[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

The whole swanship sequence is weird. Galadriel and her soldiers sail the entire way standing in two lines. There are a matching number of veiled maidens along to take their armour off - if sailing is such a great honour, what did they do right? And then when Galadriel hesitates, her second in command believes she has to hold his hand or be... what? It's a boat! It's going to take you to the beach unless you do something ridiculous like jumping off it.

Yes of course she jumps off it. I don't know what her plan was.

This sequence was visually gorgeous but as you aptly describe, very silly. I'm still confused whether Galadriel intended to swim all the way back to Middle-Earth (and how long did she actually swim before being picked up by the shipwrecked humans on the raft).

Originally Posted by Andsigil

I've had a problem with "ackshun gurl" Galadriel ever since I saw the first hint that she would be swinging a sword. Galadriel never picked up a sword in any Tolkien story. Not even once.

Personally, I have more problem with "gurl" part than the "ackshun" part - I still think she shouldn't have been framed as the young hero in this story but rather as one of the older "players of the big game". Like I said, if they wanted a young Elf lord hunting Sauron, Gil-Galad would have fit the bill better. But that being said, I don't mind that they gave her a sword. It isn't in contradiction with what is written about her, even if she was never particularly described as a swordswoman (but an athlete yes!) Also what I find sexist about the whole thing is that she's the only Elf woman who's a warrior, and Not Like Other Girls. If they already decided to make her a sword-swinging warrior, why not the other Elf women? I couldn't help noticing every single other Elf warrior was male. That's very tired, and maybe it could have been a progressive take 50 years ago but not now.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

And the Elrond-Galadriel friendship is weird to me as well. If the series plan is to show how the powerful and significant friendship between the two begins and develop that could be interesting. But Elrond's being a bit creepy in what seems like a courting of Galadriel, and Galadriel is does like a "friend zone" thing. What's with adapters hating on Celeborn all the time? It's like people are trying to ship Galadriel with everyone else, except her husband. And the fact Galadriel becomes Elrond's mother-in-law, I hope the series sticks to that canon at least. I could just be over-reacting, like people did with Galadriel kissing Gandalf's forehead in The Hobbit, but it feels like adaptations have no love for Celeborn.

Yeah, the Elrond/Galadriel thing makes me a little uncomfortable and knowing how the story ends just makes me think of Twilight... (the daughter of your crush as an eventual consolation prize for the friend zoned dude... romance plot twists don't really get more cringy than that.) I would have liked to see Celeborn and Celebrían already, but I hope the reason we haven't seen them is that they will actually write a storyline about the Galadriel/Celeborn romance and not so that they can sprinkle in some romantic/sexual tension with her and other characters (which was awkward both with Elrond and Halbrand).

Originally Posted by Boromir88

I liked Episode 2 better than Episode 1, and it all comes down to Khazad-dum. Khazad-dum was truly phenomenal not only visually, but a proper, solid look at dwarf society. I loved everything Khazad-dum. The look, the light and splendor, a vibrant dwarven civilization prior to them "digging too greedily and too deep.

Yes, it was beautiful, and I was intrigued by the ending suggesting they have just, in fact, dug too deep. Also the relationship between Prince Durin and Elrond was one of the few actually interesting/nuanced ones on the show. That all being said, I was disappointed they decided to go the PJ route of using the Dwarves as comic relief. The boisterous Dwarves so prominent in contemporary fantasy never sat right with Tolkien's portrayal of them - where is the dignity of the Dwarf lords (that PJ's Thorin at least had) or the reclusive manners of the traveling Dwarves in Tolkien's writing? Dwarves drinking and burping and playing silly games with an Elf present, or freely displaying physical affection (Durin and Disa) with someone else present just doesn't sit right with me. They should be more stiff, hierarchical and secretive.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Still don't care for Galadriel's storyline, now she's adrift on a plank of wood with some guy name Halbrand, fleeing from the Southlands. Why he was in the middle of the ocean, I mean they explained his ship was attacked, but what are they doing out there in the first place? How they were even in the vicinity of Galadriel? I don't understand the geography at all.

Yes, and presumably he's Theo's missing father? At least there's some intrigue of what actually happened, but as you say, the geography part is very messy.

Originally Posted by Tar Elenion

Also Elrond, while Tolkien does not outright state he defeated anyone in physical combat, Tolkien does have him in the War of Wrath, and leading an army in the War of Elves and Sauron.

And the iconic description of him in The Lord of the Rings likens him to a warrior:

The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength.

Personally I would think that for either of Elrond or Galadriel the "warriorness" isn't the primary thing they are, but something in their repertoire. The Elf-lords of old were very "renaissance men" and why wouldn't they be, with all that time to hone various skills in their disposal...

Originally Posted by Blind Guardian

the Stranger being Gandalf seemed believable. This could be his backstory as to why he loves the halflings so much. The Darkness he created in the first episode with the trees was similar to the Darkness created in the Hobbit house to Bilbo ("I'm not trying to rob you; I'm trying to help you"). Plus there are similarities between the moth at Isengard and the fireflies.

Our watch group was very baffled as for why did he fall from the sky instead of arriving on a ship with the other Istari, but the Stranger has to be Gandalf. The connection with hobbits and fire, and the not-very-subtle ian-mckellen-y mannersisms (and look) of the actor make it rather obvious. I kind of hate the absolute blasphemy of the plot, but I admit it's one of the few plotlines I'm genuinely curious about in the show.