# 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:** 58
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1143 "2022-10-12T20:39:30Z")
Tolkien didn’t know much about geology or geography and his maps etc. show it. Why should we care about the details of ship sailing? ---
**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:** [October 12, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1144 "2022-10-12T20:39:45Z")
They may need to rethink the time compression thing. It may end up taking an entire age for the series to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1145 "2022-10-12T20:54:54Z")
The archetypal journey of Frito and Spam, who could forget it? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1146 "2022-10-12T21:09:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Of course on a sailing ship, the flag/banner flies towards the front, since the wind is behind the ship. When sailing directly down wind. It would fly sternward when sailing into the wind (not directly toward the stern, though, since you can’t sail directly into the wind). But the ships in the series are always sailing directly with the wind. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1147 "2022-10-12T21:21:12Z")
OK, here’s a fanwank for the simple sailing ships. Middle Earth is flat until Numenor falls, so no coriolis effect. Permanent high-pressure system over Valinor causes wind to always blow from the west, so Numenor to Middle Earth is downwind. Harbors in Numenor are laid out for easy departure. The ships never have to sail into the wind on the way out. Coming home they row, we just never see that. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1148 "2022-10-12T21:35:13Z")
Question as a non-book-reader: Many of you here appear to have read the books. How come the identity of quite a few characters (the Stranger, those creepy wizards, etc) is a mystery to you? Have the TV writers departed from the books to such a large degree that they created new characters in addition to storylines? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1149 "2022-10-12T21:42:21Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Have the TV writers departed from the books to such a large degree that they created new characters in addition to storylines? Rings of Power is a totally new storyline. It’s set in the Second Age, and there are no books about the Second Age. The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books are set in the Third Age. There are many tidbits of history from the SA, though, as well as notes, timelines, and other things. Supposedly, RoP is not allowed to outright contradict the established canon, but that still leaves lots of room for events that we would not know about. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1150 "2022-10-12T21:43:47Z")
Tolkien’s characters often used different names in different settings. So a new name does not necessarily mean that the character is a new invention. But, the series necessarily has a lot of new characters. Figuring out which characters are Tolkien’s, and which are new, is a fun parlor game. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1151 "2022-10-12T21:47:02Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > and there are no books about the Second Age I should correct this a bit: the _Silmarillion_ (which I haven’t read) has parts set in the SA. But it’s more a collection of myths, not a story with a consistent plot like _Lord of the Rings_. So while it tells us a few things that happened, it isn’t the source of the story in _Rings of Power_. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1152 "2022-10-13T00:05:27Z")
Yes, a very major departure in fact. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1153 "2022-10-13T03:30:41Z")
Well, we knew it would be a major departure. It’s a new story, based on a lot of snippets in the appendices of the books. There are lots of completely new characters, and most of the details even of the stories we know have been added, embellished, or changed. They are also playing fast and loose with the timeline, and adding stuff that really doesn’t fit well with the established canon. But even if they hadn’t done that, there’d be lots of stuff we don’t already know. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1154 "2022-10-13T03:43:02Z")
Fitting new stuff in is good. Scrapping established stuff, not so good. The Celeborn bomb is just depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1155 "2022-10-13T09:18:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The Celeborn bomb is just depressing. The latest speculation I’m seeing is that Celeborn is going to be the elf who fought the balrog atop the Misty Mountains in the battle that lead to the creation of mithril, and he’ll be taking Glorfindel’s place as the “elf who dies fighting a balrog and is so badass he gets to come back from Mandos” character. I can live with that. On a side note, _The Fellowship of the Ring_ has climbed into the top 10 on the Amazon charts, so it sounds like this show is encouraging more people to read the books, and that’s a good thing. > **[Amazon Charts Top 20 Books](https://www.amazon.com/charts)** > > See this week's Top 20 Most Read Fiction books from Amazon Charts. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1156 "2022-10-13T11:51:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The latest speculation I’m seeing is that Celeborn is going to be the elf who fought the balrog atop the Misty Mountains in the battle that lead to the creation of mithril, and he’ll be taking Glorfindel’s place as the “elf who dies fighting a balrog and is so badass he gets to come back from Mandos” character. > > I can live with that. That would be okay. I don’t love this mithril is magic that elves need thing, but if we have it, that’s an okay way to get there. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1157 "2022-10-13T12:18:15Z")
I mean, shafting Glorfindel in cinematic productions is a long-standing tradition… Not Glorfindel: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/87/ce/ea87ceea95b6a0eb824359e0d116499a.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/87/ce/ea87ceea95b6a0eb824359e0d116499a.jpg) Not Glorfindel: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a2/9c/89/a29c896786c9638db102ae3cf86028f7.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a2/9c/89/a29c896786c9638db102ae3cf86028f7.jpg) Glorfindel: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdRj40PXwAE_lZK.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdRj40PXwAE_lZK.jpg) (That’s him behind Elrond, mugging like an idiot) ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1158 "2022-10-13T16:08:58Z")
That last pic is the finest Bro-Elf I’ve ever seen. You just know he played lacrosse in Valinor. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1159 "2022-10-13T16:59:48Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t love this mithril is magic that elves need thing, but if we have it, that’s an okay way to get there. Who knew that mithril is the cure for seasonal affective disorder… ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1160 "2022-10-13T17:57:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The latest speculation I’m seeing is that Celeborn is going to be the elf who fought the balrog atop the Misty Mountains in the battle that lead to the creation of mithril, and he’ll be taking Glorfindel’s place as the “elf who dies fighting a balrog and is so badass he gets to come back from Mandos” character. That…that would be terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1161 "2022-10-13T18:29:35Z")
Bro even has a popped collar. He wears a diadem like Elrond but you can’t see it because he wears it backwards, bro-style. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1162 "2022-10-13T18:33:19Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > He wears a diadem like Elrond but you can’t see it because he wears it backwards, bro-style. Actually looks like he wears it around his neck. Reminds me a bit of Naruto, where it seems that no ninja knows how a head protector is meant to be worn. As an aside, it really looks like Elrond has taken too long on his decision to take a shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=59)