• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers Lord of the Rings TV series

In the arena of modern entertainment, there is a distinct paucity of restraint; it is no great surprise that fewer things are getting left to the imagination (especially a villain whose presence diminishes as they are increasingly humanized/given center stage).
 
In the arena of modern entertainment, there is a distinct paucity of restraint; it is no great surprise that fewer things are getting left to the imagination (especially a villain whose presence diminishes as they are increasingly humanized/given center stage).
This happened 20 years ago. Though I disagree about the diminishment of a villain in their taking center stage. Some lose that, but Sauron is a part of a world I want to learn more about, and to fuel my interest, not rest upon my meager imagination.
 
Last edited:
I'm leaning towards the first one too. He acted like someone who didn't want to fight, but when he did, I said to myself, "military". He seemed trained to end a fight in a quick and direct fashion. Sorry, I just don't think he's Sauron. I'm guessing he's a created-for-the-show character.
Yeah, he definitely knows how to end a fight quickly, so he was probably some kind of soldier. I think the fact that they're trying so hard to make him seem evil, means he probably won't be in the end. If anything, I think we're going to be getting more of a redemption arc for him, rather than a big reveal that's he Sauron or some other kind of big bad.
 
I'm leaning towards the first one too. He acted like someone who didn't want to fight, but when he did, I said to myself, "military". He seemed trained to end a fight in a quick and direct fashion. Sorry, I just don't think he's Sauron. I'm guessing he's a created-for-the-show character.
Maybe not "created" so much as "extrapolated". "King of Men from the lands soon to be known as Mordor" does rather have "future Nazgul" written all over it, no? ;)

But yeah, those guys were all pretty much blank slates; even Mr. Angmar McWitchking is mostly a mystery, so they're pretty free to invent almost anything they like.

Though am I crazy, or does Charlie Vickers look WAY more like Viggo Mortensen's ancestor than either Max Baldry or Lloyd Owen?
 
Maybe not "created" so much as "extrapolated". "King of Men from the lands soon to be known as Mordor" does rather have "future Nazgul" written all over it, no? ;)

But yeah, those guys were all pretty much blank slates; even Mr. Angmar McWitchking is mostly a mystery, so they're pretty free to invent almost anything they like.

Though am I crazy, or does Charlie Vickers look WAY more like Viggo Mortensen's ancestor than either Max Baldry or Lloyd Owen?
I completely forgot that some characters we are seeing will become Nazgul so if he is a Strider style king on the run he could be a candidate for a ring. Good shout.

Overall the plot really picked up in the last episode and I am really buying into it now (except the Harfoots who suck the life out of every episode)
 
I guess it's possible that Halbrand is a forebear of the Dúnadan Ranger Halbarad, but the genealogy of Aragorn's line is well known and Halbrand's behaviour is just too sleazy IMO. I doubt that he will be redeemed given that deviousness and violence seem to be engrained in his behaviour. He did save Galadriel but I expect he recognises she could be useful to his plans. The people that he abandoned to their fate on the raft were of no use to him. (Where was their ship going in any case?)

The big tell for me that Halbrand is Sauron is his interest in smithing. It doesn't seem likely that a warrior noble would be at all interested in crafting. This might be misdirection but only people familiar with the history of Sauron's time with Aulë the Smith as the Maiar named Mairon would notice it. It seems more likely that the misdirection being applied is the character named Adar. I suspect the reveal will be in the final episode of this season when Halbrand uses Sauron's shapeshifting ability.

Generating speculation like this is a good way to keep us watching. We might yet all be wrong.
 
But yeah, those guys were all pretty much blank slates; even Mr. Angmar McWitchking is mostly a mystery, so they're pretty free to invent almost anything they like.
The tabletop miniature game probably had the most unique, with each of the 9 being from various kingdoms, including Harad and the Easterlings.
 
Tolkien didn't work out the details as it appears he wasn't keen on using the Second Age as a vehicle to tell stories. It's amazing he created as much as he did, given that it was his hobby, and not his job.
Which is why adaptations bother me less and less. To me, the opportunity for various ideas of backstories for characters we know little (if anything about) is part of the appeal of these types of stories. It inspires creativity, which makes something like Rings of Power more interesting. Or, even the Hobbit films actually gave a lot of teeth behind Gimili's grief in Moria because we know who Balin and Ori were and their relationship to other characters. It's a lot of fun to me to have that possibility.

But, yeah, reading Tolkien's letters you always get the sense that Middle Earth was always on his mind, not his day to day job.
 
I guess it's possible but I'm not getting why the Witch-king would be interested in smithing.

If the show followed the lore, Sauron is forced to surrender to Al-Pharazôn, but then proceeds to corrupt the Númenóreans from within. It might ignore that story but it's too soon to tell. Those events happened after Sauron had forged the One Ring.

Another thing is that the Númenóreans should be very tall and long-lived compared to other Men. Many were well over six feet tall and Elendil is described as being nearly eight feet tall. (For comparison, the tallest of Elf maidens, Galadriel is two rangar or six feet, four inches tall.) Those Men descended from the House of Elros lived for 400 to 500 years and aged slowly.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top