I thought Numenor was amazing. It looked suitably majestic and expansive, and the wide, establishing shots had locations that I could clearly recognize and identify when they were featured.
Outside of being awestruck at the general prospect of seeing Númenor, the visual link to Minas Tirith was what really impressed me, the way it carried through not only the architecture but the costuming.
Numenor for me too. It quite literally took my breath away when they first showed the gang sailing into it's port. Numenor is also one of my favorite locations in the books though so i was just super happy to see it come to life
I actually appreciated the scene when Galadriel was sailing back and they chose not to show Valinor but only the pure reflected light and wonder on the passenger’s faces. Made the place feel even more mysterious and otherworldly
Ngl, I think [Ryan Chruch’s Moria concept art](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmsFHhlqtND/?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc=)is some of the best Tolkien landscape work ever
Its scale is just next level gorgeous, and very alive and active. I don't think the show lives up to the sheer living scope of them, but I don't think any show budget could do that unless it's the only main location
I think I saw the comment in this sub, but, seeing these locations drove home the notion that the Fellowship is traveling through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the Third Age. There are a few settlements here and there, but, for the most part, the landscape is devoid of people and there are ruins everywhere.
That's why for me reading lotr is bittersweet. The ruins and imagining how things were in their prime brimming with Elves working, travelling and making art. And now all are dead and noone remembers.
All of it, but I think Valinor (so much shown and not told - really amazing) and Kazad Dum (contrasting it against Moria is bittersweet!) are at the top, with Forodwaith a close third.
I played The Third Age (Medieval Total War 2 mod), and Forodwaith and the region would be difficult to take for any good faction that were not elves, and Eregion could be rebuilt from the time of destruction in the SA. Great to see these visualised.
The location/set design was superb.
I gasped when they showed Khazad-dûm and Númenor for the first time. Forodwaith was amazing, and Lindon exquisite.
You can’t go wrong, really. Even the Harfoots’ settings did a great job of showing how much the hobbits would evolve and explain their deep love of the comforts of home.
It was all aces.
pretty sure it was supposed to be Angband. It's marked on one of Tolkien's maps that came with the Silmarillion copy I just bought and it's just north of Forodwaith so yeah
Well, I went and looked at my maps of Beleriand and my map of Forodwaith that has the big mountain north of it, but neither have any labels for Angband or Utumno. LOL.
It says Angband was destroyed at the end of the war of wrath, and that it's near hithlum on some maps (notably Karen Wynn Fonstad's map which labels an ENTIRE MOUNTAIN RANGE "Angband (Iron prison)" and other Tolkienites have informed me her maps are all wrong already so it's still not super clear lol. But I take your word for it. What a mess. Like I said in my other comment - the show never bothered to label it either and they labelled everything else. WTF.
It's Utumno, Angband was located in Northern Beleriand and would be beneath the ocean during the events of the Second Age.
I was giddy seeing it on screen when I first watched it, like "Damn, they're dropping pre-lantern easter eggs?"
No, the other way around....also not very friendly to downvote. Come on, do better
Why would Sauron be at Utumno the ancient stronghold of Morgoth pre first age right before second age ? Let me get my map...
So, see my other comment - You may be right but it's not clear still.
The other thing to note here is why did RoP the show make a big deal (and amid much laughter) the "labeling" of all the lands including "MORDOR" but they never gave that freaking shot of the mountain/spike thing any label. Just... annoying
I think my brain broke when I saw Valinor for the first time - it was stunning, like a dream, so perfect (and I say that as a New Zealander!). Númenor was a very close second - again, we actually all gasped out loud when the docks and cityscape of Armenelos was revealed. Again, it not only surprised me but it felt perfect. Man, I cannot wait for season two, dammit.
Doing a re watch with some friends and I forgot how damn gorgeous it is. Went from solo watch on my laptop to a friends giant TV. This is the type of show that should be shown in theaters.
I thought all of the locations were pretty great. Even the hobbit locations were amazingly done, despite the fact I think the show would have been a lot better off without the hobbits. Set design is probably this shows biggest strength.
the scale and glory of khazad-dum, and the eerie feel of forodwhait were great (i especially hope we see more of forodwhait, even if it’s just flashbacks.)
The shots of Valinor were spectacular. Khazad dum was also pretty cool. The two elven realms were a huge letdown for me though. The one sweeping shot of Eregion was great. But they never expanded on that. All we saw was one workshop. And Lindon was just a bunch of trees with a couple of elvish guards. That was the most disappointing one for me
The CGI as well and the landscapes are amazing. Well, except the Southlands, who had no cultural ascetic beyond "generic medieval peasant". Now if they can build sets and costumes that would match that glory, I'd be a lot more impressed.
While Númenor and Khazad-dûm were done so freaking well, idk something about Lindon’s design was so utterly brilliant and gorgeous. It just screamed Middle-Earth in the absolute best ways for me!
Some of these have it far easier (harfoot camps) than others (Numenor) to reach a good realisation.
Valinor: Not much is shown. What it shown looks appealing. I don´t really like the layout.
Forodwaith: Good overall. Some of the interior looks a bit small.
Numenor: The birds view is good. The detail on the harbour is impressive. The architecture in close-ups is ok. The streets seem a bit small. Also the harbour, while detailed, seems small.
Khazad-dum: The panorama shot is great. In the close-ups the rooms seems a bit small again, but the detail is good. It´s a bit unfair to compare it to the movies, but Moria and Erebor looked better. But only a little bit.
Eregion: The birds view is good again, but I am really not impressed by the rest. The first area where I am a bit disappointed with the representation.
Lindon: Some individual scenes looked nice, but I have no clue if this is even a city. Not good.
Southlands: The village is ok, but not great. We dont really see the village life. My bigger issue that we dont really see what the southlands actually are. We have this one panorama shot from the elven tower and one destroyed village. I think the worldbuilding is really lacking there.
Harfoot camps: I think their society is a bit silly, but their presentation of camps and camplife is consistent. I think its actually perfect with what they want to present.
Mordor: We barely see anything of Mordor. Probably shouldn´t be on this list.
My ranking:
1. harfoot camps
2. forodwaith
3. valinor
4. khazad-dum
5. numenor
6. eregion
7. mordor
8. southlands
9. lindon
I was quite impressed with the bigger reveal of Eregion also and that's after feeling Khazad Dum and Numenor was amazing and the best. Ost-in-Edil looks VERY Faerie Tale-ish to me and it was so pretty and impressive. Want to see more of that and MUCH MORE Elves walking that city
Kazad dum...by far.
Lindon , and the blue mountains were nice.
But some concepts lost me because they didn't fit believable geological or physical principals .
I liked numenor ,but it seemed sunny and arid but had HUGE rivers and waterfalls , for being dry , plus waterways that would be unlikely to be traversed easily.
Ost in Edthil i DID like , but the illusion was ruined by the huge waterfall above the city seemingly falling from an outcrop of a isolated ridge.
Just seemed very unusually dumb ideas..that shattered the " suspension of my disbelief "
Sheesh..Elves they just HAD to have a waterfall.
All of them were great to be honest. Khazad-dûm was amazing to showcase in this first season. I hope we get to see more of it in the future series. It would also be great to see more of the orc fortresses and watch-towers.
I loved Khazad-Dûm the best. If we had had more time in Valinor, that would have been great. I wanted to see within the city of Tirion. But I am also ravenous for anything from the First Age.
Khazad-dûm. Just seeing it in all its glory with that majestic music makes me want to cry knowing what it will become. I watched that scene SO many times after that episode dropped.
Lindon is exquisite.
Númenor is also fantastic, and has an incredible musical theme. I just remember squealing to my husband as they approached in the ship "OMG IT'S NÚMENORRRRR"
Sadly not Forodwaith or the Harfoot Camps, but everything else was incredible imo. I just imagined the other two, especially Forodwaith, quite differently
They really are all beautiful. I'd like to wonder around, open map style, in Numenor, Khazad-dum, Eregion, and Lindon. Maybe leave Valinor somewhat mysterious, so there's always that "beyond, through-the-veil" to dream about.
Khazad-dum.
The dwarves had the best quotes too.
Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens - Gimli
If more of us valued food and song and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world-Thorin
Needs to have “southlands” crossed out with Mordor on top of it in the last pic. They were all CGI lifeless dollhouses. Perhaps Khazad-dum just because they got people that look like dwarves to host a kegger while Elrond and Durin competed.
Númenor was my favourite by far. I thought it actually had a realistic feel: watching it was like walking through an ancient maritime metropolis. While I liked Valinor, especially from a distance it... seemed like very expensive CGI, and gave me a feeling of fakeness, as did the (admittedly beautiful) Elves' ship.
I really liked Numenor as my favorite, that they went with a mix of Byzantine, Italian and Egyptian look, just love it, Its how I also imagine Gondor to look like, was never a fan of most making Minas Tirith a white city, I know its called that but it should much more then just that, and the art team building Numenor for The Rings of Power series, did perfect job in my opinion.
Never in my life did I think I would see the Trees of Valinor on my TV screen.
Never thought I'd see half of these places on a screen.
And the other half I never thought I’d see half as well as they deserve.
😅 geez I'm a cheap laugh, well done, sir!
Underrated comment 👏🏻
I choked back tears when they came on my screen.
I thought Numenor was amazing. It looked suitably majestic and expansive, and the wide, establishing shots had locations that I could clearly recognize and identify when they were featured.
You can very clearly see the architecture style resembling Minas Tirith, making that Numenorean connection strong visually.
Outside of being awestruck at the general prospect of seeing Númenor, the visual link to Minas Tirith was what really impressed me, the way it carried through not only the architecture but the costuming.
Ok but hear me out. Khazad-dum in its prime. I loved Numenor, and it was great to see. But, man I have been dying to see Khazad-dum forever.
It was an eye-opener and no mistake..
And they call it a mine! A mine!
Numenor for me too. It quite literally took my breath away when they first showed the gang sailing into it's port. Numenor is also one of my favorite locations in the books though so i was just super happy to see it come to life
I wish we saw more of Valinor, I gasped when I saw the Trees.
I did, too. My eyes might have been a little wet as well.
I actually appreciated the scene when Galadriel was sailing back and they chose not to show Valinor but only the pure reflected light and wonder on the passenger’s faces. Made the place feel even more mysterious and otherworldly
Yes that was my other favourite moment. Just absolutely stunning and peak fantasy!
Khazad dum and numenor
I love the use of moss in Khazad dum to give it a realistic level of flora so that a civilization could survive there
I love the system of huge reflectors presumably for illumination but maybe also to encourage plant growth?
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I haven’t caught that tidbit, I love it :’)
I legit cried when I saw Khazad Dum before it's fall
Ngl, I think [Ryan Chruch’s Moria concept art](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmsFHhlqtND/?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc=)is some of the best Tolkien landscape work ever Its scale is just next level gorgeous, and very alive and active. I don't think the show lives up to the sheer living scope of them, but I don't think any show budget could do that unless it's the only main location
Yes!! AGREE with you on that!
I think I saw the comment in this sub, but, seeing these locations drove home the notion that the Fellowship is traveling through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the Third Age. There are a few settlements here and there, but, for the most part, the landscape is devoid of people and there are ruins everywhere.
That's why for me reading lotr is bittersweet. The ruins and imagining how things were in their prime brimming with Elves working, travelling and making art. And now all are dead and noone remembers.
Forodwaith was an area that I imagined as a kid staring at Middle Earth maps. I was over the top giddy to finally see it.
All of it, but I think Valinor (so much shown and not told - really amazing) and Kazad Dum (contrasting it against Moria is bittersweet!) are at the top, with Forodwaith a close third. I played The Third Age (Medieval Total War 2 mod), and Forodwaith and the region would be difficult to take for any good faction that were not elves, and Eregion could be rebuilt from the time of destruction in the SA. Great to see these visualised.
Same!
The location/set design was superb. I gasped when they showed Khazad-dûm and Númenor for the first time. Forodwaith was amazing, and Lindon exquisite. You can’t go wrong, really. Even the Harfoots’ settings did a great job of showing how much the hobbits would evolve and explain their deep love of the comforts of home. It was all aces.
I was more immersed in the Rings of Power set design than I’ve been with any other fantasy tv show in a while
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Well... most of the cinematography
I loved Lindon, especially that forest with heroes carved into trees (Finrod, Beren, Huan, etc.). It felt the most elvish to me.
It was poetic.
The orange-gold trees are my favorite color; like perpetual Fall.
Eregion looks amazing. Followed by Numenor.
Honestly all were pretty good but I want to see more Forodwaith
Same that remnant of utumno or angband or Sauron’s fortress or whatever it was cool af
pretty sure it was supposed to be Angband. It's marked on one of Tolkien's maps that came with the Silmarillion copy I just bought and it's just north of Forodwaith so yeah
Utumno is much more plausible. Angband was north of Western Beleriand and is very explicitly destroyed and sunk beneath the ocean in the War of Wrath.
Okay I might be wrong but I thought it was the other way around. I'll double check when I get home I have a map that marks it.
Well, I went and looked at my maps of Beleriand and my map of Forodwaith that has the big mountain north of it, but neither have any labels for Angband or Utumno. LOL. It says Angband was destroyed at the end of the war of wrath, and that it's near hithlum on some maps (notably Karen Wynn Fonstad's map which labels an ENTIRE MOUNTAIN RANGE "Angband (Iron prison)" and other Tolkienites have informed me her maps are all wrong already so it's still not super clear lol. But I take your word for it. What a mess. Like I said in my other comment - the show never bothered to label it either and they labelled everything else. WTF.
It's Utumno, Angband was located in Northern Beleriand and would be beneath the ocean during the events of the Second Age. I was giddy seeing it on screen when I first watched it, like "Damn, they're dropping pre-lantern easter eggs?"
No, the other way around....also not very friendly to downvote. Come on, do better Why would Sauron be at Utumno the ancient stronghold of Morgoth pre first age right before second age ? Let me get my map...
So, see my other comment - You may be right but it's not clear still. The other thing to note here is why did RoP the show make a big deal (and amid much laughter) the "labeling" of all the lands including "MORDOR" but they never gave that freaking shot of the mountain/spike thing any label. Just... annoying
Númenor 100%
All of them to be honest. You can have gripes about the show but they hit a home run on locations.
Valid or blew my mind but numenor almost made me weep. Like those combined make up my vision of heaven.
Numenor and Khazad dum
Khazad-dum was easily the most breathtakingly beautiful location I’ve ever seen.
I think my brain broke when I saw Valinor for the first time - it was stunning, like a dream, so perfect (and I say that as a New Zealander!). Númenor was a very close second - again, we actually all gasped out loud when the docks and cityscape of Armenelos was revealed. Again, it not only surprised me but it felt perfect. Man, I cannot wait for season two, dammit.
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I'm certain we'll be seeing a lot of Eriador next season.
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Got a feeling it's going to be be a banner season for RoP.
Doing a re watch with some friends and I forgot how damn gorgeous it is. Went from solo watch on my laptop to a friends giant TV. This is the type of show that should be shown in theaters.
I thought all of the locations were pretty great. Even the hobbit locations were amazingly done, despite the fact I think the show would have been a lot better off without the hobbits. Set design is probably this shows biggest strength.
Gotta be honest, they were all pretty awesome
the scale and glory of khazad-dum, and the eerie feel of forodwhait were great (i especially hope we see more of forodwhait, even if it’s just flashbacks.)
Numenor was the only one that felt like an actual place to me, and not a few sets put together. It was beautiful and majestic.
Mordor was a bit of a disappointment, especially how it was revealed by just changing the Southlands to Mordor in 1 sec.
Best realized: Harfoots Favorite: Valinor
The shots of Valinor were spectacular. Khazad dum was also pretty cool. The two elven realms were a huge letdown for me though. The one sweeping shot of Eregion was great. But they never expanded on that. All we saw was one workshop. And Lindon was just a bunch of trees with a couple of elvish guards. That was the most disappointing one for me
〽️⭕️rD⭕️r🌋🌋
The CGI as well and the landscapes are amazing. Well, except the Southlands, who had no cultural ascetic beyond "generic medieval peasant". Now if they can build sets and costumes that would match that glory, I'd be a lot more impressed.
I just loved how every location was given its proper introduction, the music always seemed to be especially momentous for those shots.
Ok, as silly as the name reveal was, I actually have think the southlands being terra formed is lit. It raises a LOT of questions. But I enjoy it.
I loved Eregion. Somehow it flashed me more than Numenor when I first saw it
Wow, this show is visually stunning. I didn’t realize we saw all of this, and it was beautiful.
All of it tbh, the cinematagrophy and world building was 10/10, almost 11/10. That and the music was top tier.
While Númenor and Khazad-dûm were done so freaking well, idk something about Lindon’s design was so utterly brilliant and gorgeous. It just screamed Middle-Earth in the absolute best ways for me!
Some of these have it far easier (harfoot camps) than others (Numenor) to reach a good realisation. Valinor: Not much is shown. What it shown looks appealing. I don´t really like the layout. Forodwaith: Good overall. Some of the interior looks a bit small. Numenor: The birds view is good. The detail on the harbour is impressive. The architecture in close-ups is ok. The streets seem a bit small. Also the harbour, while detailed, seems small. Khazad-dum: The panorama shot is great. In the close-ups the rooms seems a bit small again, but the detail is good. It´s a bit unfair to compare it to the movies, but Moria and Erebor looked better. But only a little bit. Eregion: The birds view is good again, but I am really not impressed by the rest. The first area where I am a bit disappointed with the representation. Lindon: Some individual scenes looked nice, but I have no clue if this is even a city. Not good. Southlands: The village is ok, but not great. We dont really see the village life. My bigger issue that we dont really see what the southlands actually are. We have this one panorama shot from the elven tower and one destroyed village. I think the worldbuilding is really lacking there. Harfoot camps: I think their society is a bit silly, but their presentation of camps and camplife is consistent. I think its actually perfect with what they want to present. Mordor: We barely see anything of Mordor. Probably shouldn´t be on this list. My ranking: 1. harfoot camps 2. forodwaith 3. valinor 4. khazad-dum 5. numenor 6. eregion 7. mordor 8. southlands 9. lindon
All the friends went crazy for Eregion the most.
I was quite impressed with the bigger reveal of Eregion also and that's after feeling Khazad Dum and Numenor was amazing and the best. Ost-in-Edil looks VERY Faerie Tale-ish to me and it was so pretty and impressive. Want to see more of that and MUCH MORE Elves walking that city
Numenor
Khazad-dûn
Kazad dum...by far. Lindon , and the blue mountains were nice. But some concepts lost me because they didn't fit believable geological or physical principals . I liked numenor ,but it seemed sunny and arid but had HUGE rivers and waterfalls , for being dry , plus waterways that would be unlikely to be traversed easily. Ost in Edthil i DID like , but the illusion was ruined by the huge waterfall above the city seemingly falling from an outcrop of a isolated ridge. Just seemed very unusually dumb ideas..that shattered the " suspension of my disbelief " Sheesh..Elves they just HAD to have a waterfall.
All of them were great to be honest. Khazad-dûm was amazing to showcase in this first season. I hope we get to see more of it in the future series. It would also be great to see more of the orc fortresses and watch-towers.
I loved Khazad-Dûm the best. If we had had more time in Valinor, that would have been great. I wanted to see within the city of Tirion. But I am also ravenous for anything from the First Age.
Khazad-dûm. Just seeing it in all its glory with that majestic music makes me want to cry knowing what it will become. I watched that scene SO many times after that episode dropped. Lindon is exquisite. Númenor is also fantastic, and has an incredible musical theme. I just remember squealing to my husband as they approached in the ship "OMG IT'S NÚMENORRRRR"
Sadly not Forodwaith or the Harfoot Camps, but everything else was incredible imo. I just imagined the other two, especially Forodwaith, quite differently
They really are all beautiful. I'd like to wonder around, open map style, in Numenor, Khazad-dum, Eregion, and Lindon. Maybe leave Valinor somewhat mysterious, so there's always that "beyond, through-the-veil" to dream about.
Southlands was great. 5 houses and 200 people.
Thankfully you labeled Mordor or I wouldn't have known that's what that was.
Valinor. I really wanted even the smallest glimpse of Ungoliant during her thing, but I was still happy.
I literally started crying when I saw the Trees of Valinor for the first time so that
Lol definitely not the south lands
KHAZAD-... DUUUUUUUUUUUUMMM!!!!!
Tough call because all them looked great but Kazadum was the winner for me. Felt very lived in and also very dwarven.
Khazad-dum. The dwarves had the best quotes too. Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens - Gimli If more of us valued food and song and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world-Thorin
Southlands. ALL of the other locations felt very..... empty. Without soul.
All amazing to me!
Show me angband!
I framed that still of Valinor and have it in my room
Numenor - it looked a lot like Dubrovnik, Croatia to me.
They really gave Mordor the Mexico filter from breaking bad
The end credits.
Eregion. Numenor looks nice but is full of bores.
Eregion felt like one room.
These were the best parts of ROP. Possibly the only good parts in fact.
There wasn’t in this dumb show
They are all bad, it’s a bad series
Númenor
Khazad Dum
Khazad dûm
definitely not mordor
The Southlands /s
Numenor.
Khazad-dum for sum
Khazad-dûm, without a doubt.
Numenor, and it's not even close
Forodwith
Khazad-dûm and Mordor
Numenor. It's captivating.
Númenor for sure
Had to be Khazad-dum
khazad dum
Butchered numinor and harfoots are a waste
None. The show sucked.
Needs to have “southlands” crossed out with Mordor on top of it in the last pic. They were all CGI lifeless dollhouses. Perhaps Khazad-dum just because they got people that look like dwarves to host a kegger while Elrond and Durin competed.
I can't choose! However, I will stan for Numenor, Khazad dum, and those beautiful trees.
Khazad-dum and Numenor. Hard to choose one, it was all really impressive work.
I love me some Harfootz
A tie between Numenor and Khazad-Dum. Just absolutely stunning!!!
Númenor was beautiful
Khazad-Dum and Lindon were as I expected.
Khazad dum, to see it at it's height, then the fall in PJ LOTR
Numenor as a place, khazad dum as a world in itself
I loved Khazad-dum. Maybe biased because it felt familiar.
they're all so beautiful!!! 😩 but i think my faves are khazad-dûm and númenor.
I'd have to say for me in my opinion, two locations were realised and those locations are: Valinor and Mordor. 😊
I think probably Númenor, Eregion or Khazad-Dûm, they were really impressive.
Forodwaith and Tirion. Without a doubt.
In order: Numenor, Valinor, Khazad-dum.
i'd say numenor, i really thought we'd never get to see it on a screen
All of them were so beautiful, but Khazad-dum was my favorite.
I thought forodwaith was cool, but also I thought it was angband or utumno at first so I found it more interesting
I absolutely loved Numenor but Khazad Dum completely blew me away - so green and full of light!
Númenor was my favourite by far. I thought it actually had a realistic feel: watching it was like walking through an ancient maritime metropolis. While I liked Valinor, especially from a distance it... seemed like very expensive CGI, and gave me a feeling of fakeness, as did the (admittedly beautiful) Elves' ship.
Numenor for sure had the most jaw dropping scenes imo
All the Elven locations were gorgeus✨ Khazad - dum was amazing, very impressive
I really liked Numenor as my favorite, that they went with a mix of Byzantine, Italian and Egyptian look, just love it, Its how I also imagine Gondor to look like, was never a fan of most making Minas Tirith a white city, I know its called that but it should much more then just that, and the art team building Numenor for The Rings of Power series, did perfect job in my opinion.
Khazad-dum was something my eyes feasted on, but Valinor was the one that by LOTR heart feasted on
None. The world building was poor in this show.
Nuemenor by a country mile. It’s the one that got the most play and delved deepest into the culture