[+] The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - SPOILERS ALLOWED

[Mercurius]

That's far too semantical a conversation for my interest. Pick a word more to your liking and pretend I said that.

I always love the snark, Morrus. My apologies for trying to bring nuance and specificity to the conversation.

 

[wicked cool]

Yes, but there's the matter of degree. It is one thing to expect Rings of Power to be "exact" and quite another to hope it will at least be in the spirit of Tolkien's vision.

Exactly it’s like captain America has a sword instead of a shield or how blade runner was very different from the book. I am one whose not expecting an exact match but at the same time I want established lore to be recognizable. Right now we have people on these boards who are thoroughly confused on what’s going on. It’s fine that some are enjoying for what it is but for me it’s borderline what is this

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Right now we have people on these boards who are thoroughly confused on what’s going on.

I'm not sure the show is confusing, so much as it has mysteries and when one brings book knowledge to the TV show, the clash of expectations is confusing.

It has become increasingly clear that the show isn't adhering to the timeline from LotR and that some characters have moved around. Coming to it fresh, as my wife has, it's been a pretty straightforward show, beyond intentional mysteries like the Stranger's identity and which of 10,000 candidates is Sauron. (My guess is none of them.)

 

[reelo]

I mean, I was literally replying to a person who was talking about how it differed from Tolkien.

There's literally an entire book about what happened to/with the Silmarils. They are one of the central elements of the First Age. This is not "changing some minor thing" like compressing the timeline.

 

[Eric V]

Exactly it’s like captain America has a sword instead of a shield or how blade runner was very different from the book. I am one whose not expecting an exact match but at the same time I want established lore to be recognizable. Right now we have people on these boards who are thoroughly confused on what’s going on. It’s fine that some are enjoying for what it is but for me it’s borderline what is this

!!!?

No, it really isn't...at least not to the 4 people living here who are watching this. It feels suitably like it's got the "spirit of Tolkien's vision." Not that that is hard to do, since that's a very ambiguous phrase in the first place.

 

[Ryujin]

There's literally an entire book about what happened to/with the Silmarils. They are one of the central elements of the First Age. This is not "changing some minor thing" like compressing the timeline.

Indeed, there is. And that particular work of fiction, and its contents, are excluded from the material that they can use in making this show.

 

[wicked cool]

!!!?

No, it really isn't...at least not to the 4 people living here who are watching this. It feels suitably like it's got the "spirit of Tolkien's vision." Not that that is hard to do, since that's a very ambiguous phrase in the first place.

I’m not saying it’s a horrible show but does it really have the spirit of Tolkien.
-we now have a new mysterious race of being hunting down a stranger who unlike gandolf (when he came back grey/white) can’t talk and is using powers not seen on the Tolkien universe or mentioned
-mithril might now be basically medicine for elves . Never mentioned before and Gillis reaction to it made it sound like he had never seen it never mind nobody saying hey remember when the elves lied/told the truth about a miracle cure
-we have an evil elf. There is no recognition from another elf on who he could be

It almost feels like a property that’s gone public so they can call it lotr but would the original author approve? If they walked into
A coffee shop and we were talking would they even recognize what we were talking about

 

[Mercurius]

Hey folks, a suggestion. Why don't we take criticisms elsewhere? Here are a few options:

I Didn't Comment In Another Thread

House of Dragons vs. Rings of Power (poll)

House of Dragons vs Rings of Power (and a bit of Wheel of Time)

While I have my criticisms of the show (and have voiced them here a bit and elsewhere), I just want to be cognizant and respectful of the fact that this is supposed to be a (+) thread. Let's not muddy the pool for those who are enjoying the show.

 

[billd91]

Indeed, there is. And that particular work of fiction, and its contents, are excluded from the material that they can use in making this show.

They cannot directly use that material, true. But they also can't egregiously contradict it, according to the showrunners. That said, I'm not sure what the recourse would be if the Tolkien estate thought that elements of the show egregiously did contradict something deemed sufficiently important.

 

[Eric V]

I’m not saying it’s a horrible show but does it really have the spirit of Tolkien.
-we now have a new mysterious race of being hunting down a stranger who unlike gandolf (when he came back grey/white) can’t talk and is using powers not seen on the Tolkien universe or mentioned
-mithril might now be basically medicine for elves . Never mentioned before and Gillis reaction to it made it sound like he had never seen it never mind nobody saying hey remember when the elves lied/told the truth about a miracle cure
-we have an evil elf. There is no recognition from another elf on who he could be

It almost feels like a property that’s gone public so they can call it lotr but would the original author approve? If they walked into
A coffee shop and we were talking would they even recognize what we were talking about

I don't know...there are no hard-and-fast rules about what, exactly, the Stranger can do, or his nature, so it feels weird saying this-or-that is inconsistent with the spirit of ME. Mithril might be medicine for elves...or something else entirely. I feel it's a bit early for any reaction to it. I have no issues with evil elves, especially since there's that story that the original orcs were corrupted elves.

The grandeur, the suspicions between peoples, the subtle but living magic in the world...feels Tolkien to me.