Spoilers Rings of Power is back!

[Paul Farquhar]

Not quite sure why he popped up half-way through the episode completely uninjured either. Cool character though.

Nat 20 on death save.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

At first glance, a large tree slowed down Galadriel's fall. I'd have to rewatch it to confirm.

She definitely lands in a tree, but we are definitely in the realm of Peter Jackson action movie lethality.

John McClain falls as far onto the deck deck of a ship and limps away. And he isn't even a thousands of years old elf.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

John McClain falls as far onto the deck deck of a ship and limps away. And he isn't even a thousands of years old elf.

It’s almost as if the Die Hard franchise constantly and comedically riffs on the idea of its hero being absurdly difficult to kill.

 

[GothmogIV]

I can't say I've enjoyed watching RoP--some of it is just poor writing, and canonically grating--but it is visually beautiful. I think I am too invested in the books to enjoy this particular interpretation. With that said, it is a gorgeous production.

 

[Dire Bare]

Do you think Prime Video compensated Olsen for his time and work?

I think it’s also worth pointing out that it was Olsen who dubbed Olsen “The Tolkien Professor” - it’s not like it was somehow acquired through popular accolade.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I think it's worth drawing a distinction between "canonicity" and "lore authentic to Tolkien's vision."

2. There is a difference between Tolkien constantly tinkering with his own work, and a TV studio reconfiguring large tranches of it. It's Tolkien's to tinker with, after all.

But as I've suggested, I think it's a mistake to try and reconcile anything in RoP with Tolkien's legendarium. It's harder than trying to harmonize the gospels.

Edit: which gives rise to another point. Canon may contradict itself, but it remains canon.

I'm still with Dr. Olsen.

Is he getting paid by Amazon as a part of the team behind Rings of Power? I'm sure he is. So is Simon Tolkien who is the estates representative on the project.

Is Olsen a self-proclaimed Tolkien expert producing his own content on YouTube? Yes.

And?

I'm still with Dr. Olsen. Outside of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", there really isn't any Middle-Earth canon. I don't think trying to distinguish between canon and lore "authentic to Tolkien's vision" is meaningful.

It's cool if some folks don't care for the show, it's far from perfect. But complaints about the show deviating from Tolkien's canon or lore I find ridiculous.

Debates over specific choices I'm down with. Just not the broad complaint.

 

[Hriston]

What's up with the languages on this show? The elves sometimes break into subtitled Quenya or Sindarin, but what are they supposed to be speaking when we're hearing English?

I find it odd that Adar and the orcs are using the Black Speech considering it was invented by Sauron.

And why are the dwarves Scottish? I think it was okay when it was just Gimli in the Peter Jackson film (If that was even a Scottish accent the actor John Rhys-Davies was using. It sounded more generally "archaic" to me.), but when it's a whole society of people speaking that way, I can't help but perceive them as strongly coded Scottish. Same with the Southlander accent.

Eta: As a result of the above, I keep finding myself wondering why Scottish people are being portrayed as short, bearded, underground dwellers.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm still with Dr. Olsen.

Is he getting paid by Amazon as a part of the team behind Rings of Power? I'm sure he is. So is Simon Tolkien who is the estates representative on the project.

Is Olsen a self-proclaimed Tolkien expert producing his own content on YouTube? Yes.

And?

I'm still with Dr. Olsen. Outside of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", there really isn't any Middle-Earth canon. I don't think trying to distinguish between canon and lore "authentic to Tolkien's vision" is meaningful.

It's cool if some folks don't care for the show, it's far from perfect. But complaints about the show deviating from Tolkien's canon or lore I find ridiculous.

Debates over specific choices I'm down with. Just not the broad complaint.

Even within the Hobbir and the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien literally changed the books. Canon is the antithesis of Tolkien's approach.

 

[Dire Bare]

Even within the Hobbir and the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien literally changed the books. Canon is the antithesis of Tolkien's approach.

Yup.

And to clarify my own thoughts . . .

1) There is no canon, and . . .

2) Even if there was, it doesn't matter. Rings of Power is an adaptation of Tolkien's work. And adaptations, well, adapt the source material and make changes to suit different mediums and audiences.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Canon may contradict itself, but it remains canon.

FOUND THE CLERIC, GUYS!

 

[Sepulchrave II]

I'm still with Dr. Olsen.

Is he getting paid by Amazon as a part of the team behind Rings of Power? I'm sure he is.

I mean, everyone needs to make a paycheck. And Olsen certainly isn't the first academic to act as an apologist for, and as the "expert face" of corporate interest. But some of his commentary on S1 of RoP is painfully obsequious, as he speaks about the "deep meaning and symbolism" which is entirely absent - he was angling for a job, I'm sure. Apparently, he succeeded.

I used to really enjoy his podcast, but ever since Amazon paid for him to see the premiere and lavished him with hospitality, he's been a shameless shill.

In short, his opinion ain't worth diddly to me.

I'm still with Dr. Olsen. Outside of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", there really isn't any Middle-Earth canon. I don't think trying to distinguish between canon and lore "authentic to Tolkien's vision" is meaningful.

I avoid the term "canon" as I think it's not helpful.

By "authentic," I mean penned by Tolkien - any iteration, at any stage. Olsen seems to think that because Tolkien constantly revised his work, it's ok for anyone else to write whatever they like and it'll be ok.

It's cool if some folks don't care for the show, it's far from perfect. But complaints about the show deviating from Tolkien's canon or lore I find ridiculous.

Tolkien is a beloved author, and a lot of people were hoping that the RoP would represent characters differently, and adhere to events as described in the appendices of LotR, and were disappointed when it didn't.

I don't see why this is ridiculous.

Me? As I've repeatedly said, I'm not particularly worried about the lore. I'd just like a good show.