Episode 7 (Spoilers)

[Eldy]

An assortment of still images from episode 7:

Hidden text.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Wow, those are really intriguing!

[Eldy]

I'm curious to see how Galadriel's interactions with Bronwyn and Theo go, and I'm happy that we'll get more Durin in this episode. Plus, the Mystics are looking decidedly more militaristic.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm curious to see how Galadriel's interactions with Bronwyn and Theo go, and I'm happy that we'll get more Durin in this episode. Plus, the Mystics are looking decidedly more militaristic.

Agreed on all points. The more that I am able to separate out my own preconceptions of what the show should be, the more interested I am in what it actually is.

Hidden text.

I saw something somewhere that suggested that Galadriel gives her sword to Theo, but I have no idea whether that is true. It would seem an odd thing to do.

[Eldy]

The more that I am able to separate out my own preconceptions of what the show should be, the more interested I am in what it actually is.

Heh, that's something I told myself I'd try to do before the show premiered, but have struggled with at times. The mithril plot reveal in episode 5 was the biggest test so far, though it's possible the show will manage to salvage this in my eyes. But, that aside, I've managed to get reasonably invested thus far. Enough to be curious at, any rate.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[Voronwë the Faithful]

So Celeborn is dead. Isildur is dead. But Henry the Balrog is alive and well.

Not much of Tolkien story, but still pretty interesting. Next week should be fun.

Needless to say, neither Celeborn nor Isildur are actually dead.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Not much of Tolkien story, but still pretty interesting. Next week should be fun.

From a new interview with McPayne:

The duo also teased (spoiler free) next week’s eighth and final episode of their show’s debut season.

“When the world breaks — quite literally — how do you start to pick up the pieces?” McKay asked. “Quite often in serialized television, the last episode of the first season is table-setting for the second season. We don’t feel that way. Our last episode is the ultimate culmination of every single fuse we’ve we’ve lit in the first seven episodes. Hopefully, people are really satisfied with the big booms that happen — though they might be emotional booms rather than volcanic ones.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235234018/

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Has no one else watched it? Or did you just hate it so much that you don't want to talk about it?

I think I actually liked it, weird as it was.

[Inanna]

I haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully tonight.

[Eldy]

I saw it last night, but I was tired and not blown away and couldn't think of much to say about it. I still can't, to be honest. Like, it was fine, but I'm having a hard time feeling excited about ROP at this point. I was disappointed but unsurprised that the healing powers of mithril are not a lie. I'm mildly curious to see what they're doing with Celeborn, but honestly getting bored of mystery boxes. I don't really care about the Balrog and I wish they weren't going to show the downfall of Khazâd-dûm in their Second Age series, which now seems all but inevitable.

TL;DR My grumpy purist side is winning out the further into this season we get.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm going in the opposite direction. I've let go of my expectations and finding the Tolkien-adjacent story that they are telling to be quite compelling.

[Eldy]

Realizing I couldn't take ROP seriously as an adaptation has made it easier to enjoy stuff like action scenes, and to find a degree of entertainment in the show getting downright goofy with its lore, but it's not done much for my ability to get invested in slower, more dramatically heavy, and character-oriented episodes like this one. Which is a shame, because normally I love to see that kind of episode in an adventure series. It's not impossible for me to take show-original content seriously on its merits—I was pleasantly surprised to find Halbrand an engaging character—but I just can't take the mithril plot seriously on any level, I have decidedly mixed feelings about what they're doing with Orcs, and I don't care for the Harfoots. Though I'm cautiously optimistic that the latter subplot might become more interesting to me now that the more adventure-inclined Harfoots have finally split off on their own (and I'm glad Lenny Henry is going with them, since he's put in one of the best Harfoot performances thus far). But it feels like wasted potential for the show to have waited until the end of the penultimate episode of the first season to finally get Nori and Poppy to stop "refusing the call," as the Campbellians would put it.

That said, I have no resentment for people who are enjoying the show, and I'm glad you find it compelling!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Once I realized that the mithril plot was simply going to be an excuse for why they felt they needed to make the Rings of Power, it bothered me a lot less. My biggest worry continues to be how they introduce Sauron into the equation, whether he is Halbrand or not.

As for the downfall of Khazâd-dûm, bring it on!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I actually found the episode to be quite emotional and found myself with tears in my eyes for much of it. Maybe I'm just an old softy, but I can forgive a lot of plot holes and confusion if something moves me.

[Alatar]

Only thing is every time I see or hear "THe Dwarves delved too greedily and deeply" I'm gonna be like ORLY???

[samaranth]

I’ve also reached that point of not anticipating close adherence to Tolkien canon and am just going with the flow. And I am enjoying it!

The slower pace of this episode felt like the calm between the storms because I’m anticipating Episode 8 will be pretty full on. (I hope so, at least.)

Elendil’s reaction to losing Isildur was heartbreaking. But why, oh why did he not go back to look or to claim his son’s body? Did duty to the queen eclipse all of that?

It’s interesting that we now have the first, almost throwaway reference to Celeborn who is MIA (so to speak). I rather liked the Tolkienesque ‘he saw me dancing in a glade’. It adds another dimension to Galadriel’s story and character which was sorely needed by this point.

I am so deeply suspicious of anything Halbrand now that I’m wondering how, exactly, did he get wounded? Why was he found ‘by the side of the road’ and not in the village? I may well be overthinking this, but it seems so very convenient that, wounded or not, he’s now happily galloping off to be introduced to the Elves.

[Alatar]

https://www.polygon.com/23391434/lord-r ... e-7-review


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Inanna]

Interesting article, Al. Got me to
Thinking about horrid consequences for people doing good. Good people do good deeds which results in good outcomes might have been LOTR’s theme, but is decidedly not the perspective of the “earlier” work - the Sil, and all the stories within it. Hello, Túrin.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I enjoyed reading that.