*****The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power*****

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PatAg
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In reply to TCTTS • 6:49p, 10/14/22
AG
TCTTS said:
The Porkchop Express said:
TCTTS said:
As someone who could not care less about ancient canon, or how long it supposedly took in the books to ride from one location to another, can't read, that was an incredibly satisfying first season finale. To see how Sauron and the rings came to be was exactly what I didn't know I wanted from a show like this.
You don't have to play up this "I'm too cool for the history" bad boy persona with us. We accept you as you are.

I'm not "playing it up." I'm offering an alternative opinion each week to the staunch, book-reading majority who are convinced this show isn't good simply because it's different from what they've read.
Im part of the book reading majority and I enjoy the show.
You're talking about a specific subset of book readers who are incapable of understanding the concept of book rights.
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PatAg
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In reply to Maximus_Meridius • 6:53p, 10/14/22
AG
Maximus_Meridius said:
So remember back in episode…what, 6? When Halbrand was sitting there trying to decide whether or not to go along with Galadriel and Numenor to Middle Earth to save the Southlands? Are we supposed to believe that without her impassioned speech the night before he would have just stayed in Numenor?

I'm just having a hard time reconciling some of his actions with him being Sauron.
This would be an example of bad storytelling. It seemed good at the time, but in retrospect it just existed to mislead the viewer.

The show is not some elite TV show, but it is very enjoyable and ultimately just give me Middle Earth and have it look right and I will watch it.
Id love a show on Andors level, but its not a Kenobi either.
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powerbelly
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In reply to PatAg • 6:56p, 10/14/22
AG
I think they did a good job of setting the table for season 2. None of the missteps were deal breakers.
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TCTTS
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In reply to Maximus_Meridius • 7:03p, 10/14/22
AG
Maximus_Meridius said:
So remember back in episode…what, 6? When Halbrand was sitting there trying to decide whether or not to go along with Galadriel and Numenor to Middle Earth to save the Southlands? Are we supposed to believe that without her impassioned speech the night before he would have just stayed in Numenor?

I'm just having a hard time reconciling some of his actions with him being Sauron.

I got the distinct impression that it was all part of the long con. Sauron was subtly steering Galadriel toward the Southlands the entire time, from the moment she boarded the raft. He lets it be *her* plight, though, and then he just plays the role of someone inspired by her. He was never going to stay in Numenor.
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PatAg
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In reply to powerbelly • 7:05p, 10/14/22
AG
powerbelly said:
I think they did a good job of setting the table for season 2. None of the missteps were deal breakers.
I agree
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PatAg
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In reply to TCTTS • 7:05p, 10/14/22
AG
TCTTS said:
Maximus_Meridius said:
So remember back in episode…what, 6? When Halbrand was sitting there trying to decide whether or not to go along with Galadriel and Numenor to Middle Earth to save the Southlands? Are we supposed to believe that without her impassioned speech the night before he would have just stayed in Numenor?

I'm just having a hard time reconciling some of his actions with him being Sauron.

I got the distinct impression that it was all part of the long con. Sauron was subtly steering Galadriel toward the Southlands the entire time, from the moment she boarded the raft. He lets it be *her* plight, though, and then he just plays the role of someone inspired by her. He was never going to stay in Numenor.
I think they meant showing us the scene of him leaving the house signet thing behind, then coming back to grab it.
The viewer was the only person that sees that
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to TCTTS • 7:07p, 10/14/22
AG
This. And his heart wasn't broken, he was manipulating her like he did from the beginning.

I will say my one question is what he was doing on that raft, cause that couldn't have been part of his plan. I feel like everything he did from that point on was part of his plan though.

Kinda hoping we get some flashbacks to fill in those gaps of what happened between him and Arda and how he ended up there.
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Quincey P. Morris
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In reply to OnlyForNow • 8:03p, 10/14/22
AG
OnlyForNow said:
I get that it's gonna be compressed. But I figured that meant time jumps, not starting in the early part of the second age that is also the end of the second age and actually 1,000 years into the 3rd age.


I think the idea of time jumps went out the window when Elendil and Isildur showed up. People that didn't read the books have no real clue that the stories in the books cover thousands of years.
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redline248
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 8:19p, 10/14/22
AG
Brian Earl Spilner said:
This. And his heart wasn't broken, he was manipulating her like he did from the beginning.

I will say my one question is what he was doing on that raft, cause that couldn't have been part of his plan. I feel like everything he did from that point on was part of his plan though.

Kinda hoping we get some flashbacks to fill in those gaps of what happened between him and Arda and how he ended up there.
You thought I was serious about the broken heart...hehe


I mentioned way back around episode 2 or 3 - when someone else brought up how weird the scene was with the elves going into the west - that it almost had an ominous feeling...and then boom - here's a raft with this character immediately drawn to Galadriel.

Now, this is obviously heavy on hindsight, and it's probably giving the writers too much credit, but it's possible he was out there just hoping to come across any elf. More than likely he was just out there by accident and waiting around for anyone to pick him...and go from there.

I have to assume Adar and Sauron were in the south when Adar attempted to kill him, and he ended up with random survivors afterward. That would also explain how Adar knew about the sword/key for the tower.
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to redline248 • 8:36p, 10/14/22
AG
Maybe Sauron was trying to get to Valinor?
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cbr
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8:42p, 10/14/22
AG
I feel like that was all over the ****ing place and none of it made any sense. Either as canon or as a stand alone show, or as mix.

Too lazy for spoiler tags or kore typing right now.
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lurker76
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8:45p, 10/14/22
Never mind, the link does't have a definitive revel.

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redline248
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In reply to OnlyForNow • 8:52p, 10/14/22
AG
That is certainly possible. The question I would then ask is how much of his "like a tight grasp was let go of my throat" line was truthful. Probably not much...

edit: I don't know if I would buy that he was going to go back and ask for forgiveness
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to lurker76 • 8:53p, 10/14/22
AG
I mean they've got no more information than anyone else. Doesn't mean much.
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lurker76
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 8:55p, 10/14/22
Yes, you're right. I did a skim of it and thought it confirmed it. Turns out not to do so.
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OnlyForNow
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In reply to redline248 • 9:28p, 10/14/22
AG
No, I would think he was trying to get there and cause trouble/take over.
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KCup17
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10:14p, 10/14/22
AG
I'm only halfway through the season finale and haven't read anything from this board since I last posted but Halbrand and Sauron is a lock.

Edit: I don't think I need a spoiler tag for that as I haven't finished the episode?? but in my mind he is 100% a sneaky devil Morgoth servant.
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Lathspell
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In reply to redline248 • 10:32p, 10/14/22
AG
redline248 said:
So, Sauron goes from wanting to heal middle earth under the light of the one to wanting to cover it all in darkness....b/c Galadriel broke his heart.
Umm.... he is Sauron the deceiver. His entire thing with the Rings of Power was to deceive the leaders of the peoples of Middle Earth in wearing and using the rings. I did not believe for one moment that he wants to "heal" MiddleEarth.
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bobinator
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10:33p, 10/14/22
AG
I need an explainer on the mechanics of the elven rings. I know this is a weird thing to be hung up on given everything happening in this show, but I don't really understand how the rings are supposed to solve the problem they have. That's really my only issue.
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bobinator
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In reply to PatAg • 10:35p, 10/14/22
AG
Any chance there was something important in that pouch thing? At the time we think it's a "hell yeah he's gonna do it" scene but later it's actually a "this is the key to everything" scene?
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cbr
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In reply to bobinator • 10:36p, 10/14/22
AG
You cant deduce much from the show thats for sure.
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bobinator
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In reply to cbr • 10:39p, 10/14/22
AG
Yeah that's what my wife and I were talking about after the episode. It's like, they have the rings… now what? Are they gonna hold hands around the dying tree that symbolizes their life force or whatever and heal it somehow? (I know none of that is using the correct terminology)
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Lathspell
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10:42p, 10/14/22
AG
Overall thoughts on the first season is still a 6.5/10. As a finale, I thought it was one of the better episodes.

I couldn't help but like the reveal of the Stranger being an Istar, though it was very obvious. I do think they made him too powerful, in that moment, to be a true Istar. The scene at the beginning was immediately the giveaway that he wasn't Sauron. The hints throughout the show that Halbrand was were many and very clear. Really, any thoughts about the writers tricking us to this point were giving them more credit than they deserve.

I also think the slight hint to Galadriel about power over flesh and the realization who Halbrand is was done well. I was so afraid they were going to have Galadriel and Sauron actually fight. I was very happy how they showed his power dwarfed hers, and he completely overwhelmed her.

I like the idea of giving each line of the poem a full season, and then leaving the 5th season to be the Last Alliance. My biggest issue is going to be the pacing. Going 4 full seasons to finally get to the Last Alliance just seems like it's going to drag. Also, I think a huge problem they built for themselves is making this world so sparsely inhabited. I still don't understand where they are going to get the hundreds of thousands of Elves and Men to fight Sauron. You would think they could use some of that CG budget to fill out these cities.

We'll see where they go for season 2, but I'm not leaving season 1 with any great anticipation or anything. I have no problem waiting.
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redline248
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In reply to Lathspell • 10:43p, 10/14/22
AG
2nd person that thought I was serious
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TCTTS
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In reply to bobinator • 10:43p, 10/14/22
AG
bobinator said:
I need an explainer on the mechanics of the elven rings. I know this is a weird thing to be hung up on given everything happening in this show, but I don't really understand how the rings are supposed to solve the problem they have. That's really my only issue.


As I understood it, the alloys combined (which included the melted down mithril shard) essentially gave the rings magic powers to reverse whatever was causing the elf kingdom to decay. There was a line that explained it, but I can't remember the exact wording. I could of course be way off, but that's the impression I got at least.
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Lathspell
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In reply to bobinator • 10:44p, 10/14/22
AG
bobinator said:
Yeah that's what my wife and I were talking about after the episode. It's like, they have the rings… now what? Are they gonna hold hands around the dying tree that symbolizes their life force or whatever and heal it somehow? (I know none of that is using the correct terminology)
Wait... you're saying the writers didn't do a great job explaining something? The hell you say!
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In reply to bobinator • 10:47p, 10/14/22
bobinator
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In reply to TCTTS • 10:52p, 10/14/22
AG
Yeah I just needed a little more there. Like why does someone have to wear it for it to work?
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KCup17
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10:52p, 10/14/22
AG
I said this a while ago… but man I love Middle Earth.
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bobinator
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In reply to [removed post] • 10:55p, 10/14/22
AG
Yeah, I'm even giving them the benefit of the doubt that they'll explain the powers more as they're used down the road. I just could have used more explanation about how forming them was a plan to stop them from dying right now.
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TCTTS
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In reply to bobinator • 11:01p, 10/14/22
AG
bobinator said:
Yeah I just needed a little more there. Like why does someone have to wear it for it to work?


Totally valid question, but the same could be asked of how the ring worked in the original trilogy. I never understood *how* it made someone invisible, I just knew that it did. To that point, I'm assuming it has to do with the will of the person wearing the ring. It basically amplifies the desires in some way of whoever possesses it.
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bobinator
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In reply to TCTTS • 11:07p, 10/14/22
AG
I think the difference for me is that ring already existed. The characters may not be entirely sure how exactly it works, they didn't create it.

But they were making these rings to solve a specific problem and I don't think they really explained how it would solve that problem. Or like why it has to be worn instead of, say, built into something that can't be stolen.

I mean I'm willing to move on next season with just "because elves, don't worry about it" I just think it made all of that kind of clunky as a plot mechanic.
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Lathspell
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In reply to TCTTS • 11:08p, 10/14/22
AG
TCTTS said:

Totally valid question, but the same could be asked of how the ring worked in the original trilogy. I never understood *how* it made someone invisible, I just knew that it did. To that point, I'm assuming it has to do with the will of the person wearing the ring. It basically amplifies the desires in some way of whoever possesses it.
It doesn't make you invisible. It pulls you into the spirit realm. That's why the wraiths can still see Frodo and he sees their true images. It has nothing to do with the will of the wearer because no being who has worn the Ring, other than Sauron, has the power to bend it to their will.

In the prologue, you are literally told that Sauron poured his essence into the One Ring. That is why he could no longer take physical shape without it.
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KCup17
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In reply to TCTTS • 11:09p, 10/14/22
AG
TCTTS said:
bobinator said:
Yeah I just needed a little more there. Like why does someone have to wear it for it to work?


Totally valid question, but the same could be asked of how the ring worked in the original trilogy. I never understood *how* it made someone invisible, I just knew that it did. To that point, I'm assuming it has to do with the will of the person wearing the ring. It basically amplifies the desires in some way of whoever possesses it.


This always confused me. Why some like Bilbo, Gollum, and Frodo would be invisible while wearing the ring and yet others being Sauron would not be invisible wearing the ring. I'm assuming the powers on the rings will be further explained in the successive seasons of the show.

Edit: and thus my question is answered… I'm going to read the books before the next season so I can stop asking stupid questions.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to TCTTS • 11:10p, 10/14/22
AG
TCTTS said:
bobinator said:
Yeah I just needed a little more there. Like why does someone have to wear it for it to work?


Totally valid question, but the same could be asked of how the ring worked in the original trilogy. I never understood *how* it made someone invisible, I just knew that it did. To that point, I'm assuming it has to do with the will of the person wearing the ring. It basically amplifies the desires in some way of whoever possesses it.


This. My take is, don't get too hung up on the mechanics of it because it's high fantasy and there's magic. If you just accept the fact that they need the rings to save their race, it's a great capper to the season story wise. I like how the rings are the culmination of all of our plotlines of the season. (Except the Harfoots.) But everything else was basically leading to this.
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