Television The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Alemar

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What to say… Tolkien was one of the best writers to ever live, why do they alter his story? It’s unexplainable.

Difficult to say what would the audience not so familiar with Tolkien think about it, but for me, who read everything he’s written on LOTR related universe, it doesn’t look good at all.

That said, visuals are absolutely phenomenal, music is also excellent
 

PepG

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Calling it now - old meteor dude is Sauron
If you think about it its the only logical explanation. It is how the story was built in the first episode.. But i imagine that Internet would gone mad if that is the case.. Anyways i enjoyed the show so far..
 

Gehrman

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If you think about it its the only logical explanation. It is how the story was built in the first episode.. But i imagine that Internet would gone mad if that is the case.. Anyways i enjoyed the show so far..
Sauron was said to be very beautiful back then, but they might have scrapped that, but its part of how he deceived everyone anyway. I think he's Tom Bombadil. Nah It's a wizard or Sauron
 
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tomaldinho1

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If you think about it its the only logical explanation. It is how the story was built in the first episode.. But i imagine that Internet would gone mad if that is the case.. Anyways i enjoyed the show so far..
Whats the need for the meteor intro though? I don’t see how it won’t be one of the istari.
 

Gehrman

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Whats the need for the meteor intro though? I don’t see how it won’t be one of the istari.
I think the burning image of Sauron's eye when he lands definitely means it's either Gandalf(maiar of fire) or Sauron.
 

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I hate review bombing so much. I have enjoyed it a lot so far. Very good watch and well done so far. The only character/ actor that seem bit annoying to me so far is Theo the human kid. Doesn't really convince me.

What's a good site to see some clean ratings? Rotten tomatoes tomatometer? That's my usual go-to to avoid racists and women hating bigots interfering.
 

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Enjoyed episode 1, I think they've done well to establish the size of the world and the different races places within it. Loved the set piece at the beginning that really showed off the production values. The overall feel is thankfully more fellowship trilogy than hobbit trilogy. Looking forward to watching it develop

I don't really understand those that complain about tv/film adaptations messing with the source material, it's an inevitability of the medium. The books still exist, people can still read them and enjoy them. This series will undoubtedly lead more people to read the books too which can only be a good thing. The show should be judged purely within the realm of a TV show. People don't hammer The Shining or Jaws for straying from the books.
 

Gehrman

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Enjoyed episode 1, I think they've done well to establish the size of the world and the different races places within it. Loved the set piece at the beginning that really showed off the production values. The overall feel is thankfully more fellowship trilogy than hobbit trilogy. Looking forward to watching it develop

I don't really understand those that complain about tv/film adaptations messing with the source material, it's an inevitability of the medium. The books still exist, people can still read them and enjoy them. This series will undoubtedly lead more people to read the books too which can only be a good thing. The show should be judged purely within the realm of a TV show. People don't hammer The Shining or Jaws for straying from the books.
Agree its about making the best possible show rather than staying as true to the source material as possible.
 

tomaldinho1

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I think the burning image of Sauron's eye when he lands definitely means it's either Gandalf(maiar of fire) or Sauron.
Gandalf is my bet, I’m not sure they will introduce Saruman, blue wizards or radagast.

Sauron doesn’t make sense to me given his goal is to build Barad Dur and infiltrate the elves so I don’t see why he’d fire himself over middle earth in a burning comet which leaves him helpless when it explodes.
 

Gehrman

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Gandalf is my bet, I’m not sure they will introduce Saruman, blue wizards or radagast.

Sauron doesn’t make sense to me given his goal is to build Barad Dur and infiltrate the elves so I don’t see why he’d fire himself over middle earth in a burning comet which leaves him helpless when it explodes.
The fact his fire doesnt burn is a throwback to Galadriel saying the fire doesnt burn in his fortress because of his evil. And then you have Sauron's eye when he lands. Still it just doesnt seem right that he shows up on a meteorite and has the obvious appearance of an istari. I think will be gandalf because despite breaking the lore it will bring a bigger audience
 

tomaldinho1

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The fact his fire doesnt burn is a throwback to Galadriel saying the fire doesnt burn in his fortress because of his evil. And then you have Sauron's eye when he lands. Still it just doesnt seem right that he shows up on a meteorite and has the obvious appearance of an istari. I think will be gandalf because despite breaking the lore it will bring a bigger audience
I don’t think it breaks lore to be fair because there were two dates Tolkien said they came which contradict each other. Think Amazon are using the Second Age date.
 

Gehrman

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I don’t think it breaks lore to be fair because there were two dates Tolkien said they came which contradict each other. Think Amazon are using the Second Age date.
Could be Saruman. He's arrival is too omnious to be Gandalf. I believe he briefly speaks the black speech, but I just don't think it makes sense for Sauron's reveal to arrive on a meteorite in the form of an istari and landing at the hobbits. Of course they may go for something completely different with Sauron atm. but Saruman could make a lot of sense since Gandalf's arrival wouldn't fit with the theme of arrival of evil.
 

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Gandalf is my bet, I’m not sure they will introduce Saruman, blue wizards or radagast.

Sauron doesn’t make sense to me given his goal is to build Barad Dur and infiltrate the elves so I don’t see why he’d fire himself over middle earth in a burning comet which leaves him helpless when it explodes.
In any case, unless I'm much mistaken Sauron was a lieutenant of Morgoth - he's already been around for ages when that comet comes down. So I don't see how it could possibly be him.
 

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The fact his fire doesnt burn is a throwback to Galadriel saying the fire doesnt burn in his fortress because of his evil. And then you have Sauron's eye when he lands. Still it just doesnt seem right that he shows up on a meteorite and has the obvious appearance of an istari. I think will be gandalf because despite breaking the lore it will bring a bigger audience
Yeah, I just caught that on a second viewing that it didn’t burn the Harfoot when she touched the glowing coals of the crash.

My current ‘conspiracy theory’ is that they’ll try to subvert our expectations and just make it a random wizard in the end. Or Saruman instead of Gandalf.
 

Gehrman

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Yeah, I just caught that on a second viewing that it didn’t burn the Harfoot when she touched the glowing coals of the crash.

My current ‘conspiracy theory’ is that they’ll try to subvert our expectations and just make it a random wizard in the end. Or Saruman instead of Gandalf.
I'm not really sure why we are talking in spoilers but I think they are subverting expectations too. Still he seems too dark to be Gandalf, Sauron just landing on a meteor near hobbits doesn't make much sense. Saruman or one of the blue wizards makes more sense. I believe it's Saruman though and they will keep the blue wizards out of the story
 

justsomebloke

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The fact his fire doesnt burn is a throwback to Galadriel saying the fire doesnt burn in his fortress because of his evil. And then you have Sauron's eye when he lands. Still it just doesnt seem right that he shows up on a meteorite and has the obvious appearance of an istari. I think will be gandalf because despite breaking the lore it will bring a bigger audience
Well, by the same measure, if Galadriel can talk about him having a fortress in which the fire doesn't burn, then that would mean he's already present on Middle Earth and has been for some time. So if anything, that would be pretty conclusive proof he's not the one crawling out of a comet.
 

Gehrman

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Well, by the same measure, if Galadriel can talk about him having a fortress in which the fire doesn't burn, then that would mean he's already present on Middle Earth and has been for some time. So if anything, that would be pretty conclusive proof he's not the one crawling out of a comet.
Yeah compltetely true
 

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I'm not really sure why we are talking in spoilers but I think they are subverting expectations too. Still he seems too dark to be Gandalf, Sauron just landing on a meteor near hobbits doesn't make much sense. Saruman or one of the blue wizards makes more sense. I believe it's Saruman though and they will keep the blue wizards out of the story
I think it is due to this part of the spoiler policy: “- Any and all comment related to future developments must be placed in spoiler tags.” So that people that just want to review episodes don’t ever happen to see speculation that ruins something for them.

Or I could be misinterpreting that…
 

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I hate review bombing so much. I have enjoyed it a lot so far. Very good watch and well done so far. The only character/ actor that seem bit annoying to me so far is Theo the human kid. Doesn't really convince me.

What's a good site to see some clean ratings? Rotten tomatoes tomatometer? That's my usual go-to to avoid racists and women hating bigots interfering.
Rotten tomatoes is pretty infiltrated with that stuff, it's not said out right but the voting is highly political.
 

Gehrman

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Are we going to see Sauron kicking arse?
They have plenty of seasons for him to do so, so imagine, one way or another. I just hope it's not in his final boss armour that we are used to.
 

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The fact his fire doesnt burn is a throwback to Galadriel saying the fire doesnt burn in his fortress because of his evil. And then you have Sauron's eye when he lands. Still it just doesnt seem right that he shows up on a meteorite and has the obvious appearance of an istari. I think will be gandalf because despite breaking the lore it will bring a bigger audience
Gandalfs love for halflings fit well here too
 

Gehrman

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Gandalfs love for halflings fit well here too
I just think they made his entry too omnious to be Gandalf, but that's probably the red herring. Him drawing symbols and stuff pointing towards Sauron is probably because he can remember vaugely it's his mission to help defeat him. With him landing at the hobbits place and his blue eyes(Saruman has black eyes), it's probably Gandalf no doubt. They will just call him olorin first to please the nerds.
 

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I just think they made his entry too omnious to be Gandalf, but that's probably the red herring. Him drawing symbols and stuff pointing towards Sauron is probably because he can remember vaugely it's his mission to help defeat him. With him landing at the hobbits place and his blue eyes(Saruman has black eyes), it's probably Gandalf no doubt. They will just call him olorin first to please the nerds.
and all the silly comedy wouldn'thappen for Sauron probably
 

Gehrman

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Does he look humanoid under the armour?
No Idea. It's only after the fall of numenor(later than the series) that he was unable to take on a fair form. He's a shapeshifter. In the movies and series, it's anyones guess what he looks like under the armour.
 

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Isn't Sauron supposed to deceive the Elves and Men and Dwarves and forge the one ring at Mount Doom? Would make mores sense to have him re appear as a kindly figure who brokers peace?
 

Gehrman

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Isn't Sauron supposed to deceive the Elves and Men and Dwarves and forge the one ring at Mount Doom? Would make mores sense to have him re appear as a kindly figure who brokers peace?
He's supposed to appear as Annatar. A very beautiful almost elf-like figure. Cannonically though. In the show he might look fair but have a hint of evil around him. Something like this would be pleasing to me.

 
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No Idea. It's only after the fall of numenor(later than the series) that he was unable to take on a fair form. He's a shapeshifter. In the movies and series, it's anyones guess what he looks like under the armour.

Hmmm... After a little bit of reading up like you said he can take any form. But I'm ready for him to blast a few elves, something that didn't really happen in LOTR. So, is Morgoth of a by gone era? Or will make his presence felt in the series. (I'm utterly clueless....)
 

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Rotten tomatoes is pretty infiltrated with that stuff, it's not said out right but the voting is highly political.
Yeah that's why I was looking for a few clearer alternatives because imdb pretty infiltrated too. On rotten the audience score is totally off but the tomatometer seems okay fair I'd say.
 

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I suspect it'll turn into a great series but will need patience. Surely hobbit sex may also improve it?
 

Gehrman

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Hmmm... After a little bit of reading up like you said he can take any form. But I'm ready for him to blast a few elves, something that didn't really happen in LOTR. So, is Morgoth of a by gone era? Or will make his presence felt in the series. (I'm utterly clueless....)
I don't think anyone knows. Morgoth is out of the picture chronically and I think since they don't have the rights to the silmarilion, they wouldn't show him. They already had the chance in the 1st episode and they didn't. I'm sure we will lots of references to the servants of Morgoth and all that, but Morgoth is literally trapped in a void. I seem to remember that Sauron wanted to free him but maybe he gave that up don't remember. I read this stuff when I was 13.
 

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What to say… Tolkien was one of the best writers to ever live, why do they alter his story? It’s unexplainable.

Difficult to say what would the audience not so familiar with Tolkien think about it, but for me, who read everything he’s written on LOTR related universe, it doesn’t look good at all.

That said, visuals are absolutely phenomenal, music is also excellent
The answer is devastatingly simple — because they don’t have the rights to anything that he has written aside from LOTR & Hobbit.

There are significant Game of Thrones past the point of the written books vibes — a well-established universe combined with a nonsensical/poorly thought-out plot.
 

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I don't think anyone knows. Morgoth is out of the picture chronically and I think since they don't have the rights to the silmarilion, they wouldn't show him. They already had the chance in the 1st episode and they didn't. I'm sure we will lots of references to the servants of Morgoth and all that, but Morgoth is literally trapped in a void. I seem to remember that Sauron wanted to free him but maybe he gave that up don't remember. I read this stuff when I was 13.
After a little more research this series is all about Sauron. Morgoth is trapped in a void like you said.