00:00:00
00:00:01
Rings of Power Episode 5
24 Plays1 month ago
Back at it with Episode 5, with all the mean girls of Middle Earth. All the dirty tricks are coming out this episode and we are looking forward to where the story is going. We haven't done the reading so we are just along for the ride.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27580494/?ref_=tt_mv_close
Music: Cassette Deck by Basketcase
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
I'm Melinda. I'm Ariel. This is Hot Set, the movie podcast about costume design.
00:00:22
Speaker
Hello and welcome back. We are here today talking about episode five of season two of the rings of power on Amazon. There was no synopsis for this episode on IMDB, which means that it fell to me to describe what happened in this episode. And the only thing that I could really come up with coherently to say about this episode is the girls are fighting.
00:00:47
Speaker
Everywhere across Middle Earth, the girls were fighting in this episode. Nobody could get along. Everybody was mad. I feel like that's a very accurate synopsis because we are now in the downward spiral where we are everything.
00:01:03
Speaker
I think that what I love ah about Rings of Power, like this portion of the Silmarillion that we're talking about, is the inherent tragedy of it all. Because you know everything is going to fall. Everything that is bad that could happen is going to happen because we've seen the Lord of the Rings. we know that portion of the story that is so far in the future and this is all myth to those people and like long forgotten history and it's like oh no it's begun and it's begun in such like a Sauron, sorry, Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, is such a dick. and it's like It's amazing how like mean girls the strategy of this evil creature is because it's just like, well, did you hear what Celebrimbor said about you?
00:01:58
Speaker
I would never say anything like that about you, but he did. So like, o you know, it's just like, so like, I just made a joke about this and then admitted that I'm way too old to make a joke about this, but he's just like such a ah brat. like he's such an absolute mean girl like and like lowercase the lime green brat and like mean girl but the stakes are very high here and the stakes are an entire society as many societies a world is at stake also a Aardian
00:02:34
Speaker
I really have a problem with. and like I have not read The Silmarillion. Nor I. so I don't know. and i i think that she I don't know that she exists in The Silmarillion. She might just exist in the show. i I could be very wrong about this. I don't care for her.
00:02:50
Speaker
i don't I don't care for the assumptions and I understand that she's grieving. I also have not grown up in a monarchy, so especially like a fractured monarchy. yeah So it's hard for me to see something that happened to someone I loved and blame it completely on somebody else. I have had the fortune to not you know, have to experience that, yeah like, you know, personally. So I'm just like, woof, you are, it's very obvious to us, you're choosing the wrong signs. And yikes. And in Kaza Doom, what are our friends doing over there? Oh my gosh, they are tip tapping on those rocks. They are
00:03:36
Speaker
tipty their little tools. di to tip um Yeah, like Durin's got his ring of some considerable power that he's been wearing. And it's, you know, it's manifesting in his ability to just sort of feel the rock and like understand what's underneath or where to look for certain things. And he sees it as like this, you know, mystical otherworldly gift that is just going to build up their society. Obviously, we know the price that is going to be paid for his faith and belief in this ring. But you know, as far as he's concerned, like, everything's going great. And everyone just needs to chill out so Yeah, the delusion is very strong with a lot of these characters. And the delusion that was strong is also fading for some characters and they're left with a lot of questions. So, since we were just checking in with Kazud Doom, I, this is like dumb brain, like kicking in, but I, because we've seen every, everyone has been wearing the same clothing, right basically the whole show.
00:04:49
Speaker
That's not far-fetched in the past of human history, which is what we apply to this so that our suspension of disbelief can be strong. right But you know like fast fashion did not exist in a world like this, which is based on like a medieval and older world.
00:05:06
Speaker
the of our own and so it's like you would be wearing something until it falls apart and then it would find a new life but it just occurred to me that um Disa during the younger's ah partner and wife who is a stone singer that her her her gown, her like chitin related gown robes are basically like a ah symbol of her station and her position, like her job, what she does, because there's a point where she and another stone singer after King Durin shows everybody that now he can do basically their job.
00:05:41
Speaker
taking it from them. They kind of look at each other and I was like, Ooh, you two are wearing the same thing. Like you are tied together in this like sect that you work in. And I just like didn't make a connection before. Cause I was, I think busy looking at so many things that like, you know, connections for escaping. And we hadn't seen her with the other stone singers in a while. We'd seen her with her husband. We saw them singing together in one like really beautiful moment where unfortunately their singing failed. Yeah, like it just did not occur at all. Yeah, it's been a minute. It's been a minute but that was really lovely and getting to see a little bit of more of what was beaded onto that dress too was nice because there are these like brass or gold little pyramids that are all over and like little shapes that are mixed in with like garnets and other stones
00:06:34
Speaker
And I really loved that. And speaking of the rings, yeah because we got this really chunky close-up of the dwarven rings, ah and it was so beautiful to see the dwarven um aesthetic like in these rings, where everything was geometric and angular, and each one was singular. and it was Yeah, every one was its own. But there was a lot of that kind of pyramid um triangular shape to a lot of them, which I noticed. And it just kind of seems to be a part of their visual language in the dwarves, which is interesting. It's not something that I would have necessarily assumed would be part of the design for them, but I i like it. I'm glad that it is. I think it's it's very unique. it I haven't seen it anywhere else in Lord of the Rings or the show so far.
00:07:26
Speaker
Yeah, in in the trilogy, and this is just going to put this imaginary hair behind my ear because I was obsessed with the appendices. It is a part of the design of the dwarven world to separate them completely from the elves, which are so curvaceous and like soft nature art nouveau in the minds of Moria, which we do experience in the Lord of the Rings, which is part of Khazad-dûm. Right.
00:07:51
Speaker
ah which we which I found out because of the doors that are talked about, um the doors of Moria. The minds of Moria, the way that it's designed inside is very, very geometric. And then Gimli in The Lord of the Rings, even his helmet has very geometric shapes in it. So it's like everything he has is that. And it's it's really just to create this like solid line between the language of the elves and the language of the dwarves.
00:08:19
Speaker
And I loved that somehow they have made, well, actually, this leads into a big thought that I had about the series right now, because this is like 2500, 3000 years before The Lord of the Rings. Yeah. Looking at these costumes is kind of like looking back in human history to like Alexander the Great, you know, Mesopotamia, the the Greeks, the Romans.
00:08:43
Speaker
um in the Egyptians, ancient Egyptians, excuse me, um because this is like such a time and this is not the reason, but the representation of wealth, like the way that people are wearing the riches of their culture on their clothing.
00:09:02
Speaker
is so kind of widespread at this point in the show, except for folks like Harfoot's and stores. right But everyone else has like incredible, what's the word I'm looking for, but like accessories maybe, but decoration, they have incredible decoration. yeah that that really speaks to their culture and to the wealth of their culture. The dwarves, there's a scene where there are representatives of the seven realms where King Durin is kind of advertising the the beauty of the rings to them and that they can maybe earn a ring of their own. And these representatives have amazing hairstyles. Their, their beards are really lovely, which is like a big thing about dwarves. But you see them from, from a little bit of a distance and the way that the light catches everyone and in Khazad Dum, everyone has reflective things in their clothing because they all are kind of like calling back to, you know, when you catch a flash of gold, when you're mining for ore. stones, whatever. like it It catches the light in the dark and they are all just like so dressed in it. It does change a little bit the lower your status from what we've seen in the dwarven realms, but yeah not as significantly as the difference that we've seen between Harfoot stores and like halflings of all kinds and hobbits. Yeah, they're still a general, well There's a general wealth and the same is true in Numenor. There is this like general wealth and prosperity there. There's like a difference as well, but it's not as stark as the difference between Numenoreans, elves, dwarves, and the men of the Southlands. Right.
00:10:45
Speaker
and the Harfoot's and stores. That's such like a massive difference. yeah In the Lord of the Rings, when we're watching that, it's 3,000 years later after many, many massive wars, the fall of like kingdoms and civilizations, and we haven't seen this level of consistent wealth.
00:11:02
Speaker
if you will, as we do in this show. Oh, so much mud. And like, even when we do see people like the elves and in the Return of the King, when that character regains his throne, we're not seeing the same level of just like absolute dripping in gemstones and like having all these just like layer upon layer upon layer of representation of how solid because they've been through so much that their wealth has had to be represented elsewhere. And they've also kind of like had a stoic. Yeah, much here and more. Yeah. And so it's like, and the elves have been fading. So they're beautiful in the Lord of the Rings, but they are not as like Gil-galad in this episode had this, had a couple incredible. Oh my God. Yeah. incredible rubs. And he's not in here for very much in this episode, but like there are multiple costumes and like on the right sleeve, cause we know he has that wing on his left shoulder on his right sleeve. This time we got to see this beautiful burst of like embroidery and like Starburst golden Starburst. Like it was just beautiful. There was like a fabric that he was wearing the second time we see him in the episode where he says, no, we're not going to fight for a reggaon. Yeah. Womp womp.
00:12:22
Speaker
Elrond, sorry that you ran so far. And that like gold fabric kind of reminded me a little bit of like when you see embroidered palm fronds, but it wasn't that. It was just like stacks on stacks on stacks of these like things. Yeah, but it was very, um very God, what is the word I'm trying to get?
00:12:44
Speaker
this week. But it's like it's organic. Like it feels like a reference, a reference to to leaves or something organic. Botanical. Botanical. Yeah, it's a good job. I'm happy for both of us.
00:12:59
Speaker
um ah In Numenor, Muriel and Elendil are having a conversation in the tower where Elendil's like, come on, let's fight like you can. And Muriel's like, nope, we have to find another way. And the two of them are facing each other and their costumes complimented each other really beautifully. Like Elendil's in his Seagard captain's uniform and it's like got all these blues and silvers and the beautiful sun pattern. Yeah, the beautiful sun pattern, but also there's like the sea is like connected to that sun pattern. And the blue is not a solid blue. It's like a double weave of some kind or something. So there's like yeah a little bit of green in there and he's like matching the background of the tower. And she has like, this like red green kind of situation going in with like the beaded net that we saw on Ariane's shoulders. Thank God, more netting. I needed more. All these little subtle um references to the sea are very, very stark in this episode to me. because this is the rise of our Farazhan and the king's men. And so Alandil has been stripped of of his role, the sea guard are stripped of their roles, and they're basically forced to return their uniforms to the king's men. And they're wearing clothing that isn't
00:14:22
Speaker
in the same color palette. So there's like a leeching of references to the sea in this episode that is very, very definite because the king's men are wearing symbols of the sun and they're wearing warm colors and like reds. And I mean, there are blues and things still there, but the dominant is much more in ascendant.
00:14:41
Speaker
There was a lot of more explicitly Byzantine looking yes stuff for them, I felt like, in this episode. yeah And it was very much like, the old like the king is dead, long live the king. yeah like Very much now we are completely flipping over to this new party. And if you're not here, you're out. And if you have any references to the sea, that means that you're holding on to the old ways. Yeah.
00:15:06
Speaker
And so it was just like, who are we? And we lose a character in this episode who's murdered by a little shit that I was really happy got his arm broken. then he just oh my it must It's got to be so interesting as an actor to just like play these absolute like weasel characters. Oh, playing a villain has to be like pretty amazing because this actor who's playing Kemen, I believe his name, the son of our Farazhan is just chef kiss because I just hate seeing his little face. yeah And I was devastated when he killed Volandil. It was so sad. And I also just like really loved Volandil's tunic in this episode. There were like rivets, like studs that created this really nice design. that Yeah, it was very cool. It was just very cool. And it wasn't
00:15:55
Speaker
a ton going on there, it was just but it was like enough. Because we're also seeing the stark difference between the people who are holding on to the old ways who still have a lot of like the priests in the in the ah shrine have like these very beautiful robes that have a lot going on. yeah But the people who are there don't have a bunch of decoration partially because they're there at night to grieve the lost ones according to like the old ways. Yeah, it's a and so they bur yeah somber occasion. They don't necessarily want to be seen but it's like such a difference in ornamentation. from the Kingsmen and our Farazhan. And it was just like a pretty beautiful and sad difference to see in this episode, to see this culture that is surrounded by the ocean and the water who has built their culture around the ocean and the water and our famed sea this like sea-related folk just like turn their backs and deny.
00:16:55
Speaker
even that most natural truth about them and just focus on one thing. And there were like embroideries in this on Kemens like cloak that had torches and flame as well as sun. And there were kind of complimentary like gold, um, but like um Like a medallion? Like medallions, thank you. that mealion yeah It is because there were gold medallions sewn down and they reflect, they were very similar to the silver ones that were sewn on his father's cloak. So there were like tie-ins between their costumes where it just, it feels so much like Kemen in every respect is just trying to win his father's approval. Yeah. and it's just going to keep failing. and yeah I don't think'm gonna i think this is going to turn out well for Numenor. It's really not. It's seems genuinely not like and i am really I'm really bummed about it. yeah per se I feel like this is going to end badly. That but that boat is going to get rocked. and Bye, Kevin. Okay, so Casa Doom, we've checked in um checked in with Numenor.
00:18:03
Speaker
Yeah. A little brief jump into Lyndon. There's this scene where Gil Galad is being told that he can basically afford to release forces in one direction. Yeah. Or they can do something else and he has to make a choice. And the captain of his like soldiers, his guard, who's relating this information to him, is wearing this beautiful silver and like white deal over armor and like capes and it's all very drapey and wonderful. And it's just, it's really beautiful to see the the way that Gogolad and his like direct honor guard are very
00:18:45
Speaker
warm, autumnal gold, and then his like other soldier force like soldiering forces are in these silvers and whites that make them kind of magical. And it's something that we saw in the last episode with um Galadriel and Elrond's crew as they were going to the forest, is that they have this, like, oh, you're going out there into the world. If we're going to send you out there, we want people to think of you basically as star-touched.
00:19:12
Speaker
And like, you're gonna just be this like glowing creature in the night. And I don't know, I just love this like visual language of just like, everything is just so bright and clean because we haven't, our civilizations haven't collapsed collapsed yet. And it just, every single one is bringing that, like even even the stores, you know, they're, their costumes in the last episode were just like really beautiful to look at because they're they're working hard to survive, but it's it's not quite as bad as it's going to be yet. Yeah. I kind of missed to them in this episode. We did not get to see them. No, we did not get to check in with them or the stranger or um the dark wizard and yeah his folks. Like we haven't checked in in in people in the hotlands because They're like in the summer times, we haven't seen them. Where else have we been? Oh, Eregion, we have this character named, um it's written down, God forbid. I am not going to be able to help.
00:20:19
Speaker
We have Eregion, which is the Forge of Celebrimbor, and there's one elf who kind of gets more lines than anybody else in this episode named Merdania. Oh, is that our lady? That's our lady, and she's kind of pulled out by Sauron slash Annatar because she reminds him, and he says it, she reminds him of Galadriel, and she kind of has like this, she is very tied in with her hair, the way that it's styled, the the dress that she's wearing. The colors they put her in, yeah. The colors she's in.
00:20:46
Speaker
He touches her hair. And it's like a silent moment after he says, oh, you remind me of her. And she's like, who? And he goes, oh, lady of the lateral, of course. And she's like touched by it. And then silent, silent, he touches her hair. And she's like, oh. And I was like, oh. Oh my god. Like a PSA for anyone listening to this. Like, just don't touch people's hair ever. Keep your hands to yourself. Don't do it. Just keep your hands to yourself. Don't. Unless you're an intimate relation, you know, of some kind. Don't do it.
00:21:15
Speaker
for someone, for a work colleague. Absolutely not. but We're here in the forge to make these rings a hard pass. And she, she puts her hands on, like she puts on one of the rings and disappears. And it's like, Ooh, this is now getting very dark and very scary. I just, I love this Grecian dress style and sleeve construction that's happening where. They're little. Her gown could basically be two pieces of fabric that are sewn up at the sides right and then are clipped together or pinned together from the base of the neck down the shoulders onto the arms by like decorative pins and it's really beautiful. I love it.
00:21:58
Speaker
very, very much. it creates the drape. It's wonderful. And it like keeps all these old things are the basis of what we're seeing in this show. And it's really lovely. I actually forgot to mention in Kaza Doom, did you notice that Deesa has thigh slits? I did notice that. And I was wondering if they had been there the whole time yeah and we had missed them, or if they were perhaps Because she stooped down and I was like, Oh, hi. Yeah, she stooped down a few times. And then like one time she whips her skirts like to the side so she can talk to a stone merchant. And I was like, Oh, okay, um hello. And I was just like, this is wonderful little secret that I didn't know. And I loved it. And it was a practical need. But it would be cool if it had been there the whole time, because in her role, it would make sense. Like, yes, the skirts are
00:22:47
Speaker
flowing and she can move, but adding even more ability to move when she's going into small caves or awkward places is really practical and wonderful. And yeah, it was sort of like it is so, the fabric is lovely and delicate, but there is so much volume in her dress that it was sort of like, they could have been there the whole time and we just wouldn't have seen that. Yeah, we wouldn't know, which is like a nice practicality.
00:23:13
Speaker
That's kind of hidden. Is there anything that like really stood out to you in this episode? Well, I mean it's not really costume related but i've I've been a little surprised at the pace at which like the rings are being forged in the series ah and like the fact that the conversation about creating the nine rings for the men has already started was a little surprising to me because I mean obviously again, we know where that is heading. Anyone who has seen the Lord of the Rings knows where that is going. It's all a big uh-oh. Yeah, but but kind of knowing you know how much um how how many seasons Amazon sort of ah committed themselves to.
00:23:54
Speaker
um I kind of expected this process of forging all the rings to take longer over the course of the series, but I'm i'm excited to see what is going to happen. I mean, obviously, like we know certain things that were going to happen, but there could be a lot of things coming that we don't know is going to happen, especially since we haven't read this some earlier. So everything is kind of a mystery.
00:24:21
Speaker
but Yeah, i I felt like it kind of suited the story that Celebrimbor is going through where he was like totally gung-ho about it because he was like his ego was being stroked and he's like, yes, I can create anything and I'm an incredible craftsman. Of course, I can stand up to this challenge. But now things are starting to fall apart.
00:24:43
Speaker
and he's realizing that the Anatar didn't need him, but needed his access, and now he has the access, and he's starting to question what what have I let in me here, yeah and with what you know what is going on. And it feels, yeah, well, it's also, it feels more relatable to me huh to not have to take a million episodes to get there because unless like magic was directly involved in like keeping him kind of not questioning stuff, he would feel weird about it at some point and he would feel like he was being edged out and he he's like noticing these things and going like, ooh. Yeah, good old fashioned manipulation through flattering. Manipulation all over the place.
00:25:32
Speaker
So there are a couple of things I do want to call out with costumes, because of course it's us and it's me, so it's going to be all over the place. um In Eregion, Celebrimbor has this beautiful new set of robes, which he might have worn before, but i my memory is that of a goldfish, so why would I? I think it's green, but in like the light really manipulates these fabrics ah the way it's lit, because after the episode on Amazon, you do get like a behind the scenes, kind of, and so you get to see some of the costumes with like regular light. And the the other elves are in these like jewel tones. That's really nice. And they have like all these different forms of aprons, some of which are chain mail. It's pretty great. so And it's so cool. And there's just so much detail going into everything, but his his velvet robes have like these beautiful green leaves around his neck. He has like this little collar, like the teeniest baby rough that is like almost like an organza.
00:26:32
Speaker
It's like gathered around his neck. Yes, I kept looking at it because it was like the construction of it was not necessarily what you expect a rough to look like so I just kept like looking at it. It feels like there's a shirt underneath there that has like a band around the neck but the fabric has just been gathered around so that it's like a very blousy kind of situation.
00:26:55
Speaker
and I would love to see. I would also love to see if there is burnout detailing in the velvet of his robes, because it seems to have some texture. And it was just really lovely, and it moves really beautifully. And the way that the the robes are constructed, there's also like extra fabric in the center front that is gathered into the neckline like very, very gently. But it creates this like gentle pleat that isn't a pleat, more gather like in the front. Beautiful fullness. Beautiful fullness. And so the patterning of that is really lovely because it just shows in every episode that there's like slight little differences between construction and everything. And so there's like a variety that's very subtle. And I just really loved that. The leaf pattern, I think, I mean, obviously,
00:27:48
Speaker
with the elves, like we see a lot of leaves, that's like a recurring motif. But the specific leaf pattern on that costume, I think we've seen it on someone else. And then it also looks very much like the clasp on- In the Lord of the Rings. Yeah, when they go visit the woodland elves and they get like the green cloaks that have- When they go to La Florian and Galadriel gives the hobbits, well, the fellowship, their cloaks. That's right.
00:28:15
Speaker
it's very much that shape. And it was just like, that's a really beautiful, like visual callback because like, okay, here for the last couple of minutes, ah just one last observation. yeah ah Next time you see Durin the Younger, I want you to see if he has gold dust on his fingers because there's oh there's this like moment where he holds Diese's face where he's making a promise and the light catches his hands and it felt like he had some sort of you know like remnants of gold dust or something on his hands. And I really just like that liked that if that's a real thing. Okay. I want it to be so it is. I want it to be too because that would just be cool. He's working and it's it's something that exists in his world. Yeah. I just want to just call out.
00:29:01
Speaker
Okay. Again, we have not read the Silmarillion. We are not like super, super scholars. We're not, you know, held down to our expectations of what should be represented here. But I did do a quick look when Melinda mentioned that there was no synopsis for the episode. Some articles popped up about the show and Forbes. with Whoever, it's your name is listed here, but you are i I'm not only hot and bothered, but I feel like you forget how stories are constructed. Stories are constructed in a way where you're not always going to be having all of the action that you want being like pummeling you in the face. You actually do have to establish relationships. You have to establish a fall.
00:29:54
Speaker
That's why we are going through these things is to show why people made the decisions that they did. And the reason that it's taking time is because when people get movies, they always are upset that so much was cut out and that we couldn't spend time watching the process of someone going through something.
00:30:14
Speaker
And it's a very big generalization, but there's so much in this article, ah phrases that pop out, dreary slog, badly mangled, cringy, irritating. And I just, I feel, and suffer, like there's there's so much dramatic nonsense in here. And I feel like, is this your first time looking at how,
00:30:36
Speaker
a story is constructed. A story is constructed or how people relate to one another. like if you're watching you know If you're watching the fellowship of the ring, there's a big difference between a third guy from the left in the lineup dying and like falling off of a parapet and Boromir. Yes. That difference is emotional investment in the character. Connection.
00:31:04
Speaker
And you have to create that that yeah part of storytelling. You have to create an investment and a connection and an understanding of a character, who they are and where they're going, where they've come from. You have to lay all that out in a story. And famously, so sorry.
00:31:23
Speaker
ah Famously, The Lord of the Rings, because I did read a chunk of The Lord of the Rings, not as far as I would be proud to say, and I am going to be starting to read them soon. The storytelling, the style that Tolkien writes in, is a very old style where it there's a lot of detail, and it takes a very long time to tell the story, which is why it's famously long, is because it's an epic. And it has a lot of detail and a lot of song breaks and a lot of cultural examination and a lot of language. Even if you're going to complain about how Peter Jackson's trilogy and the Hobbit trilogy existed, you do have to admit that there is so much art and there are so many artists that put in beautiful visual work into those things. And also musical, you know, there's like so much art that has gone into those.
00:32:16
Speaker
i don't I don't know what you're fighting for. like this is This is the beginning of that world. So yes, they are connecting visually so that we can have a visual epic. right like It's not really important here to completely blaze a new path. There was a beautiful visual language and musical language set forth with all the work that people did before. And now designers can come in and pick up those reins and can make other decisions like bringing in visual influences from the Byzantine era, from these Roman and Grecian influences that we are familiar with, but established to our our minds that this is a different time in this magical, mystical, non-existent world. So the verdict on Forbes is, girl, so confusing. There's so much constantly going on, even though characters aren't constantly changing their clothes, but there's so much to tell us about who these people are, who these cultures are, and where they are at, and where they're going to be, because we've seen a different representation of that in the future. And I think that that's really beautiful, and it's really nice to take the time to appreciate that. If you can't follow the pacing of the story because it feels like it's long, I think that's more an issue with your attention span than anything else.
00:33:33
Speaker
Okay, maybe the show is not for you. And that doesn't mean that it is objectively bad. No, just be not for you and for other people. And that's totally fine. So we're looking forward to Episode six. Absolutely. Thanks for watching this episode, Melinda. Yeah, yes, I'm so glad that we're here. I'm so glad that we're watching it. ah Yeah.
00:33:58
Speaker
And I look forward to checking in again next week about it. All right. Good watching everybody. See you next week. Bye. Bye.