Ring of Power, anyone?

sussle

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Bonded with my kid over LOTR and The Hobbit when he was a 5-6 y/o (to the dismay of his mom, who thought it was much too much for his age at the time)... nowadays, at 13, my kid and I have a lot less to bond about, but we're watching Amazon's Ring Of Power together, and having fun trying to tie it all together. Didn't think much of it at first, but it's growing on us, as we tie in this prequel to what we know have come to know about Tolkien's body of work, as interpreted by Peter Jackson.

I know I'm gonna get scorched by the erBB for this, but am curious if anyone else is watching it and what is your reaction to it?
 

Subway

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i enjoyed it. kept me guessing. young Elrond is pretty cringe, but young Galadriel owns me now
 

sussle

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i enjoyed it. kept me guessing. young Elrond is pretty cringe, but young Galadriel owns me now
Yes! We agree - young Elrond's hair is just not right - looks more like Steve from Stranger Things. Heard a critic point out there's just not enough likeable characters in this new prequel - fair point - although Durien the Dwarf Prince is growing on us as well. (whereas Nori the Harfoot has yet to resonate at all). Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound - the fact it gives me and my 13 y/o an opportunity to have an intelligent discussion is reason enough to watch. About 42 episodes to go - we'll see how long we can hang with it - but it's becoming somewhat more compelling as we can tie ROP events into stuff that Peter Jackson touched on in LOTR/Hobbit.
 
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Subway

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Dude that guy could be anyone

the Harfoot thing is kind of corny, but has its place. Some of their ways cleverly hint at how a once nomadic race eventually evolved into stationary and cozy hobbits, only a few of which, thousands of years hence, still have that vague longing to go a-rambling. For example, their mobile camouflage hides seem but a wheeled predecessor to the hobbit hole
 

r32

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My initial guess is that guy is one of the wizards. Perhaps Gandolf who was 11,000y old or something like that in the LOTR movies. Or maybe one of the two blue wizards? Not sure any of those make sense though since he acting a bit weird.

Morfydd Clark (Galadriel)

 
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theramrod

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My wife is a big time LOR fan and I also enjoy it but not to the extent she does. We watched and finished the 1st season. I really liked it but I had to have her explain some stuff to me. I wont give any spoilers but as the season went on I enjoyed it more and more.
 
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sussle

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Liking it so far. Mystery of who the fire asteroid man is. Three ep to go.

Galadriel is elvish babe.
the fire asteroid guy is Gandalf, we are reasonably sure (tho it is not actually confirmed) - looks the same, says Gandalf things (e.g. "follow your nose"), broke with those 3 witches by not being Sauron.

whereas the guy on the boat with Galadriel, who went back to the Elves with her, seems to be Sauron - has way too many timely suggestions about how to exploit mithril and seemed to be manipulating the Elves into creating the Rings.

Edit : apologies to Brukuns and anyone else who felt I posted spoilers - just speculation on my part.
I may finally go full nerd and read the Simalrilairiiiaoonn or whatever it’s called.
i tried a few years ago - just could not get through it. it's not even a story - more like a history. found it dry, weird, and fantastical - ymmv.
 
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PJ

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Been watching it with my wife - we stopped and watched all 3 Hobbit movies and maybe we'll watch the 3 Lord of The Rings ones too - to freshen up our memories to better relate these shows to the future. Really great seeing where it all came from. My daughter is watching them in Japan too - getting into philosophical discussions with her friends about who has the most to lose in a battle - an Elf who loses eternal youthful life or a man who just loses the next 40 or 50 years.
 
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Subway

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the fire asteroid guy is Gandalf, we are reasonably sure (tho it is not actually confirmed) - looks the same, says Gandalf things (e.g. "follow your nose"), broke with those 3 witches by not being Sauron.

whereas the guy on the boat with Galadriel, who went back to the Elves with her, seems to be Sauron - has way too many timely suggestions about how to exploit mithril and seemed to be manipulating the Elves into creating the Rings.

i tried a few years ago - just could not get through it. it's not even a story - more like a history. found it dry, weird, and fantastical - ymmv.
Yeah that’s for sure been my reluctance to pick it up. I’ve heard even from die hard fans that while it’s very “interesting“ and really shows just how deeply Tolkien delved into his universe, it’s super dry and more like a text book
 

sussle

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Been watching it with my wife - we stopped and watched all 3 Hobbit movies and maybe we'll watch the 3 Lord of The Rings ones too - to freshen up our memories to better relate these shows to the future. Really great seeing where it all came from. My daughter is watching them in Japan too - getting into philosophical discussions with her friends about who has the most to lose in a battle - an Elf who loses eternal youthful life or a man who just loses the next 40 or 50 years.
yeah, the boy and i have started re-watching LOTR as well and connecting the dots with ROP....names of people/places and references to events in LOTR start to come into sharper focus (like the discovery of mithril and the references to the dwarves digging deeper into the mountain than they should have way back in ROP, and the consequences thereof. etc )
 

Bob Dobbalina

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I can only do one fantasy world at a time and I'm getting through the House of Dragons show.

It's ok.

The Tolkien Franchise was so drawn out with the LOR films that I was burned out by the time The Hobbit came out. The last 30 minutes of Return of the King was like, "Sam, just kiss Frodo already". Which is crazy to think of now considering how much time I'll invest in a TV drama.
 

brukuns

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the fire asteroid guy is Gandalf, we are reasonably sure (tho it is not actually confirmed) - looks the same, says Gandalf things (e.g. "follow your nose"), broke with those 3 witches by not being Sauron.

whereas the guy on the boat with Galadriel, who went back to the Elves with her, seems to be Sauron - has way too many timely suggestions about how to exploit mithril and seemed to be manipulating the Elves into creating the Rings.

i tried a few years ago - just could not get through it. it's not even a story - more like a history. found it dry, weird, and fantastical - ymmv.
Dude, he said he had 3 episodes left, don't spoil it (geek 1st commandment).

The show started slow... it was kinda needed given how much there is to introduce, but the plot was very unclear and momentum was really slow...

... but then it picked up and started to move the plot and got really interesting. Solid, solid finale. I for one enjoyed the obvious fan service with some of those lines.

Looking forward for what's to come. Hope they don't ruin it, but it's looking decent.

House of the Dragon is a very different beast and well worth your time.
 
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brukuns

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It may be just me, but House of the Dragon Ep. 9 from this Sunday was a fucking masterpiece. That score alone won me over. Watch it. At the very least it was a good set up for the finale next week.
 

PJ

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yeah, the boy and i have started re-watching LOTR as well and connecting the dots with ROP....names of people/places and references to events in LOTR start to come into sharper focus (like the discovery of mithril and the references to the dwarves digging deeper into the mountain than they should have way back in ROP, and the consequences thereof. etc )
Hahaha - I was watching with my wife and I was like - "That has got to be Mithril!!"
 

scooch

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Ive been enjoying it but that is because "I dont know any better." At least thats what my wife says. Shes a full on life long LOTR aficionado. I have to listen to her hemming hawing the whole time about "that wasnt how it hapeened in the books. thats wrong". etc etc. Its actually started to grow on her a bit though.
 

Subway

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Can confirm. At first you drive yourself nuts picking at inconsistencies and liberties from true Tolkien canon and all that nonsense, but eventually your brain just STFU and enjoys the ride. Much better that way, and then you actually start realizing how clever and entertaining the connections- be they true canon or concocted, really are. Those writers and show runners had a Herculean task and all in all I think they did great homage while also making their own damn show. Can’t be easy.