tv show The Rings of Power | Prime Video | Episode 5: 'Halls of Stone' | LotR Prequel

[Terylee]

What I don't get. Why did the people in the Southlands chant for their king (Halbrand) and in episode 8 we learn that the Southlands did not have a king in 1000 years. I would understand 5 years but 1000 ******* years. Is this lazy writing or did I miss something? 

Edited October 15, 2022 by Terylee

[Madonno]

34 minutes ago, Terylee said:

What I don't get. Why did the people in the Southlands chant for their king (Halbrand) and in episode 8 we lean that the Southlands did not have a king in 1000 years. I would understand 5 years but 1000 ******* years. Is this lazy writing or did I miss something? 

MTE

I guess Halbrand was perceived as a "PROMISED KING" or something.

[Liafen]

40 minutes ago, Terylee said:

What I don't get. Why did the people in the Southlands chant for their king (Halbrand) and in episode 8 we learn that the Southlands did not have a king in 1000 years. I would understand 5 years but 1000 ******* years. Is this lazy writing or did I miss something? 

I doubt that raggedy ass village of like 30 people has a shared IQ over 100. (That's why this King of the Southlands plotline was so dumb.)

[nathanspears]

10 hours ago, TaggedGalaxy said:

I hope Nori dies next season, hate that *****

I said the same thing, I can't stand the Harfoot story line

 

 

[nathanspears]

48 minutes ago, Terylee said:

What I don't get. Why did the people in the Southlands chant for their king (Halbrand) and in episode 8 we learn that the Southlands did not have a king in 1000 years. I would understand 5 years but 1000 ******* years. Is this lazy writing or did I miss something? 

Wasn't the point that they were told a king would emerge to lead them at some point? I guess the fact that they had been waiting for 1000 years just didn't come up in conversation.

[Xoxogossipgurl]

That was an amazing finale. 

[Cloröx]

4 hours ago, saucy said:

Haven't watched the series yet but thank god Sauron is a hottie. I should tune in 

Rise king rise 

 

[cruelhprince]

loved the finale

[Babydoll.]

rlly cute finale. had the lil somethin somethin most of the eps were missing. felt VERY LoTR.

 

the pacing has been random asf tho. i feel like we could've got here in 5-6 episodes lol. 

[PaloSanto]

It was a cute season finale but it didnt particularly leave me gagged and begging for more. It was just... competent i guess? The only highlights of the season for me were a couple of really cool shots but not a particular narrative moment I guess. And that's what it lacked. A moment that narratively resonated with me and made me feel something.

[saucy]

17 hours ago, Cloröx said:

Rise king rise 

 

convinced me to give it a shot 

 

and tbh it's actually quite good. i cant believe the internet nerds were fuming over this 

[Eóghan]

Whew I can't believe it's already over and I'm glad it ended on such good note, this was favorite episode of the season. 

I'll say it's 8 > 5 > 6 > 7 > 2 > 1 > 4 > 3

 

It's so fuckin weird to call Halbrand = Sauron from now on so I'm gonna settle on Halron until season 2  

I guess we're gonna see him play with "fear" and manipulate with different factions in futures seasons. For the Elves it will be "fear" of fading, I don't think his business with Celebrimbor is far from over. For the southlands, fear of "the orcs", although Adar already took care of that and now he's goin to have to face him. We might get a civil war in Mordor  which is new and exciting. For the dwarves, greed and fear of losing their influence. And for last: Numenor, fear of death, we already saw a glimpse of it in the finale with Pharazon being jealous of the Elves immortality now more than ever.

 

Looking back on it, it's crazy the amount of clues they gave us for Halron.  

 

 
 

 

 

This reddit thread from 2 weeks ago listing the clues from previous episodes  Like it couldn't be more obvious when you do a re-watch.

 

 

 

 

Even in the music

 

 

[Eóghan]

Haladriel confrontation is really the highlight of highlights. 

The way the showrunners used some lines from the books (FOTR in particular) to connect the dots and arcs in this season is so satisfying. "the tides of fate of flowing" said by Halbrand in episode 1 is a nice touch.

 

When he gets into her mind and tempting to manipulate her, to coax her into accepting his view point his outlook on this, like every great villain he thinks he's the hero he wants to heal middle earth. And I think there is some precedent in Tolkien's writing that Sauron might have been willing to repent after Morgoth was captured, but it could've been out of fear, it's not really sure.

 

But the idea that he was a Maiar first (like Gandalf, Saruman etc ...), that Sauron was a good soul that was corrupted and that after Morgoth was defeated, where does Sauron see himself? what does he find himself to do? I like that much like this entire show even Sauron is not pure pure evil, at least not yet or that there as room there, and that room is exactly where we all fell for Halbrand and had sympathy for him. Cause i think that some of those moments we saw are genuine, i think he does feel some kind of kinship and connection with Galadriel because of things that they have done and gone through, with the way they look at things, that was actually genuine in my opinion. I don't think that was entirely manipulation on his part and so when you get to this sequence, when he's goin through her memories and he is just twisting and talking, you could almost see Galadriel fallin' for it.

 

And that amazing shot (we could've had the power couple of all fantasy ) when they're on the raft and he says to look down and it turns and you can see this possible future. Because this episode is so much about reconciling past and possible future in a number of storylines and you see the Galadriel that now we all remember from "Fellowship of the Ring" and even the Hobbit films, and he uses her own line of dialogues "stronger than the foundation of the earth". This is exactly the way Sauron would've gone about it because he is the deceiver he appears as a friend, digs into your mind and uses memories to twist against you. And ultimately what he says sounds good, sounds right and everybody has to reconcile with that.

 

Also here he actually uses Finrod's lessons when she was a a child against her: “But sometimes, the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky.” All to confuse her, so she can't tell which is which. So damn evil  

 

 

 

 

 

And now when you look back at "Fellowship of the ring", you see her scenes totally differently.  You actually get a second layer to the "test scene". It's not just a test that came out of nowhere, it can also be read as "was he right?", "should I have joined him then?" but thousands of years later

 

 

 

 

 

On 10/15/2022 at 5:14 AM, Jotham said:

With that said, the scene with Sauron appearing in Galadriel's visions made me feel so uncomfortable. But I guess it was supposed to?

 

 

It worked so much for me. Especially the actor who plays Finrod, he was excellent. He played it so subtle but so different at the same time compared to the episode 1 prologue, you could tell something was off because he was smiling way more and being a bit of a creep in his manners. And the way he twisted his words from "In order to see the light you have to touch the darkness" to "touch the darkness once more".  Chef's kiss.

 

 

[Eóghan]

I lowkey teared up a few time because of the harfoots this episode  

Honestly I love all the harfoot stuff because if everything in the show it felt the most pure Tolkien, to me at least. Nori and Poppy gave me the biggest Frodo and Sam vibes. To see them separate was so bittersweet, it's a switch up I didn't expect.

Nori: "Mom I promise, l'll be careful"

Marigold: "No, you'll be bold!". Dang, it really hit me. The mom actress nailed it.

 

Also RIP Sadoc. I thought they handled that tastefully, not too much fanfare, just lemme watch the sun come up. 

Accepting death in a time where many other are trying to cheat death in the show, is a win. Harfoots are really a different breed in middle earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway it's not a perfect show but still a very promising beginning for a 50 hour show. There's good things and bad things in all aspects but the positives has win me over by far, and i'm not goin to dwell on the negatives already been pointed out.

 

If the show ended here and now, got cancelled by amazon for mysterious reasons. There's at least one thing I'll take away from it is the music. 10/10.

It's so special and I'm so attached to it already, I pre-ordered the vinyl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 10/15/2022 at 12:15 AM, Dylangaga said:

I SCREAMED when Gandalf said "I'm good"

On 10/15/2022 at 12:27 AM, John Slayne said:

that was the worst part of the episode, i laughed at how ridiculous it was 

 

I see where you're coming from but they needed to do it because it sums up the whole arc of that storyline. Especially with the parallels with Sauron, the other Maiar from the episode, who had an inkling of being repentant but ultimately chose to stay evil and they wanted to show us that anybody can be evil under the wrong circumstances and it's the choices you make that make you good. Sauron was a corrupted maiar, this wizard could've been too if it wasn't for the harfoots showing him that he can choose to be "good". I mean it's too on the nose but it works for me.

 

 

On 10/15/2022 at 12:27 AM, John Slayne said:

 

this last episode and the ring plot definitely felt very rushed, and sauron giving celebrimbor all this basic advance and celebrimbor acting like it was genius  they should've finished the episode with the rings just started being made, and then they could give us a bit more lore about them at the beginning of S2 before introducing them. 

On 10/14/2022 at 1:13 PM, TaylenaStan said:

Now the Rings get made in like 10 mins  The season should have just ended with Celebrimbor and Halbrand starting to forge the rings and not everything being rushed like this. There should have been more focus on forging the rings, especially with the series titled Rings of Power  
 

Not all rings. Just 3 out of 20. Those 3, the only rings that weren't corrupted by Sauron and that we still see in the movies.

The Three were untouched by Sauron in their making and were made for preservation so they didn't negatively affect their bearers. The biggest problem with the Three was their connection with the One and the Elves' reliance on them.

 

 

 

There's still 17 rings left to be made and they're the ones who are corrupted by Sauron when Celebrimbor makes them. I think it makes sense that they only showed us and started with the rings that aren't corrupted because Galadriel made sure Sauron wasn't there, and she also had the idea of making 3 to create balance instead of divide. Gettin those 3 rings out of the way is a good way to tie up this first season for a show called "rings of power" like you said.

 

Here's what Charlie Vickers (Halron) said about season 2: 

 

 

So the ring-making with Celebrimbor is just beginning. "Annatar" is the known disguise in the books he used when helping Celebrimbor.

 

 

 

On 10/14/2022 at 11:21 PM, Happylittlepunk said:

Honestly I am glad it was revealed hellbrand is sauron I always suspected. The signs were there the entire time. yeah there is no doubt meteor man is Gandalf. Nori is going to travel with the wizard and it makes sense that meter man will be known as Gandalf the wizard. Considering he is the most well known one among middle earth despite the blue wizards being there, radagast, and Saruman. Gandalf had the most interaction with everyone and that’s why he had the nickname the wizard. As many folks really think he the only wizard. Conserving he is going to rhub next season I suspect he finally meet the blue wizards. Since they were basically located in the eastern lands of middle earth. 
 

On 10/15/2022 at 12:20 AM, BadMonster said:

It was clear earlier in the episode, but it was confirmed when he said "always follow your nose", something Gandalf said in the movie

 

 

I deeply think they could still surprise us and it might not be Gandalf. Ok he's definitely Gandalf in my mind but there's a 10% doubt.

I think it could be a misinterpretation that he is Gandalf, he could be a blue wizard. The second one, actually. The Mystics said "like the other" in the episode just before there were killed, meaning there's another wizard they already met. It's just a nod to him being one of them. The "follow your nose" line was from Peter Jackson after all, not the books. There's a Blue hue to his magic in this episode, prior use of ice, his beard being shorter than the other wizards, appearing younger than other wizards, arriving in the second age as the first two wizards in Middle Earth, everything just fits the description too well. Also the Blue Wizards have a connection to Rhun (where they're heading in season 2) and Gandalf does not.

 

The actor who plays him Daniel Weyman said in an interview post-episode 

"Who the Stranger is might be somebody totally brand new, or it might be a named character in canon.” So does that mean Weyman still doesn’t know exactly who he’s playing just yet? According to the actor, “nobody knows what the Stranger is, other than what they’ve met.”

+ the showrunner

McKAY: "Nothing to confirm! One of the earliest ideas we had about the precursor to hobbits was that a being of incredible power lands in their backyard. It was less about who, and more about how this being disrupts this girl’s life. "

 

It's strange that they would not confirm that he's Gandalf and yet the actor who plays Halron Charlie Vickers did tons of interviews confirming Sauron. Why not confirm Gandalf too?

I think they really want the casual viewers think it's Gandalf because they know the audience loves him and want to take advantage of it.

 

 

 

[AbeHicks]

1 hour ago, Eóghan said:

Why not confirm Gandalf too?

I think they really want the casual viewers think it's Gandalf because they know the audience loves him and want to take advantage of it.

 

 

 

Because legally they are not allowed to use Gandalf so they make allusions like this instead

[Drowned8World]

i love the details

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sunmimi imfurst]

I like the idea of a civil war in Mordor lol. It will interesting to see Saurons journey in s2, I hope they follow it! I’m not a hardcore fan so if I say anything stupid sorry!

 

Loved the final ep!  

[Johnny Jacobs]

It started off boring and slow paced but it got cute and then great in the last two episodes 

 

The twist was delicious.. 

 

I do wish they'll make it less Disney+ and more HBO. 

[makeme]

Wait this was the finale!?!?! Nooo it was just getting good. 

[Eóghan]

IGN Review

 

 

 

 

Very Efficient and Short Recap

 

 

 

 

 

Meet the Cast Gallery was just added on the page of the show on Prime Video 

(lmao at half the cast looking unrecognizable ) 

 

 

Morfydd Clark (Galadriel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph Mawle (Adar)

 

 

 

 

Robert Aramayo (Elrond)

 

 

 

 

 

Sauron / Halbrand (Charlie Vickers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isildur (Maxim Baldry)

 

 

 

 

Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavanagh)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Regent Miriel (Cythia Addai Robinson)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earien (Emma Horvath)

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards)

 

 

 

 

 

Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova)

 

 

 

 

Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi)

 

 

 

 

 

More down below in the tag

 

 

 

 

Disa (Sophia Nomvete)

 

 

 

Theo (Tyroe Muhafadin)

 



 

 

The Stranger / Wizard (Daniel Weyman)

 



 

 

Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani)

 

 

 

 

Largo Brandyfoot (Dylan Smith)

 

 

 

 

 

Elendil (Lloyd Owen)

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Leak from the set of season 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guy who filmed the video said he spotted Maxim Baldry (Isildur) on the set.

My guess is that his horse Berek saved him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[makeme]

Kind of off topic but i'm rewatching the LOTR movies on hbo. I've seen all of them numerous times but never the extended additions! The fellowship only had a few extra added scenes but i'm watching two towers now and wow they cut out sooooo much this is like a new movie almost.. 

[Eóghan]

4 hours ago, makeme said:

Kind of off topic but i'm rewatching the LOTR movies on hbo. I've seen all of them numerous times but never the extended additions! The fellowship only had a few extra added scenes but i'm watching two towers now and wow they cut out sooooo much this is like a new movie almost.. 

And they're important scenes too. Especially in The Two Towers, you get a better understanding of Boromir and Faramir for example. There's like 45 minutes of deleted scenes in TTT extended which is a lot. The biggest scene I will never understand why it ended up as a deleted scene is Saruman's death in Return of the King, it makes absolutely no sense to cut it. And yet he just vanishes from the main plot in the original movie, never to be mentioned or seen again ...

 

Thank god the extended edition have gone super mainstream and now that's the only way everyone watches the trilogy.

 

I'm dreaming of a supercut because there's also tons of filmed scenes that never saw the light of day.

- Arwen/Legolas conversation in Rivendell

- Orcs from Moria attacking Lothlórien and Galadriel scaring them with her light

- Arwen showing up at Helm's Deep to help with the fight 

- Éowyn helping a woman give birth in the glittering caves and then fighting a few Uruk-hai

Also for the epilogue, they filmed Éowyn and Faramir's wedding, Aragorn's death and funeral etc ...

[makeme]

57 minutes ago, Eóghan said:

And they're important scenes too. Especially in The Two Towers, you get a better understanding of Boromir and Faramir for example. There's like 45 minutes of deleted scenes in TTT extended which is a lot. The biggest scene I will never understand why it ended up as a deleted scene is Saruman's death in Return of the King, it makes absolutely no sense to cut it. And yet he just vanishes from the main plot in the original movie, never to be mentioned or seen again ...

 

Thank god the extended edition have gone super mainstream and now that's the only way everyone watches the trilogy.

 

I'm dreaming of a supercut because there's also tons of filmed scenes that never saw the light of day.

- Arwen/Legolas conversation in Rivendell

- Orcs from Moria attacking Lothlórien and Galadriel scaring them with her light

- Arwen showing up at Helm's Deep to help with the fight 

- Éowyn helping a woman give birth in the glittering caves and then fighting a few Uruk-hai

Also for the epilogue, they filmed Éowyn and Faramir's wedding, Aragorn's death and funeral etc ...

You have literally hit the nail on the head. I am watching return of the king now and I NEVER knew Saruman died they always just make you think he's stuck up in the tower forever. 

 

And yes Boromir isn't even in the two towers theatrical release I really enjoyed the extra scenes with him. Also Aragon being in his 80s wtf?? They also show more Eowyn which makes her seem like a more solid character. All of the weed scenes being cut made me laugh. I had no idea the hobbits were potheads LOL. 

 

Kind of cool to hear them talk about Numenor and other things I didn't know about when I watched the movies as a child in the 2000s now that i've watched Rings of power and know some more about the lore.

 

And I would love the supercut. Getting these extended additions is such a treat for me right now. I had to of seen each of the theatrical releases on cable at least 5 times but i've never these extended cuts. 

 

 

[Xoxogossipgurl]

I'm rooting for Sauron from here on out even though we all know the ending. For as much as I've enjoyed show, we need a good villain and things need to be spiced up. The entire Sauron reveal is the only thing that really gagged me. And as much as I do like some of the characters, none of them gagged me the way I was anticipating... except Sauron/Halbrand. Also Charlie Vickers is hot so that's a plus for me. Sauron is going to carry the rest of this show, I fear.

[Xoxogossipgurl]

On 10/16/2022 at 11:40 AM, Eóghan said:

I lowkey teared up a few time because of the harfoots this episode  

Honestly I love all the harfoot stuff because if everything in the show it felt the most pure Tolkien, to me at least. Nori and Poppy gave me the biggest Frodo and Sam vibes. To see them separate was so bittersweet, it's a switch up I didn't expect.

Nori: "Mom I promise, l'll be careful"

Marigold: "No, you'll be bold!". Dang, it really hit me. The mom actress nailed it.

 

Also RIP Sadoc. I thought they handled that tastefully, not too much fanfare, just lemme watch the sun come up. 

Accepting death in a time where many other are trying to cheat death in the show, is a win. Harfoots are really a different breed in middle earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway it's not a perfect show but still a very promising beginning for a 50 hour show. There's good things and bad things in all aspects but the positives has win me over by far, and i'm not goin to dwell on the negatives already been pointed out.

 

If the show ended here and now, got cancelled by amazon for mysterious reasons. There's at least one thing I'll take away from it is the music. 10/10.

It's so special and I'm so attached to it already, I pre-ordered the vinyl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see where you're coming from but they needed to do it because it sums up the whole arc of that storyline. Especially with the parallels with Sauron, the other Maiar from the episode, who had an inkling of being repentant but ultimately chose to stay evil and they wanted to show us that anybody can be evil under the wrong circumstances and it's the choices you make that make you good. Sauron was a corrupted maiar, this wizard could've been too if it wasn't for the harfoots showing him that he can choose to be "good". I mean it's too on the nose but it works for me.

 

 

Not all rings. Just 3 out of 20. Those 3, the only rings that weren't corrupted by Sauron and that we still see in the movies.

The Three were untouched by Sauron in their making and were made for preservation so they didn't negatively affect their bearers. The biggest problem with the Three was their connection with the One and the Elves' reliance on them.

 

 

 

There's still 17 rings left to be made and they're the ones who are corrupted by Sauron when Celebrimbor makes them. I think it makes sense that they only showed us and started with the rings that aren't corrupted because Galadriel made sure Sauron wasn't there, and she also had the idea of making 3 to create balance instead of divide. Gettin those 3 rings out of the way is a good way to tie up this first season for a show called "rings of power" like you said.

 

Here's what Charlie Vickers (Halron) said about season 2: 

 

 

So the ring-making with Celebrimbor is just beginning. "Annatar" is the known disguise in the books he used when helping Celebrimbor.

 

 

 

 

 

I deeply think they could still surprise us and it might not be Gandalf. Ok he's definitely Gandalf in my mind but there's a 10% doubt.

I think it could be a misinterpretation that he is Gandalf, he could be a blue wizard. The second one, actually. The Mystics said "like the other" in the episode just before there were killed, meaning there's another wizard they already met. It's just a nod to him being one of them. The "follow your nose" line was from Peter Jackson after all, not the books. There's a Blue hue to his magic in this episode, prior use of ice, his beard being shorter than the other wizards, appearing younger than other wizards, arriving in the second age as the first two wizards in Middle Earth, everything just fits the description too well. Also the Blue Wizards have a connection to Rhun (where they're heading in season 2) and Gandalf does not.

 

The actor who plays him Daniel Weyman said in an interview post-episode 

"Who the Stranger is might be somebody totally brand new, or it might be a named character in canon.” So does that mean Weyman still doesn’t know exactly who he’s playing just yet? According to the actor, “nobody knows what the Stranger is, other than what they’ve met.”

+ the showrunner

McKAY: "Nothing to confirm! One of the earliest ideas we had about the precursor to hobbits was that a being of incredible power lands in their backyard. It was less about who, and more about how this being disrupts this girl’s life. "

 

It's strange that they would not confirm that he's Gandalf and yet the actor who plays Halron Charlie Vickers did tons of interviews confirming Sauron. Why not confirm Gandalf too?

I think they really want the casual viewers think it's Gandalf because they know the audience loves him and want to take advantage of it.

 

 

 

 

The way Haladriel are the IT couple with the best chemistry on this show and they not even a romantic couple....Charlie and Morfydd outsold I fear. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing. All of this made me gag. Best part of the episode.