Wow, Iâm getting a lot of aggressive messages about my opinion of Rings of Power. I knew there would be some push-back from our lovely modern internet society, but this is stupid. I never said the show was perfect, but I enjoy it, and I hate this snobby nit-picking. Why our society has come to believe that this sort of tiny-minded critical attitude shows how intelligent and sophisticated you are, I donât know, but itâs frankly stupid. It just shows you up for being ignorant and lacking in grace. Especially since right at the beginning of the show it says âbased on The Lord of the Rings and Appendices by J.R.R. Tolkienâ right on the screen in the intro. Based on means not 100% faithful. In any project. And the complaints Iâm getting about changes to the story show that people havenât actually paid attention to the original lore anyway, and all but two of the complaints are about things that actually are accurate. They just seem to be riding the seemingly âcoolâ wave of hate for the show that started long before there ever even was a preview released. Some people made up their minds when it was announced that it was going to be bad, and they seem to be controlling the narrative about it, which is a shame, and people who have such a need to be âcoolâ follow along without their own opinions as usual. But I think the show so far is strong enough to overcome such narrow bigots and stand firm in its own merits and be loved by people for time to come, and if some people want to watch it and be angry and miserable, thatâs their loss. I do know some people are actually not going to like it, and hey, thatâs okay too. Just give it a fair shake before you actually decide you donât like it.
Yes, there are a few issues with Galadriel so far. They are changing her story and timeline, but that isnât a deal breaker for me. I don't mind her taking a more active role in the wars, just like I've said before that Arwen riding Frodo to the Fords, while not at all accurate, is still one of my favourite scenes in the movies, and they had more scenes filmed with her along those lines that didnât make it to the films. As a woman who loves Tolkien, I understand that he definitely wasnât the misogynist heâs often accused of being. He wrote many beautifully strong women and wrote several who expressed dissatisfaction with the âtraditionalâ notion of womanhood, Ăowyn being the most famous. And of course, LĂșthien, based so lovingly on his wife, was anything but traditional. Another favourite of mine is this quote and conversation between Erendis and her daughter in NĂșmenor. I like that these projects are portraying strong women, even if it isnât in the exact same places where Tolkien did. Galadriel fighting isnât far-fetched to how her character was written. Tolkien even had her mother-name (one of three names elves are given) mean man-maiden because she was such a tomboyish elf, always riding and hunting and doing it all better than most of the men (and also because she was taller than most women and had a deeper voice). So far she is somewhat tactless, grumpy, and hasty, but I think itâs simply a case of early-episode overcompensation. Iâve seen it over and over in shows where they come out of the gate really hard with a characterâs attitude for the first few episodes to firmly establish a character in viewersâ minds, and then they begin to mellow or soften their approach. It isnât my favourite approach, but it is commonly used in the industry. I am hoping they give her more grace soon. And it isnât Morfydd Clarkâs fault. I think sheâs doing an amazing job with what theyâre writing for her and how theyâre directing her. The only things about her that arenât exact for the role is that she isnât tall or deep-voiced, but she canât change those... Otherwise, perfect.
But you have to understand that Galadriel was a rebel. She was a rebel and a leader in the rebellion of the Ăoldor when they left Valinor because she strongly desired to rule her own kingdom. She was full of pride and ambition, and that was her driving force for many many years, which was why she was still tempted by the Ring in the Third Age and had to resist to be allowed to sail back into the West. No, she never would have sailed for Valinor (which I think was included to portray her rebellion against the Valar), and yes, she should have met Celeborn by this time, but again, this show has five seasons planned. Itâs only been three episodes. Give it time. Yeesh. And I myself am not sorry that we potentially get to watch her love story happen. But she wasnât a ruling elf from the beginning. Eventually for a time she and Celeborn ruled a small group of elves sort of like a fiefdom under Gil-Galad before moving into what becomes LothlĂłrien, so her being a commander under Gil-Galad isnât ridiculously far-fetched.
When it comes to Elrond, the theme in the messages Iâm getting is that he isnât being treated right because heâs a lord and not a politician, like heâs being treated like a nobody. Again, people need to read more of Tolkien than Lord of the Rings to talk about these very aged characters. Lord of the Rings was the very end of Elrondâs life in Middle-Earth. Rings of Power has his earlier role spot on so far. He wasn't Ăoldorin, who were the ruling elves at this point, or even a High Elf since he was never in Valinor. And he wasnât full elf. He had some human and Maia. (Iâll post a cool breakdown of Elrondâs genealogy that 5ummit created after this.) He wouldn't have naturally had a high position with the Ăoldorin at this point, but it goes a long way to showing how he was valued that he was Gil-Galad's herald and a captain, which is lore accurate. He wasn't the heir of all major houses as such. He wasn't even a prince while Galadriel was a princess in both the Ăoldor and the Teleri. Elrondâs line was respected and loved since he was LĂșthienâs great-grandson, but it wasnât a ruling line (ringofsecrets is right; he was royal through LĂșthien, but they no longer had a kingdom). It was just that after the first war with Sauron, he was one of only two elf commanders who survived, Cirdan being the other, and so Elrond became a ruling elf because he was loved and wise. He was offered the title High-King, having been connected with Gil-Galad, but he turned it down since he wasn't of the bloodline of the High-Kings through a male ancestor (even though he was through a female ancestor) and because so few of the Ăoldorin were left that it didnât matter. And actually, Galadriel had a far closer claim to that title herself, being niece or great-niece or something close like that of the first High-King. (I get all the F names in her family confused when I havenât read The Silmarillion in a while.) But I don't think anyone wanted the title. The four Ăoldorin kings all came to bloody ends... I do like that they made Elrond and Galadriel friends since eventually Elrond marries Galadrielâs daughter.
And then there was the comment on the post about the hobbits and their age, but it was worded oddly, so Iâm not sure exactly what youâre saying? I think you mean the culture is portrayed as too old, like hobbits didnât exist for another 2300 years? But again, thereâs nothing objectionable here. In Tolkienâs lore the hobbits came from more primitive ancestors, the same ones Gollum came from, and if you remember, Gollum had found the ring over 500 years before âThe Hobbitâ happened, and he was in an established group in the east where Isildur would have dropped the ring when he died. It was in the same region that Beorn lived, east of the Misty Mountains near what became Mirkwood. There were three breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. The Harfoots and Fallohides were the first who over time travelled north and west to finally settle in the Shire because of various unrest and dangers, especially those caused by Sauron moving into and settling in what became Mirkwood. The Stoors, the breed Gollum was, moved around in the east a lot longer and interacted with the Dunlendings some before finally moving west into the Shire. These hobbits arenât early. Theyâre simply living primitively in the east, just like Tolkien said the three different breeds who were the hobbitsâ ancestors did before they came to the Shire and intermingled until they were one people. And unlike every other race in Middle-Earth, Tolkien didnât once write an origin story for hobbits. He never described their creation. The first record of interaction with the âBig Folkâ was with the ĂothĂ©od, the ancestors of the Rohirrim, in far-away times and in the east, so no one knows when and where they originated.
I never said I thought Rings of Power is 100% accurate to the books. That never happens in any project, especially one that says âbased onâ. But I love that it seems so far like they're staying true to more than people think. Really, so far theyâve just changed some of the timelines or minor events. The actors have interviews explaining some of the thinking behind decisions made, and the creators themselves said that some of it would be different to the commonly held versions of Tolkien's works because Tolkien was ALWAYS changing things. I mean, he worked on this world for decades, so he was always fiddling with timelines and lineages and so on. Even some of the main characters and events in the Silmarillion changed quite a few times after the Silmarillion was written, including Galadriel and her whole family of Finarfin and FĂ«anor and such, who were changed enough times that it's still not clear who Gildor Inglorien is. That's why the creators of Rings of Power consulted Tolkien's grandson Simon. They wanted his knowledge of some of the more obscure information since Tolkien was changing things until he died. I think that's cool. It feels like they're honoring Tolkien's whole approach to his world instead of just saying 'this is what it was period end of.'
No matter what they do, there will always be people who want to gripe and complain, and then there will be people who legitimately donât like it, and thatâs totally okay. I mean, I hate Game of Thrones, but I donât go around the internet taking it out on people who like it. Let them enjoy what they enjoy. Iâve learned to just let people be themselves and enjoy the cool things that can come out of that, even if itâs not necessarily what I would do. That doesnât mean itâs wrong, and if this is how the creators want to honor Tolkien, theyâre the ones who had the courage to approach studios and say, âHey, we know weâve never made a tv show before, but we love Tolkien and have this great idea.â And then they put in the hours and hours and hours of work. Donât tear down the people that do things if youâre too scared, lazy, unmotivated, or unable to try yourself. I know I wouldnât be interested in doing it. I think theyâre doing a beautiful job with cosmetics and graphics and just creating a beautiful world for these characters to live in, and Iâm going to enjoy my journey through it, along with the other people who choose to live with gratitude and enjoyment and sent lovely messages and comments. :)
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
areudirty
2087
stormborns
theartofmadeline
izzy806
