The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

[TM2YC]

^ Yes. The Sixth Sense is a terrific example of how to write/direct this type of thing near perfectly. However, that movie didn't go in with the burden of an audience already thinking "So, who is really a ghost in this thing?".

 

[DonKamillo]

^ Yes. The Sixth Sense is a terrific example of how to write/direct this type of thing near perfectly. However, that movie didn't go in with the burden of an audience already thinking "So, who is really a ghost in this thing?".

You called the twist, but I doubt that most of the mainstream audience, who don't spend their time on forums like these or reddit, did too
So they where also going in "blind", especially because Halbrand had a name and kind of a backstory while The Stranger for example had not, so most people where probably wondering who the Stranger was and not asking themselves if Halbrand was Sauron or not.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

You called the twist, but I doubt that most of the mainstream audience, who don't spend their time on forums like these or reddit, did too
So they where also going in "blind", especially because Halbrand had a name and kind of a backstory while The Stranger for example had not, so most people where probably wondering who the Stranger was and not asking themselves if Halbrand was Sauron or not.

I don't know. I don't think there are many casual Lord of the Rings fans. The time required to watch the films is significant. Also, if you ask anyone about LOTR you most likely know someone who will tell you, completely voluntarily, all about the Simarilion and the appendices. I never read them, but I know a lot about them from others. I also don't think they'd spend almost a billion dollars to make a show for people who weren't already invested in the story. That would be a terrible risk.

 

[TM2YC]

You called the twist, but I doubt that most of the mainstream audience, who don't spend their time on forums like these or reddit, did too
So they where also going in "blind",

I think the overlap between people who know so little about LotR that they didn't even know Sauron was involved in the story of the creation of "The Rings of Power" (so people who had not even seen the popular PJ movies) and people who were interested in watching this new Tolkien show, would be vanishingly small.

especially because Halbrand had a name and kind of a backstory while The Stranger for example had not, so most people where probably wondering who the Stranger was and not asking themselves if Halbrand was Sauron or not.

You're making a similar point to the one I was above. They had to write this plot line with viewers in mind, who were hardcore Tolkien nerds, or casual LotR fans, or people like me who vaguely know a little because they've read the LotR book once a long time ago. It was a difficult task the writers had set themselves, perhaps one that they didn't always succeed with (and maybe wasn't a good idea to begin with) but it felt like they were really trying.

For the record, I didn't call it straight away because of any Tolkien knowledge (mine is vague), as I said here: https://fanedit.org/forums/threads/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power.25708/post-400823

From that post:

Heavy-spoiler based speculation...

Reveal message: Spoiler

was it my imagination or did the jagged bits of wood of his raft look like the Sauron symbol Galadriel was looking for?

Which I was totally wrong about, as the symbol was something else but the image did put the idea into my mind.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

As I’ve said, I came to LotR through the FotR movie. I loved it and have since watched all the movies in multiple forms and read the books (including The Hobbit). I know the lore of those stories and the backstories presented there. I have not read nor do I particularly know or care about the Simarillion or other histories or Middle Earth. Id say I’m a bit more knowledgeable than most that would be watching the show, but I’m far from a hardcore Tolkien junkie. And, for me, the Hallbrand/Sauron thing was confusing because I’ve been led to believe he wasn’t a “man” nor able to take on the form of a man. Maybe that was assumption on my part, but I doubt I was alone.

I think, with very rare exceptions, stories that have big twist reveals like that have to have them be naturally part of the story. I think this was a poor candidate for such a twist. I think a good litmus test is that if the writing requires a lot of overt (in hindsight) misdirection, you’re likely not going to end up with a satisfying twist. Like the Sixth Sense, the clues should be there but not obvious; and the story shouldn’t require misdirection to keep the audience from noticing those clues.

Edit: it was still better than The Hobbit trilogy.

 

[asterixsmeagol]

You're right, Sauron is not a Man. He is a Maia, the same "species" as the Wizards.

 

[keithbk]

The series is bad. REALLY bad.

That being said, I did determine that the opening should focus on the discovery of the "fallen to earth" figure (Gandalf, probably).

The Lord of the Rings, as well as The Hobbit, both start small. And then it slowly introduces you to the world of Middle Earth. You grow to like the main characters, then you travel with them as they explore the world around them. This should be the approach of a fanedit of Rings of Power.

Rings of Power is like a Dump Truck backing into your living room, dumping a bunch of fantasy tropes into your house, and driving off with the driver shouting out, "There, make sense of that, Jimmy!"

So, my suggestion is to start with the Harfoot discovery of Gandalf (or Gandalf-like character) and slowly develop the story from there... avoid dealing with the other story lines EXCEPT when they will start to overlap with this main focus.

 

[lifeincontext]

The series is bad. REALLY bad.

That being said, I did determine that the opening should focus on the discovery of the "fallen to earth" figure (Gandalf, probably).

The Lord of the Rings, as well as The Hobbit, both start small. And then it slowly introduces you to the world of Middle Earth. You grow to like the main characters, then you travel with them as they explore the world around them. This should be the approach of a fanedit of Rings of Power.

Rings of Power is like a Dump Truck backing into your living room, dumping a bunch of fantasy tropes into your house, and driving off with the driver shouting out, "There, make sense of that, Jimmy!"

So, my suggestion is to start with the Harfoot discovery of Gandalf (or Gandalf-like character) and slowly develop the story from there... avoid dealing with the other story lines EXCEPT when they will start to overlap with this main focus.

I like this approach. That being said...the other storylines don't really overlap with the harfoots, right?

 

[keithbk]

I like this approach. That being said...the other storylines don't really overlap with the harfoots, right?

Well, like I said, this series is really REALLY bad. It may take more than one season to create a viable story out of the mess they've dumped upon us.

 

[Muffy]

So is anyone thinking of tackling this mess of a show?

 

[Gieferg]

According to rules, it's way too early for that.

 

[henzINNIT]

I'd like to hear what the casuals thought of Rings of Power. With a title as beloved as this, threading the needle between making it accessible to all and satisfying to fans is especially difficult. My experience was that the show largely dropped the ball. I found it pretty damn convoluted overall, with references too involved for a noob to appreciate and with enough 'wrong' that the hardcore aren't liking it either. I'm not a Tolkien expert but I know more than the average, and by the end of the show I felt like it had done me no favours. I was either distracted by choices or worse, anticipating elements to be red herrings because they seemed silly and/or obvious.

So is anyone thinking of tackling this mess of a show?

I want a beard added to Kili first. I love the dwarves of The Hobbit but giving the pretty one designer stubble is lame as fook.

 

[TM2YC]

I want a beard added to Kili first. I love the dwarves of The Hobbit but giving the pretty one designer stubble is lame as fook.

He looked better in early/heavier makeup you can see in many wide shots in the Hobbit, before they reshot the Kili closeups with almost no prosthetics. Thorin looks much better in a lot of wide shots too, more Dwarfish, less clean cut

 

[Sepan]

So is anyone thinking of tackling this mess of a show?

As a matter of fact, I am currently "tackling this mess". I am slowly finishing "Rings of Power Slim Edit" - 30% shorter, rearranged storylines, some threads significantly altered. I should be able to show you the first 3 episodes in couple days. I will create separate topic when it's ready.

If you want, I can send you an example of altered scene on priv (unfortunately I cant paste link here, since I am a new user)

 

[Gieferg]

I will create separate topic when it's ready.

Not before next september

 

[Sepan]

Not before next september

I've read the rules. I get that, it can't be submitted to the database yet, but can't we create a topic and talk about it on the forum? (honest question, I'm new here)

 

[asterixsmeagol]

This is insane. They're recasting Adar and the next season won't be out for "another couple of years."

Amazon's 'The Rings of Power' recasts one of its main villains, adds 7 new stars for Season 2

Amazon's adventures in Middle-earth have only just begun. The company's Lord of the Rings TV show — The Rings of Power — just added seven new recurring players for its second season, which is currently in production in the United Kingdom.

www.syfy.com

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Unfortunately, these types of series on streaming services tend to have large gaps between seasons. While far from a home run, I enjoyed the series and look forward to season two, whenever that may come.

 

[henzINNIT]

Adar was one of the better elements of the show. Recasting him is a bummer.

He looked better in early/heavier makeup you can see in many wide shots in the Hobbit, before they reshot the Kili closeups with almost no prosthetics. Thorin looks much better in a lot of wide shots too, more Dwarfish, less clean cut

I don't mind reducing the prosthetics too much, but they need those damn beards. Talking about revisions, the worst last minute change was replacing Dain with an all CGI version. He looked great in make up.

 

[Gieferg]

I hope we'll get next season somewhere around 2050