Lord of the Rings TV Series in Development - How could this POSSIBLY go wrong...

I havent read the silmarillion in a while so i dont remember exactly but i think at the time the series is set men werent colonizing shit. The men living in middle earth were either uncivilized tribes or were friendly with the elves, and the shadow either hadnt started to fall yet on the numenoreans or had just started to, the only numenorean settlements in middle earth were outposts they built to resupply and give safe harbor to their ships as they loved sailing around arda. They were friendly with the elves and other men and didnt go conquering and making colonies in middle earth until after sauron had revealed the one ring and middle earth was in a kind of cold war between sauron and the elves

Of course they have to come up with their own dumb shit to make men look bad, they couldnt just toss a hint here and there and do the corruption and fall of numenor later
They technically did "colonize" the so-called Middle-men (Relatives of the Edain who didn't come to Beleriand and fight Morgoth) by doing "White man's burden" types of colonization. They introduced writing, technology, and language (Westron is a descendant of Adûnaic) to them. However they never tried to occupy Middle-earth by force or exact tribute from them until they started to adopt a decadent lifestyle which required resources on the mainland, as well as militaristic adventurers establishing independent kingdoms and ruling as despots.
But you are mostly right. I am fairly certain they will make the relief expedition to assist the Elves and Ar-Pharazôn's crushing defeat of Sauron into a single conflict, since they have already stated that there will be a compression of events.
 
Regardless of how one feels about Jackson’s series, I can’t see anyone outside of Cate Blanchett as Galadriel. You could even see the light of the Two Trees in her eyes. This chick… she does not look like, nor even tries, to comport herself with the grace of the Eldar.

Also, it’s pretty fucking insulting to have your boyband son-in-law talk down to you like that.
 
As has been said before, they really seem to be acting like Galadriel is really young and brash or something. Presumably due to their lack of Silmarillion ownership.

That, and giving her a story arc. She has to be doubted, she has to doubt herself, so she can overcome. In the Vogue article they mentioned a scene where she has a good cry then resolves herself to going forward. Completely out of character for a woman who walked across the Helcaraxe because she thought she could establish a kingdom on the other side. (Motive varies depending on text.) But it works if you're playing with big, primary color emotions. She can be hurt, insulted, sad, then find some grit, vanquish her doubts, and prove herself superior. I could probably translate Yas Kween Slay into one of the Eldarin tongues but the idea is too depressing to put into action.

Also Galadriel and the rest of Firnarfin's house did not participate in the kinslaying.

In Unfinished Tales there's a version where she "fought fiercely" against the Feanorians at Alqualonde, but her history is confused and variable.

s point I think he's just a guy with famous parents. Probably not even Gil-galad's herald yet. I think Vogue said he's an archite And yes, she is thousands of years older than Elrond, though she can't be that much older than Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor.

I've heard Nature of Middle-earth establishes a new timeline and tightens up the gap between them, but I haven't read the book yet. And I'm too lazy to scan through the Grey Annals and convert Valian years to Solar years, but thousands sounds right. Even if it wasn't thousands, I imagine living in Valinor made her so much more sophisticated than the Elves of Beleriand that she might as well be thousands of years older.

My point (in case it was lost in my meandering) was that Galadriel and Elrond are not social equals at this time, and he wouldn't speak to her in that manner. No honorifics or titles, and a peremptory, chiding tone. She's a Queen of the Noldor (sometimes; it depends on which text you read) and he's ... at this point I think he's just a guy with famous parents. Probably not even Gil-galad's herald yet. I think Vogue said he's an architect. I'm sure she feels warmly toward Melian's grandson, but there are still proprieties to be observed. If nothing else, her mere presence should inspire a bit of awe.

Círdan is definitely older but never went West. There's also probably a decent number of Noldor left in Lindon and Eregion that had seen the two trees and hadn't gone West yet (even by the time of LotR there are implied to be a handful left in Rivendell). The only ones we know of by name are the ones that are members of the royal family and probably Glorfindel.

I think Glorfindel arrived ca. TA 1000, but this sounds like another one of the things Tolkien would have moved around and spent years fretting over.
 
Regardless of how one feels about Jackson’s series, I can’t see anyone outside of Cate Blanchett as Galadriel. You could even see the light of the Two Trees in her eyes. This chick… she does not look like, nor even tries, to comport herself with the grace of the Eldar.

Also, it’s pretty fucking insulting to have your boyband son-in-law talk down to you like that.
It's a testament to how myopic these people are. And also how absolutely terrified the woke are of actual feminine power. Every woke "strong woman" is a man with tits bolted to their chest. They act like men, they address problems and conflict like men, they approach interpersonal relations like men and if you took the tits away and cast a macho man randy savage in their place the story would not change one iota.

Tolkiens women were actually believable, aspirational. Any young girl could aspire to have the courage of Eowyn, or the wisdom and dignity of Galadrial. Can any young girl aspire to be Captain Marvel or any of these woke skin walkers?

What makes me so mad about this abomination, the one thing above everything else, is that this stupid shit is robbing young girls of their heroes. This fucking trailer. Elrond, a young elf mansplaining to GALADRIAL? how fucking dare you. Galadrial feeling she has to prove herself to second age Elrond? Fuck off. Let's screech about robbing of agency. Galadrial, who was old when Elrond was an infant, who beheld with her own eyes the God's who sang the song of creation, having to explain herself to "the man".

How do I know these writers have never read Tolkien. The most obnoxious thing is they have insulted and diminished one of the greatest female heroes in western literature in order to "make her better". Fucking hacks.
 
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That, and giving her a story arc. She has to be doubted, she has to doubt herself, so she can overcome. In the Vogue article they mentioned a scene where she has a good cry then resolves herself to going forward. Completely out of character for a woman who walked across the Helcaraxe because she thought she could establish a kingdom on the other side. (Motive varies depending on text.) But it works if you're playing with big, primary color emotions. She can be hurt, insulted, sad, then find some grit, vanquish her doubts, and prove herself superior. I could probably translate Yas Kween Slay into one of the Eldarin tongues but the idea is too depressing to put into action.



In Unfinished Tales there's a version where she "fought fiercely" against the Feanorians at Alqualonde, but her history is confused and variable.



I've heard Nature of Middle-earth establishes a new timeline and tightens up the gap between them, but I haven't read the book yet. And I'm too lazy to scan through the Grey Annals and convert Valian years to Solar years, but thousands sounds right. Even if it wasn't thousands, I imagine living in Valinor made her so much more sophisticated than the Elves of Beleriand that she might as well be thousands of years older.

My point (in case it was lost in my meandering) was that Galadriel and Elrond are not social equals at this time, and he wouldn't speak to her in that manner. No honorifics or titles, and a peremptory, chiding tone. She's a Queen of the Noldor (sometimes; it depends on which text you read) and he's ... at this point I think he's just a guy with famous parents. Probably not even Gil-galad's herald yet. I think Vogue said he's an architect. I'm sure she feels warmly toward Melian's grandson, but there are still proprieties to be observed. If nothing else, her mere presence should inspire a bit of awe.



I think Glorfindel arrived ca. TA 1000, but this sounds like another one of the things Tolkien would have moved around and spent years fretting over.
As has been said multiple times before, Amazon does not have the rights to the Silmarillion or Tolkien's notes or other works. Just the Lord of the Rings and its appendices. It's fun talking about what the ideal interpretation of the story they are trying to tell would be, but we all know they simply cannot create it even if we had the most competent writers in the business. This will be unrecognizable from the actual story they are trying to tell. I doubt they will refer to Morgoth by name. I doubt they will talk about the First Age in any level of detail outside of the fact that evil was destroyed then in an incredibly costly conflict called the War of the Jewels. They will never talk about the Kinslaying and the cultural rift between Teleri and Noldor it created which continued even into the Second Age, or the division between Teleri and Dwarves over the murder of Thingol and sack of Menegroth. They will not talk in detail about the Valar or Maiar or Eru, outside of a vague sense that there is divine Powers in the West whose interference ended the previous war. They will not mention Melian, for that matter either. Possibly they might mention Fëanor, but only in respect to him being Celebrimbor's grandfather and the only smith greater than him.

They are not going to add Glorfindel in this as the majority of his backstory is not present in LotR and we already have enough male elf characters to go around at this point.


I remember them saying that Elrond is going to be some sort of ambitious politician type, too, which makes me think that he becomes Herald in this. I always assumed that Elrond was a prodigy loremaster and a sort of "unifying figure" for the various factions of Eldar that were forced to be together at this time after an Age of factionalism. He was an heir to the kingship of both the Sindar and Noldor (though he claimed neither) as well as the son of their savior and kin to the kings of the Númenoreans. Wedding Celebrían cemented this even further by tying him to the house of Finarfin. Him being an emissary and herald makes complete sense from a political standpoint. The only groups of elves that he wasn't tied to were the Nandor and the House of Fëanor, who were the ones who left Lindon for Eregion and beyond the Misty Mountains.
Not that any of this will be brought up in this TV show.
 
You may be able to find an obscure passage to justify making Galadriel into an action girl on the surface, but that totally goes against her character in LOTR, where we see the most of her by far.
In that she is portrayed as wise, patient and great strength of spirit. Character traits that fit well with her ring of power, which has the element of water.
She and her husband are instrumental for the quest's success in several ways. Firstly, they outfit the fellowship, and most of all Frodo, with tools that they desperately need. Coats that tarn them, that she weaved herself, and a phial of water, her element, with the light of one of the Silmaril. Weaving and magic bathwater are pretty feminine presents and acts, very much in contrast to "warrior veteran tough action girl Galadriel" that the show wants to paint her as.
Secondly, she resists the temptation of the one ring, which only few can do. She is tempted and can still resist, and with that, she shows her great spiritual strength, with together with instrumental support, is her role in the Lotr.
The portrayal they are showing goes against all that, and even though she is younger, she is already many thousand years old at that time, much older than Elrond. One would think her personality would not change that drastically over a - for her- short timespan. That woman has seen the undying Lands, the light of the trees and the Valar, the war against Morgoth, and the shattering of Beleriand.
There is NOTHING in the second age that could compare to those experiences she had and let her character do a 180 to be at the point she is in Lotr.
 
Why is there a literal shot of the Elden Tree 15 seconds in the trailer?


I mean they literally stole that from the in-game videos, didn't they?
Maybe I was being a bit mean with my last comment, so I'll doublepost.
They are a really long story and are a very important part of the history of Tolkien's world. I assume you only watched the Jackson trilogy so I'll keep it quick.
Honestly all I can say without confusing you is that they are a pair of magical light-creating trees that gave the oldest elves incredible power a very long time ago until they were destroyed for reasons. Their light and power were lost forever which led to a ton of very complex events that would take hours to explain to a layman. The only remnant of the two trees by the time of Lord of the Rings is the White Tree of Gondor, a descendant of the Silver tree, and the Star of Eärendil, whose bottled light was used by Sam to repel the spider Shelob, as well as the Sun and Moon (Yes, they existed before the sun and moon. They're that old.).
 
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Maybe I was being a bit mean with my last comment, so I'll doublepost.
They are a really long story and are a very important part of the history of Tolkien's world. I assume you only watched the Jackson trilogy so I'll keep it quick.
Honestly all I can say without confusing you is that they are a pair of magical light-creating trees that gave the oldest elves incredible power a very long time ago until they were destroyed for reasons. Their light and power were lost forever which led to a ton of very complex events that would take hours to explain to a layman. The only remnant of the two trees by the time of Lord of the Rings is the White Tree of Gondor, a descendant of the Silver tree, and the Star of Eärendil, whose bottled light was used by Sam to repel the spider Shelob, as well as the Sun and Moon (Yes, they existed before the sun and moon. They're that old.).

I think it can be done without making it too confusing. Now my understanding is:

When the world was created there was no light, so the Valar (who helped to create the world, they're basically angels) created a pair of towers which held giant lamps (one silver and one gold) to give light. Melkor (basically the Lucifer figure in Middle Earth, a Valar who rebelled and wanted to rule the world. Also Sauron's boss) destroyed the towers.
One of the Valar then created the two trees (one silver and one gold again). Melkor still being an asshole destroyed the trees. A flower from the destroyed silver tree was used to create the moon and a fruit from the destroyed golden tree was used to create the sun.

The first age began with the awakening of the elves and this was while the trees were still there so this scene in the trailer is likely just a flashback or more likely some elf character waxing poetic about the good old days. The series is set during an abbreviated version of the second age, so the trees were gone by then.

Why is there a literal shot of the Elden Tree 15 seconds in the trailer?


I mean they literally stole that from the in-game videos, didn't they?

George Martin who did the world building for Elden Ring was clearly paying and homage to Tolkien.

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Since they're both drawing from the same source it's not too surprising that they'd look the same.
 
The first age began with the awakening of the elves and this was while the trees were still there so this scene in the trailer is likely just a flashback or more likely some elf character waxing poetic about the good old days. The series is set during an abbreviated version of the second age, so the trees were gone by then.
Minor quibble, but one worth pointing out because it underscores how stupid "young Galadriel" is. The elves actually awoke after Morgoth destroyed the Lamps of the Valor, but before the Two Trees were made. Its why for example, the elves tend to be more active at night and have a strong affinity for starlight. Tolkien never really comes out and says it, but its strongly implied they are a Nocturnal species. Part of him using them as a foil to humans, who are diurnal.

Galadriel's parents were around when the Valar enkindled the two trees, and it was said Feanor, the great smith and Cerebrimbors grand pappy was inspired to make the jewels after seeing the light of the trees reflected in Galadriel's golden hair. So we know she was an adult in the light of the trees, and predates the forging of the Silmarils by quite a bit. On top of being pretty present in the court of Manwe, the high king of the Valar, she probably also got to spend time chilling with Morgoth himself when he was still pretending to be a repentant former baddie. Its why she is shown having little concern or fear of Sauron. She'd been with his boss.

So, by the second age, we can guess that Galadrial is around 15,000 to 30,000 years old. Valiant years during the age of the trees is a bit wonky. Years as we understand them don't really kick in until the first age, which starts with the Kinslaying and Feanor leading the Noldor to Middle Earth after Morgoth who stole the Silmarils. By now I think you can see why depicting Galadrial as a brash young action girl is a big problem.
 
The only entertainment derived from this will be Lenny Henry having a full fledged chimpout when it bombs into a septic tank
I don't know who Lenny Henry is. 🤷‍♂️However, this is Amazon. They'll hide as much as they can, and burble about meeting expectations ratingswise where they can't. The shill media will dance along, praising the series for tangential stuff like the sexual proclivities of the cast and crew, how inclusive it all is, and on and on.

Essentially a redux of what they did to season one of the Wheel of Time, though this is going to be far harder to ignore than that was. Meaning Wheel of Time is eminently more able to canceled (in a ratings sense, not a woke sense) than this is. Meaning I'll bet it completes its run even if only twelve people and a blind guppy are watching it, whereas I fully expect Wheel of Time to be gone after Season 3. Plus Amazon paid a fuck ton more for LotR than WoT.
 
I think it can be done without making it too confusing. Now my understanding is:

When the world was created there was no light, so the Valar (who helped to create the world, they're basically angels) created a pair of towers which held giant lamps (one silver and one gold) to give light. Melkor (basically the Lucifer figure in Middle Earth, a Valar who rebelled and wanted to rule the world. Also Sauron's boss) destroyed the towers.
One of the Valar then created the two trees (one silver and one gold again). Melkor still being an asshole destroyed the trees. A flower from the destroyed silver tree was used to create the moon and a fruit from the destroyed golden tree was used to create the sun.

The first age began with the awakening of the elves and this was while the trees were still there so this scene in the trailer is likely just a flashback or more likely some elf character waxing poetic about the good old days. The series is set during an abbreviated version of the second age, so the trees were gone by then.



George Martin who did the world building for Elden Ring was clearly paying and homage to Tolkien.

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Since they're both drawing from the same source it's not too surprising that they'd look the same.
It should also be noted that elves that have "Seen the Two Trees" are a rank above most other elves, since they were both empowered by the light of the Trees and the fact that they lived in close congress with the Valar and Maiar and could learn from them. Also, in the West, the Elves are immune to their typical wearying and fading of the world with age due to the lands being "Undying", so they were highly productive while there.
By the time of the Lord of the Rings there are only 2 named characters that have seen the trees: Galadriel and Glorfindel (A Character that was removed from the Movies and is fairly difficult to explain conceptually). Galadriel's husband Celeborn possibly also saw them but his origin changed several times and the most recent narrative on Tolkien's death was that he did not.
 
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