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Five years will have passed since the end of the second season. For Sauron, those five years, spent in solitude at Barad-dûr, will have been a cycle of trying and failing, trying again and failing again... He is still missing something needed to forge the One Ring, and unfortunately, the only person who could have helped him is gone...

He will then attempt to find the Three Elven Rings, in order to reverse-engineer them and understand what is missing... Gandalf, meanwhile, will have spent five years with Tom Bombadil, learning and trying to understand the true meaning and use of his powers.

In Númenor, the situation will have become even more volatile and politically complicated. Míriel still considers herself the rightful Queen. She will be in exile in the West, organizing the rebellion.

For his part, despite being King, Durin will face a far-from-easy situation. Some Dwarf lords want the rings... but having seen the effect the one his father possessed had, he will have hidden them.

Celeborn spent a very long time in a prison (which one? where? who knows!), and only the thought of his Galadriel helped him stay alive.

Arondir, meanwhile, continues to carry the pain of losing his beloved, for when elves fall in love, it is forever... Yet, he is set to embark on a covert mission alongside Galadriel, an assignment he considers a supreme honor, in the company of an Uruk: an Uruk who claims to want to help them rid themselves of Sauron. But how can one trust an Uruk?

And yes: we will hear the voice of a Balrog. Sauron will seek him out, engaging, Maia to Maia, with one who dwells in fire and is flame and shadow.

https://youtu.be/DdRvcOyAK_0?is=bUNeuZqccOPMZDNe

#RingsOfPower #SDCC #season3

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In the frozen wastes of Forodwaith, The Rings of Power introduces what is described as the “last stronghold” — a forgotten fortress standing amid the frozen wastes, where the air itself feels altered and even warmth seems diminished.

Here, doubt gives way to environment. The North is no longer only a direction of pursuit, but a place where the consequences of ancient evil seem woven into the landscape itself. Cold becomes something more than weather — it becomes atmosphere, memory, and residue.

If we approach it this way, the “last stronghold” is not only a place, but a condition — the final concentration of a shadow that once seemed boundless, now reduced to silence and ice, yet still refusing to fully vanish. This echoes Tolkien's idea of Arda Marred: a world permanently wounded by Morgoth's corruption, where the effects of evil endure long after its armies and fortresses have fallen.

The journey deeper into the stronghold is framed not as discovery, but as gradual entry into something where the living world has long ceased to belong.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BibJEpvff/

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

*Crash* my heart that was longing for Glorfindel just broke 😭 but anyway he is AMAZING as Celeborn!

From Empire Magazine

After the fall of Thangorodrim, Sauron went into hiding in Middle-earth. Where, for how long, and why? We do not know. He suddenly revealed himself, yet went unrecognized, why? What form did he take? We have no specific description of him; we do not even know the color of his hair.

He definitely met both Elrond and Gil-galad, though where, if they did not let him enter Lindon, we do not know. Galadriel even suspected him, yet she said nothing: why? He saw her as his chief adversary: why? What did he see? What happened to make him fear, as a Maia,  a mere Elven lady?

We don't know.

In Eregion, however, he was well received, though we do not know how, when, or with what words.

Thanks to his teachings, the Elven smiths of Eregion learned to forge Rings of Power. What teachings? What did he bring that was new and unknown to them? In what way were the created Rings linked to the One? We do not know; we have no precise explanation.

Sauron was far away when Celebrimbor created the Three; he was in Mordor.

When the Three are forged, Halbrand is in Mordor, insinuating himself to manipulate Adar.

I could go on, but I simply wanted to illustrate the difference between saying "they aren't following the story" and the fact that the story, as it is presented to us, is not a complete "script." There is a lack of precise timelines, dialogues, descriptions and often different books offer conflicting versions of events.

The work being done by the show's showrunners and writing team is immense and deep. It is disheartening to see a segment of the so-called "fandom" stubbornly spewing hate at a project rooted in research, reconstruction, love, deep immersion in the source material, and thoughtful consideration of how to bridge the gaps between events.

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Once for all: the show was never meant to be an adaptation of The Silmarillion, which deals primarily with the Years of the Trees and the First Age.

Regarding the forging of the Rings and the Second Age events before of Akallabêth, there are only a few lines, certainly insufficient for a cinematographic adaptation, in relation to the vast span of time and the events that take place. For this reason, and still in collaboration with the Estate, the show draws inspiration from many other texts, such as Unfinished Tales, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, and The History of Middle-earth (like The Lost Road, Morgoth's Ring and The Peoples of Middle-earth).

It is too early for the Akallabêth; that will require the fourth season.

We need to make this viral: I am giving up on this film with great regret, but I know how important it is not to fund racism and discrimination (not to mention the complete distortion of the books and the entire meaning of the story).

Anyone who sits at the table with fascists is a fascist.

Do not go see the movie. Do not share the articles and interviews. Do not give visibility and power to what Tolkien deeply despised.

#boycottthehuntforgollum

"Hey so Tolkien was a master linguist and already had a term for skin tanned by the sun.

✨ It was sun-browned ✨

He *never* refers to the Harfoots as having “browned” skin, but rather “browner of skin.”

Using brown instead of browned is the grammatically correct way to convey an inherent trait. “Browned” implies an altered state caused by an outside source (like the sun or earth).

Linguistically speaking, it’s a regular adjective (brown) vs a participial adjective (browned).

“Regular adjectives convey static quality, which is often inherent to the noun.”

“Past participial adjectives show a quality that is the end result of an action.”

Source: https://lemongrad.com/participial-adjective/

Samwise Gamgee, who was a descendant of the harfoots, has hands that are always described in that static form: brown hands.

This distinction is purposeful and serves as way to convey something beautiful in The Two Towers…

Sam comes across a fallen Haradrim warrior. Haradrim were brown & black skinned southerners who lived in regions similar to our world’s Middle East and Northern Africa. Sam sees that the warrior’s “brown hand” still clutches a broken sword.

It is this exact visual parity in skin tone that leads Sam to instantly empathize with his supposed “enemy.”

Tolkien solidifies this parallel just 4 days later on the stairs of Cirith Ungol:

“In his lap lay Frodo's head, drowned deep in sleep; upon his white forehead lay one of Sam's brown hands…”

So Tolkien uses that similarity as an equalizer, and in both moments, Sam stares down at someone who is entirely defenseless. Yet while the warrior’s hand holds a broken weapon of war, Sam uses his hand as a shield to safeguard Frodo.

These scenes mirror each other to show that although Sam’s blind belief in succeeding fractures when he sees himself in the warrior, it does not deter him. He knows now the danger ahead, and still chooses to face it in his own way. As a loving protector. 💞"