The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may have redeemed itself after the latest episode gave us a full hour of action scenes and ended with a twist that no one saw coming, but the jury is still out as far as the most ferocious Tolkien gatekeepers are concerned.
While the rest of the fandom wonders if there’s any pleasing these veterans, the show’s producers break down that important Mount Doom cliffhanger and we go through the significance of Udûn as a place in Middle-earth. Here’s your daily roundup of Lord of the Rings news.
Tolkien fans haven’t recovered from that sixth episode yet
Even though most Lord of the Rings fans were still on the fence about The Rings of Power and all the things it seemingly got wrong about Tolkien, it seems that the latest episode has managed to turn the reception on its head and showcase just how powerful this show could become at its prime. We’re only past six episodes, after all, so imagine how we’ll feel when J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay eventually reach the War of the Last Alliance in the final run of their planned five-season arc. Granted, naysayers still abound on the internet, but hating on this show just for the sake of it already feels like a burnt-out trend.
The showrunners discuss Mount Doom and its scientific accuracy
It would be no overstatement to suggest that “Udûn” left quite a few jaws on the floor due to its sheer scale. The Amazon Studios team went all in with the visuals and delivered one of the most satisfying volcano eruptions we’ve ever seen in live-action, perhaps even better than its real-life counterpart, since you know that it was the birth of Mount Doom you were seeing. The showrunners recently broke down the cataclysmic event in an interview, referring to it as a “poisoning of the land” and how it ties into Tolkien’s fears about industrialization.
And if you still don’t know what Udûn really is, this article from our very own website will help you get the gist of it quickly.
Nazanin Boniadi reflects on her ‘exhilarating’ character arc
When we first meet Bronwyn, it’s hard to imagine this simple villager going off to become a hero and a leader in her own right, not only guiding her people when things get tough but also defying her ancestors and fighting back against the forces of the Shadow instead of succumbing to them. Now, the character portrayed by Nazanin Boniadi is one of the best to come out of the Rings of Power ensemble so far, and the actress herself has explained why Bronwyn matters to her on a personal level. “It’s because I can relate to this woman who wants to liberate her people,” says Boniadi, as her own home country of Iran faces a violent crackdown on women’s rights activists. “It connects so deeply with me on a personal level with my activism for my homeland, Iran.”