Rings of Power Readers/Lore thread, NOT Episode- SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!

My guess, I think we're going to get a version of what Game of Thrones COULD have been, had it followed the idea that the various factions could drop their disputes to fight the Night King.

We're starting out with various factions, all striving for control and power in Middle Earth, in the period after the Valar smoked Morgoth and created a power vacuum.

We have the Noldor, the High Elves who initially came and waged war on Morgoth. That is Gil Galad (the King), Elrond, Galadriel, and Celebrimbor. They were the initial top dogs of Beleriand, but they've been thinned out a lot and lost all their lands, and are starting over.
I suspect there will be a rift soon between Gil Galad and Celebrimbor, who is the grandson of Feanor. Feanor's people never got along well with the other Noldor, and each of them (Gil Galad, Galadriel, Elrond) have legit beefs with them. Gil Galad is in Lindon, Celebrimbor is in Eregion. Elrond is an ambassador, more aligned with Gil Galad. Galadriel has been a wildcard, and lore tells us she ends up somewhere else by the end anyway.

You have the Sindar, who we haven't yet seen much of. These are the Elves of Lothlorien, and Mirkwood; originally of Doriath (and/or never even came to Beleriand in the First Age). They resented the Noldor, but never had the strength to directly oppose them. They also have the blood-feud with the Dwarves.

You have the Dwarves, who as of now have the most intact and powerful kingdom on Middle Earth. They didn't lose that much in the First Age compared to the Elves (or Men). And now, they're mining Mithril, and seem to have plans for it. In lore, they get along with Celebrimbor's people more than other Elves; they feuded with the Sindar, and they mostly kept their distance from the other Noldor.

Men, you have 2 groups. Numenor, which is not technically on the main continent, but is highly advanced and would love to assert influence. And the common Men, who seem to be getting pushed around by at least the Noldor, soon enough Numenor, and are basically going to get rolled by whoever they run into.

So, Celebrimbor will craft the Rings, I think that he will use that to pull away from Gil Galad and establish Eregion as the new center of Eldar civilization.

Elrond, I think, is also meant to keep an eye on Celebrimbor, as well as assist him.

The Dwarves I believe will try to move against the Silvans; I think mithril will play a part in that. We already know that animosity carries over to The Hobbit, and they were STILL pissed in LOTR (after the Battle of Five Armies). Never trust an Elf, etc.

The Silvans will have their share of animosity. Here's a probable spoiler, if you pay attention to LOTR... the Dead Marshes. These are dead Silvans, who refused to join and follow the Noldor leaders, and instead chose to attack Mordor on their own. A move like that won't be done lightly, so there should be a lot of bickering beforehand.

Sauron is the first to step on the common Men, he establishes Mordor in their territory.
He helps Celebrimbor (in disguise) to forge the Rings, but before Celebrimbor can move to take control of the Noldor (a guess, but I think it may be his goal), Sauron betrays him and reveals who he really is.
Sauron attacks Eregion and Celebrimbor, before the other Rings can be effectively deployed.

Gil Galad sends Elrond with an army to help Celebrimbor (the shite has hit the fan, they can iron out differences later). But Sauron is too strong, wipes out Eregion and Celebrimbor, and has Elrond in a bad spot.
The Dwarves come out and hit Sauron, giving Elrond the room to escape with survivors, they go to Rivendell and establish it. The Dwarves go back in their mountain fortress, Sauron can't get to them there (yet?).

Sauron then moves on Gil Galad, and Elrond, and has them both on the ropes. That's when Numenor comes in, and cleans Sauron's clock. Yay, right? But they take Sauron 'prisoner', and they also take big chunks of land as their own. Common Men getting ruled again.

More to come...

Galadriel is going to train the Nuemenoreans in battlefield tactics in the next episode.

They are hearing up to go to Middle Earth to fight the Orcs.

Halbrand (aka Sauron) is going to refuse to go because he wants to stay and be a blacksmith (hmm, a little on the head, no?)

Galadriel will say she is going to make Halbrand go because he claims he is the Southern King, but he won't go.

Nobody knows which Wizard star man is yet, even the writers of the show.

I don't think Halbrand is Sauron, he's too low and common. I can see him become the eventual King of the Dead, who didn't answer Isildur's summons.
He may know or sniff out Sauron, from whatever he fled the first time (out on the ship in the ocean). He tips Galadriel off, but holes up (he's avoiding this war).

Meteor Man, I think is one of the Blue Wizards, goes East and helps keep the common Men out of Sauron's armies. But doesn't unite them with the Elves, either- the Harfoots maybe rub off on him, and he doesn't come West for the fight.

I think Sauron is unnamed through the first season, we mostly get all the key realms established. Still need some Silvans.
I think Elendil lands in what becomes Gondor or Arnor later, when he sails with Galadriel. This gives him a safe space for later. Probably Gondor, closer to the action; Arnor is closer to the Elves, and would go there to be close to them (and sooth his heart).

To me, I would think we see Numenor establish footholds on Middle Earth in the second season, while Eregion and Celebrimbor become more prominent and a challenge to Lindon. I think Mordor quietly is established and grows in strength.
I think we see the rivalry between the Dwarves and Silvans kick up a notch, and the Noldor stay out of that (Elrond?), other than to push for peace. Celebrimbor might not; that might be when the Seven are given to the Dwarves. He might be stirring shite up with the Silvan.
I can see the finale as Sauron taking up the One Ring and declaring himself.

Season 3, I think, is the War of the Elves and Sauron, where Eregion gets whipped. He spends most of the season kicking arse. Galadriel goes to Lothlorien to stay, after being given a Ring. Elrond gets, maybe 2 as he comes to their aide early- the one for Gil Galad that eventually comes to Elrond, and the one for Cirdan that Gandalf eventually has. I'd think you might end season 3 with the Numenoreans coming in force, and Sauron surrendering as captive.

Season 4, everyone on Middle Earth is licking their wounds, while Sauron pushes the Numenoreans to dominance and disaster. They brutalize the Men, mostly leave the Elves alone, and set up their empire for tribute.
Season end would be the fall of Numenor, while Elendil lands in an area which would become Gondor (or Arnor).
Maybe for shits and giggles, the Balrog emerges while Numenor is wiped out.

Season 5, the Silvan Elves, no longer worried about the Dwarves at their back, decide to go after Sauron. Maybe Galadriel pushes this. Meanwhile Elendil and Gil Galad are making the Last Alliance and scrambling to gather whatever they have left. Sauron is back in Mordor, and no longer looking handsome , and is ready to rock again.
The Silvans go it alone, not wanting to wait, and not wanting to listen to those damn Noldor. They think they can hit fast, before Sauron is ready. They get smoked instead.
Season/series then spends the rest of the season building to the final .

Meteor man
Maybe he joins in the fight, and unknown to the Elves and Men (who don't know he exists), his impact is enough to swing the battle to the side of Good. Perhaps he keeps the Nazgul tied up long enough. The Noldor and Dunedain win, but with heavy losses. When Sauron goes down, so do the Nazgul; but Meteor Man is mortally wounded. He sends Nori to the Northwest to get clear of the mayhem, her people's path tracking where Smeagol finds the Ring, eventually to the Shire.

[quote]I'm officially inviting OMLandshark in, will ask him to stay on topic (not rage against politics, stick to lore).

?????? Good luck with that.

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I think Halbrand becomes a Nazgûl.

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I said in a previous thread I think Halbrand will be a Ring Wraith and I think Theo is his son, but Theo may be the Ring Wraith of the family.

I don't think The Stranger is Gandalf. I initially thought he might be one of the two Blue Wizards (maybe they are the antler-bearing men but that is probably just because there are two of them but they were in Sadoc's book) but now I am pretty sure The Stranger is a dark figure.

I think the mithril Durin IV gave Elrond will be forged into Nenya. Celebrimbor finding out about mithril will cause a huge rift between Durin and Elrond.

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I don't think The Stranger is Gandalf. I initially thought he might be one of the two Blue Wizards (maybe they are the antler-bearing men but that is probably just because there are two of them but they were in Sadoc's book) but now I am pretty sure The Stranger is a dark figure.

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I think the problem with that, is that he's pretty clearly a Maia. As much as they might condense the timeline, I don't think they can give us a magical figure who is not one of that race.

If good, we're looking at Istari, and there is a potential of the Blue Wizards (who fall out of history).

If bad, ... we're basically stuck with Sauron or the Balrog. I don't see either, too discombobulated. And Sauron would be more learned and elegant, while the Balrog would be more aggressive. He'd be a warrior who'd faced both Ungoliant, and then the Valar in battle, and somehow survived and escaped. And instead of the stars, I'd think he'd be drawing the map of Mordor (the fallback plan for Morgoth's guys).

Theo, after Halbrand doesn't save his mother... that's a good guess.

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I don't think Halbrand is Sauron, he's too low and common. I can see him become the eventual King of the Dead, who didn't answer Isildur's summons.
He may know or sniff out Sauron, from whatever he fled the first time (out on the ship in the ocean). He tips Galadriel off, but holes up (he's avoiding this war).

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I like the theory of him being the King of the Dead. It would create a great backstory.

As I said in the other show:

What's going to happen is that Galadriel and the Numenoreans are going to defeat Adar and his orcs, and Season 1 will end with them actually crowning Sauron (aka Halbrand) as king over Mordor.

Consider what Gil-galad said to Elrond after Galadriel sailed away, and Elrond had remarked that she was so sure that she would continue her quest to defeat Sauron:

"We foresaw that, if it had, she might keep alive the very evil she sought to defeat."

There's no way that those were idle words. And what does Halbrand actually say to Galadrwhen she asks him about the amulet:

"I took it off a dead man." ... which would, of course, be true if Sauron killed Halbrand and assumed his identity.

And yes, Halbrand claims to be a better smith than anyone in that shop in Numenor, which would be unlikely, since Numenoreans lived to lifespans over twice that of lesser humans, and the Numenoreans would have much longer to perfect their craftsmanship. But, Sauron, of course, learned his skills directly from Aulë.

Finally, we have the incredibly rich ways in which Halbrand counsels Galadriel to manipulate people. And manipulating people is Sauron's specialty.

The think about this that I really like is this:

Understanding what is going to happen at the end of Season 1 also helps us to understand what is happening with Galadriel.

Sometime in Season 2, we will see her overcome with remorse and grief for what she's done in putting her bitter enemy in power. Elrond will have to do a great deal of counseling.

But this will irrevocably change her character. Having failed so deeply, she will no longer be arrogant and brash. She will become much more patient, understanding, kind, and wise.

Oh, and she will also develop her ability to look into the minds of others, so that she can never be similarly deceived again.

So, for everyone complaining about Galadriel's characterization right now ... be patient. She will become a very different elf -- one more in keeping with the Galadriel we see in LOTR.

OK. Bye.