LotR: The Rings of Power 1.06.
Oct. 1st, 2022 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which there are no Harfoots and no Dwarves, but two other plotlines unite, and make for a compelling hour.
I knew it! But it's even better than I thought. Hats off, show, for doing something with the "Orcs were made of Elves originally" bit of Tolkienian lore and use it to create a truly interesting character out of it. Adar better not be Sauron despite all denials (but I truly think he's not, someone else is, I'll get to that), he's so much more interesting as a fallen/twisted elf with actual concern for "his" orcs, using the elven argument of every life being sacred and planning ahead for a scenario in which he gets defeated (by sending what's-his-name the barkeep away with the actual sword/key to creating Mordor and thus accomplishing his purpose despite being beaten). As someone who was always extremely uneasy with the concept of the Orcs as a universally evil and killable race (and also with Gimli's and Legolas' Orc killing competition in Two Towers as a result), I couldn't be happier with the fact that Galadriel's threat to kill every last orc during the next age is meant by the narrative to signal how close to falling she's herself, how much inner darkness she has accumulated which she needs to draw back from.
(Sidenote: none of which means that Adar is right. It's all very well to to proclaim Orcs have a right to live, too, while leaving out the part where they live by killing and/or subjecting everyone else to do so under his direction.)
Bronwyn, Arondir, Theo and the villagers managing to outwit the Orcs once and almost twice and thus remaining alive until the cavalry arrives (literally) made me realise I've come to care for them, too. The reveal that Adar had been sending their own people against them was appropriately gut wrenching and again a big difference to LotR where, the brief moment of the dead Sam observed man from the South aside, defeated and killed enemies who fought on the Sauron side of things are treated as disposable, with no one grieving for them. (It's also another reminder of Adar's viciousness, btw; that he shapes up to be a fascinating character doesn't mean he's not evil, see above.)
Galadriel and Haldbrand each pulling each other back from the brink (or did they) and bonding over it, Haldbrand's offense at Adar not recognizing him and the repeated reminders Haldbrand has smith abilities are swaying me to the side of the theory that Haldbrand is Sauron. (Galadriel not recognizing him either as such isn't an obstacle to this since he has shape-changing abiltiies. But presumably he was already in this shape when encountering Adar.) It just makes storytelling sense. Sauron has to be someone the audience has gotten to know (sort of) by now, not someone introduced at the last moment when he's finally revealed. Galadriel pushing for him to become King of the Southlands, aka future Mordor, would be a tragic irony, and I could also believe her pursuit of him in revenge of her brother made him conclude that she isn't just a threat to him but could be a major asset if he manages to get her on his side, which evidently he would need an alias for. Conversely, it would make Galadriel's eventual showdown with him far less predictable. Lastly: if Adar and Sauron truly have different agendas, i.e. Adar pulled of the episode's climactic stunt to create a homeland for "his" Orcs to live in and then Sauron takes over, gets rid of Adar and continues to treat the Orcs as his slaves and canon fodder, it would be the kind of "evil turns onto evil" tale fitting the universe and keeping Adar a tragic character.
Speaking of the episode's finale: I suck at these things, so I have no idea whether you can manipulate a volcano eruption this way, but still, within fantasy as a reveal to what all those tunnels were there for, and seeing the mountain erupt and take the shape of Mount Doom was not a little awe inspiring.
I knew it! But it's even better than I thought. Hats off, show, for doing something with the "Orcs were made of Elves originally" bit of Tolkienian lore and use it to create a truly interesting character out of it. Adar better not be Sauron despite all denials (but I truly think he's not, someone else is, I'll get to that), he's so much more interesting as a fallen/twisted elf with actual concern for "his" orcs, using the elven argument of every life being sacred and planning ahead for a scenario in which he gets defeated (by sending what's-his-name the barkeep away with the actual sword/key to creating Mordor and thus accomplishing his purpose despite being beaten). As someone who was always extremely uneasy with the concept of the Orcs as a universally evil and killable race (and also with Gimli's and Legolas' Orc killing competition in Two Towers as a result), I couldn't be happier with the fact that Galadriel's threat to kill every last orc during the next age is meant by the narrative to signal how close to falling she's herself, how much inner darkness she has accumulated which she needs to draw back from.
(Sidenote: none of which means that Adar is right. It's all very well to to proclaim Orcs have a right to live, too, while leaving out the part where they live by killing and/or subjecting everyone else to do so under his direction.)
Bronwyn, Arondir, Theo and the villagers managing to outwit the Orcs once and almost twice and thus remaining alive until the cavalry arrives (literally) made me realise I've come to care for them, too. The reveal that Adar had been sending their own people against them was appropriately gut wrenching and again a big difference to LotR where, the brief moment of the dead Sam observed man from the South aside, defeated and killed enemies who fought on the Sauron side of things are treated as disposable, with no one grieving for them. (It's also another reminder of Adar's viciousness, btw; that he shapes up to be a fascinating character doesn't mean he's not evil, see above.)
Galadriel and Haldbrand each pulling each other back from the brink (or did they) and bonding over it, Haldbrand's offense at Adar not recognizing him and the repeated reminders Haldbrand has smith abilities are swaying me to the side of the theory that Haldbrand is Sauron. (Galadriel not recognizing him either as such isn't an obstacle to this since he has shape-changing abiltiies. But presumably he was already in this shape when encountering Adar.) It just makes storytelling sense. Sauron has to be someone the audience has gotten to know (sort of) by now, not someone introduced at the last moment when he's finally revealed. Galadriel pushing for him to become King of the Southlands, aka future Mordor, would be a tragic irony, and I could also believe her pursuit of him in revenge of her brother made him conclude that she isn't just a threat to him but could be a major asset if he manages to get her on his side, which evidently he would need an alias for. Conversely, it would make Galadriel's eventual showdown with him far less predictable. Lastly: if Adar and Sauron truly have different agendas, i.e. Adar pulled of the episode's climactic stunt to create a homeland for "his" Orcs to live in and then Sauron takes over, gets rid of Adar and continues to treat the Orcs as his slaves and canon fodder, it would be the kind of "evil turns onto evil" tale fitting the universe and keeping Adar a tragic character.
Speaking of the episode's finale: I suck at these things, so I have no idea whether you can manipulate a volcano eruption this way, but still, within fantasy as a reveal to what all those tunnels were there for, and seeing the mountain erupt and take the shape of Mount Doom was not a little awe inspiring.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-01 08:08 am (UTC)Word of God, apparently, says yes:
"Speaking at a Q&A in London earlier this week, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay explained they got the idea of Mount Doom's creation from the geologist father of one of the show's writers. He told them it would be possible to make a volcano erupt if enough steam pressure was involved. Never let it be said that The Rings of Power isn't realistic."
no subject
Date: 2022-10-01 09:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-01 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-01 12:38 pm (UTC)I can't imagine Sauron being human in origin -- he needs to be a being of more power and longer-lived, so possibly an Elf or possibly something else. The fact that he corrupts Saruman suggests he comes to the playing field with more to begin with. But I totally agree Galadriel's showing some poor judgement in a number of regards.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 12:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 06:37 am (UTC)M thinks that right now Halbrand is playing on our memories of Aragorn at the beginning of the trilogy (movies, especially, as he looks a bit like Viggo Mortenson
Oh, that's definitely intentional, and you can also see him doing the flipside of movie Aragorn's arc - he returns as King in what's meant to be a big rescue and liberation operation, and almost immediately the country goes to hell.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 12:53 am (UTC)The one thing tripping me up about Haldbrand being Sauron is I thought at this point Sauron is going to disguise himself as an elf and trick people into helping him make the One Ring? and it's a little hard for me to see how he is going to manage that in like two episodes. (I assume the Rings of Power are going to be mentioned in the next episode, along with the balrog, maybe.) Maybe Adar could be Sauron in a kind of "Vader killed Anakin" way but I just don't see it.
I know nothing of geography so I was thinking the surging water was meant to drown Numenor (is that going to maybe be the big finale?) and the realization that no, that's MOUNT DOOM was pretty yeeeek. Getting ever closer to the forging of the One Ring....
no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 06:50 am (UTC)Yes, and how she was so sure that she should never keep the One Ring, that it would corrupt her. I appreciate that the series makes this not just due to the Ring's general corrupting influence (which it has on everyone), but to Third Age Galadriel knowing her own flaws and capacity to become an Evil Overlady if given the means and one more push.
The one thing tripping me up about Haldbrand being Sauron is I thought at this point Sauron is going to disguise himself as an elf and trick people into helping him make the One Ring?
Well, the series could change that into him disguising himself as a human being. In either case, it would be a disguise and not his actual species. In any event, I doubt they'll introduce a new character in the last two episodes, and they've played "who is Sauron?" throughout the season, with two red herrings (the Stranger/Meteor Man/Almost Certainly Gandalf and Adar, so there must be some kind of pay off.
re: the Rings - depending on whether Amazon Prime has already greenlighted a second season, they might not be made this season. But I don't think so, my guess is that after the shock of Mordor creation, the various plot threads will come together (especially since they'll probably assume Adar has lied and he IS Sauron, and out there somewhere), with the Elves now convinced Galadriel was right and immediate action is required. Celimbror has already been shown to think of creating something containing power, and that's when someone - Halbrand or Party Yet Unknown - will suggest the Ring(s). And to the Dwarves and human leaders, too. I don't think we'll see the all the Rings completed in the season finale, but we'll see the One being forged in secret work on the others begins.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 01:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-02 03:35 pm (UTC)