · 1 year

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Always Watching: Part 2

[see Part 1] The Directly-Overhead camera angle is Sauron's camera angle. (I had to omit the reference Eye shot, because I totally missed another very important shot [which you will see at the end], and I've hit my gif limit. But it is in Part 1 twice, so GO LOOK AT IT. lol)

Sauron literally watched the making of the Rings, but he saw far more than that.

In the same sequence in Episode 8, He watched Elrond investigate 'what happened by that stream'.

Now he knows about Elrond's suspicion. But is this sequence the only time we see this camera angle?

No.

Episode 4: The Great Wave

Galadriel: "So, by your standards, I am in this cell, because I am yet to identify what the Queen most fears?"

Sauron: "My very low standards, yes."

Galadriel: "And I suppose you did, having met her for all of a few moments?"

Little does Galadriel know about the Eye of Halbrand. He watched Míriel in her dream. Not only does he know her fear, but he knows about Númenor's future.

After that conversation, he watched Galadriel in the Palantir.

At the end of the episode, he watched Míriel and Pharazôn as the petals of the White Tree fell.

In the same sequence, he woke Tar-Palantir up for a staring contest.

[Miriel: "Is our valor confined to the graves of our slumbering fathers?"]

The shot immediately following shows Sauron gleefully walking away. He sure is a fan of mocking and taunting people. "Look who's here, and guess who can't do anything about it."

[Míriel: "Or is it here, amongst us, even now?"]

It is no wonder that in the next episode, Tar-Palantir sits on the bed in defeat.

Tar-Palantir: "The Kingdom! The Kingdom is in danger!"

Míriel: "The danger is past, father. We are doing now what you always believed we must. We're restoring our connection with the Elves. I'm going to Middle-earth. :)"

Tar-Palantir: "Míriel. […] Don't go to Middle-earth. All that awaits you there is […] darkness."

We are going out of order, but there is so much more.

Episode 7: The Eye

He saw more than what Elrond and Dúrin IV saw. (wait for it)

He watched Dúrin III throw the leaf into the mountain. (wait for it)

He followed the leaf down the cracks of the mountain, to the fellow servant of Morgoth.

We now see that he knows about all of that already. But we are not done yet.

Episode 3: Adar

In the scene after his fight in the alley, Sauron watched as Galadriel discovered the meaning of his own symbol.

Galadriel: "It is as Halbrand said."

Galadriel: "If Sauron has indeed returned, the Southlands are but the beginning." [the music: "Nampat burzum-ank." Death into darkness.]

He absolutely knows what Galadriel found in the Hall of Lore. What does that say about his behavior, later in the same episode?

Galadriel: "How fares the quest for peace?"

Sauron: "Better than expected."

Galadriel: "You are more than you claim."

"I found this in the Hall of Lore."

There is yet more. Does he need to be absent to see things from a Bird's Eye View?

No.

But first, in Episode 4: The Great Wave …

Sauron: "I wouldn't advise that."

Pharazôn: "I can't very well let her leave."

Sauron: "You could, if you knew exactly where she was going."

What was discussed after the cameras cut?

In Episode 5, Pharazôn told Kemen: "It's folly to kick against the current. […] But the trick of mastering the current is to know which way it will turn next." That is exactly what "you could if you knew exactly where she was going" means. [master = red flag word. Abort mission; get out while you still can.]

So, we know that Sauron either planted that idea, or explained it to Pharazôn, outright.

In addition, that is the approach that Sauron takes with every conflict in the whole season. This leads us to another time we see Sauron watching.

Episode 2: Adrift

To everyone on the raft, he urged, "Be still!" Then, he watched from above, to see where the Worm was going.

As he 'washed' his hair, he watched. Why? He was probably keeping an Eye out for danger (he is a target, still).

Hence the shifty eyes in the very next shot.

And what does that say about him watching Galadriel pull him onto the raft, after he saved her from drowning? (he is a target, still; gotta keep an Eye out).

But those are not the only overhead shots in all eight episodes. No, no. Sauron was watching before we even met him.

Earlier in Episode 2, he watched Bronwyn and Arondir in Hordern, and saw what the Orcs were doing. (wait for it)

(notice the eye shape while Arondir is holding the torch, leading to the overhead shot)

So, not only do we know that the Key and the Dam was originally a plan conjured by Sauron himself (Adar using it for his own purposes), but he knows of Bronwyn and Arondir's existence. After seeing that the trench-digging is under way, Sauron knows what Adar is up to. That sheds a whole new light on this exchange:

Míriel: "And where did the Enemy head next?"

Sauron: "Further south, I should think. Towards the watchtower of Ostirith." (Because, you know, Sauron knows where the dam has to be unlocked. Speaking of which … )

Episode 6: Udûn

Right after being hailed King of the Southlands, Sauron saw who unlocked the dam, without his permission. (Oh, you better believe Waldreg is in trouble; and not just for swearing fealty to Adar.)

Earlier in the episode, he saw Arondir try to destroy the key.

Finally, remember when Sauron said this? "A sea that you were on because the Elves cast you out! They cast you out for deigning to beg them for a few, petty soldiers! What will they do when you tell them that you were my ally? When you tell them that Sauron lives because of you?" (1x08)

We think, Oh, of course he must have figured it out at some point. But as luck would have it, he knows a lot more, a lot sooner than we think. Like I said before, he was watching even before we met him.

Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past

Galadriel: "This mark's very existence proves Sauron escaped. He's still out there. The question now is where! [Right above you.] I intend to ask of the King a fresh company. If he supplies enough to—"

Elrond: "You have only just arrived! […]"

Galadriel: […] "I am not some courtier to be placated by idle flattery. I demand to speak with the King directly."

Elrond: "You have made that plain. So, I will be equally plain. It was not your company who defied you out there. But rather you who defied the High King, by refusing to heed any limit placed upon you. In an act of magnanimity, he has chosen to honor your accomplishments, rather than dwell upon your insolence. [Like Sauron will in the end.] Test him again, and you may find him less receptive than you might have hoped."

Sauroncam:

Again, if you have not yet read Chapter 4 on my blog, please do so. These last two shots nearly made me jump out of my seat.

The Boat.

(I have not finished Chapter 6 yet, but it will be done very soon. In that chapter, we will explore the story of Beren and Lúthien, and how it perfectly parallels Halbrand and Galadriel [meaning they're the same, but also completely opposite]. Look at this, read Chapter 6 when it is published, then come back.)

Sauron watched as Galadriel was sailing off to Valinor.

The very moment he saw that his precious Golden Ticket to Power was about to cross the border …

… he called to her, and pulled her back.

When Patrick said, "It's all there," I didn't realize just how true that statement was. All of this makes Sauron even more creepy.

In a future post, I want to thoroughly analyze every one of these shots, what they mean, and how they affect the rest of the story. I am not a pro gif-maker, but I will do my best to include higher-quality gifs (and stills) on my blog, so that you can look at them more closely and analyze them for yourself. :) The music has an enormous role to play in all of this, but I will save that for the blog as well. Consider Chapter 4 a warm-up. It is only going to get more mind-blowing from here.

Update:

WHOOPS! Missed one.

Galadriel: "Year gave way to year. Century gave way to century. And for many Elves, the pain of those days passed out of thought and mind. More and more of our kind began to believe that Sauron was but a memory, and the threat, at last, was ended. I wish I could be one of them."

Hello?

This wasn't just an intro to Galadriel. Sauron was right there from the beginning.

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helenvader · 2 years

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This channel has the best The Rings of Power analysis I have seen so far, and they are quite knowledgeable in Tolkien lore, so. A joy to watch/listen to.

youtube

#rop analysis #rop recs #rings and realms #Youtube

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fixing-bad-posts · 1 year

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From your tags: "if anyone wants to ask me about rings of power please do because i have thoughts™" This is me asking. (Also love your blog!)

i love you for asking, thank you 💛💛💛 this will be part three: parting thoughts & the funniest details from rings of power (part one; part two).

some parting thoughts:

i absolutely hate that all critics of the show are labelled as racists, misogynists, and anti-progressives, especially when the show’s treatment of women is tokenizing and pitiful, and it does nothing revolutionary nor makes a meaningful statement on issues of marginalized race. they don’t get to position themselves as champions of diversity just by doing the bare minimum and casting poc in side-roles, and having one original-character black elf whose plotline is tragically underwritten. they’re already taking vast liberties with the source material—why not a black galadriel? why not an asian elrond?

with that out of the way, some of my favourite* parts from rings of power:

* when i say "favourite" i mean i'm about to make fun of the show.

i love the part in the show where galadriel spends years of her life tracking down the ‘mark of sauron’—which looks like a little stylized pitchfork—only to discover it’s actually not a sigil. it’s a map, turned sideways, and sketched in modern minimalist style with the least helpful, least detailed, least interpretable shapes because apparently morgoth was really really bad at drawing mountains. and sauron, for some reason, is so forgetful that he carves this “map” into dead bodies and his tables and weapons and gloves so that he? won’t forget which mountain range he’s trying to conquer? wants to give his enemies fun clues about his favourite piece of real estate? unclear.

i love that one scene where galadriel and halbrand are on a raft and the set designers/director did not give morfydd clark enough stage business so she spends the whole scene pulling the same piece of rope tight, and then loosening it, and then pulling it tight again, on a random piece of wood.

in the same vein, i love the part where a conversation between nori and her mom happens except the stage business they were given for the scene was apparently… rub a rock on a piece of wood. and they just have to do that for the entire scene as if it’s normal.

i love the part where the writers seemingly forgot to actually go in and edit their placeholder dialogue and they have gandalf yell, “i’m good!” when he’s mistaken for sauron in the finale.

i love the part where galadriel discovers who sauron is and then goes inside and does not tell anyone what she learned for some reason. and elrond asks her what’s up and she’s just like, there’s no time to explain. and then never explains ever.

i think it’s really funny that the writers want sauron to be “like walter white, tony soprano and the joker,” when these characters have nothing in common except being well-written characters. i like to imagine they sit around the writers’ room examining every single piece of well-written television, marvelling over the very idea of multifaceted characters—a concept completely foreign to them.

and, for posterity—i have fun criticizing rings of power. i like to think i gave rop a fair shot—when i started watching it, i was fully hoping it would be well-done. when i heard the show was coming out, it gave me an excuse to re-read the silmarillion for the first time in years, and has connected me with the tolkien fandom on tumblr. i’m also a script writer irl and, so it’s been a fun exercise to pick apart why the show didn’t work for me both from a fan’s perspective and a writer’s perspective. a lot of tolkien fans are deeply hurt by this show and hate its existence and its fans—that’s not me. i would not be engaging with this material if i wasn’t having a good time doing it.

that's all for me, folks—thanks for tuning in; i'll shut up about this now haha.

#ask fbp #anon ask #fandom posting #rop critical #anti rop #anti amazon lotr #anti rings of power #amazon rings of power #rings of power #rings of power negative #anti trop #rings of power critical #rings of power analysis #rings of power meta

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thewistlingbadger · 5 months

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Did adar kill finrod?

In the rings of power, Galadriel's main motive for finding and destroying Sauron is the death of her brother, Finrod. In the show, Finrod dies in a war, trying to defeat Morgoth/Sauron. When his body is brought back home, there's a mark on his deltoid region. As Galadriel progresses through her journey, she realizes that the mark represents a plan of action, in case morgoth is defeated. It is revealed that the mark is no ordinary mark, but rather a mark indicating the Southlands on a map.

However as I rewatch the show, I find a more compelling argument to be made that Adar killed Finrod, not Sauron. Let's review the key pieces of evidence:

1. Finrod dies trying to stop an evil Morgoth started

2. The mark indicates the Southlands

3. The mark is used by orcs to find their master

4. It is a symbol that evil lives on in middle Earth.

When you review the evidence like this, imo, it doesn't make a lot of sense for Sauron to be finrod's killer. Sauron was a part of morgoth's army, but in a way so was adar. Both Adar and Sauron are evil and share some of morgoth's beliefs, even if they currently don't stand with morgoth. Now that we've discussed the similarities, let's discuss the differences. Sauron is NOT in the Southlands in ROP. In fact, he actively avoids going there as long as he can. Sauron is NOT controlling, leading, or has any affiliation with orcs in ROP. He tells Galadriel that orcs are the reason he no longer has a home and when he and Galadriel go to Middle Earth orcs attack him with no problem (however it could be possible he's lying about the first bit). In ROP, Adar is most affiliated with orcs. He commands them to raid human villages and he refers to them as his children.

If the mark left on finrod's body is sauron's, then why would it indicate the Southlands, a place that he has not attachment to? And who would it be guiding, because it's definitely not the orcs? When it comes to this point, I think it makes more sense that Adar is the one behind the mark, not Sauron.

Lastly, there's another, much more weaker point I will add to this argument. Another element to inspect is sauron's motivations and intentions. Sauron's desire is to have Galadriel on his side. In the show it's unclear when he decides this is what he wants. Is it when he's manipulating her in numenor? Does he decide before then and that's why he was at sea in the first place, waiting for her to come? If it is even before this? Why would Sauron kill galadriel's brother if his end goal is for her to join him?

Conclusion: I'm not saying Sauron is innocent or that Adar truly killed finrod, I'm saying it's remarkable how some things in the show really just don't add up/POS. Take everything I said with the hugest grain of salt because I've only seen all the Lord of the Rings film adaptations once and I've never consumed any other Lord of the Rings piece of media that was not a film adaptations. All evidence for this theory comes straight from ROP.

#just some food for thought #rop #lotr #finrod #galadriel #sauron #halbrand #adar #the rings of power #lord of the rings #rings of power #mic does analysis

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thefandomentals · 2 years

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This week, Kori asks that you ignore the misogynistic hate campaign and try to just enjoy Rings of Power, whether you're a die-hard Tolkien Head or just like women with swords

#rings of power #lotr #analysis #rop #lord of the rings #galadriel

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thegreatzombieartisan · 1 year

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Rings of Power + Tolkien Fusion Meta

Elvish Love, Sex, and the Single Maia

“Elves only love and marry once.”

Yeah, the Laws and Customs of the Eldar (Elves) aren’t this clear-cut. Foremost, Elves reflect Tolkien’s devout Catholic ideal including his strongly held belief in the dangers of unbridled sexuality. Also, Tolkienverse runs on morality and mysticism, not science.

Update: After performing direct research and analysis on Tolkien’s LACE text, I’ve come to new conclusions. I’ve highlighted updates in this post in blue. Otherwise the rest remains aligns and unchanged.

For Elves love =/= marriage. Most unions are love matches but at . However, Tolkien did write about Elves who love yet never wed à la courtly love. Elves that love with our reciprocity, even when married. Moreover, of lusty Elf men who wed Elf maidens with dubious consent gained from questionable means.

But sex complicates things. Elves are monogamous. And it's not just culturally.

Elf sex = marriage = binding. Elf marriage = intent + sex or binding of hröa/body and fëa/spirit. Since Elves are inherently bound to Arda’s fate through their fëa/spirit, marriages are thus eternal.

Most couples have children early in marriage and with each child, their sex drive would diminish. It infers that sex (at least cultural) is viewed as being primarily purposed for begetting of children. Based on that, though not explicitly stated in text, it’s also inferred that “real” sex, that kind that led to bringing, would be was PIV (pen-in-vagina). Perhaps a consolation price strong incentive for eternal monogamy, Elf sex is intensely pleasurable.

For Elves, choosing the right partner critical. Divorce doesn’t exist. More accurately, divorce can’t exist because Elves can’t unfuck-bind themselves. But the Valar, spirit stewards of Arda who favor the Elves, are capable. Otherwise an unhappy Elf couple could lead separate lives, and maybe love others, but not remarry.

Can widowed Elves remarry? In the uncommon event an Elf dies, its spirit is summoned to the Halls of Mandos (aka purgatory). After an unspecified amount of time, the Valar will typically reincarnate them. During this Time of Waiting, both dead and living Elf spouse remain bonded. Upon reincarnation, the formerly dead spouse returns home like returning from a very long trip to the store for bread.

As it stands, the Valar will unbind a widowed Elf’s marriage in these rare events: the dead spouse refuses the summons to Mandos (usually evil Elves), eschews reincarnation like Míriel (Celebrimbor’s great-grandma), or denied the opportunity like Feanor aka “Mr. Fuck the Morgoth, Valar, and Teleri Elves.”

Therefore, in RoP, even if Celeborn were indeed dead, he and Galadriel are still bonded. But look, the way she said, “And you? My king?” sounded thisclose to RISKING IT ALL for power and sitting on Halbrand’s handsome face for eternity.

Asking for a friend: Can Maiar and Elves “marry”? Yes, with ample space for speculation and theory

The only canon union between a Maia and Child of Iluvatar (Elves and Men) was Melian and High-King Thingol. They begot Luthien, a powerful Elf and fairest Maiden ever. She even once beat Sauron in a duel.

Maiar are disembodied Eälar or spirits that contrasted with fëar/spirits of Elves and Men. Halbrand is Sauron’s fana/physical form he can change like clothes. But far as an Maia-Elf marriage aka sexy times goes, it’s unclear if it’s inferred binding is like Elven marriage because begetting children requires mutual intention to impart each parent’s spirit to the child. But either way, it doesn’t provoke any mystical moral cockblocking.

Well, one thing is clear: Melian literally fucked around, begot Luthien, and found out such activity had a side effect. She became permanently bonded to her fana. Donning a new fana requires the death of the bonded fana. To note, even though Melian bonded to an Elven fana, she retained her Maia spirit class.

What if Thingol had an Elven wife in the Halls of Mandos? Understand that Elves live on Middle-Earth to guide Men toward a righteous path. Elves and Maiar cucking dead Elf spouses certainly defies Tolkien’s “ideal devout Catholic” behavior. Assuredly he’d invent some mystical punishment to reenforce monogamy. Perhaps even Valar intervention but if they let Morgoth and Sauron run wild, I doubt it. But without precedence, it can only be speculated.

But renegade Maiar like Melian and Sauron do not give a FUCK nor need the Valar’s approval. If they want to fuck elves, THEY WILL FUCK ELVES.

Thus, irrespective of likelihood, conscience, or wisdom, no laws bar love and/or sex between Galadriel and Sauron. Platonic besties, chaste courtly love, or cucking Celeborn to the end of Arda - do you, you crazy kids. Since she is still married to, the closet thing to binding with Sauron would be with a 3rd party conduit and magic. Like a blood oath. Or rings of power (teehee).

Many challenges exist to a productive Galadriel and Sauron union beyond the metaphysical. And the most awkward would follow her spirit husband’s reincarnation. Imagine Celeborn discovering Morgoth’s first lieutenant has been railing his wife for centuries (now that’s a good fanfic prompt).

Thank you for reading! Your likes and reblogs are appreciated. Got feedback?

What did you like? Got theories or insights to share?

Disagree? I love good faith debate and sparring!

Something not quite making sense? Got feedback on readability?

Spot an inaccuracy? Hey, Tolkien's work is complex. Drop it in comments or DM.

#tolkien #saurondriel #theory

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absynthe--minded · 2 years

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hey so this is kind of a PSA for white people criticizing RoP?

but uh.

the articles, blog posts, and Tweets you see talking about fascists and Nazis and other far-right people in the fandom are talking about a real thing that is well-documented and decades old.

They’re not invented or exaggerated. The fash have been here for longer than most of us have been alive, since well before the year 2000. One of the first fandom interactions I ever had was with an older adult who warned me while I was still in elementary school that there were a lot of Nazis who liked my new favorite series, and by that point Varg Vikernes was already in jail.

And before anyone says anything - yes! it’s true that Tolkien was anti-Nazi and more broadly antifascist! It’s true that the Legendarium isn’t an inherently fascist text! but when it comes to the presence of right-wing and fascist groups in the fandom, that doesn’t matter? they’re here now, they see a lot in the books that supports their worldview because Tolkien was an imperfect and racist author, and they’ve impacted basically everything around them. If you, as white fans, are not making active efforts to surround yourselves with explicitly pro-queer antiracist antifascist leftist perspectives, or efforts to learn the dogwhistles, or efforts to recognize and call out subtle and unconscious racism, you’re going to be affected by their presence. It doesn’t change the past to go “hey! this book that you like doesn’t like you back!” - they don’t care.

I’m saying something because I’ve seen a lot of people act like the majority of the criticism of RoP has been about actual flaws or problems in the show, or has been about personal distaste, or has been written by nonwhite fans or careful antiracist critics, and that’s really not true. The vast majority of “discourse” is racist in nature, especially on YouTube. It’s also not true that every single person concerned about racist backlash is using that as a shield to distract from the “real” problems - harassment of actors, and harassment of nonwhite fans, and the spread of fascist thought through the fandom, are all real problems. people who are concerned about that are right to be concerned about it. And okay, yeah, it might be true that Amazon will use the racism as an excuse not to address the flaws in the series, but the racism still exists, and is still something that those of us who aren’t white have to face and deal with.

I’m not saying to support the show or watch it! I have many problems with what it’s doing when it comes to addressing Tolkien’s own racism + the racism of previous adaptations + the stereotypes and problems it introduces on its own, and I think that actual good faith criticism is not only possible but necessary, because nothing is above that kind of analysis? but that good faith criticism... it just isn’t possible if everyone’s insisting the racism is only invented by people determined to lick Bezos’s boots, or is limited to a small group of idiots. This particular call is in fact coming from inside the house.

#rings of power #the rings of power #racism tw #nazis tw #please reblog this

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middle-earth-mythopoeia · 2 years

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I find myself in a really tough situation regarding RoP content. I have a lot of respect for you and what you’ve been doing for the fandom recently, and I’d like some of your advice.

There are two youtubers in particular who I follow. One of them is someone who has done a lot of analysis of various costumes in the show and has redesigned them to be much more believable and less gaudy, over-the-top gold leaf on everything. The other is a person who has also done a bit covering the costumes, but who has mainly produced content defending Tolkien against RoP and discussing what the show would’ve been like if it had been done in a way that actually paid respect to Tolkien’s works.

Both of them are people who very much do not support the show, and I agree with them and I think the content that they’re producing is very interesting, especially given how I’m a costume and cosplay person myself and I love content about that. However, with everything you have said about not interacting with the show- not watching fan content about it, not sharing stuff, etc, I’m almost at a loss about what to do here. On one hand, both channels are on the side of Tolkien and against the show and are definitely discussing just how problematic it is on both the level of the show itself (costumes) and the ideas behind it as a whole (and how it betrays Tolkien), but at the same time, they’re just doing more to talk about it and spread it around and garner interest for it.

It’s very late so I’m probably not phrasing all this in the most coherent way possible but I hope what I’m trying to get at is still coming across. Thank you so much for anything you might have to say on this issue!!

Hi anon, sorry it took me a while to answer this. Thanks for the ask! And you didn't phrase this badly at all. I get where you're coming from. I think there are differing views on this issue, and there are many nuances involved, but it's my personal view that talking about the show is not harmful in and of itself.

I hope that people will refrain from watching the show on Amazon Prime (because even if you're hatewatching, it gives the show views, and also gives Amazon streaming revenue), and that they will refrain from giving Amazon positive promotion (that means anything from retweeting the trailers, to praising the show, to buying the merchandise). But in my opinion simply discussing it, and what's bad about it, is not inadvertently helping Amazon.

Some people argue that "any press is good press", i.e. that even when you criticize Amazon, you're giving them publicity. I disagree with that take. Amazon is terrified of bad press, as evidenced by the fact that they've gone to great lengths to counter it, including creating fake Twitter accounts to make it look like Amazon employees are happy with their jobs, and getting multiple TV stations to air Amazon talking points as news in an effort to muffle criticism of the company's abysmal workplace safety practices during the beginning months of pandemic. These are just a few examples.

Now that The Rings of Power is about to come out, there are a bunch of reviews of the show that someone at Amazon clearly paid for so they would make Amazon look good.

Amazon hates bad press. I say we give it to them!

#asks #rings of power #amazon #fuck amazon

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gffa · 2 years

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What is the biggest issue with RoP, in your opinion? I’m not trying to start discourse, I just have really enjoyed your meta and analysis of Star Wars and would love your thoughts on RoP.

I think the biggest issue is that they're dancing around Silm+ events that they can't actually reference and so they just throw all those motivations, connections, and themes out. Like Galadriel's character has to be completely rewritten because they can't reference those events, so instead of being one of the oldest people in Middle-earth, instead she's treated as a young upstart by everyone around her, everyone lectures her on the things she's doing wrong and she just angrily stares at them or snaps at them and it does nothing. Galadriel should be able to run circles around some of these young punks, even as angry and fighty as she is! Or like in the most recent episode, you're telling me that Halbrand has to lecture Galadriel on how to interact with the Queen of a kingdom? Galadriel? The Elf who was friends with and learned from Melian?? The granddaughter of Finwe and Indis?? And she's just like, "Fine, tell me what I'm doing wrong."?? Or the scene with Elrond and Celebrimbor, where there's only the most passing mention of Feanor with little weight behind it, that there's an envy of his skills and a sorrow at the pain his creations caused, but they both feel removed from it. They should both have a ton of feelings about Feanor and the Silmarils because their lives were directly influenced and shattered by them and the Oath that was forced the Feanorians to seek them! Or when Elrond swears an Oath with Durin, there's no moment of hesitation from Elrond at swearing an Oath? Obviously, it's a different situation and not like he's swearing to seek a thing out at any cost, but there could have been a moment's pause, like, hmm, maybe Elrond might have a moment's hesitation before swearing an Oath? They're not insurmountable things and I have sympathy for how they're forced to work around so many of the things they don't have the rights to, but they don't seem to particularly care about the characters or the story they're telling beyond the grand spectacle of it all. I see glimmers of something lovely with Elrond and I enjoyed Galadriel and Miriel's scenes at the end of episode 4 and Disa is a fantastic addition to the show, but ultimately the show feels like it doesn't really have a strong idea of the story it wants to tell or the world that it's set in.

#tolkien stuff #rings of power

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abnerkrill · 2 years

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obsessed with this guy's analysis of the rings of power score's themes and motifs and dramatic purposes if anyone else has been losing their minds over rop music lately

#trop #the rings of power #bear mccreary

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d3sertdream3r · 1 year

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Loved your Saurondriel love analysis! I was wondering what are your thoughts on if Galadriel had chosen to follow Sauron would he go good again?

Thank you!! I'm glad that it made sense to you, I always worry that I'm not getting across what I'm going for when I type up things like that, lol. This is going to be another analysis, so strap in!

This question is super interesting to think about. What would the world be like if Galadriel had joined Sauron? There are so many possibilities and AU's waiting to be written on AO3 to answer that!

The way I personally see it, we have to be careful not to put the responsibility on Galadriel's shoulders. Sauron went back to evil because of him, NOT because of her. He was definitely hurt and offended when she rejected him and it made him really angry, but I don't like the idea that her rejection caused him to go evil again or that if she chose to go with him he would become a good person again. That absolves him of his own choices. Ultimately his path was up to him alone, as all of ours are. Outside influences have an impact, but we are the ones responsible for who we become.

From my perspective, Sauron was at his lowest point when he met Galadriel, and probably feeling like he could never achieve his goal of creating perfect order. That is what he's always wanted, and he sees the Valar and those that follow them as too self-righteous and hypocritical to do it right.

(Side Note: The Ring bringing out the worst in people has many reasons for doing so; the biggest of course is to get anyone that has it to return it to him should he be separated from it. I like the idea that at least part of it is to show The Good Guys™️ their dark side as a way of saying “This is who you truly are. You’re just as selfish and twisted as those you’re fighting against. You’re no better than me; you crave power, praise, and blood as much as I do. Your righteousness is a mask.” )

We all have our dark parts, but we have true goodness in us as well; Mairon the Admirable was Sauron’s true goodness. When he talks about healing Middle-Earth, he’s talking about what Mairon wanted: peace through perfect order. However, his version of peace could only be achieved by taking away the ability to make choices from those lower than the Valar and Maiar; hence why he wants the “power over flesh”. His original motivations were admirable as his name suggested, but his methods were far from it. He followed Morgoth because he believed that he was the only one willing to do what needed to be done to create a perfect world.

But over time, his quest for peace evolved into a power trip of control. His motivations became as selfish as his methods. After losing everything, he becomes repentant out of fear of what the Valar will do to him, but he still has that dark need for control nagging at his heart. Control over everyone and everything. The sad thing is, I don’t think he even realizes how dark his motivations have become in RoP. I believe he still thinks he’s doing what must be done for his idea of true peace. He thinks Galadriel would be of great help to him in getting there.

I think he WANTS to love her; he certainly wants her by his side. But he wants to control everything even more; including her. As I said before, truly loving her would mean putting her before his dark desires. When he had the opportunity to do that, he didn’t. He resorted to manipulating her friends, exploiting her fears, and leaving her to drown.

There was still a bit of Mairon the Admirable inside of him, a shred of light that surfaced after he lost everything and wasn’t sure what to do with himself. That’s what Galadriel latched onto when they met. Interestingly, I think her dark side was drawn to Sauron as well. They both have immense god complexes, fiercely passionate emotions, wills of steel, uncontrollable anger issues. They both feel broken and lost, and their searching for their own versions of peace. Their goodness and their darkness are communicating with each other as they bond. The writers and actors did an amazing job exploring that.

In Sauron’s mind, he may even think that he IS loving Galadriel by subjecting her to his control and manipulation. He believes he knows what’s best for her and everyone else in Middle-Earth. But true love, selfless love, doesn’t come with the weight of control.

The thing is, we know that Galadriel can be quite power hungry as well, and she says in Fellowship of the Ring “In place of a dark lord, you shall have a queen”. Not beside the dark lord, in place of. That’s an important distinction. She also said that “two rings will divide”. If she got a ring of her own and took her place beside him, I think they would’ve both become too corrupted by their dark sides and ended up battling each other for ultimate control anyway. It would be like a hurricane vs a volcano eruption.

TL;DR I don’t think he would’ve become good again if Galadriel chose to join him. As far as a romantic relationship, I don’t think Saurondriel could’ve made it work in canon even if he chose to become Mairon for any reason. Celeborn is still alive and I think Galadriel would stay loyal to him once she learned that.

I am excited to read all the fanfic about the two of them finding both holy and unholy ways to be together though! 😉😂

#Sorry if there are any typos #They are the bane of my existence #Saurondriel #Haladriel #the rings of power #trop #rop #Sauron #Galadriel #Mairon #Halbrand

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beyonddarkness · 1 year

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I hope you're right and Disa and Durin get through this challenging time. I hope Disa doesn't fall so low she can't get out. Charlie V. said 2 other characters he wants Sauron to work with are Disa and Elrond. I see the connections. Also, what in the name of Eru is Gil-galad doing? He sees through Annatar. How can he miss the Mithril threat? What's with his judgement? His decision making is in contradiction with his character description in the Silmarillian. alot is ambiguous but still

I love Durin and Disa. Disa may go down the Celebrimbor Path, coming to a realization in the end, and defying Sauron (silver lining). If she has the same tragic and horrific demise as Celebrimbor, I would be in much pain. Imagine how that would affect Durin. Pleasepleaseplease let her have a happy ending. (Also, what Charlie said frightens me.)

Funnily enough, I'm in the middle of answering that question in Chapter 6 (hence the latest teaser). I don't want to give too much of it away, but I think it'll be okay, since it's only part of a really long sidenote. Since you asked (and I'm glad you did), I'll disclose a compressed portion of it.

Gil-galad perceived the mithril threat before anyone else. I don't even know if there is anyone else, besides he and Galadriel, who perceived that specific threat by the end of the season. His decisions don't contradict The Silmarillion's description of his character at all! His vigilance is just extremely subtle. So...

Allow me to explain why Gil-galad never missed the mithril threat.

"He is by far the most prescient of the Elves. He can anticipate the impending rise of Evil before anyone else. So, when we find him at the beginning of the series in this period of relative peace, for him we know that it's deeply unsettling, and that he's setting about the long chess game of how to protect Middle-earth from Evil. The stillness of an Elf is easy to underestimate, but Gil-galad—he's just vibrating on another level, and he's tapped into the health and well-being of Middle-earth in a way that no other Elf is." Benjamin Walker

He knew that the Shadow was spreading, as did Galadriel, but he played the long game, instead of charging at every obstacle in his path like a colt in full gallop. When Elrond said, "Then, the shadow she sought. You believe it does exist," Gil-galad reassured him by saying, "Set your mind at peace about it." In other words: "Nobody panic! Let's take a moment to breathe and see if sending Galadriel away bought us some time." He was on high-alert, wanting to seize every opportunity to be one step ahead of the Enemy.

So, going along with what Ben said, and your question:

What is he going to do about it?

What were his intentions with Elrond? If he recognized this threat, why would he make Elrond recount everything himself, instead of telling him everything up front in episode 5? (That is one of my favorite scenes. It's so loaded with subtleties and hidden meanings; it's like a playground.)

Gil-galad knows that Elrond seeks to lead one day. To determine if Elrond was fit to lead, he would have to be tested, ensuring his ability to see what is right, by looking past the veil of friendship for the sake of his people. The first test that we witnessed was when he convinced Galadriel to leave in the first episode. Then, we heard this foreshadowing:

1x01 Elrond: "It is hard to see what is right when friendship and duty are mingled." Gil-galad: "Such is the burden of those who lead, and those who would seek to" (1x01).

Now, Elrond has been set up this season as a master detective. He was able to catch Disa's lies and discover Durin's whereabouts. He quickly noticed that the table story was fabricated. He even found out, by sheer investigation, that Halbrand was not who Galadriel said he was (though he still does not know that Halbrand is SAURON; he only knows that he is untrustworthy). This was relatively easy for him, given that friendship was the only factor; duty was not an issue.

When his friendship with Durin was mingled with the duty of saving his people, he failed to see what was right. Trusting the suspicions of a friend over the intentions of the High King, Elrond believed for a moment that Gil-galad wanted mithril from greed. This belief was provoked by Durin's accusations in episode 4 ("You want it for yourselves!"), which served as a filter for Gil-galad's honest inquiry at dinner in episode 5.

1x05 Gil-galad: "Your loyalty to the Dwarf is admirable." Elrond: "Loyalty to a friend ought to be expected, regardless of his race." Gil-galad: "Does that justify lying to your king?" Elrond: "I wonder, High King, if it is in fact you who has been lying to me."

Elrond: "I went to Khazad-dûm with a proposal of friendship, but in truth, you sought something far more tangible, didn't you?"

This suspicion has the potential to drive a wedge between Dwarves and Elves (as well as within the Elven race itself), which would most definitely be a welcome divide for a certain Dark Lord we know. That is what he wants: DISCORD. So, since Elrond was heading down the perilous path of being turned against his own king, Gil-galad quickly appeased Elrond and simultaneously put him through another test.

Gil-galad: "Are you familiar with the song of The Roots of Hithaeglir? Recount it for me, please." Elrond: "An obscure legend, regarded by most to be apocryphal." Gil-galad: "[Yes exactly, that's why I'm saying:] Recount it, Elrond Peredhel."

Recounting things out loud can trigger certain realizations. BUT Elrond made the incorrect realization.

Elrond: "It speaks of a battle, high among the peaks of the Misty Mountains. Not over honor or duty, but over a tree, within which some claim was hidden the last of the lost Silmarils."

He paused for a moment, thinking a lightbulb just went off in his head: "Aha! A Thingol situation! You want the light of a Silmaril!"

Boy howdy, was he wrong.

Skipping ahead (for brevity), Gil-galad literally quoted the end of the song, after Elrond said, "...forging of their conflict a power."

Gil-galad: "A power 'as pure and light as good; as strong and unyielding as evil.'

He emphasized the word power because if not referring to that of the Valar, "power" is a very dangerous idea. Gil-galad knows that. Elrond knows that. Everyone should know that. So, Gil-galad tried to bring Elrond's attention to it. Then he said "as pure and light as good," and raised his eyebrows as if to mimic those who believe the tale; they would draw attention to the pure and good part.

But he focused on the "strong and unyielding as evil" part—a trait that is nothing to be excited about.

He was trying to tell Elrond: "Wake up! This thing is not good!"

And although the Oath of Fëanor is void, Gil-galad was aware of the peril of seeking possession of a Silmaril, as Finrod told Beren in private:

"For the Silmarils are cursed with an oath of hatred, and he that even names them in desire moves a great power from slumber;" (The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien).

Would this not extend to something that ~~supposedly~~ contains the very light of a Silmaril? Gil-galad would not fall into that trap.

At this stage of the long chess game, he wanted nothing more than to know if the Dwarves found the mithril. He was not greedy. He was not demanding access. Right then, he simply wanted to know if it had been found. Why?

Because something poisoned the Great Tree, and it seemed that the Elves were dying as a result. Indeed, he perceived the spread of the Shadow, or a great power being moved from slumber, and if he could know, with certainty, that the mithril had been found, part of the evil that was spreading would have been exposed.

1x08 Gil-galad: "There is no Elf in Middle-earth who wanted a solution more than I. But if this was to be our salvation, [looks at Elrond] I'm afraid we needed it sooner!"

Or... Elrond should have answered his question sooner:

1x05 "I ask again, and for the last time: did the Dwarves find the ore, or not?"

Almost three months before the show's release, Ben Walker said:

"It’s almost like [Gil-galad] can smell it in the air. And not only that. He’s got this connection with the life force of Middle-earth, almost as if he can feel the tentacles of evil slithering beneath the crust of Middle-earth. And he knows it’s there. And so, it begs the question what am I going to do about it?”

"...the tentacles of evil slithering beneath the crust of Middle-earth."

Ben, are you kidding me?

(subtle much?)

Gil-galad: "...as strong and unyielding as evil. They say it seeped down the roots into the mountain depths, where for centuries now, it has waited."

Gil-galad did NOT mean that these "Tentacles of Evil" were kindly waiting for someone to take them. What he said must be taken in the context of what Galadriel told Elrond in the first episode (of which Gil-galad was well aware).

Galadriel: "Evil does not sleep, Elrond. It waits. And in the moment of our complacency, it blinds us."

LISTEN TO THEM, ELROND!!!

Who told Elrond that the Elves wanted mithril to survive? Not Gil-galad. All he said was that their light was fading, manifested by the blight upon the Great Tree. He asked if the Dwarves found the mithril and gave a warning (accompanied by Sauron's theme, but instead of Black Speech, the vocals sing in Quenya: AICA FÍRIË—'terrible death'):

"If the Elves abandon Middle-earth now, the armies of darkness will march over the face of the earth. It will be the end, not just of our people, but all peoples. If the hope of preventing that is not reason enough to make you reconsider your oath, I suggest you find another."

But Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor, who "desired in his heart to rival the skill and fame of Fëanor," and "was not corrupted in heart or faith, but had accepted Sauron as what he posed to be" (UT), said:

"We believe if we can secure vast quantities of it, quickly, enough to saturate every last Elf in the light of the Valar once more, then yes. Yes, [mithril] very well could be [our only salvation]."

Everything that Elrond told Durin at the end of episode 5 was most likely told to him by Celebrimbor.

Elrond: "Without it, my kind must either abandon these shores by spring or perish. [...] Our immortal souls will dwindle into nothing, slowly diminishing, until we are but shadows swept away by the tides of time, forever."

I have mentioned before that that does not describe the fading of the Elves. It describes the nazgûl. Elrond said that without mithril, the Elves would fade, but guess who told Galadriel the truth in episode 8.

Sauron: "Without me, your people will fade, and the shadow will spread and darken to cover all the world. You need me."

So, after the conversation with Durin ends happily, and they set out to convince King Durin III to allow them access to the mithril mines, we see that Gil-galad heard their conversation, and we have to wonder why he looks more worried than relieved.

Elrond missed the point that Gil-galad and Galadriel were trying to make, because "in the moment of our complacency, [evil] blinds us."

Elrond: "Durin was right."

What was Durin supposedly right about?

1x04 Durin: "You want it for yourselves!"

The following reaction from Elrond then makes sense:

Gil-galad: "So, you admit the Dwarves did find it—the ore containing the light of the lost Silmaril." Elrond: "I admit only this: I promised Durin never to reveal his people's secrets."

As a reminder, this suspicion can potentially cause significant divide, which is what Sauron would want. To Elrond, the way Gil-galad speaks of the mithril sounds like "Durin was right." But "it is hard to see what is right, when friendship and duty are mingled." Need we believe what Sauron would want us to believe?

No.

One might ask, "If Gil-galad knew that the song of The Roots of Hithaeglir came from a suspicious source, why would he believe that the mithril contains the light of the lost Silmaril?"

Regardless of Gil-galad's belief of what kind of power the mithril possesses, there is no disputing that he knows that The Roots of Hithaeglir is dubious. And even if the mithril did contain the light of the lost Silmaril, he would not necessarily think that's a good thing.

Nevertheless, he might have made some mistakes. There is a reason Sauron was able to rise to power again, and retain that power for a long time: the mistakes of his enemies. From glimmers of hope, Gil-galad entertained Celebrimbor's ambition, but he realized his folly in the end, and shut down Celebrimbor's operation as soon as he caught wind of what was really going on.

1x08 Gil-galad: "And you would place all that power upon the brow of one being?" Elrond: "Not just any one being, High King. You."

That's a trap. The idea was obviously Sauron's. Keep in mind that Celebrimbor had been conferring with Sauron for a while, then it was proposed that Gil-galad, a truly noble specimen, would have this power placed upon his head—the same power that Sauron wants to use to control the minds and wills of the Elves. What more efficient way to do that than through the High King?

He immediately recognized that something was terribly wrong.

Gil-galad: "Perilous are these whisperings." Galadriel: "Sometimes, the perilous path is the only path. I would not be standing here, otherwise." Gil-galad: "You should not be standing here, at all."

That's not an insult. He's right, and it adds to his suspicion. (see Chapter 4)

Skipping ahead, he clearly recognized that something awful was behind Celebrimbor's pitch.

Celebrimbor: "But I almost had it sooner! It was only in speaking with the Southlander that I realized—" Gil-galad: "The lowman? This idea was his?"

He wasn't scoffing at Halbrand. Rather, the very possibility that this idea was Halbrand's finally pointed Gil-galad directly to a source! His alarm amplified the more Celebrimbor spoke because he knew that Celebrimbor was not using his own words; he was under an influence.

Celebrimbor: "We are on the cusp of crafting a new kind of power! Not of strength, but of spirit..."

"...Not of the flesh, but over flesh! This is—this is a power of the Unseen World!"

And just like that, Gil-galad was like, "Alright, let's pack it up. We're in immediate danger. Retreat."

Gil-galad: "I am sorry, Lord Celebrimbor. You are hereby commanded to disband the city, and return to Lindon immediately. All of you."

Elrond then asked for more time, and Gil-galad (recognizing the folly of letting things get this far) simply warned that "it is a fool's hope," not because their time "runs short," and they might as well give up; but because this "power" the smiths want to craft is PERILOUS.

Elrond: "Grant me three months! I am owed that much." Gil-galad: "You are owed nothing." Elrond: "Then, do it not out of recompense. Do it because I asked you." Gil-galad: "It is a fool's hope, Elrond. Merely that, nothing more." Elrond: "Hope is never mere, not even when it is meager. Or, have you forgotten your own counsel?"

Okay, now the question is: why did Gil-galad give the go-ahead after knowing that it was all a set-up?

He did so for the exact reason that Galadriel gave the go-ahead after knowing (perhaps more certainly than Gil-galad, given she heard it from Sauron himself) that it was all a set-up:

To use Sauron's own power against him.

They do not yet know that Sauron plans to make a Ruling Ring. Once it is forged, and they hear him speak the Ring Verse, they will recognize the peril of that tactic.

And three thousand years later...

Boromir: "Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth to victory!" Elrond: "Alas, no. We cannot use the Ruling Ring. That we now know too well." (The Lord of the Rings [FOTR]: The Council of Elrond)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is worth noting that all of this perfectly ties in to The Silmarillion. Gil-galad does not yet know who Halbrand is, exactly. Neither does Elrond. But the extreme suspicion of Halbrand has been established, and they are not going to allow him nor his emissaries into Lindon any time soon. We literally saw the reason for this paragraph:

[...] long he sought to persuade the Elves to his service, for he knew that the Firstborn had the greater power; and he went far and wide among them, and his hue was still that of one both fair and wise. Only to Lindon he did not come, for Gil-galad and Elrond doubted him and his fair-seeming, and though they knew not who in truth he was they would not admit him to that land. But elsewhere the Elves received him gladly, and few among them hearkened to the messengers from Lindon bidding them beware; [...] And [Annatar] said to them: 'Alas, for the weakness of the great! For a mighty king is Gil-galad, and wise in all lore is Master Elrond, and yet they will not aid me in my labours. Can it be that they do not desire to see other lands become as blissful as their own? [...]' (The Silmarillion: Of The Rings of Power and the Third Age)

It's funny to think that all of this fuss and next-level vigilance is because of this guy:

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helenvader · 2 years

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These guys delivered their analysis of ep6 in a great way. I love listening to them. Them and Rings and Realms have the best discussions.

youtube

They also do House of the Dragon.

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fixing-bad-posts · 1 year

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I haven't watched rop myself but I would absolutely like to hear your thoughts. Like, this is your cue to vent (if you wanna) :)

okay so i just got three asks about rings of power when i didn’t expect anyone to actually message me about this at all!!! as such, i’ll be giving my opinion in three parts with this being, part one: rings of power as a bad adaptation.

basically, the failure of rings of power is two-pronged: 1) it’s a bad adaptation, and 2) it’s a poor piece of writing. charitably, it’s a solid first-try for a pair of newbie showrunners who have never written a big project before. and following that, a bad adaptation is actually easier to forgive than a poorly written story—with a text so beloved, and without the proper rights to all the material (they only had access to the appendices of lotr), it was always going to be impossible to make a perfect text-to-screen translation. that said, it’s (imo) a pretty bad adaptation (although still not as bad as the artemis fowl movie lmao) for a few reasons: thematic interpretation, use of characters/characterization, justification of setting, and fidelity to canon lore.

on: themes—a good adaptation requires both an understanding and an appreciation of the source material, two things which rings of power lacks. in this promo article, the rop writers summarize tolkien’s works as about “friendship,” “brotherhood,” and, “underdogs overcoming great darkness,” and cannot imagine a tolkien story without hobbits. from this, it’s clear that they were first peter jackson movie fans, and then read all other book material as auxiliary support for what is inevitably peter jackson’s interpretation of tolkien’s writings on the third age. whether or not i agree with pj’s interpretation is irrelevant against the fact that the first and second ages of middle earth are stories with completely different themes than the third age. interpreting everything though the same thematic lens as the third age is a fundamentally flawed approach to telling a second age story.

the second age is permeated by arguably recent, memorable trauma from the war of wrath—the human characters are further removed via the mortal generations that have passed, but many of the elves were alive to see these events in (relatively) recent memory. this dissonance between elves and men regarding the events of the first age fuels some of the most interesting wider conflict throughout the second age (ex. the númenóreans being manipulated to become obsessed with/envious of elven immortality & the powers of the valar). furthermore, the world impact (i can’t say global impact because the world is not yet a globe) of the war of wrath fuels the setting (political reformation, social, cultural, and technical development). but rings of power ignores all of this because the showrunners don’t seem know what to do with any of it. they are trying to interpret second age events as if they have the same story elements/are painted in the same thematic palette as the events of the war of the ring. they relegate the events of the first age to ‘ancient history,’ instead of using its fallout as direct motivation for anyone except galadriel (more on this in the following section). the tension between elves and men is flattened into an allegory for contemporary immigration, which neither makes sense in-universe (there is a scene in which a group of men gather in the town square to protest the elves ‘stealing their jobs’ even though there is only one (1) elf on the island and she has not to date done any labor or craft associated with the people present), nor adapts the canon themes of anti-industrialization, anti-materialism, and fear of mortality.

on: character—whether the writers were/are incapable of doing their own analysis of the text, or their analysis is flawed, the result is that they struggle to write characters and conflicts who don’t fit into stock tropes. for example: galadriel—she’s the only elf who has any trauma about the war of wrath/the wars in beleriand, and this makes her seem like a poor communicator at best and paranoid/unreasonable at worst (she claims sauron is still at large but the writers never give the audience a reason to believe this, which implies that her crusade is fueled by dubiously exceptional trauma). this is especially egregious in a scene played opposite elrond where she tells him he can’t possibly understand her pain, and he just kind of lets this accusation stand despite the fact that he was functionally orphaned in a slaughter, and then adopted by two mass murderers before losing them too. but i digress.

on: canon lore—many creative decisions were ostensibly made to appeal to casual fans of the peter jackson movies. characters with recognizable names are given top billing in the storylines. galadriel. elrond. the pre-hobbits are given an entire section. meanwhile, key players of the second age like celebrimbor and gil-galad are made side characters in elrond plotline. why? because no one who has only seen the films recognizes their names, thus they wouldn’t be profitable to feature, and they wouldn’t sell a show. it’s only so transparent because the writers spend every episode contemplating how best to recreate memorable moments from the lord of the rings movies. galadriel is constantly shot with close ups on her eyes to mirror her film introduction in fellowship. shots of bronwyn (one of the rop original characters) at the elven outpost are framed, blocked, and even written in word-for-word monologue to recreate iconic éowyn-at-helms-deep scenes. various characters are constantly quoting the lord of the rings movies. the worst is when bronwyn practically quotes a section of sam’s iconic osgiliath speech to her frightened son, implying that sam’s speech is a collection of common idioms.

on a tangible level, the writers also fail at the monumental task of presenting a large map in a way that makes sense to people who don’t already know the world. they represent “the southlands,” as two villages, giving the sense that mordor as a whole is about fifteen kilometers wide. the timeline is fucked because they tried to condense it, while giving no clear indication of when anything is happening in relation to anything else, so it’s incredibly difficult to grasp the scope of any project or journey. for some reason they invented a fourth silmaril of dubious origin. they had elrond, raised by sons of fëanor, swear an oath only to break it in the following episode. they’ve made the choice to have all the elves speak quenya without acknowledging the history of sindarin vs. quenya and the politics of why certain elves speak it or don’t (i would love to see even one nod to thingol’s influence on elven language).

tl;dr—rings of power misreads, misunderstands, and miscommunicates the crucial themes of the second age. this leads to a complete misinterpretation of the pre-known movie characters they feature, as well as a sidelining of important book characters who aren’t movie-fan favourites. their attempt to properly explore a vast setting is clumsy, and the show invents lore out of a source material that already has arguably too much.

(i have to go run some errands but i have more to say on rop as a poor piece of writing regardless of its status as a so-called adaptation. i’ll be back.)

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