Media previews

For discussion of Amazon's new television show "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power"
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Stranger Wings
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Re: Media previews

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Another teaser with some great music in it (and based on tweets by McCreary, these promos feature his music from the show):

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Re: Media previews

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Inanna wrote: Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:21 pm So how many episodes are we getting on Sep 2?
I was wrong. The first two episodes will be airing on September 2.

‘The Rings of Power’ Will Debut First Two Episodes Together, Season Will End Before ‘House of the Dragon’ Finale

ETA: And it is not September 2, it's September 1, at least here in the U.S.
Week One Timings:

6 p.m. PDT // Thursday, September 1

9 p.m. EDT // Thursday, September 1

10 p.m. Brazil // Thursday, September 1

2 a.m. UK // Friday, September 2

3 a.m. CEST // Friday, September 2

5:30 a.m. IST // Friday, September 2

10 a.m. JST // Friday, September 2

11 a.m. AU // Friday, September 2

1 p.m. NZ // Friday, September 2

Week Two Timings Through to Season Finale:

9 p.m. PDT // Thursdays

12 a.m. EDT // Fridays

1 a.m. Brazil // Fridays

5 a.m. UK // Fridays

6 a.m. CEST // Fridays

9:30 a.m. IST // Fridays

1 p.m. JST // Fridays

2 p.m. AU // Fridays

4 p.m. NZ // Fridays
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Re: Media previews

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According to an Amazon press release, the show opens with a white paper swan:

https://www.theonering.net/torwp/2022/0 ... -of-power/

My guess is that this is the same white paper swan we saw in one of the trailers - floating on a stream as elven children run after it on the riverbank.

My second guess is that this is a scene of bliss in Aman right before Morgoth and Ungoliant destroy the trees.
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Re: Media previews

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Another nice promo with a beautiful shot of what I presume is Lindon (the second one - it’s linked to the first tweet and I can’t/ don’t know how to separate).

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Re: Media previews

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Elrond chatting with Galadriel:



Have to say, I'm a big fan of sassy Elrond. And was happy to hear some lighter, less formal discussion in this one, after all the "we will all be destroyed" and "evil does not sleep, it waits" stuff. Elves can be weighty, but they can also be mirthful and fun.
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Re: Media previews

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The Southlands are the southern part of Mordor confirmed:

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Re: Media previews

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Stranger Wings wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:44 pm The Southlands are the southern part of Mordor confirmed:
Are you (and others) basing that purely on what this map shows? Because I'm not convinced that it means that.
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Re: Media previews

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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:01 pm
Stranger Wings wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:44 pm The Southlands are the southern part of Mordor confirmed:
Are you (and others) basing that purely on what this map shows? Because I'm not convinced that it means that.
For me, it's based on two things.

1. The word "Southlands" is written over southwestern Mordor (there's the Sea of Rhun right there too, in case there was doubt)
2. The Amazon producer noted that Birdie Sisson's "priestess" character comes from Rhun, and that this is a hint about something (I take it as a hint that the Southlands are in Mordor)

Don't see any room for doubt, given this evidence.

This also may affirm that the harfoots are in southern Mordor, as we saw a scene of them in the same field of grain that we see here (and the falling meteor is very low in the sky when Arondir and Bronwyn see it, and of course it falls near where the harfoots are). In which case, the possibility of The Stranger being a Blue Wizard just shot up.
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Re: Media previews

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The room for doubt is that they are moving things around to suit their own purposes. Until I hear it stated "this is Mordor" I will not be convinced, either way.
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Re: Media previews

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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:27 pm The room for doubt is that they are moving things around to suit their own purposes. Until I hear it stated "this is Mordor" I will not be convinced, either way.
Huh? I haven't heard of major geographic landmarks being moved around willy-nilly. And there's absolutely no way they are going to use a map of Mordor for the Southlands, and then claim that it isn't Mordor. Why would they do that? What could possibly be the purpose? And given that we have an Amazon official making a comment about a character coming specifically from Rhun, as if that's a hint about something (i.e. comes from Mordor...), I think it's very safe - perhaps 98% safe - to say that the Southlands are, indeed, in Mordor. Not to mention the storytelling utility of showing a place go from lush and green to a fiery hellscape.

One last thing that may be a bit more evidence, should you need it: Galadriel is in this village of Tir-harad when an explosion goes off, and then it (and her) are covered in ash. You know the scene from the trailers. My guess is that this happens when either Oridruin erupts, or Sauron causes it somehow. Anyway, we're in a place that goes from green to red and covered in ash. That screams "this place is becoming the Mordor we know." To me.

I agree with others at TORN that we have a strong indication here that Season 1 concludes with Sauron being revealed to everyone as...Sauron, and back in Mordor.
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Re: Media previews

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I don't think you can count on anything being necessarily true to what Tolkien wrote. That is not to say that there won't be things that are, but there will also things that will not be, including geographcial features.

It occurs to me that actually it is likely that in some ways the show will become more faithful to the source material as it moves on, rather than less. In the first season we will see introduced all of these fan fiction back story elements, but as we move closer to the denouement it will hew closer to what Tolkien wrote.
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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:39 pm I don't think you can count on anything being necessarily true to what Tolkien wrote. That is not to say that there won't be things that are, but there will also things that will not be, including geographcial features.

It occurs to me that actually it is likely that in some ways the show will become more faithful to the source material as it moves on, rather than less. In the first season we will see introduced all of these fan fiction back story elements, but as we move closer to the denouement it will hew closer to what Tolkien wrote.
Yes, but you need to look at the specific patterns of the adaptation. The patterns thus far are that events and character arcs are being shifted around to suit the narrative they are telling. So yeah, of course you are correct that the showrunners are "moving things around" in that space.

But there is absolutely no indication that they are moving geographic features of the Tolkien map around - and especially no indication that they would choose to do so with the very famous map of Mordor. The logic of such a change is hard to fathom, and past adaptations have certainly not done anything that egregious with Tolkien's map.

Occam's Razor here is that the Southlands are in Mordor. This is about as certain as one can get about something not stated in words by an Amazon official. The only way it's not, IMO, is if Amazon is deliberately misdirecting with this video (i.e. purposefully using a map that's incorrect), which would be odd and...useless.

I don't believe for a second that they would place the Southlands in the area all fans know as Mordor, and just say...no, that's not Mordor.
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Re: Media previews

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If you compare that map to the "famous map of Mordor" closely, you can see that it is quite different.
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Re: Media previews

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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:49 pm If you compare that map to the "famous map of Mordor" closely, you can see that it is quite different.
That's a little too smarmy, even for a snob like you. ;)

It's Mordor, and that's the Sea of Rhun. Differences in detail, in a map, are a completely different thing than major geographical changes. That's the area of Mordor (specifically, the plateau of Gorgoroth), and there's no mistake about that. If the Southlands are not in Mordor, that means someone got something wrong in marketing, and that this image is not consistent with what's in the show.
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Re: Media previews

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I'd rather keep my expectations low and cynical and be pleasantly surprised to be wrong, then the alternative.
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Re: Media previews

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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:26 pm I'd rather keep my expectations low and cynical and be pleasantly surprised to be wrong, then the alternative.
I grew up as a Red Sox fan in the 80s and 90s, so I get that. ;)

In this case, however, I think it’s almost certain the Southlands are in Mordor.
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The Red Sox are still teaching that lesson.

Just sayin'.
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Voronwë the Faithful wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:07 pm The Red Sox are still teaching that lesson.

Just sayin'.
True. But all I needed was the one World Series win in 2004. They could have become the worst team in history after that, and it wouldn’t have mattered. I could finally rest my mind after so many years of heartbreak and masochism.
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[OT]2013 was pretty special too. Boston Strong![/OT]
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Oh, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed every win. It’s just that I only needed 2004.
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