"But at the moment it’s simply not very compelling because we all know the ending and it doesn’t seem like The Rings of Power is doing anything to subvert that or turn it into a strength."
I don't entirely agree with that, because what the series definitely is doing is developing personal relationships between Sauron and his future enemies. In addition to tempting Galadriel, Sauron also tellingly saves Elendil's life during the big battle in the Southlands. This makes Elendil's ultimate death at Sauron's hands quite ironic and far more personal.
I'm certain S2 will try to similarly develop a personal relationship between Isildur and Halbrand, given that they are both on Mordor territory. Thus, their final fight could very well be a battle between two former allies, possibly even friends.
Regarding to where to post your thoughts on Rings - perhaps in Substack Notes in addition to Twitter?
Oh yes, the show is definitely doing some interesting things with Sauron's relationships. The moment with Elendil is definitely one of those "echoes" of LOTR and I think it mostly works. I think your idea about Halbrand and Isildur is a good possibility, but what I was referring to in that quote is was specifically about the "cliff-hanger" of whether Isildur is alive or not. Like I say right before that, "Season 2 could very well make something interesting out of this cliff-hanger." A relationship with Sauron would definitely count there and give added resonance to their final encounter. But currently and within the bounds of S1, we haven't been given much indication that that's where they're going with this. Even a single shot of him alive but alone in Mordor would do more to hint towards interesting possibilities of development and subversion than settling for a question (is he alive?) without an interesting answer (of course he is).
Notes is an interesting idea, but I wonder what percentage of readers (on average and then specifically my audience) will be using them by then?
Oh, sorry. I thought you meant the eventual battle btw Isildur and Sauron as the 'ending' that we know, not his survival exactly. I def-ly agree we haven't seen any concrete evidence that that's where it's going but I believe that's something that feels natural. Regarding notes, I think you are correct, as it's hard to predict how widely they'll be used, so I'm gonna vote for the Substack post option.
No worries! I could have been clearer instead of using "it" three times and "that" to describe it haha.
I'll feel it out at the time: if Notes really takes off then I could see using that. I've toyed with the idea of using the chat for instant/live reactions, but doesn't seem like many people use that either. At least for the day after, the Substack post or Twitter thread options currently seem the most viable for me. Thanks for the feedback!
The addition of "Find the light and the shadow will not find you" in Bronwyn's version really bugged me. It seems to me like one of those toxic positivity type things. And the whole point of the passage from the book is not that you can be safe from the shadow, but that the shadow doesn't have the final word. Saying "the shadow will not find you" seems like just an empty promise. And it works better in the books, because like you said, Sam has earned it. He's been through terrible things. He's seen the power of the shadow. He's literally in Mordor, under the shadow! So it feel less like some sappy, wishful thinking and more of a powerful insight that even if they fail, in the end evil will also fail.
I partly have strong feelings about this quote because it's one of my favorites. I have a tattoo of mountains, clouds, and a star with the words "only a small and passing thing" in the LOTR font. :)
Yeah, I totally agree about the addition of that line to the rest of the quote and how it doesn't quite capture the original thought. You're absolutely right: the journey that Sam has been on has earned this insight, whereas with Bronwyn it seems like they were more trying to use the quote to add that sense to the story. Doesn't really work that way.
It also broke suspension of disbelief for me too. Like you said, some of the references and fan-service worked, but a lot didn't. It was too similar to the line in LOTR for it to seem natural.
I enjoyed recentering Middle Earth for RoP, but found myself frequently annoyed. Too much emphasis on Galadriel as mover and shaker, and I found her annoying and oddly ignorant. Since she already knew of Sauron’s threat, I didn’t get how he could so easily deceive her. I never thought of him as attractive and charming, and RoP didn’t convince me.
I did enjoy the proto-hobbits. I didn’t understand the change in history that had Gandalf fall from the sky with his memory in tatters.
The set for Numenor was awesome.
Thank you for covering all this. I consider Andor the best of the prequels you discussed, but I haven’t seen the Star Trek one.
Glad to hear you enjoyed reading! Yeah, I get what they were going for and it makes sense to add some character development for a screen adaptation (like Aragorn in Peter Jackson's movies), but I think they went a bit far here. We'll see where they go with it and how it turns out, though.
"But at the moment it’s simply not very compelling because we all know the ending and it doesn’t seem like The Rings of Power is doing anything to subvert that or turn it into a strength."
I don't entirely agree with that, because what the series definitely is doing is developing personal relationships between Sauron and his future enemies. In addition to tempting Galadriel, Sauron also tellingly saves Elendil's life during the big battle in the Southlands. This makes Elendil's ultimate death at Sauron's hands quite ironic and far more personal.
I'm certain S2 will try to similarly develop a personal relationship between Isildur and Halbrand, given that they are both on Mordor territory. Thus, their final fight could very well be a battle between two former allies, possibly even friends.
Regarding to where to post your thoughts on Rings - perhaps in Substack Notes in addition to Twitter?
Oh yes, the show is definitely doing some interesting things with Sauron's relationships. The moment with Elendil is definitely one of those "echoes" of LOTR and I think it mostly works. I think your idea about Halbrand and Isildur is a good possibility, but what I was referring to in that quote is was specifically about the "cliff-hanger" of whether Isildur is alive or not. Like I say right before that, "Season 2 could very well make something interesting out of this cliff-hanger." A relationship with Sauron would definitely count there and give added resonance to their final encounter. But currently and within the bounds of S1, we haven't been given much indication that that's where they're going with this. Even a single shot of him alive but alone in Mordor would do more to hint towards interesting possibilities of development and subversion than settling for a question (is he alive?) without an interesting answer (of course he is).
Notes is an interesting idea, but I wonder what percentage of readers (on average and then specifically my audience) will be using them by then?
Oh, sorry. I thought you meant the eventual battle btw Isildur and Sauron as the 'ending' that we know, not his survival exactly. I def-ly agree we haven't seen any concrete evidence that that's where it's going but I believe that's something that feels natural. Regarding notes, I think you are correct, as it's hard to predict how widely they'll be used, so I'm gonna vote for the Substack post option.
No worries! I could have been clearer instead of using "it" three times and "that" to describe it haha.
I'll feel it out at the time: if Notes really takes off then I could see using that. I've toyed with the idea of using the chat for instant/live reactions, but doesn't seem like many people use that either. At least for the day after, the Substack post or Twitter thread options currently seem the most viable for me. Thanks for the feedback!
The addition of "Find the light and the shadow will not find you" in Bronwyn's version really bugged me. It seems to me like one of those toxic positivity type things. And the whole point of the passage from the book is not that you can be safe from the shadow, but that the shadow doesn't have the final word. Saying "the shadow will not find you" seems like just an empty promise. And it works better in the books, because like you said, Sam has earned it. He's been through terrible things. He's seen the power of the shadow. He's literally in Mordor, under the shadow! So it feel less like some sappy, wishful thinking and more of a powerful insight that even if they fail, in the end evil will also fail.
I partly have strong feelings about this quote because it's one of my favorites. I have a tattoo of mountains, clouds, and a star with the words "only a small and passing thing" in the LOTR font. :)
Yeah, I totally agree about the addition of that line to the rest of the quote and how it doesn't quite capture the original thought. You're absolutely right: the journey that Sam has been on has earned this insight, whereas with Bronwyn it seems like they were more trying to use the quote to add that sense to the story. Doesn't really work that way.
I love that you have that tattoo! Great choice
It also broke suspension of disbelief for me too. Like you said, some of the references and fan-service worked, but a lot didn't. It was too similar to the line in LOTR for it to seem natural.
Thanks! ^_^
I enjoyed recentering Middle Earth for RoP, but found myself frequently annoyed. Too much emphasis on Galadriel as mover and shaker, and I found her annoying and oddly ignorant. Since she already knew of Sauron’s threat, I didn’t get how he could so easily deceive her. I never thought of him as attractive and charming, and RoP didn’t convince me.
I did enjoy the proto-hobbits. I didn’t understand the change in history that had Gandalf fall from the sky with his memory in tatters.
The set for Numenor was awesome.
Thank you for covering all this. I consider Andor the best of the prequels you discussed, but I haven’t seen the Star Trek one.
May the 4th Be with You.
Glad to hear you enjoyed reading! Yeah, I get what they were going for and it makes sense to add some character development for a screen adaptation (like Aragorn in Peter Jackson's movies), but I think they went a bit far here. We'll see where they go with it and how it turns out, though.