Ep. 17: Discussing The Rings of Power, "Shadow and Flame"

Send us a textAfter a spectacular penultimate episode, our expectations for the Season 2 finale were pretty high. And in our opinion—from the opening Balrog showdown, to Celebrimbor’s chilling final words, to the much anticipated Saurondriel confrontation—“Shadow and Flame” really delivered. We get into all of it, dissecting how the Pelargir plot has been punching above its weight all season (and why we’re a fan of Estrid remaining behind in Middle-earth), how our favorite Númenóreans are likely to weather the coming storm, the importance of names (Gandalf is a Stranger no more!), our issues with the Rhûn storyline, the tragedy of Sauron (“some things can’t be fixed”), and what we expect from Galadriel’s journey next season.  We have some special episodes coming over the hiatus, but for now, we hope you enjoy, and thank you for listening—Namárië.Time Stamps 00:00 - Intro, Summary, and First Takes 10:13 - Visual Feasts, Musical Moments, and Wonders of the World 25:50 - Pelargir Plotline Lovers Stay Winning 37:52 - Númenórean Endings and Eärien Defense Squad 43:56 - Arondir's Unnecessary Deathbait 47:24 - Elrond's Change of Heart 49:07 - The Horror of Celebrimbor and Sauron 57:02 - Adar and Glûg's Tragic End 1:09:09 - Never Getting Back Together aka The Saurondriel Showdown 1:26:49 - Performance Awards 1:32:14 - Dialogue Dialogue 1:39:44 - Critiques 1:47:31 - Themes 1:52:23 - Namárië 

Send us a textWhat a moving episode of The Rings of Power. 2x07 "Doomed to Die" delivered in every way we were hoping and in some ways we weren't even expecting, from Charlotte Brändström's stunning battle direction to the excruciatingly beautiful emotional scenes. We tried (but failed) to get through this recording without weeping, diving into Celebrimbor's tragic victory over Annatar’s prison of illusions, Arondir's return to the action (and terrifying deathbait scene) and That Kiss. We also dig into Adar's complex relationship with Glûg, and say goodbye to Mirdania and Rían. Laugh and cry with us as we prepare for what's bound to be an epic and intense finale. You can find our takes wherever you catch pods!Time Stamps:00:00 - Introduction and First Takes 11:12 - Visual Feasts and Musical Moments 20:48 - Wonders of the World29:03 - Arondir; Arondir and Galadriel43:04 - Adar; Adar and Glûg48:49 - Elrond and Adar; Elrond and Galadriel 1:00:22 -  Celebrimbor and Sauron; Celebrimbor and Galadriel1:11:03 -  Mirdania and Rían1:16:12 - Performance Awards1:20:12 - Dialogue, Critiques, and Themes 1:26:06 - Questions and Speculations 1:33:27 - Outro 

Send us a textWe don't want to brag, but this might be our highest level episode of the podcast yet. Rings of Power 2x06 "Where is He?" still has us thinking of analysis we want to add. But it's good we can't, because this episode is almost 2 hours long!  As usual, we're talking most about Númenor. We examine the beautiful tension expressed between Eärien, Elendil, and Míriel, as well as the implications of the Sea Trial for our beloved Queen of the Sea. Kat also gives a detailed thematic read of "The Mariner's Wife" from The Unfinished Tales, connecting Aldarion and Erendis' story to the conflicts we're seeing in Númenor.  Then we gush about Disa and Durin. Wren gets super meta too, analyzing the big picture POV choices the writers are making, and introducing what she calls the "TROP as LeGuinian Tolkien" theory, discussing what Rings of Power understands about Frodo and Gollum.  Listen through for some slick beats and fresh takes, wherever you get your podcasts.Time Stamps: 00:00 - Intro, Visual Feasts, and Musical Moments12:18 - Sauron's Design (Beat)12:56 - Wonders of the World 23:38 - Númenor Lo-Fi (Beat) 24:25 - POV Character Breakdown Part One36:29 - "The Mariner's Wife" Thematic Read43:33 - Discussion of Eärien and Elendil 49:52 - Discussion of Míriel 52:57 - Discussion of Disa and Durin 56:38 - Galadriel's Theme (Beat)57:20 - Discussion of Galadriel and Adar 1:03:26 - POV Character Breakdown Part Two 1:10:20 - Performance Awards1:13:51 - Dialogue Dialogue 1:15:44 - Critique of the Week 1:19:20 - Sauron's Design 2 (Beat)1:20:06 - Themes 1:22:48 - "LeGuinian Tolkien" and Discussion of Annatar and Celebrimbor1:33:46 - Questions and Speculations 

Send us a textWhat a powerhouse episode of The Rings of Power! Season 2, Episode 5, "Halls of Stone," is definitely ramping up this season's plot, and in our podcast conversation, we dive into all of it, from the escalation of the Dwarven plotline by means of Sauron's ring, to the nitty-gritty political drama of the Númenóreans. Of course, we must use part of this episode to give a loving tribute to one of our favorite original characters, Valandil -- exploring the scope of his role on the show and celebrating Alex Tarrant's fan-favorite performance. We hope you'll jump in! Listen all the way through to catch some fun, lofi beats-style renditions of beloved tracks from the Rings of Power score. 

Send us a textWe're already at the midpoint of the season! Rings of Power 2x04, “Eldest,” provided some of the most Tolkienian moments in the series so far. This week, Kat supplies Isildur's Tragic Lore Dump, Wren gets so excited about Arondir she speaks at warp speed (don’t worry, we slowed it down), and we both defend Estrid with our lives. We also dive into all the lovely moments with the Stoors, the Ents, and THE Tom Bombadil, and explain why the Barrow-wight scene missed the mark for us.

Send us a textWe've got a lot to gab about from Episode 3 of The Rings of Power Season 2. "The Eagle and the Sceptre" was chock-full of stellar character moments, from Miriel and the Númenóreans to the Middle-Earth Monster Slayers. We're so excited about the complexity and political agency given to the Hill Troll Damrod and the Orc Glug, and let's be honest, we're just psyched to have so many our favorite characters back on screen. Arondir and Theo, Earien and Elendil, Miriel and Valandil, oh, and did we mention Isildur and Estrid? Don't worry, we will!

Send us a textWe're continuing our discussion on the first three episodes of Season Two with Episode 2.02: "Where the Stars are Strange." In this podcast ep, we get deep about our love for Disa, dive more into the overarching themes of the show and how they relate to Tolkien's work, and celebrate the small stories of Middle Earth. Stay tuned for our Episode 3 discussion before Episode 4 drops this Thursday! 

Send us a textWe're so back, baby! The first three episodes of The Rings of Power Season Two are now out on Prime Video, and we're diving into each one with our usual passion and obsessive detail. In this episode, we discuss the Season premiere, the wild reveals about Sauron's backstory, and the compelling Elven conflict that is already festering over Celebrimbor's newly forged rings. Our podcast entries for Episodes Two and Three will be released in the next few days. Stay tuned! 

Send us a textIn this episode, we analyze all the released promos, cast panels, and behind-the-scenes featurettes to try to parse what we might be in for in Season 2. Please note, this episode was recorded on August 1st, so we don't include every up-to-date piece of information in our discussion. There have been several new reveals in the interim, including photos of the Stoors and track titles from Bear McCreary's soundtrack. This episode will also not include information from the August 14th trailer. We're so excited to dive back into our favorite show and we hope you'll join us on all our Season 2 adventures!

Send us a textIn our final wrap-up episode of Season One, we don't hold back. We usually try to keep our episodes under an hour, but this is an unapologetic hour and a half as we discuss season finale wins and losses. Which moments made us cry the most? What cliffhangers did we wish had been not so cliffhanger-y? And WHAT did we think of the controversial Halbrand reveal? All this and more awaits in Episode 8. If you've been following along for this ride, we salute you! Thanks for spending some of your precious time listening to us ramble. We're gearing up for our next set of episodes, which will focus on specific topics such as character arcs, costume design, and more. Look for the first of these episodes later this Spring.