"The Rings of Power" Vanity Fair article

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by mhagain

Apologies for dragging up Hobbits again, but Tolkien did describe them as clearly having a prehistory before they became known, having already divided into the three subtypes. As for where they are located in this time period - the objections are making assumptions that stretch credibility. Why can they not be living around the Sea of Rhun, for example?

I'm not saying it's a good thing that there are Hobbits in this, and I'd personally prefer if there weren't. What I am saying is that their presence doesn't actually contradict anything written, and it shouldn't take huge feats of mental agility to see that.

My comments regarding Hobbits were only part of my disdain for the whole. Taken in total, and based on a trailer and an article, it seems every superfluously silly storyline and fan-fictional foible of Peter Jackson has been magnified by the producers here -- and we haven't even gotten to the release of the series. The hapless heaping helping of Halflings is just a symptom of a complete disregard for Tolkien's works.

Do Hobbits exist in the 2nd Age? Sure. Do they need to be in a story that literally has nothing whatsoever to do with them, and who Tolkien literally said do not appear until the middle of the 3rd Age? No, evidently they were only added as a sop for a certain demographic of LOTR film-fan who wants to see the Shire again but can't afford to fly to New Zealand.

Galadriel, for instance, is demeaned as some impetuous Elven Valkyrie in plate armor (yeah, plate armor always cracks me up in Middle-earth), seeking some vengeful vendetta against foes who no longer exist. Given Galadriel is an Elda born in Valinor, who beheld the Two Trees, intuitively saw the malingering evil in Fëanor, crossed the Helcaraxë, and had a millenia-long stay learning at the feet of Melian the Maia, I don't see her as being impetuous, or needing to don armor to be like one of the guys, for that matter. Not to mention all of her brothers died in the 1st Age, Morgoth is locked away, the balrogs are destroyed or hidden away in the bowels of the earth, and Sauron is still Annatar (isn't he?).

As William Cloud Hicklin correctly concluded, Galadriel's appearance reeks of the warrior woman trope, and detracts from the innate abilities and wisdom that made Galadriel one of the most powerful beings in Arda -- this might as well be the cartoon Heavy Metal with a Middle-earth overlay. Perhaps if they fitted Galadriel with a steel-cupped brassiere....

And stranded on a raft with a mortal? Let's ignore the idea that yachting was not one of Galadriel's pastimes, but the mortal grabs her by the hair? An Elf would not survive such effrontery on her person; therefore, I wonder if the mortal is summarily tossed from the raft, and whether his fingers were still intact.

Again, faux pas strictly from a trailer and article. That they would advertise it that way leads me to the inexorable conclusion that this will be a high-priced Elf and Sorcery boondoggle fit for a new World of Warcraft MMORPG. I will lay odds that the game(s) are already in development.