re: Rings of Power ep 8

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OMLandshark

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OMLandshark

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It must suck to be as miserable as you constantly seem to be.

You might need to lay off the constant politics for a while.

In the lore, Annatar went first to Linden where Gil Galad, Galadriel and Elrond, while not knowing he was Sauron, didn’t trust him and turned him away. So he goes to Eregion where he befriended Celebrimborn. There they created the 9 rings he gave to men and the seven he gave to the Dwarf Lords. Then he left.
Celebrimborn then created the three elvin rings in secret. One went to Gil Galad who later gave it to Elrond. One he gave to Galadriel and one to Cirdan the shipwright, lord of the Gray Havens, who gave his ring to Gandalf later when he arrived in Middle Earth, by ship.

Other than Galadriels entire arc and characterization in the show, which I detest, there are many aspects to enjoy, such as the cinematographer, my biggest other issue is time and space. The world of The rings of power feels tiny and that makes events feel claustrophobic without any explanation. There’s a reason Gil Galad in Linden didn’t know of events in Eregion during the making of the Rings of Power. They didn’t live in the same subdivision.

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Nazgul

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The eminem chick looked eerily similar to the one that stabbed Frodo, when Gandalf I’m gooded them.

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The really big problem created by this episode- we have zero evidence of any of the lesser rings (the 9 and the 7) being created.

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My amateur assumption is that they will be created in later seasons.

The elves needed the rings to survive or whatever. The dwarves don’t need them yet (maybe the Balrog will give them a reason?) and neither do the men.

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For book readers weren't there corrupted dwarves there in the second age?

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Rhun was home to corrupted men known as the Easterlings, who served Sauron. There were some clans of dwarves there, but most eventually migrated West.

The “Stranger” is likely one of the Blue Wizards (Istar) that remained in the East.

Fantastic and succinct outline.

Can someone explain to me how this couldn’t have been the exact storyline in the show?

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Not true at all. I gave every attempt possible to like it and it just flat out sucked

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I didn't think it sucked, but there's definitely some work ahead for the team.

First, quit the trendy "surprise the audience" thing with writing. Nobody who wants to see this, wants surprises... if they haven't read the Silmarillion etc any basic plot would be unknown in details, including the lore as written.
If they DID read that and other stuff, they are watching to see a known tale brought to screen, not to be given a bait-and-switch.
I honestly can't think of a show where "subverting expectations" was a success. You could argue that GoT cratered itself when they tried intentionally to set someone up to be the hero, and then switch off that course.
Tolkien is moreso that concept; it's traditional good v evil, with heroic deeds and terrible villains. That's it's appeal.

Second, ... ok, you have resources. Quit playing with them just to show you can, and work on incorporating things into the storyline. Galadriel on the slo-mo horse ride is exhibit A. It looked great if you only see that clip, but it's so weirdly out of place in an irrelevant part of the story, that it's laughable.

Third, spend time on the relevant parts of the story, and get rid of the filler. We had more on-screen time with the Harfoots packing to leave, and/or saying goodbye to Nori, than we had for actual Rings of Power forging. Celebrimbor and Sauron/Halbrand were onscreen together for maybe 5 minutes. We watched Nori say goodbye for longer than that.
Side-note, nobody cares about Hobbits/Harfoots. Like, they literally didn't, which was why it was such a surprise to Gondor/Sauron etc that they were involved.

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Side-note, nobody cares about Hobbits/Harfoot

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This.