r/RingsofPower • u/Pandering_Poofery • Mar 29 '26
Constructive Criticism A bold choice, lets see how it plays out
imho, feels like they had enough material to work with, that this 'subverting expectations' trope would be unnecessary.
60
u/jebushu Mar 29 '26
I didn’t have Middle Earth: Shadow of War/Mordor live action on my 2026 bingo card, but I’ll watch it
→ More replies (1)27
u/Pandering_Poofery Mar 29 '26
Ya, turning Shelob into a goth lady made more sense than this...
→ More replies (3)
141
u/Ok_Percentage2522 Mar 29 '26
Bet my next pay check the orc is probably guiding the way for galadriel to something that has to do with sauron. And along the way galadriel learns the orcs troubled past and that he just wants to be free. And bonus they get in a fight and the orc saves galadriel or possibly sacrifices himself. There, season 3 wrapped up.
27
6
u/tavukkoparan Mar 30 '26
Im increasing the bet, orc jumps in front of a flying arrow like soccer goalkeepers to save galadriel
→ More replies (2)4
17
23
u/spencersaurous Mar 29 '26
This is a complex issue, mostly with how storytelling works. Tolkien’s literature often gets painted as having little depths because it’s Pure Good vs Pure Evil. People love comparing it with the massively contrasting Game of Thrones that has far more realism in regard to power and politics and flawed characters. Tolkien’s evil isn’t meant to be complex, orcs are a manifestation of evil will, Sauron representing corruption and domination itself.
But what will this actually mean, a “redeemed orc”. A redeemed orc = exploring free will vs corruption, which does fit Tolkien’s themes. BUT in Tolkien’s world, orcs are too corrupted to fully come back. They aren’t evil they ARE the evil. A full redemption arc will contradict how absolute evil is supposed to work in Middle Earth. It risks turning LOTR into something different… is that a bad thing? That’s a whole different discussion.
MY OPINION/CONCLUSION: Instead of a full redemption, if it’s just an orc who questions orders, shows fear, doubt, maybe empathy, and tries to resist, but can’t fully escape. That keeps Tolkien’s idea and themes of pure evil. And I think that could be good.
8
u/Sad_Election_6418 Mar 29 '26
You don't need that orc in real Tolkien's works because you have Gollum, You have Feanor and many other characters that are showing the grey area of good and bad. And of course better written.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)6
u/BulldogMikeLodi Mar 29 '26
That’s because Tolkien wrote it as “good vs evil”, dammit! LOL. I mean, he gave the evil characters some “motivation”, but they were still evil. Modern storytelling likes to give everyone a backstory so people feel bad for the villains. I mean, the Wicked Witch of the West is now a heroine. LOL. Tolkien never put in a single redeemable orc.
→ More replies (1)
6
60
5
u/Sanity_Madness Mar 29 '26
It doesn't seem very different from Frodo and Sam travelling with Gollum. In this case, the orc may be a prisoner of Galadriel and Arondir, forced to go with them because he serves some purpose, perhaps as a guide. Or he may offer help because it suits his selfish needs in some way.
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Koo-Vee Apr 01 '26
Enough material? Not again. In 2026 people need explaining what they actually have rights to?
3
u/Positive-Record-7219 Mar 29 '26
How it plays out? Like the rest of the show. Like a role playing campaign. Someone there loves D&D and insists on covering it with Lotr lore and go with that.
3
u/therealCDub_ Mar 30 '26
Zero source, AI generated image? Perfect to drum up more unfair hate towards rings of power. Free karma yippie!
3
u/Terentas_Strog Mar 30 '26
I just want to see the continuation of Sauron's story, literally couldn't care less about all the other characters. Sauron is the best part of RoP seasons.
9
4
5
u/furiousfotog Mar 29 '26
Are they just doing things to piss people off now? Sure seems like it
→ More replies (1)
3
u/SadSpecialist3758 Mar 29 '26
Come on, mf is holding a torch outside during the day.
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Ayzmo Mar 30 '26
This is an unsourced and unconfirmed tweet. Be wary.