Episode 33
'The Rings of Power' Season 2 - Teaser Trailer Breakdown
Philip, Matt, and Mark give their reactions and commentary on The Rings of Power Season 2 teaser trailer, discussing its general fantasy feel, potential storylines, and character portrayals. They express mixed feelings about the show's direction and quality, with specific critiques on writing and aesthetic elements. They also touch on adaptations in other franchises and potential future improvements.
00:00 Introduction
01:14 Just Generic Fantasy?
02:40 Odd Story Writing
04:17 New Tolkien Monsters
05:57 Pacing of the Story Line
08:35 Not Good Enough to Care Either Way
09:32 New Content is the Hype
16:00 Subsequent Media's Impact on the Present Media
19:32 Either Live Above the Potential or Succumb to Meh
22:49 Teaser Trailer Doesn't Say Much About Season 2's Quality
27:11 Adaptations Suck with a Lack of Heart Behind It
29:34 Campy!!!!
32:29 Elrond's Hair Needs a Redo
33:49 Conclusion
Transcript
Welcome, my lords, to the White City, where you will learn
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:more about Middle Earth and discover
differences and similarities between
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:the Rings of Power show and Tolkien's
books, and whether Amazon's show,
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:episode by episode, is worth watching.
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:I'm Philip Dudt your host, and I'll
be joined by Matt Vandevort and
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:Mark Schaeffer I hope you enjoy.
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:Hello everyone and thanks for
tuning in to The White City podcast.
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:I have with me here my co hosts Matt and
Mark and we're going to be giving a little
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:bit of a reaction slash commentary on The
Rings of Power season two teaser trailer.
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:So we just watched this and,
giving you guys some thoughts.
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:So I guess I think one thing that kind
of comes to my mind is, guys, like did
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:this feel like a Lord of the Rings thing?
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:Now I know it's kind of it's kind
of different in its idea than like
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:the creation like the trilogy per
se, but like how did it feel as
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:like the different things they like
kind of brought up in the trailer?
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:Matt: I'm gonna be honest, I think part of
it is that it's mostly a teaser trailer,
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:like it's not a story trailer, but like,
there's so much, like, it's such like,
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:look, we sure did make a fantasy series.
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:I don't know, there's just not a ton
to go off of, because it's all, like,
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:swords, and magic, and excitement,
and like, maybe Sauron, like.
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:I think Sauron would come back to
the elves disguised and I think
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:that's kind of what they're implying.
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:So I feel vindicated that I was able to
guess that, but like I don't know, it's
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:just it feels sort of Lord of the Ringzy,
but then they're also like the weird
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:slime monsters, which you know it could
be like something like the watcher in
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:the water or something, but I don't know.
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:I'm Interested to see what they'll do But,
this trailer doesn't give a lot, I guess.
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:Mark: It feels like kind of generic
fantasy a little bit and not so much
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:specifically Lord of the Ringzy to me.
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:Matt: Now, I would like to point out
that it probably feels a little bit like
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:that because so much of generic fantasy
is pulled from The Lord of the Rings.
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:So many of the tropes and things you see
in fantasy come from Lord of the Rings.
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:But I think you're right, that
it does feel like, like I said,
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:like, We sure did do a fantasy!
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:Mark: Yeah, I think also what you said
about him going back to the elves was
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:very interesting in terms of like,
yeah, how much the elves will...?
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:Like it's kind of lazy to me like, Oh
he went to the elves in the first one
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:and then the first season and he like
tricked them as this like man guy and
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:now he's like going back as the elf.
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:It's like wow, you're doing like
the same thing two times in a
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:row, like, and it's it's kind of
just like poor writing, right?
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:Like hey, he's gonna go the elves
and then he's gonna like trick
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:them once and then that's gonna
be like the The Rings of Power.
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:It's like why are we doing
this two times in a row, right?
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:Matt: they wrote themselves into
a corner last season though.
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:Because they were like, We want
to have the big reveal where
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:someone realizes it's Sauron.
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:But we also need him to
craft the rest of the rings.
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:So I think what they should definitely
do is each episode, he comes back as
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:a different creature, and they figure
it out by the end of the episode.
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:So like, he comes back as an Elf, and
then he comes back as a Dwarf, and then
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:he's like an Ent, and like, they just
keep getting more and more ridiculous,
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:but they're still like, Ah, yes, kind
stranger, you wanna make rings, too?
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:I don't think they'll actually do that,
but it'd be pretty funny if they did.
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:Mark: Someone's gotta make like a
meme about that or something, right?
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:That's hilarious!
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:Matt: Man, I would pay so much.
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:Not really.
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:But I would, love to watch,
like, a Lord of the Rings sitcom.
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:Like, just for the sheer, whiplash of
tone of like it's this epic fantasy
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:world, but it's just like a bunch of
elves chilling and doing elf things.
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:I don't know.
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:Philip: That's funny.
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:Yeah, I felt that the little slimy
spaghetti guy was, uh, I don't know, it
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:was a little out of the, out of touch.
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:It's like, I was thinking about it.
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:I don't know that there's any Is
there anything that it really,
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:like, kinda, uh, connect to?
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:One thing I was thinking is like,
like the idea of, Ungoliant's,
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:like, darkness, just, you know,
covering things, engulfing things.
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:That could be a similar thing.
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:Matt: It kind of maybe like it
could be something based off of
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:like the watcher in the water.
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:But like I feel like creatures like the
watcher in the water and just the general
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:way that Tolkien set up his cosmos kind of
allows you to get away with, like, weird,
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:unspeakable things in the deepest crevices
of the world, and, like, it could be,
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:like, an orc or a spider, or it could just
be a one off weird creature that, Morgoth
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:threw together for kicks and giggles.
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:I don't know, I feel like, like, I agree
that the aesthetic of it doesn't really...
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:Well, I don't know.
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:Because Tolkien gets into the weird,
like, slimy creature stuff when you
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:start getting into, like, Gollum and,
some of the creatures underground,
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:they start getting more creepy.
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:So, like, it's one of those things, like,
it doesn't necessarily feel out of place,
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:but it does feel, weird to be creating new
Tolkien monsters, if that makes any sense.
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:Mark: No, yeah, really anything can
happen in the Tolkien universe, right?
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:Absolutely!
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:So recently, some friends and I
went and watched The Phantom Menace.
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:The new one, like, remastered in theaters.
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:Matt: okay.
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:Mark: And I was just remarking on,
like, how compact the script is.
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:You, like, move from one place to
another constantly and each, like,
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:place you're there for a reason.
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:And it really is going to bug
me that they're going to have
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:Halbrand go back to the, the elves.
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:Honestly, like, it's just repeating
the same thing over again in a
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:different way and that's gonna
be, like, I think pretty terrible.
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:Matt: Well, I feel like he's gonna be
in, three different places this season.
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:Cause it kinda feels like he's with
the elves, and he's they showed him in
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:Mordor, and it kinda looks like they were
setting him up to be in, Numenor also.
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:I mean, like, the guy gets around.
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:we found him in the middle of
the ocean, and he's been all over
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:the place, but yeah, I agree.
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:It, it.
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:The pacing is going to be interesting.
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:How many episodes is it?
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:Is it still like eight episodes?
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:Philip: At the time of this recording,
I don't believe that Amazon had
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:released the dates for each episode
release, which was probably back
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:in May when we recorded this.
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:But just to give you guys an idea of
when each episode would be released:
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:so the first, second, and third
episode are going to be released on
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:the same day, Thursday, August 29th.
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:All three of those.
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:will come out at the same time
and then starting with episode
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:four a week later, each episode is
released after the other every week.
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:So the last episode, episode eight,
is released on Thursday, October 3rd.
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:So that's a total of eight episodes.
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:Matt: Okay.
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:Yeah.
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:I'm curious to see what they'll
do because like there was so much
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:backlash from the last season.
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:And again, like I, I feel like
I was the most on board with
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:it, but even like, I don't know.
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:I just, nobody was asking for
more Lord of the Rings content.
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:I feel like.
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:And so, it just feels like, I was saying
earlier before we were recording that,
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:like, I've been very whelmed by this show.
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:Not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed,
just like, sure, why not?
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:I just.
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:As much as I care about Lord of the Rings
in general, this show has like, elicited
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:no strong emotions from me at all.
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:Which is such a shame, because, it
is, like, the most expensive show
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:ever made, and it's just kinda fine?
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:Like, if it wasn't a Lord of
the Rings property, I wouldn't
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:feel any differently about it.
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:Like, if it was just another fantasy
show, I'd be like, okay, this was fun to
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:watch, but I'm not gonna think about it.
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:It it holds the same level of
hold on my mind as Solo, a Star
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:Wars Story, holds in my mind.
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:Where, I think that's the only, like, nerd
movie I've ever walked out of the theater
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:and just kind of forgot that I'd seen it.
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:Like, it's not bad, it's just fine.
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:I don't know.
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:Does this make any sense to y'all?
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:Mark: No, Yeah.
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:absolutely!
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:I think it's really funny because there's
a lot of new movies that are coming
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:out, like, to bait nostalgia, right?
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:But they like, they go overboard
in explaining things that are
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:not that important, right?
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:And specifically from Solo, a Star Wars
Story, there was two moments one, where
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:Solo, they give him his name, right?
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:It's like, oh, how did he become Han Solo?
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:It's like, oh, some
Imperial guy named him that.
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:It's like, we didn't
need to know that, right?
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:Matt: Yeah.
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:Mark: And the second one is like the dice
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:that were like this set prop in A
New Hope on this Millennium Falcon.
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:Matt: that the dice showed up in Solo
is that they were so forgettable in
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:the original movies, that I didn't even
realize they were in the original movies,
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:and only knew them from the sequels.
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:And only then, I feel like the only
reason they made a big deal about them
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:in the sequels, is so that they could
go back in Solo and be like, Look!
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:The Dice!
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:Mark: Yeah!
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:It's like, we gotta explain things that
people didn't need to be explained.
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:And that's like, new content, right?
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:Matt: Yeah, no, I Like, it's
the same thing, like, I know we
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:said we wouldn't talk about it,
but we're gonna talk about it.
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:It's the Gollum movie that's coming
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:Mark: Ha ha ha!
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:Matt: Why?
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:Philip: It's Peter Jackson, man.
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:Matt: Like, That's the other
thing, is like, is it gonna be in
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:the same continuity as the films?
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:Because, like, that
continuity is really weird.
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:All the actors are like, 20
years older than they were
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:when the first films were made.
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:My favorite stupid bit in The Hobbit
movies is, Thranduil telling Legolas
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:to go find this ranger named Strider,
who if you like, line up what they
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:say in in The Two Towers, he's
like 12 years old at this point.
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:Like, is Gollum gonna be
in that same continuity?
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:Because if it is, you either have to
recast Aragorn, which like, I know there
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:are a lot of fancasts but like, knowing
Hollywood, they're probably gonna try to
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:DH Vigo, and it's gonna look terrible.
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:It's so unnecessary.
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:The only upcoming project that I've
heard rumors of that I'm kind of
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:excited for is they're doing a,
Ride of the Rohirrim movie, where
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:it's the origins of the Rohirrim
coming down, and that's cool to me.
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:Because there's not a ton written about
it, and like, everybody loves Rohan.
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:They're vikings on horses, they're cool.
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:Um, And if we're lucky, they might
throw in, there's a dragon that
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:gets killed at some point, like,
that'd be fun to watch on, like.
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:Because like, we don't have
a good, like, George and the
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:Dragon esque movie, I feel like.
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:So like, that one I feel like will be
fun, and cool, and because it's just
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:so peripheral, and it's just like such
a basic story that they can throw in
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:some stuff to make it interesting,
but like, that's also one event.
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:The shows are like combining and
stretching things out to make it
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:all work around the same time.
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:And also, I think the other problem
is like I was saying with the whole
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:continuity stuff it's like, the show
is like, we're not part of the movies!
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:Wink wink.
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:Like, they're trying so hard to match the
movie's aesthetic, and like, if you listen
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:to the music, even, it's like, okay that,
I could probably slot that somewhere in
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:the movies and I couldn't take it out.
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:I don't know, I wish they
would do something with its own
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:identity rather than making a very
underwhelming Lord of the Rings thing.
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:Which, again, like, that's why I don't
understand why people are so mad about
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:it, is because it's just so mediocre.
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:Like, it's not bad enough to be like,
Oh, this is I mean, I don't agree
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:with people that say that subsequent
media ruins earlier stories anyways,
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:because I feel like that's stupid.
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:Because you can simply choose
not to watch those things.
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:But like, I don't know, it's
just like, it's tepid that
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:I just find it hard to care.
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:Maybe this season will come
out and everybody will be blown
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:away and it'll be amazing, but
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:Mark: Since Matt brought up
the Gollum movie, I had to ask.
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:Do you guys think it will be a
horror movie, a comedy movie,
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:or a horror comedy movie?
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:Will he find his precious?
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:Will he catch a fish so juicy sweet?
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:Matt: I'm not gonna lie, actually,
now that you've suggested a horror
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:movie, like, I'm not really into
horror movies, but like, Gollum
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:works as a horror monster, I think.
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:Because he's so creepy, and like, in
the books it talks about him like,
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:s snatching babies out of cradles
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:and like, so like, you could make a
decent horror movie out of Gollum.
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:I, I, Okay, maybe now
I'm on board with this.
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:Philip: Now I'm on board with this, yeah.
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:I mean, think about like that, uh, the
beginning scene of The Return of the King.
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:I was pretty young when I watched
that, so that was pretty intense.
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:In my, in my opinion back then, at least.
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:Matt: like, Okay, I can
see a horror movie working.
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:But then the problem is, it's
not a Lord of the Rings movie at
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:that point, it's a horror movie.
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:Cause again, I don't, you just
can't convince me that Lord of
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:the Rings works like Star Wars.
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:Or like Game of Thrones, or like
Marvel, where they're trying to make
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:all these, extended universe movies.
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:I don't think anybody who's an actual
fan of Lord of the Rings wanted
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:or even like needs or wants this.
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:Everyone's just kind of like please
stop, It's really confusing because like
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:there's precedent for it working as a
franchise because like there's there's
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:been a decent number of pretty good Lord
of the Rings games until Gollum happened
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:It's just, I find it hard to care about.
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:Because, in my mind,
it's a completed story.
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:There's The Silmarillion, The Hobbit,
The Children of Hurin and then there's
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:The Lord of the Rings, and that's it.
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:And that's all you need.
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:And so anything else you add is
gonna be like, cool fanfiction, bro.
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:I don't need to watch this.
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:Mark: Interesting because it ties
in with what you said, Matt, about
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:subsequent media and how it changes
the, like, or if it changes at all,
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:the experience of the present media.
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:Good stories have good endings, and
if you don't let a story end, it does
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:kind of change the original medium,
especially for those people who
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:experience the subsequent stories.
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:Matt: Yeah, but like, it's also really
weird with Lord of the Rings because
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:none of the subsequent media are sequels.
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:Like, that's the one thing is that
everybody knows how the story ends.
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:Like, with the Star Wars movies,
it's, it's one of those things
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:where it's like, okay, I didn't hate
them as much as most people did.
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:I thought they were fine, I enjoyed
watching them, but I understand why.
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:People were upset about them.
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:I didn't particularly like the direction
they took Luke in, for example.
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:and I can, like, that one I can kind
of understand how it, like, ruins,
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:not that I think that it really ruins
them, but like, I can understand how
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:it affects the ending of episode 6.
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:But the thing about that is that
that all takes place after Star
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:Wars, like, after episode 6.
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:And so, like, everything involved in
the Lord of the Rings franchise takes
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:place beforehand, because like, I think
Tolkien unintentionally but very wisely
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:made it so that the end of the Lord of the
Rings was kind of tragic in that, like,
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:a lot of the fantastical elements of the
world were fading away, and so nobody,
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:wants to do that, because then you're
just doing, like, a historical drama in
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:a different setting that isn't Earth.
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:Right.
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:Now, the reason that you're seeing
all these is, let's face it, Game of
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:Thrones was a big cultural phenomenon,
until it suddenly wasn't, and they're
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:like, we wanna do Game of Thrones,
but we don't have the rights to Game
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:of Thrones, so what was available?
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:And they picked Lord of the
Rings, and it's just like, that's
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:fine, I guess, but, I don't know.
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:Like, Cause there's, you see other, um,
I haven't been following it, but I wanna
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:say there was a, a Brandon Sanderson
thing that they made a show out of that
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:was really poorly received, I think.
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:Mark: Sanderson hasn't sold the
rights to any of his books yet.
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:Matt: was Wheel of Time
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:Mark: Wheel of time had an Amazon
show that people did not like, yes..
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:Matt: I'm currently, I mean, I've
been I haven't read it in six
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:months, but I'm halfway through Way
of Kings, and I'm really enjoying
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:it, I'm just too ADHD to finish it.
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:Um, yeah, so, people are trying
to find that golden goose, and so
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:far, like, Rings of Power, I feel
like it's not the golden goose, but
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:it's not the crappy goose either.
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:So they're just like, we found
a goose that will print us a
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:little bit of money, maybe.
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:It's just, I don't know.
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:And I feel weird saying this because
I'm usually the guy that's like,
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:shows shouldn't be cancelled just
because they're not, like, super
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:successful or anything, because a lot
of studios have this expectation of
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:like, we need it to be a massive hit
right away or else it's not worth it.
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:But like, I don't know.
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:I feel like Rings of Power, even
the controversies around it are
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:like, super mild, because people
kind of don't care about it.
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:Mark: Yeah, and maybe this is an
interesting topic, but, is it fair to say
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:that like, Oh, season two won't be amazing
just because of how season one was?
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:You think that they could like
blow it out of the park with
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:season two or is it like yeah?
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:Matt: Because like, you see plenty
of shows where like, the first
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:couple of seasons are amazing.
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:And then, they go
downhill in quality, fast.
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:I think it's a lot easier to
pull something really good out of
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:something mediocre than it is to keep
hitting like, keep getting it right.
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:The only example of something like
that that I can think of in the past
319
:couple of decades is the first couple
phases of the MCU where like, well,
320
:even the first part of the MCU, Iron
Man was phenomenal, then you had The
321
:Hulk and then you had Thor, and it's
like, those movies were not great.
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:But then after that, most of
their movies were really good
323
:up until like, Captain Marvel.
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:and then after Endgame, you have,
like, the Spider Man movies, and the
325
:rest of them have been decent at best.
326
:So, I think that it's a lot easier
to, like, and again, that's an example
327
:of somebody that's been, it's been
con they've had hits for a long time.
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:think that if season two and forward
get better, there's not gonna be as
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:much buzz about it, because usually,
people are like, Oh my goodness, the
330
:beginning of this was so good, and then
get really disappointed by the ending.
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:Because writing the beginning of
a story and writing the end of a
332
:story are two very different things.
333
:And so you see this with things like,
Game of Thrones and even like, Lost,
334
:where like, you have these shows that
as they're going, everyone's like,
335
:Oh my goodness, they're so amazing!
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:And then the people that are writing
them, like, In Game of Thrones,
337
:they ran out of material and
they had to go off on their own.
338
:But, like, people that are good at
carrying a show aren't necessarily
339
:the people that are good at ending it.
340
:And so, I'm curious to see if they're
gonna take Rings of Power and, like,
341
:weave it into something interesting.
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:Because I think it's definitely
a possibility that they
343
:could make something amazing.
344
:I'm not getting my hopes
up, but, yeah, I don't know.
345
:I'm interested to see
how it'll all turn out.
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:Mark: Yeah, I think it's interesting
I think the comparison to Marvel is
347
:perhaps apt, but like with Marvel it
was separate movies that were hits
348
:when other movies were failures,
where this is like the second season
349
:of something that isn't super great.
350
:And like, personally, what I'm
looking forward to is like, oh,
351
:the Elrond and Durin relationship.
352
:I did not like Galadriel's character,
that's no secret on this show.
353
:But, there's just not a lot else
that I'm like, oh, I really want
354
:to see this in this upcoming show.
355
:And the trailer honestly,
like, didn't really wow me.
356
:And I guess like, it didn't seem like
there's anything really new in this story.
357
:I feel like it's going to be much of
like what season one was in terms of
358
:the teaser, in terms of like the kinds
of storylines we're going to have.
359
:Do you guys have the same sort
of, uh, opinion on it or like
360
:call from the teaser trailer?
361
:Philip: I'd say like, it seems, the
only thing I could think of is that if
362
:they, really heard a lot of the fans
who were like, had a beef with it to
363
:some degree that, I mean, who knows?
364
:Like it's, you know, people say,
Oh, 30 percent or whatever of the
365
:viewers finished the show, but
like, there's no hard evidence on
366
:that except for like one article.
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:So who knows what like Amazon
actually like, you know, experienced
368
:from the previous show, like maybe
a ton of people didn't watch it and
369
:that really hurt them financially.
370
:And if that is the case, then they're
going to try to turn this around.
371
:Like, well, if you think like.
372
:Another rumor, which may have
been true, is that Amazon told the
373
:producers like, Hey, we want this
turned around in like a year or less.
374
:And they're like, no way.
375
:It's like, we cannot do this in that time.
376
:So maybe they took a lesson on it,
but that's like the only thing that
377
:I think could make the show better
is that they lost a lot of money by
378
:the way they did it the first time.
379
:Matt: I, mean, like I said earlier,
I don't think there's a lot you
380
:can glean from this trailer, simply
because it's a teaser trailer.
381
:Like, it's just meant to be like, Hey,
all, like, seven of Ring of Power fans,
382
:we're making a second season, and it's
gonna have magic and swords in it,
383
:because we know you love that, and rings.
384
:But like, I'm sure we'll get another
trailer or two, to do, like, story
385
:wise, that'll, that'll happen.
386
:And then, I'm sure those will
have a better indication of
387
:like, Oh, this is gonna be good,
or this is gonna be garbage, or
388
:this is gonna be very whelming.
389
:Mark: And when there are those
other trailers, we'll make a
390
:podcast breaking them down,
391
:right guys?
392
:Matt: No.
393
:Yeah, yeah.
394
:Philip: Now, the thing is too, is,
is the idea of, and I, this is my
395
:opinions, like what broke the show?
396
:Now what I think made or broke the show
is a lot of what Mark talked about.
397
:how they produced it in the writing.
398
:Despite whether or not it would have been
to the T, like, Lord of the Rings, the
399
:reason why it didn't do well is because
the writing was such that people weren't
400
:hooked, and people didn't stick with it.
401
:Matt: Yeah.
402
:Philip: People would have given it so much
more, like, room if, it was a decent show.
403
:Yeah, That's my opinion.
404
:Matt: I think that, I mean, yes and no.
405
:Because like, again, I think, it's so hard
to remove The Lord of the Rings from it.
406
:If it was just a fantasy
show I feel like it's fine.
407
:I would have enjoyed watching it if it
hadn't been Lord of the Rings, maybe
408
:even a little bit more, partially
because I know myself and like, getting
409
:into new lore is one of my favorite
things to do, and so, it would have
410
:been really interesting to be like,
okay, what are they doing here, what
411
:tropes can I pull out of this, part of
it is just that like, Like I was talking
412
:about earlier, I just think that Lord
of the Rings fans are not interested
413
:in more Lord of the Rings content.
414
:That's not what they were asking for.
415
:Mark: Okay, but then like This show
had so much hype around it and I
416
:have to think that a lot of the hype
was genuine coming from real fans.
417
:Like I gotta say that like yeah
there's gotta be like a lot of people
418
:who watched it and were like gonna
give it at least a shot even if it
419
:wasn't a super unbiased shot and came
away really disappointed from it.
420
:Matt: Yeah, no, I, I agree.
421
:At least my reaction to it at the
time, as somebody who loves Lord
422
:of the Rings, is like, alright,
let's see what they do with this.
423
:Like, less of a, oh, I'm really excited
to see Lord of the Rings content,
424
:more like, I don't want to say morbid
curiosity, but just kind of like, maybe
425
:like a mild curiosity of like, Huh,
they're tackling Lord of the Rings.
426
:Let's see where this goes.
427
:I will say also, I think that right now
we're in the middle of a, we're at a point
428
:where people expect adaptations to suck.
429
:Mark: Because they do suck.
430
:Matt: Well, they do, but like, I recently,
um, so I'm a big Fallout fan, I've played
431
:the games, I love Fallout, and I watched
the show, and I thought it was awesome!
432
:And I think a lot of people, also
had that reaction where it's just
433
:like that kind of breathed hope into
me of like, Maybe they can do this!
434
:But I think one of the things about
it that everybody said, in the behind
435
:the scenes, is that everyone who
was working on it loved Fallout.
436
:Even like cameramen were pointing
things out or making suggestions
437
:based off of the lore and the games I
think that love really came through.
438
:At the same time, you have shows like
The Witcher, which I haven't seen
439
:all of Season 3 yet, there might even
be Season 4, I don't care anymore.
440
:But the best parts of that show are
Henry Cavill, because he loves The
441
:Witcher, and a lot of the parts of
that show that suck are because, there
442
:were at least rumors, I don't know if,
this is very much allegedly, but, I
443
:believe I read somewhere that, like,
the producers of the show didn't care
444
:about the source material and they didn't
care about The Witcher, and so a lot
445
:of that, like, dispassion came through.
446
:And I think that Rings of Power is
somewhere in the middle, I remember
447
:reading some stuff about the actor who
plays Halbrand slash Sauron, that he's
448
:like a big Lord of the Rings nerd,.
449
:But like, that doesn't really
come through in most of the show.
450
:Like I could tell he really
enjoyed playing his character
451
:and he kinda was trying to do it.
452
:But like, again, I don't think that
the producers and the showrunners hate
453
:the source material in the way that
the Witcher, people allegedly did.
454
:But they don't love it in the same
way that The Fallout producers did.
455
:So, it's just kind of in this mid
ground of like, eh and it, like,
456
:again, it's just really hard to get
passionate about loving it or hating it.
457
:A lot of this, I think, will change
when the, might change, when the
458
:actual story trailers come out.
459
:Because, again, like, even like, like,
the comments on the videos, making
460
:fun of the wigs, My favorite shot in
the trailer is when Galadriel's like,
461
:prepare yourself, and then they all
slowly go into their like action pose.
462
:like that shot, it's like, there's just
something off about it, because they're
463
:not like, ah, like, get ready, they're
just like, yes, the camera's on me now,
464
:I can do my move, and, and it's just
465
:Philip: Oh man.
466
:Matt: it's just, I don't know, It.
467
:It just really feels
468
:Mark: Campy.
469
:Matt: Yeah, but like, it feels
campy, but not earnest campy.
470
:Cause like, you can have campy
shows, like, like the original
471
:Star Trek is super campy.
472
:But like, the actors took it at
least a little bit seriously.
473
:The same with, um, the ultimate
campy show, which is, I think
474
:it's like the 1960s Batman.
475
:Where it's like, it is the
campiest thing you'll ever see.
476
:But it works because nobody in,
like, there are a few characters
477
:that like, they play up the camp, but
they don't laugh at their own jokes.
478
:Like Adam West as Batman is impeccable
because he's like ridiculous.
479
:But he takes himself completely seriously.
480
:And in this, it's just like, like they're
trying too hard, I guess, in Rings of
481
:Power to be cool, and like edgy, and,
but like, it just, it's a lot of, it's
482
:a lot of pieces that are very cool
pieces, and they don't fit together.
483
:Mark: I think as well that Batman
might be very different because like
484
:it's a man dressing as a bat and like
there's a lot of room for camp there
485
:but this is like high fantasy, right?
486
:And like the original like Lord
of the Rings trilogy, right?
487
:Wasn't trying to look cool
they just were cool, right?
488
:Matt: yeah I guess another example,
and, it's from a YouTube video essay,
489
:about, Palpatine, especially in the
prequels, where he, I think it's called
490
:like 'Palpatine and the Art of Camp'.
491
:I can't remember who made it, but he
talks about how, Palpatine pulls off
492
:this, like, he is a very campy character.
493
:Star Wars is pretty campy um,
when you really get down to it.
494
:But like, Palpatine, has this
great balance of like, goofiness
495
:and menace that works really well.
496
:And yeah, like I said, The Rings of
Power, it's like, I don't know, it's
497
:just a little too goofy and a little
too serious, and they don't mesh.
498
:Philip: Oh, definitely,
499
:Matt: I have to, I have to bring this
up I cannot get over Elrond's hair.
500
:Like, if you're gonna do wigs,
please do better than that.
501
:Because I don't even hate
his actor, like, I think he
502
:does fine job, but he just, he
looks, yeah, he looks like he, he
503
:looks like someone out of the 70s.
504
:He reminds me of a friend of mine
from church, like, he just does
505
:not feel like this timeless elf.
506
:Mark: I think the very first thing
we talked about in this podcast
507
:was Matt bringing up Elrond's
hair in the very first episode.
508
:Philip: Ha.
509
:I think that's, that might be true, yeah.
510
:Matt: so bad, it really,
they really need to fix that.
511
:It's like worse than a mullet,
like, I, it's just bad.
512
:Philip: Like the, the
smooth guys, ya know.
513
:Mark: Hey, careful, a lot of
our fans might have mullets.
514
:Matt: I mean, I've had a mullet
before, it's, it's, but like, it's
515
:like, yeah, it's like he's a greaser.
516
:He's an elf greaser.
517
:He just looks so wrong.
518
:Ugh, man, that's my
biggest takeaway from this.
519
:Zero out of ten season, they
didn't fix Elrond's hair.
520
:Philip: There you go.
521
:It's all about the hair, man.
522
:Matt: Yeah, it's all coming
back to me, the hair.
523
:Is so bad.
524
:Philip: Any other comments?
525
:Matt: Elrond's hair is Sauron.
526
:Philip: Alright everybody, thanks for
tuning in to The White City, and I hope
527
:to catch you guys next time, especially
when the next trailer comes out.
528
:Alright, thanks.
529
:Thanks for visiting the White City.
530
:Before you leave, please subscribe
to our podcast and check us out
531
:at thewhitecitypodcast.com or
on YouTube or Facebook under
532
:the tag @thewhitecitypodcast
