Episode 4 (Spoilers)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Coming soon!

[Dave_LF]

Do you get to see them Thursday night in your timezone?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

My understanding is that it drops at 9:00 p.m. my time tonight, but I won't be watching it until tomorrow at the soonest.

'The Rings of Power': Here's Exactly When Episode 4 Hits Prime Video

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I guess this is trailer for Episode 4?

[Eldy]

Looking forward to it! This will be the last episode I watch during my California trip, so unfortunately I'll be experiencing the second half of the season without the cuddling. And on a screen bigger than my laptop, though my dad is watching ROP, too, so I might end up rewatching episodes with him a day or two after they premiere.

[Eldy]

I enjoyed this one a good deal. It's diverging ever more from the source material, but more importantly, I've had enough time now for the show's characters and plot to start to establish themselves as their own thing in my mind. (Also, the show finally feels like it's wrapping up the set-up portion, which makes me excited for next week.) Halbrand, for example, is starting to grow on me, and I look forward to seeing more of his and Galadriel's interactions. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to seeing more of Elrond. He really comes across as a slimy politician type, and while that doesn't preclude him having hidden depths, the next episode preview suggests that...

Hidden text.

he immediately betrays Durin's trust and tells Celebrimbor about mithril

...so he can take a hike. On the subject of the Eregion/Moria plotline, they seem to be foreshadowing the Balrog pretty heavily, which makes me think the odds of the Stranger being Durin's Bane are lower now. The Southlander who previously owned the hilt considered the meteor an omen of Sauron's return, implying there might have been some prophecy or bit of folklore about that. Possibly a red herring. I definitely don't think Adar is Sauron, though. Still waiting to see if the show will manage to become the first officially licensed screen adaptation since Rankin/Bass' animated Return of the King to depict Orcs having culture and the desire to do literally anything than kill and destroy things. Given what we've seen so far, I suspect I read things I wanted to see into the IGN preview article about Orcs that weren't necessarily in the text.

Intriguing to see the famous wave dream given to Míriel. I'm gonna have to come back to the topic of Númenórean politics and society in another post, but seeing that visualized was probably the highlight of the episode for me. Well, maybe a tie with the closed caption "[orcs grunting respectfully]" during Adar's first appearance.

[Smaug's voice]

Episode 4 was really the best so far and feels like the show coming into it's own, Númenor as well finally felt like a real place. (But I wish it's halls and interiors looked more grand, intimidating and decorated even. Denethor's hall in RotK looks so much more expansive than Míriel's throne room)

I will probably make a bigger post of my overall feelings so far, but this felt like a step in the right direction. The scene at the prison between Galadriel and Halbrand is the only one I had a strong reaction against.

[Smaug's voice]

Well, maybe a tie with the closed caption "[orcs grunting respectfully]" during Adar's first appearance.

This had me giggle so loud

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Resist urge to read these posts until I see the episode. Rinse and repeat.

[Dave_LF]

And I have to stay out of Tapatalk since the little 2-line preview could spoil me without even needing to open the thread

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I was confused by the ending. Did it show two different things?

[Smaug's voice]

Tar-Míriel changed her mind when she took the White Tree withering as a sign of her initial decision being a mistake.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yeah, I watched the ending again and got it.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

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I enjoyed this one a good deal. It's diverging ever more from the source material, but more importantly, I've had enough time now for the show's characters and plot to start to establish themselves as their own thing in my mind.

But at the risk of sounding like SW, it felt very Tolkienesque.

(Also, the show finally feels like it's wrapping up the set-up portion, which makes me excited for next week.) Halbrand, for example, is starting to grow on me, and I look forward to seeing more of his and Galadriel's interactions. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to seeing more of Elrond. He really comes across as a slimy politician type, and while that doesn't preclude him having hidden depths, the next episode preview suggests that...

Hidden text.

he immediately betrays Durin's trust and tells Celebrimbor about mithril

I'm still not feeling Halbrand, but we'll see. On the other hand, I got a completely different feeling than you about Elrond. I haven't watched the preview for the next episode but I would be very surprised if that turns out to be the case (again, time will tell). In any event, Elrond talking about his father was for me the best scene of the show so far.

And I am really intrigued by Adar.

Intriguing to see the famous wave dream given to Míriel. I'm gonna have to come back to the topic of Númenórean politics and society in another post, but seeing that visualized was probably the highlight of the episode for me.

That was great. Interesting that that was what the show runner was referring to when he talked about the 4th episode beginning with the destruction the destruction of a kingdom, or something like that.

[Eldy]

On the other hand, I got a completely different feeling than you about Elrond. I haven't watched the preview for the next episode but I would be very surprised if that turns out to be the case (again, time will tell). In any event, Elrond talking about his father was for me the best scene of the show so far.

I would love to be wrong about Elrond, and like you I really enjoyed the scene of him talking about his father, but (preview spoilers)...

Hidden text.

...I'm not sure who else would not only tell Celebrimbor about mithril but give him a sample of it, if not Elrond, who learned of the metal and got a sample in this episode.

But who knows, maybe the preview was deceptively edited in order to throw people off, and I've just fallen for it.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

On the other hand, I got a completely different feeling than you about Elrond. I haven't watched the preview for the next episode but I would be very surprised if that turns out to be the case (again, time will tell). In any event, Elrond talking about his father was for me the best scene of the show so far.

I would love to be wrong about Elrond, and like you I really enjoyed the scene of him talking about his father, but (preview spoilers)...

Hidden text.

...I'm not sure who else would not only tell Celebrimbor about mithril but give him a sample of it, if not Elrond, who learned of the metal and got a sample in this episode.

But who knows, maybe the preview was deceptively edited in order to throw people off, and I've just fallen for it.

I still haven't watched the preview but guessing it is Durin IV himself.

[Eldy]

That would be an interesting development!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Or simply wishful thinking on my part!

[Eldy]

I wouldn't know anything about that.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

‘There are the emblems of Durin!’ cried Gimli.
‘And there is the Tree of the High Elves!’ said Legolas.
‘And the Star of the House of Fëanor,’ said Gandalf. ‘They are wrought of ithildin that mirrors only starlight and moonlight, and sleeps until it is touched by one who speaks words now long forgotten in Middle-earth. It is long since I heard them, and I thought deeply before I could recall them to my mind.’
‘What does the writing say?’ asked Frodo, who was trying to decipher the inscription on the arch. ‘I thought I knew the elf-letters but I cannot read these.’
‘The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days,’ answered Gandalf. ‘But they do not say anything of importance to us. They say only: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.’

Ithildin, of course, is made from mithril.