MovieChat Forums > The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) Discussion > Non Bombadil

Non Bombadil

posted 2 months ago by Moonglum9 (11267)
7 replies | jump to latest

I appreciate finally getting to see him on screen, but they dropped the ball a bit. For one, just adding a scene word for word that was supposed to be in Fellowship and just inserting it in here could have been done better. It's about 4000 or 5000 years earlier or something like that, but Bombadil gives the exact same speech about who he is to Proto-Gandalf that he does to the hobbits much later. But old Tom is a bit of a weirdo, so let's just accept this as he's been around so long and has been asked who he is so many times, that he just has a speech memorized and spouts it off whenever asked.

The bigger difference is he doesn't seem like Tom Bombadil. He's too focused and too interested and involved in world issues. He's been around since the beginning of time pretty much, so that aspect of his personality would have formed long ago, not just between Rings of Power time and LOTR time.

Hopefully they do some interesting things with him at least. And don't explain too much about him. The mystery is the best part.

[–] LoveCatsHateDogs (1935) 2 months ago

Don't accept anything from this giant pile of shit.

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 2 months ago

Well, it might get better. At least it's possible. I liked Star Trek TNG, but the first two seasons were mostly garbage.

[–] SemiAnimus (2353) 2 months ago

The big difference there is that TNG was episodic whereas this is serial. They have no choice but to continue the same asinine plots with the infinite deus ex machina last moment escapes for all the main characters. The odds of this show not continuing to be a pile of shit seem pretty low.

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 2 months ago

Unfortunately, I fear you are correct. But I am an optimist.

[–] Rorikon (17855) 2 months ago

Who is Tom Bombadil anyway? Is he some sort of deity, perhaps Tolkien himself? He's been around apparently since the beginning if not the beginning of Middle Earth. He is a master of the forest and immune the any ring influence. I wonder if he can harness a ring's power without the negative effects it holds over the wearer unlike the one ring.

I really love the songs of Tom though.

https://youtu.be/L7oaZxdAMzI

Sauron is like Satan but takes the form of Jesus for deception purposes? He looks like it in the show if you think about it look-wise.

[–] SemiAnimus (2353) 2 months ago

You might say he was Tolkien himself in a way, since Tom Bombadil is the closest Tolkien came to breaking the fourth wall in his works. Tom nonchalantly has all of the power in the world whenever he appears, including being totally beyond influence of the Ring, but is content to go about his own, isolated business without regards to anything beyond that. You could say his presence was almost like a trademark that helped to unify the various stories Tolkien told into a Tom/Tolkien metaverse.

Remember Tolkien started out telling stories to children. Tom Bombadil was a recurring character that showed up in various stories without reason. Similarly in the Lord of the Rings, he is sort of just there and is separate from all of the other mythology concerning deities and the races.

In the Rings of Power his character has already been compromised by having him show an interest in worldly conflicts. He's instead just a powerful eccentric with intentions towards helping the good guys, which is far from what Tolkien intended when Tom was originally inserted into the story.

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 2 months ago

"Who is Tom Bombadil anyway?"

Eldest, that’s what he is. Mark his words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from Outside.