"The Rings of Power" Vanity Fair article

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

My first thoughts on the trailer were rather succint (mostly surprised by the closeness of the aesthetic to our late [figuratively] Mr. Jackson - Meeple valley a copypasted Rohan, the Rivendell-like setting with a "Council" of sorts, all Elves looking like Legolas only with short hair, male Dwarves looking JUST like PJ Dwarves, a cave-troll only being different in that it seems to have a beard or what? Which would be innovative, and nice for some Northern Troll, for warmth...), but I cannot resist to add a couple of ideas after reading these.

I completely agree on that Nori Brandyfoot must be the worst name of the year. With supposedly separating the Harfoots from the Hobbits by millennia, I was hoping for something along the lines of Déagol and Sméagol. Or even further back. Brandyfoot sounds like a proper Shire-dwelling holbytla. Shame on you, whoever came up with AND approved this name. Otherwise I'd say, as the classic would say, not great, not terrible.

Gil-Galad, to paraphrase Thorin Oakenshield, looks more like a trader than High King of Noldor. Or okay, he looks kingly all right - but he and Galadriel should have swapped places. He should be the one in the shiny silver armour ("his shining helm afar was seen"), and she should rather be the one looking like tsar's deputy.

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

16. The fireball has landed, and Nori is pulling The Stranger out of it. Wild Mass Guessing on the internet says this could be one of the Istari, or maybe Sauron somehow. The producers are being very cagey about it, and seem to expect it to be an eagerly-discussed mystery. Not gonna lie, this looks kind of daft.

I absolutely did not pay attention to this when I watched it. But now your description made me somehow think about some sort of Lucifer-trope, "falling from heaven like a lightning". That could be any Maia (hopefully not Istari yet!!!), Sauron (cool by me) or another "thing of terror... flying from Thangorodrim..." *cough ifsomethinghadwings cough*

Originally Posted by Hui

Coming September 2nd, Tolkien's death-day. Umm... maybe that's a little on-the-nose.

Are you familiar with the concept of the death of the author? Perhaps unintended, but most appropriate...