The Ring
July 30, 2024 8:20 AM Subscribe
I have a friend who is a massive Tolkien fan who couldn't stand the first season. I also agree: it had some flaws.
But I love the halflings. The world needs more halfling stories.
posted by jb at 9:01 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
But I love the halflings. The world needs more halfling stories.
posted by jb at 9:01 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
I only made it through two episodes because it just seemed oddly constructed. ACOUP's take on why that may have been.
But if this floats your Numenorean boat, do enjoy!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:30 AM on July 30 [3 favorites]
But if this floats your Numenorean boat, do enjoy!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:30 AM on July 30 [3 favorites]
I dunno, man. I'm probably gonna end up watching it because -- Entwives, man! I like Entwives. They're cool and you don't see them in canon much, just because they were tired of the Ents' bullshit and moved out of town.
But, I mean ... they don't have the imagination to make Tom the same goofy weirdo he was in the books. Tolkien's Tom would never have said something so solemn and ponderous. And the rings look like they came out of a grocery-store gacha machine for kids. To be fair I know that because I love those kind of rings, but they lack gravitas. Maybe it's the bouncing.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:01 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
But, I mean ... they don't have the imagination to make Tom the same goofy weirdo he was in the books. Tolkien's Tom would never have said something so solemn and ponderous. And the rings look like they came out of a grocery-store gacha machine for kids. To be fair I know that because I love those kind of rings, but they lack gravitas. Maybe it's the bouncing.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:01 AM on July 30 [2 favorites]
And the rings look like they came out of a grocery-store gacha machine for kids.
Three Rings for the Seven-Eleven under the sky,
Seven for the Albertsons in their halls of stone,
Nine for Kroger doomed to die,
One for the Walton on his dark throne
posted by lalochezia at 10:10 AM on July 30 [36 favorites]
Three Rings for the Seven-Eleven under the sky,
Seven for the Albertsons in their halls of stone,
Nine for Kroger doomed to die,
One for the Walton on his dark throne
posted by lalochezia at 10:10 AM on July 30 [36 favorites]
I haven’t finished the first season. Occasionally I pick it up but I get a bit frustrated with it.
I enjoy it most when I accept it as an enjoyable spectacle that’s almost entirely disconnected from Tolkien’s work. The production quality is kind of amazing- that a streaming series could ever throw that much money at something is mind boggling.
posted by simra at 10:35 AM on July 30
I enjoy it most when I accept it as an enjoyable spectacle that’s almost entirely disconnected from Tolkien’s work. The production quality is kind of amazing- that a streaming series could ever throw that much money at something is mind boggling.
posted by simra at 10:35 AM on July 30
The first season suffers from something I see in a lot of streaming-era prestige tv. It just feels like prologue, and you end up watching 10 hours of world-building with like one or two significant plot developments, tops.
posted by turbowombat at 11:01 AM on July 30 [11 favorites]
posted by turbowombat at 11:01 AM on July 30 [11 favorites]
I thought season one was okay, but then I came to it with low expectations ... having read some less than favourable reviews.
As I put it already over in Fanfare (talking about episode one but it feels right for the whole season)
It's not up to Tolkien's fiction (obviously) or Peter Jackson's initial trilogy (which always felt at least a little Hollywood-heavy-handed to me) ... but overall, I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised by this billion dollar expenditure on non-weapons.
Beautiful to look at. Not particularly stupid narratively. Definitely good enough to get me to episode two, which doesn't happen that often for me anymore. Definitely better than the final season or two of Game Of Thrones.
[...]
In a weird way, I liken it all to Star Trek - The Next Generation. A show I always liked but could never really LOVE. It was always a little too uptight, too flat, too sober, too Protestant (as a friend used to put it). Nevertheless, I found it very watchable and kept coming back, which is what TV's really all about. Isn't it?
posted by philip-random at 11:34 AM on July 30 [4 favorites]
As I put it already over in Fanfare (talking about episode one but it feels right for the whole season)
It's not up to Tolkien's fiction (obviously) or Peter Jackson's initial trilogy (which always felt at least a little Hollywood-heavy-handed to me) ... but overall, I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised by this billion dollar expenditure on non-weapons.
Beautiful to look at. Not particularly stupid narratively. Definitely good enough to get me to episode two, which doesn't happen that often for me anymore. Definitely better than the final season or two of Game Of Thrones.
[...]
In a weird way, I liken it all to Star Trek - The Next Generation. A show I always liked but could never really LOVE. It was always a little too uptight, too flat, too sober, too Protestant (as a friend used to put it). Nevertheless, I found it very watchable and kept coming back, which is what TV's really all about. Isn't it?
posted by philip-random at 11:34 AM on July 30 [4 favorites]
I watched most of the first season. I found it dull. I caught the last episode (I think) where there was a truly impressive CG volcanic explosion! That... apparently, all the characters survived? I was truly puzzled by this to the point that I thought maybe the explosion was some kind of illusion? (I have not read the Silmarillion). When I realized they all survived because Plot, I gave up.
I swear I'm not a hater! I love the books and I love the movies in a different way. I wanted to get pulled in by this show but it just didn't click for me in any way.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:41 AM on July 30
I swear I'm not a hater! I love the books and I love the movies in a different way. I wanted to get pulled in by this show but it just didn't click for me in any way.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:41 AM on July 30
The amazing thing is that the entire show is elf-financed!
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:55 AM on July 30 [16 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:55 AM on July 30 [16 favorites]
The amazing thing is that the entire show is elf-financed!
Given the nature of compounding interest together with elven immortality, those folk are infinitely rich.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:00 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
Given the nature of compounding interest together with elven immortality, those folk are infinitely rich.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:00 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
Maybe it's the bouncing.
I think it’s this. In the LOTR trilogy the making of/ behind the scenes specified how the effects team did something (I can’t remember what) so that when Bilbo drops the ToR it just falls dead, leaden, in place, no spinning and bouncing. It gave the feeling that the ring truly was some unholy thing that didn’t obey normal laws of physics. There was so much evil power bound in that thing that it couldn’t even bounce. Combined with the lucky packet look and feel, and that the elven rings especially don’t look like what Galadriel et al wore in the FOTR prologue, I’m just kinda meh about it.
The first season had some decent plot points but the Numenor stuff was very out of place in a show that already felt disjointed. It didn’t help that Elendil looked like he stepped off a soapy/telenovela set.
On the rings: am I wrong or were the receivers of the gifted rings at first NOT CLEAR that Sauron was the gifter? Doesn’t Sauron go to the elves in a disguised form, give them rings, and then create The One Ring? Why is Elrond (who I’m glad to see has had his hair tamed somewhat) so certain (not that he is wrong) that the rings are from Sauron?
Also are they foreshadowing Galadriel taking a dark turn?
posted by 23yearlurker at 12:07 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]
I think it’s this. In the LOTR trilogy the making of/ behind the scenes specified how the effects team did something (I can’t remember what) so that when Bilbo drops the ToR it just falls dead, leaden, in place, no spinning and bouncing. It gave the feeling that the ring truly was some unholy thing that didn’t obey normal laws of physics. There was so much evil power bound in that thing that it couldn’t even bounce. Combined with the lucky packet look and feel, and that the elven rings especially don’t look like what Galadriel et al wore in the FOTR prologue, I’m just kinda meh about it.
The first season had some decent plot points but the Numenor stuff was very out of place in a show that already felt disjointed. It didn’t help that Elendil looked like he stepped off a soapy/telenovela set.
On the rings: am I wrong or were the receivers of the gifted rings at first NOT CLEAR that Sauron was the gifter? Doesn’t Sauron go to the elves in a disguised form, give them rings, and then create The One Ring? Why is Elrond (who I’m glad to see has had his hair tamed somewhat) so certain (not that he is wrong) that the rings are from Sauron?
Also are they foreshadowing Galadriel taking a dark turn?
posted by 23yearlurker at 12:07 PM on July 30 [1 favorite]
In the LOTR trilogy the making of/ behind the scenes specified how the effects team did something (I can’t remember what) so that when Bilbo drops the ToR it just falls dead, leaden, in place, no spinning and bouncing.
The floor was metal, painted to look like wood, so the metal ring didn’t bounce.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:19 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
The floor was metal, painted to look like wood, so the metal ring didn’t bounce.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:19 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
The most downvotes I've ever incurred in a single reddit comment came from arguing with someone about this show's Black elves. My interlocutor was very concerned about divergent phenotypes in such a small geographical area. I was trying to keep it Socratic, because who knows whom you might manage to reach if you just remain patient and curious about their perspective. When I asked if he was similarly concerned about the flight dynamics of Balrogs, the downvoting frenzy started.
posted by mph at 12:23 PM on July 30 [23 favorites]
posted by mph at 12:23 PM on July 30 [23 favorites]
The floor was metal, painted to look like wood, so the metal ring didn’t bounce.
And they didn't use a magnetized version of the ring too? That was what I seem to remember.
posted by Ashenmote at 12:51 PM on July 30
And they didn't use a magnetized version of the ring too? That was what I seem to remember.
posted by Ashenmote at 12:51 PM on July 30
My interlocutor was very concerned about divergent phenotypes in such a small geographical area.
He was concerned about the nature of evolution in a species that sprung into life less than 5000 years ago, created as a community ab initio by a divine power, with lifespans of thousands of years?
posted by grouse at 12:52 PM on July 30 [9 favorites]
He was concerned about the nature of evolution in a species that sprung into life less than 5000 years ago, created as a community ab initio by a divine power, with lifespans of thousands of years?
posted by grouse at 12:52 PM on July 30 [9 favorites]
METAFILTER: he was similarly concerned about the flight dynamics of Balrogs
posted by philip-random at 12:58 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 12:58 PM on July 30 [6 favorites]
First season was so bad, the writing, the casting, it was not at all Tolkien. I'll def watch the new season but not expecting much.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:39 PM on July 30
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:39 PM on July 30
I noped out of it about an EP and a half in because the Oirish Savage schtick was so in your face it made my stomach hurt.
posted by Iteki at 1:39 PM on July 30
posted by Iteki at 1:39 PM on July 30
I didn't think the first season was, ahem, good, but you have to factor in that the LOTR trilogy is such a comfort watch for me that I have easily watched those movies a few dozen times. And -- let's be real, at a certain point, they just became background vibes while I daydreamed about being in the Tolkienverse instead of sitting on a couch recovering from dental surgery.
Plus, I've always been a big Galadriel fan. The best thing about the regal, all-knowing lady of the Golden Wood is the backstory that she was absolutely hell on wheels as a young she-elf. That's fun, man. Rings of Power might be more Tolkien-inspired than Tolkien, and I think a lot of the first season didn't work, but I will give it another shot because I really enjoyed Morfydd Clark and all 2nd Age fuckup elves.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:48 PM on July 30
Plus, I've always been a big Galadriel fan. The best thing about the regal, all-knowing lady of the Golden Wood is the backstory that she was absolutely hell on wheels as a young she-elf. That's fun, man. Rings of Power might be more Tolkien-inspired than Tolkien, and I think a lot of the first season didn't work, but I will give it another shot because I really enjoyed Morfydd Clark and all 2nd Age fuckup elves.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:48 PM on July 30
I kinda liked the first season, and am definitely on board for the second. grandiloquiet, I'm with you on Galadriel and Morfydd Clark. (Yeah, I think Galadriel does take a dark turn, then a turn back to the light).
posted by lhauser at 1:55 PM on July 30
posted by lhauser at 1:55 PM on July 30
That angry grinding sound you're hearing is the entire YouTube cottage industry of "AnTI-wOkE" streamers changing gears from hating on The Acolyte to getting ready to hate some more on The Rings of Power. All are hoping their pearl-clutching about non-white characters and heroes who are not cis-heterosexual men will help them win a Golden Ticket to visit Elon Wonka's magical Right-Wing Hatred Factory.
posted by senor biggles at 2:12 PM on July 30 [13 favorites]
posted by senor biggles at 2:12 PM on July 30 [13 favorites]
I think this series was initially greenlit when Bezos was still in charge of Amazon, and presumably a lot of the cost of the first season went into things they can reuse, so it makes sense to do a second season even if it doesn’t have a big defender in the c-suite. However, if this season isn’t some kind of “hit”, that might be it for this version of middle earth.
posted by The River Ivel at 2:19 PM on July 30
posted by The River Ivel at 2:19 PM on July 30
Hate watched the 1st season... will probably hate watch this one too.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 2:32 PM on July 30
posted by WaterAndPixels at 2:32 PM on July 30
That angry grinding sound you're hearing is the entire YouTube cottage industry of "AnTI-wOkE" streamers changing gears from hating on The Acolyte to getting ready to hate some more on The Rings of Power.
Just as the Plinkett reviews are my favorite thing about the Star Wars prequels, I often find myself enjoying the yelling around media these days more than I enjoy the series' themselves. Not all the yelling, but out of the great torrent of back-and-forth review and counter-review there's almost always some genuinely entertaining stuff.
posted by AdamCSnider at 2:35 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
Just as the Plinkett reviews are my favorite thing about the Star Wars prequels, I often find myself enjoying the yelling around media these days more than I enjoy the series' themselves. Not all the yelling, but out of the great torrent of back-and-forth review and counter-review there's almost always some genuinely entertaining stuff.
posted by AdamCSnider at 2:35 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
Honestly, none of the big 3 fantasy series (Wheel of Time. House of Dragons and this one) were that great in season 1. But I'm a sucker for big budget fantasy worlds, the props, the cg backgrounds, elves and shit. I grew up dreaming that the books I devoured would be made into movies and then when they were they looked mostly awful, so having this era of filmmakers be given big budgets is kinda fun.
Do I wish the writing were better and the stories less clunky, hell yeah, but I'll still likely watch with a tiny bit of glee.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:39 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
Do I wish the writing were better and the stories less clunky, hell yeah, but I'll still likely watch with a tiny bit of glee.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:39 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
(Star Trek: TNG) was always a little too uptight, too flat, too sober, too Protestant (as a friend used to put it).
You never saw the episode where Doctor Crusher went to the Scottish gothic novel planet, fell in love with a ghost and had ghost-sex, did you?
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:26 PM on July 30 [7 favorites]
You never saw the episode where Doctor Crusher went to the Scottish gothic novel planet, fell in love with a ghost and had ghost-sex, did you?
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:26 PM on July 30 [7 favorites]
But, I mean ... they don't have the imagination to make Tom the same goofy weirdo he was in the books. Tolkien's Tom would never have said something so solemn and ponderous. And the rings look like they came out of a grocery-store gacha machine for kids. To be fair I know that because I love those kind of rings, but they lack gravitas. Maybe it's the bouncing.
Those rings certainly do appear to be experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall. Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, a singer of songs, a player of games. But this Tom? Bright blue his jacket isn't, nor are his boots particularly yellow. A solemn and ponderous Tom is an affront! Will these inversions ultimately matter to the viewer, or will Tolkienesque surface detail and state of the art CGI win the day?
posted by GCU Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall at 4:18 PM on July 30 [4 favorites]
Those rings certainly do appear to be experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall. Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, a singer of songs, a player of games. But this Tom? Bright blue his jacket isn't, nor are his boots particularly yellow. A solemn and ponderous Tom is an affront! Will these inversions ultimately matter to the viewer, or will Tolkienesque surface detail and state of the art CGI win the day?
posted by GCU Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall at 4:18 PM on July 30 [4 favorites]
I need to go back to season 1; I got really frustrated at the pacing and quit. But I more or less remember where I left off over a year later, which leads me to believe it couldn't have been that bad.
Beyond the uneventful nature, I think where it lost me was its apparent conviction that the world of Middle Earth is just inherently interesting, which I am not sure is true. What made LotR compelling was the quest and sense of doom. I'm not sure I care that much about these guys just kind of doing their thing.
To a lesser degree, I think this is also a problem with House of the Dragon; minus the apocalyptic threat of GoT, we're left with mostly the intrigue, and it is cool! But it's not as cool. I do think, though, that the world of GoT is built for more stories in a way that, if Tolkien's world is, you wouldn't necessarily know it from watching Rings of Power. Rings feels to me much more like the show about the time before all the really interesting stuff happened, but maybe it does get better? I hope?
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:28 PM on July 30
Beyond the uneventful nature, I think where it lost me was its apparent conviction that the world of Middle Earth is just inherently interesting, which I am not sure is true. What made LotR compelling was the quest and sense of doom. I'm not sure I care that much about these guys just kind of doing their thing.
To a lesser degree, I think this is also a problem with House of the Dragon; minus the apocalyptic threat of GoT, we're left with mostly the intrigue, and it is cool! But it's not as cool. I do think, though, that the world of GoT is built for more stories in a way that, if Tolkien's world is, you wouldn't necessarily know it from watching Rings of Power. Rings feels to me much more like the show about the time before all the really interesting stuff happened, but maybe it does get better? I hope?
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:28 PM on July 30
Ghost-sex with a ghost her grandmother used to bang. Can't forget the most important detail!
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:35 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:35 PM on July 30 [3 favorites]
I thought S1 was really, really bad. Like holy wow how did this make it to the screen bad. Terrible writing, pacing, dialogue, Galadriel absolutely miscast both in writing her as a character and the actress herself, same with Gil-galad: the idea that either these actors or these characters were portraying people thousands of years old from a deeply magical lineage was just eye-poppingly absurd the whole way through. The dwarf queen was ok. The super plot twist was evident from the moment that character entered the show. We watched it through to the end, because it was such a horrible trainwreck that we couldn't not see how it ended.
I mean, I'll probably get bored enough at some point to watch the first episode of S2, but I can't say I'm excited.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 4:43 PM on July 30 [2 favorites]
I mean, I'll probably get bored enough at some point to watch the first episode of S2, but I can't say I'm excited.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 4:43 PM on July 30 [2 favorites]
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, a singer of songs, a player of games. But this Tom? Bright blue his jacket isn't, nor are his boots particularly yellow. A solemn and ponderous Tom is an affront!
If Galadriel can experience enormous psychological changes between the time of the Rings of Power and the Lord of the Rings, I figure Tom can as well. Maybe he was a dour fellow until he was taught to love life and singing by Goldberry?
Now that I think of it, I'd find it massively entertaining if the main romantic subplot of the season is Tom Bombadil meeting and woo-ing the river-daughter.
posted by AdamCSnider at 5:07 PM on July 30 [5 favorites]
If Galadriel can experience enormous psychological changes between the time of the Rings of Power and the Lord of the Rings, I figure Tom can as well. Maybe he was a dour fellow until he was taught to love life and singing by Goldberry?
Now that I think of it, I'd find it massively entertaining if the main romantic subplot of the season is Tom Bombadil meeting and woo-ing the river-daughter.
posted by AdamCSnider at 5:07 PM on July 30 [5 favorites]
I thought S1 was really, really bad. Like holy wow how did this make it to the screen bad. Terrible writing, pacing, dialogue, Galadriel absolutely miscast both in writing her as a character and the actress herself,.... We watched it through to the end, because it was such a horrible trainwreck that we couldn't not see how it ended.
Exactly what I thought too.
That angry grinding sound you're hearing is the entire YouTube cottage industry of "AnTI-wOkE" streamers changing gears from hating on The Acolyte to getting ready to hate some more on The Rings of Power. All are hoping their pearl-clutching about non-white characters and heroes who are not cis-heterosexual men will help them win a Golden Ticket to visit Elon Wonka's magical Right-Wing Hatred Factory.
Unfortunately too many people who weren't like that but really didn't like the show got thrown in the same box as those types. Sometimes by Amazon as a way to dismiss the valid criticisms of it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:19 PM on July 30 [2 favorites]
Exactly what I thought too.
That angry grinding sound you're hearing is the entire YouTube cottage industry of "AnTI-wOkE" streamers changing gears from hating on The Acolyte to getting ready to hate some more on The Rings of Power. All are hoping their pearl-clutching about non-white characters and heroes who are not cis-heterosexual men will help them win a Golden Ticket to visit Elon Wonka's magical Right-Wing Hatred Factory.
Unfortunately too many people who weren't like that but really didn't like the show got thrown in the same box as those types. Sometimes by Amazon as a way to dismiss the valid criticisms of it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:19 PM on July 30 [2 favorites]
Bright blue his jacket isn't, nor are his boots particularly yellow.
Would be hard to see against a dark background, then
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:34 AM on July 31
Would be hard to see against a dark background, then
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:34 AM on July 31
My interest in the first season started high at episode one and waned through each subsequent episode, for the most part. Looks great, enjoyed some of the settings, the writing was mediocre, and I loved the dwarves and hobbits. I'm not an adaptational purist, but I thought the team made questionable choices.
Second season probably won't be appointment viewing for me, but I'll check it out at some point. The trailer did not give me hype.
posted by Captaintripps at 4:51 AM on July 31
Second season probably won't be appointment viewing for me, but I'll check it out at some point. The trailer did not give me hype.
posted by Captaintripps at 4:51 AM on July 31
I made my own peace with Rings of Power before I watched it. I knew it wouldn't be up to the level of the LOTR movies. Even the Jackson Hobbit movies were sort of bad, so even the guy who hit a home run with LOTR didn't do so great afterward (whether due to producer interference, or who knows?)
I did enjoy seeing the settings they created, and mostly I just tried to vibe with a different vision of Middle Earth. Since I went in with low expectations, I wasn't terribly disappointed.
It's an interpretation, I guess? It won't affect my love of the books or for the Jackson LOTR trilogy.
I've wasted my own time in the past getting angsty about beloved franchises being handled clumsily, and for the most part I now choose to watch them more passively, or skip them altogether.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:01 AM on July 31
I did enjoy seeing the settings they created, and mostly I just tried to vibe with a different vision of Middle Earth. Since I went in with low expectations, I wasn't terribly disappointed.
It's an interpretation, I guess? It won't affect my love of the books or for the Jackson LOTR trilogy.
I've wasted my own time in the past getting angsty about beloved franchises being handled clumsily, and for the most part I now choose to watch them more passively, or skip them altogether.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:01 AM on July 31
If Galadriel can experience enormous psychological changes between the time of the Rings of Power and the Lord of the Rings, I figure Tom can as well. Maybe he was a dour fellow until he was taught to love life and singing by Goldberry?
You know, you're right. I'm not a Tolkien fan by any stretch, but there are times when I am the kind of person who would have that kind of hot take and your comment is a sensible reminder that the best characters change and develop over time and we shouldn't expect them to be exactly the same in a prequel set thousands of years before the audience first meets them.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:40 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
You know, you're right. I'm not a Tolkien fan by any stretch, but there are times when I am the kind of person who would have that kind of hot take and your comment is a sensible reminder that the best characters change and develop over time and we shouldn't expect them to be exactly the same in a prequel set thousands of years before the audience first meets them.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:40 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
I watched the first season. I didn't mind the additions/changes to the lore, in fact I thought most of them well quite well thought out. And the show looked amazing, in ways that other big budget fantasy can only dream of. That said, the first season set new records in tedium. Just amazingly dull.
I really dislike the modern style of having a bunch of disparate plot threads intercut throughout the episodes. It can work if the stories seem to be on a collision course or are thematically linked, but in LotR:RoP they just kind of existed. Just as one story threatened to get interesting, an episode would jump somewhere else and my engagement was gone.
The first season might even be better if it was recut so that a few episodes followed the proto-hobbits, then we got Galadriel's story over 3 episodes, etc.
posted by AndrewStephens at 6:55 AM on July 31
I really dislike the modern style of having a bunch of disparate plot threads intercut throughout the episodes. It can work if the stories seem to be on a collision course or are thematically linked, but in LotR:RoP they just kind of existed. Just as one story threatened to get interesting, an episode would jump somewhere else and my engagement was gone.
The first season might even be better if it was recut so that a few episodes followed the proto-hobbits, then we got Galadriel's story over 3 episodes, etc.
posted by AndrewStephens at 6:55 AM on July 31
Galadriel as interpreted in Rings of Power is the women's representation we've always needed in Tolkein's world. Her determination and bravery are so powerful they make me cry to see that sort of a character in a major fantasy TV show.
What I've realized going through all the books again via Andy Serkis's wonderful audiobook readings is that Jackson knew the works were flawed, in various ways, so he fixed them. I'm reminded of that scene in Firefly with River "fixing" the Bible.
So excited to hear Tom is in the second season, and it surprises me not at all if he's different. Just like other aspects of Tolkein, the character of Tom in the book had any number of inconsistencies in him - we need a version that makes sense.
My biggest regret with Galadriel in Rings of Power is that the writers missed a chance to fully include a (likely unintentionally) trans-coded character from the books. Galadriel was described as nearly as tall and low-voiced as a man, with a gender-ambiguous childhood name (Nerwen). They've cast someone who ends up much shorter than the men she confronts. We sure could have used a woman onscreen who didn't fit some of the feminine stereotypes, but I'm still happy to see her as the amazing warrior woman that she is.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 7:04 AM on July 31 [2 favorites]
What I've realized going through all the books again via Andy Serkis's wonderful audiobook readings is that Jackson knew the works were flawed, in various ways, so he fixed them. I'm reminded of that scene in Firefly with River "fixing" the Bible.
So excited to hear Tom is in the second season, and it surprises me not at all if he's different. Just like other aspects of Tolkein, the character of Tom in the book had any number of inconsistencies in him - we need a version that makes sense.
My biggest regret with Galadriel in Rings of Power is that the writers missed a chance to fully include a (likely unintentionally) trans-coded character from the books. Galadriel was described as nearly as tall and low-voiced as a man, with a gender-ambiguous childhood name (Nerwen). They've cast someone who ends up much shorter than the men she confronts. We sure could have used a woman onscreen who didn't fit some of the feminine stereotypes, but I'm still happy to see her as the amazing warrior woman that she is.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 7:04 AM on July 31 [2 favorites]
I was very underwhelmed by the first season (cheap-looking costumes; bad elf hair; inflatable horses; problematic stereotype hobbits; contrived mystery) but found it just watchable enough to watch it. I'll probably watch this season too (and complain).
posted by confluency at 9:22 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
posted by confluency at 9:22 AM on July 31 [1 favorite]
Galadriel as interpreted in Rings of Power is the women's representation we've always needed in Tolkein's world
Guess you forgot about Eowyn.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:36 AM on July 31
Guess you forgot about Eowyn.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:36 AM on July 31
Guess you forgot about Eowyn.
Not at all. She's my second-favorite Tolkein character, and perhaps (though only in one interpretation) another example of an unintentionally trans character (in this case, trans-masc). In her case, I think Jackson also missed a chance - in the books, Merry doesn't recognize Eowyn. By contrast, in the movies, Jackson has other characters (including Merry) recognize Eowyn while presenting as male. I've been wondering if that betrayed a certain early 21st century perception of trans identity, and might have been handled more like the books (perhaps even casting a nonbinary actor?) if the movies were made today.
Eowyn in both the books and the movies is brave and determined, and fights back against the 'cage' of gender expectations.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 11:53 AM on July 31
Not at all. She's my second-favorite Tolkein character, and perhaps (though only in one interpretation) another example of an unintentionally trans character (in this case, trans-masc). In her case, I think Jackson also missed a chance - in the books, Merry doesn't recognize Eowyn. By contrast, in the movies, Jackson has other characters (including Merry) recognize Eowyn while presenting as male. I've been wondering if that betrayed a certain early 21st century perception of trans identity, and might have been handled more like the books (perhaps even casting a nonbinary actor?) if the movies were made today.
Eowyn in both the books and the movies is brave and determined, and fights back against the 'cage' of gender expectations.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 11:53 AM on July 31
Galadriel as interpreted in Rings of Power is the women's representation we've always needed in Tolkein's world.
So sad they made her dumb as a rock then.
posted by Pendragon at 7:31 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]
So sad they made her dumb as a rock then.
posted by Pendragon at 7:31 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]
So sad they made her dumb as a rock then.
Thank you for confirming that her presence in the show is doing its job.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:29 AM on August 1
Thank you for confirming that her presence in the show is doing its job.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:29 AM on August 1
What's that supposed to mean ?
posted by Pendragon at 10:30 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
posted by Pendragon at 10:30 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
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