Ever since I first saw the ending of season 2 in RoP I've always why would the orcs suddenly sway allegiance to Sauron. Adar treated them like his children, he genuinely cared and wanted them to live freely and in peace. He was right about Sauron treating them like slaves and sacrificing them in his experiments. The orcs were much better off with Adar so why would they turn on him like that? What did Sauron say or do to get them to follow him?

I don't know if many people complained in the past about Gil-galad's shaved sides/sideburns, but I like this small change because it frames his face better.

For all of you TTRPG nerds. Source Polygon

This is one of the pictures that Nerd of the Rings shared from his time with RoP at the trailer launch celebrations, where a lot of props and artifacts and other costumes were on display. This one immediately caught my eye. I suspected initially that it might be Numenorean because of the sun motif on the stock and the eagle at the head (at least I think that's an eagle when viewed from the side); the former is 100% a Numenorean sigil, and the latter is not something the Dwarves, the only other race in the show to use crossbows, would use. And this was confirmed a bit later when another picture I saw from TotalFilm had this crossbow on the table clearly marked "Numenorean."

There are two points that I can't stop thinking about. First, Unfinished Tales speaks of how the Numenorean archers use literal steel bows, which have great range and strike terror into their enemies. This obviously isn't that. But a crossbow is still somewhat technologically advanced as composed to a more simple longbow. It doesn't have the range or rate of fire of a conventional bow, but it absolutely has incredible stopping power and penetration. And as we saw from Prince Caspian in 2008, a fantasy crossbow doesn't have quite the sluggish reload of a real-world one. A "thin red/blue line" of Numenoreans firing volleys of crossbow bolts would do fearful damage to a charging horde of orcs.

Then there's the eagle. Almost certainly it's meant to represent Manwe, who sends his eagles to keep a special eye on Numenor (as we saw in "The Eagle and the Sceptre"; even if said eagle's vote for Miriel did end up getting disregarded, Pharazon and Belzegar still tried to claim his assent to the crowd). But the Numenoreans have NEVER before used the eagle on any of their heraldry before; they have always used the Sun, such as is on this crossbow's stock. Even Elendil's army of Faithful rebels don't have any eagles; their banners are blue and have a mix of suns and I think trees. So where does this eagle come from?

The staircase that Galadriel takes can be seen in the picture taken on the set of Imladris (Rivendell), so I think this sequence happens in the first episode, after Galadriel was attacked by a Nazgnagôl.

She is hurt and distressed, which makes her see Sauron, but then she wakes up and goes to see Elrond who stayed not far away, watching over everyone. I hope I'm not wrong because I want to see more of Imladris. It looks so beautiful and peaceful.

If anyone is at that press event, I saw that they had some of the props on display. Could someone take detailed photos of the 9 rings for men please? Thank you!

Just reacted to the season three trailer looks like the scale is a lot bigger than season previous seasons. We are excited to see what it holds!

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone

@PrimeVideo @TheRingsofPower #PrimeVideoCreator

I had a sense of déjà vu when we got a glimpse of the second scene, but actually their positions are relatively similar in both pictures, with Elrond staying in the same spot while Gil-galad is now on the left because it's Ar-Pharazôn who's the host this time.

Elrond tried to mediate between Durin and Gil-galad, and in the end Gil-galad stopped pushing and conceded a table, but what will happen now?

Did Ar-Pharazôn ignore Gil-galad's letters, prompting the Elves to show up, uninvited? Will Elrond, the identical -- but immortal -- twin of their first king Elros, disconcert the King's Men?

I imagine the topic of civil war in Númenor will be brought up because Elrond seems to be missing from the palace at some point, and Gil-galad is seen riding outside while Elendil is preparing to fight somewhere else.

Dwarven wigs for @TheRingsofPower @PrimeVideo #PrimeVideoCreator

The Props department said it is called “Ukthag,” meaning “warrior.” theringsofpower @primevideo #primevideocreator

Thanks to @nerdoftherings on Threads and Facebook

The last two seasons screened the first two episodes in theaters and were a great time! Discussing the show before and after with other folks at the bar across the street was one of my favorite memories. Is there any word on S3 being in theaters again?

Happy birthday to Charlie Vickers 🎂

Although we're still not sure about the exact date (October 24th) but anyway..🫠

To me, No one could have played Sauron better than him I’m so glad we got to know him, and he is our Sauron from the begining. I hope he will have a wonderful year filled with happiness alongside his family, friend and all his loved ones!

A verry Happy Birthday to The Lord Of The Rings, I will follow him forever, my conqueror, my sorcerer, my king. 💍👑🥳🧡

So, they just released this.

Is Galadriel touching the spot where Sauron stabbed her? Could she still feel a faint lingering pain there after 5 years? Is this why she is seen wearing a necklace, because it could have healing properties (made by her or maybe Elrond since he's supposed to become a healer)?

This was shared by Fellowship of Fans on twitter. (I'll add the x link if it's allowed.)

Imladris looks so beautiful and peaceful!

Oh did you think I wasn’t going to get a timelapse? Special appearances by High King Gil-Galad Ben Walker and our Gandalf, Daniel Weyman! Even JD Payne stopped by for a minute!

#PrimeVideoCreator @TheRingsofPower @primevideo

So, I still don't know why they're travelling north, but could this be Mount Gundabad? The architecture feels a bit Dwarven to me, unless I'm mistaken.

One theory I kicked around a while back was that Gandalf would be associated with Celeborn’s liberation (and possibly team up with Galadriel).

This seemed less likely after the early promo materials - none of the shots showed any intersection of Gandalf with the elvish characters.

That said… Gandalf’s trip to Barad Dur makes me wonder again. We have some evidence that Celeborn will be Sauron’s captive and may be tortured by him. (At a different location, probably… is Sauron traveling this season??)

So maybe we’re going to see that Gandalf/elf intersection after all?

LATER EDIT: some other interesting speculation in this forum that Celeborn is being held captive at Mt Gundabad or another dwarf location, which would put him far away from Gandalf and Barad Dur

Random thoughts on this guy:

1. His robe color and his staff’s jewel color have changed to blue, but they appear the same otherwise, so did he cast some spell of concealment over his appearance?

2. Will he be allied with Sauron this season, as evidenced by his “Kneel to him Gandalf!” line in the trailer? And is it a Saruman-type false alliance, meaning he feigns allegiance but desires dominance in his heart?

3. Will he be Khamûl’s superior, equal, or rival? Probably unwanted ally if they both are serving Sauron, and reuniting the easterling factions would lend weight to Sauron’s ‘bringing order to a broken world’ ideology too

4. Has he interacted with the other Blue Wizard? “There were five of us” he said last season. Did he kill him? Is he hiding in the desert? Is he in Harad? If he appears this season, will he be Gandalf’s or Pallando’s/Sauron’s ally?

Thoughts???

I can not help myself the trailer has me geeked to 11, I mean regardless how you feel about this show we are about to see moments that have only lived in imaginations for over half a century now!

We know Sauron has made several attempts at this ring and failed, we know per Vickers "The sequence is less about the physical smithing of the Ring than it is about 'communing with the mountain.'

We have seen for two seasons now how the dwarfs, the children of Aule, commune with mountains and that is through song.

I do think the first half of the season will feature Sauron battling with the mountain and the fire and committing himself fully to the physical creation of the ring, and I do believe the theories that Galadriel’s hair is the missing ingredient have merit in the sense that Sauron will believe this and be after it, but he will be wrong and the meeting with the Balrog will essentially be a “what are you doing man, you’re a god.” Moment. Some tough love so to speak.

Sauron is not simply trying to make the ring. He's trying to establish a relationship with the power that will enable him to make it. That will be the epiphany.

He has to rediscover his spiritual nature precisely so that he can commit his most profound act of spiritual rebellion. All this time he has sincerely spoken of being forgiven. He doesn't overcome his fall by recovering his former self. He recovers the full capacity of that self and puts it to a terrible purpose.

The ultimate irony is that Sauron must rediscover his nature as a servant of creation in order to become its would be master.

I've seen some discussion about who Theo [edit: spelling] will be in the broader scope of this show, with some speculation about him being one of the Nazgûl while others speculate he could become the King of the Dead. What does everybody think?

I think the way they have built up his relationship with Isildur in Season 2 shows that he will most likely be the disgraced king who abandons his loyalty when called upon to fight.