Media previews

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[OT]It is truly astounding how many people fail to understand the different between PST and PDT (or EST/EDT, MST/MDT, CST/CDT, etc.).[/OT]

I thought the news about Simon Tolkien was quite interesting. I enjoyed the one novel of his that I read (Orders From Berlin) but he certainly is not a fantasy writer by any stretch of imagination.

[Eldy]

Yeah, the time zone thing is a pet peeve of mine. Also, people giving a date and time as "midnight on the xth" without specifying if they mean the beginning or end of the day.

I read part of a Simon Tolkien novel once, while sheltering from weather in a library, but it wasn't even in my home state, so I didn't get to take the book home, nor do I remember the title for sure (but it was probably Final Witness). I recall thinking it was fine for what it was, but as you say, a very different type of story than ROP will be. I'm curious what his precise role was, not that I expect to ever find out.

[Alatar]

I thought the news about Simon Tolkien was quite interesting. I enjoyed the one novel of his that I read (Orders From Berlin) but he certainly is not a fantasy writer by any stretch of imagination.

I didn't see them call him one? He's just referred to as a Novelist?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

No, they don't say that, but they do say that "he had a key role in helping to shape the show's story and character arc development, especially given his expertise and insight into his grandfather's work." My point is that he doesn't really have "expertise" in writing fantasy.

[Alatar]

That's a bit of a stretch. He has expertise as a novelist and insight into his grandfathers work. I don't see a contradiction there.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I never said there was a contradiction, I just made an observation. Being a crime and spy thriller writer is not the same expertise as being a fantasy writer. By way of comparison, I would have limited value in giving advice for a criminal trial, despite the fact that I am attorney.

[narya]

I'm enjoying the new pictures, though I'm getting Sept of Baelor vibes from the (?)throne room set. Fortunately it looks less cramped than that set from GoT, though it's hard to say from a partial shot like this.

I had the same vibe about it being like a cross between the GOT throne room (relatively flat) and the Sept (church) of Baelor (a steep amphitheater), the instant I saw the picture. But there are only so many ways you can present an audience hall, after all.

[Alatar]

https://screenrant.com/lotr-rings-of-po ... sdcc-2022/

Screen Rant had the opportunity to attend the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power presentation at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. During the presentation, five exclusive clips from the series were shared. The first depicted Elrond competing against Durin (Owain Arthur) in a dwarf endurance test, a feat of strength involving breaking a rock. Although the clip cuts before Elrond strikes his rock, it is implied that the two will become unlikely friends afterward. The second clip involves Harfoot characters Poppy (Megan Richards) and Nori (Markella Kavenagh) examining a sleeping giant known as The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who is in a crater surrounded by flames that go away when he is awakened. They bicker about how Nori's mom will react, giving off definite Merry and Pippin vibes.

Orcs are the subject of the third clip, having enslaved some elves including Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova). They try to break their chains and one escapee is slain by a thrown spear before Arondir knocks down a tent with an ax to expose the orcs to the sun. The fourth clip sees Galadriel coming to meet Elrond, where they banter about her prowess as a warrior, with Elrond saying he expected her to arrive covered in muck and grime. Galadriel also appears in the fifth and final clip, which shows her arriving in Númenor, the island realm and westernmost mortal kingdom, which is depicted in sweeping shots that include giant faces carved in stone.

[Eldy]

The bit about Arondir being enslaved by Orcs is really intriguing to me. Hard to speculate when we don't know if that's a flashback, but it's curious that a character we know is kicking around in "Tirharad" (which I'm currently leaning towards being Gondor rather than Harad) encounters Orcs, who I'd gotten the impression had been hiding in the far North to avoid discovery by the Eldar, who, except for Galadriel, apparently believe Orcs and other former minions of Morgoth to be extinct.* But the North part might just have been me working in book knowledge that the show won't necessarily utilize. Alternatively, maybe Arondir somehow found himself in the Forodwaith before having his romance with Bronwyn.


*Arondir is not an Elda, so his experience with Orcs doesn't contradict this.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Interesting comments about Galadriel's armor from producer Lindsay Weber.

Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power producer provides "a little context" on Galadriel's controversial armor

[Eldy]

Shortly after the images made their way online, Middle-earth enthusiasts took to social media to point out that the breastplate worn by Morfydd Clark's elf resembled that of the House of Fëanor's. Specifically, it was the small, eight-pointed star in its center that caught their eye, and lead to the comparison.

Galadriel has a long-standing feud with the Fëanors, so people couldn't fathom why she'd be bearing their sigil. Turns out, though, the gear doesn't entirely belong to her.

"To give a little context, though it is something I don't think the internet has considered yet. It is not actually her armour, it's a gift from someone else," Weber explained to Digital Spy(opens in new tab) and other press at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

As one of the people who immediately remarked upon the eight-pointed star, I'm glad to see someone involved with the show comment on it, though this doesn't really answer the basic question since the eight-pointed star motif has shown up a lot, including on the outfits of Gil-galad and Finrod (though I'm not sure if the latter's identity was officially confirmed). So it seems more likely that the symbol is not intended to be the Star of the House of Fëanor at all—it's certainly not identical to the version in Tolkien's illustration of the Doors of Durin—though if that were the case it would make Ms. Weber's explanation somewhat superfluous, so perhaps there's more to the story after all.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

A quote from the new Total Film special issue:

"Thanks to the nature of television, there is more time for the characters to simply talk to each other. Bayona points to a scene in Episode 2 where Galadriel and Elrond have a 7-minute conversation."

[Eldy]

Encouraging! Hopefully the dialogue lives up to the possibilities presented by the medium.

[Eldy]

Leon Wadham on Kemen’s Relationship with His Father Pharazôn - Collider

When asked to explain the relationship, Wahdam said:

"Listen, Pharazôn is a great man. And I think the children of powerful people can fall into two categories, you could argue. They can try and match and outdo their parents, or they can coast with a level of entitlement. And I think he's more in that category, at the point we meet him. He's, you know, he's landed in a position of incredible privilege. He's living in a golden age, he's got everything he's ever wanted. There's no real desire for that to go away. And so I think his dad's frustration with him is that he's not bringing any new ideas to the table, because the ideas of the day have served him really well personally. And his journey is one where he's going to have to interrogate what he stands for, and what he thinks is worth fighting for, and what that fight might actually entail."

I imagine Kemen's personal journey of self-examination will be intertwined with his relationship with Eärien, whose family is less invested in "the ideas of the day" in the books—though it's not clear, given the changes in ROP, whether the House of Valandil will be keeping their Faithful status hidden at this point in time or not. The Akallabêth is vague about when exactly they dropped the pretense of being loyal King's Men, though I think the obvious point would have been at the start of Tar-Palantir's reign and the hard swerve to traditionalism. But who knows if Tar-Palantir ever existed in the show's continuity.

ETA: Míriel's father's name is supposed to have a capital P and no accent over the I, but the forum's autocorrect feature has foiled me again!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Look again.

[Eldy]

Witchcraft! (Thanks, V!)

We also have an article today from Spanish GQ (machine translation here) about Galadriel and Halbrand, with a couple interesting tidbits about those characters. The Halbrand parts are the most interesting to me, since I've read less about him than show!Galadriel. Apparently, the series begins in a "fragile peace," particularly in the "Southlands"—maybe the vicinity of Tirharad?—where Halbrand is from. According to his actor, Charlie Vickers:

Halbrand is a human from the Southlands, and I think he's in a very delicate state early in the series. The people of the south have been building up a lot of discontent and anger over the last few years, mainly because they reject the domination that the elves have over their lives. I hadn't thought about it until now, but I think the best way to describe Middle-earth during this period is by imagining a seemingly peaceful and harmonious surface, but a handful of dark forces bubbling beneath it. As the series progresses we will be more and more aware of the danger that these forces represent, so I think it will be very interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Also, Vickers is apparently a video-game-firster like me.

I think I must have been about ten years old when the first one came out. I remember going to see it in the theater and immediately coming home to play the PlayStation game! If I have to be honest, I think I liked the video game more then… I love the Peter Jackson movies, and I think I like them more and more as I get older, but yes: my love for The Lord of the Rings had its origins on the PlayStation.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Witchcraft! (Thanks, V!)

I added "Tar-Palantir" to the word censor list, to be replaced by "Tar-Palantir". I wasn't sure if that would supercede the already existing "palantír" but it did. I think went back and edited the second reference that you made to Míriel's father from "palantír" to "Tar-Palantir".

We also have an article today from Spanish GQ (machine translation here) about Galadriel and Halbrand, with a couple interesting tidbits about those characters. The Halbrand parts are the most interesting to me, since I've read less about him than show!Galadriel. Apparently, the series begins in a "fragile peace," particularly in the "Southlands"—maybe the vicinity of Tirharad?—where Halbrand is from. According to his actor, Charlie Vickers:

Halbrand is a human from the Southlands, and I think he's in a very delicate state early in the series. The people of the south have been building up a lot of discontent and anger over the last few years, mainly because they reject the domination that the elves have over their lives. I hadn't thought about it until now, but I think the best way to describe Middle-earth during this period is by imagining a seemingly peaceful and harmonious surface, but a handful of dark forces bubbling beneath it. As the series progresses we will be more and more aware of the danger that these forces represent, so I think it will be very interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Very interesting.

With regard to our ongoing discussion about time compression (mostly elsewhere), my guess now is that they will keep the length of time that the Second Age (e.g., since the War of Wrath) has gone on purposefully vague, so that those of us who feel it is important that an age actually last an age can pretend that sufficient time has passed. Maybe.

[Eldy]

With regard to our ongoing discussion about time compression (mostly elsewhere), my guess now is that they will keep the length of time that the Second Age (e.g., since the War of Wrath) has gone on purposefully vague, so that those of us who feel it is important that an age actually last an age can pretend that sufficient time has passed. Maybe.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case. I imagine they want Númenor to feel like a long-established realm—Elendil's exhortation to move on from the past, heard in one of the trailers, doesn't hit the same way if the Númenóreans had just moved on a handful of generations (of their extended lives) earlier—whereas I think they want events in Middle-earth to feel comparatively recent (by Elvish standards) after the War of Wrath. If so, deliberate vagueness is probably the safest bet, but as a worldbuilding geek I hope they'll have the courage of their convictions and not take the easy way out.

[Eldy]

More character profiles from Collider, this time about Gil-galad and Bronwyn. Not mucking around with block quotes this time since I'm on my phone, reading these while waiting in line at Line Con

https://collider.com/lord-of-the-rings- ... -comments/

https://collider.com/lord-of-the-rings- ... -comments/

The Bronwyn article corroborates what we've heard: that her people previously worshipped Morgoth but are now trying to "redeem" themselves. Presumably, the cult glimpsed in the SDCC trailer is a remnant of the old Melkorist religion. I'm actually pleased the show is giving us a portrayal of what the Númenóreans called "the Men of Darkness," and not making them one-note villains. It's one of those little-explored (by Tolkien) corners of the legendarium that are ripe for fleshing out in fanfiction—or in officially licensed series with minimal source material—because there's not much to go on. This is the sort of thing I've been hoping for not, not Hobbits.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

There is also this one (which is linked to in the one about Bronwyn):

'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power': Tyroe Muhafidin Explains Tensions Between Elves and Humans

"He's not happy, you can say that a little. Obviously, the history between the humans and the elves you know, 1000s of years prior, Theo's ancestors sided with Morgoth and fought against the elves, and so in punishment for their doing that they got banished and had to restart in almost the slums of the Southlands. And it's patrolled by the Elves. And you know, and it was generations ago, and Theo thinks and Bronwyn thinks, and I think the whole village thinks that it's time to move past it and move forward, but the Elves just won't forget. So there's a lot of tension in there. And especially when your mom is dating one of them."

I agree that that is a really interesting area of exploration that I never expected.