Відео

about half way and Sneaky McStab is hardly what I know as a pillar of thievery. Doesn't sound anything like the sleuth of subtly, shadow's whisper, demi-god of darkness, THE RUMOUR ITSELF, MANASK!!!! Little late to the lesson. Sorry teach.

Have you ever made a video discussing Harry Potter? I would be interested to hear your views

This conversation was amazing. I just finished the House of Karsa and your chat reveal so much more ideas and layers upon layers of this masterpiece. Thank you and mr. Erikson! Here is a little list of ideas for further discussion from parts of the book: 1. The notion of Cold Iron vs Hot Iron which soldiers discuss. Tavore is revealed as the Cold Iron and I think the leadership of Felisin and the Army of the Whirlwind is very much Hot Iron (they are emotional, fragmented, full of so much different agendas, leaders planning on furthering their own goals.) Tavore actually seems to trust her subordinate generals/fists while Felisin doesn't really seem to trust any of her generals / high mages. 2. Karsa's warband companions Delum and Bairoth representing different qualities like Loyalty / Support vs Critique of course of action, doubt and challenging authority. One is the silent Yes Sir type while the other is This seems like a bad idea. 3. Karsa's character development going from wanting to follow in the steps of his Grandfather's to understanding the wisdom and true power of his Father's choices. I think Synyg was an interesting teblor and his brief part of the book showed much character, especially the way he criticized Karsa's plans and the way he escorted Pahlk Orlong out of his house. Synyg shows a different kind of strenght by choosing not be merciless killer. 4. The Tanno song people keep hearing in the desert! The memories of fallen, their unresolved legacy, their comeback. The revenge of the ghosts against the Dog Slayers who killed thousands of disarmed soldiers. 5. For a book about the Chained God's house we see very little direct interaction from him. We see much more of him in Memories of Ice. Here in the House of Chains we don't have dialogs from him or his established servants such as Kallor or Gethol. We get a sense of figure in the shadows sense from the book, somehow choosing a badass Mortal Sword and a sad story Leper for his house. I think the choise to have him in the shadows was intentional for the book named after his high house but i wonder if there's more to this.

I think some of the best fantasy stories are those non fantasy stories translated over to fantasy. But so are some of the worst ones. What happens is when the worst ones do it, it often feels like they are really obvious with what these things are supposed to represent in our world. When it's like Letheras if it was a little bit to much more like England or America and the people there acted English or American I think it would have come across terribly. I don't think anything about Letheras would have worked in that case, but because the ideas, themes and resulting human interaction is what was carried over it really worked.

I restarted book two and going in with a different mindset and it helped ,it’s ok not knowing everything

This book is really complex and tough to understand everything, thanks for the great discussion my dudes! I plan to continue the series and been a while since I read MBOTF and these videos are gold

Oh my ... 10 minutes extracted from a single paragraph ... that's awesome

Just finished this one. I feel it'll be incredibly helpful in my own writing.

@16:20 I pronounce it Mel-nuh-bow-ney, if that helps at all. Great discussion, though I would note that I garnered more of a Robert E. Howard vibe from Abercrombie's work. Though I haven't read Gemmell's work yet, perhaps if I do I'll smack myself in the head and go 'ah man, AP was right!'

I finally got to watch this one. What a treat! Great discussion.

24:19 Compared to other authors Ericson's writing is passable, not exceptionally good.

The first book I read in the series was Memories of Ice, my library hadnt gotten the first 2 book yet. But I felt like it was a fitting introduction, and Kallor was one of my favorite characters from the book

One of the greatest (book) series ever written

I'm in the process of reading a New York Review of Books article that used the word concerning Hitlers rise to power. Thank you for this explanation.

If we completely ignore the fact of him being a cruel ruler who enslaved and slaughtered thousands if not millions of people. Them yeah, kallor was a pretty cool guy

I've just finished Mr. Inbetweener on Disney of all places. I can't help but think you would both love it.

Thank you Steve and AP for making these! Such a wonderful and insightful listen. I appreciate you both taking the time to record these interviews. ❤

Jumping off of the thematic links between storylines here: Adar's murder and him calling out to his kids just to have Slimeface Sauron go "they're not children anymore" was devastating enough but it also immediately threw me back to the reconciliation scene between king and prince Durin, specifically the part about how miners' hits land hard and the line "wait until your children grow up". Oof it's still upsetting! There's a clear parallel in how these father&son relationships are portrayed and developed, how one informs the viewing of another. The main difference between the two being that in one case the sins of the father were forgiven, the son reached out which led king Durin to realize his mistake and repent. In the other case, forgivness wasn't granted and even though Orks will regret that soon, they ultimately can't be faulted for turning away from Adar. And the same parallel unfolding of the storylines can be seen in season 1 with Halbrand/Sauron and the Stranger/Gandalf. Coming into one's power, questioning the nature of it and what they had done with it, shunning it and then embracing it at the end after choosing who they'll ally themselves with/against; their arcs are the same, just with different outcomes. Which I found very fitting and why I don't mind the Gandalf reveal, he is Sauron's foil in the books after all. Or at least that's how I always saw them. Thank you for the great discussions, I always enjoy listening to your thematic analysis as well as critique of the show.

Re-reading Blood and Bone now and I finally got a chance to watch this. This was great and I needed the reminders about the casting down of the Crippled God. Thanks and I hope to talk to you soon!

I enjoyed this season overall, and I wanted to make a remark regarding "bad writing". I think this accusation is definitely valid in at least two regards: Firstly, the motivations of several key players are hard to comprehend if not outright irrational. Secondly, inconsequential events are given screentime whereas dramatic story developments happen completly offscreen. For example, I cannot deduce why Sauron baited Adar into attacking Eregion when he needs Celebrimbor to forge the rings for him. What does he gain by risking a premature ending to his most important project? What does he gain by destroying a realm whose denizens look up to him as an authority? It completely goes against the whole original purpose of Annatar - at least according to Tolkien - that was a ploy to woo the Elves over without overt violence. And why does Adar assume that the Elves are in an alliance with Sauron? Based on Halbrand's claim whom he simultaneously presumes to be a liar (hence he has him followed)? Why does the Dark Wizard send his Gaudrim after Gandalf and Nori and Poppy when seemingly he only wants to talk to him, which he later achieves without aid from his underlings? Why does he leave Gandalf be after giving a short and empty speech? Why does Durin III, previously a very cautious person, suddenly feel the need for a suicidal action disguised as heroism? Maybe you can come up with answers for these and many more questions, but they require tiring mental exercises. While at the same time, the straightforward answer to all of these questions seems to be "because the screenplay demanded it". I do think you can call it bad writing when you feel the writer's hand hovering above scene after scene. Conversely, Tolkien was a good writer in the sense that the motivations of his characters effortlessly leads them into the situations the writers wants them to place in, without the reader scratching his head or second-guessing the creditability of characters on rereading his stories. Regarding the second criticism, I try to keep it to one example. Pharazôn usurps power and destroys a royal lineage that lasted more than three millenia at the whim of a fickle crowd. The same fickle crowd who rehabilitates Miríel one episode later. Only for Pharazôn to then definitely seize power off-screen, and without giving us so much as a clue as to how he did it. Also, speaking with show viewers who have not read any Tolkien, it was utterly unclear to them for what each faction in Numenor stands for and why they are at odds. I would say that the show is often quite bad at conveying what it wants to be important and what it wants to be secondary. This I can name bad writing, too. Despite the bad writing, I enjoyed it. But I also I cannot help but wonder why two disciples of J.J. Abrams were given the honour realising this adaptation. They do not live up to it, I would say. Unlike some of the more rabid Tolkien fans I am not angry or bitter about this however, the glass is still half full when it comes to this show.

@17:50 Incorrect. Anduril was forged anew by the elven smiths in Rivendell before the Fellowship set out. Shortly after Aragon was described killling wolves with his sword before they reached Moria. Rant over.

Just on that point brought up about hood saving the guards life. A thought occurred to me after reading that scene, about how hood allowed himself to care for just this one time. When you look back at other times hood has gone out of his way to intercede for a specific soul, let’s take opposite ends of bidithal and beak. Bidithal’s soul got his just deserves, and hood made sure of that. Beak was assured to reunite with his brother in their own realm of sorts. But these were done by hood because hood understood the notion of balance. It was out of duty as the god of death that he made these actions. He said himself that he did not care for the notion justice and saw it all, grief, suffering etc, he just saw it all lumped together as one. But he in this one instance made a selfless act, not out of balance, but on a personal level and out of compassion.

The Scapegoat theme of “The Lottery” reminded me of the (in)famous "First they came ..." poem by German Pastor Martin Niemöller about his WW2 experiences, as well as Rene Girard’s “Mimetic Theory”, building on the (literally) “Scapegoat Mechanism” of Kenneth Burke: That human beings have a desire for that others has or wants, resulting in a perpetual conflict between them, to a point where one person is singled out as the scapegoat, the cause of their conflict, and is judged, expelled or killed by the others as the solution of the conflict, restoring temporary order in the group, until conflict arises again…

I appreciate the discussion. There are many reactions out there, surface-level discussions, or lore-heavy discussions, but I come here for the thematic discussion, the philosophical and meaningful messages that the show provides or attempts to convey. You two have deep understanding of Tolkien but the further implementation of the themes and teachable moments and how they pull from other literature is very appreciated.

A Kaiser soze type reveal Gandalf was not..

Comment for the algorithm!

The most articulate and intelligent Malazan talk I have come across. Great video sir ✌🏻

Kemen…..finally we know where Boris Johnson came from…good heavens he looks like a Tory MP doesn’t he :-)

I really liked the insightful, indepth commentary you both offered. I'm an old school LOTR/Hobbit/Silmarillion loremaster myself, since my childhood when the Rankin+Bass and Ralph Bakshi animated movies were the only major filmic adaptations available. I say, and maintain, that I really like the shifting of Olorin/Gandalf into the 2nd Age, since it will help casual fans to better understand that Gandalf is essentially a guardian Angel who aided the Elves since Elves became a created thing. Regarding Isildur and Estrid, I think Phillip's observation was magnificent. A betrothal is a sacred oath, and in ancient times, in many ancient cultures, it was treated thus, especially in the fictional cultures Tolkien was representing with the Elves and Numenoreans. That Isildur would be the main accomplice in Estrid violating her betrothal oath shows that he puts the pleasure of flesh above what is right, if he pressure is strong enough, and it is foreshadowing of how he will likewise yield to the temptation of the ring as he yields so readily to the temptation of Estrid's flesh. I also think that her betrothed may end up being the king of the dwimmerburg dead, as he would have a very personal reason for betraying Isildur in the way that Isildur, with Estrid, betrayed him.

the title is accurate lol

Watching you guys has also greatly enhanced my enjoyment and understanding of the series as well, so thank you!

Thanks again for doing this. I enjoyed both seasons and found this season to be a big improvement (same for WoT). Between your recaps and House of R it lets me live in the world a little longer and gain a deeper understanding of all things fantasy!

This season looked excellent, the acting was spot on, I enjoyed it for what they could show me, but given the constraints on what they could or couldn't do I don't understand why they chose to cover as many story lines as they did. I personally would have concentrated solely on the elves, dwarves, orcs and sauron. Also most people don't have the inclination or time to reflect on a show and be nuanced in their praise or criticism hence the amount of "it was amazing" or "it was bad writing I hate it" types of reaction. As ever it was great to listen to you and philip chat.

I will be sad when they will not renew for a third season

I have come to the conclusion that the writing is bad because of the hackneyed dialog, the numerous internal inconsistencies and plot holes, the countless callbacks to the movie trilogies, and the failure of any of the numerous plot lines to engage or entertain over two entire seasons. We regularly rewatch Peter Jackson's trilogies, but just as we haven't rewatched season 1, we won't ever be revisiting season 2 either.

I love this episode so much! Thank you both for doing this, it's been a pleasure to listen to a discussion free of all the bs surrounding this show

I've thoroughly enjoyed your insightful discussions on the Rings of Power. Its been so refreshing listening to a discussion about the show that doesn't fall into hateful discourse - there is far to much of that. On the mystery box topic, i enjoy it when it is executed well and the mystery is well laid down in the narrative. I think how Wheel of Time and this show has done it has been flawed and at times lazy writing and hasn't really worked, but apart from that, I really enjoy Rings of Power. The Annatar/Celebrimbor stuff has been quality drama.

Thanks for the discussion, here and Rings&Realms have been my Shire in which I could have a sane discussion and some fun while the rest of the world is burning.

I love the Gandalf/Harfoots story! I also enjoyed the mystery surrounding the stranger.

The series has spent 2 seasons on the Hobbit and Gandalf story and I cannot bring myself to care. I love every other storyline in this season (even Arondir and Isildur who were pretty neglected) but I am bored by this one. I don't see how the Hobbits can contribute to the greater story from now on and I hope they are left alone for a while, and I am even less interested in the Gandalf story without them. Is the entirety of the next season going to be Gandalf training to defeat the Blue Wizard? I don't see how he can beat the Blue Wizard AND link up with the rest of the story in a single season at the pace they have been taking his plot.

Though I feel a bit out my depth in providing a comment on this video, seeing that it is between two incredible scholars of fantasy and literature, I have found a unique joy in watching the first two seasons of ROP. As a lifelong devotee to the universe Tolkien has created, I have been watching this show through the eyes of my wife, a person who gives short shrift to my fascination with Middle-Earth. With that being said, this series is one of her favorites. Certainly there are times when I want to shake my head at the way the lore is presented, but I find myself sitting in utter joy watching someone who is unfamiliar with the grander mythos of the saga slowly come to fall in love with this story. Quibbles aside, to hear the name Manwe spoken aloud on a legitimate television show and to see Tom Bombadil brought to life forces me to smile. If anything, I hope Season 2 is an auspicious entry in the seasons to come. Cheers to both A.P. and Dr. Chase. You have both provided me with hours of education as well as entertainment. Thank you.

Fun and enlightening discussion as always! I'm always so delighted that y'all are amongst the rare voices that recognize that criticism starts with analysis, not just with like/dislike. I was curious though: maybe I'm misinterpreting what you meant, but you seemed to think that Sauron killing Glug was reducible to the "villainous tyrant callously kills the messenger when the news is bad" trope. But I didn't think that was all there was to it - indeed I kinda didn't read that in there at all. To me, it was something very different, and much more thematically resonant: I think Sauron was making an example of someone who dared imply that the welfare of the Uruk was of any significance, that the Uruk were anything but slaves to Sauron's will to dominate (and perhaps even nipping an insurrectionary tendency in the bud). To put it differently (and return directly to the text): Sauron patiently listens to the report as Glug says, "We are overwhelmed, Lord Sauron. The Dwarves have secured the Elves' retreat." It is only when he begins the next statement - "If we pursue, many Uruks - " that he even begins to turn towards him, and then shanks him as soon as he's about to say out loud that Uruks will suffer even greater losses. So, I don't think Sauron kills him for delivering the news that this isn't a complete strategic win (because, after all, it already has been mostly a win for him anyway). Rather, he kills him for daring to suggest that the suffering of the Uruks is a valid reason not to pursue - indeed, for even putting the following of an order to pursue into the conditional form at all. Edit to add: I think there's even a reading of this scene where we can connect it to the S2 prologue. Sauron may well remember that it was the Lord Farquad-esque "some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make" part of his speech that was the last straw in the original Uruk coup. Perhaps now, he has learned his lesson and is extra sensitive to even allowing an Uruk to say out loud that his orders will result in their death. There are no Uruk casualties in Ba Sing Sauron.

Great discussion. I think Kemen could be the first leader of the black numenorean, the ancestor of the mouth of Sauron. And I though the valley at the end could be Lothlórien, because Elrond speak about the place being protect by the Ring. But probably I'm wrong in both cases.

Thanks for the lovely commentsry you guys do on the show! Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts. I have a different opinion on the mystery box element, especially with Halbrand in season 1. I thought it was very clever what they did, because the viewer is being deceived alongside Galadriel. There are so many signals that Halbrand is Sauron, but I chose to ignore them first time around because I liked Halbrand and didnt want him to be evil (reminiscent of what Celebrimbor said). Then on the rewatch you can really see the darkness simmering below the surface of the character and I was captivated by Halbrand almost every scene he was in.

Thank you guys so much for all your commentary. I've enjoyed this season quite a bit even though I thought the pace was uneven in places. The Harfoot/Stranger story mostly bored me this season, although they were 3 of my favorite characters last season. The other story lines did not disappoint despite some nitpicks. For example, I could not care less about the Isildur love triangle. Here's looking forward to the next season!

This show has been some of the most fun I’ve been able to have with my family in a while. Sitting down and enjoying the impressive visuals, acting, and certain aspects of the storytelling while also enjoying the goofier stuff and aspects we disagree about accuracy on has led me to looking for videos to hear other people’s thoughts on it. These videos have been great for that, really enjoyed hearing both of your thoughts on the show this season. Thank you for discussing it honestly acknowledging good and bad aspects while also not trying to say it should be enjoyed or hated. It’s really refreshing.

Im 15% percent into the book. Its a bit hard to follow early because it keeps jumping pov’s around. Do you feel that there is some Wheel of Time influences here with Setoc and the wolves?

This was very interesting, highly informative and a lot of fun to watch - thanks, AP!

I don't know why I've yet to watch this video but the subject is so interesting and I've thought about it many times.

Just finished House of Chains for the first time. Really connected with this book on many emotional levels. Ive come to realize that this series requires real effort on the readers part, but it's completely worth it because of how rewarding it is. Can't wait to continue the series. I've been waiting to watch this discussion for a long while now. Brilliant job, guys!