I watched the whole first season because I felt that was the only way I could fairly judge it. It was mediocre throughout, but once everything was revealed/concluded, it was terrible and clear that they had no interest in respecting Tolkien's story as he told it. I like your framing of Elrond and Elros a lot. It would introduce Numenor better and help manage the passage of hundreds of years, plus further contextualize the Numenorean anxiety over death that leads to their fall (which the show doesn't seem to be interested in).

100% agree, now on to read about Helm Hammerhand and see how this movie is come Christmas time

You’re right, it’s like someone serving your favourite food and poisoning it. Irrespective of the Tolkein link, it’s a terrible production with the possible exception of the scenery. It’s dragged Tolkein’s legacy through the dirt, you are wise to distance yourself from it. I get suspicious about Corey Olsen being so positive about it.

Tolkien said if LOTR was allegory to WW2, the heroes would have used the ring to defeat Sauron…

Rant on friend! Much respect for holding your opinions and criticism until you have had time to reflect and absorb RoP. I completely agree the time crunch is one of the biggest issues. I like your idea of telling the whole story at once with jumping back and forth in time. I think that the actor that plays Elendil could also play Elros of example. So many possibilities flushed down the john for simplicity. This really should be Elronds story.

Tell me about it, i couldn’t get past episode 1 because it was so boring and terrible, bring back films like braveheart, gladiator, 300 and king arthur or else i’ll cancel my prime subscription and drive model trains arround my room, at least they’ll keep me intertained unlike this pile of horse manure lord of the rings ripoff did, i didn’t even watch season 2 because i can’t believe this disrespectful woke lotr wannabe got green lit for a second season , this show is disgraceful disgusting and dispicable and tolkeen fans hate it

Elros has been dead for at least 2000 years when this takes place.

It's not Tolkien so just ignore it.

I just couldn’t finish either. And I needed to re-read a lot of stuff about the second age to kinda forget what I watched.

I recall how the show management and executives cried foul when they perceived fan dissatisfaction with the racial makeup of various actors playing roles...as it turned out that was the least of their problems. The plot, the pacing and the disrespect of the works were terrible. That said, Bear McCreary did a great job with the music.

Frodo failed because anyone would have failed. Not a one of us Human, elf, dwarf, man or woman, would have been able to part with the Ring of Power at that crucial moment in the Crack of Doom. Because even a man like Frodo, with a good heart and a simple life, is still tempted by the selfish possibilities of power. Only a twist of fate (or perhaps an act of Eru Iluvatar) could undo the One Ring of Sauron.

Love your stuff. I am almost done with reading along The Silmarilian while listening to your podcasts. there is no way I could do the reading without someone to translate it for me . Wont waste my time on ROP

More of a rant than a review. Not that I disagree, just saying that my expectations were totally different. Kinda like with the RoP, no offense 😂

You didnt miss a thing

Following this journey in 2024! I so appreciate the expert insights and helpful commentary. I hope your journey is continuing well!

I'm a duracel a dumb uterus racist american celestial

The Christian parts are coincidentally the parts that ruin the worldbuilding. Inserting an omnipotent creator god who is responsible for the creation of everything, having the universe he creates be full of misery and suffering AND having that god be interventionist means all suffering and misery are ultimately the responsibility of the creator god as none of it could happen without his explicit approval. That means Arda is a profound dystopia under the thumb of a god who feels like playing sick and sadistic games with his creations and there's no hope of ever escaping from it. Do Frodo and Bilbo and Gandalf and Sauron even have any true agency? Did Bilbo spare Gollum because he was a good person or because Eru made him do it? Did Gollum fall into the cracks of doom because he slipped up or because Eru pushed him in? Did Melkor become evil because he chose to or because Eru wanted a bad guy for the story he was setting up? Don't even need to debate that because Eru basically admits to that right at the beginning of how nothing can happen that is not of his design. And yet we are expected to perceive this insane tyrant as "good". THESE are the parts that are problematic. Not whether Gandalf or Frodo are christ figures. Doesn't really matter if they're puppets with no agency who follow the script of their creator.

You are missing some big theme here in this talk. There are experts in this thing say that the bigger picture is the evil of the ring destroyed itself. I don't know the exact details, but it has something to do with the ring trying to destroy its owner or the world, and that actually destroyed the ring itself. And evil doesn't win as the ultimate message of the whole saga.

I wish you guys would revisit this and talk about other points. there is so much going on I read the chapter a dozen times because its so hard to wrap my head around what is happening

Tolkien was so wise. Absolute Evil would be like anti-matter in a matter universe. Instant self annihilation. As Percy Shelley (another Oxford man) said "All spirits are enslaved that serve things evil"

It's a movie

"12 Shirriffs because of 12 pubs" was just a lame joke that the only place a cop would be needed was at pubs where Hobbits got drunk and started barroom brawls.😅

Thank you for answering all my questions.😅

great tuff guys . I remember things while I read along the book with you . easier and the pronunciations

Meh, it's seeing a connection where there most likely there is none. I can draw a hundred parallels, and yet for the most part they will be wrong. Writer's gonna be inevitably affected by his own life, religion, war and a thousand other things. I am sure someone reads the Lord of the Rings and makes connections to religion, I don't I just enjoy it for what it is, a good piece of fiction. The themes of greed, death and love predate Christianity.

I never watch these, love the room aesthetic, guys!

There's a fascinating sidelight on Sarehole Mill. From the official page: "Matthew Boulton, manufacturer and business partner of engineer James Watt [in making steam engines], leased the building between 1756 and 1761 and used it as a ‘flatting mill’ for producing sheet metal to make buttons." After that it went back to being a water-mill. But it was once a location of the primordial Industrial Revolution, just like Saruman's transformation of the mill at Hobbiton.

South African here ,colored (mixed race) we do not consider him racist at all ,all South Africans are aware that white people also hated apartheid Mandela was in jail with white men as well ...search Dennis Goldberg

Frodo is very selfless. Je is willing to sacrifice his safety and life to ensure that others will be able to go on with their lives. The world needs more people like that.

Thanks

Love the analysis.!❤

How am I supposed to remember everything

Were yall affected by the storm at all?

The left hates everything wholesome.

Thank you so much for this, folks! For those who need to spare their eyes like myself, videos like this are a blessing. I'm already subscribed to the channel. I always give the due thumbs-up and share the vid:-)1

There is nothing to fix. Season one and two are fantastic.

So, at the beginning, did Gandalf think Bilbo's Ring was: (1) One of the Lesser Rings? (2) One of the Sixteen Rings? (3) The One Ring to rule them all?

Gandalf + the One Ring = Valar level.😱

Great point about Frodo being "almost mindless" in regard to trying to throw the One Ring into the fire. I think you are right. If the Ring had anything to do with it at that moment, then it means the Ring can read Frodo's thoughts, which I don't believe. I think the Ring had planted the thought in Frodo's mind to never harm ot hurt it as well as be protective of it. If you say the Ring screamed, "NO!" in Frodo's, then that means you think the Ring believes it will be destroyed by a common fireplace fire. No way. If the thought was placed in Frodo's mind at the beginning, then FRODO, subconsciously, is the one who believes that a fire can destroy it. To me, that makes more sense.

Great video, as usual.😁👍

Since Tolkien was such a devout Catholic I'd be interested in what the Church taught in the 30s and 40s about pity and mercy. I did a quick search of the online Catholic Encyclopedia and didn't find anything useful. But maybe someone with access to older editions or old catechisms could shed some light on this. Personally, this could be all wrong, I've always thought mercy was shown to someone you had some power over. The judge to the defendant, the soldier to the POW. Pity was the virtue where that power was lacking. I could be all wrong. Maybe a question for Grammar Girl.

Gundabad was overrun in 1697. SA not Moria.

Bilbo had pity on Gollum, but that alone does not stop him from killing the evil creature. This is where mercy comes in. It was Bilbo's mercy that saved Gollum's life. Bilbo had Sting in his hand and was ready to kill Gollum, but he did not. Gollum deserved the death penalty from the moment he killed Dëagol. Showing mercy made him less susceptible to the Rings power over him, methinks.

When I hear the word "pity," I can't help thinking about the A Team TV series Mr. T's character saying, "I pity the fool that ......" 😅

I always thought of sympathy as meaning you understand how others feel and empathy as meaning you feel how others feel.

Glad i found these,thanks for the efforts.. Ohh btw i think past episode you were questioning why Hobbits do not like water,im guessing of the Shire,they do not swim well . The Hobbits from the Shire are harrier and more terrestrial (living in the earth). The related Stoor Hobbits that Smeagol belonging to are shorter and residents along riverside and were fisherman as well keen to rafting.

24 was one of the best TV series in history. Sometimes Jack Bauer had to torture the bad guys to get the information he needed to stop a tragedy from happening. I felt uncomfortable watching it and knowing that it absolutely happens in real life, but when the stakes are high, sometimes desperate measures must be taken to save the world or Arda.

Adar is Celeborn. lol

Q: Best part of watching this show? A: The comfy seats! LOVE IT! 😂❤

Maybe, fear of fire could be him reminding him that he may have survived the horrors of Mordor before but if they get the Precious things will be worse?