JRR Tolkien Super Duper Mega Thread

[eddy]

I'm not real happy right now

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

Just set an alarm for 3 A.M. on Saturday.

[tifosi77]

This is depressing.

How many of the f**kwits driving the need for this response have YouTube channels.

[DigitalGypsy66]

(Good to see them today, as we've been watching the OT this week)

[tifosi77]

[Dickie Dunn]

I have zero idea what the **** is going on in this show like you nerds do, but nevertheless it's **** awesome.

[tifosi77]

That's all that matters. Roll with it, baby!

[meow]

My god this show blows

[blackjack68]

Hot take Meow here all weekend! Tip your waitress.

[Dickie Dunn]

meow hates black elves

[eddy]

3rd episode got about everyone in my family to not care about this show. It's too much nerdy Tolkien **** for them. I get it, I think it's going to be like that for a lot of people. It goes pretty hard. I thought the 3rd episode was fantastic. Dang, does this show look amazing.

[tifosi77]

What's funny about it is they were actually pretty far afield from Tolkien in this past episode.

Isildur is showing up I think something like 3,000 years early, and he brought a sister with him. Iirc Tar-Míriel's father should already be dead and the bearded dude should be king. Wargs weren't mentioned in any Tolkien writings of the SA, but I can only hope that if they are to play any ongoing role in this story they improve the CG (yikes.....). "Adar" is an invention of the show. Not to mention the changes they've already made and the ones we know are coming. It's definitely "music from and inspired by" territory vs straight adaptation, and that's ok.

But i like the deep dives into the lore they're working with. I figure each season is going to have episodes like this, hour-long exposition dumps. And honesly that's what I'm signing up for. This is Lord of the Rings, not Game of Thrones.

[tifosi77]

Something else occurred to me re Halbrand and Theo.

I've said it might be interesting if Halbrand's arc sees him fall to become the Lord of the Nazgúl. But they are establishing Theo as the one with the dark curiosity. If Theo is Halbrand's son, that could be good drama. Maybe Theo usurps his father's crown and he's the one who becomes the Witch King.

[eddy]

Seen a theory asking what if Halbrand was the king of the dead and I got to say, that's a pretty cool arc

[tifosi77]

How could it be that we've gotten nearly a full week since Ep 3 and no one has given a shout out to Jed Brophy???? ftw

Did not think to check the credits of Eps 1 or 2, but I did notice that in Ep 3 Weta Workshop and Richard Taylor (and some of the long-standing nerds from the LOTR days like Daniel Falconer) are involved, and Peter Lyon is fabricating all the swords and such. As the kids say, that's dope. The sword presented to Elendil by Queen-regent Míriel is evocative in form factor to Narsil (hollow pommel), so that's cool, too.

But speaking of Elendil............

Pretty good stuff here, much more than just your run-of-the-mill junket sit-down. NOTR has been my favorite Tolkien channel for a good while now, and I wish he had been around during the LOTR days.

[tifosi77]

Seen a theory asking what if Halbrand was the king of the dead and I got to say, that's a pretty cool arc

I thought the Dead were from Dunharrow? (Rohan-ish)

If that were to be the case, we've got a very long way to go on that arc. The betrayal that left them cursed was their failure to support the Last Alliance, which ended the Second Age.......... and in business terms, ends Amazon's license period. (I'm fuzzy on this bit, but wasn't the........ 'strength' (?) of the curse owing to Isildur's possession of the One Ring following Dagorlad and the siege of Barad-dûr? I might be making that part up, I don't remember.)

I guess the larger point here is that Amazon has already shown they aren't shy about mixing things up a great deal. There are a number of options for what fate could be befall these nobility-adjacent characters. For example, we've focused on the notion of who becomes the Witch King, but as I understand it none of the identities of the rulers who took the 9 rings and became the Nazgûl was ever m ade clear. All options are open, which as I recall from my single days, is an excellent way to start a conversation.

[eddy]

Good stuff tif, I guess the biggest issue I have with the speculation at this point is it's hard to say because of Amazon and rights and how they aren't afraid to "fill in holes" with their stories. Kinda hard to look at what's been written and say well that's that when they are taking their own liberties. Don't get me wrong, it's been fun figuring this **** out, it just seems harder and more pointless to do as the episodes go on and that makes the week in between with cooler talk kinda frustrating.

[tifosi77]

Se1, Ep4, 42:01

NARSIL!!

Not just Narsil, but the sword as designed and depicted in the PJ films, except with white and gold details, vs black and silver. With the crossover of some key design talent confirmed, seeing this on -screen was a fantastic lift.

Specifically, it's leaning against the wall in the room with the palantir behind Galadriel. If it is not Narsil, they have gone out of their way to trick me.

[Gaucho]

I'm glad I don't have to binge this.

[meow]

I’m actively rooting for the orcs at this point

[nocera]

I'm glad I don't have to binge this.

I’m not watching until all episodes are out and I can binge. Maybe that’s not a good decision.

[Gaucho]

I'm glad I don't have to binge this.

I’m not watching until all episodes are out and I can binge. Maybe that’s not a good decision.

Hard to say. I think if you're as big of a Tolkien fan as eddy and tif are you'll love it.

[nocera]

I'm glad I don't have to binge this.

I’m not watching until all episodes are out and I can binge. Maybe that’s not a good decision.

Hard to say. I think if you're as big of a Tolkien fan as eddy and tif are you'll love it.

I’m a big fan of the movies. I’ve seen them and the appendices more times than I can count. I tried to read the books and gave up pretty quickly.

[tifosi77]

You're not much of a fan of the background material that provides additional depth and context to adapted stories, generally, are you.

[nocera]

You're not much of a fan of the background material that provides additional depth and context to adapted stories, generally, are you.

Hey the Star Wars cartoons are adapted from the background material (the films) not the other way around.

And LOTR reads like a text book. Sorry nerds