Well my dear Harfoots and elf-friends, we have made it to Episode Eight, and the season finale of The Rings of Power. “Alloyed” is a bit all over the place, which is par for the course with this show. It does tie up some storylines while leaving others tantalizingly hanging, and we finally get the reveal we’ve been waiting all this time for—which one of these people is really Sauron.
Recap
The Stranger walks into the Greenwood, where he sees a figure that looks like Nori which transforms into the Dweller. The Ascetic and the Nomad appear, and the three bow to him, calling him Sauron.
In Eregion, Celebrimbor wishes they could find a way to save the elves with the one nugget of mithril. Elrond tells him that they must accept their failure and prepare to leave Middle-earth. Galadriel arrives, shocking Elrond, and asks Celebrimbor if he can save Halbrand. Galadriel and Elrond fill each other in on their respective stories, and Elrond apologizes for not trusting her, promising not to make that mistake again. She admits that she leapt from the ship because she did not feel worthy of going to Valinor, and tells him that neither of them will allow themselves to drown now—they will keep swimming. Once healed, Halbrand comes to Celebrimbor’s workshop, and advises him on combining the mithril with other ores in ways that will strengthen its power.
Eärien, along with some of the other apprentice craftspeople, is given the opportunity to sketch the dying king of Númenor and propose a design for his tomb. While she is sitting with him he wakes, mistaking her for Míriel. He tells her that Númenor must return to the old ways or be destroyed. He urges her to go up into the tower where she uncovers the palantír.
Celebrimbor tells Gil-Galad of his plan to forge a crown using the mithril nugget, using the circular form to have the power build upon itself. As he speaks, Galadriel recognizes some of the words as ones Adar spoke when telling her of Sauron’s work. Celebrimbor seems confused by her questioning of him. Gil-Galad tells them that this plan has come too late to save the elves, and orders them to prepare to leave, but Elrond convinces the High King to leave them behind to try for three months to make the plan work.
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The Keeper’s Six
In the Greenwood, the three mystics tell the Stranger that his memories will return as his power grows. They tell him he will find the stars he seeks far to the east, in Rhûn. They put him to sleep and bind him, since he cannot yet control his powers. Sadoc, Nori, Poppy, and Marigold see two of the three tying the Stranger up. As Marigold leads the captors away, the others sneak in to rescue the Stranger. When they get close, however, the Stranger transforms back into the Dweller. Sadoc is stabbed trying to help Nori escape as Marigold discovers the real Stranger lying in the woods.
The Stranger fights the three, but the Dweller overpowers him. The Harfoots attack her from the trees and bushes, throwing rocks, and Nori steals her staff. She brings it to the Stranger, who tells her he will only hurt her, but she insists that he can choose who to be, and that he is there to help. Just as the Dweller is about to kill Sadoc, Marigold, and Poppy, the Stranger uses the staff to stop her. The three realize that he is not Sauron, but “the Other, the Istar.” He destroys them, and the staff at the same time. The Harfoots celebrate, then realize that Sadoc is dying. They all sit with him to watch the sun come up.
On the ship, Míriel and Elendil discuss the price of sacrifice, and affirm their commitment to what must be done, and to each other. As they enter the Númenórean harbor, Elendil sees that there are mourning flags flying.
Galadriel confronts Halbrand. Realizing that he is Sauron, she attacks him, only to be thrown into her own mindscape. There, her brother Finrod tells her that she has nearly completed his work of bringing peace to Middle-earth. When she denies the vision she finds herself on the raft with Halbrand. He talks of how Morgoth’s death freed him, how he dreams of making up for the damage he did while serving Morgoth by uniting Middle-earth again. He offers to make her his queen, telling her that she will bind him to the light and he will bind her to power. Galdriel rejects him again and finds herself drowning in the sea. Suddenly, Elrond wakes her and she finds herself instead in the river in Eregion.
She tells Elrond and Celebrimbor that Halbrand has gone and they must never treat with him again, but provides no further details. She asks Elrond to keep his promise to trust her, and tells them that they must make three rings, not one, because one will corrupt, and two will divide, but three will keep balance. Celebrimor tells her that they need Finrod’s knife—only gold and silver from Valinor will work with the mithril.
The Harfoots prepare to travel, but Nori’s family tells her that she is part of something bigger now, and that she belongs out in the world. They urge her to take care of the Stranger, and everyone shares tearful goodbyes. Poppy and Nori remind each other of their friendship and promise to see each other again. Nori asks the Stranger which way to Rhûn, and he picks a direction.
Elrond, Galadriel, and Celebrimbor finish the three rings. Elrond looks at Galadriel with concern. The reflection of the volcano shows in Halbrand’s eye as he hikes down into Mordor.
Analysis
I owe an apology to The Rings of Power after complaining so much about Halbrand and the fact that he felt pointless as a character. I keyed into his true identity the moment he showed up in Celebrimbor’s forge, but I will admit that it never even occurred to me to consider that he might be other than what he seemed to be until that moment. It was clever of the writers to play off the trope of a returning king, a trope we all know well from The Lord of the Rings and wouldn’t question—I didn’t even like the idea, and yet I never thought to question it either. I assumed the show felt like it had to have an Aragorn figure and just shoved one in there—The Rings of Power played me, and I am here for it.
Of course we knew that someone we’d been introduced to had to turn out to be Sauron. I never for a second believed the Stranger was him (though I enjoyed the fact that the mystics got it confused this episode). I did think it might be Adar at first, but I knew that Sauron had to also be in Eregion to make the rings, that he had to be in his “fair guise” as the text put it, so Adar didn’t really explain everything. I was stumped, and I’m impressed that the show managed to craft the sort of mystery in which the clues only make sense after the reveal.
The fact that he said that he got the southland king’s seal off a dead man and that turned out to be true. The fact that Halbrand will, actually, become the ruler of the Southlands, under different names for them both. The fact that he really did have a beef with Adar—it was just a very different one than we all supposed. I also really liked how the revelation about Halbrand tied up the loose questions about Adar. I was desperately curious to know how much of what he claimed to have done to Sauron was true—he may or may not have believed he actually killed Sauron, but the story of betraying Sauron to free the orcs from their slavery is true, and that’s why Halbrand wanted to kill him.
Of course, the orcs aren’t going to end up free for long, now that Sauron is on his way to take over their new home. And of course, Adar has some pretty horrible vengeance coming his way now, I think. Sauron probably let Galadriel stay his hand partly to preserve his cover and connection to her, but I bet it was mostly so he could exact a more terrible punishment than a swift death. I wonder if he knew that the sword hilt wasn’t in the bundle—it seems like the sort of thing he should be able to sense.
The connection between Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron is very hit or miss. I’m intrigued by the question of whether Sauron was playing Galadriel from the start, or if he really had given up and was actually inspired by her to try again for power and his so-called peace on Middle-earth. The idea that Sauron’s goal was to repair the division caused by Morgoth and unite Middle-earth was seeded in other episodes, and comes to fruition here as “Saubrand” tries to convince Galadriel to join with him, to be his Queen and bind him to the light as he binds her to power, as he puts it. Galadriel was obviously not part of his original plan. But it is a very different story if he was just biding his time on that raft and in Numenor, or if Galadriel’s words really did inspire him to action as he claims. It’s a very different story if The Rings of Power is suggesting that, had Galadriel stayed on that ship and returned to Valinor, Sauron might have given up and died.
Some of these questions may be answered in future seasons, while some may remain a mystery. But the show does a great disservice to the character of Galadriel in suggesting that her future ambition and desire for power comes from Sauron’s words to her. When he suggests the kind of queen she could be he uses two bits from the speech Galadriel gives when Frodo offers her the One Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring—“Fair as the Sea and the Sun” and “Stronger than the foundations of the earth.” If the show means us to believe that Sauron planted this lust for power in her head, that’s a really poor choice, and disrespectful to the character as well. If his words are instead meant to acknowledge something that actually exists in her, then we needed to see enough character development from Galadriel to recognize that.
Saubrand tempting Galadriel with his belief in her is a more convincing and poignant move, since the show has established how she often feels disregarded and distrusted by her fellow elves. Elrond’s apology to her in the beginning of the episode helps drive this home, and it is significant that we see him doubt anew as she refuses to tell him the truth about Halbrand and how she ended up in the river. I feel as though the show could have tightened up its plot in the middle of the season and left more room to expand on Galadriel’s desires. Having driven home the idea that she is a war-weary veteran who craves peace but cannot stop fighting, the show had room to add power-hunger into her character. Faced with a king who would not listen to her and who sent her away, “into exile,” as she puts it, it would make sense if Galadriel came to believe she would make a better ruler than he. Faced with the fading of the elves, she might have been drawn to the idea of seizing a power that could save them. If the show had offered us a character who we believed might see some appeal in Sauron’s concept of peace under a tyrannical rule, the confrontation would have been more interesting and fraught, and the parallels between the two characters might have come to a better conclusion.
I did like the symbolism of making the three rings because it created a balance of power. “One will always corrupt” is a good allusion to the eventual forging of the One Ring, and although Saubrand’s temptation of Galadriel wasn’t as effective as I wished, the idea that she saw the danger of a single ring through her encounter with him is a good one. However, I really wish they had managed to make those rings look better. And why is only one ring hued silver while the other two are gold given the breakdown of the metals in the forge?
The encounter between Gandalf and the three mystics was really enjoyable, despite the wizard fight reminding us that The Rings of Power is still just using all of Jackson’s moves. I kind of want to rename the series Looking for Sauron now—Galadriel has been, we have been, Waldreg was, and now these three are. And it’s a neat idea that the newly-arrived-Gandalf might be mistaken for Sauron, since they are both of the same stock, both Maia, powerful spirits attached to the Valar. Amnesia Gandalf (or Olórin, as he was originally called in the language of Quenya) doesn’t currently remember that the Valar tasked him to take solid form and go to earth to help deal with the Sauron problem, but he recognizes the details that Sauron’s followers are telling him—the are true, all except the assumption that he is Sauron.
Despite the cheesiness, I really enjoyed the moment before he destroyed them, when the three were trying to lay titles on him and claims of who he was, and he just answered “I’m good.” I also thought that his last scene with Nori, which referenced the “when in doubt, follow your nose” advice he will later give Merry in Fellowship, was basically perfect. The show has done far too much referencing, but this one was fairly earned, and a great way of finally confirming for us that this is indeed, the Wizard who will one day be called Gandalf the Grey. They should have ended the season on that scene, in my opinion.
However, I don’t think the show benefited at all by Sadoc’s death. I don’t think the message of sacrifice was particularly effective here, although Lenny Henry still pulled at my heartstrings with his portrayal of the old Harfoot’s final moments. The scene between Míriel and Elendil was really beautifully scripted and covered the theme of trusting that hard sacrifices will be worth it, though. It would have made much more sense thematically for the Harfoots to have a different experience, and Sadoc’s survival would have been more moving than his death, just as Sam and Frodo’s rescue by the eagles was more moving than having them die on the slopes of Mount Doom.
I was very intrigued by the fact that Eärien was the last one to speak to the King, and perhaps went to look in the Palantir. So far the show has done nothing with her character and I’ve wondered why she was added, but it seems like they’re gearing her up for a more pivotal role in season two, which is exciting. Knowing that there’s more strife coming for the Numenoreans, especially with Pharazôn’s schemings, is one of the things that has me intrigued about the future of the show. And of course Isildur will eventually show up again, and Míriel has promised to return to Middle-earth.
All in all, this first season of The Rings of Power suffers from the same problems that much of today’s fantasy and genre television and film suffer from; the need for everything to be connected to everything else, the need for every story to be bigger, more intense, and more violent than the last, and the desire to pack so much into every second of every episode that the viewer rarely has time to breathe. Unless a viewer is coming to the show with an intentionally critical eye, it’s hard to catch all the flaws because so much happens in every episode that there’s no time to think about any of it—we’re already off to the next bit. It can help make such shows enjoyable, popcorn-munching binge watches, but it doesn’t leave us with much substance.
Still, there is much about The Rings of Power that I enjoyed. I will be forever grateful for baby-duckling Gandalf, and for Durin III and Durin IV and Disa and the general respect the show had for all the dwarves. I’m impressed that they won me over with Elrond, and with Theo, and that they pulled the wool over my eyes with Saubrand. Much in the way that the reveal of Halbrand’s true identity changed how I felt about everything they did with the character, there may be surprises in season two that change some of my feelings about season one. For now, I’m just going to go listen to “This Wandering Day” again.
Sylas K Barrett is still ready to watch an entire season that’s just The Adventures of Gandalf and Nori. He would also watch twelve about Durin and Disa, with plentiful Elrond cameos, please.
Decent season. Good finale. Some really strong scenes that hit the feels. Hopeful for season 2. That’s the short version of it for me.
This isn’t the Sauron we knew. It’s a different take like so much else in this show, and I think he’s being honest. Omitting certain details if anything. I think she really did find a Sauron who was gutted by Morgoth’s defeat, tried to find a greater power but failed, and had given up. Oh. But he had some plans cooking. He just left them simmering and ran out the kitchen without telling anyone. So like the Dweller gang naturally think this guy who fell from the sky with powers must be Sauron returned, for example. But in the end, it’s the guy who happened across an elf. An elf who pushed and pushed inspiring him to be the best Dark Lord he could be. It gives more weight for this version of the story with these two main characters. Almost could rename him Luck Lord. ;)
All the rings looked fine to me, except that silver one. Maybe it was the color like you said. Just felt off. Would have been cool if the bands were a mix of silver and gold, ya know? Since they’re pushing the whole best of good and evil type deal mixed together into a greater power.
Anyway, enough from me. I don’t want to ramble, much more.
I’ve enjoyed the show throughout. I liked the misdirect with the three creepy ladies naming the Stranger at the beginning. But as soon as I saw Halbrand in the workshop, I realized who he was, and while she didn’t say so, Galadriel did also. The only thing I didn’t like is that the final episode of the season was so inconclusive. It answered some questions, but left pretty much every plot thread hanging in midair. And that air is pretty grim; as reasons for hope are pretty slim at this point.
We have metaphorically left our heroes tied to the railroad tracks, and been shown the train rushing toward them, but have to wait quite a long time to see what happens next. It is going to feel like forever waiting for the next installment.
Sauron did consider repenting after Morgoth’s defeat, but his pride was too great to beg, so he didn’t. So, allowing for the time compression of this series, I thought it was a somewhat plausible version of Sauron— he actually did see himself as bringing order to Middle Earth. Morgoth was more of a pure nihilist. I enjoyed being fooled— I was still wondering if Halbrand would, out of good intentions, be tricked into taking one of the Nine and had written him off as a possible Sauron. They need some characters for future Nazgûl. In fact, they just don’t have enough plausible human and dwarf characters for all the rings that will need to be distributed.
I still think the show could be better if it stuck closer to the source. I understand not having a series stretch over 3000 years, but they seem to be compressing things far too much. The forging of the rings and Sauron’s initial appearance as a good guy who traded magical tips with elvish craftsmen was something I was looking forward to and they did it all in about half an episode and maybe a few days in the story.
They nailed the landing!
Until the Stranger revealed his true nature, I maintained my theory that Sauron had divided his power into two bodies, much as he will invest much of his power into The Ring while maintaining a separate from from it.
I think the Balrog will prove to be Sauron’s agent in Khazad-Dum. It’s apparent now that the Rings require mithril. Perhaps the Balrog won’t be unleashed in this series and will instead help the orcs mine just enough from below.
First off, Tolkien says specifically in several places that of the three elven rings, two (Narya and Vilya, with a red and blue stone respectively) were gold, while the third (Nenya) was made of mithril. Since the show changed the lore surrounding mithril they had to make Nenya out of plain silver instead (although I agree that the way they showed the dagger being melted implied a blending of the metels; they could have had a quick shot of the metels being seperated with a chisill before melting).
I’m not super happy with the Stranger being Gandalf, as he is said to have arrived by boat during the third age and met by Cirdan (who it is confiremed will appear in the second season) and given one of the Three. But nostalgia marches on, I suppose.
The actual working out how to forge the rings I actually enjoyed, so much so that I wish more than just part of an episode was dedicated to it. The show, after all, is called “Rings of Power.” I would expect at least a season of forging the rings.
The story surrounding the rings, on the other hand, is horrible. Remember that story about how when Bezos told his supposedly big Tolkien fan of a son that he was going to make a series, and the son said “Dad, don’t [explative] it up.”? Well, they [explatived] it up. After Sauron-in-disquise gained the trust of Celebrimbor (after being rejected, I might add, by Gil-Galad, Elrond, and Galadriel), they forge many lesser rings (“mere esseys in the craft” in the words of Gandalf) before forging 16 Great Rings. Than Sauron makes himself scarce and heads back home-sweet-Mordor to forge his own ring. Celebrimbor himself then forges the Three, without any influence from Saruon. The show messes up both the order of the rings creation and shows Sauron had quite a bit of influence in the forging of the Three (despite leaving right before they were actually made). Also, the theory that three were needed because “one will always corrupt” doesn’t hold water. These rings are designed expressly to preserve elvendom and goodness. There is no power in them that could corrupt someone. Unlike all the other rings, which were made partly by Sauron, and the One, made soley by Sauron, the Three have no malice in them, nor any dominating power. In fact, in the Council of Elrond, it is asked why the Three cannot be used to wage war against the One, and the idea is almost laughed at. They simply don’t have that kind of power.
Finally, a purely storytelling critique. The show appears to be so worried about maintaining the hype with it’s “mystery boxes” of Who is Sauron and Who’s the Stranger that they dropped nearly no clues for the whole season and hardly advance the plot, only for the settup and resolution of both plots to come in one episode.
That’s it, I’m done. If you’ve read this far down, I’m impressed. Have a cookie.
I actually thought that Halbrand was Sauron right at the start then changed my mind. There was never anyone else it could have been but they still managed to convince me otherwise, so well played.
I was sad to see Sadoc go and I didn’t think he needed to die, nor did we need what felt like half the episode to say goodbye to the Harfoots. I would rather have spent the time checking in with the Southlanders and the dwarfs. They really needed to do more with Eärien and we could have done with at least a hint of what she saw in the Palantir.
I didn’t see Sauron as instilling Galadriel’s desire for power but as reflecting it, hence their bond and her blindness to his true nature. I don’t think he’d given up, either, and was playing Galadriel from the beginning. Either way, she has to come to terms with her role in his rise to power. His talk of bringing peace and uniting Middle-earth is pretty standard Dark Lord/ dictator grandstanding and entirely in character. I’m pretty sure Morgoth says something similar in the Silmarillion and I’m sure Sauron even believes it on some level.
I wasn’t sure about Elrond in the beginning either – or Theo – but they both grew on me as the series progressed. Gandalf was pretty much perfect.
The series was all over the place at times but overall did a decent job and I am looking forward to the next one – I just hope they take on board some of the criticism of this season, and tighten up on the storytelling and character development.
@ecthelion of Greg
Three notes:
1) Although Sauron was not involved in the actual forging of the Three, Celebrimbor et al clearly drew on the knowledge Sauron had provided. That’s basically the sort of thing we see in Rings of Power, at least according to the description in the post, Sauron provides important knowledge but the actual forging is done without him.
2) I don’t think it’s ever specified in canon why Celebrimbor et al decided to forge three rings (rather than some other number). Galadriel’s reasoning in Rings of Power seems as good a reason as any. And while the Three don’t appear to be corrupting influences on their actual holders in LoTR (although could they have played a role in encouraging the isolationism of the Elves?) there are at least hints in “Shadow of the Past” that they would be dangerous to an ordinary mortal who somehow gained possession of one of the Three.
3) The Three were actually forged before the One in LoTR. Appendix B of LoTR says the the Three are completed around Second Age 1590 and the One is forged around Second Age 1600.
Just a thought, but we don’t actually know the Stranger is Gandalf, right? There were 5 wizards, after.all, and two went east, which is the direction where the Stranger is going.
I was so disappointed in this series. I loved the look of it –that was outstanding– and I loved the cast. But the story was just ridiculous and made poor use of what they were given, and it made little sense internally. Such a waste. I made myself stay for all of season 1 in hopes that they’d pull something off, but they didn’t and I won’t be back for season 2.
Back during the first episode of the series I noted all the water imagery Galadriel was being surrounded with and I remembered the DVD commentary track for Fellowship of the Ring during the “ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR” scene: someone (Fran Walsh or Philippa Boyens?) said that they had wanted the dark Galadriel’s element to be water instead of Sauron’s fire, and for that scene they meant for her to look “drowned”.
And now in the season finale the water imagery gets poured on even more (even her relationship with Elrond began with water!), and a direct connection is made between Galadriel being tempted by power and being drowned.
(I dunno if you could call this “subtle” exactly; but compared to repeating lines from the movies and Adar crossing out “The Southlands” and writing “MORDOR LOL” on the corner of the screen, I’ll take it!)
I really enjoyed this season, and I think they did a good job with the reveals in the finale — the clues were there all along, yet it didn’t feel too predictable. It retroactively made me appreciate the Galadriel and Halbrand plotline a lot more.
Not sure how the Halbrand is Sauron reveal is a “mystery” that reveals itself – his true identity was telegraphed a mile away by his dialogue (“appearances are deceiving”, “I’ve done evil”), by his marked interest in forging/crafting, and his ability to manipulate just about everyone around him.
” so much happens in every episode that there’s no time to think about any of it.”
There are many naysayers on other platforms that are saying the exact opposite. They think nothing happened in this show. Some of those same commenters now claim they forecast Sauron’s identity just from the posters shown before the show was even released.
What I want to know is whether or not “shape shifter” Sauron managed to reach Galadriel as a kid?
(That would seem way too GOT)
However, the ONE moment that has niggled me throughout is the advice Finrod gave his kid sister about telling the difference between reflected light and real light. He whispered something about “First you must touch the darkness.” This has never sounded in the spirit of the character or of Tolkien and felt off to me.
So now Sauron-Halbrand takes on the image of her brother and says “remember what I told you? I need you to touch the darkness one more time.”
Made my skin crawl because never liked that line in the first place.
And it is very hard for me to believe that when real Finrod says that line it’s GOOD and when Halbrand says it it is BAD since it is the exact same LINE. Weirded me out.
I understand the idea of experiencing darkness or going through trials and passages or facing darkness but that line always felt too ambiguous to me.
And now it makes me feel like perhaps Sauron-Halbrand has been playing the audience too.
Even sadder in the one moment where we see something shared between Galadriel and her brother only a glimpse, now it’s turned inside out. When she sees her brother again it’s fake…Sauron-Halbrand taking his image. We are supposed to distinguish because RoP Finrod did want to fight Sauron. But alas they both latch onto that line about first you must touch the darkness. Think it will always feel weird no matter how it’s explained.
Galadriel’s green dress was beautiful. Loved that in this episode. Though hate that Galadriel had to be played the fool so the audience could keep guessing who Sauron would be. Especially since non RoP Galadriel was never fooled. Seems sad to do this to her character.
I’m mixed about the Stranger as Gandalf but it was funny when the white witch wraith wanderers were mistaken. I know Gandalf the Grey could be forgetful. And I have recently learned about the Maiar having to readjust when they are sent back to Middle Earth in order to remember who they are…but not everyone was ready for stumbling amnesia.
The only weird thing about Halbrand being Sauron is how much the writers or casting directors went for someone who looked like a fifth cousin of Viggo Mortenson’s Aragorn. Sort of the Anti-Aragorn?
(Could this even have been done for religious philosophical reasons? Perhaps?)
The trick for me is where Frodo tells the other Hobbits that a servant of the enemy would look more fair and feel more foul (and Strider is referenced as “foul enough.”) But he does eventually clean up when not Ranging around or fighting in battles.
Still choosing an actor with some similar features to Mortenson (the eyes a little) is curious. No wonder Strider/Aragorn had a hard time… (tongue-in-cheek) “Hey Ranger wasn’t one of your cousins Sau-ron?
So, we don’t know what has happened to Isildur. Or Adar. Wild guess is that Adar, who we know is no friend of Sauron, has found him and starts to turn Isildur into viewing the geopolitical situation…differently. Those two meeting up would help to complicate things so that what we know, Isildur not casting the One Ring into Mt Doom, will be not simply an act of incredible stupidity or that the Ring had taken over Isildur’s mind in the minutes that he has possessed it ,but something more subtle since Adar’s POV is neither the elves’ nor Sauron’s.
I wish I had never watched this show. It has thrown me down a lore rabbit hole and depression. The disappointment I have for season 1 shouldn’t be this bad.
Did anyone else hate the song at the end of the episode? So tacky
I was hoping Halbrand was actually the Witch King of Angmar and we’d follow his character arc as he little by little fell under Sauron’s influence and finally became the head Ringwraith after being gifted one of the Nine Rings, which he’d accept from his desire of doing good by his people. I’m okay with him being Sauron because his whole discussion with Galadriel where he basically threw everything back at her by saying every single choice was hers and he wanted to do something else and except for lying about his identity he only told her the truth was perfectly manipulative and something Sauron would 100% do. I did like that the Stranger turned out to be young Gandalf, which is what I expected since he showed up.
If this were to be considered canon, the greater disservice to Galadriel is that her opening narration in “Fellowship” actually means that she deceived Celebrimbor and Elrond in the making of the Three by not telling them that Halbrand was Sauron.
OP: neither of them will allow themselves to drown now—they will keep swimming
Did no one else get a giggle out of this? All I could think of was Dori in Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming . . .
Thank you for a great wrap-up and critique, Sylas! I have really enjoyed your and Jeff LaSala’s posts about the show–as someone without knowledge of Tolkien’s lore, it’s been really rewarding to read your thoughts and perspectives.
@9, Anthony, I agree with you that Galadriel’s ambition and desire for power are already within her. I think her experiences with Halbrand might indeed inspire her to want to rule wisely and well, but only in the sense that the character seems poised to be a wiser and more compassionate leader than the Galadriel we met in episode 1. In this sense, the conversation between Halbrand and Galadriel about the difference between ruling vs healing the Southlands makes it clear that she is developing wisdom alongside her ambition–she sees the difference between healing and ruling, he doesn’t.
I’m of two minds about the big reveal. I was initially skeptical of the Saubrand theory, thinking it would be more fun to see Halbrand as a reluctant hero or future Ringwraith but this episode made me change my mind. I greatly enjoyed Charlie Vickers’ performance and I’m fascinated that we’re going to get to see how Sauron becomes *Sauron*…Like one of the other commenters, I loved the misdirect with the Stranger and the three cultists. I almost hope we haven’t seen the last of them, they entertained me. I’m certainly glad we haven’t seen the last of him.
I’ve had such fun watching this season and thought this episode wrapped things up very well, even if it left a lot of things open (Isildur and Berek–are they okay??) I’m excited to see where the story goes in Season 2.
Have to let my plume down a bit. I know some about Tolkien and his writings and history but nowhere near as much as others.
And have realized some people who enjoy Tolkien, know a little of his history and saw the LOTR movies but never read the books…have really enjoyed this show.
Though the good thing is a friend told me she wanted to read Tolkien. (LOTR) So that’s great.
I also think with those like Stephen Colbert, who can rattle off the whole first age, it can be a bit intimidating for a more casual Tolkien fan. All the names and places and hard to pronounce names even within LOTR make it challenging for those slight new comers who might enjoy it.
It is hard for people to keep up. And it probably can seem overwhelming.
Had to push pause even on my small lore button until it was needed. (Laugh) I think it’s all those details.
Though I could provide some information on the the three rings. And definitely had to clear up the rumors of Isildur’s demise. “But remember his father said…”
“If that is true then Aragorn will not be born. But remember his (Isildur’s)horse went looking for him?”
“OHhhh!”
But back to what people not as deeply invested in Tolkien back histories have enjoyed and loved:
The last episode was “so good!” And Halbrand’s reveal was a Big Surprise for those who weren’t invested in looking at a smithing connection with Sauron.
My friend appreciated the play of the fair or good looking one being Sauron but still was quite surprised. And a little sad. Oh no it’s him! (I Liked him!) Yet loved the twist. “Omg!”
And the mental battle between Hal-Sauron and Galadriel…
And loved the spiritual symbolism of Galadriel’s brother’s knife being used as (a sacrifice) to make the three rings.
My friend really enjoyed Nori and friends and laughed as did I when the three white wanderers mistook The Stranger for Sauron.
In fact, my friend told me after seeing the finale… it was so much more interesting than the other shows she had been watching the rest of week and some other series’. And she wanted to see the last episode again. Really excited.
However, the show runners probably needed to make more of a nod to Earendil. With all of the plots Gil-Galad seems like Elrond’s Dad…😏
(but alas Earendil is a mouthful!)
It’s the statue with the jewel on his head! That was/is Elrond’s Dad!! Maybe can say that next Time!!
As for the smithing connection. I think that somehow the idea of Sauron making a magic ring (as mentioned in LOTR movies) for some of the audience not as deep into Tolkien sort of skims under the radar.
Maybe how Sauron made the One Ring takes back seat to the fact that it was made? Dark magic is involved and that is all that registers. Really do not know. (Without seeing Sauron hammering it in the prologue of LOTR?Or holding it in fire tongs?) Or maybe even with the idea of dark magic smithing, a human blacksmith still doesn’t set off alarms.
Because remember not everyone knows about Annatar (fair of form) or Sauron being in Numenor.
So the idea of a nice looking blacksmith in town seems to be just that. And with the lost King of the Southlands theme, that added an intrigue (for those who didn’t know the history.) So the Hal-Sauron reveal was both a shock and exciting.
And yes my friend understood afterwards the writers made up the tension (Hal-Sauron/Galadriel) for the audience to keep guessing who Sauron was. But my friend really enjoyed the show. Especially the finale. Of course I have my other opinions (as seen above)
;-)
But always knew I would need to approach this show differently as a spin-off or Middle Earth multi-verse as something that could exist in its own right.
Yes, I know various details from Tolkien, but sometimes alas it is too much! *chuckle*
When my friend asked if Nori and friends were in Tolkien’s books…told her Harfoots were real but Nori and friends were invented. Friend felt they fit and I didn’t disagree. What was cool however was my friend remembered that Gollum was from the River folk, when I explained the Harfoots were one of three branches of Hobbits.
Nori obviously has some Took in her! She was a bit fool hardy to mis-direct the creepy but apparently slow witted wanderers in white!!
The more I think about this show and all who have watched it and enjoyed it…from casual fans, to people becoming more interested in Tolkien who might have seen biographies of him and LOTR movies (and those who have a passionate investment and love of Tolkien’s original works and writings) People who all have varying opinions…
I Suppose I should aim to be more like Samwise Gamgee. (And continue to choose kindness. :-)
I have been enjoying the series, and I especially liked the season finale. One thing I’ve noticed in the commentaries I’ve seen is that fans and Tolkien scholars are comparing the series so closely, detail by minute detail, to canon that they’re missing other influences on the writers, which are many. Here are just a few that caught my attention:
The underwater long-shot from below Galadriel in Episode 2, showing her legs kicking in the water–telling us there’s Something Down There watching her, and we’re seeing her from its POV–is straight out of Jaws.
The Stranger’s crash landing and subsequent state of mind reminded me, throughout the series, of the 1984 John Carpenter movie, Starman, as did a lot of the following interactions between The Stranger and Nori. (The eponymous “starman” is “shot down” and crash-lands, and is forced to improvise and enlist the aid of a scared but sympathetic “native” in order to get to his intended landing spot far away. The parallels between this movie’s plot and The Stranger’s story arc are quite extensive).
The overall clue this gave me, however, is that The Stranger somehow was “shot down” or interfered with as he descended to his intended destination, which is why he was so traumatized. All his mind could hang onto was the place he was supposed to land. This early hint is reinforced when the Dwellers say in episode 8 that a “veil” has been placed upon The Stranger’s mind “by the ones who cast you down.” They’re referring to Sauron’s previous defeat, but I think there’s a dual meaning here suggesting that Something tried to stop the Istar from getting to Middle Earth. Whatever it was certainly stopped him from getting to Rhûn.
Sauron is also a Maia, and he was on a ship at that exact moment, which is also the exact moment that Galadriel rejects Valinor and throws herself overboard. Now that we know Halbrand is Sauron, his appearance in time to “rescue” her seems like anything but a fortunate chance. Did Sauron’s attempt to “cast down” the descending Istar wreck the ship he was on? And did the repercussions of this misfired use of power somehow impel the ambivalent Galadriel to jump ship and return to Middle Earth, certain, without knowing why, that her work was not yet done?
In Episode 7, Durin III quotes the Bible–Song of Solomon 6:4, “terrible as an army with banners.” The phrase has also been used in a 1975 rock song and in the book and film The Name of the Rose, so people know it. I thought it was a bit odd for a Dwarf-lord to quote the Old Testament in describing his son!
Dr. Corey Olsen, in the Rings and Realms videocasts, does a line-by-line analysis of Poppy’s song in Episode 5 but never seems to realize that the song itself is a classic “exile’s lament.” Later we hear several other Harfoot songs which are also in the style of classic folk songs, but are not particularly Tolkienesque or found anywhere in the books. They’re entirely original to ROP and are meant to round out the picture of the Harfoots as characters and as a culture. The lyrics of Poppy’s song may contain clues and hints about the Harfoots’ origins and how they became a rootless, wandering people, but I don’t think they have deep connections to canon.
I absolutely agree with all the posts discussing Saubrand’s manipulation – nothing he says is untruth, but it is stripped of context and reinterpreted in a way that obscures its meaning. That’s a great characterization for Sauron the Corrupter, as well as an excellent meta-trait for a villain created by a professional linguist. Just, in all, the attention paid to language and names (if not always accents – hello Cockney elves!) has been quite wonderful.
Also, did anyone else get Nazgul vibes from the scene of the Stranger banishing the three Mystics? Three of the Nine being from Rhun could work…
My view at the end of the season still sits roughly where it did early on. The show is good (not great) and I continue to enjoy it. It isn’t as good as Jackson’s LotR adaptation, let alone the source material. But it isn’t as bad as House of the Dragon or the Wheel of Time adaptation. It isn’t atrocious like Jackson’s attempt at The Hobbit.
One of my biggest gripes (other than it essentially being Jackson LotR fanfiction) is the willingness to indulge in the tired Hollywood trope of making everything bad that the heroes have to deal with also the heroes fault. (Really, there are a lot of tired Hollywood tropes present here.)
@19. Sun Hobbit: I’m not going to lie, the fact that somebody else left this episode with a passionate admiration of that green dress (not to mention she who wears it) is quite a relief (I actually gave it an “Oh my!”).
One can only agree that this season has been a feast for the eyes and a delightful introduction to some new friends- or, in some cases, reintroduction – and an absolute shower of memorable cads.
I’m especially pleased that the central mystery of Sauron’s current disguise was so fair play: the moment Halbrand eyed Numenorean smithy with a certain light in his eye made me wonder, his brilliant flip from “confrontation” to “New Friends!” to “I’m done with you” made me suspect … but I was still unsure of my guess when the last episode rolled around, which suggests some excellent work on the part of this production.
I’m not going to lie, my reaction to The Stranger’s Big Reveal was to bellow “Starry, yer a wizard!” in my very best Hagrid (Mr Robbie Coltrane RIP) and when the wizard actually said the line … we’ll, if I were a Muppet, I’d have flung my arms out like Kermit himself (alas, I have bones where be has felt).
Honestly, having followed the show’s somewhat rambling trail all the way to the finale, I’m absolutely delighted the destination was worth the journey and looking forward to seeing where we go next (With Sauron & Adar on the make, with Bronwyn & Theo & Arondir right in the firing line, one suspects that nascent Mordor is about to get Interesting …).
I still think that the Stranger is one of the Blue Wizards. Outside of time compression and VERY narrow readings of Tolkien, nothing has actually contradicted Tolkien, who was famously vague about exact events outside of the Hobbit and LotR.
Contra the claim that the events of the finale contradicted the narration at the opening of the movie, all of the elves were deceived at the outset, but at this point Elrond and Galadriel know who Halbrand wasn’t…and Elrond at least will tell Gil-Galad, even if he accepts the need not to trouble Celebrimbor.
As for insufficient handsomeness for Halbrand, that’s just misreading Tolkien to conflate fair = “of kindly or noble intent” and fair = “I’d hit that”. Tolkien meant the former and failing to see the latter doesn’t indicate a failing on the showrunners part. It indicates a failing, but not on theirs.
New characters never mentioned being a problem unless they recokon as major players later misses that there were FAR more than about 100 people in Beleriand in the First Age, 30 in Numenor, and maybe 20 of note throughout Eriador in the Second Age. Tolkien was writing a great history, the showrunners are telling a story. All the new, unmentioned characters are a reckoning with telling an actual story set in a period where there is almost nothing beyond the “Tale of Years”.
And Galadriel and Miriel and Bronwyn and Disa (and still more to come) existing addresses the woeful misogyny of a early 20th Century English academic. Kudos to Tolkien that he even HAD Galadriel and Eowyn IN the LotR, but let’s be honest, Galadriel was there for “wise counsel” post Gandalf and to provide an impetus for Frodo running off, and Eowyn existed (almost certainly) for the “I am no man” line. How quickly she decides to set aside her up to then sole motivation in order to settle down with Faramir kinda tells THAT tale.
Don’t get me wrong. I like his work. I appreciate what he did.. I *really* appreciate his general choice of Hope over Despair after decades of Martin. But I don’t worship the man, nor think he did everything perfectly. His stories can be, and sometimes ARE, improved by subsequent interpretation.
If watching this gives you depression or despair, you seriously need to revisit your relationship with the source material.
@32 and 19: Galadriel’s green dress was beautiful.
I’ve been waiting for the poster named costumer to join us, but they seem to be absent, or too overwhelmed to comment. So I’ll just throw my 2¢ in: This green dress, while gorgeous in and of itself was obviously constructed from modern fabrics, and in a show that in other ways has chosen to limit their materials (not just clothing fabrics, but metals, stone, gems, etc.) to those that seem so fitting for an ancient, but advanced, civilization, all these stretchy velvets have had me losing respect for their costume designer. Sorry.
Moderator, here with a reminder: Please do not comment on other people’s statements about their own mental or emotional health, especially in a way that is rude or dismissive.
a) I thought he was Sauron when he showed up as an assistant to Celebrimbor but I squeed all over the place when he said “it’s a gift—but they don’t have the rights so I cannot go by Annatar”
b) I agree with 12 above. We are pretty sure the late mystics were right that he is istar but there were five of them. Since he is fixated on heading to Rhun I think this lends weight to the Blue Wizard theory
I’m still watching, but this did all feel rushed. “But they were all of them deceived…” for about ten minutes, after which they decided to go ahead anyway and use the advice given by their archenemy. And Middle Earth-2 or not, I don’t love that Galadriel was the most and longest deceived, while Celebrimbor barely met the bringer of gifts that let him forge the Rings. Or that the Three are the first Rings to be made, rather than the last.
Especially since however pressed they felt to make those to save their existence in Middle Earth, now they’re going to make sixteen more rings with what they know is Sauron’s special recipe? When the One is forged, the Elves are going to look a lot less like victims and more like willing dupes.
Numenor is at least getting some time to simmer, though we’ll see how long it takes for Pharazon to make his play. I expect Miriel’s blindness to be a big help to him. In some historical monarchies (e.g., the Byzantine Empire) that was an absolute disqualification, and even if it isn’t he can obviously use it against her. (Possibly in a backhanded offer of “help”.)
Though now that we’re through the season, I have to wonder: Numenor is an active seafaring kingdom. But it’s kind of unclear where they’re faring, or what for. They maintain a disciplined Sea Guard. Guarding against what? (Valinor? Good luck with that.)
They have a large, active harbor, yet going to Middle Earth was a major political deal, even when sending only five, make that three ships. Pelargir exists for the Southlands refugees to settle, but it sounds like it’s abandoned.
Book Numenor was intimately involved with Middle Earth for millennia as they gradually shifted from exploration to foreign aid to increasingly heavy-handed imperialism and plunder. They don’t seem to be doing that here. (Yet.) What is RoP Numenor using its ships for?
Possibly related: what was the deal with the ship “Halbrand” was on, and who were his erstwhile shipmates? Or was that all an illusion? I hope we get some background as to how he wound up in the middle of the sundering sea right next to Galadriel.
Granted “chance, if chance you call it” is common enough in Tolkien. But given that here it seems to be the but-for cause of Galadriel unwittingly aiding Sauron’s return to power, I wouldn’t expect it’s the result of the same sort of providence.
Halbrand is Sauron and Meteor Man is an Istari? This is my shocked face.
But I did enjoy this episode.
The dialogue continues to be a sticking point for me on this show. Do what you will to the lore etc, but why does every conversation have to be comprised of a series of escalating platitudes? (“I feel no hope…” “But what is hope?” “Hope is when the darkness is touched by light.” “But what about when the light touches–” etc etc ad nauseum). The Stranger’s penultimate line is literally “Alone, it’s just a journey. Now adventures, they must be shared.” What does that mean? There is nothing in the definitions of adventures or journeys that would imply that they have anything to do with the number of people on them. And Nori has just expressed concern about adventuring, so it’s not even like she set up this line. If anything, he should be downplaying the chance of this being an adventure to comfort her. But still, I suppose it beats “I’m Good.” for a dramatic statement. And at least it’s not an eye-roll inducing line cribbed from the Lord of the Rings (follow your nose indeed) so that’s…something.
Alas, this is where I jump off the show. I’ve really enjoyed Tor’s coverage, but there is genuinely something jarring about hearing the dialogue, and I think that is an expression of deeper flaws with Rings of Power. It’s like an AI was fed a bunch of Tolkien dialogue and spit-out lines that SOUND high-fantasy and epic, but do not actually contain any discernable meaning, nor hit the ear quite like something a person might say. The whole show is a bit like that: it sure looks neat, but I can’t help but feel that this world they’ve created is terribly shallow. Certainly not “one of the stories that meant something. That stayed with you.”
@38 – The elves didn’t have much choice – it was either make the rings or leave. Even knowing the smithing advice was Sauron’s, if they chose not to forge the rings, they would be handing him all of Middle Earth unopposed.
@12 – He is the other “THE Istar” (emphasis mine) . Only one of the wizards has shown up. He has an affinity for fire and a fascination with hobbits. There is no question that he is the wizard who will become known as Gandalf.
The Silmarillion indicates that Galadriel wished Gandalf would be head of the Council. This suggests that she knew him at one point.
@22 – It sounded terrible.
My quibble is with the original name of The Southlands – apparently there is nothing south of Mordor, else why would the inhabitants refer to themselves that way?
I still don’t know how I feel about it (I was out of town for the weekend so we only watched it today) but I am definitely feeling a bit meh on it, from both a storytelling and a lore perspective. The music has been great, so there is that.
So far, the Harfoots have maybe been the most consistently solid aspect of the show (although I do find some of their ideals at odds with the idea that that they are completely willing to leave those who can’t keep up behind) and I’ve enjoyed that aspect. I had a feeling the Stranger was never Sauron – it seemed like a misdirect and it was easy to assume he had been mistaken for another Maiar. For awhile I was wondering if he was Radagast given the Greenwood setting, but then I was thinking Blue Wizards. However the ‘follow your nose’ thing does seem pretty clearly an indication it’s Gandalf (or at least that they want us to think so). I am still really intrigued as to what the 3 were – proto Nazgul of some type? Sorcerers from the East?
The Numenor plot is picking up some steam – Pharazon starting to talk about immortality I think might be a seed being planted. And now that we know they are coming back, I think there is room for them to take Sauron with them (either in his Halbrand disguse or just as a “repentant” Sauron).
As for all the rest of it with the Elves I agree with others who feel it’s a bit muddied. First of all, Gil-galad doesn’t seem to ever really RULE at all. He just doesn’t strike me as a wise or just king. In the books he never trusts Sauron/Annatar but here he just gives up and leaves.
I had suspected (or at least considered the possibility) since the beginning that Halbrand was Sauron but the second he said it was a “gift” I felt like that was a confirmation. I did really like how carefully he made his suggestions, letting Celebrimbor thinking it was all his idea. But I’m definitely still a bit unclear on what he needed from them vs how he influenced them – were there any Rings he DID help with? Do his other rings not contain the mithril and he just got some of the underlying magic philosophy from them?
As for the big reveal/Galadriel there were parts I liked and parts I did not. It actually reminded me a little of the Wheel of Time finale. First, I will say I don’t really love the idea that Galadriel has this key role in Sauron’s rise – as somebody pointed out it’s part of a trope I find overused, and I’m not sure what the lesson is supposed to be. Don’t show mercy? Don’t trust people? Or maybe don’t try and use people for your own purposes without actually researching their history first, lol.
What I DID find pretty interesting – and I don’t know if the showrunner even knew or cared about this – is the concept of a potentially repentant Sauron, or a Sauron who thinks he is working for the greater good. In some of the HOME writings/essays, Tolkien writes about Sauron as considering it but being too prideful, but also talking about how HIS desire (somewhat like Aule in a twisted way) is to impose order (not just annihilation, like Morgoth) and the way he thinks is best. So in a way, this actually tracks with how Sauron could be, and how he could convince others. While I don’t love the whole thing of Sauron directly putting words in Galadriel’s mouth (felt like an on the nose reference) or implying he put that notion there, I think it could definitely fit with some interpretations of Galadriel’s character that Sauron is aware of – that she has sought her own realm to rule. And honestly, I wish they had gone more with that idea/developed that more than just with the ‘the Elves are all sneaky and double faced politicians’ aspect the show has been going with.
And speaking of THAT I was really disappointed with the decision for her to just…not tell anybody, oh, hey, guess who’s back, back again? And also how they ask no questions and are like, well, let’s keep going with these magic rings he was really invested in us making! I liked the original way better where Sauron finally puts that One Ring on and Celebrimbor detects his designs and is able to keep the Three unsullied. Maybe we’ll still get that dramatic moment and they will also realize Galadriel omitted important info from them, but I dislike the emphasis (among the Elves) on hidden secrets/drama.
I DO like the concept of Galadriel giving up her dagger to make the Rings, which in a way is her giving up one way of fighting to help create something that helps fight in another way (as the Rings help with preserving/caring for Elven realms). To me it is a little in line with Eowyn recognizing the time has come to put aside songs of slaying for healing.
And while I did (and do) really have misgivings about the whole ‘to know the light you must touch darkness’ philosophy (which is very wrong for both Tolkien as well as the moral theology Tolkien is drawing from, as Goodness/Light/Beauty are knowable in and of themselves) the idea that it was twisted into “return to the Darkness” is definitely chilling. Whatever that initial statement was intended to mean (a more charitable interpretation would just be that once you have touched darkness you can recognize it for what it is), it was NOT intended to be something you seek out/return to the well.
The end credits song reminded me quite a bit of the TTT song. I liked it, but it seemed premature as I don’t get the impression he’s forged any of the other Rings yet. Maybe it would have been a good reveal to show Sauron crossing into Mordor with a little pouch containing some other Rings (not the One, obviously, but the Nine and Seven).
@40 – I hear you on the dialogue in that some of the platitudes are just that…they aren’t pithy nor do they really give any practical guidance/advice.
I get that ‘hope’, as a virtue, CAN be a little nebulous and also prone to cliche phrases (some better than others) and sometimes seemingly illogical, but when Elrond/Celebrimbor were having their little conversation about meager hope, I yelled out “But Rebellions are built on hope!”. Wrong show ;)
@41 Directional geography is always relative to whoever made up the name. More than half the planet is south of what Americans call the South, or even the Deep South. Modern travelers across the Pacific reach the West by flying east.
To the Elves in RoP, who these days live in Lindon, the Southlands are probably as far south as their attention runs and almost certainly as far south as their administration did. (Prior to the explosive end of their occupation.)
It’s really hard for me to tell what has been a deliberate choice by the writers and what is the product of sloppy writing. If you take Disa as an example, I hardly noticed her mini rant about their future rule because I unconsciously wrote it off as more script that should have been edited. Looking back on it, is it supposed to imply that Disa is suddenly going gold-crazy? Is it supposed to imply that she’s been power hungry all along? No one knows because we didn’t spend enough time with the dwarves.
I initially interpreted Galadriel referencing Elrond’s promise to trust her as a reference to Sauron, implying that Halbrand is at the very least, an agent of Sauron. I thought Elrond caught the reference and they did the sort of friend-telepathy thing where you agree to talk about it amongst yourselves before sharing the specific information with Celebrimbor. But then no, Elrond is clearly shocked that Halbrand isn’t the long lost king of the Southlands. I really don’t like that it’s implied that Galadriel hid Sauron’s identity from Elrond and Celebrimbor. I can accept her being initially fooled by him (although I didn’t love that) since she was the first to figure it out. It doesn’t fit with her characterization in the show itself for her to not share information. Part of her initial failures when dealing with GilGalad and Miriel seem to be speaking her mind immediately instead of taking the time to frame her information/opinion in a way that’s palatable to them.
As Sylas said, the script badly needed an editor. Personally I think giving the show two more episodes to flesh out some of the characters and their problems more would have helped, but only if the writers used that time wisely
I didn’t actually see Disa’s speech as sinister. (Of course I could be wrong.) I read it as an expression of loyalty and solidarity, and a reminder to Durin that while his father may be in charge now and has the upper hand in their disagreement, time is ultimately on their side. I don’t get any sense that she has any Lady Macbeth notions of hurrying things along, just that there’s steel beneath her warm exterior when it comes to their future.
Which I suppose doesn’t mean the rings can’t exploit that once they’re on the scene. Especially with seven Dwarf rings to account for, and the likelihood that the showrunners won’t want Galadriel to be the only woman with a Ring.
Everyone should remember that Toklien had access not to the scrolls contained in the Halls of Mandos, but merely to the so-called “Red Book of Westmarch”—imagine the Bible, but before the post-exilic editors had mashed things into one consistent linear text.
Did Gandalf first appear in the Third Age, after the year 1000? Did Gandalf give Galadriel the Elessar that Arwen later gave to Aragorn, and give it to her before she first wore an elven-ring, i.e., in the Second Age? Did Celebrimbor make a Second Elessar—because the first had been lost—out of love, unrequited, for Galadriel? Was Galadriel always one of the mightiest of the Noldor, near akin in power to Fëanor but in a different key? Was she merely one elven sorceress among many, but remaining past her time because of the Ban of the Valar, with her powers boosted by the ring? Did Gandalf appear in Middle Earth in the First Age, as one of the six Maiar who guided the elves on their first journey to the west?
All of these, and more, can be found somewhere in the scrolls…
I mean, Halbrand is the only person it ever could have been other than a total fake-out: he’s the only handsome man that has no pre-existing ties to anyone else in the series, and we already know Sauron has ‘put on a fair face’ (The Stranger is intriguing but he’s certainly not good-looking, so he was out early – the only real question was ‘is he Gandalf or Saruman?’).
I don’t have a problem with her not seeing it – one of Sauron’s main abilities in this time is to worm his way into the confidences of otherwise wise and perceptive people.
My main complaint is that we’ve seen Halbrand away from other people and he’s behaved pretty consistently, other than perhaps the vicious counterattack on the guys in the alley.
@47 check out LeGuin’s entertaining fanfic from the 70’s “The Jewel of Arwen” which speculates that some of the gems we see floating around, including that one, are among the “Seven Stars” mentioned in the rhyme of lore that Gandalf recites in reference to the palantiri.
Full disclosure Gandalf still has to explain what he meant by seven stones when they brought at least 8 stones out of Numenor (and why during packing for an emergency evacuation Isildur would take a gigantic rock with him that he could then bury at Erech).
@49 I hadn’t realized/remembered that the Stone of Erech was from Numenor. I now have the image of Isildur sadly telling the last panicking Faithful trying to board that there’s no more room on the ship for them, because he just has to bring his six-foot rock.
I agree with others who have speculated that the Stranger isn’t Gandalf, but instead is one of the other Wizards who came to Middle Earth. The Blue Wizards are specifically mentioned in a lot of Tolkien’s work as having headed “to the East”. In addition, if my memory of book lore is correct, Gandalf was the last of the Istari to arrive – not the first. Obviously, the series doesn’t have access to all this material, but I certainly don’t see any reason at this point to declare that the Stranger definitely is Gandalf. I can see this as a running theme throughout the series as new “strangers” arrive and a plot point is to figure out who they are.
I enjoyed the “Saurbrand” twist, but like others knew where things were heading immediately when he began to get involved in the forging of the rings.
Overall, the show held my interest for the season and, while it took some strange and sometimes unnecessary paths to get there, ultimately held itself close enough to the spirit of Tolkien’s work that I was willing to go with it. I’m looking forward to Season 2.
One of my issues is that the whole “Who’s Sauron?” question is that it’s very much a in the mind of the viewer and the marketing/fandom surrounding the show and not so much a part of the narrative. That is, Galadriel was off searching the world for Sauron to put an end to him, but it’s not like she’s Hercule Poirot trying to suss out who among the party-goers is the killer.
The scale of the show seems out of kilter. The scenery and cities are rendered beautifully, and we see plenty of people in Numenor and dwarves in Khazad-Dum, but it only seems like there are about 20 elves shown at the start of the season and half of them leave for Valinor. We also have the oft-mentioned struggle of the village where a tiny battle is capped off with the explosion of a supervolcano triggered by some guy turning a sword-key in a lock. I just don’t see how power levels abruptly scale up from “can mildly inconvenience other people” to “can nuke the site from orbit.”
While I feel the final episode was a tad too rushed (I wish we’d spent time building up Celebrimbor and Halbrand’s blacksmith-ship and eventual Sauron reveal), I really enjoyed this first season! I also owe the show an apology for being so worried about it for months. I loved the Numenor, Southlands, and Dwarven storylines! Elrond and Durin stole my heart the entire show. Arondir, Bromwyn and Theo are so great! Excited to see how our Queen copes on her return to Numenor. Where is our Isildur?! What will Adar do now?! I am very excited for what happens next, but so sad we’re going to have to wait 1.5-2 years for season two.
Given that Amazon bought the rights to a chronicle/outline and not the more fully developed stories it’s understandable that they exercised their, uh, freedom of choice in developing the show. From the point of view of the series as a story without considering the canon, I think it’s fair to middling. The sets and locations are great. The acting is variable. The story isn’t as well developed as I hoped. In particular I’m not pleased with Galadriel and most of the other elven principals, although that seems to be the result a directorial/show runner decision. They are a bit too human. For me elves are supposed to be non-humans. They should have a clearly different mind set.
I enjoyed the Harfoots although I think things got a bit too cutesy now and then.
Why do dwarfs always have a Scottish accent? Has this become a full fledged trope?
I’ll watch the next season. COVID has made me a semi-shutin.
Wait, are we sure that the Stranger is Gandalf? I don’t think that’s certain at this point.
The mystics describe him as “Istar”, but there were five Istari — Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast, plus two others (yes, they have names, but I haven’t read any of the endless Tolkien apocrypha in which they’re named, so I’m not going to pretend to know all about them just because I just Googled them).
Yes, he has a sort of Gandalf-y vibe about him, but I wouldn’t put it past the showrunners to be playing with us.
Unless it’s been raining wizards for weeks and no one thought to mention it, he could be Saruman, the first of the Istari to arrive in Middle Earth. Given his affinity for living things and his simple, gentle nature, he could be Radagast. Given that he’s headed for Rhûn, the Eastlands, he could be one of the two Blue wizards who “went into the East”. Or given that the Istari were supposed to arrive in the year 1000 of the Third Age, and “The Rings of Power” is set in the Second Age, he might be none of them.
Or did I miss something that signals that he’s definitely Gandalf?
@57 The 2 big indicators are his connection to the pre-Shire Hobbits and the whispering to the firefly.
I also took the ‘always follow your nose’ at the end to be a big tell. Now, it may be an intentional misdirect, but it’s definitely intended to be a Gandalf reference.
I would also prefer that he is a Blue Wizard, but alas.
I think calling Tolkien a Misogynist is a bit harsh. Rather I’d say he had the common sexism of the time about gender roles. We do know Eowyn was included at the request of his daughter. The “Seven Stones” story was a chapbook by Marion Zimmer Bradley, not Ursula LeGuin.
As I’ve said before, this isn’t just the writers filling in the blanks from LOTR and the appendices. They flagrantly ignore material plainly stated in there and changed it for their own whims. As a faithful story of the Second Age, it fails miserably. As an original fantasy production in its own right, it still has problems. There’s lots of bad dialogue, and some very iffy acting at times, though in fairness, there’s some great performances too. I think their main problem is structure in storytelling. It veers all over the place following too many threads. Just as you get caught up in one story line, it switches to another. I think a better idea would have made an Elf the main POV character. That way you have a main character you can follow through the entire timeline of the Second Age. We could see Numenor coming back in the Second Age as teachers, then gradually becoming imperial despots. We could see the establishment of Celebrimbor’s realm and the friendship with Moria growing. I like the idea we don’t see Numenor itself until it’s last days, when Ar Pharazon usurps the sceptre. The important thing is to simplify the number of story lines to follow.
@60 sometimes I hear about JRR Tolkien being a man of his times, but he is Also a man of his individual experiences. And that’s what I keep in mind.
Thankfully, Tolkien received both Love and Stories of The North from his Mother for a short time before as he might have said she was called to the Halls of Mandos?
Tolkien’s Mother converted to Catholicism and this surely left an impression with the now young orphan who loved his Mother. Then, a Catholic Priest took Tolkien in and became a Father figure to him.
So much so, that even with the passion he had for Edith his inspirational Luthien, the young Tolkien stuck to his “adoptive Father’s” urging to wait (in which time Edith became engaged to someone else.) But as we know, she broke that engagement off for Tolkien when he presented himself again to his Elf queen.
And then Oxford would also shape Tolkien’s environs and thoughts (Oxford of the time.)
Yet, it also opened worlds to him through the doors of language.
I’m not sure of all of Tolkien’s travels. And if he had traveled more later, who knows what other tales he might have written? But others know this better than I.
It is my own humble opinion, that Tolkien was tapping into something greater with the inspiration of his writings beyond his experiences alone (though those also certainly helped to shape his tales: from a tree loving professor to his own oxford buddies and CS Lewis, time as a soldier and of course the almost out of reach Edith for whom he fell deeply in love at 15 or 16 years of age. Edith who danced in the forest for him.)
Tolkien had an Art of story telling, which reminds me of the great artists and musicians, who tap into that something else. (Whatever one wishes to call that Muses, God-inspired, Higher Power…Energy? I do not know…small laugh.)
I still really like Jeff La Sala’s metaphor of The River Anduin. The worlds Tolkien created.
But, if all of that seems too metaphysical then subconscious could work as well. Shrug. And then it again that’s just me. To each his/her/their own. :-)
I know whenever books or stories are written or shows put out…there is talk of target audiences and sub plots and believability, relevance, character arcs and so forth.
But I do not believe Tolkien was writing his books as an assignment to be graded. Tolkien emphasized that his works were not allegory but also recognized they could resonate (my word) in any time.
I can certainly believe this! Though I’m a little less sure that only 5% of the world knew about Tolkien until now or even after Peter Jackson adaptations. Guess it depends upon the generation.
I could almost imagine Tolkien describing himself as a Co-creator of the inspiration. Or a Sub-creator.
In some places Tolkien has written about the inspiration coming through him…or that the story was written through him…and at other places Tolkien mentions ideas came to him already whole. And he felt he was just recording them.
I’m certainly not diminishing all the intellectual work and studies he did or the creation of those languages…yes he had to shape things…and had ideas…and details! Whew! and I didn’t know about his daughter being the one who brought Eowyn into the story. That’s awesome!
It also occurs to me when there is this other type of inspiration of Art it may not arrive in a logical manner that fits expectations of writing goals. Maybe because it’s also Right brain…and something more?
Or because it’s like that River. You really have to Dam a River to keep it still or make it fit here and fit there. And if you keep trying to fill it in with more things you might have an overflow on your hands.
Think Tolkien knew this and that’s why to the frustration of some he didn’t trail after every sub sub plot possible. If the painting becomes too busy the picture cannot be seen clearly…that would be my guess about his approach. And as for the background people I think he intended the Hobbits as a larger metaphor. He wasn’t attempting to write a series about what happens to everyone everywhere on each weekday. He was writing a different tale. It was myth and legend and an impossible imagined History and adventure! And in that adventure he still brought in Sam and Eowyn thanks to his daughter…and many other characters including the Lady of the Golden Wood. And Gandalf who arrived precisely when he meant to arrive!
To me yes it’s not perfect but it’s a beautiful balance.
And a beautiful place to dream in the mind.And of course not everyone knows about Andreth.;-) But That’s another story.
I guess when I read the books and saw the LOTR movies, it never occurred to me to wonder where or how they fit. Or worry about not enough character arcs. Or what expectations they were failing to meet according to writing or show standards. Oh they could certainly resonate but that felt different to me at least.
It was the experience and poetry. The dreaming. Okay so not everyone comes to Tolkien the same way. And not everyone digs the same poetry or poetry at all! Or description! And it’s hard for some to keep up with characters, names and history.
I suppose though, that was what had me concerned about The Rings of Power. There was so much emphasis on the intellectual decisions or intellectual creativity and puzzle solving/riddling/this is why characters became their older selves, that I felt perhaps the other side (creative inspiration of Spirit might be overlooked at times or sometimes left in the dust for the Intellectual inspiration of mind.) It seems one would need both…or at least a little Right Brain intuition
I know the writers did have their hearts in this.
And they threw Easter eggs here and there for Tolkien people. But at some point, I had hoped they would also pause and Allow the River to flow without checking or adjusting every course of its current. The River knows where it’s going or at least so I might imagine. Not just cool or adaptive decisions or let’s show why…but a little quiet intuition as well. Allow the story to take its course. So one can feel the story without constantly feeling the writers/adapters behind it. And all their reasoning.
I know they were looking to open this to a new audience and were eager to please, but sometimes pleasing puts you in a corner when there are different expectations all around. It’s certainly not easy.
That’s why I think (in spite of a few minor quibbles with Peter Jackson’s adaptations) those worked so well.
Jackson wanted to make a movie he would enjoy. And that’s a risk too cause not everyone is going to like it. But he wanted to make a fantasy (not necessarily LOTR) but then wondered why hadn’t anyone made a live action version of LOTR. And the question became an answer.
Of course everyone had different opinions about those films. And as said before they just led me back to the books…but there was enough continuity for me to fill in the missing parts and changed lines and characters when I watched the films again. And I could feel that immersive ness.
So yes, I realize that others feel that with RoP. It will not be everyone, but certainly a few. My friend watched the finale almost 5 times! Loved it! It’s Middle Earth? Who wouldn’t want to visit however they can? As long as the ticket doesn’t say “it’s a gift.” Sorry couldn’t resist! 😂
Go into Goodness All!
moderator I think this is almost a copy of another. So am trying to keep myself apprised of that lest two go up. This is shorter I think laugh. Yay.
@60 I often hear about Tolkien being a man of his times. But I also think of Tolkien being a man of his experiences.
Tolkien was blessed for a few years to have a loving Mother, who told him (and his brother) stories of the North…the old sagas.
And Tolkien’s Mother converted to Catholicism. So that surely made an impression on the young Tolkien, especially after she passed and a Catholic priest took Tolkien under his wing. The now orphaned Tolkien.
Tolkien probably looked upon that priest as a father figure…so much so he even put on the brakes in the midst of his young romance with Edith on behalf of that priest. For he was told to wait. Edith became engaged but when Tolkien came of age and presented himself to her again, she broke it off and the rest is history.
Tolkien was shaped by his time in school and in Oxford (Oxford of the times.)
But he was also influenced/inspired by a tree loving professor, his buddies, CS Lewis, time as a soldier in war and of course by Edith who dance for him in the forest.
I am not sure of all of Tolkien’s travels. Others here may know better than I. But if Tolkien had traveled more, who knows what he might have written?
It’s strange…there are other authors who write books and series and sometimes after they pass the pen is passed on to a new writer…sometimes a son or a daughter in the case of Tony Hillerman…or a Co-writer.
This never happened with Tolkien. Yes Christopher Tolkien spent years organizing and putting together his Father’s work with copious notes. But neither he or the other family members ever decided to write a continuing tale. But think I can understand that.
Maybe that’s why RoP feels so different to a lot of people because of this space that has been completely filled in with new/invented story lines and characters…the way one might do if he/she were the writer of the next series. But this is just the show writers.
Yes I understand the sketchiness of the appendices. But can also see how some might feel that Middle Earth is being terra formed.
However also interesting to see is it Simon Tolkien listed as a credited producer.
I suppose all I am saying is that a person is shaped as much if not more by his/her own personal experiences as they are by time or place alone.
But also feel that Tolkien tapped into a Larger Inspiration than his life and intellectual experiences and studies alone. Though I’m certainly not diminishing those! For those experiences definitely helped to shape his tales.
There are just these passing thoughts:
Tolkien speaking of part of the story being written through him.
Tolkien talking about his intent but then talking of how the ideas came whole and he felt like he was just recording them.
And then Faramir’s dream of the wave, which was Tolkien’s dream.
Would not be surprised if Tolkien referenced himself as a Co or Sub Creator of his tales.
Of course it’s up to everyone what they choose to call that inspiration: Muses? God Inspired? Energy? A River? Out of the stars? Out of the Blue? Laugh.
Or if that’s too metaphysical…there is always the subconscious. (Deep Subconscious)
I don’t think this kind of inspiration organizes itself in a Left Brain matter when it comes: ie sub sub plots, detailed perfect character arcs, writing goal posts or critic goal posts in mind. It simply comes.
Nor do I think Tolkien was writing a tale as an assignment to be graded and meet all these writing goal posts and critic goal posts either! (Which I suppose frustrates some)
His tale is different. And perhaps he treated it more like a painting not putting too much in the picture (will except the very detailed descriptions laugh and poetry) so the painting wouldn’t become so busy one could no longer see the whole picture.
I still think the Hobbits also stood as a metaphor for the Everyman.
I am quite intrigued now that Tolkien’s daughter gave the inspiration for Eowyn. that’s awesome!
My concern with the show was That it went so left brain creatively that it risked losing the other side and a different inspiration of Spirit. And that they were trying to please or hit certain goal posts…that there might not be room to simply allow the River to flow without checking or channeling each bit of its current.
One may or may not love the Jackson adaptations. But Jackson simply wanted to make a movie he would enjoy. And I think that’s why it worked so well. Plus there was a continuity in spite of all the changes.
But I know the writers did have their heart in this. And threw a lot of Easter eggs out to Tolkien people.
Also know plenty of people did feel immersed in RoP.
My friend loved the last episode so much, she watched it five times. So I choose kindness because who wouldn’t want to return to middle earth?
As long as the ticket didn’t say “it’s a gift!” Sorry couldn’t resist!
Go into Goodness All!
Did it have to be constantly, numbingly, violent? We hung in there a long time, but were done when the horse on fire ran by.
@63: That one almost did me in too. For some reason I can tolerate seeing humans being physically cruel to each other, but show me an animal suffering, and I’m done. Especially when knowing who Galadriel is, she didn’t reach out to try to help.
@63 agree. I had trouble accepting that PTSD shut Galadriel down. Yes especially that scene with the horse running by…for a moment I almost thought Galadriel might not be who she claimed and was home at last in the South Lands. My mind did go there. Alas!
I know PTSD is real. But also wonder if part of the making the elves more human involved this kind of take?
Of course we all wanted her to at least reach out to the horse! Even if she couldn’t move to help the humans. But I’m hedging that any quick elvish thinking might “round out” her character too early for the show?
Or for her to take charge in a time of need would give her too much of a subtle aura, which would give a glimmer of something subtly elven and magic and experienced that would break her “arc?”
In retrospect Halbrand could have had her under a spell…I don’t like the idea but she seemed to care more about his wounds than anyone else besides Theo.
Maybe it’s just me but sometimes the take on the elves seemed contradictory…the need to give them those growing arcs…disappear in the crowds with everyone…downplay even some of the subtle magic of elves…and be on the cusp of fading…
And then have Galadriel or others allude to elvish things with words that might hint of something more with a little glimmer but that glimmer is not always in evidence. Yes not all that glitters is gold…but sometimes it felt like the words are there spoken
But the truth of them sometimes remains unseen. You just have to take the words and cadence for elvish evidence.