# Amazon Lord of the Rings series; The Rings of Power **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, amazon-prime, tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 3, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497 "2019-03-03T20:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/803 "2022-09-24T14:41:43Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Oh, I agree-I can see why they chose this actress when she started showing some emotion. It might have been more powerful if we’d seen her and her brother together, but she did well. Do we think Halebrand is like Waldreg (the old secret Sauron worshipper) in that he’s a person who’s already pledged service? It can’t just be starting in the one village. Watch Saint Maud, which I would bet is what they saw when they picked her. Galadriel has not really shown that she, you know, can act. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/804 "2022-09-24T14:53:56Z")
Maybe it’s like Leonard Nimoy, in that I imagine he had some difficulty working out when to best let his “Vulcan” mask slip for the sake of character. She did let more emotion show here and it worked for her. Also, I hope they eventually do away with the slow-motion fighting for Arondir. We know he’s cool. Or perhaps we’ll see him go up against Adar in a slo-mo fight and get his butt kicked to really build up the tension level. Because when you know the elf will win, it’s not as fun. And I’ll always want more dwarves. Let us know what Joe Stonesmasher down in the mines thinks about all this. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/805 "2022-09-24T14:55:40Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > And I’ll always want more dwarves. Let us know what Joe Stonesmasher down in the mines thinks about all this. A Lower Decks episode if you will? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/806 "2022-09-24T15:01:38Z")
Sure. The elves are all “sneaky subterfuge CIA plots” (ok, not really) but I’d like to have it revealed that the dwarves are playing the game too-but that may be more GOT than Tolkien. And the dislike and prickliness between dwarves and elves we saw in LOTR and The Hobbit hasn’t really been seen yet. Are they just kind of “you stay in your yard and I’ll stay in mine” at this point, or is there normal trade? Elrond’s suggestion makes it seem like asking them for help was an “out-of-the-box” idea. Also, I’ve had an espresso so am full of thoughts. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/807 "2022-09-24T15:19:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > If the 15 yo had already participated in a rebellion against the Gods. … Like some children in war torn areas virtually do today? Of course dog years don’t go linearly in maturation so who know how elves mature? And what is expected of them even when they are, for elves, still relatively young. Point remains and you seem to agree: expecting the same individual before 3000 years of significant history as after seems off to me. Characters have things happen and change. Walter White becomes Heisenberg. So on. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/808 "2022-09-24T15:59:37Z")
> [@Tfletch1](#): > > I personally think Galadriel’s story is getting better and so is the actress. She seemed to be getting more interesting in last week’s episode and further improved in this week’s. I don’t mind her being fiery. In fact, it improves her robotic appearances in the first episode. I see this totally different. Even when she is supposed to be showing emotion, she simply speaks in a louder voice. Same blank look on her face. The scene where she dodges the swords was just cringeworthy. The men looked like they had never seen a sword before, much less held one. What does she hope to accomplish with three ships, maybe 150 men total? And many of those are the lumbering men that didn’t know how to use a sword. I hate to say this, but I’m not seeing how they can end this season on any kind of a big reveal or event that will surprise anyone. After the slogging pace so far, they need something to keep the casual watcher engaged enough to wait a year to see the second season. Much of what we’ve seen so far is totally forgettable, bog standard fantasy stuff. Using all eight episodes as character introduction is overkill. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/809 "2022-09-24T17:09:17Z")
Have you ever met a child soldier? I’ve met several. They’re the most damaged human beings I’ve ever met - and it showed. But they are the exception, and not a valid analogy. Galadriel wasn’t some child soldier. She was a fully adult rebel Noldor. There’s absolutely nothing in Tolkien’s writing that suggests Elves take orders of magnitude longer to mature than humans. She’s been a fully adult person for thousands of years. Yes, she’ll change some in the following 3000. But what comes in LOTR is _nothing_ compared to what she’s already lived through. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/810 "2022-09-24T17:24:50Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But what comes in LOTR is _nothing_ compared to what she’s already lived through. Is it? I’m really asking out of curiosity. Because it seems like a lot happens in those movies that was unprecedented. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/811 "2022-09-24T17:32:00Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Yes, she’ll change some in the following 3000. But what comes in LOTR is _nothing_ compared to what she’s already lived through. But that’s 3000 years from now. What would be changing her would be the events that she is currently and soon to be living through. There’s a whole world war that is about to be fought. And one of the things that makes one grow wisest is being wrong. She is very arrogant, very self assured, and probably going to make a very big mess. I suspect we will see the nemesis to her hubris by the end of the series, and hopefully by the end of this season. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/812 "2022-09-24T17:32:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I was pretty sure the Stranger was Sauron, but that song - _all that wander are not lost_… that is pretty Gandalf like. Actually, that’s straight from the poem that Bilbo wrote about Aragorn in FOTR: _All that is gold does not glitter,_ _Not all those who wander are lost;_ _The old that is strong does not wither,_ _Deep roots are not reached by the frost._ _From the ashes a fire shall be woken,_ _A light from the shadows shall spring;_ _Renewed shall be blade that was broken,_ _The crownless again shall be king._ So like all good writers, Bilbo borrowed from ancient Harfoot songs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/813 "2022-09-24T17:44:33Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > There’s a whole world war that is about to be fought. But she’s already done that, I think is MrDibble’s point. In spades - betrayals, arrogance, failures, massive wars. She’s already seen it all. She will again, of course. But she’s no naif. Again, I’m fine with fiery Galadriel. Tolkien imagined her starting that way and maybe the disasters of the Second Age are finally what quenched that arrogance. It’s plausible - we don’t know how elf psychology works. That incredible lifespan might lean towards an equally incredibly tenacious refusal to be introspective. But she certainly had already been through the wringer in a big, big way. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/814 "2022-09-24T18:23:21Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > But she’s already done that, I think is MrDibble’s point. In spades - betrayals, arrogance, failures, massive wars. She’s already seen it all. She will again, of course. But she’s no naif. I think there are some things that she has not yet seen, and seeing those _will_ change her. But then, we also have _after_ the war. She is now a leader, not of a military unit, but of a nation and a people. _That_ can change someone even more than war. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/815 "2022-09-24T20:02:16Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > The scene where she dodges the swords was just cringeworthy. The men looked like they had never seen a sword before, much less held one. > > What does she hope to accomplish with three ships, maybe 150 men total? And many of those are the lumbering men that didn’t know how to use a sword. I do not think this generation of Islanders have had a war or battle. Those warriors have just graduated. It is like comparing raw recruits out of Basic, with a hardened veteran. 500 was the number given. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/816 "2022-09-24T20:32:46Z")
S1E5: Fewer weird plot decisions, and a little bit of advancement of the action, but still it’s very slow. Gil-galad is a petulant old thing, isn’t he? And this whole mithril plot line is made up for the show, yes? What unnecessary bollocks. If Adar had just cut off Arondil’s head and sent it with a message to surrender, I think he’d have what he wants already. But he does make for an interesting villain. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/817 "2022-09-24T20:35:30Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Because it seems like a lot happens in those movies that was unprecedented. To someone who lived through the War of Wrath? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > There’s a whole world war that is about to be fought. See above. > [@DrDeth](#): > > 500 was the number given. 500 on 5 ships, so I’m assuming 300 on the 3 remaining. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > And this whole mithril plot line is made up for the show, yes? Kinda. There _is_ a one-liner in the Appendices about some of the Noldor moving to Eregion _specifically_ because of the Dwarven discovery of _mithril_. But that’s it, all of this “Light of the last Silmaril. Last hope of the elves.” stuff is purely made up. Galadriel’s Ring of Power, Nenya , is describes as made of _mithril_, so I suspect that’s where we’re heading with this. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/818 "2022-09-24T21:08:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > To someone who lived through the War of Wrath? So, are you saying that living and fighting through a war means that a subsequent war will have no effect on you? And once again, I repeat what I said a few posts later, in that being in charge of a people is different from being in charge of a military unit. Perhaps thousands of years of ruling her people wisened her up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/819 "2022-09-24T21:33:36Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, are you saying that living and fighting through a war means that a subsequent war will have no effect on you? No. I am saying that living through the greatest war ever means other, lesser wars will have less of an effect. Certainly a precedent was already set. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Perhaps thousands of years of ruling her people wisened her up a bit. Perhaps. Although we’re already way off the book timelines here, so who’s to say she’ll do that for thousands of years? She _should_ already be ruling people. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/820 "2022-09-24T21:52:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No. I am saying that living through the greatest war ever means other, lesser wars will have less of an effect. A person can be witness to horrors and be traumatized in a “lesser” war. The size of the war doesn’t determine what a particular individual will experience. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Although we’re already way off the book timelines here, so who’s to say she’ll do that for thousands of years? She _should_ already be ruling people. I’d assume that after Sauron gets his finger lopped off, most of history will follow what is known from the movies and books. We are in uncharted territory at the moment. From my reading of the wiki, she doesn’t become the Lady of Lothlórien until after the War of the Last Alliance (which is what I assume we are working towards). Before that, she was in charge of small groups of people while she herself was answerable to the king. Then a few millennia go by before we see her in LOTR. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/821 "2022-09-24T22:06:28Z")
And what I think some of are saying is that many people have meaningful experiences across their lifetimes that impact who they are. These can occur at any point in life and with thousands of years between the time of the current story and LOTR there are many chances to have many of those events. Hell, she is still in anger phase of grief about the loss of her brother. Yes bullocks to the rigid stages of grief crap, but for her that loss is raw and not processed or resolved. Clearly stated as such and as her motivation. Thousands of years later we meet her having come to some other point in processing it, and having grown in the process of getting there. She may never do bargaining or do despair, some humans do not, but at some point, with years, with experiences, she does get past anger. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/822 "2022-09-24T22:15:28Z")
Adar seems pretty emo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=42)