#especially in a movie about rohan

[rohirric-hunter]

I've gone and exposed myself to losers online who are incredibly mad about War of the Rohirrim for stupid reasons and I'm not gonna obsess over it, honestly, but I do want to point out that it's a supremely faithful adaptation of the single page of the appendices it was based on. There were two notable deviations from the extremely bare-bones story that we're given in the appendices. One, Hera killing Wulf at Helm's Deep instead of Frealaf killing him in Meduseld, simply had to be done because of the medium. Imagine a movie about the events that gave Helm's Deep its name, but the climax of the movie happened at Edoras. That would be so lame. I suppose Frealaf could still technically have killed him, but this ties into that other thing I was talking about, about great deeds that aren't remembered in song and Eowyn's complex about that. (There are no witnesses to Hera's challenge to Wulf except for some Dunlendings, Olwyn, and Frealaf at the very end.) The other deviation is Hama's death. I'm supremely ambivalent towards this in a movie where Hama is only a supporting character. His role in the movie was to motivate and develop Hera and Wulf.

[punkstatikparanoia]

₊ ⊹

[imperatorbaronius]

So I'm a little too obsessed now and ordered this and the art book (which comes out in February) and it's got some very interesting information about ages and relationships that'll be very useful going forward so I'll drop the ages below and anything else interesting I found

Helm: 55 years old, king for 5 years at this point in time, spent almost his entire life fighting the hill tribes and Dunlendings. This is what makes him a king who dislikes to be challenged ok his authority and decisions

Héra: 19 years old, deep love for nature and especially the more fantastical kind, her horse is Ashere. The rest, I'm sure you remember from the movie itself

Lief: 16 years old, main roles are protecting the old maps and scrolls that keep the laws and customs recorded

Haleth: 30 years old, first in line to the throne, not expected to rule for another 20 years based on Helm's own life. A brawler by nature, he's very intimidating to those who threaten his family and he's known as one of their best warriors skilled in sword, spear and axe

Háma: 22 years old, more of a gentler spirit than his father and brother, more passionate about the songs and legends. He likes to think of himself as a warrior poet and is always carrying his carved lyre. A skilled swordsman but an expert with bow and arrow

Fréaláf: 28 years old, lord of harrowdale and first marshal of the Riddermark, the highest military rank and is charged with protecting Edoras and the surrounding lands. His horse is named éored. He was raised alongside his cousins and so has a deep bond with them all but is not above teasing them frequently. He's also very ready to stand up to Helm if he believes a decision unwise

Olwyn: 45 years old, lady's maid to Héra but more become a mentor than a simple maid or servant. Thought in many battles over the years and has known great loss but finds ways to move forward and doesn't suffer fools. She sees herself in Héra as only she and a few others know Olwyn's past as a shield maiden

Freca: 40 years old, lord of the west-march. He claims to be descended from the fifth king of Rohan, Fréawine but his hair and beard instead cast doubt and suggest the Dunlendish blood runs through his veins instead. Has very little love for the kings of Rohan. Spends a lot of time dwelling on what he doesn't have and pays little heed to the king refusing summons to attend the witan

Wulf: 20 years old. Only son of Freca. His mother has also passed like with Héra. Quiet and intense most of the time, dressing in sombre colours. His belief that Héra loves him is very fragile. Expert in swords and bows. Has very little personal ambition at the start, growing up under his father's shadow and subject to his father's whims, despite this he loves his father and should anything happen he'll repay it tenfold. Should his youthful affection be spurned, that love will turn into a pathologically hatred for Helm, Héra and all the people of Rohan

General Targg: born and raised in Dunland, he has become a trusted advisor to Freca and will likely be key to Wulf's own reign. He is wise and calm but in the heat of battle will fight fiercely yet he retains a deep sense of honour as a warrior

[tossawary]

The last time that I rewatched "The Fellowship of the Ring" (extended edition, of course), my favorite new detail that I noticed is that the characters, once they set out on their journey, are pretty much always traveling from screen-left to screen-right.

It had been a few years since I'd seen the films and I'd learned more about filmmaking in that time. I'm completely biased regarding the LOTR films; they're not perfect, but I grew up on them, I love them. I was trying to take notes on all of the little details that made the world of the films seem so rich and so enchanting to me. The camerawork, character staging, and editing is one of the many things that just happened to jump out at me at this time.

When Frodo and Sam are leaving the Shire, the camera is set up in such a way that they start on the left side of the screen (<- that side) and travel across it to the right side of the screen (-> that side).

This way to go the farthest you've ever been from home. ->

As the hobbits travel from Bree to Rivendell, as the Fellowship travels from Rivendell to the Misty Mountains, all of those gorgeous scenic shots of the Nine Walkers show them moving from screen-left to screen-right. I haven't rewatched the entire trilogy lately, but in "The Fellowship of the Ring", it is so beautifully consistent.

There are a handful of reasons why this is done. In staging and editing, consistency regarding where the characters are placed on the screen is a storytelling tool. For example: the "180 degrees rule" says to generally keep the camera on one side of the characters within a scene, so that the audience can mentally keep track of the characters within the environment and focus on the action/dialogue. If we're watching two characters talking in a diner, even in the close-ups, one character will usually be kept on screen-left and be shown facing screen-right, and the other will be kept on screen-right and be shown facing screen-left. It feels stable. (People will sometimes choose to break the "180 degrees rule". It can be a tool to create a sense of disorientation and/or instability in the audience.)

In "The Fellowship of the Ring", the maps that the audience is shown of Middle Earth tell us that the Shire is located in the West (left side of the map) and everything else of relevance (Rivendell, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor) is East (right side of the map). As the characters consistently travel screen-right, the audience builds up a firmer mental map of Middle Earth and can better keep track of the characters' progress on their long journey. With every step that Frodo takes towards screen-right (->), we know that he is traveling East, taking another step towards Mordor.

Left to right may also instinctively feel like the way forward in a culture that writes and reads from left to right. Regardless of which way you write: if your film establishes extremely consistently that one direction is forward, then this visual language can be used to tell the audience that something is wrong if the characters start traveling from right to left. They might be lost! It builds suspense in the visual depiction of the characters going backwards and undoing progress! This all suits the lengthy hero's journey of LOTR very well, in my opinion.

There's an old joke that knowing how anything is made ruins the magic, and another old joke that knowing anything about filmmaking makes you insufferable to watch movies with, but I've never felt that way, especially not here. How does that quote go? It's still magic even if you know how it's done. (GNU Terry Pratchett.)

I find it enchanting, honestly, that so many people can work so hard for an effect that can seem so simple. Actors, directors, camera operators, editors, storyboarders, and so many others on the crew of the films consistently placed characters, sets, and props just so! So that the audience could more easily keep track of where everyone was and lose themselves a little more deeply in the story.

It's such a simple rule! And it works so well! Left -> Right. West -> East. Shire -> Mordor. Home -> Adventure. Known -> Unknown.

I personally recommend trying to keep track of character movement across the screen in films, especially if you have any interest in visual storytelling (films or illustration or something else). It's fun! It's impossible for me to unsee, watching "The Fellowship of the Ring" now, and I think it's a wonderful piece of movie magic.

[autumnhobbit]

sometimes i like to think about the fact that tolkien wrote the definitive ending for each of his characters. if you’ve only watched the movies you probably haven’t heard of or read the appendices to lotr, which contains some details that didn’t really have a spot in the books’ narrative official, like aragorn & arwen’s love story and courtship, and the eventual fates of all the main players.

a lot of stories are self-contained and focus on a certain part of the character’s lives. their childhood, their teenage years, their 20’s 30’s 40’s, until their happily-ever-after and all else is left to the imagination. for some stories, that’s what they need and it works and you can rest easy knowing the characters made it and they’re alright now and they will be alright when we say farewell to them and go our separate ways.

and tolkien made the interesting choice to tell when and how each of his characters died. and it’s not like some stories where an unnecessarily sad death comes unnecessarily into a story for shock value or extra drama. the whole of lotr is seeped on death and decay and especially on passing away. the elves are leaving never to return and one day the world will forget they ever existed. their beautiful homes and joyful songs and eons under the trees forgotten and nothing more than a ruin and a memory that no one who saw them will even be alive to remember. the men of numenor come back from near extinction but even as their descendants go on there are still only a few who will remember the ones who were really there. so it’s perhaps understandable that tolkien chose to write the happy ending. the real happy ending.

the happy ending that was exactly what each character needed and what you would want for each character. they each live full lives with the ones they love, all their greatest dreams and hopes realized. aragorn and arwen marry, eomer becomes king of rohan, the hobbits return home and sam builds the family he wanted with rosie. and yet gandalf leaves, and frodo goes with him, and though there is joy there is parting, and it breaks your heart. and it feels very adult because isn’t that the truth of adulthood? you meet people you love and you live and you see each other whenever you can, and time passes and you go your own ways and though you remember them and love then you live your life and then one day it’s over.

and so tolkien wrote the ending and it’s exactly what you think each character would do and how it would go. and i think about sometimes the wisdom and the life experience needed to write the whole life of each character, how and where they died and who was with them.

[veilder]

War of the Rohirrim: My Thoughts

So, I just got back from seeing this movie and I thought I'd write up a little review, I'll give a brief overview first and put spoilers under the cut.

First off, let me get this out of the way: I really, really enjoyed it! Which isn't to say that the movie didn't have problems, just that I was thoroughly entertained throughout and also got way more invested in it than I thought I would! It was a nice, self-contained little story that did service to Tolkien's Legendarium while still allowing for creative changes and I thought it all worked really well the way it was told. The animation was absolutely stunning in a lot of scenes (notably the fight scenes!), though I did have some issues with it in others. Notably with the compositing of the 2D and 3D art together, some of those just did not look right, but they were few and far enough between that they didn't detract overmuch for me.

The cast of characters were vibrant and well-crafted, especially the supporting cast for me, and the voice acting for everyone was on point. I also really liked the general design and portrayal of the whole cast, I thought they all looked very good. Notable standout character for me would be: the princes, Háma and Haleth, the King's nephew, Fréaláf, and the shieldmaiden, Olwyn. And honorable mention to the Dunlanding general, Turgg, too. I can't tell if it was just the nostalgic Howard Shore score returning in some parts or if I just generally liked the whole soundtrack (notably not composed by Shore this time), but I felt like the music was very good as well. Very suitable to the world and Rohan specifically.

And, last but certainly not least, I thought the vibe of the film was just incredible. Even moreso than with the Hobbit movies, The War of the Rohirrim felt like Middle-Earth. The vibes of the movie were impeccable and it actually seemed like a genuine story set in the original trilogy's Rohan. The styles and dialogue and whole atmosphere of the film seemed very in line with Peter Jackson's original trilogy and I think that's what elevated the whole thing for me, enough to overlook its flaws, which I will get into more detail in below the cut.

Overall, I personally would rank this a solid 6.5/10. It certainly didn't match the original trilogy and likely wasn't even as good as my favorite of the Hobbit movies, either. (Which is the first one, of course. 😌) A very solid addition to the Middle-Earth series and enjoyable enough that I'll definitely be watching it again, but nothing particularly groundbreaking. If you are a LotR fan, I feel like you'll like it. If you're an anime fan, you might get a good story and some pretty characters out of it. If you're a more casual movie watcher, it might be a tad hit or miss. But overall, I consider it a very solid movie.

Now, on to spoilers.

So, first off, let's talk about Héra. I've seen a lot of entertainment outlets and reviewers criticizing her character (or lack thereof) and calling her a "Mary Sue" which is, in my opinion, just a very lazy critique of her. The movie sets her up as this free spirit, a warrior king's daughter who grew up learning to fight and ride and adventure alongside her brothers. She is a beloved princess of the realm who the people greet by name, who is kind and compassionate, clever and competent, who dreams of one day being free of her royal duties and be able to travel where she pleases. Oh, and she has an overprotective father who wants to marry her off to try and keep her safe. A textbook Mary Sue, right?

Well, no, I'd very much beg to differ.

Héra is a flawed character. Time and again, her youth and inexperience lead her into situations she can't handle and she is a liability just as often as she's shown to be a hero. And time and again her compassion is taken advantage of, to the detriment of herself and others. The fact that she is clever and headstrong and grows into a deadly warrior by the end does not make her a Mary Sue. But that's also not to say that I found her to be the most compelling, either.

Don't get me wrong, she definitely had some amazing moments (her conversation with Wulf in Orthanc, her wisdom in evacuating Edoras and her traps laid out before its siege, her amazing "I'm no man's bride." "Who are you promised to?" "Death!" line read?) but she was rather generic to me all things told. However, she's shored up by an excellent supporting cast and a great plot, so I didn't feel I really needed a super interesting protagonist to follow. She is excellent in her role as the POV character for the events happening around her and she becomes anchored enough in the main plot by the role her family plays and the obsession the main antagonist has with her.

Which, speaking of...

Another character I really want to call out is Wulf. Because he... was a missed opportunity imo. I get what they were going for with him I guess? Hm, a sort of Maeglin approach to him almost, for those familiar with the Silmarillion, where becomes obsessed with the object of his desire to the point of madness and villainy. However, I personally feel as if his character could've been so much better if they'd taken him in a different direction? These are all my own thought and you don't have to agree, but hear me out: I think they should've tried to humanize Wulf more. We are told early on that he and Héra are childhood friends, but we're only ever given the barest glimpse of a flashback between them to set that up? We have one short conversation between them at the very beginning after his proposal to her and after that he takes a sheer dive into villainy that he double and triples down on as the story goes. But if the movie truly wanted us to feel as if there was a connection between them at all, I feel like they should've emphasized that relationship a lot more. Show more of their time together as children. Give more scenes to Wulf of him experiencing discrimination because of his Dunlanding blood. Give him moments of hesitation and remorse when he's forced into conflict with Héra. Like, I genuinely believed that's where the movie was going at the end? I really thought that, after their big fight where Héra has him on the ground and shows him mercy, I thought he was leaping up at her to die. I thought he intentionally missed her with his blade because he wanted her to kill him after everything he's done and that was the only way he could accept it happening. I thought the movie might come full circle again to showing that, despite everything, there was something genuine to his affections? That he wasn't wholly evil or deranged and that his declaration of love had been true once upon a time, even if he'd since forswore it after his father was killed. I really thought they would give him some glimpse of humanity. But no, he was genuinely just trying to kill her again and she beat his ass and that's that. Honestly much less impactful to me. Like, don't get me wrong, I absolutely did not want him to be redeemed. (Especially not after the absolutely abhorrent way he killed Háma right in front of Héra and Helm, oof.) But just any show of him not just being some black and white villain would've been welcome. Just the tiniest bit of complexity to a truly vile villain makes them stand out all the more for me and I think Wulf would've been truly memorable if he'd had that.

Now, my issues with the two leads out of the way, I just wanna bring it back around to the positives again and say how delightful I found the rest of the supporting cast? For all that they were barely in it, I was just instantly captivated by Haleth and Háma, not even joking. As soon as Héra rode in to Háma singing his little song for her, I knew I had a favorite. Oh, what's this? He's a poet and a bard and a handsome warrior prince?! Well, I'll be. It seems he was specially crafted to be my new blorbo, lol! And then Haleth showed up and my mind just instantly associated the two of them with my two absolute favorite Tolkien character and I knew I was a goner. (Please tell me I'm not the only one to instantly get Maedhros and Maglor vibes from them, eh? Which, in retrospect, Haleth is much more how I picture Celegorm, lol, but still. That initial projection really stuck in my mind. XD)

Héra's servant, Olwyn, was also such a pleasant surprise? I didn't expect much of her at the start, but she really grew on me as the film went on. I love that you just have to piece together her backstory as a shieldmaiden of Rohan and then you can start using that to theorize about Héra and how she idolizes them and it all just clicks together so well? And it's always nice to see an awesome older woman kicking ass!

And then Fréaláf showed up and he was just like the coolest guy ever?! Yooooooo, I loved him so much, even though he got so sidelined in the movie. 😭 But his appearance at the end wearing Helm's armor and blowing that horn was just awesome. I don't even care if his whole arc was a bit derivative of Éomer's from the films, I still just dug his whole vibe and personality. And it's terrible how Haleth and Háma had to die (like oof, both their deaths were just... so brutal 😭😭😭), but it's obvious that Fréaláf will make a fantastic king for Rohan.

Helm Hammerhand was, of course, amazingly badass, they really kept that part intact. And though I wouldn't say he was particularly likeable as a character, he certainly was compelling to watch. And his death scene, of course, just went so hard.

And yes, shoutout again to Turgg, the Dunlander, for being cool and levelheaded throughout the whole movie. Honestly, if that guy became the Dunlanding leader instead of Wulf, things would've gone like 2000x better for everyone. And I do love that he finally just outright refuses to do Wulf's bidding at the end. It is certainly an instance of too little, too late by that point, but still. I appreciate that he at least had some sort of line he wouldn't cross, even if it was purely because he finally saw how mad Wulf had become. Cool character, I liked him a lot.

I already spoke a bit about the music and the animation up top, so I won't rehash all that, but I just want to highlight a few outlying thoughts I had.

What the heck was up with that Watcher in the Water just chilling in the woods there? That seemed so random. And also, it ate that entire mumik like it was nothing, wot?

In general, the scale of things was kind a crazy? It seemed to vary a lot scene by scene and it was hard sometimes to really tell the perspective of anything.

I absolutely loved Miranda Otto coming back to act as the narrator for this film? Not only was it wonderful to hear Éowyn again in a new project, but I loved how they used it as a sort of framing device, like it was Éowyn telling us a story of her people. (And I love the thought of her being inspired by this legend of Héra as a little girl and dreaming of being a shieldmaiden, too.)

I love that Olwyn didn't die?! I was just waiting for it to happen the whole movie, she had so many death flags it was unreal. But then it just... didn't happen! Yes!

What on Middle-Earth was that dang siege tower Wulf built? Omg, that thing was ridiculous. When they were raising it up and it just kept going higher and higher and higher?! It was like a skyscraper there for a minute, what? And then it just crashed down and didn't break? XD I'm pretty sure I audibly said "Yo, wtf?" in the theater when I saw that part, lol. (It's okay, I was literally the only person there. >_>)

I didn't realize Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd were the voices of those two orcs until I saw the credits? That was a neat cameo!

Why oh why is there no WotR AO3 tag up yet? 😭 How am I supposed to find fix-it fics about mah boi Háma now? 😭😭😭

That one eagle sure was helpful in this movie, omg. And lol, I like that they established that the eagles and wizards can talk to each other? Lol, Maia to Maia communication. XD

But yeah, those are my initial thoughts. Overall, a very enjoyable experience! I was really glad to be back in Middle-Earth again, especially since my interest in all things Tolkien has been massively reinvigorated lately by my newfound fascination with The Silmarillion. This movie hit at a perfect time for me and I enjoyed it greatly. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk movie review. XD

[buffyfan145]

As promised here's my comparison post about how similar the Haladriel (Sauron/Galadriel) and Hèra/Wulf ships are from the LOTR projects "The Rings of Power" and "The War of the Rohirrim". 😀 I loved the movie and totally rec it and am a fan of ROP, and now ship both of these ships. I figured they would be alike, but it was even more than I thought. Putting most of this behind a cut for spoilers for both and length but will say again like I did in my review post that Hèra & Wulf both by themselves and their relationship felt like how we've written a lot of 1st Age fics about Galadriel & Sauron back when they were Artanis & Mairon and during The War of Wrath.

To start with the characters themselves, Hèra is very similar to how Galadriel was in the 1st Age and the beginning of ROP as she was a princess named Artanis and the only daughter of one of the Nolder elves.

Also with their costumes she wears mostly green, white, and gold, while he wears dark colors. They also look somewhat like the actors on ROP, especially Wulf with Sauron's Halbrand form.

Like Galadriel, she also has 2 older brothers: Haleth, the heir to the throne and a warrior like their father, and Hama, a musician. Galadriel's oldest brother Finrod was actually similar to both of Hèra's brothers.

Hèra's father Helm Hammerhand is the King of Rohan, similar to how Galadriel's father is one of the elvish kings in Valinor. Helm also notices how his daughter is very head strong and more like her brothers, and grows to respect that. One of Galadriel's older names Nerwen means "man maiden" and she was described as being the same, athletic (both projects have them climbing icy mountains), and excellent with horses.

The people of Rohan are descended from the Númenóreans which this movie seems to suggest they've inherited things from Elros, Elrond's twin brother who were part man, elf, and Maiar. Helm and Haleth seem to have superstrength, Hama is not only a skilled musician but archer, and Hèra's own character, warrior like nature, and personality came across more elvish to me too and she ends up being able to get help from the eagles.

Now with Wulf he's from the wild men that lived on Middle Earth before the Númenóreans came, or the Southlanders as they called them in ROP. He, as well as Haleth and a few other characters have the same accent Halbrand has, or Northern English.

Because of this Wulf and his people are made to feel less than, which is why Wulf's father Freca partly wanted to marry Wulf and Hèra to unite their peoples (but Freca also wanted to take over).

This difference is also pointed out because Helm was going to marry off Hèra to a prince from Gondor, which not only angered Wulf and his father, but Hèra herself as she had no idea of it. Reminded me of how Galadriel's husband Celeborn is a prince from Doraith.

Wulf's also influenced first by his father and then General Targ to seek vengeance, which twists him similar to Sauron when he was Mairon and turning his back on the Valar to follow Morgoth.

Unlike Sauron though Wulf actually tells Hèra that he loves her multiple times. He's been in love with her since they were kids, so it started from a natural and good place but sadly it turns toxic as he gets eviler.

Like the elves too Hèra comes across as being asexual, likely demisexual, which a lot of the elves, Maiar, and Valar seem to fit that. They usually only fall in love once or twice, and some even decide to never marry. I feel Hèra fits into this as I feel she did care for Wulf, especially how he used to be and with her trying to find him when he disappeared. I do feel if what happened between their fathers never happened, which started Wulf's downward spiral and the war, that their childhood friendship would've turned into love. He already loves her, and I feel with time she would've realized she loves him too. Sadly, it just never happened.

At one point Wulf kidnaps Hèra and proposes to her a 2nd time, similar to how we thought a scene with Haladriel was going to happen. She pretends to accept at first (similar to Galadriel in the season 2 finale with Nenya) but then Wulf realizes she's lying and cuts her on the face with his sword. She actually accidentally cut him on the face when they were kids and he claimed it marked him for her, so he left a mark on her too. This also happened with the crown wound in the season 2 finale with Haladriel.

After the cut and fight Hèra jumps out of the building similar to Galadriel jumping off the cliff. Wulf lets her go for now knowing they'll battle again soon.

Sadly, like Galadriel both of her brothers are killed by Wulf and his men. Galadriel's brothers all died during The War of Wrath by Sauron and his forces. Unlike Wulf, Sauron actually apologized for it in season 1.

Then the final fight at the renamed Helm's deep Hèra saves the people of Rohan by going out to face Wulf alone knowing he'll only be focused on her. Galadriel also helped the people of Eregion escape before facing Sauron in the s2 finale.

During this fight (which is pictured above) she wears an old wedding dress which angers Wulf as he mentions it was supposed to be them marrying instead of fighting. Reminded me of how in the show ROP we see Nenya as being the engagement ring Sauron (with Celebrimbor's help) made for Galadriel and she keeps it. Wulf is also wearing her father's crown, like how Sauron had Morgoth's crown in the show.

Then the line she says when Wulf asks her who she's marrying then if it's not him and she replies "Death". LOL Obviously Galadriel still ends up with Celeborn but that line was fantastic as I could see her saying it too to Sauron.

There's a moment in the fight too where it looks like Wulf is going to surrender and become prisoner. You can tell this is the ending Hèra wants as she still cares for him and hopes he can repent and redeem himself. Sadly, he tricks her and it's clear he's gotten rid of his goodness and only death can stop him.

After he dies you can see her sadness at losing him too along with almost all her family. Now for Sauron we know there was a chance he could still be redeemed after everything with him and Galadriel being immortal and that Tolkien was going to write Morgoth coming back in Dagor Dagorwrath. They all were supposed to unite to defeat Morgoth for the final time. So, there's always a hope that Sauron will be redeemed and that there's still a chance there for him and Galadriel, unlike here where both characters will die human deaths with unknown afterlife fates.

The ending too had a slight similarity as Gandalf contacts Hèra, now a shieldmaiden in her cousin's kingdom, to help assist him as she saw two orcs looking for rings for Sauron. So, it was a nice connection there and I love that Hèra is involved in the War of the Ring somewhat, which leaves it open a bit that she could be included in future projects for either anime or the live-action movies, and what we're seeing the show play out too.

[cupkakie]

War of the Rohirrim thoughts:

Overall, I would say that I quite enjoyed stepping back into the world of LOTR (and it would be impossible for a single film to live up to the atmosphere of the original trilogy) it was a relief to see that, despite a few deviations/flaws, you can tell there was a lot of care and respect for the source material from those involved.

I only wish they provided more of a historical context as to the disparity or ongoing conflict between the Dunlendings and the Rohirrim to give more depth to the 'contract' or marriage proposal that eventually goes awry. I also wish that they fleshed out Wulf more and I think reducing him, even jokingly to an "incel" (or even reducing the character of Héra under a label) doesn't do justice to their characters. Wulf could have been more of a compelling villain and the fact that his late father's general (a new character in the story of the movie) placed some measure of faith in his rulership, points to that possibility. But, I guess it's also realisitic that he fumbled those grand ambitions (if there was a tiny seedling of that in his quest of revenge) in the end. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that General Tark (?) had more nuance than just throwaway supporting villain.

Apart from one major plot deviation concerning how the conflict is resolved, some may take issue, but with the choice of how the story was more Hera focused at that point, I'm not sure how the writers could have made it align with how it really concluded according to the book. I'm also not sure if the writers intended to open up the question I had been wondering before this was film was released about "deeds remembered in history" and added to that with "who" and "how" these tales are recorded or passed down generations. It is mentioned in Appendix A of RotK that "[m]any lords and warriors, and many fair and valiant women are named in the songs of Rohan [...] (Tolkien 424). So, it's not far-fetched to think there could have been such a story about Hera but it was never written down or recorded as such, and the story as Éowyn tells it may have survived only orally through song.

There was no "girlbossery" to be found in Héra if ROP's "Galadriel" is an exemplary model of that regurgitated toxic trope. She had her strengths and weaknesses and cared deeply for her family and for her people.

I enjoyed the familial relationships we saw, though I wish there was more, especially of Fréaláf. I wish we could've gotten more on his situation in Dunharrow during the Long Winter and how and why it was difficult to secure aid for the refugees in the Suthberg (Hornburg later named after Helm Hammerhand).

As to the allegations that may be out there that Helm is a "Gary Stu" , I think he's more akin to the mythic characters like Beowulf or Gilgamesh; just an epic, larger than life character --and I think the medium of animation did that mythic hyperbole justice, and live-action would require some kind of creative framing to suspend the disbelief of the audience.

For me, the movie had the potential to be more, but I still enjoyed it, coming away with loving Rohan and the Rohirrim all the more, especially Fréaláf, who may hearken back to another horse-lord, but is not a "copy-paste" of him, just as Hera is not a facsimile of Éowyn (though I do wish they had given her a more Anglo-Saxon inspired name).

TLDR; if you enjoyed the trilogy/ hated the travesty that is ROP, you will most likely enjoy this movie.

(Also, kudos to the voice-acting, especially Luke Pasqualino.)

[sirdeln]

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Lord of the Rings musical in Chicago earlier this week and was SO DELIGHTED. I can't stop thinking about it and talking my friends' ears off and wanted to write down all of my thoughts!  Here's my review under the cut :)

A brief background on the musical for those unfamiliar: In the 2000s LOTR excitement was high! This musical originally premiered in 2006 in Toronto and moved to the West End in London the next year. It was extremely expensive to produce and included a massive cast, full orchestral pit, and large, complicated sets. It consequently lost a lot of money. Bummer!!! I did not see this production as I was 8 and living in Oregon at the time. 

Last year (2023) the musical was reworked into a new production for the Watermill Theatre with a smaller cast, more intimate feel, and notably, all the musician/actors on stage. It received generally positive reviews and presumably was commercially successful, because Chicago Shakespeare Theater announced it would be hosting the same production with a new cast this year. Of course I rushed to buy tickets, because I never thought I'd get to see any version of the LOTR musical (and also I lived in Chicago for a short time and love it there 😊 ).  

Of course, there are some necessary plot changes and abbreviations to fit the story of the whole trilogy into a 2 hour and 45 minute musical. Most notably Rohan is entirely absent. No Eowyn :,(, no Eomer, and no Helm's Deep. Theoden and Denethor are combined into one character, "The Steward," which I think works fairly well. There's one large battle between the armies of men and the forces of Sauron, and there's an inserted argument between Frodo and Sam, similar to the movies.  

Unlike the movies, the scouring of the Shire does occur, although we don't actually see Saruman at the end of the show. I think that to someone unfamiliar with the story, it would be a little confusing, especially because it's full of unexplained names, other references to Middle Earth, and singing in elvish, but ultimately I think it's pretty impressive that they've created a mostly coherent plot that's the length of a normal show! 

I'll caveat that I went into this already an opera/musical theater appreciator (although I've only ever been involved in productions playing in the pit, I am certainly no actor). I was really hoping to be pleased based on everything I had heard about last year's UK show and my positive opinion of the old cast recording.  

On to specifics about the Chicago show!  

The cast is extremely impressive. Basically everyone on stage is a quadruple threat; acting, singing, dancing, AND playing instruments. The casting call posted earlier this year made me so curious because it seemed so specific (here it is for those who are curious: https://www.theatreinchicago.com/auditions/industrydetail.php?AuditionID=10319), but they really managed to find Suzanne Hannau, who sings, dances, and acts as Rosie Cotton all while playing piccolo, flute, and recorder (and possibly tin whistle? Tin whistle heads out there, let me know).  

Standout members of the cast are Alina Jenine Taber as Arwen, who gave my favorite vocal performance of the show. She is a perfect Arwen and blends easily with Will James Jr.'s Aragorn in their second act duet. Also she learned harp for the role! Will James Jr. as Aragorn is excellent casting as well. He totally pulls of the humble gravitas of Aragorn and I actually prefer his voice to the Aragorn in the 2008 cast recording.  

More flowers go to Rick Hall, who made a perfect, lovely Bilbo (and is double cast as the Steward), and Spencer Davis Milford as Frodo. His acting chops are WILD! Special mention goes to Ben Mathew as Pippin. He is a truly wonderful cellist and gives a noticeably excellent musical performance while acting and dancing! With a cello strapped to his front! Crazy good!! Generally though the whole cast is excellent. 

Here are my small gripes. These are less flaws, and more things that I would have done differently were I for some reason in charge. Lauren Zakrin plays Galadriel and is an extremely talented singer, but IMO her vocal style is much too "Broadway show tune" for Galadriel. "Lothlorien" is one of my favorite tracks in the show, and while she totally rocks it, I prefer a more ethereal sound for this role.  

Tony Bozzuto brings an incredibly impressive physicality to Gollum (climbing down ropes into the audience, swinging fully around ladders 20 feet up in the air type of stuff) but I think using an Andy Serkis Gollum voice and movie Gollum look is a directorial mistake. Bozzuto does a great job with what he's given, but the Serkis Gollum voice made the audience (at least the night I went) react to Gollum as if he was a comedic character rather than a tragic one. It also slightly cheapens the emotional impact of “Now and For Always,” which is hugely unfortunate. He would say incredibly sad things but the goofy voice made people laugh. 

UK correspondent and subject expert @lotrmusical tells me this wasn’t an issue at the Watermill. The voice wasn’t as much a Serkis-specific voice and worked more with pathos. I also think using the movie Gollum look is a missed opportunity to do something really cool and unique with the character – imagine if they'd gone with a cartoon froggy type Gollum or come up with their own original look! 

My final qualm is a musical qualm. The new orchestration is extremely impressive in that it creates a very similar sound to a full orchestral pit (I've read it was 60 musicians?) with a MUCH smaller group and mostly sounds very very good. Having the actors as the instrumentalists on stage works really well in creating the folk story vibe, and fits with the framing device of this show; it's hobbits telling you their version of this story.  

But a couple of moments are weird. Harmonica during an Aragorn/Arwen love scene is a wack choice, and same for accordion representing wizard magic. There are a few issues with intonation, balance (sorry brass players), and ensemble. I think this is inevitable when your instrumentalists are playing simultaneously to acting, moving across the stage, and performing choreography. To be clear, in no way is this the fault of the musicians themselves, but it's a pretty unavoidable side effect of this staging: you just aren't going to play perfectly together if you're standing 40 feet away from each other and your instruments are individually mic'd. 

@lotrmusical tells me this also wasn’t a problem for the Watermill, maybe because it’s a much smaller venue than Chicago; very possibly these small problems arise from a combination of the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater being a larger/more difficult space and from my seeing the show in its first week. It may resolve itself as it progresses! Personally I think the staging is worth these minor issues because the folk atmosphere works so well with the story, but it's worth pointing out.  

Okay, time for all the stuff I loved!  

I mentioned the folk element of this staging briefly and this angle works really well for LOTR. There's a framing device of hobbits telling this tale to you with ensemble cast members at times narrating, and I think it's a great fit for the story. It creates a feeling of intimacy that I really loved, and that feeling is enhanced by some interactive moments with the audience.  

When I entered the theater, the stage is set for Bilbo's birthday party. There's a beautiful party tree revealed by the backdrop, a large banner proclaims the occasion, and bunting is flying out above the audience. Hobbit actors came out into the audience and interacted with us, playing games and chatting, while Bilbo made the rounds on each level to greet his "party guests". It really effectively transitions the audience into the world of middle earth, and I'll admit to tearing up when everyone sang happy birthday to Bilbo.  

(screenshot from official trailer)

The stagecraft maintains the immersion throughout the show. The lighting design incorporates lights flashing straight out at the audience for a few dramatic moments (there are epilepsy warnings on the website and program for a good reason) and characters move swiftly up and down the aisles throughout the show. Gollum climbs down a rope from the gallery at the beginning of the second act, and the Nazgul snap and prowl around the audience.  

Speaking of the Nazgul, the PUPPETS in this show are totally stunning. Shelob is an absolutely massive puppet that emerges from the back of the stage and moves extremely realistically, and the ringwraiths are glowing, articulated skeletal horse heads, each moving with a dark cloaked puppeteer. The Nazgul are absolute showstoppers; it's impossible to convey the way they move and look under the stage lights, but it was totally enthralling. I could watch just them for ages. The puppet designer is Charlie Tymms, website here if you're curious: https://www.charlietymms.co.uk/ 

(screenshots from official trailer)

The lighting, choreography, and sound design are all fantastic and combine to create a really magical feeling. The best way to get a feel for this is in the short trailer released by Chicago Shakespeare Theater, but even that doesn't really convey how cool it was in person. The fight and dance choreography is super impressive as well. I'm a big believer in the importance of lighting design for live theater, and this production is maybe the best I've seen. Some favorite moments are Galadriel and Lothlorien's swirling, twinkling gold effect, the spotlight and freeze when Frodo puts on the ring, and the projection onto vertical cloth streamers for the Bruinen water horses.  

(Liz Lauren via playbill)

Overall, I loved my experience and if I lived locally, I would go see it a second time. If all goes well and they tour this production, I will absolutely be there if it comes closer to me. This show is clearly made by people who love the Lord of the Rings, and that love absolutely shines through.  

I think you will enjoy this production if you love the atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings and you like the music in the show. You'll enjoy this if you love theater and stagecraft, or don't know much about the Lord of the Rings but are ok with being a little confused/ready to be along for the ride. I think a person who is primarily a film fan and loves the epic battles of LOTR would perhaps not have a great time, and a person who knows that they don't enjoy or aren't immersed by theater would also not have a good time.  

If you're thinking of attending, you should check out the trailer from Chicago Shakespeare Theater:

the cast recording from the west end 2008:

and Mickey Jo Theatre's review of the Watermill production:

Most of what Mickey Jo Theatre says about the Watermill show is applicable to the Chicago production. The trailer and cast recording will give you a sense of the show as a whole (although of course the orchestration is significantly changed), but the overall sound is much the same. 

I'm certainly not an expert, but feel free to reach out if you are thinking of attending or have any questions! I'd also love to hear from/compare notes with anyone who saw the Watermill production from last year 😊 

A huge thank you to @lotrmusical for checking my facts and telling me about their experience with the Watermill show!!! you rock!

[simvanie]

7 Sins Legacy - generation 4 (pride)

Supriya: What do you want?

Rohan stood still for a second, taking in the room he had just entered.

Rohan: It's quite... colorful in here. Supriya: So? Did you expect it would be black and white, like people with absolutely no personality have?

Rohan: Well, I'd like to inform you that my-

Suddenly the sound of flapping bird wings approached rapidly.

Rohan: WOAHWHATISTHAT?!

Supriya could barely hold in her laughter as the exotic parrot landed on her hand. "I didn't know you were afraid of birds?" Rohan: -I'm not. I just didn't expect this feathered creature flying straight towards me. Supriya: He's not a feathered creature. This is Charu, my cockatoo.

Rohan: Charu? Supriya: It means beauty, because I want him to know how beautiful he is every time I say his name. Especially after his previous owner dumped him on the flea market. Rohan: That's... sweet.

Rohan picked up the flowers he had dropped on the ground when he nearly jumped again as Charu took off and flew back to his bird tree.

Rohan: I got these for you from that little flower shop around the corner. It's not much, but they were the last kind of good looking ones they had left this late in the day. Supriya: ...Thank you? Why? Rohan: My dad wants to invite you for dinner with our family toninght, to celebrate the promotions and how good our speech went. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought to stop by and invite you personally. I didn't want to knock on your door empty handed.

Supriya: Dinner with your family? Tonight? I was just planning to sit on my couch in my pyjamas, watch a movie, order some food, and unwind from a hectic workweek. Rohan: Oh come on, I know how much you like to celebrate your victories, and my family is paying for the dinner so you don't have to worry about that.

Supriya let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. Leave me the address and I'll see you tonight."

[dumbpupy]

OK SO:

It's hard to pin down my full feelings about War of the Rohirrim because like, there is a lot.

Am I more charitable to it for my love of Rohan, or more critical for greater feelings towards the whole legendarium?

Do I point and squeal at all the references, or feel let down that it's full of cheap callbacks?

And in the end, I think it depends on what War of the Rohirrim is meant to be.

Is it meant to be a true addition to the stories of middle earth? If so... it kinda falls *very* flat to me. The pacing of the story is off, many of the characters have very little character and nothing really draws me in the way the movies, especially The Two Towers with so much of it's time spent in Rohan, did 20 years ago.

BUT

And I kinda watched most of the movie with this as my framing;

If it's meant to be, with Miranda Otto narrating. With it's choice to have a (previously) literally unnamed character as our main focus. With even just the fact that it is an animated movie. If with all those things it's Eowyn just sorta making shit up to Elboron in Gondor after the war of the ring?

Well then I think it would be really cool, actually. It would make up for how self-indulgent it feels.

Of *course* Eowyn is going to idolise the idea of a princess of Rohan who was at all granted more freedom than her.

Of course she's going to sprinkle in silly little references to important people or events from her own time, if they've been around long enough.

Of course she bigs up the whole idea of the Shieldmaidens of Rohan.

Of course she isn't actually all that good at actually explaining why many of the early events happen, those things don't really matter to the story she *actually* wants to tell.

Of course there's going to be little moments where it's not really clear if this is about a woman who lived 200 years ago, or a way to tell a part of her story, through the safety of it happening to 'someone else'.

I can kinda imagine her telling the parts where Gondor is mentioned at the start as Faramir wanders in. Having her teasingly joke about a princess of Rohan being married off in Gondor. Having her use it as a little way to try and keep feeling a connection to a home she isn't at, whilst acknowledging the reality of where she is.

Adding Mumaks to the story because that's both more of a spectacle than the corsairs we know to have actually been the dunlendings allies and a way to try and deal with her experiences at Pelennor facing them herself.

Sprinkling in words spoken to her by Aragorn directly. A way to remember them.

Doing a little wish fulfillment with the Eagles. The eagles are in the stories of the war of the ring. The eagles are at the battle of five armies. So the eagles should be here to, in a story for her people. Maybe because, and feel free to correct me if there's direct evidence otherwise, she never personally got to see any eagles.

Well, if it is all of this? If that's why it's the way it is? Well then, I think it's a pretty cool and good movie.

I'm also very sleepy and this might not make much sense.

But my tl;dr for really enjoying this film is to think of it as a "based on true events" children's story that Eowyn is telling her son.

[kanawolf]

Hera & Frealaf's Clothing

@from-dark-dunharrow (since you asked about it :D)

Please note that I am not an expert on anything related to fashion, much less historical fashion, and this all comes from my vague and general knowledge on the subject :D. This rant will go over spoilers since I'm talking about their outfits throughout the whole movie so, be warned.

SO! Hera's tunic and riding boots (? I'm referring to her thigh highs but I can't tell if those are boots or supposed to be like chapps) are pretty close to white in color, alongside the gloves she wears in one scene, and of course the frankly iconic wedding dress. Her pants and the trim on her tunic range from light-mid brown (tunic) to dark brown / black (pants), with golden accents for things like the buttons(?) on her shoulder pieces and her hair ornaments (ex. the crown at the end).

The one major exception to Hera's color scheme is the green dress she wears early on in the movie, a color that seems to be a more traditional color for Rhorric people to wear (considering it's use in the background of both WotR and LotR, especially for cloaks), with the dress itself being one that is used for a very formal occasion (the summoning of the Lords of Rohan). One thing I find interesting about this dress, alongside it being a very formal dress (that honestly feels a tiny bit off in terms of Rhorric formal dress, but that's due to comparing it to Eowyns' dresses in the movies), is that it features golden accessories that are far more elaborate. The dress looks expensive, something that a princess would wear, compared to the more adventure-y look that Hera seems to prefer. She dons the proper attire of a princess around the other lords during a moment in the movie where the Lords are talking about her as if she doesn't exist, almost as if, by wearing something not in her usual color scheme, she is hiding a large part of who she is beneath the title and expectations of "Princess".

This could also be me looking too deeply into the dress, but some thoughts on it (briefly, as I am trying to focus on the white & dark accents color scheme for this).

Frealaf on the other hand, his very first outfit in partially hidden underneath his dark (blueish black) cloak, and unlike Hera's, his color scheme is almost reversed initially. His tunic has a large chunk of white, but the sides and the middle of the tunic are a much darker color (can't tell if it's supposed to be dark grey, blue, or green from my own pictures). He also has very noticeable golden trim and decorations on his outfit -- similar to the green dress, his clothing for the meeting of Lords looks expensive, something befitting the nephew of the King and a Lord in his own right.

The next outfit we see him in is much closer to Hera's, with the tunic being predominately white with dark trim in the middle & dark pants (like Hera's), though he also has the addition of black and gold armor, alongside his blueish black cloak still.

His final outfit (excluding Helms' armor) is the coronation fit, a white tunic underneath the formal, royal green cape with gold, red, and blue accents that seem to be traditional colors of Rohan. It's an outfit that is laden with ornamentation and rich, vibrant colors, in sharp contrast to Hera's far more plain clothing, aside from her vibrant blue cloak, that remains in her usual color scheme of white / cream with dark trim.

Before I continue, I'd like to point out that green is also a significant color to both of these characters, and I have thoughts on this as well, which I might talk about after the next section, or might move to its' own post.

Also, one last side note, Hera's color scheme is similar to that of the Great Eagle she tries to befriend in the film and I don't honestly much in the way of deep thoughts on that - I just think it's a neat detail (and maybe showcases Hera's relationship with the concept of her own freedom).

Now, I have a couple thoughts on the significance of white in their outfits.

White is often used as a symbol of purity (especially in the religious sense), which could be used to showcase Hera's youth and inexperience with the situation that she is thrust into (it could also be why her meeting dress is Green, as that is something that she could be very familiar with attending due to it being a regular thing for her family). This could also be part of why white dominates her color scheme, whereas it, while still being a major color, never is the true Main color of Frealafs outfits / why it's always heavily accented with darker / richer colors or under a cloak (being that he's a lord in his own right, he probably does have more experience in battle than Hera)

White is often used as a color related to life (I'm aware its' also used to symbolize death in many places, which also connects here). Hera and Frealaf are the two members of the main cast that are still by the end of the film, so by having white in their outfits when Wulf, Helm, and by extension Haleth and Hama, don't have much if any white present, might be a non verbal way to communicate that These Two Will Live. However, given that white can be associated with death as well, I think it also tells the audience something along the lines of "These two will survive this, but they will both experience death intimately, including potential death of an aspect of themself / who they were" with this being Hera experiencing the death of her family and her people firsthand, whereas Frealaf arguably experiences a sort of "death of the self" where he becomes the last heir to the throne of Rohan after his uncle and cousins all die. However, I'd argue that his very first outfit partially mimicking his coronation outfit is also a non verbal sign that this was always his role, to be a Lord and a Leader of his people, even before he became the king (seriously the main difference between his first and last outfit is the lack of black in the coronation outfit and the more elaborate adornment of the cape and the trim in the coronation outfit - there's a lot more gold for one)

Now one thing that's also important to point out is that, keeping historical clothing in mind, white clothing would have been generally expensive and, in my opinion, very impractical for people who actively / frequently ride horses. White clothing would get dirty very quickly, and in general, I think it'd be weird to wear white clothing while actively riding, so I think it'd be more likely that their clothing wouldn't be true, pure white, but probably would be more like a cream or light grey, the sort of colors undyed wool & linen (or sun bleached) linen sometimes become. This could also play into the general use of their clothing, they would have the money and materials that could allow them to have either actual white clothing (as impractical as that could be for them as Rohirrim), but it would also make sense for them to use undyed clothing as part of their outfits since that would arguably be more practical, especially for riding outfits that weren't primarily darkly colored.

Side note, this is also why I think it's important that we never see Eowyn where her white dresses while being "active" in the sense that we see them when she is waiting in Edoras while the Three Hunters arrive, when she is recovering from the Black Death, and in her Wedding dress / dress she wears during Aragorns coronation in RotK. Her white dresses and even her title, The White Lady of Rohan, have their own connotations that I think partially could tie in with #2 on this list

4) The use of brown in Hera's outfits compared to the use of black in Frealafs' outfits also strikes me as important. For instance, wool can be brown in color naturally, without any dyes, whereas black was generally an expensive fabric that only the weather or men or religion wore. Brown, being an earthly tone, also tends to associate characters with being grounded or stable / dependable (which I believe that Hera shows over the course of the movie in different ways, including her resourcefulness for taking care of problems, such as not fighting the Mumakhils' head on but using her environment / tower defense weapons for). Interestingly, dark brown (the color of her pants and the outer most trim on her tunic) could actually be an expensive color to make - which to me makes a fun duality of the colors in her outfit, they could all be achieved through natural means, but the dark brown and pure white are more expensive, a non verbal showcase of her station within Rohan. Black, on the other hand, is a more somber color, generally speaking, but it could also be associated with humility (hence a connection to religious and monastic lifestyle), which I'd argue Frealaf shows plenty of in the movie (gracefully accepting his banishment from his uncle while still being loyal to him, for instance). And again, black was expensive to make, so Frealaf wearing both white and black really shows that our boy was doing well for himself financially.

5) Onto Hera's wedding dress. The dress being eaten by moths and ragged does it's own work in nonverbal storytelling, but I think the best part of it all is that the sparkly white dress is in ruins. Hera does not want to marry anyone, and while she in experienced in some things (something that she kind of admits to when she pleads with Helm to come inside the gate and lead their people), she does not have the same sort of youth she had in the beginning of the movie (with her finely tailored and well kept clothes). She has grown and matured, no longer this potential pinnacle of royal purity, but a woman who has been worn down by the deaths of her family, the Fell Winter, and the siege of her people in the Hornburg. And yet, she still holds true to her ideals, while her innocence may have died, she remains a woman of purity, not just due to remaining unmarried, but due to remaining true to herself even in the face of such hardships. It was also like, definitely psychological warfare against Wulf, she knew the dress would provoke him, and I absolutely love that she used his own obsessions against him like that.

6) Her last outfit keeps her firmly in her normal colors, which I think once against shows that while part of her may have died during the Fell Winter as she grew more experienced in life, she still remains true to herself, and she lived when all the odds were against her. The biggest difference is that her blue cloak returns (she had it during the first encounter with the mumakhil, but during the siege her cloak was a darker green). I think the biggest thing about the blue cloak returning is that blue is often associated with serenity, calmness, wisdom, and the sky / ocean depending on the shade (which have their own connotations that I'm not about to get into). Hera has grown as a character, she was wise to pay heed to the mumakhil in her lands, and though her wisdom was not listened to, she grew wiser after the Fell Winter. She even feels calmer at the end of the movie, like she's found her own type of peace even after the tragedy she had to endure, and she feels sure and comfortable with her own skills and in herself in general. I think this is something that Frealaf and Olwyn both would have recognized as well.

7) Frealaf's coronation outfit puts the white tunic once again under a cloak. This time, I don't think the white represents purity per se, I think it hold more to the association of light. He was the known / recognized savior of Helms' Deep, and with his ascension to the throne after the Fell Winter, I think the people of Rohan could have seen him as a literal symbol of a brighter future / new beginning for them all, especially combined with the vibrant, rich green of his cloak. Two colors that can be used to symbolize growth put together, and combined with the elaborate golden decorations and the red and blue accents, Frealaf's coronation fit feels (to me) like it is practically announcing a New Dawn / New Beginning / Time of Healing for Rohan and her people with his ascension to the throne and the end of the Fell Winter.

In general, I think it's really fitting that Frealaf and Hera have similar color schemes, in part due to them being somewhat similar in personality (calm and reliable royals, resourceful, loyal) and role in their story (being true to themselves and the saviors of their people). However, I really like that the differences in color and the ways in which color is used in their outfits also does a lot of nonverbal storytelling, which I personally really enjoy (even if I am like, completely way off base / overthinking this lol).

[katrina37973]

Thoughts on WOTR Part 1/?

I had the joy of watching this in the cinemas with my friend and both of us deeply deeply enjoyed it.

TLDR: Good solid movie with compelling characters and story. Excellent homage to Tolkein. It's not pretending to be anything but an addition to the current Legendarium, an insight to a period of history which has very little actually written about (canonically at least).

Apologies for horrible grammar and spelling in advance. The following's just my thoughts on Helm, Hera, Wulf and Targg.

Spoilers for The War of the Rohirrim. It's a long one.

Helm Hammerhand

Really liked how they depicted his hot-headedness and his love for his children. I jsut adore parent and children bonds, and the weight of his love was so very clear. The whole thing was so very tragic, seeing two of your children killed and the third probably awaiting a worse fate? Tragic, absolutely tragic but so fun to watch. His temper is something that sort of parallels Wulf I think. There's a line there somewhere but I can't really voice it yet, maybe it just needs a little more time to stew.

It was a little unexpected for him to exile Wulf; it felt strange as while it was a rash decision, and while that fits his character, it didn't really make sense? From the brief sense of the culture of Rohan, it seemed family and strong relationships were extremely valued which made him purposefully exiling Wulf strange as a) it basically is an invitation to hate Helm with reason and b) he’s aged and, set up to be, wise in terms of battle and strategy which means surely, surely he would have realised the moment he said it that this would come to bite him back? This points a bit of a nitpick, but I can't help wonder if they went the way of self-exile for Wulf, what that would have changed in terms of storytelling. 

Another thing that sorta applies to other characters too is how they depicted the time passing. Originally when the narrator says ‘seasons past yet no sign of Wulf appeared’ thing, Helm looked exactly the same as he did in the beginning which was his hair. If they made him grey-haired, then it would be easier to show the time passing eg, give white streaks throughout hair; in addition to this, you could have had his entire hair white in Hornburg to emphasise the extent of his grief. Might even help play with the whole wraith arc. 

Speaking of which, the wraith-arc was excellent, I loved how they incorporated that view from ordinary people into it, it really sold the power and influence Helm had on his people and his enemies. The thing I really didn't like/felt negatively about but understood was how he immediately became this tough, muscled fit person especially so soon after being depicted as a gaunt, skeleton, shell of a man due to his grief. It doesn't make sense narratively too as it disrupts the whole thing about being trapped and supplies dwindling low in Hornburg. Unless he stole from Wulf’s army but still, the timeline is a little confusing and his sudden supernatural strength (despite being human) to go toe to toe with a troll broke the immersion a little. 

I'm just a sucker for those story-telling narrations okay? Those implications of this becoming a legend, a myth retold again and again, there's just something about a legacy well left behind that tickles my fancy.

Hera

Loved her whole character arc except, EXCEPT, her fucking hair. I don’t mind her clothes, though her rider outfit, the one that strongly reminds me of Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, was a little too modern aesthetic. 

Starting off good/strong, I love the fact they didn’t change her thoughts on marriage. I was apprehensive for a long time throughout the movie because that’s usually how it goes, that there should be an arc, a start and an end which differs from that start belief but thank all that it didn’t go that through. She feels very ace-coded to me, the whole I'm married to nothing but death? Gorgeous. I might be a little biased here tho. 

I adore how they show her intelligence and strength. The way they subtly used her skill/knowledge with horses to set up Hama’s finale was gold. I would have loved to see more of her with her horse, and the bond they had, like short stories where she travels throughout the land before nad after the events of the movie. Just the whole movie had excellent writing and storytelling. The way they had side characters like Lief and Olwyn, build each other up is such a simple but effective way. It felt very grounded, that they had a lot of history and respect for each other. It didn't feel like any side characters were missing potential/felt out of place.

Her intelligence was not in your face, not arrogant and forced and random long tirades which I adored. As much as I loved BBC Sherlock, the way they depicted his intelligence was iffy and I’m glad they didn't go that route for Hera. I don't think I have any specific scenes in mind, just overall excellent storytelling with her. Minus that one scene where she was captured by General Targg and grunts, lass you had a sword in your belt and you’re beating your hands against the man’s back? I guess shock and adrenaline and all but it felt really weird and slightly out of character. (Unless I’m remembering wrong, I hope that’s the reason)

Now, I know this is done by a Japanese company and thus has strong ties to anime (and thus main character hair syndrome), but really? Really? I can’t get over her hair. Why would you make it red? Sure you can argue her mothers could be red-haired and that her brothers had a different mother, but what does that do but detract from the storytelling? Moments such as her brother's deaths could have been made more moving (not that it wasn't, I teared up during Hama’s scene so much, just the way the music is so mournful and muted compared to previous loud battle scenes and thundering hooves, the bond he has with his old mare, ah that scene was a masterpiece). It not only visually ties her to her family more strongly, but it signals visually the transfer of the line of kings to Frealaf. I just think it was such a missed opportunity. 

Actually, now that I thinking more, I really adore how she knows Wulf so well. Especially in that last battle, the way she purposefully pushes all his buttons, and fighting in a wedding dress? Any other movie I would be thinking distasteful thoughts but here? Beautiful shock but understandable. She’s been shown to fight before, she has access to armour (ill-fitting though they may be) but instead of acting sensible like Wulf probably expects, she trades defensive for psychological warfare and hell yeah, it rocks. The whole wedding dress was pointless and taunting and by Gods it was lovely.

A tiny nitpick but understandable why the producers did this; I like it when shows/movies show grime and tears on clothing to show the journey they went through but I understand animations long and time-consuming and really keeping track of all the rips and tears would be a such a pain.

Wulf

I love his design okay? He’s the typical bad/angsty lad and it's a stereotype that works for a reason. His character stays amazingly consistent, he’s so fixated on Hera and his vengeance and the lengths he goes for it, terrifying in the best way possible. While the inciting incident was his father's death, I think it came through quite strongly that that wasn’t the true reason why he continued on his attack. Someone else probably has already made a detailed explanation and breakdown so I‘ll leave this part be.

Other than that I don't have much strong feeling on him? Its a little strange, I appreciate him as a character but it doesn't really invoke in me anything strong. Good character set up with their childhood flashback where he gets the scar due to his loss of temper, good consistent decision made with reckless abandon.

General Targg

Okay, not gonna lie, this is my favourite character, besides Olwyn and Hera. Like dude’s doing his best and making so very sensible suggestions and he keeps getting ignored. He keeps getting ignored. He’s a strong, experienced veteran who served under Wulf’s father, probably knows Wulf since a young age and he’s doing his damn best to keep Wulf alive and satisfied (I would say happy but I think that’s not quite possible) despite the hilariously stupid decisions Wulf keeps making. I use the word hilarious because it is. Especially from Targg’s POV. This leads to the thing I’m most confused about; why did Targg stay? What is his motive here? In the end he’s killed by Wulf himself, despite him being a reasonable commander who had supported Wulf all this time. While it enforces Wulf’s character, it feels really strange to never see why Targg stays on the same side especially when Wulf makes a whole bunch of strategic blunders. It might be loyalty to father, loyalty to son thing but I dunno, I wish they had a scene or dialogue that just gives us a bit more info. Like, looking back the only reason Wulf is not as banged up as he should be with that personality and temper of his, is that Targg there’s to soothe things over and manage strategic decisions. I’m not saying Wulf’s stupid, he’s is smart and clever but you cannot convince me that Wulf would not antagonise (purposefully or accidentally) would be allies and Targg would have to play diplomat.

Honestly I think he and Olwyn would be those type who would meet in a bar/tavern and trade good stories with good (or shitty) drinks between them, and probably also complain about idiots who get themselves into trouble all the time. They're like the duo who could and absolutely would look at each other in a situation over their fighting charges, have their eyes meet and say get a load of this bullshit. Honestly, Targg didn’t get what he deserved, man really got betrayed while doing nothing but what he did for the entire movie, AKA making reasonable suggestions. 

Side notes, I really liked the depiction of horses in Rohan. Like the bond all Rohans had for horses. There were so many scenes where I was thinking, and getting annoyed, go on kill that horse and kill its rider, like the easiest way to kill a man, get their horse to kill them for you. But then I was like, but this is Rohan. Their crazy about horses (or at least what I know, the little I do of Rohan) so it absolutely would make sense for them to not treat their horses as meat shields. Their whole country/state is (probably) based on horses and travelling place to place so while it would make economic and practical sense to keep as many horses alive as possible, I think its just neat if it’s their culture that influences this decision.

[lesbiansforboromir]

The fact hera is called hera in wotr takes me out of the movie so much. Cause when I think of hera i think of the greek goddess. I saw someone say in a yt comment they wanted a name starting with h and someone on the team knew of a famous icelandic singer named hera. But not looking into the name more confuses me since they changed tauriels name in the hobbit to fit more. Makes it seem like they didnt put too much thought into the movie, especially with all the lore breaking as well

IT'S LIKE... one of those things I would have forgiven if the rest of the film was at least thoughtful, but becomes emblematic when it falls inline with all the rest of the just ZERO thoughtfulness in the adaptation. I did not know about the icelandic singer thing but that is actually so so much worse to me like OH SO YEAH, YOU ALL JUST THINK OF ROHAN AS YOUR IDEA OF A NORDIC CULTURE... LIKE FOR LITERALLY NO CANONICAL REASON BEYOND IDK... KNOTWORK PATTERNS ARE COOL? no wonder you keep putting them in coarse brown fjords or withered heaths instead of warm rolling hills of bright green meadow grasses. It's just so bland and lacking in even surface level consideration, vikings are cool and white and have a reputation for having HARD men so I guess that's what Rohan has to be! Give Helm a horned helmet and a greathammer haha what the fuck are horse archers, Vikings wouldn't do that that's girly, only Frealaf would do that because he's from Gondor and they're a bit you know 🫳

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Happy Wednesday! :) This seems like a very basic and frivolous question, but I really must know for my AU timeline (which is needlessly detailed, so it's a never-ending project, gah, I love-hate it):

How much older is Háma compared to Éomer? Might he be Théodred's age?

Also, I'm not sure if you've covered this in your fics or HC posts, but can you tell us a little of how Háma's military career progressed from his youth? Does being a doorwarden mean he was never assigned to an eored? Or was he part of one in his younger years, and the guard job was a promotion?

Sorry... I guess the question wasn't as basic as I thought. XD Thank you in advance for lending your expertise!

A chance to talk more about Háma, my special-est little guy??? Thank you so much! 🥰

There are no textual clues as to Háma’s age, so this is just HC. But I place him at 35 in early 3019, which is almost exactly between Éomer and Théodred.

My thinking there is that Háma is in a pretty significant role as captain of the King’s Guard, and (unless you’re the king’s own nephew) you probably aren’t going to get a senior leadership role while still a very young man. So I wanted him to be older than Éomer. But I also liked, just for reasons of personal preference, for Háma to look up to Théodred in almost a mentor sense, and so I wanted him to be younger than Théodred. Hence, 35! (I didn’t even know this until looking it up just now, but also John Leigh was in his mid 30s when he played Háma in the movies, so that’s a happy coincidence!)

The texts aren’t super clear on the exact role of the King’s Guard in Rohan, so that’s something that is a mix of real and HC for me. But I think of them as being separate and distinct from the normal military structure, which is focused around the éoreds and reports up through the lesser marshals to the 3 Marshals of the Mark and then the king. Those guys are for fighting battles; the King’s Guard is just to protect the king, wherever he might be, and their captain reports directly to the king himself.

They’re a smaller unit and they spend most of their time in Edoras at Meduseld because that’s where the king usually is. The door warden — the first line protector of the king’s own hall — is a key Guard position, but they protect the hall generally and the person of the king and royal family members as they go about their day to day business. The Guards also go to battle whenever the king goes, which is why you see Háma at Helm’s Deep, and they are drawn from among the ranks of the éoreds, so they all have battle experience before even getting to the Guard.

As for Háma’s path to the captaincy, my HC is that he aspired to be in the King’s Guard from childhood, when he had a meaningful encounter with Théoden that made him want to dedicate his life to serving and protecting the king (described here). He competed and qualified to join his local éored as a teen, as was standard, and he saw a fair bit of action in his early years. He distinguished himself as a man of both talent and good judgment, and so he was accepted to the King’s Guard on his first application. He saw less direct battle action then because Théoden didn’t often ride out with the army, but he was the perfect guard — dependable, capable, observant, incredibly loyal, and discreet. He was an immediate favorite of Théoden’s and was appointed captain at age 31, one of Théoden’s last big acts before starting to deteriorate.

As mentioned, the door warden is always a King’s Guard. They rotated the job among them — someone was at that door all day, every day so they broke it up into shifts and different people would work those shifts for a period of a few weeks before rotating out to other Guard duties. But Théoden loved Háma best and frequently requested that he be there, especially during the busiest and most important times. And Háma himself felt strongly about being at the door, as close to Théoden as possible, as often as he could once Gríma began to exert an influence that seemed decidedly nefarious. So as time went by, it was Háma at the door more often than not, and Éomer and Théodred both counted on him for information about how things went with Théoden as his condition worsened.

Is that useful to you? I hope so! I know your Thranduil AU has super meticulous timelines that all tie together consistently, so I’m not at all surprised that your Rohan is similarly detailed! ♥️And thanks again for the Ask — I would talk about Háma all day if I could! 🐎🗡️👑

[shineonyoucrazyyandere]

Not a request, but i feel that rohan is the most terrifying yandere. I read what you wrote about him not using heaven's door to force romantic affections, but that doesn't mean he won't possibly write something like "darling will stay with me forever. But keep their personality and emotions" or something. He can easily make it to where we could NEVER escape.

Oh absolutely no doubt he wouldn’t hesitate to write that in your pages. Immediately restricting your capability to run away is something out of a horror movie. Even worse you probably wouldn’t be able to talk about it to anyone else, the further the restrictions written, the realization you really have no way to leave or fight back. That’s a big blow to your mental state and there’s no real reason to actually do anything with your personality.

Rohan is already bad enough in canon, being Yandere just takes it to a whole new level. The way he sees it, you’re free to do whatever you like but not without him being aware of it. Stifle? Smothering? He sees no such thing, he finds most of the people you interact with an annoyance. Especially if they try to cater to you romantically. As the mangaka sees it, he’s doing you a favor of pruning the undesirables. Even if that means literally everyone falls under this definition except himself.

But hey at least you can still have your opinions on the type of sweets you like right? That’s gotta count for something .