re: The Rings of Power Season 2 - first 3 episodes release August 29th, 2:00 AM Central

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The other guy, I think is the Witch King prior to becoming a Nazgul. Note: he commands witches (hence witch king ), and he sent those witches to find Sauron and help him... this makes him both powerful, and loyal to the cause. That fits the profile for the Witch King, who will be Sauron's second in command and most trusted servant.
*It's fine that a mortal is a sorcerer, as the Wise thought the Necromancer was "simply" a human sorcerer. They didn't instantly think it had to be a Maia. That implies that sorcery was indeed a thing.
The Ring he receives will be a reward, immortality in the service of the Dark Lord. Sauron may not tell him of the side effects (blind loyalty without free will, turning into a wraith).

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Not saying this is wrong but the witch king was a lord of Numenor and was corrupted by one of the rings of power. Seems like this guy is corrupted already And I feel like he's a wizard and not a man, like the witch king (not sure if they made that clear other than the staff). Though lets be honest, this show isn't too worried about being too accurate so it's kind of hard to base it off what we know from the source.

I have not watched any of the new season. My sons have and though do not hate it it said it felt rushed. Like they are trying to fit to much in early to get to something big near the end.

I really do not hate the show but it offers very little in entertainment for me. It is nothing more than a money grab hoping to profit off of Peter Jackson's movies by taking the big names in his story and putting them back on the screen. Yes I agree everything about the show for the most part goes against the lore in the books but Jacksons's movies were not exact either but at least they was a solid story and entertaining.

The show has an audience and if people enjoy it so be it.

I am curious as the new episode I believe Tom Bombadil will be in it this week. Curious how he is used and very little lore on him as a character that would prevent him from this time/age.

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I am curious as the new episode I believe Tom Bombadil will be in it this week. Curious how he is used and very little lore on him as a character that would prevent him from this time/age.

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Bombadil is "first and oldest", he would be in Middle Earth from the beginning. He's not mentioned in the First Age, as he never appears to travel to Beleriand (which is where all the First Age stuff took place). His statement

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"Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn [...] he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside"

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That sets him BEFORE Melkor corrupted Arda. It was Melkor that made the night fearful, and that happened before Melkor was captured the first time. First raindrop and acorn goes back before the Age of the Trees.
Short answer, Bombadil was absolutely there, somewhere.

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That would fit the character they are showing. I just assumed a wizard because of the staff, the followers, and because he's searching out the other wizard but I guess he could just be a sorcerer.

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I assume this currently in the show this season? I know it is believed he was one of the Black Númenóreans.

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Yes, this season.
Season 1 had the 3 witches (we called them priestesses of Morgoth) searching for Sauron. Season 2 establishes this guy as their boss.

Could it be a Black Numenorean? Technically, yes- Numenor was all about the sea, and there's a couple brief passages in the Silmarillion that they had sailed everywhere (except the Undying Lands, which was banned). So in theory, they had sailed all the way to Middle Earth's Eastern shores, exploring the world. And what limited references are in the books, at no point did they find a civilization more advanced than theirs, they were always the more advanced.
It's also mentioned that Men were in the East, still under the Shadow. The 3 Houses of the Edain left and went West to escape it, and don't discuss it. And most of them left for Numenor, so most of the Men that were in Middle Earth indeed were corrupted.

So there's every possibility that a Numenorean sailed East and set himself up, while simultaneously embracing the darkness. He would have resented the Ban.

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That doesn't necissarily mean he was there on middle earth (or wherever the show places him) in physical form. It's kind of pointless trying to be definitive about Tom as Tolkien wanted him to be a mystery

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Tom Bombadil was an inclusion from some of his other works, and not necessarily his "history of the Eldar" epic. He was tossed in, just as elements of the Elven lore was... such as the Tower of Ecthelion and the Seven Gates of Minas Tirith originally were in the tale of Gondolin.
The Elven lore allowed for the integration of LOTR into what became the Silmarillion. Bombadil, not so much.

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but just as a personal opinion, I've always thought of him as one of the Vala. If that were the case, he would have been there for the first raindrops/acorn, etc. and seen it, just not in his form from LOTR.

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I've seen and considered that theory and others, but the Wise doesn't think Bombadil has the power to withstand Sauron's coming at the last. Any Vala would swat Sauron away without a sweat singlehandedly; and if Bombadil is, so is Goldberry- so that would be TWO of the Valar. So definitely no chance of Sauron winning.
And the two most likely candidates are Tulkas/Nessa, and Aule/Yavanna... I would rule Tulkas out, since I believe he'd go straight to Mordor and grab Sauron as soon as he showed his head.
As for Aule, there's no evidence of him making things (Aule's thing), while Goldberry does kinda fit Yavanna... but again, I would think Aule would have a thing to say to both Sauron and Saruman, since they were under him. None of the Valar would sit idly by, if they bothered to go to Middle Earth.

My guess is that Bombadil could be slotted into one of the Maiar, more interested in hanging around the world he created, and not so interested in the doings of the Children of Illuvatar. And as such, not automatically powerful enough to defeat Sauron, as they'd be peers.
Sort of like Melian, who hung around in Middle Earth (but not interested in ruling), and helped only because she loved Thingol. Bombadil and Goldberry could be like her, but even more detached, just watching Arda grow.

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BTW, I'm really enjoying the 'REE IT'S IN THE LORE' arguments regarding the orcs and their loving families. Yeah, Tolkien mentioned basic procreation and didn't want to label any creature as irredeemable. Ergo, it's not incredibly lame and ridiculous for orcs to have loving families.

Keep it up.

That’s extremely normal for a highly anticipated spin off

House of the Dragon Season 1 premiere had 2.6M as compared to 1.3M in Season 2 premiere

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We don't know that it's actually true. When Elrond tells the tale of the Elf and the Balrog, he prefaces it by saying "It's a tale that many don't believe" or something of the sort.
It LOOKS true as of now, but if it's a con, it should look true.

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That part can't be defended. It's already proved that's what they're going with, not a con. It's already keeping the elves souls alive and the light of the trees going. You knew that was true even when Elrond put the mithril on the table and the leaf immediately healed itself. It's dumb. ANd to me the biggest disregard to the lore that they've done so far. It's the thing that tells me they don't really grasp the essence of what they are adapting. Changes like this that make me not have a problem with people who say this is their version of Tolkien, not Tolkien's.

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I can see both sides of that argument. People are wound up because she isn't the same character we see in LOTR;

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I would rather her be the version we read about. I have no doubt that Galadriel would be a bad arse warrior if needed to be, some earlier descriptions Tolkien made kind of confirms that she probably could be. He just never wrote anything that showed she actually was. Honestly what bothers me more about her character even more than her being a warrior is her armor. Looks like some combination of Gladiator and a knight of the round table armor. Not even remotely close to something the elves would wear. Some dumb massive plated armor. Ugh. Make her a warrior, whatever. At least make her look like an elven warrior.

And your numbers are based on premiere night, not overall premiere week, during which HOTD more than made up the slack. ROP doesn't seem to have.