Spoilers Lord of the Rings TV series

[Orphalesion]

Unsurprisingly, not much to go on...but I love the opening shot which reminds me of Osgiliath but upon further review is obviously not it.

Most likely a city on Numenor, isn't it?
Also is the Elf in gold with the long dark hair Celebrimbor because if so...OhEhmJee! Tolkien never said Celebrimbor had black hair! And in my fancition he had red hair, so this is wrong! Worst. Series. Evar. (j/k)

I couldn't help myself but Elrond needs to answer some questions.

I know you mean it as a joke but...Elrond is a Ringbearer, he has to stay in his hidden valley or Sauron might learn where Vilya is. And the Fellowship was originally meant to travel in some level of secrecy, can't do that if one of your members is both among the most powerful Elves left in Middle Earth and, as a ring bearer, susceptible to Sauron's prying.
That's also why they settled for Legolas instead of Glorfindel (a Balrog slayer), Glorfindel would have been to conspicuous.
The only reason Gandalf could do that is because he's just as much a Maia as Sauron, hadn't had Narya for nearly as long as Elrond and Galadriel had held theirs and had his true nature hidden under several layers of old age and fake-mortalness.

 

[Skywalker]

No second thought. That massive mountain? I bet that's the central mountain on Numenor, so this is one of the port cities on the isle of men. Romenna on the east, the most populated part of the island?

I'm guessing it's Andúnië, establishing Amandil, Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion in their ancestral home. Although it does look like it's on an eastern coast, so you might be right about it being Romenna.

It might also depend on when in the history of the Faithful this takes place. I can see them starting off in Andúnië in the show before

Spoiler: Stuff the show might cover

being forced to relocate to Romenna. But that would depend on if the show starts with Ar-Gimilzôr on the throne or Tar-Palantir.

Also is the Elf in gold with the long dark hair Celebrimbor because if so...OhEhmJee! Tolkien never said Celebrimbor had black hair! And in my fancition he had red hair, so this is wrong! Worst. Series. Evar. (j/k)

I know you're joking, but I think it might be Gil-galad. He looks somewhat like Gil-galad did in the films; although, to be fair, we never saw a close-up of his face in the finished product.

 

[Orphalesion]

I know you're joking, but I think it might be Gil-galad. He looks somewhat like Gil-galad did in the films; although, to be fair, we never saw a close-up of his face in the finished product.

I mean I was serious about me thinking that he could possibly be Celebrimbor.
But yeah, Gil-Galad has to be around for this series, since he's the High king of the Eldar in Middle Earth and all that during this time frame. So he could be Gil-Galad too.

Though come to think of it, what if the guy is neither Gil-Galad nor Celebrimbor, but Annatar instead? Unlikely from the way he seems in that scene, but theoretically a possibility and the golden clothing kinda makes me think of that.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Definitely not Celebrimbor because that's not Charles Edwards. It's actually Benjamin Walker who is heavily rumored to be playing Gil-Galad. Wikipedia sources the Vanity Fair article that he is playing that role but I don't remember that being mentioned.

 

[Orphalesion]

Definitely not Celebrimbor because that's not Charles Edwards. It's actually Benjamin Walker who is heavily rumored to be playing Gil-Galad. Wikipedia sources the Vanity Fair article that he is playing that role but I don't remember that being mentioned.

Not to complain too much about actor appearance. But Charles Edwards looks a bit old to play Celebrimbor, considering that he's supposed to younger than Galadriel, who looks very young in this.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Not to complain too much about actor appearance. But Charles Edwards looks a bit old to play Celebrimbor, considering that he's supposed to younger than Galadriel, who looks very young in this.

Morfydd Clark is older (by a year) than Cate Blanchett was when Fellowship opened. I don't think Clark's Galadriel looks younger than Blanchett was in the Vanity Fair photos.

 

[Jedman67]

Not to complain too much about actor appearance. But Charles Edwards looks a bit old to play Celebrimbor, considering that he's supposed to younger than Galadriel, who looks very young in this.

They're both centuries old (in ME years) so I wouldn't worry too much about that

Morfydd Clark is older (by a year) than Cate Blanchett was when Fellowship opened. I don't think Clark's Galadriel looks younger than Blanchett was in the Vanity Fair photos.

She looks much younger than movie Galadrial. In the films, Peter Jackson wanted her to appear both young and ancient/immortal at the same time, and she pulled it off.

 

[UssGlenn]

Someone did the very convoluted math on reddit to figure out how old Galadriel is supposed to look, based on Tolkiens rather confusing guidance on the subject.
During the forging of the rings she should look 29 years old, during the Fellowship she should look 55. And that is different than how old she is in elf years, which is 38 and 73 respectively.

 

[Orphalesion]

Someone did the very convoluted math on reddit to figure out how old Galadriel is supposed to look, based on Tolkiens rather confusing guidance on the subject.
During the forging of the rings she should look 29 years old, during the Fellowship she should look 55. And that is different than how old she is in elf years, which is 38 and 73 respectively.

I call nope on that.
What was that based on? Because as you point out, it's not as easy as just calculating Elf years.

The "Three Cycles of Life" Tolkien mentions in relation to Elves never got that well defined to calculate how "old" Galadriel "should" have looked at different times in the narrative. And the only Elf we know of who was in his third circle (the equivalent of old age) was Cirdan, who was rumoured to have been one of the first elves in existence.In general it was said that upon reaching adulthood Elves didn't change physically as they aged as humans did (again I suppose until that third cycle, when physical changes were mentioned, such as beard growth)
And I definitely call bullshit on the idea that she should have looked 55 in Fellowship. Not only do characters go on about her beauty, but the text specifically says that there was no sign of ageing on her or Celeborn, except in the depths of their eyes (a description that is repeated with several elves).
And in reference to the Numenorians Tolkien wrote that not their whole life was lengthened (they grew up as quickly) but that the "prime" of their life was extended "like with Elves". So to me it seems more that most, if not all Elves we see during the stories set in Middle Earth should look like they are in their early 30s, or maybe a bit younger. Though Tolkien did say that extreme hardship could age an Elf prematurely as it happened with Gwindior after he had suffered in Angband, and possibly Luthien who reportedly withered after Beren's first death.

So it sound Cate Blanchet was just about the right age when she played Galadriel.

 

[UssGlenn]

What was that based on? Because as you point out, it's not as easy as just calculating Elf years.

here's the reddit discussion
https://www.reddit.com/r/RingsofPow..._actual_ages_of_galadriel_elrond_and_isildur/

he did his due diligence, but this is an area where Tolkien didn't quite smooth out all the bumps, so a definitive answer might not be possible. And Galadrial's birthdate has conflicting information as well

 

[Reverend]

Elves don't age like humans do. By that I don't just mean that they age slower. Their apparent age, or rather I should say the apparent of their physical forms are more of a reflection of their state of mind as it is how many years they've seen. They're partially ephemeral. Basically demigods, depending on the bloodline, and Galadrial's is a very potent one.
They don't get old, wrinkly and die as humans do; but they can just tire of a mortal existence and "fade". It's not a strictly linear progression that you can chart equivalent to human aging. Hell, if you torture and torment them enough, they apparently turn into Orks, Goblins and Urukai . . . and if you tempt them with ultimate power they can glow and turn into monologing sea goddesses, I guess?

So yeah, if Galadrial is in her prime, feeling youthful and adventurous, I can buy that she'll look younger and more vital (by human standards) than when she's feeling all regal with the weight of millennia on her mind.

 

[Orphalesion]

here's the reddit discussion
https://www.reddit.com/r/RingsofPow..._actual_ages_of_galadriel_elrond_and_isildur/

he did his due diligence, but this is an area where Tolkien didn't quite smooth out all the bumps, so a definitive answer might not be possible. And Galadrial's birthdate has conflicting information as well

Yeah he just assumes way too much, which Tolkien never said. And as far as the text we have goes Elves don't get middle aged or old. And the description of her in the Lord of the Rings says there's no sign of ageing on her.
I think the words of the author are definitive.

Hell, if you torture and torment them enough, they apparently turn into Orks, Goblins and Urukai . . . and if you tempt them with ultimate power they can glow and turn into monologing sea goddesses, I guess?

Well if you torture them they do end up looking old aged, as it happened with Gwindor in the tale of Turin.

As for the Ork stuff, Tolkien actually rejected that idea late in his life in favour of having Orks be a tribe of debased humans. He never could come up with a good explanation on why there were Orks before there were men or what he could replace them with.

 

[JD]

There's a theory going around that the guy with the Harfoot and surrounded by fire is Gandalf, but according to IGN if they follow the books, it can't be him since the wizards don't show up until The Third Age.
Introducing Gandalf this early would be a pretty big change, and I'm not sure if they're going to want to go that far off what we got in the books. I could see them introducing a new character to play the Gandalf type role though.
Wow, the spell check on my computer actually recognizes Gandalf, that surprises me.

 

[UssGlenn]

Introducing Gandalf this early would be a pretty big change, and I'm not sure if they're going to want to go that far off what we got in the books. I could see them introducing a new character to play the Gandalf type role though.

As a Third Age only Character, they don't have the Rights to Gandalf anyway.

 

[fireproof78]

There's a theory going around that the guy with the Harfoot and surrounded by fire is Gandalf, but according to IGN if they follow the books, it can't be him since the wizards don't show up until The Third Age.
Introducing Gandalf this early would be a pretty big change, and I'm not sure if they're going to want to go that far off what we got in the books. I could see them introducing a new character to play the Gandalf type role though.
Wow, the spell check on my computer actually recognizes Gandalf, that surprises me.

My wife and I were discussing this as possibly Gandalf, which would be surprising. The surrounding fire makes her think it is Sauron.

 

[BK613]

One could attribute the changes in Elrond and Galadriel to the long-term wearing of the Elvish rings of power after Sauron was defeated and the One Ring lost.

 

[JD]

I had a thought, earlier in the trailer we see some kind of a fireball flying through the sky, what if that was Not-Gandalf arriving in Middle Earth?

 

[Skywalker]

I love me some Gandalf but I will be very disappointed if they try and force him into this story. If they really want Wizards, they can just use Alatar and Pallando, the Blue Wizards who might have actually been there at the time, depending on which of Tolkien's choices you prefer. (I like to think all five Wizards went to Middle-earth together in the Third Age, it never made much sense to me that any would have gone in the Second Age when the Free Folk were still much more capable of defending themselves against the Shadow.)

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I love me some Gandalf but I will be very disappointed if they try and force him into this story. If they really want Wizards, they can just use Alatar and Pallando, the Blue Wizards who might have actually been there at the time, depending on which of Tolkien's choices you prefer. (I like to think all five Wizards went to Middle-earth together in the Third Age, it never made much sense to me that any would have gone in the Second Age when the Free Folk were still much more capable of defending themselves against the Shadow.)

Yeah, as much as I would love to see more of Gandalf, this isn't the place or the time (so to speak) to bring him in. I agree with the notion that all of the wizards arrived in the Third Age so there's not really much room for them here.

 

[Reverend]

I mean technically he is around in this time, just not in Middle Earth (and not by that name.) But yeah it would be odd to have Gandalf show up in the second age given the whole point of his Order's mission was a reaction to how the second age ended.

Maybe the fire thing just has to do with someone using Narya? Or maybe there's a dragon involved somehow? Isn't Gil-galad supposed to have it at this point?