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It's a great month for Tolkien fans as Amazon Prime's massive Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power, dropped its first two episodes to receive solid reviews from fans and critics, despite the skepticism that followed the show from its early announcements.
Some of the most passionate fans in any community will meet on Reddit to discuss their thoughts on episodes in weekly discussion threads. The top comments are usually quite funny or offer insightful fan knowledge about the world.
Elrond The Project Manager
Actor Robert Aramayo was no stranger to the fantasy genre, having played the role of the young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones before landing the role of young Elrond in The Rings of Power. In the first two episodes, Elrond was tasked by Lord Celebrimbor to establish a workforce for a project.
Elrond heads off to establish a partnership with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum. His plotting throughout the episode earned him the Reddit-granted title of "Elrond of Lindon, Project Manager" by user ehdiem_bot.
The Ride To Valinor
In episode one, Galadriel comes just shy of reaching Valinor along with her kin, before turning to try and swim all the way back to Middle-earth. Many fans noticed that the boat ride itself seemed to be a joyless experience, as all the Elves were simply standing, lined up, and waiting.
"Elf boat rides look like the most uncomfortable thing ever," said Redditor TheseA_LobsterLoose. Perhaps they only rose to their feet and formation for the final leg of their journey to approach Valinor, but regardless, some chairs aboard would do them some good.
Brokenfoot
Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow and the rest of their family and kin were some of the original characters in The Rings of Power, and also were one of the more joyous storylines of the first two episodes. The quips and wholesome humor of the older Harfoots were very enjoyable.
Largo Brandyfoot, unfortunately, found himself with a broken foot in the second episode, forcing Redditor adameak to make the pun "Brandyfoot more like Brokenfoot amirite?" The broken foot scene was amusing, as Largo played it off with a Monty Python-esque "tis but a scratch" sort of manner.
Instead Of Therapy
Galadriel is found at the start of the show being one of the last Elven commanders still hunting for Sauron, searching deep into the northern wastes. Fans, as well as her old friend Elrond, noted how unhealthy of a choice this must have been for her.
"Galadriel will literally hunt Sauron for centuries instead of going to therapy," jokes user theluckyshrimp. While her hunt seems to be a way of overcoming her grief, there are likely better and less tiresome methods she could access.
Olympic Swimmer
Galadriel is one of the most powerful elves in the Lord of the Rings. And while this likely provides some advantages to her swimming capabilities, it likely still isn't enough to get across an entire ocean. It's clear that she is determined to finish off Sauron, but this was an oversight, and she's quite lucky she found her way onto a raft.
Continuing the spirit of Redditors assigning nicknames to Rings of Power characters, user aer3o dubbed her "Galadriel, the national olympic swimmer." But not even Olympic swimmers cross oceans, showing how Galadriel must have some serious willpower.
Why Didn't They Just Fly The Eagles To Mordor?
The question which became a common meme to fans of the Lord of the Rings fans, was asking, "why didn't the Fellowship just fly the eagles to Mordor?" There are a number of ways to properly answer this question, and Rings of Power does its piece to silence the question forever.
In the opening scene, showing flashbacks to the wars against Morgoth which began the Second Age, an eagle is scene getting destroyed by the might of Morgoth's army. User PotentiallySarcastic noted "Lol that opening battle scene with the eagle....just a giant f**k you to the meme."
Note About The Stranger
One of the biggest questions surrounding the first episode is that of The Stranger's identity. Theories have suggested that the man could be Sauron, a Maiar, or someone else entirely. The Stranger could be one of the most powerful Lord of the Rings lore figures. One user, Street_Ferret_9507 made an interesting point about it.
"Episode one, they pointed out the torches were not hot because of evil. Episode two, Nori notes the fire surrounding The Stranger was also not hot." This could suggest that The Stranger is tied to Sauron, and fans will be eagerly waiting in anticipation each week to find out, sharing theories of their own.
Galadriel Vs Gendry
The idea of Galadriel swimming across an entire ocean may have been reminscent for some fantasy fans, as during the run of Game of Thrones, Gendry disappeared for several seasons, when last seen rowing. The meme became that he was, of course, still rowing. The showrunners even made a point to acknowledge the meme in Season 7.
"The showrunners are cowards for not having Galadriel swim across the ocean the entire season," jokes user Qspiddy Another comment responded to say they had learned from the Gendry rowing incident. While it's probably for the best that one of the main characters isn't just swimming for a whole season, the return of the meme would be hilarious.
The Visuals
With the massive budget Amazon put into Lord of the Rings, nothing less than stunning visuals would have been acceptable. Luckily, the visuals are exceptional, and have offered some wonderful looks at pieces of the lore that were previously only described in writing.
"The contrast between the trees and valinor at the beginning and the battle in middle earth was heartbreaking," was an example given by Fragrant_Chair_7426 of the stories these visuals were able to paint. After all, one of the key things to remember in The Rings of Power is that the Elves have suffered greatly. Surely the series will only continue to step up its game in future episodes.
Early Bromance
Elrond had some unique obstacles to overcome in episode two, primarily centered around mending the hurt feelings of his Dwarf friend, Prince Durin. Or at least manipulating him to give him time to propose a business offering.
"Kinda love the friendship between Elrond and Durin," says Redditor off_the_marc. This bond is likely something that will be seen more throughout the series, as the relationship between Dwarves and Elves is a common subject in Lord of the Rings media.