Spoiler wonderful misdirection by the writers on who is Sauron and I took me until Halbrand said “consider it a gift” that I realized we had been deceived. The clues though were there already. They established that the people of the Southland had fought for Morgoth and in the first episode a character told Anondir they when their true king comes back he would drive the elves out. Halbrand is the king that was promised to a people who fought for the enemy of the elves. One more thought on the casting of Halbrand with a white actor. As stated the Southlands kn Tolkein were populated by people who looked like Africans. Either black or Arab looking as the corsairs of Umbar. It would’ve made sense if Halbrand and the people of the southlands looked like that instead of mixed race. My guess is that while the producers wanted to be PC by making all the peoples mixed race if they had Sauron played by a black or Arab actor their might’ve been a backlash to he other way of people claiming they are racist since the baddy is person of color. Pretty obvious the Stranger is Gandalf but holding out for another twist that he could be Saruman. If they really wanted to get deep into Tolkein lore he could be one of the Blue wizards who did travel extensively in the East but I think that would be confusing to the casual fan. I’m pretty sure the next few seasons are going. To have Numenor defeat Sauron and take him back to Numenor. There he will corrupt Ar Pharazon and most of the people leading to the doom of Numenor. Next season will possibly end with the forging of the one ring and or the fall of Numenor.
My pet peeve for your pet peeve is that these 8-10 binging episodes are mostly constrained to a long movie format (it could also be split into 2 halves like 2 movies). So you get boring filler where the season zags like a "W", or each episode will have some wacky gimmick to draw your attention (pointless "flash forward" at the beginning, character death and ressurection, random character lobotomy) that's quickly resolved at the end or immediately in the beginning of the next episode and forgotten 3-5 hours later. This makes season progress more like a flat U. It's pretty hard to link episodes/seasons coherently without character lobotomies or random Deus ex. The gold standard would be something like Breaking Bad, GoT, the Wire, but it's noticeable not many streaming shows are looking to hit it. The current streaming format, that implies a watcher is able to binge 8-10 hours of a single continuous storyline and doing so in a short timespan is considered "great engagement", is detrimental for both the viewer and production houses. The watcher doesn't remember all the details (then they could watch it again!...) and writers aren't allowed to explore with one off fillers. Fillers aren't bad and can be surprising pallette cleansers while boosting character development, but streaming doesn't clearly mark those expectations as episodic side stories rather than cliffhangers that are more disappointing than surprising. Anyways, I liked how Rings picked up. Spoiler The Hobbit clan is finally leaving, and invested enough time to leave a footprint Less dumb Isildurrr, hope they spend more time in the off-season to develop him into a stronger character I wouldn't be surprised if they tried introducing anthology elements inside the seasons by doing deep dives into different races and regions.
Spoiler I always thought he was Gandalf, but I'm waiting for another twist. It's kind of like Rockets rookies - I'm going to wait a couple of seasons to proclaim them boom or bust. lol. That being said, I'm still thinking he is Gandalf based upon the "follow your nose" line (unless all the Maiar used to say that). But watch how in one of the episodes next season he'll be called "Olorin" and not "Gandalf" trying to stick to canon as much as possible. As for the casual fan, I don't think they really care as much about canon or Tolkien as much as they do about the storyline, being held in suspense, some dude named "Gandalf" eventually showing up, and a baddie named Sauron being the personification of evil. If they did, they probably wouldn't be a casual fan. I'm only slightly above a casual fan, if that, and I'm not even bothered by much of the stuff that's transpired. It's really only the more hardcore Tolkien fans that are perturbed. Them and some of the others who just want to be perturbed. It's like the old school comic book guys watching some of the stuff going on in the MCU getting pissed.
Not sure if this needs to be spoilered. A casual fan who's primary exposure to Tolkein are through the movies likely wouldn't care that much about the Blue Wizards as they aren't even mentioned much in LOTR books. THey would be more interested in tying into LOTR and the characters in there. That said Radagast plays a very small role in LOTR books but Jackson did give him a pretty large role in the Hobbit Movies.
Yesterday I was talking to another friend who is also a Tolkein nerd and she loves the Harfoots. She's the only person I've heard who actually likes the Harfoots.
This review addresses some of the issues you raise with the condensed episodes. The Rings of Power Episode 8 Finale Review: 'Alloyed' Is Messy (escapistmagazine.com)
Someone shoild put JJ Abrams in a mystery box while he waits for his writers to pull out a nothing burger reveal. Also, not much this show, but what made the streaming format worse is when they started dropping shows weekly instead of all at once. Instead of watching the next ep to see what happens in that "prank call" cliffhanger, you wait a week to see it resolved and forgotten 15 mins later. I suppose its ironic to complain how these shows waste time when watching tv is all about wasting time. I guess i value meaning and progression for shows that bill it or take itself seriously.
Last three episodes were solid, looking forward to season 2 now that some of the major players are in place.....
This came up in my YouTube mix. I had forgotten about this version and it's a very different take from the LOTR movie version of Galadriel being tempted by the ring. In the Kate Blanchett version she really seems to struggle with the temptation whereas here she just laughs it off. In the Rings of Power Galadriel comes off as young and impetuous (even though she's already thousands of years old). In LOTR movie she's enigmatic. and in this one she almost seems light but also world weary like an old Grandma listening to her grand kids problems at school.
I distinctly recall disliking this rotoscoped animated technique when I was a kid. I didn't know what it was but it just felt off. When I learned about it years later it all came together.
That thumbnail looks like the look you get in GARM if you say anything positive about the Rockets/Silas.
