11 Insane Differences Between Tolkien's Lore And The Rings of Power TV Series That Ruffled Feathers

Major differences between Tolkien's lore and The Rings of Power
#ringsofpower #lordoftherings #lotr #tolkien

[@otakarkuby3926]

Rings of power is basically a Dungeons and Dragons adventure where the players take on the names of key characters with some brand new NPC's. then go on to do exactly what they want.

[@drrickmarshall1191]

Good analogy because it emphasizes how terrible the writing is. Imagine every player rolling a critical failure when they perception check Halbrand, your ears would immediately prick up, but no... Not this show. Devoid of all logic.

[@brownsound545]

@@drrickmarshall1191 interesting take. It seems as if the writers had some constant dereliction with the canonical events. I blame the Tolkien estate to for only selling the 2nd age rights. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Amazon doesn’t have any rights to the events of the first age?

[@drrickmarshall1191]

@@brownsound545 Well the show is set in the second age, and heavily condensed (not always a bad thing if done correctly, for example Fellowship not having 17 years between Gandalfs exit and return from the shire). Amazon only has the rights to the LotR appendices. So that leaves out almost all substance for the second age, and even more so the first. It's for reasons like this that Annatar has been replaced with Halbrand, and that the show runners insist Harfoots aren't Hobbits (even though they are), because WB owns the rights to Hobbits. The Tolkien estate could be said to hold some blame (especially Simon, who if you know nothing about; all one needs to know is he failed to publish novels under a pseudonym but got instant book deals when using the Tolkien brand), as they ultimately agreed, but the noose really hangs around the neck of Amazon for even daring to make a show in the first place. It's clear their buying of certain rights was not for the substance of the Canon, but the purchase of an inbuilt target audience (which they've completely alienated) and names of characters they think will sell. The ultimate detriment of this show is, I don't think the majority of people would mind the canonical changes, as long as the show was written well and used the actual characters personalities. Unfortunately, it does neither, in fact, it's the opposite.

[@mikem9001]

@@brownsound545 There is nothing in unsold IP that forced them to take the steps as they have - completely changing Galadriel's character, and indeed the character and capability of all of Numenor (unfortunately the 3D-printed plastic armour fits entirely with the Weaklings of Westernesse image). Nor forge the rings out of order, or have Elendil, Miriel and Ar-Pharazon appear 2,000 years too early etc etc.

[@mikem9001]

@@drrickmarshall1191 " I don't think the majority of people would mind the canonical changes, as long as the show was written well and used the actual characters personalities" Good point. Tolkien is as widely popular as Jane Austen. If you are going to change the character of Elizabeth Bennet, you had damn sure better know what you are doing, or you will be crucified. Once in a blue moon, a movie like "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" manages to do something new, but that is very, very hard to achieve.

[@paulcrawford5437]

If Galadriel could see through both Morgoth and Feanor there is no way in hell Sauron would have fooled her.

[@tondaron247]

True but it isn’t Galadriel it’s guyladriel and she sucks

[@2chaskell]

I think it was meant to a be a comment on her hatred blinding her and clouding her focus. She saw sauron as this foe she had to seek out, not one that would just appear to her so she never registered it

[@paulcrawford5437]

@@2chaskell Might have worked that way in the show but it's not the Galadriel in cannon who was taught at the feet of the Valar and by Melian the Maia.

[@EvanescentArt]

Tolkien wrote that Sauron took on a disguise to fool the smiths of Eregion, and Galadriel was also fooled. In the sense that she did not trust him, but she didnt know he was Sauron.

[@paulcrawford5437]

@@EvanescentArt She perceived he was not who he said he was and insulted him. It's immaterial if she realised his exact identity or not she just was not fooled by him.

[@ShaggyShagz13]

The biggest difference is that Tolkien's work is timeless and cherished by countless fans while Amazon's regurgitation is a dumpster fire that will be forgotten as soon as the smoke clears.

[@DT-267K]

Better to remember it. Those who forget history, especially the worst parts of it, are all the more likely to repeat it.

[@derekfume8810]

Following the logic of this statement, you are even worse dumpster to be forgotten after death, rotten to minerals. Deal with it.

[@davidcatherall727]

rings of power is at least better than house of the dragon which is garbage juice.

[@HakuzaPK]

Its a fun watch

[@Mislu]

Another issue with the show's liberties with the lore. Galadriel, being one of the elves who were in Valinor during the age of the trees, could see into the unseen world. How the heck would she not notice that Halbrand as a human had a presence in the unseen world?

[@juusovuolle8251]

In tolkiens writings Sauron fears galadriel due to her Insight and tries to avoid talking to her after their Initial meeting. But this Galadriel is Basically in name only. As is the story in general.

[@coryakabueze4541]

Rings of power is trash

[@lewiscarson3086]

I thought it was pretty good, whats the problem

[@markdelport7453]

​@@lewiscarson3086bad writing and the ruining of awesome characters.

[@edoardotosoni3190]

The most important difference is that the original material is great while the TV serie is an ass.

[@piotrziemba2257]

true

[@truthseeker6532]

Keep in mind, they are going off of ideas Tolkien had written down. As Tolkien got older, he was rushed into things and could not delve fully into what he wanted/be able to do (Age caught up to him). Now, they can explore ideas he had, and other pathways Tolkien came up with.

[@NTJedi]

@@truthseeker6532 Amazon can't even get the basics of providing female dwarves with beards... and you trust them to provide fantasy??? That's the same as trusting a chef who puts ice cream on your steak and adds ketchup.

[@truthseeker6532]

@@NTJedi First of all, woman with beards? Think on that for a bit and ask yourself, who would want to see that at all!!!!

[@NTJedi]

@@truthseeker6532 It's the design of dwarves silly. The same as why the design of dragons should equally be respected with accuracy. With your logic Medusa should have blonde hair instead of snakes as hair

[@boatymcboatface666]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Numenorian soldiers never rode horse's into battle,due to their size and weight of battle armour they wore.

[@mikem9001]

I think it was more the case that the Numenoreans were sea soldiers. They "rode" their ships into battle, then they fought as infantry. There are many examples of this from the Norse culture that Tolkien was familiar with, e.g. the Gallowglasses of the Norse Hebrides. This continues with the establishment of Gondor by Numenoreans - they provide infantry from within Gondor, but look outside Gondor for cavalry. e.g. to the Northmen of Rhovanion (area between Mirkwood and Rhun). Later, when Eorl the Young leads the greatest agglomeration of Northmen cavalry to Gondor's aid, Steward Cirion invites Eorl and his people to settle an area that they would call Rohan. But the Eotheod/Rohirrim remained a separate people, and Rohan a separate kingdom. Rohirrim were not citizens of Gondor.

[@Makkaru112]

They honored their horses greatly. Think of Maeras and their relation to Oromë's horse which too was a maiar. Yes, in tolkiens world even the horses have a family tree! So our average horses are related to them!

[@mikem9001]

@@Makkaru112 "They" means the Rohirrim. Not the Numenoreans or Gondoreans.

[@nicco-sixty]

yes they only used horses for sport, never in war.

[@jeffagain7516]

For the most part true. They were huge soldiers and combined with the weight of their armour, would have taxed the abilities of any horses. After the founding of Gondor, there was a supplementary contingent of cavalry based at Dol-Amroth (The Swan Knights). They were led during the Battle of Pelennor Fields by Prince Imrahil. These were descendants of some of "The Faithful" Numenoreans (who left before 'The Fall') and were said to have a mixture of Elvish blood, thereby having smaller stature. As a side note: The area of land of which Dol-Amroth became the capitol, was settled by Celeborn and Galadriel in the 2nd Age. The Circus of Power show fails to mention if this was before or after her romance with Sauron (giggle).

[@bjones8470]

My biggest fear is that because they have bungled this so badly that the show will be canceled and no one will want to take on the challenge of bringing Tolkiens work to the screen again. I’m 58 and when I was reading and rereading these books in my youth I could only dream of seeing these works on screen in live action with effects and makeup that could do them justice. Just go back and look at the Spiderman tv series they put out in the 70s and you have an idea of how limited they were. I just want to see this work done justice before I go.

[@NoName-co4om]

Anybody with a brain can see there’s a HUGE demand for LOTRs. 25M people (supposedly) tuned in to watch the first 2 episodes. If they would’ve been faithful to the spirit of Tolkien this would’ve broken every single record in TV history easily.

[@tattoofthesun]

Amen brotha. What’d you think of the Hobbit movies?

[@stanislavkindiakov6334]

@@tattoofthesun Hobbit was okey, not great, not terrible. I respect how they managed to make three long movies out of short book and still keep normal quality.

[@nunescarlinhos]

too bad amazon is obligated to do 5 seasons by contract. So expect 4 more seasons of this dumpster.

[@jeffagain7516]

Though some of the points you've raised bear merit, for the most part I'd suggest they are quite trivial compared to the drastic changes created that Tolkien's Fans have very significant issue with, such as; - the character assassination of Galadriel (most damaging aspect of the entire show) - The bizarre and hilarious idea that Sauron would be floating on a raft in the Sea - Elrond is the linchpin betwixt the Elves and Dwarves (of course, it should be Celebrimbor) - Celebrimbor is a doddering fool, schooled on alchemy and forging by anyone, let alone some simple human (regardless of the Human's reveal) - Gil-Galad has the assumption that Mithril is the key to Elven survival - Numenor, at this stage of the timeline has only incompetent children for warriors - Everyone, other than Galadriel, is portrayed as an incompetent idiot - A Blue Wizard would be sent to ME without an inkling as to why or even with the coherency to communicate - The "Southlands" seems to consist of a couple of villages, with Elven Guardians over hateful morons - The Orcs just want to live in peace with a land of their own (WTF?!?!) - All the stupefying adventures attributed to Galadriel and her Boy Toy, Sauron - The devolution of the Harfoots into murderous psychos that will leave you to die if you can't keep up - and on, and on, and on, the list grows. Your list could do with a bit of an overhaul, my dear Sirs but I do appreciate you at least initiating one. Ta.

[@atoms.channel]

good points, but I think you meant Celebrimbor and not Celeborn... Celeborn is Galadriel's husband.. and to add just the general context of Galadriel to the other elves is not truly apparent... Elrond is younger will be her step son, older or as old as Gil-galad & Celebrimbor, etc also... Mordor created in one day, and wrong age... absolutely on point that it overall lacked any scale... Numenor's fleet, "The village" of the Southlands, so few warriors, etc. Just overall nonsensical writing and plot... Don't let the Elves take our jobs! Make Numenor Great Again!

[@jeffagain7516]

@@atoms.channel Ta Buddy. Edited my Post, yes of course I meant Celebrimbor. Appreciate the catch. :)

[@mikem9001]

You could add that Elrond was a mighty warrior and general. Hugo Weaving does Elrond justice - even his calm face says "understated bad-ass". Sorry, Robert Aramayo, but you just aren't it!

[@ryanwalker8843]

Judging by the 'follow your nose line' it's pretty clear that it's not one of the blue wizards and supposed to be Gandalf the bigger problem in any case is any wizard being sent in the 2nd age.

[@boatymcboatface666]

@@ryanwalker8843 2 of the Blue Wizards were present during late yrs of SA? Definitely not Gandalf though.

[@andrewmize823]

I *might* have an inkling of respect if they'd scrapped the show's intention as a direct Tolkien story and done it as an "original" story that was simply Tolkien-derivative (like the majority of fantasy is, anyway). Emphasis on might. Change the Harfoots to generic halflings, change all the names of the main characters and locations, and it might accomplish some level of passable mediocrity as an original--instead of just being the bad Tolkien adaptation it is.

[@garycook5071]

Having two Durins around at the same time? Considering each Durin is thought to be the reincarnation of Durin the Deathless, does that mean they are talking to themselves?

[@himerosTheGod]

Now what really grinds my gears is the whole, we should feel sympathy for the orcs charade.

[@Makkaru112]

Orcs lives matter obviously..... 😅😅😅🤣🤣😂😂😂

[@himerosTheGod]

@@Makkaru112 Lol

[@TheGodOfWarhammer]

that clip in the beginning where Gladriel eats a volcano to her face had me legitimately thinking she died when I saw it as that would melt you.

[@eddieram435]

Exactly...Pompeii's stromboli volcano erupted and sent a pyroclastic cloud that hit people like hot cooking oil. People had their skin and organs fried upon contact.

[@Andalaeknir86]

Yeah that's just bad writing in ly opinion. Plus plot armor

[@CordeliaWagner]

Her plot armor is as thick as Disa, the only female dwarf ever ever ever!

[@notthecoxis4759]

Pyroclastic flow to the face, nah she's fine.

[@robertmaxwell1016]

@@notthecoxis4759 sounds like a wild night with Tatiana lol

[@cpuuk]

RoP is written by people who really, really, really, should be left alone to write day time soaps.

[@lastmann1]

11 Insane Differences that Bastardize Tolkien's Work, fixed the title for you.

[@majkus]

It's very simple. Describe the plot in detail. Find even one sentence in your plot synopsis that corresponds closely to anything in Tolkien's writings. Then see if you can find a storytelling explanation for the Harfeet story line being present this season at all, an explanation for Sauron/Halbrand's presence and immediate prior history before appearing on that raft, and an explanation for just what Gil-galad and Celebrimbor intended to accomplish by sending Elrond to Khazad-dûm with no knowledge of magical mithril. Then send a copy of the synopsis back in time to yourself six months ago as a warning not to bother. You may send illustrations from the show, though. Extra credit if you can find anything in the Appendices or main text of Lord of the Rings that was portrayed faithfully, except in the most general way ("Galadriel had a brother, Finrod, who died in the War of the Jewels." "Galadriel had a husband, Celeborn." "Sauron may have been repentant." "Sauron deceived Celebrimbor, who forged Rings in Eregion." "Númenor founders.").

[@mikem9001]

"the Harfeet story line ..." Sheesh, next you will be telling us that Proudfoots are really Proudfeet! "His feet were large, exceptionally furry, and both were on the table" (A long-expected party, Chapter 1, Fellowship of the Ring) 😂

[@boatymcboatface666]

How they going to explain Celebrain? You know Galadriel and Celeborns daughter?🤔

[@Jenni208]

Who is also Elrond's wife and Arwen's mother, right? I mean, they'll have to reveal that Celeborn is alive somehow or else there is no Arwen - unless they just fully alter the family tree, which I would not put past them.

[@Ower8x]

it would not have been such a big issue if they did not compress the timeline to such a ridiculous degree .... her being born before or after the war of Elves vs Sauron would not be such a big issue if the change to her age was from almost 3000 to almost 2000.

[@CordeliaWagner]

Logic fault: Why is the unexperienced apprentice of an architect send to portray the king for a carved statue? Why force Isuldur's non existing sister 'Bigboobs' into this trainwreck?

[@jeffagain7516]

Because she provided two of the only redeeming qualities to the entire affair? Dunno, just spit-ballin' here... :)

[@Tar-Elenion]

The biggest lore break is the fading or diminishing of the "immortal soul".

[@ratatataraxia]

I thought it was the appendices they had the rights to and specifically NOT the sillmarillion.

[@mikem9001]

Why does it matter? There was more than enough material in the Appendices for them to tell a great story, if they had shown proper respect to the material. And been able to write a competent screenplay.

[@otakarkuby3926]

Rings wraithes before the rings existed cool. This rings of power is like "Hey what would happen if you mixed Rings of power with back to the future and throw in bad robot style direction, but we cant afford that so get some writters who are cheap and burnable.

[@santmlb]

Yo, Lindon is not Beleriand in the show, Lindon is an actual kingdom in the books, where Gil-Galad rules during the second age.

[@CordeliaWagner]

The old guy in the cheap golden costume looks nothing like an elven king. It hurts looking at this minor quality fabric. And he is slightly obese.

[@mikem9001]

Yes, although it was the last remaining part of Beleriand, with the rest of it sunk into the ocean.

[@himerosTheGod]

Honestly I could have overlook the changes to the lore, had the show actually been entertaining.

[@embervosmek-park6804]

The thing that bothered me most: galadriel is older than celebrimbor's father, so while she appropriately looks young why does he look like an old man??

[@Jenni208]

Yes, that really bothered me too!

[@DarthWombat]

Some people age better than others.

[@quixotiq]

They made Celebrimbor an old stupid dodderer! SO offensive!

[@Ower8x]

@@DarthWombat but the elves dont age like that that is one of the issues with the show ... they treat the elves just like humans except for throwaway stuff or matrix like action from time to time ...

[@DarthWombat]

@@Ower8x T'was a joke, dude.

[@TheDjscottyrotten]

"How far the narrative has drifted from Tolkiens lore"??? About as far as that Bullshit version of Guyladriel supposedly swam in the sundering sea. What a waste of a potential massive series. I LITERALLY stopped watching when they made the elves bully her for a boat. Garbage of the highest order.

[@ndowroccus4168]

I love the fact they made ADAR. Now, back when Melkor was hiding up north, brooding in his jealousy of not being able to create light, and going down the rabbit hole of hatred to his brothers and sisters…the creatures that sprung from the lands that moved to shadow, and were corrupted and mutated by the darkness, there may have been a creature down here, used in the creation of the orcs, something Morgoth, Sauron or Melkor (whichever of these or maybe another, are going to be credited with creating the orcs from elves). I’m going to assume, at some point, whomever crafted the Orcs, used elven prisoners in the process, and possibly tried many differing attempts, one being melding two creatures together, like an elf and a shadow mutation. Which have us Adar (one of the first to survive whatever process was used, and possibly Adar being a failure of a subject, call him number four, and number five being the real orcs). Either way, I like the idea of one of the first Orc Creation Test Subjects having elven immortality still. The proper story, would be there are zero female Orcs. They are created by unnatural means, I assume and suspect from the Uruks from the films.

[@bjones8470]

Adar is the only change I can really get behind. He is an intriguing character to be sure

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

Yeah the whole show is a bunch of made-up nonsense. It's not even particularly creative.

[@ebijacob9876]

I’m sure no one would watch season 2. The show is a threat to Tolkien’s blessed reputation. A shit show indeed.

[@Mislu]

Also, when Numenor falls, the tree had already been cut down and replaced by a temple honoring Morgoth. In the vision the tree is still there

[@EvanescentArt]

eh, of all the inaccuracies in the show... this one doesn't worry me. It's a vision, not a 1:1 retelling of the future, but a hint of what the future might hold if the Numenoreans continue their faithlessness.. I'm gonna say that just because the tree was intact in a vision what was a warning, doesn't mean it won't be when the events actually happen in the show. Well... I hope. If they remove Isildur saving a sapling of the white tree that'd just be stupid.

[@allegraadams3037]

During the second age Galadriel had already spent about a millennia in Doriath learning from Melian the Maia, already married.

[@archtrooper7079]

You missed a few major changes that fans are understandably furious of. (1) Tolkien never wrote his LOTR series to force feed a message (of any kind) but tell a good story. (2) Extreme changes had to be done to characters to follow along with the WOKE and their self important message (3) Guy-lad-tree-elf is not from the books. She is however the symbol of the WOKE agenda despite the REAL Galadriel being far more powerful without a sword and armor. (4) Lack of concern for critical events that develop characters that TROP clearly care not of. (5) Actors and Amazon Prime have attacked the fans for the obvious negative reception and reviews. (6) Potential newcomers are slammed with the notion that those who don't see the show - even those who hesitated for the reviews - are racist and men. The WOKE involvement has tainted Tolkien's work far worse that Sauron ever could Middle Earth!!

[@allegraadams3037]

Galadriel actually did not trust Annatar while she Lived in Eregion!

[@joegonzalez6241]

11 1 Galadriel brother died by melekor hand 2 Gandalf was not around in the rings of power 3 the ring wraiths took awhile before they turned into ring wraiths . Which makes esildor dad too old. 4 Galadriel didn’t go back to her home land 5 the finding of mithril is served in a golden age before the balrog was discovered 6 the elves chase morgoth to middle earth not Sauron 7 the numanenorians island should have sank before esildor left the island of numenor 8 they skipped anatar 9 the blade didn’t create Mordor 10 that is all I can remember. I think my time line is a little off

[@jeffagain7516]

Actually, buddy, a number of your points are off but I respect your attempts here at least.

[@sauron5666]

Finrod died by Sauron wolves :)

[@mgeldarion58]

I'd interject about not including orcs being burnt on Sun - they just disliked it, feeling unease while walking under its light, as they were created during the times where only stars shone on the sky and Melkor didn't expect something like Sun or Moon to come to be in the future. Sauron in the Second Age experimented and bred the Uruk-Hai, who were not afraid of Sun (later in the Third Age he also bred the Olog-Hai, intelligent trolls that would not turn into stone under sunlight). Also, the Rings: Celebrimbor and Sauron didn't make the Rings of Power alone, Tolkien explicitly mentions "smiths of Eregion", subordinates of Celebrimbor, forging the Rings, both the major and minor ones. It was a grand project with Sauron and Celebrimbor leading it, its purpose being preservation of the primordial beauty and magic in Middle-Earth (while they could be used for that, Sauron's intent was domination over their wielders and unconditional servitude of their lands under his rule). Of the major ones the Seven of the dwarves and the Nine of the Men had been forged and gifted to their future wielders first. The Three Rings of the elves were Celebrimbor's own project he did without Sauron's awareness, and mithril was used to create only one of them - the one Galadriel would later wear. Because of that the Three, while having the same powers of preservation (even greater then others), could not be dominated by the One Ring. Among the reasons Sauron attacked Egerion and tortured Celebrimbor was his attempts to find the Three, to corrupt and bind them to his One Ring.

[@Ower8x]

All the rings were originally meant for elves ... except possibly one as Celebrimbor might have forged one intentionally for his close friend Durin III ... they were given to the other races after Sauron sized them when he sacked Eregions Capital. 15 / 16 (depending if you believe that the Ring of Durin was created without direct involvement of Durin and was already gifted to him) of them as he was aware of the 3 additional ones but because they were created without his direct involvement they were less susceptible and he could not locate them if they were not worn .... or even when worn while he did not have the one ring.

[@alzbetahejna8590]

I was bothered the most by their portating of Valinor. I know, they didn't have rights for story of elves leaving, but they didn't explained new version of it. Why didn't elves returned sooner? Is Gil-Galad preventing them? If so, then why and how? Like, what is the point of it? Galadriel is there for a while, then leaves and in the end of episode she refuses to return. There's no need to introduce Valinor. It has potential and they threw it away for few scenes. Valinor is something like heaven, I don't thing anyone should try to portrait unportraiable in the first place. But they did and they totaly misunderstood it. Elves left Valinor for their pride, which is in my opinion the main theme of Silmarillion. How pride destroys. It's a great moral lesson and moving story, that they didn't pay money for and so they screw it. Also, when Galadriel desides not to go there, they are showing us it was the right desition. (Like wtf, I didn't get that scene. Was it a meteor or what? Or Sauron? Eh, I don't know.) They are saying, that almost heaven is bad, that Valinor is bad. I hate it.

[@rexmundi3108]

Above and beyond these points it is the casting, writing and acting combined with the attitudes of the show runners and actors that make the Rings of Power a faliure as an adaptation of Tolkien or indeed as a work of fiction.

[@guyrose6602]

"Unnecessarily tampering with the works of a Legend". . That pretty much sums up the series so far, with no redemption in sight.

[@enriib4820]

Ok Jeff we get it you took over this channel to try and save your show.

[@TheGodOfWarhammer]

context please

[@boatymcboatface666]

@@TheGodOfWarhammer just watch the excuses made about Galadriel , for starters!

[@rjb639]

Also, whether the stranger is Gandalf or one of the blue wizards, the wizards never arrived on Middle Earth in the second age, it was around the year 1000 in the third age, and they didn't lose their memory and didn't come in a meteorite, they simply came in ships and were welcomed by Cirdan.

[@hughfumanchu]

I honestly wish I could forget I watched that show

[@mikeabba1990]

And after reading these comments, I won't be watching any more of the series. Saw the the first two episodes and I cringed, felt embarrassed for the cast, and then said a prayer for them. If any of the cast, cast as a character with an Irish accent bump into an actual Irish person they'll get their teeth knocked out without warning, and deservedly so! For decades we've heard actors try to speak with English accents and fall flat on their faces. Now, now it's the turn of the Irish.

[@boatymcboatface666]

This is just not Tolkien! The script, plot, costumes are just terrible. The eye candy, Khazad-dûm, Numenor looked awesome! The cut n pasting in post is just lazy and cheap! Really have to ask where did the $750 million dollars go? Apparently the cast was here, in New Zealand, filming for THREE years! Pre production and uptakes aside, pretty sure the 3 AWESOME originals, were shot in 3 yrs and for a fraction of the budget. Fire the show runners, bring back the fired Tolkien scholar, "ring" Phillipa, Fran and Sir Jackson and let's see a real R.o.P series!

[@quixotiq]

No they weren't

[@Subtlenimbus]

Rings of Power = meta-LARPing

[@alricsmith6115]

Really surprised that Wargs have cute puppy eyes hehe

[@h-deck]

Simply put - Tolkien created a masterpiece. Amazon has shredded it to pieces. No respect. A disaster.

[@deezy236]

i hated that the male elves have short hair! elves were my favorite because of their beautiful face and beautiful long hair.

[@h-deck]

@@deezy236 agree! These ROP elves look like they just got dragged right through an 80s and 90s hair salon. Awful.

[@deezy236]

@@h-deck ikr! they ruined the elves! Amazon was being cheap ..they dont want to spend money on wigs. and the hobbits looks filthy like they dont take a bath. Too much woke in this series!

[@guyrose6602]

Yeah, well... Galadriel was around 4000 years old by the time of the ROP. Not exactly a hot-headed teenager. Makes no sense whatsoever.

[@drjisukim]

Marvelous Videos: 11 Insane Differenc- Me: I know more than you ever will. I was here before the first breaking of the silence.

[@DS-er4ng]

Lindon is not Belariand but what is left of it. Mithril was never presented as a dwarwen name.

[@conquistojones3646]

moving forward or back in time episode to episode is fine if that’s what they are attempting, we are talking about 2000+ years between some of these events that happened over the course of a single season, and yes while we do expect the time to be condensed at least give us date stamps each episode or before a significant event.

[@connelwhitemane]

Your wrong Tolkien Sauron never took a Mannish but was known as Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts" as he also when he approached the elves in a fair form with knowledge of how to make the rings of power. You need to read Tolkien’s books

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

*You're

[@LinkMaster5555]

@@theophrastusbombastus1359 hopefully you don't misspell lol

[@Jenni208]

I'm pretty sure Sauron took on the form of a man (rather than an elf) when he went to Numenor as Mairos. But I could be wrong - maybe he looked like an elf when he went there too. But yeah, there's no way Annatar would have gained the rapport he did with elves if he looked like an ordinary human.

[@amandastuart8294]

You said Elrond was sent to befriend the elves. I think you meant to say the dwarves.🤔

[@mikelouis9389]

No matter how far this series may stray from canon it still pales in comparison to the abomination that is Prime Video's rendition of The Wheel of Time.

[@mikelouis9389]

One thing they both share though is the strongly diminished role male characters suffer. I'm surprised they didn't regender Sauron.

[@mikem9001]

@@mikelouis9389 But they sucked a fair chunk of the evil out of him and transfused it into Galadriel

[@Sk4M_.RangeroftheNorth]

As much as i really did like the show, i put Tolkien's world and Amazon's very far a part from each other in my mind. Tolkien's lore doesn't exist here. Just watch it for what it is, fanfic fabric cut from an expensively cheap cloth. 😂

[@WraithReaper09]

It's an extremely poor fanfic written by someone who only has the sparks notes from someone elses literary test about Tolkien's Middle Earth.

[@the_real_beefchunks]

That warg looked straight out of a ps3 game. Those poor artists were probably under a horrible time crunch!

[@yaheem]

They shouldn’t have associated this show with the Lord of the Rings name. It might have been fine as a generic mediocre fantasy show.

[@Delicashilous]

I consider things like shadow of war or rings of power like comics: Alternative Stories from other writers, but I personally just like halbrand in rings of power, the rest is average imo. Well, shadow of war, the story was decent till the end climax where Talion made an Important "decision" what increased the whole story to a whole another Level. It gave a twist & a controverse Message, it is beautiful written imo. Also, the Nazgul in the Game delivered a LOT more, and were much more dangerous & badass/stylish. So as Sauron. Especially Sauron. He delivered like a true G, and laughed my ass off when SPOILER: Overpowered Eltariel & Celebrimbor even thou he got weakend before that TWICE.

[@wentshow]

I didn't get past the fourth scene. They got Galadriel wrong, and she's the protagonist. There's no recovery from that. I wish the story had started in Middle Earth with all-original characters and then and have one or two Tolkien characters show up near the season's end. Then Galadriel would've been a secondary character, where she belongs. First, Cate Blanchett nailed the character (with some help from Peter Jackson and special effects.) How could Morfyyd Clark let herself follow that performance? Second, Galadriel is an important but fringe character in LoTR. That's because wise thousand-year-old characters are hard to write and act. Tolkien had the advantage that he could ponder his scenes and dialog. Writers for shows don't have that advantage. Events in the Silmarillion take place over thousands of years. Here they have them compressed into what? A few weeks?

[@maxpower6658]

Thank you this a very precise comparison I have not seen elsewhere. Proves again lex Luthor should have never been allowed near the Masters works.

[@rafaelpozo9962]

The books are good, the amazon show its bad

[@mrylyynthewhitless6137]

Halbrand had the decent ark and is an ok protagonist.

[@quixotiq]

Best of a bad bunch of characters.

[@palazzo1113]

The biggest difference is one of them really, really sucks and the other really doesn't.

[@Pub2k4]

4:16 It could be that Celeborn is sent back to middle earth after his death, like Glorfindel.

[@chucutitan]

Had J.R.R. been forced to endure this he would have gotten diarrhea.

[@damianw5861]

My question is if they want to make middle earth like los angeles why they left asians and latinos

[@kenyattakariem9708]

The show will get cancelled soon

[@tpetty959]

sike. show was good. its not even based off any book. it is its own thing. takes place in the second age

[@CordeliaWagner]

Who's sexond age? Tolkien wrote nothing of this soulless nonsense.

[@boatymcboatface666]

@@tpetty959 show is Tolkien in name only, it's nothing more than fan fiction.

[@drrickmarshall1191]

@@tpetty959 Even if this was the first you'd ever heard of the Tolkien universe, even if you seperate it entirely from the Canon, it is an absolutely pathetic, incoherent, devoid of all logic, poorly written, infantile piece of media. It genuinely reads like an AI wrote this from day time TV soaps with the continuity setting turned off.

[@mikem9001]

@@tpetty959 "it is its own thing. takes place in the second age" So, you try to tell us that it is "its own thing", but immediately you have to refer to Tolkien!

[@rjb639]

Not to mention that Galadriel was never a warrior

[@StoryTimeWonders254]

the tv series should have made him elven.... and not human. He didn't don the look of LOTR till after the flood destroyed Numenor and he died. And lost the ability to change his appearance.

[@asianhobbitshaving3050]

The changes to Tokein's timeline, and characters have left me disappointed\furious.

[@N0R3AS0Nz]

So you mean to tell me...they created a black elf so he could become a slave and break free...🤦🏾‍♂️

[@dee3717]

It's so bad and season 2 would be even worse.

[@lnoattsd2246]

I even said they rushed it the could have taken their time in leading up to seeing Sauron at work instead because they knew people are too difficult it could really have been something inbetween certain scripts they had to work from

[@boatymcboatface666]

They were here in New Zealand for 3 YEARS filming this tripe.

[@BrandonAEnglish]

The change that bothered me most was how Tolkien didn't write this from the SJW perspective.

[@sharkie2673]

haven't seen any episodes and HOTD season finale just ended so I'm on to the next adventure.. From what am hearing this series is confusing in terms of books vs series especially in terms of the narration having unnecessary changes and contradictions, so I don't know if I should be invested because Im a fan of Galadiriel and after hearing the actor who played Sauron saying he didn't know his character was eluding to one of the major catalyst in the story then how can we figure out the series bumpy tracks towards the plot ... So I guess is best not to go down that Rabbit hole...

[@boatymcboatface666]

Good choice! Don't waste your time with this rubbish.

[@sharkie2673]

@@boatymcboatface666 thank you

[@boatymcboatface666]

@@sharkie2673 public service lol Seriously though if you fan of books, PJ movies, you'll be so disappointed with this.

[@demi5536]

have to correct you: beleriand was the western part of middle earth that sank under the ocean. lindon is a city. beleriand was not a city.

[@rio20d]

Hallbrand is simply Annatar version of Amazon,

[@JarlBorg93]

I hate that they made a new character for Sauron.. Anatar was cool..

[@doreilly7689]

Like putting fanta in a can of coke this would have been fine on it's own... but you told me it was coke and now it just tastes fking disgusting. This isn't coke (tolkien)

[@Cypeq]

With all honesty I greatly enjoyed majority of the show, I was bewildered by black elves and dwarves at first but actors in those roles just killed it, they were awesome. A lot of the changes were fine shifting timelines a bit to make a more compelling story is fine, I just can't comprehend character changes to major players. Galadriel and Celabrimbor are the worst offenders here. The biggest problem being main narrative is thus mangled and elves come off as big dummies (celabrimbor) and Gladriel is entirely unlikeable and unbelievable. Final episodes is rushed to finish line and suffers greatly, with hasty silly reveals and dumb decisions, this show needed like 3 more episodes or just end it with mt doom section and move the rest to the next season. You rush key events you get badly composed hasty plot that leaves viewer with bitter aftertaste.

[@Ower8x]

you enjoyed the psycho hobos and their unnecessary plot? well there is no account for taste so hey more power to you, I just could not. The disregard for consistency, the stupidity necessary for the plot, like abandoning a fortified location for a completely indefensible one and saying it gives you a tactical advantage ... the fact that many issues would have been easily fixable with just a little thought and effort, the cheap and ridiculous costumes and props And that's all outside of any changes or insults to tolkien. I cant even enjoy it as a generic fantasy ... the rub is I don't think all of their Ideas are bad ... but it really feels like they were filming first drafts ... when it needed a few to get thing in order ...

[@Cypeq]

@@Ower8x see you latch on immediately on the battle being stupid, and I couldn't agree more with critique of it, but the story of southlands is how I'd like to see this show, I didn't enjoy them butchering main arc, while trying to tell grand story. I would much more enjoy just some well told a story in Middle Earth. Like what recent Andor and Mandalorian did for Star Wars. All those 'unnecessary' side stories in Rings of Power, were a lot better than the main arc.

[@Ower8x]

​@@Cypeq ​ the reason the main arc is bad is because its being suffocated by the unnecessary plots ... the main plot needs more time time it cant have because its given to all those mishmashes incoherent sublots. the battle is just the most out there instance of stupidity that's why I brought it up ... but the majority of it is stupid ... the main problem is how wibbly wobbly they are with time ... we have no idea how long anyone is anywhere except maybe Galadriel in Numenor since they talk about 3 days there but then it still just goes hazy the same with distance... The villagers not talking all the food they have since they were not under imminent pressure ... and they did not know how much is left in the tower ... as Bronwin was told they are leaving ... How the hell did all the elves been captured ... with not one escaping, with what they were shown to be capable off in the show. Instead of trenches the orcs should have been clearing out old tunnels with walls inscribed with runes at internals runes that Light up when the key is inserted ... even going into the chamber with the magma - showing that this is actually something that was prepared as a trigger - would also fix the stupidity of the Elves never noticing the Orcs cutting down massive swaths of forest ... since in this case they would not. A The whole volcanic cloud that levels buildings and sets horses of fire ... but not of the main cast has a burn or chared spot on them anywhere not even the hair .... you know how that could have easily be fixed ... have the main characters be near Galadriel when the cloud approaches and have Galadriels lips move with her hare moving as in a wind but different directions ... and then have the damage to everything be lesser the closer it is to Galadriel. The whole training session with Galadriel is a waste, she teaches them nothing just flexes on them, and it is never references as in they use what they learned from here at all ... and dont get me started with the rest of the numenorean plot .... The whole Mithri and black goo plot is utter trite and its a stain on the best part of the show with the dwarves ... and I do agree I still find the actress that plays Disa to be loathsome for the BS she spews in interviews and such, but her performance is good... if she had some more time and better lines and was not involved in the brain damage that is the mithril plot it would have been possibly even a great performance ...

[@tracynickels164]

Pick! pick! pick

[@tondaron247]

The actor of celebrimbor caressing his hammer to make him’ pass for a smith was the cringiest shit I’ve ever seen until the next cringiest scene this show had to offer

[@Mr.wednesdayallfather]

The rings of power isn't Canon to their world it's basic fan fiction it's tolkien fanfiction that's all it is

[@sarlaccstapeworm990]

"equity".... "inclusivity".... You know,, like black elves and such. That's the "differences".

[@mikem9001]

Logically, if there were black-skinned elves in Tolkien, you would expect to find them in the same place you would expect to find black-skinned humans - towards the equator of Arda. Its not a problem, but if some of them appear mixed in with other people then there should be a reason. Yet ROP gives us no backstory whatsoever. The one black character who can be justified is Disa, assuming she comes from one of the other dwarf tribes to the south - diplomatic marriage etc.

[@sarlaccstapeworm990]

@@mikem9001 Right... They could've added people of different races and not pissed off the true nerds of the lore. It's the way they went about it that I have an issue with.

[@mikem9001]

@violet's place "dark elves does not have anything to do with their race" If you are referring to the "moriquendi" in Tolkien, then I agree. However, I was writing about something different - the fact that Tolkien never excluded the idea of dark-skinned humans in Middle Earth, and therefore never excluded the idea of dark-skinned elves etc either. I agree the show is merely engaging in tokenism. It seems clear that the further south one goes in Tolkien's Middle Earth, the darker skin-tones tend to be - the Haradrim being an example.

[@CordeliaWagner]

Tolkien's Elves: gorgous, young looking, aetheric, move with graze, flawless fair skin. RoPrime: Middle aged men with wrinkles. Gil Galad is slightly obese, Celebrimbor has an 80s haircut and looks like 60 plus. And Elrond's skin is too dark. And Galadriel has a pouchy in some scenes, like the actress is pregnant. Or can't control her eating habits. Which leads to Disa. She is so over the top goofy. And it feels like the actress was picked because she fills the "mobidly obese" checkbox to please the Fat Acceptence Movement. The only Movement that doesn't move at all.

[@mikem9001]

"Elrond's skin is too dark" Meh. Tolkien never describes his skin colour. We can conjecture that he may have been light-skinned since his human ancestry was the House of Hador rather than the swarthy House of Beor. But Hugo Weaving had tanned skin in the PJ movies and its not a problem. The reason is that Hugo is a stellar actor, while Robert Aramayo in ROP tries hard but never quite convinces anyone that he is the great warrior, general and leader that Tolkien's Elrond was.

[@Tar-Elenion]

@@mikem9001 Elrond's "human ancestry" included both the House of Hador, and the House of Beor. The house of Beor, however was not "swarthy". Only some of a portion of the folk of Beor were swarthy (per one late writing).

[@mikem9001]

@@Tar-Elenion I did not realise that he had ancestry of the House of Beor as well. Then that reinforces my question to the OP - why would it be an issue of Elrond's skin being "too dark"? Especially when Robert Aramayo has lighter skin than Hugo Weaving! 😂 "(per one late writing" I think you mean "late published". Many of those writings had been jotted down by Tolkien decades before his death.

[@Tar-Elenion]

@@mikem9001 Beren of the House of Beor is an ancestor of Elrond through Elrond's mother. No, when I say late writing, I mean late writing. In one late (ca 1969) writing (Dwarves and Men), some (not all, not most, not many) of the folk of Beor are said to be swarthy.

[@mikem9001]

@@Tar-Elenion Excellent - thank you for agreeing with me. Tolkien was clear that one of the houses of the Edain, the house of Beor, had skin colour ranging from pale to swarthy. There is therefore no reason why Elrond could not also have been swarthy. The OP's statement that "Elrond's skin is too dark" had no basis in the lore. Don't you think its great when these things are clarified? 😁

[@drakemguard1407]

TLDR 1.Women good and Heroic 2. Men are villainous or Dumb side characters 3.TOLKIEN : rolling in his grave butchering his Lore World Building 4. Fans don't bother watching this mess of a show 5. Amazon ruined Galadriel

[@Ritzy-chan]

love this show

[@faust13301]

Is this the Critical Drinker?

[@bearthedevil9675]

wheres tom bombadil though

[@bluthammer1442]

insane he. Gott, engelsmanne

[@tracynickels164]

I loved the books, and the movies, the program

[@jynn698]

Sauron....was split open by Adar. think about how silly that is.

[@Makkaru112]

Cordova definitely daydreams about Adar splitting sauron in half that's for sure. 😎😎😎😉😉😉😉 PS adar never existed, neither did Poppy or nori... ROP is absolute shite, total schlack

[@abc_cba]

If Bible, Torah and Qur'an aren't consistent with so many contradictions, please don't take a dive against the Tolkien's and series differences, give them some creative space.

[@mikem9001]

If Amazon want to remake the Ten Commandments or the Hadith of the Prophet Muhamed they are welcome to try. I expect they will botch that up also, and get torn to shreds by people who know the material. What they tried to make was Tolkien's Second Age, and they utterly botched it. Contradictions within Tolkien's work are quite minor, compared to the major and fundamental contradictions between ROP and Tolkien.

[@ndowroccus4168]

My biggest complaints: Mithril Timestamps Numenor peoples Ringwraiths MITHRIL Um, what? After watching this show, I have no idea what mithril is anymore…ugh😂 TIMESTAMPS I had a hard time positioning the shoes scenes and time stamps with the books. Very confusing, so I basically had to force myself to erase most of my timelines memories, just in order to enjoy the show more. Because as EVERYBODY KNOWS, hating on things, is Wwaaaaaayyyyy easier than explaining the good parts. NUMENOR PEOPLES Yah, this place is all over the place…it’s almost sad they spent soooo much money making Numenor for this show, ugh! RINGWRAITHS in the story, before any of the nine rings of men, were even made yet (or maybe the were? Or maybe these ringwraiths are made a different way?)

[@scottdecarlo815]

I can’t stand Elvish Presley, the Elf King.

[@PandemoniumPirateRadio]

Rings of power doesn't at all even remotely understand the tone and themes of Tolkiens work. It's absolutely insane how badly they wrote this show. The writers didn't understand Tolkiens work and just decided to write fanfiction inside his universe with their own nonsense themes and tone🤦🏻‍♂ If you look at Tolkiens stories, there's a very clear subtext to scenes, themes etc. Rings of Power have zero subtext, it's extremely superficial garbage. There's no deeper meaning or emotions to any scenes at all.

[@rsmit2797]

All of it bothered me!

[@waynesworld1957]

Overall a big disappointment. More like a film school project that got a C-.

[@Mr.wednesdayallfather]

The thing that irritates me about this is they didn't bring in actual tolking scholars you know people that would make sure that they keep to the story no they brought in diversity counselors so the show could be as diverse as possible why not do both

[@WraithReaper09]

They did. They refused to listen to his advice. He quit.

[@GamerMike413]

Black elves are new

[@andyp8464]

A palantirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@andyp8464]

Morrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrurururuurrurrrrrrdooooorururururrrrurururuurururururrrrrrrrrr

[@jacobprince7398]

Let’s be honest aren’t a lot of tv shows that were previously books all have they’re own take on the books and are always a little different like game of thrones or TWD