Adar told Galadriel his plan for defeating Sauron forever during episode six of The Rings of Power season two. The Uruk leader wants to combine the strength of the three elven rings with something just as powerful. He has the Dark Lord’s own crown. Only, Adar said that crown once belonged to someone else. He claims it was reforged from the Iron Crown Morgoth used to carry the famed Silmarils. Is Adar telling the truth? Or does he only think he’s telling the truth because “the deceiver” lied? To find out we must dig into J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore to see how The Rings of Power is connecting Sauron’s to Morgoth’s, either in truth or deception.

Morgoth was the most powerful of the Valar who brought evil to the world. (You can read more about him with our primer Who is Morgoth?) He was also the Dark Lord of the First Age, the era before The Rings of Power‘s time period. Sauron was Morgoth’s most loyal servant and hand-picked heir, but while more famous than his master, Morgoth was even more powerful.

Morgoth crafted his own Iron Crown in the volcanic mountains of Thangorodrim. He made it to hold the three famed Silmarils he’d stolen. Those were the jewels that contained the light from the Two Trees of Valinor. Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, the greatest elf craftsman whom Celebrimbor has been desperate to live up to throughout season two, made the Silmarils.

The Iron Crown was not easy to wear, but Morgoth refused to take it off. Ultimately he would be forced to wear it for eternity. When Morgoth finally fell in the War of Wrath the Valar beat the Dark Lord’s Iron Crown into a collar for his neck. They then threw the bound Morgoth into the Timeless Void outside of space and time. According to The Silmarillion that’s where the remnants of Morgoth’s crown remain. That’s likely the story Galadriel was told, the one she was about to reference when Adar cut her off during their conversation at dinner.

Adar tells a different tale of the crown’s fate. For while he says “there are many stories of what happened after the Silmarils were pried from (the Iron Crown’s) settings,” he was “there when Sauron re-fired it to to fit himself.” Adar says he was present when Sauron “kneeled to be crowned,” just as he was the one who used the crown to slay Sauron.

We saw Adar try—but ultimately fail—to kill Sauron in a flashback at the start of season two, so at least part of his story is true. What we didn’t see was Sauron actually finding and taking Morgoth’s crown. In fairness, we did not see the Valar turn it into a collar, either. So could Adar’s story be true? Yes, we just don’t know how yet.

The Silmarillion is a definitive text, but The Rings of Power is an adaptation that has not been bound by Middle-earth canon. The show does more than just fill in gaps or use a lack of lore to tell its story. (Like how it gave a backstory for the creation of mithril.) The series sometimes makes major change to Tolkien’s writings, like how it has reversed the order Celebrimbor forged the rings of power. (He made the elves’ rings last and without Sauron, not first with him like on the Prime video series.) Adar might have told Galadriel a totally true story within in the reality of the show.

Adar could also be telling the complete truth without breaking any Tolkienian lore considering what else we know about Morgoth’s Iron Crown. It had to be huge. Morgoth was gigantic, anywhere from two to three times bigger than the seven-foot elves he fought with during the First Age. His presence, as briefly seen during the Prime Video series’ first episode, was easily that large. The Silmarillion itself says Morgoth stood over an elven king “as a tower” and “cast a shadow over him like a storm cloud.” That’s how he’s always depicted.

Did the Valar need all of Morgoth’s humongous, lengthy spiked crown to make a single collar? What if they only needed some of its iron and left the rest behind? That would have been plenty for Sauron, who was around a third the size of his master, to make his own crown out of Morgoth’s.

For sticklers that might seem like a convenient way to technically not break lore while still being too loose with it, but it actually fits in seamlessly with other Middle-earth adaptations. Sauron’s crown, including in Peter Jackson’s films, is based on Tolkien’s description of Morgoth’s. Since Sauron was his chosen successor, that has always made sense. The Rings of Power is now building on that tradition in a meaningful way. This season has seen Annatar manipulate Celebrimbor into creating the rings of power. He’s been able to do that because the elven craftsman is desperate to best his grandfather and the Silmarils, the very thing Morgoth’s crown was made to hold. The history of Middle-earth, the elves, and evil are all connected.

This is Sauron we’re talking about, so it’s possible the story Adar “knows” is nothing but a lie. Sauron would have many reasons to claim his crown came from Morgoth’s. It would give him legitimacy and authority as Morgoth’s rightful heir. It would also serve as an imposing symbol and a feared source of actual power, one imbued with both Morgoth’s strength and that of the Silmarils, just as mithril is on the show.

If Sauron was lying that might explain why Adar couldn’t kill him with just the crown. That deception could now also be leading Adar down a faulty path. He hopes to combine Sauron’s helm with the elves’ rings Sauron himself helped make. Or it might be even simpler. It might be that Morgoth’s crown could never truly harm the original Dark Lord’s chosen one.

Whatever the truth is—as interesting and meaningful as it might be—it won’t change one thing. Sauron is coming back for his crown and he’s going to get it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He never trusts Sauron, but this time? This time it might be different. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Westeros isn’t getting any bigger, but its presence on HBO certainly is thanks to a very large and legendary knight. A second live-action Game of Thrones spinoff is coming about the Realm’s most beloved duo, Dunk and Egg. What’s the show called? Who is this famous knight and his young Targaryen squire? And why are fans of George R.R. Martin so excited to see them come to life?

In a “Coming to Max” preview, we got our first very small taste of what this spinoff will give us.

Additionally, seven new cast members have come aboard the show. Variety shares that the following actors have joined the show: Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway, Henry Ashton as Daeron Targaryen, Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate, Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion, Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer, and Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree. 

We are indeed one step closer to getting this show. Actor Dexter Sol Ansell, who portrays Egg, revealed in an IG video that A Knight of the Seven Kingdom‘s is done filming.

And no, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Daeron Targaryen is not the same as House of the Dragon‘s Daeron Targaryen. Thank you for playing the game of thrones.

Here’s everything we know about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far.

Title

At one point the spinoff was working under the wordy title of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. But a recent report says HBO has—thankfully—dropped the latter. The prequel is now operating under the simpler name and the book it’s adapting, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Plot 

The show’s official logline provided an introduction to the series’ time period and characters. From HBO:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire know much more about the beloved duo’s exploits and lifelong friendship. Martin’s three novellas cover both big and small events related to Westeros during a dangerous time in the Seven Kingdoms. Dunk and Egg began their time together shortly after the second Targaryen civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion. The fresh wounds of that Realm-splitting battle is why Egg needed to hide his real identity while serving as Duncan’s squire.

Martin has also previously confirmed a fan theory that the honorable, noble Ser Duncan the Tall is the ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. (Though we don’t yet know how.) Despite taking place a century before its HBO predecessor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will also have more direct ties to Game of Thrones. Brynden Rivers, Egg’s uncle and the most notorious figure in Westeros, would go on to become the Three-Eyed Raven. And Egg’s older brother is none other than Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch.

Martin has long said he has plans for many more Dunk & Egg stories. The show could ultimately adapt those unwritten/unpublished tales into entire seasons. HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi has said the series will “ideally year-to-year and arcing out a three-season series, which maps out the three novellas that George wrote.” But that doesn’t mean it will only run three years. She also said, “Of course, we’d like more beyond that, and George is continuing to think about the remaining novellas that he still wants to write, but at this point, we have our eye on three seasons that would map out each book, each novella.”

The adult exploits of Dunk and Egg are also explored in Martin’s massive compendium book The World of Ice and Fire. (Spoilers!)

Behind the Scenes

Martin and Ira Parker will write and serve as executive producers the show. House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal will also serve as as executive producer along with Vince Gerardis. Owen Harris (Black Mirror‘s “Be Right Back” and “San Junipero”) will direct the show’s first three episodes. Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons In Chemistry) has also come aboard to direct three of the season’s six episodes.

Production began in the spring of 2024 following the end of the writers and actors strikes.

Additionally, Martin wrote The Hedge Knight will be shorter than the other Game of Thrones series on HBO, however, it will be no less brutal, to be sure. Success for The Hedge Knight could mean other Dunk & Egg stories receive spinoffs. (And maybe Martin will even write a few more.)

Here’s what Martin shared in full.

THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be a lot shorter than GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe  Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.  I hope to visit the shoot come July, when I swing by Belfast on my way to the worldcon in Glasgow.    The show will make its debut next year… and if it does well, THE SWORN SWORD and THE MYSTERY KNIGHT will follow.  By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Cast

The 6’4″ tall Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters, Vikings: Valhalla) will play the legendary Ser Duncan the Tall. Young Dexter Sol Ansell (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) will serve as Dunk’s diminutive squire, the fiery secret Targaryen prince Aegon forever known as “Egg.”

Martin publicly praised Dexter Sol Ansell’s transformation into Egg.

Ser Duncan is officially here. HBO has shared the first official image from the production in Belfast and it features the “lunk” known as Dunk walking through a market. His raggedy clothes suggest this moment comes from his pre-Egg days. (Not that he’ll look that much better later. Hedge knights aren’t exactly the best dressed knights.)

The network also announced some major new cast members and their roles along with the photo’s release:

• Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen
• Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen
• Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
• Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Barotheon
• Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen

Additionally, the following cast members and characters have come aboard the Game of Thrones series: Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway, Henry Ashton as Daeron Targaryen, Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate, Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion, Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer, and Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Release Date

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has previously said HBO is targeting a “late 2025″ premiere.

Originally published May 22, 2024.

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Last year, the animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions released its second volume on Disney+ to lots of acclaim. Fans love to see stories in this beloved universe step outside of canonical bounds to craft something wholly unique. Right now, we don’t know when or if there will be a third volume of the series. But we do know that another Star Wars artbook that celebrates this show is coming soon. The Art of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2—written by Nerdist‘s own Amy Ratcliffe!—will hit bookstores and comic shops in 2025 and we have an exclusive reveal of its cover artwork. 

Get ready to blast into the many worlds and styles of Star Wars: Visions through an international lens. This newest volume of the full-color, oversized hardcover series exhibits the creativity of the groundbreaking animated series. As you can see in the cover artwork, Volume 2 highlights several beloved characters like Tichina, Ara, Crux, and Aau. This series gives us diverse and absolutely adorable characters who are worthy of being explored in various mediums.

The Art of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 showcases studios from around the globe as they redefine what a galaxy far, far away can mean. Now, you can learn what other secrets the Star Wars galaxy holds through glorious art and extensive commentary.

In this book, Dark Horse and Lucasfilm welcome fans to go behind the scenes of nine unique takes on Star Wars. Its gorgeous artwork is courtesy of a team of artists who made shorts for the Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 installment. 

The Art of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2: Release Date, Cost, and Pre-Order Links

Here are all the details you need to know about The Art of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, including its specs, pricing, the release dates, and the pre-order links: 

• Hardcover format, 192 pages, 11” x 10”
• $49.99 USD
• 4/29/2025 (Bookstores) and 4/30/2025 (Comic Shops) 
• Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1506741479/
• Barnes and Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/9781506741475
• Also available from PRH Comics, Bookstores, TFAW, and Comic Shop Locator

The post We Reveal the Stunning Cover for THE ART OF STAR WARS: VISIONS VOLUME 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Lord Celembrimbor is going to do something he swore he wouldn’t. He’s going to help craft nine rings for men. In The Rings of Power‘s “Halls of Stone,” Annatar used the elven smith’s ego, vanity, and guilt to manipulate Eregion’s leader into doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. Before he did, Sauron saw firsthand what it takes to make a ring that will bring its wearer into the Unseen world. With that knowledge, and his time as Annatar coming to an end, the question must now be asked: Will we see Sauron forge the One Ring during the show’s second season?

Celebrimbor’s refusal to make rings for “easily corruptible” men led Annatar to try making them himself with the other smiths of Eregion. That ploy did more than tempt Celebrimbor. It also allowed Sauron to learn from trial-and-error. Mirdania was working with a ring that featured more mithral than previous ones.

When she put it on she vanished from sight and ended up in a place Frodo will one day know all too well. Mirdania went into the Unseen world, “a place, like this, but shrouded in mist and darkness.” There she saw a tall being of flames with eyes “pitiless and eternal” that reeked of “death.”

Lord of the Rings fans also know that realm as the wraith-world, because Sauron’s One Ring will draw the Nazgul into that dimension. That flawed ring might be the most important failure in all of Middle-earth, because it might have taught Sauron what he needed to know when he forges his ultimate ring alone in Mordor.

This episode also saw Sauron learn something important about how to bend the rings to his will. King Durin’s ring has made him different. His son says he is “colder, quicker to anger” and suddenly greedy. Sauron said that’s because they made the dwarf rings under a pall of deception. Celebrimbor lied to his High King about what was happening in Eregion. Sauron might be lying about that cause and effect, but he loves to deceive by bending the truth. And he certainly was honest when he told Celebrimbor “these are matters of spirit, as much as craft.”

The Dark Lord’s time in Eregion is proving tremendously fruitful. Each iteration of rings make its wearers more and more corruptible. This is reversed from official lore, yet will still work in the same way. We know from The Lord of the Rings how each generation of rings will work (or not) on Sauron’s behalf. And on The Rings of Power nine mortal men doomed to die will soon wear rings Celebrimbor swore never to make. Those rings will connect those men to the Unseen world Mirandia visited.

Once the rings of men are made the only thing left for Sauron to do is make the One Ring to rule them all, to find them to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. With his partnership with Celebrimbor almost done, it’s very possible Sauron will end season two by finishing his life’s work.

Fortunately when he does he will seemingly forget about another lesson he learned in Eregion. He also told Mirdania that the crafting of the rings left Celebrimbor “diminished.” It surely has, just as the One Ring—whenever he forges it—will leave Sauron diminished, too.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. A ring of power would not corrupt him (maybe). You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Rings of Power‘s first season began telling a beautiful backstory about the legendary Doors of Durin. That magical gateway, which famously held up Frodo and his companions in The Fellowship of the Ring, was borne from the special bond between Elrond and Durin IV. Now that passageway is ready to serve as Khazad-dûm’s West-gate. It’s also ready to serve as a lasting testament to a once unlikely connection between two proud races. Only, season two has now shown the tragic side of this otherwise touching tale. The Doors of Durin stands as a symbol of friendship between elves and dwarves, but fittingly it also stands as a testament to the dark lord whose watchful and deceiving eye it was made under.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that Celebrimbor and the celebrated dwarf craftsman Narvi made the Doors of Durin together. The Rings of Power showed them doing just that in season two’s fifth episode. The sequence also highlighted the significance of this joint endeavor. “Dwarves and elves working together?” said a smiling Celebrimbor. “It was said to be impossible. But our cooperation has achieved this wonder. And today we embark on a new dream, to enshrine our friendship in stone.”

The Doors of Durin are “un-breachable, visible only by moonlight, and guarded by a password known only to friends.” (Or grey wizards who eventually figure it out long after they should have.) That gateway truly is a symbol of the “lasting friendship between elves and dwarves.”

That friendship will see its ups and downs, just as Elrond and Durin IV have. But it will always prove true when it matters most. Elves and dwarves will soon fight side-by-side against Sauron in the The War of the Last Alliance. And they will come together in the Third Age when the world needs them. Gimli and Legolas will join Frodo on his journey to Mordor. That journey that will bring them to much more than the Doors of Durin. It will lead to a lifelong bond.

The Rings of Power has also expanded the passageway’s lore by delving deep into the creation of mithral. In season one, the show shared an original tale about a battle between a pure-hearted elven warrior and a balrog of Morgoth. They fought above a tree said to contain one of the famed Silmarils created by Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, the greatest elf craftsmen ever. When a bolt of lightning struck the tree the elven warrior poured “all his light” into saving the tree. Meanwhile the balrog “channeled all his hate” into its destruction. Legend says their combined power led to the creation of mithral, which Gil-galad described as being equally “pure in light as good” as “strong and unyielding as evil.”

Mithral brought elves and dwarves together. Elrond asked for that special metal to save the elves of Middle-earth. But it also made both races vulnerable to Sauron’s false friendship. The Dark Lord is deceiving the world with rings of power. “Annatar” was also there when the two races came together to make the Doors of Durin, which fittingly uses mithral.. Celebrimbor made his magical moonlight inlay with ithildin, a thin, extremely refined form of mithril.

The very thing elves and dwarves made together—the one that encased their bond in stone forever, the door that will protect dwarves of Khazad-dûm until they must abandon their home because of greed driven by Sauron’s rings—contains both good and evil in it. Just as all of Middle-earth does.

Fortunately for elves and swarves the one power in Middle-earth that always proves un-breachable is friendship.

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Last week George R.R.Martin well full dracarys on House of the Dragon with a blistering, quickly deleted blog post. Now he’s returned to his “Not a Blog” with a much tamer, yet still somber entry. Martin’s latest entry includes a small update on The Winds of Winter. But just as the night is dark and full of terrors, he still throws some subtle shade at his problems with HBO and House of the Dragon.

In a post titled “A Belated Blog” Martin wrote about his busy schedule and travels during the summer. He also wrote about his continued struggles following the death of his close friend, Howard Waldrop, early this year. That is just one of the issues contributing to him feeling “stressful.” Unfortunately he says he has been unable to find “much solace” in work. Not that he hasn’t done any.

Martin said he was able to do some writing about Westeros. Only it was not nearly as much as he’d hoped. George R.R. Martin shared a bit abou his progress on Game of Thrones’ next book, The Winds of Winter, and Fire & Blood‘s sequel, Blood & Fire. He shares, “Writing came hard, and though I did produce some new pages on both THE WINDS OF WINTER (yes) and BLOOD & FIRE (the sequel to FIRE & BLOOD, the second part of my Targaryen history), I would have liked to turn out a lot more.”

“Some” is definitely better than “none.” But this small update from Martin leaves a lot to still be desired after The Winds of Winter‘s prolonged delay.

Martin said his TV obligations contributed to his less than ideal writing output. While Martin called some of those TV matters good, the bad seems to clearly means House of the Dragon. Here’s what he said about his TV work:

Some of that was pleasant (DARK WINDS, and THE HEDGE KNIGHT), most of it was not. The stress kept mounting, the news went from bad to worse to worst, my mood seemed to swing between fury and despair, and at night I tossed and turned when I should have been sleeping. When I did sleep, well, my dreams were none too pleasant either.

“Fury and despair” perfectly captures his already legendary post about his issues with House of the Dragon. The fact he specifically cited The Hedge Knight as a positive shows his issues are not with HBO at large. But unlike that “Not a Blog” post, this is a lot more subtle. No one will be able to ask him to take it down. This time he opted against direct conflict and instead chose to let us read between the lines.

Reading between lines is the best we can probably hope for these days. At least until “some” becomes “all” when it comes to Martin’s The Winds of Winter. But don’t stress about it, George. We know you have a lot on your mind.

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The Rings of Power‘s second season is already teasing the Stranger’s true identity. Considering Daniel Weyman’s tall, unkempt magical mystery man wanders around in rags with halflings after arriving on Middle-earth in a literal ring of fire, there’s plenty of reason to think he’s Gandalf. But he’s no longer the the show’s only Istar. Ciarán Hinds has joined the series as a powerful dark wizard. That intimidating cult leader already feels threatened by the Stranger’s presence. And combined with his appearance, loyal acolytes, hunt for Sauron, and his outpost in the East, The Rings of Power might now feature another legendary wizard from The Lord of the Rings. Hinds might really be playing Saruman.

Like much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, the history of Istari during the Second Age is a muddled mess of conflicting tales, timelines, and monikers. In some accounts he wrote the Valar sent Istari to Middle-earth to undermine Sauron’s grip on the east and south. But who the Valar sent exactly and when, if at all, changed over time like so many of Tolkien’s other stories. The result is that the canonical history of wizards during this era is debatable at best.

Like with other questionable/unofficial lore, that ambiguity means The Rings of Power can pick and choose which Tolkienian elements it wants to adapt. And that means it’s possible Saruman was already living on Middle-earth during the Second Age. The Prime Video series has already given us lots of evidence he was.

Hinds—a great actor who can match the intensity and onscreen presence of the late Christoper Lee— is playing a powerful dark wizard weary of another Istar. (One who might very well be his uncorrupted counterpart Gandalf.) The dark wizard’s two-toned beard and staff that looks like the Eye of Sauron are also remarkably reminiscent of Lee’s character in Peter Jackson’s iconic films.

Just like with the future Saruman, Hinds dark wizard also has loyal followers willing to do terrible things on his behalf. He also seems obsessed with control and suppressing the abilities of another Istar he sees as a challenge to his position. The Rings of Power‘s dark wizard does not want the Stranger to remember who he is or how powerful he is.

Hinds’ evil Istar also calls Rhûn in the east home. That’s where evil will soon rise during the Second Age, and Saruman’s legacy is defined by his embrace of darkness which he personally spread into the west. And the Istar’s mystics spent season one looking for the Stranger because they believed he might be Sauron. In season two’s fourth episode Tom Bombadil also said the Dark Wizard seeks power but can only get it with the help of an even stronger ally. In the Third Age Saruman will first serve Sauron as a follower. He will then secretly try to usurp the Dark Lord as ruler of Middle-earth. Saruman’s ultimate second fall is directly connected with the Dark Lord’s growing power.

The parallels between Saruman during the Third Age and Hinds’ incredibly powerful Istar of the Second are obvious and bountiful. That doesn’t mean he’s definitely Saruman, however. Morgoth’s lingering evil, combined with Sauron’s darkness, could have corrupted any wizard present on Middle-earth during the Second Age. Hinds could be playing one of the blue wizards Tolkien said wandered the lands at this time. Or he might be another Istar entirely the show is introducing.

But if the Stranger proves to be the wizard we think he is, it seems very likely Hinds will, too. In the Third Age the Valar sent Saruman to Middle-earth ahead of Gandalf. Ultimately good defeated evil because they did. The Rings of Power might show the Valar did so because they knew it would work for a second time.

This post originally published on August 29, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who prefers the color grey over white. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Harfoots are no longer The Rings of Power‘s only little folk. In season two’s fourth episode Poppy and Nori came across the Stoors, one of the three tribes that will one day be known in Middle-earth as Hobbits. Who are these halflings? What will become of them? And what did the show reveal about their connection to the Harfoots? Here’s everything you need to know about the Stoors in The Rings of Power.

The Stoors, along with the Harfoots and Fallohides, are one of three tribes of Hobbits during Middle-earth’s Third Age. They’re both taller and stouter to their halfling counterparts, the closest of all Hobbits in appearance to men. Stoors are also the only breed of the three that can grow beards.

Despite the location of their village on The Rings of Power, the Stoors are also known for their affinity for living on flatland or near rivers which they sail on and fish from. Unlike other Hobbits, Stoors do not fear water. (That is not a minor detail in their story…)

The Stoors were also the last of the three tribes of little folk to make their way to the Shire during the Third Age. However, some stayed behind in the Anduin Vale while others lived apart from the Shire. Their late, very different path to their iconic races land resulted in them speaking their own dialect separate from other Hobbits. It also contributed to them being far friendlier with the race of men than their halfling counterparts.

Little is known about where Hobbits, the last of the five free people of Middle-earth, came from. They were discovered after already existing for unknown generations. Whatever connection they had with men was lost to time.

The Rings of Power leaned into that aspect of Hobbit history when Nori and Poppy encountered a Stoor named Merimac in the desert of Rhûn. They called him a Harfoot, but he didn’t know what that was. Instead he called himself a Stoor.

Unlike the Harfoots, a clan of wanderers who constantly move to new temporary homes, the Stoors live in a secret village in the ground. There they grow fruit and vegetables, teach their young, and have a dwell-leader known as The Gund. (Just don’t call her that.) They must steal water, though, which might explain why they will become so fond of it one day. Unfortunately, it will also lead the most infamous Stoor of all-time to find the One Ring while fishing with his friend. The Stoor love of water is why Smeagol will turn into Gollum.

Nori learned the Harfoots were once Stoors themselves. Her and dwell-leader Gundabale Earthhauler realized they had an old, forgotten bond. The Harfoots are led by a trail-finer who guides them in their perilous journeys. Nori and Poppy’s was Sadoc Burrows who appeared in the show’s first season. The name Burrows caught Gundable’s attention and ultimately led her to protect Nori and Poppy rather than banishing them to the desert.

The Gund told a story about a Stoor from “ancient days” who “wasn’t like the rest of us.” He dreamed of a place “with endless streams of cold water and rolling hills so soft a family could dig a hole and live in it in less than a month.” That Stoor, named Rorimas Burrows, left with “a caravan of followers” to find that place he called the Sûzat, which we know as The Shire.

He never found it. Nor did he return to the Stoors he left behind. Instead they kept walking and became Harfoots, as each tribe of little folk forgot about the other. The only connection between them that remained was the name Burrows and Poppy’s wandering song that remembers the dream of Rorimas.

We know someday both clans, along with the Fallohides we have yet to meet on The Rings of Power, will find the Sûzat. Will Nori and Poppy lead them to The Shire? Will The Stranger? Someone else? Before we get answers the halflings of Middle-earth wil have to wander through the nightmare that is coming to the Second Age.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and huge advocate of Second Breakfast. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s New Hobbit Tribe the Stoors and Their Harfoot Connection, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

One of the most enduring, saddest mysteries of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the fate of the Entwives. During their travels together Treebeard told Merry and Pip that Ents, an ancient Middle-earth race of sentient tree people, “lost” the Ent women long ago. Tolkien never revealed what happened to the Entwives in The Lord of the Rings, but The Rings of Power, set during Middle-earth’s Second Age, long before Treebeard met those Hobbits, has shown us exactly what the world lost when they vanished. Season two’s fourth episode introduced one of the Entwives to The Lord of the Rings audiences everywhere, a beautiful and loving creature named Winterbloom.

Season two’s third episode saw Theo and others getting easily manhandled by unseen figures. The Rings of Power‘s next episode confirmed it was the large, powerful Ents who’d grabbed them. But unlike the era of Middle-earth fans know from The Lord of the Rings, the Entwives were still living with their male counterparts during the time of The Rings of Power. The show introduced the Ent couple of Winterbloom (voiced by Olivia Williams) and Snaggleroot (Jim Broadbent).

Though already many thousands of years old by this time, Ents of the Second Age are also thousands of years younger than the ones Merry and Pip will one day meet. No surprise then that on The Rings of Power, Ents move faster and with more agility. They’re maybe even more powerful. Ents are so strong that Morgoth created trolls in response to them. But trolls were never as strong as the tree folk. The Ents of the Second Age were also still just as protective of their barked brethren as ever. None more so than Winterbloom, who fully captures the nature of the Entwives imbued in them by their creator, Yavanna.

In The Lord of the Rings‘ lore, the Valar Yavanna, responsible for all growing things in the world, asked for the Ents to be created in response to her husband creating dwarves. She wanted her tree folk to serve as “shepherds” who would protect the trees from dwarves’ axes. The Ent men tended to the larger trees. The Entwives, more beautiful than their male counterparts, looked after smaller living things.

On The Rings of Power, Winterbloom showed exactly why Yavanna created the Ents. The Entwife fiercely protected her fellow living creatures, many of which came birthed. She was not simply acting as a guard; this Entwife mourned for every living thing the orcs had destroyed. Winterbloom loved those trees, plants, and flowers deeply. The passion, vigilance, and care she felt for them made it easy to see why Treebeard will one day speak so sadly of losing the Entwives. Yet it was the tree folks’ past that ultimately mattered on the Prime Video Series.

While always sentient, Ents only learned to speak thanks to the elves. The Ents never forgot that bond, and it might have saved Arondir and his cohorts on The Rings of Power. While Winterbloom said it would take an age to earn forgiveness for any trees elves had felled, she began that process immediately when Arondir promised elves would protect those woods forever. Unlike orcs or even men, Winterbloom had reason to trust Arondir.

It was a beautiful scene, one that both leaned into Tolkien’s lore and captured the spirit of Middle-earth. But it was an inherently sad one, too. Entwives have always been defined by their absence in Middle-earth. They will leave the Ents towards the end of the Second Age to start a new garden, we may even see it happen on The Rings of Power. No one will ever see them again after that. (Possibly because Sauron will kill them all.) That will ultimately doom the race of Ents entirely. No Entwives mean no new Entings. But even before the day comes when the final Ent takes his final giant step, The Rings of Power shows Middle-earth lost something special when it lost the Entwives. In a world so often overrun with darkness and death, they were loving shepherds of life.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and definitely an Entwife guy. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post The Loss of LOTR’s Entwives Is Much Sadder After Their THE RINGS OF POWER Debut appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power has done something Peter Jackson didn’t with his The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. The Prime Video show has brought a live-action Tom Bombadil to Middle-earth. Who is this strange jolly fellow full of magic and mystery? Why are some fans excited to see him while others might not be? And what role does he seem set to play on The Rings of Power? Here’s everything we know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Tom Bombadil—along with everything we don’t—and what his arrival means for The Stranger during the Second Age.

What The Lord of the Rings Book Does Tom Bombadil Appear In?

The magical, mysterious Tom Bombadil appears in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo and his Hobbit friends accidentally come across the rotund, gregarious figure near Tom Bombadil’s home deep in the Old Forest near the Withywindle tributary valley. Tom Bombadil actually ends up saving Merry and Pippin from a particularly hungry tree, Old Man Willow, who pulls them into its depths. We see an echo of this in The Rings of Power‘s introduction of Tom Bombadil as well.

The area around his small dwelling is under Tom’s domain, and the tired Hobbits spend a couple of days feasting under his roof before leaving. But it’s not long before Frodo must call on Tom, using a special song Bombadil taught him, to rescue the halflings from Barrow-wights. (Those terrifying creatures made their The Rings of Power debut in the same episode Tom did.)

Tom Bombadil, who has a fondness for singing silly songs, sports long hair, and a long beard. He wears a blue jacket, blue feathered hat, and yellow boots. He’s taller than a Hobbit but shorter than a man. Tom Bombadil is also the very, very old, the “eldest” living creature in the world. Tom says he “remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn,” as he predates them.

While he is usually merry, he’s also capable of being serious when the moment calls for it. However, Tom Bombadil showed no interest in the matters of the rest of the world, so while he did not support Sauron during the Third Age, he also did not join in the second war against the Dark Lord.

What Kind of Creature is Tom Bombadil? How Powerful is Tom Bombadil?

No one knows exactly what The Lord of the Rings‘ Tom Bombadil really is. He’s arguably the greatest mystery of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale. His age suggests he might be one of the Ainur, but that’s only one theory. What we do know is that he’s magical and powerful. He also has dominion over nature, which he can commune with. Those abilities are why some think Tom Bombadil is the physical manifestation of the natural world itself. Tom also uses his songs, some of which he sung quietly to himself on The Rings of Power, to control the Barrow-wights and other creatures.

The true depth of his abilities was best exemplified when Frodo willingly handed over the One Ring to him.

Did Tom Bombadil Hold the One Ring?

Frodo was reluctant to give anyone the One Ring, yet freely gave it over to Tom Bombadil without thought when asked in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Unlike everyone else on Middle-earth the One Ring had no power over Tom. He didn’t disappear when he wore it. He was also able to see the otherwise invisible Frodo when he did.

Soon after Elrond, who’d met Bombadil long ago, suggested Tom as an option to carry the One Ring to Mordor. But Gandalf said the jolly fellow’s disinterest would make it likely Tom Bombadil would simply throw the ring away and forget about it.

Why Didn’t Tom Bombadil Appear in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies?

Tom Bombadil plays a very minor role in the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, something Tolkien himself admitted. The author said he included Bombadil because the character represented something “important” he did not specify. With so much story to tell onscreen Peter Jackson decided to leave Tom Bombadil out of The Lord of the Rings trilogy entirely. (Though he did give the Ents some of Tom’s book dialogue in his The Two Towers adaptation.) Tom Bombadil has appeared in some other live-action adaptations as well as other media, like Magic: The Gathering.

Until recently, Tom Bombadil’s depiction in a new out-of-print TCG called The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game was the most canonical rendition of the being we had. The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game was released in 2001 and was based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson. Even though that movie series did not include Tom Bombadil as we just mentioned, The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game still featured the character in a card.

Bombadil’s exclusion from Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films disappointed many ardent fans of the character, but not everyone disagreed with his omission. Some readers find Tom Bombadil, with his penchant for communicating via absurd songs while doing silly dances, a divisive figure. The Rings of Power co-showrunner J.D. Payne told Nerdist “one of the challenges” in bringing the character to live-action “is that Tom Bombadil sort of defies drama by his very nature.”

That didn’t stop the Prime Video series from introducing him to their story, where he doesn’t feel out of place at all.

What is Tom Bombadil Doing on The Rings of Power?

The Stranger didn’t realize his star map was bringing him to another magical, powerful being who seemingly exists outside of time, but he was always meant to find Tom. The slightly more muted version of Tom Bombadil will need to see if The Stranger is worthy of his capabilities, which he will need to stop the mysterious Dark Wizard and Sauron from teaming up and engulfing Middle-earth in flames.

Tom Bombadil is not living in his normal home in the Old Forest in The Rings of Power, though. He is currently residing to the west in Rhûn, where he came to personally see its change from a lush green land into a harsh desert.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry in The Rings of Power

He did not arrive in Rhûn alone though. The woman’s voice The Stranger heard was Tom’s wife Goldberry. She’s a river-spirit, which is why The Stranger did not see her. Goldberry chose not to reveal her human-form to him at this time and we don’t know if we’ll see it at all on The Rings of Power. Outside of Tom’s cottage The Stranger also had an unfortunate encounter with a grumpy tree. Tom called that tree Old Man Ironwood, but it seemed remarkably similar to Old Man Willow from Tolkien’s novel. That equally cantankerous tree was the one who made the Hobbits fall asleep in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which led to them meeting Tom Bombadil in the first place.

Tom Bombadil did not go on to fight Sauron in the Third Age. But that war takes place thousands of years after The Rings of Power. The show is introducing Tom during the Second Age before the Dark Lord even forged his One Ring to rule them all. The pleasant Tom Bombadil might be more subdued because he knows he has an important job to do on The Rings of Power. Istar are relatively new to Middle-earth, and The Stranger needs someone powerful and magical like him to guide him in his quest to understand who he is and what he can. By the Third Age, Gandalf (who The Stranger might actually be) will be well-versed in fighting Dark Lords and not need Tom Bombadil’s help.

Who Is Playing Tom Bombadil on The Rings of Power?

Rory Kinnear (Men, The Imitation Game, Penny Dreadful) plays Tom Bombadil on The Rings of Power. Star Daniel Weyman told us what it was like filming with such a legendary character of Middle-earth.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who is pro Tom Bombadil. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Brings Tom Bombadil to Live-Action LORD OF THE RINGS appeared first on Nerdist.

In July George R.R. Martin told fans he would soon share his thoughts on “everything that’s gone wrong” with House of the Dragon. That tantalizing tease suggested he was ready to spill a whole lot of Moon tea. Well, he sure was. The author did more than just discuss his issues with the adaptation’s divisive second season. Martin spit fire and blood about his concerns in an already deleted blog post where he explained why he’s worried about what showrunner Ryan Condal has planned for the series’ final two seasons, in a screed that was the literary equivalent of the Night King bringing down the Wall.

In a quickly deleted post titled “Beware the Butterflies” at his Not a Blog, Martin opened up talking about the split reaction to House of the Dragon‘s “Blood and Cheese” sequence from season two’s first episode. Some readers thought the show’s version came up far short of the more emotionally wrenching one found in Martin’s Fire & Blood. (I wrote the series “botched” the sequence entirely.) Martin was far kinder in his assessment, which included a lot of praise for the series’ take, even though he agrees book readers are right “the scene in the book is stronger.”

Martin also wrote about how Ryan Condal explained the practical reasons behind these changes, along with how the show would later introduce a missing character cut from that vital scene.

The author’s analysis of House of the Dragon‘s “Blood and Cheese” comes across as tough but fair. Martin has real, well-founded criticism, but understands why certain changes were made. His assessment reads as wholly diplomatic.

“Diplomatic” does not describe the rest of what he wrote. At best it read as highly critical. At worst it came across as downright antagonistic and angry.

Martin explained he only briefly argued about the changes to “Blood and Cheese” because Condal shared his plan to introduce a missing character later. In Fire & Blood Aegon and Helaena have a third child, a younger son named Maelor. His presence (or lack thereof) greatly alters the nightmarish sequence for everyone involved. That’s also true of Maelor’s future role in the story.

While not a major character himself, two-year-old Maelor is a major impetus for important future events. Except Condal apparently later changed his mind and decided to never introduce Maelor to the show. That has clearly (CLEARLY) displeased Martin.

In his post he went into a spoiler-heavy explanation of the massive “Butterfly Effect” the “Missing Maelor” will cause going forward. (If you haven’t read Fire & Blood and don’t want anything from House of the Dragon spoiled we’re going to keep them to a bare minimum here. Martin’s post does not, so tread lightly if you seek out a copy.)

Martin made no attempt to hide his frustration—if not downright anger and disappointment—with Condal, the show, and even HBO whose budget limits he insinuated are causing problems. Here are some of the standout lines from his post (emphasis our own):

• …Could maybe make Maelor a newborn instead of a two year old, but that would scramble up the timeline, which is a bit of a mess already. I have no idea what Ryan has planned — if indeed he has planned anything…
• From what I know, that seems to be what Ryan is doing here. It’s simplest, yes, and may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better.
• In Ryan’s outline for season 3, (character) still kills (themself)… for no particular reason. There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm…
• What will we offer the fans instead, once we’ve killed these butterflies? I have no idea. I do not recall that Ryan and I ever discussed this, back when he first told me they were pushing back on Aegon’s second son. Maelor himself is not essential… but if losing him means we also lose (multiple major moments) well… that’s a considerable loss.

Forget coming in hot. Martin came in on Balerion the Black Dread. And that was true before his final line went full scorched Westeros. He delivered a preemptive shot across the bow at Ryan Condal and House of the Dragon.

• And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…

…Yeah. Yeah.

That’s as subtle as Bronn and as diplomatic as a Dothraki. This was George R.R. Martin making clear he thinks House of the Dragon is heading to the same fate as Game of Thrones, which completely fell apart during its panned final two seasons.

How much of this post is a result of Martin’s frustration with the prequel itself versus how much is this a response to Game of Thrones‘ ending? Only he knows that. But he has previously talked about how he wasn’t as involved with the original show’s latter seasons. And since it seems he’s been unable to prevent fundamental changes he feels strongly about during House of the Dragon‘s first two, this might be the only way he thought he could help the series course correct before it’s too late.

Will it work? Or will this deleted post backfire on him? Will it ostracize him from HBO, Condal, and the show even more? And if it does, will it hurt other spinoffs, including the currently in-production A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

Well, very quickly, HBO issued a statement defending Condal and his choices for House of the Dragon. Later, Condal himself appeared on House of the Dragon‘s official podcast, From Book to Screen, sticking to his adaptorial guns.

“I stand behind the adaptation of how the plot unfolded,” Condal said. “I have talked about this quite a bit, but I will just say it in plain text: the children that we had in the story were simply too young to be able to construct that narrative exactly as laid out in the book. Period. I have lots of experience working with very young performers. To ask two four-year olds to play through that level of drama, it’s just not a realistic expectation.”

He continued: “There’s also a practical element around the things that you can expose young children to on a film set. Yes, you can do clever cutaways, and dummies, and all those things. We wanted this to be a very visceral, subjective experience, not something that was very cut-y, and with closeups. And when you start actually breaking apart what happens in that room, and the things that are said, and the things that are done, it became such a challenge to think about and mount that we started looking for—what are the base elements of this story, that Daemon and Rhaenyra send assassins into the Red Keep, and as a result the king’s child and heir [is] murdered—and how do we dramatize that in a way that’s exciting, and visceral, and horrifying, and do it in the best way possible?”

Martin didn’t feel he was being heard in private so he aired a whole lot of dirty laundry out in public. We’re not sure Meslidandre herself could divine in her flames what that will lead to.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who agrees entirely with George R.R. Martin on this matter. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

Originally published September 4, 2024

The post George R.R. Martin Shares, Deletes Post About His Problems with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON appeared first on Nerdist.

It seems old franchises are continuing to get new life. The Scream universe is back and thriving, a Gremlins animated series is coming soon, and now it seems we are getting more Twilight. Yes, you read that right. A Twilight TV series is in the works via Lionsgate Television. But, in a surprise turn of events, the new Twilight series actually won’t be live-action, instead we will soon see an animated Twilight series at Netflix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streamer is developing the show, which is based no Stephanie Meyer’s Midnight Sun novel that tells the story from Edward’s POV. We’re very curious about how this will play out.

Deadline reveals that Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns shared the news of an animated Twilight show at the Morgan Stanley media conference. He noted, “We’re going to go out with the Twilight series, an animated series, I think there’ll be a lot of interest in that.” We’re sure there will be. When news of the project first arrived, reports did not note its animated nature.

But the publication shares that the Twilight show “had been envisioned as animated from the get-go.” We suppose it would be hard to compete with the live-action version already in the world, so an animated Twilight series is a good way to go. Animation could allow Twilight to bring some of its magical components to life more intricately.

Initially, The Hollywood Reporter, reported that writer Sinead Daly would pen the script, but the latest update on the new Twilight series did not offer confirmation.

Sources also say that Twilight author Stephanie Meyer could be working behind the scenes for this show. And honestly, it is not a bad idea to have a Twilight TV series at all, especially an animated one. There are certainly a plethora of stories that could be told in that universe outside of the dramz we got with Bella, Edward, and Jacob over the course of the Twilight film franchise. Of course, we may just see a retelling of the main trio’s story. What will Renesmee look like this go-around? Only time will tell. But whatever the animated Twilight TV series has in store for us, we are certainly keeping our eyes open for more information. Hold on tight, Spider Monkey. We’re in for another wild ride.

Originally published on April 19, 2023.

The post An Animated TWILIGHT TV Series Is Coming to Netflix appeared first on Nerdist.

Darkness has its Lord in Sauron, but the elves have a High King of their own. He will lead them in the fight for Middle-earth’s soul. How will Gil-galad do that in season two on The Rings of Power after barely averting disaster in season one? Nerdist spoke to star Benjamin Walker ahead of the show’s second season at Prime Video about just that. We also asked about his wide-ranging career, how it prepared him to play one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous leaders, the High King’s reaction to peace giving way to war, and more. 

Nerdist: Before we get to The Rings of Power season two, I want to go back because I have been fascinated by your career for a long time. It’s not even that you’ve worked with some really famous and talented actors and directors. It’s that you’ve played an incredibly wide range of parts across very different genres. Do you actively seek out such different parts? Or is that just sort of how things have fallen for you?

Benjamin Walker: There’s an element to every actor’s career that’s just dumb luck. But I am pretty picky. I kind of live by…I like to collect directors, just in my mind. I want to know how they do what they do and have the opportunity to. Because every time you work with a different director, it’s like a different vocabulary. It’s a different workflow. I really like jumping in between different ways of working. I kind of live by, “What am I going to learn? Is this going to make me better?”

For example, I just did a show in the West End with the director Ivo van Hove. He’s this Dutch avant-garde theater director where you make a film of play you’re doing. While you do the play that video is live projected behind you. And the narrative is often disjointed and confusing on purpose, but it illuminates something unique about the story you’re trying to tell because the audience kind of has to play catch up the entire time. That to me, doing something different every time, is important. It keeps the job fresh. It keeps your tools sharp. And it’s one of the biggest joys I find doing the job, being a collaborator with people you haven’t collaborated with.

The things I’m about to bring up, I bring up specifically because I like them and I especially like you in them. Just want you to know-

Walker: :laughs: Disclaimer, alert.

Well I just want to make sure, because I imagine a lot of people first remember you from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Walker: Sure.

But then you followed that up with an HBO movie about the Supreme Court (Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight) and a Ron Howard film about a famous shipwreck (In the Heart of the Sea). Now you’re a famous Elf King on a Lord of the Ring series. How does playing Gil-galad compare to the many other types of roles you’ve had?

Walker: Oooh. I mean, certainly in terms of the scale, you talk about collaboration, the army of artists and craftspeople that are there to work with you and also support you, that’s been profound on this. That the size and scale of the show, by necessity, if you’re going to do Tolkien, that’s kind of the bare minimum of what it takes.

But, in some ways, now that I’m saying it, it feels a bit…for example, in the Ron Howard film, there were a few days where you’re exhausted, emaciated, and you’re just kind of stuck in a dinghy out in the ocean while (cinematographer) Anthony Dod Mantle has this handheld camera. And it’s like you’re doing almost a Guerrilla independent college film. Or it’s just some guys that have gotten together and they’re going to try and make this little story on this. That was an epic film, but in those moments, it feels very Guerrilla in that way.

We still have those moments on The Rings of Power. You walk into this massive sound stage where they’ve built the forest of Lindon, and you’ve got your ears glued on and you’re wearing a crown, and every leaf has been painted gold. But then you find yourself standing under a tree going, “Alright, but how do we milk every bit of magic out of this scene?” So in some ways the scale is different, the level of production is different, but if it’s good at its core, that’s what you try and do.

In addition to being wise and noble, the elves of Middle-earth are also smug. (Walker agrees) I believe that description definitely applies to Gil-galad. What’s the key to finding the balance between likable yet arrogant with the High King?

Walker: Oh that’s a great question. I think it comes from experience. His perceived smugness, especially in the second season, you’re going to start to see unravel a little bit because it’s one thing to have the experience to know the right move to make because you’ve done it before. But then inversely, when you have had that much experience, what’s the thing that makes you go, “I’ve never seen this before?”

So it’s important to lay in the foundation of the King that he has his hands on the wheel of peace time. But what does he become when peace time starts to slip away? In some ways, the first season is just laying the foundation for where we’re going throughout the course of the remaining seasons.

It’s like you anticipated my next question because in season one, he’s problem solving a desperate situation. But in season two, he’s confronted with the possibility that the cure could be worse than the disease. How does he deal with that and what’s the real driving factor behind his response to Sauron’s potential manipulation?

Walker: For the elves, it’s about the relationships among themselves and among the peoples and species of Middle-earth. You talk about smugness unraveling, with Elrond, for example, they have this great relationship, this kind of mentorship they have fostered. But you look at his relationship with Elrond and what does it mean for him to know that the person you’re mentoring is going to make a mistake. Is going to defy you. It’s almost like a parent-child relationship. A loving parent has to, at some point, let their child make a mistake. “Alright, you climbed up that tree. Now how are you going to get down?”

If every time they need to get out of the tree, you go pull ’em out, they don’t know how to climb trees. You’ve deprived them of that. And I think that’s something that Gil-galad does well, actually, but is also frustrating and costly.

I was going to ask you about your relationship with the other Elf leaders. There’s also Galadriel, Celebrimbor, Círdan. All of them look up to the High King, but they also answer to him. You talked about Elrond, but how would you define your relationship with the rest of them?

Walker: Galadriel and I have a fraught relationship to be sure. On paper, other than the hierarchy that the elves really respect, on paper we are equals. And for those that really know the book, technically she’s older than I am. So that is a recipe for disaster. But they also admire each other in that she often pushes the King and he often needs to pull her back. They need each other in order to be a successful people.

And Celebrimbor, he does something that no other creature has ever done, which is to harness the power of his smithing artistry. He, in some ways, is the pivotal character in all of Tolkien. If he were terrible at making rings, you wouldn’t have much of a story. And there’s a level of respect there that they share, but also they’re playing with technology that nobody fully understands. It’s a bit “Oppenheimer” of Tolkien. That moment of, “I think we can do this. Should we?” And they don’t fully understand what they’re doing.

What’s great about all the High Elves is that they’re in, some ways, the most capable characters in Middle-earth, but also the most fallible. That’s a testament to Tolkien, and, I hope, to what we’re doing with the show.

We know the High King’s fate in this story. Does any part of you keep that in mind so you can sort of reverse engineer how he gets to that point? Or do you simply try to stay centered on exactly where he is at this in the story right now,

Walker: It’s helpful for you as the actor to know. A production of Macbeth where Macbeth knows he’s going to die is not a good production. He has to have hope. But that’s also unique about the Elves in general. How do they live this long? Survive such death and destruction and boredom and misery, but still have hope? That’s unique and part of the fun to know the end of the story and then forget it. And in the pursuit of that hope you help the audience forget it.

What have you learned about Gil-galad after two seasons that has surprised you?

Walker: About how him losing his cool manifests itself. The elves don’t really lose their cool, but if there’s ever a time to lose your cool, it’s when evil has resurfaced and you’ve told all of your lieutenants the right thing to do and they didn’t do it. Part of the fun of Gil-galad is, like we said earlier, this kind of smug peace time consigliere. But what does it look like when he casts off his robes and goes, “Okay, all you guys to your rooms, I’m pulling this car over.” That’s part of the fun. What happens when they’re ready to kick some ass.

What are you most excited for fans to see this season?

Walker: If you know the books, you know it’s about to get really messy.

Also…how do I word this without getting in trouble…

In the books, the elves and music have such a deep relationship. About every two seconds they’re staring into a pool of water and singing to the Valar. It is nice that our show is accepting that and using that. And that we have such great musical team like Bear (McCreary).

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Benjamin Walker On High King Gil-galad’s Response to Coming War in Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Few men of Middle-earth have ever left a more complicated legacy behind than Isildur. Fans of The Lord of the Rings know why. As does The Rings of Powers‘ Maxim Baldry, who plays a younger version of the character on the show. What’s it like playing such an important figure from J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary story? How will things change for Isildur in season two of the show? And what’s it like building a meaningful human/elf relationship? We asked Baldry about all of that and more when we spoke to him ahead of the show’s return on Prime Video.

Nerdist: I’ve done so many of these interviews over the last two days I am now in my head with how to properly say the names of every character. It’s so intimidating because obviously all of you know how to say them perfectly.

Maxim Baldry: Well we’ve lived with them for a while now. I was speaking with someone today about this. We got the job five years ago, and it’s insane to think how quickly time moves. We were talking about what kind of characters we would love to be, and I think I said an elf, just to be able to see time pass in a way that stresses me out. Whereas, for (elves), they’d be able to be slightly more detached from it and see it things come and go. It’d be quite a beautiful experience.

The season opens with you believed dead and abandoned in Middle-earth, which is a pretty big change from where you were last year when you’re mostly in Númenor. What was it like playing the character under such drastically different circumstances this time?

Baldry: I loved it. Isildur lends himself to being thrown around in the mud. He’s a physical character. It’s important to have all of that, to influence and maybe make light of why he chooses to not throw the ring into the fire. That’s what all of these early seasons are about. For him, it’s very exploratory, it’s world-building, it’s understanding who he really is rather than what he does.

And fighting Shelob is just an extension of this whole season for him. It’s a story of survival. Not only is he abandoned by Númenor and left to fend for himself, he also has to survive. He’s thrown into the world of adulthood when he’s out there. He kind of entered as a boy into Middle-earth and is now learning pretty fast that he has to grow up, he has to fend for himself, he has to learn to survive.

So that is Shelob you fight in episode three?

Baldry: In episode three, it’s Shelob. It’s baby Shelob.

You touched on my next question a little bit, because every Lord of the Rings fan, whether they are book readers or moviegoers, know Isildur’s ultimate fate. With each season and episode bringing you closer and closer to that moment, does the knowledge of where he is going to end up influence your choices as a performer at all? Do you try to reverse engineer versus focusing solely on where he is in his life right now?

Baldry: My instinctive reaction was to reverse engineer and (showrunners) Patrick and J.D. sat me down and were like, “We know the end point, but let’s just play here and let’s really create who he is as a person.” I think we did a really good job with season one, because you’re thrown into this family dynamic of a broken one. They’re missing the mother. They’re all grieving in their own respective ways. And Isildur’s fractured relationship with his father never really resolves up until the last scene in episode seven where they have this touching moment and understand their mother’s influence on each other.

Thinking to the end is almost the wrong way of looking at it. Which is what I wanted to do. I’ve always been like, okay, “But he ends there, so how…?” But it’s actually about, “Let’s create this character. We know that he comes from a broken family. We know that he wants more. He’s driven and he’s ambitious.”

What’s more interesting is the ambition that he has in him. On one hand, it can make him resilient on one hand, can propel him to these new extremes of being able to survive, being able to fend off evil. But then it could be a double-edged sword later on. That ambition could also be used in ways that….and I’m just throwing things out here and speculating…but it could be when he takes the ring, it could be, “I’ve lost so much that I will do good with this. I am so ambitious and driven that I know I’ll be able to withstand this evil.”

Obviously, it ends up corrupting him. But there are so many ways to play him and all of the experiences that he has in seasons one, two, and three will shed light on who he is as a person and will actually inform the later decision that he makes.

I asked you about your choices as a performer, but personally…and maybe this is a loaded word…are you ever intimidated by who you are playing?

Baldry: Hell yeah. When I was first told, Patrick and J.D. sat me down on a Zoom call before I went to New Zealand. And they were like, “We just want to let you know who you’re playing. You’re playing Isildur. And they took off a ring. My instinctive response was, “Holy sh….”

There’s a weight of expectation because a lot of fans have an idea of who he is to them and what he represents to them. I did a lot of reading and I did a lot of digging as to who he really is, but we don’t really know that much. We know what he does, but you don’t really know who this character is, what motivates him, what his relationship looks like with Elendil.

This was all world-building that Patrick and J.D. crafted. And I’m very grateful to them because they’re very collaborative in their approach to creating these characters. They like our input. And I’ve lived with the character a lot longer than they’ve actually lived with Isildur now. So they do value my opinion. I think that’s so wonderful, to wake up at 3:00 AM when you’re in the makeup trailer and you are pinning your eyes open, and yet you know that your opinion and your voice is heard.

It’s a wonderful place to work at, because I think great things happen because of collaboration. We all put so much time and effort into it. And we truly have a love for Tolkien. So it’s a fantastic place to work and I think we do it justice. I really truly think so, because our intentions are firstly to respect the works of Tolkien that we all grew up loving. And secondly, to create a compelling story that inspires a new generation of Tolkien lovers.

Speaking of your story this season, there’s a brewing partnership between Isildur and Arondir.  What can you tell us about their relationship in season two?

Baldry: They’re unexpected. They meet in unexpected circumstance, and they have a real profound respect for one another. Elves have always been infatuated with Isildur. There’s a kinship to his elven history as a Númenorian. So when he meets Arondir in such close proximity, they just instantly gravitate towards each other. Isildur learns so much about resilience from Arondir, who has withstood so much. (Arondir) has grown and he’s kept himself together, he’s shown up for everyone in the southlands. To Theo with his grief with Bronwyn. And Isildur, with Arondir, he’s taking notes. He’s like, “Oh, I see how to do this.”

That’s a nice relationship for Isildur to have because he doesn’t really have anyone like that back home. He’s sort of been alone. And he’s learning that bond and community is very important. That’s what drives him to really reevaluate his relationship with his home.

Did you look at other human/elf partnerships in Tolkien stories to help understand how you might feel and interact with him?

Baldry: I thought of Aragon and Legolas in a weird way, because obviously Isildur and Aragon are connected. That’s quite a nice relationship, in a way, that they sort of have a respect for each other. They’re both kind of similar in the way that they’re both physical, but in very different ways. But that’s kind of the extent of my thinking of elves and human partnerships.

What did you take from that, if that’s the one that stands out to you? In what ways does it influence what we’ll see with Isildur and Arondir this year?

Baldry: What we also developed was a sort of look that we wanted to give each other, in the way that Legolas has a very strong gaze. Aragorn was a little bit more malleable, but we wanted to have a moment of stillness between all this chaos. So we’d do this thing where, whenever a situation would happen, we’d look at each other and it would just be a gentle nod. It was just a wonderful moment of appreciating one another for what they’ve done, but also reserving each other with our emotions and actually without having to speak a lot. It’s all done in looks. That’s what a lovely relationship is like between an elf and a human. It’s all done in the look rather than with actual words and dialogue.

What did you learn about Isildur this season that you didn’t know or maybe fully appreciate before you filmed it?

Baldry: His resilience. That’s what I also connected with the most. It’s the fact that he shows up, continues. He pushes forward, and it’s the undercurrent of drive and ambition that I was talking about before. That resilience is also linked with that drive and ambition, which I think is a double-edged sword to him, but one that I’m very keen to explore further on down the line because I think personally he’s hardened by season two. He is blunter and more fanatical. It won’t surprise me if he becomes more of a mercenary. More of a warrior.

This season introduces a new character, Estrid. Her motives and allegiances are not clear. Did the events of season one make Isildur more discerning and wary about strangers? Or is he still just as trusting as before?

Baldry: Estrid is an enigmatic one because she has also lost a lot of things. She’s lost her whole family. And when she opens up to Isildur about this. Something in that response allows him to connect with her over a shared loss that they both feel. So it’s almost trauma bonding, in a way. But obviously, it’s deeper and profound.

What I love about that is that it’s not superfluous love at first sight. It’s deep. It’s a Tolkienian connection in the way that Aragon falls in love with Arwen. It’s not just a facade. There’s something deeper. It’s rooted in something in the cosmos. Isildur is one of those people. He feels a kinship towards her and their relationship sort of blossoms from a shared loss. And what she will present to him is another case of him having to decide whether or not his love for her is stronger than his love for Númenor. So, season two poses him with this dilemma. Does he choose his heart or does he choose his home? Or are they inextricably linked? Should she be his wife?

There are a lot of questions. Those are the sort of questions that make Tolkien so fascinating to so many people. Because they connect with those feelings of being human. Even though you’re in a fantasy world, even though you’re escaping into this Middle-earth, they still resonate. They still pull on your heartstrings. That’s what I love about it.

It’s clear you have a reverence for Tolkien. What part of his lore are you most excited for fans to see during season two?

Baldry: It’s obviously the Akallabêth. It’s the Civil War of Númenor, it’s unrest, it’s bloodshed.

I love politics and I love when a city becomes split down the middle and there’s two factions. There’s the King’s Men, and then there’s the New World, the New Republic. And I love when those things happen. I love the repercussions of those two things. Especially because, as my character, I’m so connected to it. I’m excited to see the Civil War, the Civil Unrest in Númenor.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Maxim Baldry on Isildur’s Journey in Season 2 and Beyond appeared first on Nerdist.

Hobbits have been at the very heart of Middle-earth’s greatest stories since Gandalf recruited Bilbo for a grand adventure. But while J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age didn’t call any race by that iconic name, the Harfoots are one of the tribes who become Hobbits. That puts star Markella Kavenagh at the heart of Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. What’s it like filling such an important role? How will the lovable, positive Nori respond to the evil shadow spreading across the world? And what’s it like going on a journey with a wizard? We asked her about all of that and more when ahead of The Rings of Power‘s second season.

Nerdist: After two seasons of lengthy productions, how sick are you of wandering around outside in rags without shoes?

Kavenagh: I love it. Love it. Could do it all day. I mean, obviously it still feels like you’re wearing shoes because the silicon is so thick. I think it’s silicon that they use. But the feet that you wear are so thick the underneath still feels like a shoe. But I love it. I love the feet, they’re great.

The relationship between Hobbits and a powerful Istar is the very heart of The Lord of the Rings. Now that we know for sure the Stranger is a wizard, do you feel any added pressure playing his Hobbit friend?

Kavenagh: :laughs: The pressure I feel is to betray Nori’s truth. As truthfully as possible and in the most believable way. I don’t really think it’s helpful to think too much about the kind of Wizard/Harfoot dynamic. Just because it’s so specific to our story and to The Rings of Power. It exists in its own kind of narrative. In that sense, I just would get too in my head and I wouldn’t be able to focus on the story we’re telling, which is what’s important for Nori and what’s important for me and portraying Nori. So that’s what I focus on the most.

How does Nori knowing the Stranger’s real identity and just how powerful he is change their relationship in season two?

Kavenagh: She’s more prepared for it now. She had season one, where obviously there was so much experimentation and so much uncertainty and unpredictability, because it was so out of his control. And then in this season, it’s really his responsibility to try and harness it and really work on why it’s so uncontrollable. So for Nori, instead of it being as fearful as she was in season one, for her it’s more curious. It’s more trying to understand where it comes from and how she can also help him navigate it. And realizing it might take something else, some time, in order for him for it to fully come to fruition in a way that works for him and that is not taken out on everyone else around him or the environment.

Does the growing darkness that is spreading over Middle-earth change Nori this year? Or does her kind of purity of heart help her stay the same Harfoot that we met in season one?

Kavenagh: I would definitely say she’s still playful and has that really joyful energy. And, hopefully, a lot of heart. The things that she’s been through towards the end of season one have definitely impacted her in season two. And she just has a little bit more maturity around it and she’s less naïve. She’s just growing. She’s evolving. So there are going to be things, or the way she approaches things, might not always be the same, but she definitely has that underlying sense of that lightness and that purity and wanting everyone and everything to be okay.

What did you learn about Nori during season two that you didn’t know, or maybe didn’t even fully appreciate, before the season?

Kavenagh: How much she underestimates herself. Sometimes she can come across as this Harfoot that’s super forthcoming and super strong-willed and loves adventure and loves being curious and loves all these new experiences and connections. But I think she also really struggles with her own self-confidence and trusting herself. So you really see, I think in this season in a way that you didn’t in the last, is thats she’s on her own a lot more now. She actually has to be with herself and figure out what she wants and what her purpose is in a larger sense. She does have Poppy, so there’s that familiarity there, but ultimately she’s also navigating a lot on her own. It does require a self-awareness that she didn’t really have to confront in the same way in season one.

Harfoots are one of the three tribes of Hobbits, a group that holds a really sacred place in pop culture at large. How do people treat you now that you’re a very important part of a beloved group?

Kavenagh: I don’t obviously look very similar to Nori in my day-to-day. So I’m fine, walk around and no one really says anything. But for people who do like it, yeah, it’s really lovely when it resonates with people, to be able to see the joy on their faces, watching the show as a whole and the series as a whole. And then I’m so glad that in some ways Nori has resonated with people.

I feel so grateful to be a part of it and a part of Tolkien’s world. In that sense, it’s been really lovely hearing that Nori has resonated with some people or that they can feel they can relate to her or have connected to her in some way. But also, I don’t really read a lot online about how it’s been received, so it is always lovely and surprising when someone voices how it’s affected them in a positive way.

I talked to your very tall screen partner and I was asking him about how much, if at all, he draws on the other famous relationships between wizards and Hobbits, and he said that he thinks that your onscreen relationship is actually rooted in your offscreen bonding. Could you talk a little bit about how you and Daniel have evolved together and built this bond?

Kavenagh: We have spent so much time together. Season one, we were there together pretty much the whole time. We were hanging out all the time. And I feel like in many instances with friendships, or people who have to portray friendships on screen, you try and meet up and create a friendship of some sort off screen. At least in my experience, it’s what I’ve attempted to do. But in this instance with Dan, it was so natural and so easy that we really did become really close friends.

I am so fortunate to be able to work with him and to be able to act opposite him and have that friendship. And we just really spent so much time together. We spent so much time together. And even in the UK as much as possible, we would talk about scenes and hang out. But creating a friendship really did. And the same with Megan Richards. It really helped us. Hopefully it reads on screen, because we really do have a lot of love for each other and a lot of respect for each other as humans. I think it always helps when you are taking from your real life into a dynamic on screen. And in this instance, I think it definitely helped us that we just happened to get along.

I’m really fascinated by the craft and how different performers create their characters. And I know you kind of touched on this a little bit, but I do want to just ask because I asked Daniel, too. Is your performance at all, either with the relationship with him, or even just in general, influenced by Peter Jackson’s movies? And I only ask because they’re so big and so iconic and so well-known, and there are onscreen parallels to what you’re doing on this show, even if Nori is completely new. Is there anything you take from them?

Kavenagh: I really love those films. And I love those actors so much and respect their performances and just think they’re really, really incredible. But in terms of whether I look to them for this, I didn’t because the story is so specific and it’s just so way before that time that the Harfoots are just in a completely different space. Headspace wise, their experiences are different, their circumstances are so different. These are people who have had to survive. They don’t even have a base. They’re moving constantly. So their personalities and their makeup internally, and the way they view the world and their perspectives are just so, so different that we really had to start from scratch in a way.

Even though Harfoots exists, Nori is not in the lore. So to be able to create a fully-fledged Harfoot that exists in her own right and with the other Harfoot, that was more focusing on what the showrunners had provided us. And obviously being so inspired and making sure that there’s respect for the lore and making sure that it’s as truthful to that as well. Then also my own backstory, and fusing all of those together. So more focusing on that and what was relevant to Nori, which was her past experiences and her present rather than everything else. They’re just so different. Their circumstances are so different.

You’re already such an important part of the show. But as we talked about, Sauron is rising, things are getting worse in Middle-earth. And they’re only going to get worse and worse as the show goes on until it ends. What do you expect for Nori in terms of how much more important she becomes in this story?

Kavenagh: That’s an interesting question. I hope for her she fulfills her purpose. I know I’ve said that a lot this interview. But in this season particularly, you find out why and what she has to do, essentially for herself and for the bigger picture. I just hope we see her fulfill that. I mean, I personally want her to meet all these other storylines, which I know…technically, who knows? But yes, I think you’ll see her fulfill that purpose. And I hope you see that happen and how Sauron rising and all of that actually affects her and the Harfoots.

I’m not asking you to spoil anything. Your showrunners told me, yes, definitively this season we will get an answer as to who the Stranger really is. So my question to you is, how do you think fans are going to respond to that revelation?

Kavenagh: Whooo knows? Like, who knows? Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you because I think it’s… people have such strong opinions, of course, about Tolkien and Tolkien’s lore. And obviously there are going to be character reveals. It’s just so difficult to say how it’s going to be received. I just…who knows.

How did you react when you found out?

Kavenagh: (laughs) This is so ambitious? I really respect this ambition, for you to try.

I’m not asking you to spoil it, just how did you respond to it?

Kavenagh: How did I react to it? I mean, I love Daniel Weyman. So I was glad he was able to know who and what he was playing.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Markella Kavenagh on Nori’s Response to Season 2’s Growing Evil appeared first on Nerdist.

Celebrimbor is one of the most notorious elves in the history of Middle-earth, but you wouldn’t know that from The Rings of Power‘s first season. The ruler of Eregion and master smith was only a minor character during the show’s inaugural year. But that’s all about to change during its second. Celebrimbor is about to etch his name in infamy by making some powerful rings. What’s it like going from a bit player to one of the show’s most important? And what elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore explain why this noble elf will fall prey to Sauron’s deceptions? We asked the great Charles Edwards about all of that in more when we spoke to him after seeing the first three episodes of the new season.

Nerdist: Your showrunners told me they convinced you to join the series in season one by saying you’d be really important in season two. What exactly did they tell you about your role initially and how it would grow?

Edwards: Pretty much that. They said, “Okay, here’s the deal. You are in a little bit of season one. Then season two everything kicks off,” or something like that. “Then beyond that, who knows?” So they’re quite right. That’s exactly how they sold it to me.

In season one, you’re really just there to serve the story and make some rings. There’s not a lot going on with your character. Was that frustrating or did you have faith in what was going to happen and you’d really be that important?

Edwards: No, I knew it was coming, so I was perfectly happy with that setup. I enjoyed very much the scenes with Rob Aramayo and I enjoyed establishing this character that no one had seen before. But that was all it was, an establisher. The first scene I felt his season two story kind of creep into season one was when he meets Halbrand in the forge and they’re both alone. That’s essentially what season two is for us. And that’s where the spark of season two, the flavor of season two, started to creep in for me when the two of them met.

What did you do differently to prep for season two considering it’s not only it’s a bigger role, all of a sudden it’s a much more dynamic character?

Edwards: You just go where the story takes you and react accordingly. The joy of this for us was that, amazingly, we got to shoot all our scenes in season two in order. It was Charlie Vickers and I in the forge for weeks, every day, telling the story in order chronologically, which is unheard of. It was really, hugely satisfying work for us both. We both really had a great summer doing it.

You want to set (Celebrimbor) up so that he’s ready to receive what Annatar brings, as in he’s got to be at a particular stage of vulnerability or uncertainty to be a juicy bit of prey for the predator. And he’s happy to see (Halbrand) again because he thinks he’s forged some kind of a relationship with this guy. But I believe that in season one, when they first meet, that’s when Sauron first casts whatever spell it is that he casts on Celebrimbor, in that brief scene when he suggests using the mithral. Celebrimbor is very susceptible to flattery. Then, as you’ll see as the season progresses, it becomes more and more aggressively psychological and violent. The relationship is not a healthy one.

I want to get into that a little bit more, but I want to take a step back because I’m curious how much of Tolkien’s lore did you rely on to develop the character versus how much is coming from the scripts themselves?

Edwards: Celebrimbor is obviously a very vital part of Tolkien’s world, in terms of the rings and the ring making. But very little is written about him. What there is is either contradictory, or fascinatingly elusive and juicy, saying that he was an ambitious, vain person. He was desperate to emulate the success of his grandfather. All of those are just little diamonds.

That’s all we had. Two versions said he was from a different place. And one version says he’s in love with Galadriel, which we’re not following with this show. So there was a real concoction of possibilities.

The answer to your question is that it came from, obviously, (showrunners) J.D. and Patrick, their vision of him and my version of him. They kind of combined to take Celebrimbor down this path. His vulnerability is what’s interesting to me, brought on by the vanity and feeling he’s never quite made it, even though everyone else would say he had. There’s something in him. He’s kind of having an Elvish midlife crisis. Then the storyline for season two was presented to me by J.D. and I went, “Wow, that sounds great. That’s really good.”

Like you said, there are different parts of the lore that say different things, and there’s some that says he’s not a prideful figure. He’s almost dwarf-likein his devotion to just making stuff.

Edwards: Tolkien says that too. That’s what’s so great about it. A bit of everything.

But when you see how Annatar persuades him, how much of Celebrimbor’s own downfall, and the horrors that are going to come for the next two ages of this world, come because he has pride? And how much of his story is the bad kind of pride versus the good kind of pride in his work?

Edwards: It’s all of those things. Tolkien gives us that too, in these contradictory versions. He says that about the dwarf-like obsession with craft. That’s great. I love that. And when I first got the role, I looked online because I didn’t know Celebrimbor and all the fan art images of this guy with a leather apron and a huge hammer with huge pecs. And I went, “Oooh, okay. Alright. That’s kind of Celebrimbor, is it?” But the dwarf-like obsession with craft suggests to me someone much more cerebral, much more bookish in a way. And the work he does is so detailed. It is all about filigree and delicacy. That’s the kind of direction I went with him.

Then you have a comment in one of the books which I searched for, this comment about his relationship with pride. I was jubilant when I found it. It’s just a sentence, but it’s there. I seized on that because that’s a wonderful combination. Someone who never felt like he quite achieved, someone with a chip on his shoulder. There are many, many versions that are possible within what we’ve been given. I hope I’ve done some of it justice.

You might’ve already kind of answered this, but what do you think is the biggest reason he lets Halbrand back in the first place after Galadriel already warned him not trust this guy.

Edwards: She has told him not to let him in, but he doesn’t know why. And at the point we find him at the beginning of season two, he feels ignored. He feels let down that he hasn’t heard any news how the three rings have done. He feels slightly abandoned because all the missives and letters coming from the king have been intercepted. So he’s going, “What the hell’s going on here?”

Then Halbrand turns up, and as I mentioned, there is something about Halbrand that already has his hook in Celebrimbor in season one. And when Halbrand turns up, there’s something maybe quite titillating about disobeying Galadriel because he’s pissed off with everyone. Then later in the season, he says, “No, no, it’s my kingdom. I’m going to do what the hell I want.” There’s a bit of petulance there, going, “No, I’m going to do this.” There’s a bit of that. He feels like he’s being forgotten.

Season one really establishes just how conniving and manipulative Sauron is and how easily he can get someone to trust him. But is there any part of Celebrimbor that doubts Annatar’s story? Or is he really that convincing?

Edwards: When Annatar presents himself to Celebrimbor as the messenger of the Valar at that moment, he goes, “Wow, this is extraterrestrial. This is extraordinary.” As anyone would in that situation. Later, as you’ll see, he will start to question it.

But right now what’s so interesting about it is that he does present himself in that way to Celebrimbor. Then they start to work together and they bicker like workmates do. It becomes this almost domestic relationship. They’re spending all the time in the forge, and the psychological battle that starts to occur between them is a very domestic setup, the games that start to get played between them. It’s so satisfying to play against the backdrop of this big fantasy show. It’s suddenly very insular and interesting and gripping, in a very psychological way. Later he will start to question, he will start to doubt.

We’re only discussing the first three episodes, but you’ve hinted at this a little bit. What can you tell us, without spoiling anything, that you’re really excited for fans to see with you and Sauron this year?

Edwards: The way that Celebrimbor fights back is great. There’s an episode towards the end, the way Celebrimbor starts to see what has been done to him.

You’ve clearly looked at Tolkien’s writing closely and saw how there’s both depth and freedom to craft this character. Considering we know Celebrimbor’s ultimate fate, and we know how important he is to what’s going to be two very destructive periods, is there any part of you that sort of tries to reverse engineer how he will get there? Or do you just try to stay in the present moment of his life?

Edwards: The latter. For those who aren’t aware of what might become of him, I wouldn’t want to hint at anything.

And because all this happens so fast and so intensely in our version, he’s caught at every moment. He’s just kept on the hook by Annatar, so he just has to live in the moment. But in terms of his tragedy, that is sort of self-evident later. I haven’t tried to preempt him as a tragic hero or anything like that. Hopefully he might be that anyway.

My last question is not mine. I spoke to Charlie Vickers yesterday. It’s clear he reveres you.

Edwards: Likewise.

I asked him what question should I ask you? He said I wasn’t allowed to ask him this, but he wants to know if you had a ring and it could give you some kind of power, what power would you want?

Edwards: :laughs: What would my answer to that be…

…Probably to live forever.

Really?

Edwards: Probably.

Oh, so you really are an elf. You don’t want The Gift.

Edwards: No, but with a little sub clause saying you could be reborn every, I dunno, 80 years. Not turn into a child again, but be reborn in your current form. And you don’t age, of course, you stay at about forty five. Forty maybe. But you get reborn not knowing everything that you knew when you last died, if you see what I mean?

That is such an elf answer. Thank you so much. This was really great.

Edwards: You’re very welcome.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Charles Edwards on Celebrimbor’s Pride, Season 2, and Annatar appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power‘s first season brought an Istar to Middle-earth. We just didn’t know for certain the Stranger was a wizard until the season finale. What’s it been like for star Daniel Weyman since that revelation? That was just one of the many questions we asked him ahead of the show’s second year on Prime Video. We also wanted to know about being part of a wizard/Hobbit partnership. What it’s like for his character now that he knows what he is (sort of). And whether or not we’ll find out his true identity this year.

Nerdist: We spoke just a couple of days after season one’s finale when the world learned for certain the Stranger was a wizard. I’m curious, in almost two years since that revelation, how do people treat you knowing you’re a member of that very important Middle-earth group?

Daniel Weyman: I would love to say they gave me a lot of respect, but pretty much the same as always. Mainly the people I speak to have found the story of the Stranger has resonated for them because of the way that they are present for these big learning moments. As he understands friendship, as he begins to trust, as he sees in the Harfoot community love, and their sort of communal humanity. And then in the way he has his own personal journey with understanding his own power. Danger versus good, there to help or to do selfish deeds, that sort of thing is resonating a lot with people.

When I come back to it, that idea of the seduction around power, the fact that when we, in the real world are at our most powerful, or when we can be powerful, they can also be our most seduced moments. We’re seduced into thinking we should use that power. Or that, in fact, if I throw my weight around, that in fact makes me a better person or a stronger person and that’s what I want to identify with. So  there’s been a bit of that around the journey. And I’ve had a lot of people talk to me about the tender side of the Stranger.

Certainly early Stranger season one, even before he could speak, people were getting quite a lot of tenderness through his listening, which was interesting. That wasn’t something I had thought about. I’d sort of been aware of the light moments and the dark moments. The light was normally the wonder and the lack of knowledge, and the dark was more of this possibility of being seduced by the more evil side, the dark side.

They were the things that have really come through. But it’s been really fun listening to people and listening to people talk about how the first season affected them or the characters that they loved. And people have been pretty complimentary to my face about the Stranger.

You spent season one with the Stranger not knowing who or what he is. What was it like playing him this time when he knows he’s a wizard? What was better and what was more challenging?

Weyman: That’s a really good question. I think when we left him at the end of season one, he was off with Nori beginning this journey. And I really felt he was at this point of being most hopeful, most positive, most free from being weighed down by external things or not knowing stuff. So this idea, this vision, of them stomping off through the greenery felt like a very light moment in his journey. And obviously as we get into season two, that quickly turns into a sort of arid path rather than a lush green path. The heat starts to bake down and before we know it. They don’t have a whole heap of food or drink and they’re possibly being followed and the Stranger’s being troubled by these dreams.

That’s where the crux of your question comes in. Yeah he is pretty certain that he’s a wizard. Other people have heard. Nori’s heard. The mystics call him an Istar. And he’s got some relationship with that. Some knowledge, I think through helping with the mystics and maybe using the stuff that Nori gave him to channel. The energy has, in some way, just reconnected him to a bit more of his origins and his eternal being.

But how he uses that or what that means for his understanding of Middle-earth, I think is murkier. I got the impression just watching that end of (episode) eight and now knowing where I’ve been in season two, that he thought his next part of the journey was going to be plain sailing. And the darkness that he’d experienced in season one was largely internal darkness about his own decisions, about how much he wanted to exert his control, how wonderful it was to be able to choose whether a firefly dies or lives. The power of being able to regenerate an apple tree, those sort of things. They were sort of internal struggles.

Whereas now I feel when he’s on his journey, he’s much more aware of this landscape struggle. He’s much more aware of Middle-earth being in peril itself. I get the feeling he senses darkness rising. The moment when he managed to produce these beetles from the broken tree, when they’re looking for food, I feel even in that moment he senses that they’re almost like the blood in his veins. That he’s worried about this Middle-earth malaise, this rising of darkness, is in some way a question that’s going to confront him. That in some way his purpose is going to be inextricably linked to this darkness rising.

But I don’t think he knows in what way, because I think in these dreams he’s being troubled by, they seem to be suggesting that as he makes choices, bad things happen. And I think he still isn’t far enough away from season one Stranger to have shed that idea that there is some fate or destiny of which it doesn’t matter how hard he might try, he’s still going to end up causing problems or causing darkness. So that’s sort of where we meet him.

Wizard-Hobbit relationship is at the very core of The Lord of the Rings. Does the partnership between Gandalf and Bilbo and Frodo influence your performance and interactions with Nori and Poppy in any way?

Weyman: It’s funny, you’re the second person to ask me that really specific question. And it seems weird to say this, but I hadn’t thought about those relationships in comparison with our relationships. Which I get must be a bit strange. It must sound naive or just dumb.

Not at all, actually. I ask because I’m fascinated by the process of creating characters.

Weyman: For me, it all goes back to the first time I met Markella and we did some rehearsals together. The showrunners were in the room, and J. A. (Bayona), who was directing the first episode. The Stranger obviously wasn’t going to talk, and we did this sort of little rehearsal around the crater scene when she prods the Stranger and the Stranger wakes up. Just that moment, I think J.A. wanted to get a sense of how that might look, or what the energies might be so he could think about how he was going to film it. And Markella and I sort of leapt into that.

We were in this disused school drama center, and they built blocks for the crater out of those wooden sort of things that kids used to use for stages at school. So they built this sort of crater and I was in it in my rehearsal clothes. Markella came up and did her bit. And as the Stranger woke up, I had a fairly violent, as in terrified, response and it was quite big. She obviously was terrified being Nori. I sort of skidded off the crater and ended up on the floor a bit and he was all a bit mayhem.

After that, there was something that happened between Markella and me. There’s this expression, “Strong but wrong.” So strong but wrong is something that I’m very capable of doing. Big idea…utterly, utterly wrong. But in that room, we both felt comfortable enough to go bold and see what they thought. Now as it happened, J.A. did think it was largely a wrong direction. He said to me very quickly, “You did quite a lot of this and I’d really like it if you didn’t do any of that, I’d like to see what happens.” But the point was that, we’d both been, on this show first thing in front of the showrunners together, and we hadn’t met each other before. We sort of bonded by our joint risk.

I feel like the Stranger’s relationship to Nori almost came secondarily from my relationship with Markella. So this blurring of Markella and I’s bond, through being able to express story without dialogue from the Stranger. Or through physical action. We had a movement coordinator, Lara, who is brilliant. We worked as three together to explore some of the ideas around what that might mean for those two beings.

The further we got into the Stranger-Nori relationship, it sort of felt like it took over from the Daniel-Markella relationship in a way that meant I, strangely, never conceived of the Wizard-Hobbit relationship. And also, the other thing to say about that is that the showrunners didn’t write it (that way). We didn’t know I was a wizard when we started. The wizard bit crystallized very late for me and Markella. The storiy that came still had this possibility he was a dark character. Yes, we knew that he’d survived this fireball. So we knew he wasn’t human or any being that was mortal on Middle-earth. But there were other question marks around where his power led and what kind of character he was.

So really the wizardry part came so late on that by then the relationship had formed. And yet, in all honesty, I hadn’t thought about that bond in that context.

I know you can’t tell me if you are, in fact, Mithrandir. But I am curious if you personally, at this point, know whether or not you are secretly Gandalf.

Weyman: You are curious whether I know as an actor, you mean?

As an actor, yes.

Weyman: That’s an interesting question…

How about this? Do you know your real identity, which is something that is teased early in the season?

Weyman: Yeah, that’s really an interesting. Because my argument has always been with this—and I think this is how the showrunners have tried to handle me—is that I would argue that I’ve always known. I’ve always known who he was because I’ve been with him since he was born. He was nothing else. He’s nothing else, because he hasn’t been through anything else yet. And the joy is here that the audience also knows exactly who he is. You’ve all been through exactly what I’ve been through, and that’s all there is at the minute of the Stranger.

So we do know who he is. We know very well who he is by having been with him. Interestingly, we know more about being with him than we do of any other character in the whole piece. They’ve all got a history that we don’t know anything about.

Now I know certain things have started to crystallize for (the Stranger) about this possibility of another world. And I think that’ll be fun for when Tom Bombadil comes in and we know they cross paths. Suddenly, then, you get another eternal character, Tom Bombadil, who has a dimensional quality that the Stranger hasn’t really come across yet, except for a bit with the mystics maybe.

When he comes into the sphere of Tom Bombadil, what does that do for the Stranger’s relationship to the Harfoots, which is dimensionally like our relationship in the real world. But then imagine we are in the presence of a God or a demigod, how much that would shrink down the idea of three dimensional landscape. Because four dimensional landscape gives us so much. Where does that place Nori/Poppy/the Strangers relationship? How does that fit in with what Tom Bombadil exists in? And challenges the Stranger about whether they’re positive things or negative things? I dunno whether that answers your question at all.

It gets to the last topic, because I want to talk about that interaction with Tom Bombadi. I just want to ask you personally, when you’re standing in this immersive set and you’re standing opposite Tom Bombadil in his hat, do you take a moment to just kind of nerd out about the whole thing?

Weyman: Ab-so-lutely. Ab-so-lutely. There was a lot of nerding out. And the set was just sumptuous. For me it couldn’t have been better. The place they made him have his home in this area when he’s in this moment, it was an unbelievably beautiful thing. And Tom, in classic Tom fashion, was able to be full of the whimsy that he is. The light touch, the speed of thought, the challenging, confronting behavior, and also the moments of utter earth shockingly massive revelation and grounded, rooted sensibility that he has.

Of course, the Stranger doesn’t know necessarily everything that we know about Tom Bombadil. He’s kept playing catch up anyway. But there’s a lot of being in the presence of Tom Bombadil for the Stranger, only suddenly becoming aware of this fourth dimension, this eternal creature, there’s a lot of catch up. It was all pretty new when he started working with a three-dimensional character in Nori, in the Harfoots, learning about all those things: friendship, love, honesty, community, place, distance. But now he’s got to catch up to a whole new being. He’s got this other sphere of, “Oh my gosh, it goes down there and it goes down there. It’s everywhere.” So t was really fun to be on stage. Really fun.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Daniel Weyman on The Stranger’s Season 2 Journey and Nerding out Over Tom Bombadil appeared first on Nerdist.

Middle-earth’s Second Age was a time of peace…until it wasn’t. According to The Rings of Power‘s showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne that growing darkness will dominate the show’s second season. But what else can we expect from the show’s sophomore outing? That’s what we wanted to know when we spoke with them ahead of the show’s return at Prime Video. From Tom Bombadil and Tolkien lore to finding out the Stranger’s real name and why this season is even more epic, they gave viewers a lot to be excited about as they dive int The Rings of Power season two.

Nerdist: Before we get into season two, I wanted to know, did the reactions to season one, good or bad, influence your approach to season two in any way?

Patrick McKay: Season two was conceived and written before a single frame of season one was seen by anybody, so in this particular instance, while it might be really tempting and easy to try to do a cause effect situation there, no, no. This was always the story. This was the plan from the beginning.

To the extent that season one influenced season two, it’s more our own experience. We like to say making season one was a bit like building a pyramid, before anyone had ever attempted to build a pyramid, including us. In season two, we’re building another pyramid, and that’s drawing on all the experience we have of having done it once before. And hopefully, we’re getting better at our jobs. We want every season and every episode to raise the bar, and if we’re getting better at doing that, then hopefully, some of the fruits of that labor are beginning to show. At the end of the day, we feel like we’re just hitting our stride.

What are the biggest, most obvious differences between season one and two of The Rings of Power?

J.D. Payne: Season one starts in a time of relative peace for Middle-earth. We’re bringing audiences to the Second Age in a time when the shadow had just sort of receded a bit. And we were setting up the chessboard, meeting a bunch of our heroes and one of our villains, in particular. But he was behind a cloak, so to speak, and he was not played open season one.

Season two, Sauron is out in the open. The audience knows who he is, and he’s coming to Celebrimbor in the form of Annatar. So now that the villain is here, really everything is going to be set in motion.

Season one is about the heroes and bringing people to Middle-earth. Season two is all about the villains. Annatar has been ascendant in Mordor. Sauron has left season one with three rings he created, but he was unable to turn Galadriel to his side. He doesn’t have any of the rings. He has no armies. And he has no orcs, no weapons. All he has is his own cunning, and he’s going to use it to set in motion Adar and his armies, Gil-galad and the elves in their armies, and set Middle-earth on a collision course with some pretty disastrous stuff.

Patrick McKay: We very consciously designed season one, as J.D. says, a return to Middle-earth, but one in which you would feel the breadth of the different kinds of peoples, the different characters, the different realms, the different races, all of which are on their own journeys. And then season one, you just started to see some of those journeys converge.

Season two is really all those different journeys, starting more and more, to feel like one epic, and that is the story of Sauron’s rise and all of Middle-earth, despite all their disparate origins and interests, having to come together to face him. But what that also means is along the way, different characters are going to rise and become major protagonists from episode to episode and even season to season. Celebrimbor, played by the amazing Charlie Edwards, has a supporting role in season one.

We lured Charlie Edwards to join our merry band with the promise that in season two, in some ways, Celebrimbor is the emotional heart of the whole season. And in future seasons, I daresay other characters might become more prominent or less prominent. We’re trying to create a rotating cast of heroes and, indeed, villains, and everybody gets their moment to shine. And season two is going to be focused much more on Sauron.

J.D. Payne: And Celebrimbor, because there’s a great psychological thriller between them. There’s this sort of cat-and-mouse game, as Sauron is trying to manipulate Celebrimbor into making the rings. So that’s something that we’re excited for our audiences to experience.

Patrick McKay: But it necessitates a darker tone as well as higher stakes, and not everybody’s going to get out of the season alive.

Oh. I can’t imagine you want to tell me who’s not making it out of alive.

McKay: You got to watch.

I asked you about the most obvious, major differences. What are some of the more subtle differences between these two seasons?

Payne: We’re working with a new production designer this season named Kristian Milsted. He worked on a lot of different shows and films before this, including a bunch of the Watchmen season that was on HBO, which we were great admirers of.

Our goal is always to do as much practically and in-camera as we possibly can. Season two, the on-set builds, the in-camera worlds, are several layers of magnitude richer and larger than anything we attempted in season one. Khazad-dûm, which we’re meeting at a time of great splendor and majesty, season one, in terms of what was actually in-camera, there were a couple of rooms and a bridge. Season two, we built an entire working dwarf mine with various tunnels and passages and unexplored caverns and marketplaces, and a huge throne room, in addition to a bridge and several other rooms. In terms of what we’re actually getting in-camera, it’s much, much, much more this season. And that all, adds to a tonal shift that we were interested in subtly applying.

Patrick McKay: We’re enormously proud of season one, but as J.D. said, that was Middle-earth in a time of peace. Season two, the shadows are creeping in. That means it’s going to be grittier, it’s going to be darker, and our producing director this season is the enormously talented Charlotte Brändström, who recently did an episode of Shogun we’re great admirers of, working with her in the later episodes of season one, we really found a tone that was very heart-on-sleeve emotionally, but also very grounded visually and rich in its performances.

We really wanted to capitalize on that and carry it forward. You feel a shift in the storytelling that’s not always so obvious in terms of just the gravity with which we’re approaching each of these scenes, each of these performances, each of these worlds in their depiction visually, but also hopefully how they play emotionally from scene to scene.

Payne: A not such a subtle difference, I can’t help but mention as I’m looking at your (wedding) ring on the Zoom screen, is now we’ve got rings in play. There’s the three Elven rings. We’re going to see the seven Dwarven rings forged. We’re going to start to see the effects that those have on our characters. The Elven rings have some mysterious qualities of healing, of preserving and protecting, and we’re going to see some of these come out in the drama.

McKay: There’s a new magic in Middle-earth this time.

Oh, and I shall also say new characters and new creatures. We’re going to see Tom Bombadil and we’re going to see Cirdan. We’re also going to see Ents, and we’re going to see Barrow-wights. There’s canon characters and creatures that I think fans are going to be very excited to see, and there’s also a ton for people who have never heard of Middle-earth before to come and enjoy the party.

Okay. You brought him up, so I’m going to jump the gun on asking about him. You are bringing a beloved yet divisive Middle-earth figure to the screen with Tom Bombadil. Why did you decide to include him, and what can you tell us about the role he’ll play this season?

McKay: I’m going to come at this tonally. Season two, as we said, is a darker season by virtue of the fact that Sauron is unleashed. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still want room for Tolkienian whimsy, wonder, and humor. And in thinking about our storyline, we knew Tom Bombadil was around at this time, and we knew Tom Bombadil had never been brought to the screen in the way that we feel he deserved. Those two ultimately proved irresistible questions that we had to answer, so he’s sort of bringing the light in a season with a lot of shadow.

J.D. Payne: But one of the challenges is that Tom Bombadil sort of defies drama by his very nature. Frodo and the Hobbits go to him, not really to figure out what to do with the ring, not really figure out how to battle Sauron, just kind of to hang out, hear him sing some songs and say some rhymes and tell him about some trees and the old forest and the Barrow-wights. But he’s a powerful character, and he’s a character with deep wells of wisdom. If I can hang out with anyone in Middle-earth, anyone, it would be Tom Bombadil because he just knows everything. He’s been around forever.

The challenge was to find what’s a way you can bring a character like that into the drama in a way that doesn’t stop the story dead, but also doesn’t violate the essential nature of who Tom Bombadil is. We sort of tried to walk that line, and we think audiences here are going to enjoy it.

He’s such an important part of the lore, and I do want to ask you a couple of questions about that, but I don’t think everyone realizes just how many years of story this show has to condense for obvious reasons. What omission of Tolkien’s lore are you most upset you had to leave out this year?

Patrick McKay: I don’t know that we ever feel upset about our ability to play in this world. It is just such a constant source of joy and magic and wonder. What we end up feeling is gratitude for the enormous banquet that Tolkien is serve. And then to be able to every season pick a few things and fill a plate is an opportunity more than anything that would upset us.

J.D. Payne: I’ll take a nibble at the question, in as much as one of the things that is interesting about Tolkien on a literary sense, is just the sense of almost the geological timescale on which things happen in Middle-earth.

The rings are forged and then hundreds of years pass where nothing happens, and you just sort of have a shadow brewing. Or the rings are just sort of working on people. And you also have generations passing in Númenor as things are slowly, slowly, slowly getting worse. And that works in literature. It’s next to impossible to accomplish in a dramatic, especially televised or filmed dramatic dramatization.

So you lose some of those, but what you lose in that you gain in cohesion of narrative-

McKay: And emotional impact.

Payne: And emotional impact, by giving people characters they’re able to invest in. Instead of human characters dying every season and then having to meet new humans while you’re sort hanging out with these immortal elves, you get to really invest in your human characters and be with them for the entire series.

McKay: We love this material so much, and we’re always looking to bring it to the screen in the grandest way imaginable that is true to the spirit of the source, and that’s something that we’re never going to be satisfied that we’ve fully pulled off.

We’ve only got a couple of minutes left, so I’m going to go kind of rapid-fire here. What part of Tolkien and lore are you most excited for viewers to see this year?

Payne: Sauron, Celebrimbor, and Eregion.

McKay: The forging of the rings of power in Eregion.

You already mentioned Annatar. We see a very different version of Sauron at the start of the season. Can you tell us if there are other versions of Sauron that are going to appear?

McKay: It’s an evolution. Sauron appears in many forms, and over the course of season two there’s quite a growth and change in his chameleonic nature. But it’s not whack-a-mole with different Saurons popping up all over the place. It’s all the development of the character as his relationships inevitably erode from his inherent evil.

The first few episodes tease it. So I have to ask, I know you’re not going to tell me who the Stranger is, but will we find out who The Stranger is by the end of this season?

Payne: Definitive yes.

I think we should also say that that’s not why you should go on the Stranger’s journey this season. We like to say that he’s someone who’s come to Middle-earth; he’s learning his purpose. He knows he’s a wizard now, but he doesn’t really know what it means to be a wizard, and what does it mean to have these powers? What are my powers? How do I control my powers? What am I supposed to use them for? Who do I fight? How do I fight them? What impact is that going to have on my friends? What impact is it going to have on me? All those are the questions he’s asking on the journey’s going on as he comes into his own. So that’s the ice cream sundae. The name is just the cherry on top.

So when we finally learn his name is Mithrandir, will you come back and talk to me again after the season?

McKay: No comment. But yes, we will come back and talk to you.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Showrunners on Season 2’s Growing Darkness, Tolkien’s Lore, and More appeared first on Nerdist.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two will take us back to Middle-earth on August 29. The show plans to tackle The Fall of Eregion in this season, and will almost definitely tackle one of the most major event of the Second Age, the rise and fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, in seasons to come. If you’ve watched season one of The Rings of Power, and even if you’ve only seen Peter Jackson’s films, you’ll recognize this baddie. The Dark Lord Sauron, of course, plays a major role in the Second Age of Middle-earth. He also survives into the Third Age, when The Lord of the Rings takes place. But where does he actually come from, and how did he rise to such destructive power in Middle-earth? Here’s everything you need to know about Sauron and his influence in The Rings of Power.

The History of Sauron and the first Dark Lord Morgoth

Before we get into Sauron, it’s best to start with his predecessor and the first Dark Lord of Middle-earth: Morgoth. First known as Melkor, he was a Valar—or one of the most powerful beings in Arda. He was created by Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme deity. Melkor was there from the beginning of creation, and came to Arda with the other Valar. Originally a pure being, he eventually rebelled against his creator, obtained the name Morgoth, and was ultimately cast out of Arda and into the Void. But before all that happened, he attracted the attention of another soon-to-be Dark Lord.

Sauron began his days as Mairon (“the admirable”), a powerful Maia—spirits who came to Arda to help the Valar shape the world. (Other Maia include Gandalf and Saruman.) He was a pure and orderly being in the beginning, who studied the craft of forging. But he grew selfish, and eventually aligned himself with Morgoth. Though he served the Dark Lord Morgoth, he didn’t necessarily believe in the exact same things. While Morgoth was obsessed with conquering, Mairon wanted to dominate the minds and wills of Arda’s creatures.

During his time with Morgoth, Mairon was deceptive. He maintained appearances, pretending to be faithful to the other Valar, But when Morgoth established his place in Middle-earth, Mairon dropped the charade and made his allegiance with the Dark Lord known. It is then that he came to be known as Sauron, or “the abominable.”

Sauron in The First Age

Sauron was Morgoth’s servant during his war against the Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth. He ruled the fortress of Angband during Morgoth’s reign, a location he later escaped during the War of the Powers—the first time Morgoth was seized by the Valar. Sauron gained a fearsome reputation during this time, conquering the Elvish island Tol Sirion that he renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth, or “The Isle of Werewolves.” To make things extra metal, Sauron had a servant named Thuringwethil on Tol-in-Gaurhoth who took the shape of a Vampire. Sauron himself would shape-shift into a Werewolf or Vampire during this time, when he was at the height of his power.

While Morgoth was the enemy of Elves, Sauron was the enemy of Men. He also factors into the epic love story of Beren and Lúthien, that fated romance between a mortal man and Elvish woman. (Aragorn sings about them in The Lord of the Rings, as their love reminds him of his romance with Arwen.) Sauron captured Beren and the Elven king Finrod at one point, and imprisoned them on Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Though Finrod later died, Lúthien helped Beren escape when she arrived at the Werewolf island with the wolfhound Huan. Sauron, in werewolf form, fought with Huan—and lost. He yielded his power to Lúthien, took the form of a vampire, and went into hiding.

He emerged after Morgoth was finally defeated, and pled the Maia Eönwë for mercy. But out of fear of judgment, he fled and went into hiding in Middle-earth once again.

Sauron and the Forging of the Rings of Power

After about 500 years, Sauron emerged once again and established himself in Mordor, where he built the tower of Barad-dûr. He raised armies of Orcs and Trolls, as well as Men, luring them with promises of wealth. Though he originally meant only to rebuild after Morgoth’s war, once he recognized his power and sway over his armies, he began plotting ways to overtake Middle-earth. To do this, he took a new shape, as the handsome Annatar. This disguise was meant to fool the Elves, and it worked on some, though not everyone. (Galadriel and Elrond were among the Elves who didn’t fall for this trick.)

As Annatar, Sauron persuaded the Elven-smiths of Eregion to craft the Rings of Power, using his knowledge of craftsmanship to advise on their creation. Once they were made and distributed to the Men, Dwarves, and Elves, Sauron secretly created another ring: the One Ring. This ring, forged in Mount Doom in Mordor, controlled the other rings using dark magic. On the ring, Sauron inscribed this phrase in Black Speech:

Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (Translation: One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them, One Ring to Bring Them All, and in the Darkness Bind Them.)

Sauron’s plan quickly backfired. Once he wore his One Ring, the Elves immediately sensed his treachery. They hid their rings from him, and the Dwarves proved fairly resistant from Sauron’s influence over theirs. However, the nine Men who received rings were all corrupted. They became the Nazgûl (seen prominently in Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring, as the hooded figures stalking Frodo), Sauron’s greatest servants.

Sauron declared war on the Elves, and nearly conquered all of Middle-earth. But the Men of the West intervened, led by Tar-Minastir, King of Númenór. Sauron was defeated, and retreated to Mordor. There, he slowly regained power, and began calling himself “The King of Men.” This pissed off the Númenóreans, who arrived in Mordor and took Sauron as a hostage back to Númenor.

Sauron’s Evil Plans for Númenor

This imprisonment proved fruitful for Sauron. Though he feigned unhappiness, he was actually thrilled at the opportunity to corrupt Númenor from within. He cozied up to King Ar-Pharazôn, slowly corrupting him until he was the king’s most trusted adviser. He convinced Ar-Pharazôn and other Númenóreans to worship Morgoth, as he sensed in them a fear of death. Sauron helped them erect a temple on Númenor devoted to Morgoth, where the king performed human sacrifices. Eventually, he even convinced Ar-Pharazôn to rebel against the Valar and take their home of Valinor for themselves.

Like many of Sauron’s plans, this one also backfired. When the Men stormed the West, Eru Ilúvatar himself intervened. He sank Númenor, and bent Arda from flat to round so that Men could no longer reach Valinor. During his time on Númenor, Sauron had disguised himself in a handsome mortal form, but its sinking destroyed his body and permanently robbed him of the ability to shape-shift. His spirit fled back to Mordor, where he built a new body and regained his strength. This time, he wasn’t concerned about minds—he started to rule and attack with blunt force and terror.

The Men of Númenor who remained faithful to the Valar were able to escape the island’s destruction. They came to Middle-earth and established the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. Sauron learned that these men were led by Elendil, whom he despised. He led a war against these Men, but they teamed with Elven king Gil-Galad and created the Last Alliance. During this war, Sauron himself fought and killed Elendil and Gil-Galad, killing them both. But Elendil’s son, Isildur, took up his father’s broken sword, and cut the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. Because the ring was Sauron’s ultimate source of power, he lost his body and power when it was taken from him. His armies fled and Sauron’s broken spirit escaped to Mordor, where he went into deep hiding.

Sauron in The Lord of the Rings

This is where the story starts sounding pretty familiar. Isildur took control of the One Ring, but couldn’t bring himself to destroy it. He was killed by Orcs, the ring was lost, and it lay dormant for many years. That is, until it was discovered by the Hobbit relatives Sméagol and Déagol. Sméagol took possession of the ring, hid away in the mountains, and became the creature Gollum. This marks the beginning of the Third Age, and leads us into the story of The Hobbit and then The Lord of the Rings. The title of the later refers to Sauron himself, who sought to once again regain ultimate power. (Spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

Sauron’s time on Númenor will be a part of The Rings of Power‘s story. So it’s important to have all of this context heading in. Sauron is the literal Lord of the Rings, the biggest bad in all of Middle-earth with so much power, and one of the greatest fictional villains of all time. I can’t wait to see him come to screen in a brand new way.

Originally published March 22, 2021.

The post Sauron’s History in Middle-earth, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney+’s adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians brought Rick Riordan’s books to life with joy, adventure, and magic. Perfect casting and creative storytelling made for an entertaining take on the first Percy Jackson book. Percy figured out who stole Zeus’ Master Bolt, but that’s far from the last quest the demigod goes on. And luckily, we’ll get to see at least one more. Disney+ has renewed Percy Jackson and the Olympians for season two. This makes sense, as Disney reports the show has over 110 million hours streamed to date. And now, we know season two has officially begun production. At D23, Disney released a Percy Jackson season two teaser trailer to celebrate the milestone.

The second season of Percy Jackson will adapt the second book in Riordan’s series, The Sea of Monsters. In it, mythological monsters threaten Camp Half-Blood. Percy must act to save the special haven for demigods, along with Annabeth and Grover. And the Sea of Monsters? That’s the Bermuda Triangle. It’s all going to be fine, we’re sure.

Speaking about the renewed series, Riordan said in a statement, “I can’t wait to bring the next season of Percy Jackson to Disney+! Raise anchors. Hoist the mainsail. All hands on deck, demigods. We’re heading for the Sea of Monsters!”

Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri will of course return as the main trio in the Riordan and Jon Steinberg-created series. We’re bound to see many familiar faces from season one, along with plenty of new ones. You never know which gods and creatures Percy Jackson will run into.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season one is now streaming on Disney+. Percy Jackson and the Olympians season two will release on Disney+ in 2025.

The post PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS Season 2 Teaser Trailer Celebrates Production Start appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon‘s first season seated Tom Glynn-Carney’s Aegon on the Iron Throne. But despite wearing the Conqueror’s crown Alicent’s oldest son still felt like a minor player in his own war for succession. That was not the case during season two. Aegon was one of the biggest players in the prequel’s deadly family game of thrones. As was Glynn-Carney himself, who delivered one of the best, most complicated, most challenging performances of the season. Nerdist spoke to him about that, where Larys is really taking the injured King, how he feels about his mom, and more following season two’s finale. We also found out why we shouldn’t give up hope just yet of eventually seeing Aegon’s awful mustache from Fire & Blood.

Nerdist: I’m told you’re on holiday in a remote area, so I have to ask the obvious question: are you currently vacationing in Braavos?

Tom Glynn-Carney: :laughs: No. No, I’m not.

I’m in :actual location—which Nerdist can confirm is beautiful—withheld so Aemond Targaryen doesn’t find out:.

Do you know exactly where Larys is taking Aegon after the House of the Dragon season two finale? Is it really Braavos?

Glynn-Carney: Can’t disclose that information at this point, I don’t think. But wherever it is, it’s somewhere. Sorry, I just made that up. I don’t know.

Does Aegon have any doubts about Larys, or does he fully trust him at this point?

Glynn-Carney: He’s the best of a bad bunch in the Red Keep. I think there is a certain amount of trust that he has towards Larys just because there’s common ground. They’re both physically impaired now, and Larys has lived his entire life in that state. So there’s some sort of connectivity going on there, but also it seems like he does have Aegon’s best interests at heart at this point. I don’t think Aegon wants to look too much into that at the moment. He will find cracks in the woodwork. So yeah, he’s a lifeline at the moment. And he shall be used accordingly.

At this point, how does Aegon feel about his mother, Alicent, in House of the Dragon?

Glynn-Carney: That’s a good question. I think he feels there’s this undying love that he has for Alicent. Aegon, he’s her first born son, and yet there’s never been this kind of understanding or eye-to-eye that they’ve had. He knows she’s flawed, and she knows he’s flawed, and I think they expect a lot from each other that neither of them are able to give. But at this point, he’s not thinking that rationally. He likes to point the finger and he needs to find somebody to blame. He blames Aemond, of course. But also for it to get to this point, Alicent has sort of steered the ship in a certain way. So yeah, there’s a lot going on there. It’s quite a complex relationship.

I know as an actor you have to find Aegon’s humanity, but does the King himself recognize, in any way, he’s a monster?

Glynn-Carney: I think he’s dancing with the idea of being loved and feared at the same time. I know I’ve said that in interviews before, but I think it’s a good way of putting it. Those two things don’t really go together. He’s trying to work out a way for his approach to being the king and to ruling. He’s trying to strike a balance where he remains effective, but also people listen to him. At the moment he hasn’t been listened to, which is kind of why he’s had to force himself into this position of being proactive in a way that he was not ready to do.

So, no, I don’t think he thinks he’s a monster because I don’t think he is a monster. I think he’s somebody who’s very tortured and traumatized by his own making really. But I also think it makes somebody more dangerous when they don’t realize potential. I don’t think he does quite just yet.

Considering I know how important Aegon is to the story, I was very frustrated by how little the show featured you in season one. Did you know back then just how big your role would be in season two of House of the Dragon?

Glynn-Carney: I was warned it was an introduction. Just in terms of the time jump. We couldn’t really have the older versions of our characters, myself and Helaena and Aemond and the likes, because of the time jump we were making. I understood season one was always more of an introduction to our versions of these characters, and season two would really lift off. And season three and onwards would just get tastier and tastier as time went on. So no, I didn’t feel shortchanged or let down or anything. I was always updated with the plan.

The show is charting its own course and making some big changes to the Dance of the Dragons. Have (showrunner) Ryan Condal and the writers given you a heads-up on what awaits Aegon in seasons three and four of House of the Dragon?

Glynn-Carney: Yeah, I’ve spoken to Ryan and writers Sara Hess and David Hancock a lot about their ideas, about the trajectory that they want Aegon to go on. They have been quite…there’s been details, but not too detailed because of giving things away and not locking things in the writing room. It’s exciting to listen to and it’s exciting to understand where their thoughts are and include me in that as well, which is great. It feels very collaborative that they want to know my thoughts and the rest of the actors on their own characters journeys really. It’s great.

I think this is really saying something on a show this well acted: your performance this year was a revelation for many and has rightfully earned very high praise. What’s it been like personally hearing that kind of response to your work?

Glynn-Carney: It’s very kind. Thank you. To be honest, I try and stay away from all of the conversations about it. It feels like my work, for now anyway, has been done. And I want to sort of put it to bed and move on and not really dwell on it. I think if I get too engaged with what people are saying, and the noises people are making, I’ll get too in my head. That’s not really the way I like to work. But I’m really glad to hear that people are responding well and they’re seeing lots of different colors to Aegon that they didn’t anticipate.

That was my job from the first day on set, to bring this character to life in a multidimensional, varied, color palette kind of way. And he’s an absolute gift to play. I think you’d do well to do a bad job of a character like Aegon. He’s a gift that keeps on giving.

You had to do a lot this year as Aegon on House of the Dragon season two. What is more challenging as a performer: the big physical, loud, emotional scenes from earlier in the season or the quieter ones after Aegon’s injuries?

Glynn-Carney: Both for different reasons. I dunno, that’s like comparing badminton with tennis, two very different sports. In terms of stamina, probably the louder, more kind of theatrical scenes. They require a lot of focus and a lot of energy and usually emotional depth and agility. But saying that, when I’m in the bed, covered in all the prosthetics and stuff, that’s tiring in its own way and difficult to remain focused on the task at hand. So yeah, both have their own challenges, but I revel in both arenas.

My last question, and I would not forgive myself if I didn’t ask this, what happened to Aegon’s terrible little mustache from Fire & Blood?

Glynn-Carney: :laughs: Good question. You know what? I had this conversation with Amanda Knight, the wonderful hair and makeup designer on the show. We spoke about this at the start, about whether we could bring that to life, because I remember seeing pictures of him. And she was like, “You know what? You might not want to sustain that for the amount of time that we do this show. So maybe let’s go clean shaven and see where we get from there.” But that’s not to say that it might not come at some point, even though he has had his face burned; it might be half a mustache, but we’ll see.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. As a Rhaenyra supporter he can’t believe he was excited to speak to Alicent’s son. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. (Just don’t tell AEgon where he has him on the list.)

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Tom Glynn-Carney On Why Aegon Doesn’t Have a Mustache appeared first on Nerdist.

Throughout her career spanning over three decades, the beloved actress Christina Ricci has brought some of our favorite unique and oft-macabre characters to life. We all love her as Wednesday Addams and Yellowjackets’ Misty Quigley. Ricci is a hero to many goth folks among us as well as those who eschew the societal boxes that encourage a status quo based on boring normalcy. To put it plainly, she’s one of the coolest people in existence. Now, Christina Ricci is giving fans a new form of cinematic creativity with Cat Full of Spiders: Tarot Deck and Guidebook, a surrealist dive into her mind through the artform of tarot reading, and we are exclusively revealing four of this deck’s gorgeous cards. This special project by Ricci and writer/tarot consultant Minerva Siegel is based on her impressions and muses throughout her life and career.

As you can see, some of these cards will feature Christina Ricci’s likeness in its artwork by Felipe Flores. Other cards will explain the meaning of the card from her unique perspective. First up is The Chariot, a Major Arcana card that can represent (in its straightforward, or upright, meaning) willpower and determination through challenges to secure victory. Of course, there are many ways to interpret a card. Thankfully, this deck will come with a guidebook to help users as they familiarize themselves with its cards.

Then, there’s the Five of Cups, a Minor Arcana card. It features a woman holding an empty cup with four others on the ground. Five black cats sit on a wall near her as a shadowy figure stands in a window. As we see in the photo, this card can represent many things, including regret and despair. But we are sure that there’s a deeper story to explore within this artwork.

The Six of Swords, featuring a smiling pumpkinhead atop a woman’s body and six golden swords, feels both playful and ominous. We cannot wait to read more about Ricci’s interpretation and artwork choices for this Minor Arcana card.

The final reveal is Two of Pentacles, both of which we see on this card. There’s also a girl carrying a lunchbox in front of a very ’80s-inspired background. She seems to be rushing off the school, a fitting choice for a card that often appears when a reader is doing the same in their life. Like the previous two cards, this is a part of the Minor Arcana.

Here’s more details about about Christina Ricci’s Cat Full of Spiders: Tarot Deck and Guidebook: 

Honestly, could there be a more perfect person to guide us through the world of tarot than Christina Ricci? It is very on-brand, indeed. This is a great way to open up this ancient practice to her ever-growing legion of fans.

Here’s what Ricci had to say about her latest creative venture: 

“This tarot deck is a passion project for me. It is filled with references to moments in my life and touches on the moments that come our way as we journey through the world. I hope that it introduces people to the wonder of tarot, or for those that are already ingratiated, provides an expanded connection to it. It’s been so great to work with my husband, Mark Hampton, on the creative direction; Felipe Flores, who helped bring this idea to life visually; tarot expert, Minerva Siegel, who helped put words to paper; and the team at Insight Editions on this deck. I really can’t wait to see it in people’s hands and hope it serves as inspiration for them.” 

Cat Full of Spiders: Tarot Deck and Guidebook is available on September 24 and fans can pre-order this fantastic deck right now.       

The post Get an Exclusive Look at Christina Ricci’s CAT FULL OF SPIDERS: TAROT DECK AND GUIDEBOOK appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon‘s season two finale brought Tyland Lannister across the Narrow Sea to meet with the Triarchy. Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen needs an armada to break House Velaryon’s blockade of the Gullet. The green council’s Master of Ships secured the alliance at great cost, both in terms of money and personal injury. He only sealed the deal after also proving his own worth as a man to a memorable new character. “The Queen Who Ever Was” introduced Admiral Sharako Lohar, a fascinating, eccentric character based on two pirates from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.

Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon‘s Season Two Finale

Tyland Lannister thought he had successfully negotiated terms with the Triarchy’s representatives only to learn there was one last thing he needed to do. The pirates said the fleet would not fight unless the Triarchy’s commander Admiral Lohar would lead them. “The sailors are fiercely loyal to him,” the three pirates explained. To win Lohar’s services Tyland would need to get dirty. Literally.

The Lyseni Admiral was not the person Tyland expected to meet when the commander entered the tent. The other pirates had referred to Lohar—played by trans actress and popular YouTuber Abigail Thorn (The Acolyte)—as “he/him.” The commander also wore men’s clothes and later spoke of their many wives they hoped Tyland would impregnate. Only, Lohar presented as a woman enough that when the Admiral told Tyland of his wish “to have children with” him the Lannister lord thought Lohar wanted to sleep with him.

That gender ambiguity was intentional, both on screen and off. Thorn herself called Lohar “she” when announcing her casting on the show. Is Lohar a transman? Gender fluid? Those terms do not seem to exist in the world of House of the Dragon, but no matter what term might be most appropriate the bigger point is that the pirate commander was trying to keep Tyland on his toes throughout their time together. Lohar also asked him what kind of man he is and whether he had ever eaten the flesh of his enemies. (A jest!) And of course the Admiral made Tyland wrestle in the mud to prove his worth as an ally. Lohar agrees to go for Team Green and the band of pirates sets sail along with Tyland at the end of the finale. So, we will see Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon season three.

Admiral Sharako Lohar Isn’t a Major Character in Fire & Blood, So House of the Dragon Uses Rycallio Ryndoon’s Story

Fire & Blood barely talks about the Lyseni Admiral Sharako Lohar, who is called “he” in one of the few sentences that even refers to the pirate. The version of Lohar on House of the Dragon takes obvious inspiration from a different, far more memorable pirate who features prominently in Martin’s in-world history, the Tyroshi captain-general Rycallio Ryndoon.

The 6’6″ tall Ryndoon, revered in songs and poems throughout the Free Cities of Esos, dyed his hair and beard orange and purple. The flamboyant sailor fought against Daemon Targaryen in the Stepstones long before the Dance of the Dragons. At one point in life he even named himself King of the Narrow Sea. The pirate also liked to dress like a woman and work as a prostitute. The great swordsman was also as equally generous with coin as he was with spewing vulgarities. He also liked to make potential allies fight in the mud and sometimes asked the most worthy men impregnate his many wives.

House of the Dragon‘s Lohar has far more in common with Rycallio Ryndoon than their Fire & Blood counterpart. And the show is better for it. Westeros is a stuffy place of norms and expectations during the best of times. During a deadly war of fire and blood, a gender-fluid pirate who loves mud wrestling and making wealthy lords uncomfortable is exactly what everyone needs.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and eccentric pirate enthusiast. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Admiral Lohar? The Character’s FIRE & BLOOD History, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Daemon Targaryen spent House of the Dragon‘s second season lost. First he lost his wife’s love and respect. Then he lost his ability to tell the difference between reality and dreams. But in the season finale, he finally he lost something that will serve him well: his lifelong desire to claim the Iron Throne. That only happened when Harrenhal’s “witch” Alys Rivers helped the Rogue Prince see how he his just “one part” of a larger story. Only that story is not the Dance of the Dragons. It’s a story that is much bigger and much more important, the only one that has ever truly mattered for House Targaryen.

Daemon Targaryen learned his family’s only true purpose in Westeros is to stop the White Walkers. And he know the role he must play to help defeat the army of the dead thanks to some very powerful figures that includes a major Game of Thrones character.

The King Consort spent season two on House of the Dragon struggling with his own ambition, past failures, and heinous sins. Those demons manifested in countless nightmares he had within cursed Harrenhal’s walls. His dark visions forced Daemon to face about himself ultimately led him back to the castle’s holy godswood.

His return to that sacred spot—and ultimately back to Rhaenyra’s side as both husband and devoted follower—began when he awoke in the middle of the night to find the mysterious Alys Rivers sitting on his bed. Daemon followed the strange, wise woman outside to the very same place she once foretold his. Before Alys spoke, though, Daemon saw a strange creature near the godswood’s weirwood tree. It was unclear if that antlered figure was real or just another vision, but that doesn’t even matter. Their appearance before Daemon was monumental, because that was one of the most important beings in the entire history of Westeros. That strange creature was one of the Green Men from the nearby revered Isle of Faces, an island in the middle of the Gods Eye lake where Harrenhal sits.

The Isle of Faces is where the First Men and the Children of the Forest signed the Pact that ended their long war many millennia before House of the Dragon. To mark the union between the two races they carved faces into everyone of the island’s many weirwoods. They believed that would allow all the old gods to bare witness to the agreement. The First Men and Children also established the order of the Green Men, a religious group ancient tales say is made of of small, horned (or antlered) green-skinned beings.

Want to Know More: Read our History of Thrones Piece “Gods Eye and the Isle of Faces“

Did Daemon really see one of those ancient beings? Despite being in a populous part of the Realm, few have ever made it to the Isle of Faces to even see if the Green Men still exist. But few believed the Children of the Forest or the White Walkers were still living north of the Wall, either. Game of Thrones viewers also know the stories about the Children/Green Mens’ abilities are true, too.

They were greenseers, like Ned Stark’s son Bran will prove to be one day. Those magical beings can see through weirwood trees, which is why the Children carved faces in weirwoods. And because those heart trees can live forever if left alone, they exist outside of time, allowing greenseers to see into the past, present, and future.

What Alys Rivers spoke of, and what she had Daemon do, in the season two finale suggests she is a greenseer herself. That would explain how she knew the time had finally come to let the King Consort learn the truth about how his own desires matter little. His nightmares prepared him to learn the truth about why Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros.

“When you came here you were a closed fist,” Alys said to Daemon. “You wished to bend the world to your will. But you’ve discovered, I think, that this world will not be governed. There are omens here for those who seek them.” When the believing Prince did not scoff at her, she asked him, “Do you wish then to learn what is given to you? All your life, you have sought to command your own fate. But today you are ready.”

With that a willing Daemon approached the weirwood and touched its carved face. The sacred tree’s red sap then started to run like blood over his hand. That’s when the visions, which tie Daemon’s own story into the Song of Ice and Fire itself, began. The first person he saw is one of the most important, most notorious members of his family to ever call Westeros home. Daemon saw a descendant who won’t even be born for another 45 years. He saw Brynden Rivers, a figure Game of Thrones‘ fans know as the Three-Eyed Raven.

Brynden Rivers was an albino Targaryen “Great Bastard” whose mother was a Lady of House Blackwood. His father was King Aegon the Unworthy, a despicable ruler who on his deathbed legitimized Brynden and his fellow bastard siblings, a decision that led to the second major Targaryen civil war, which itself led to even more.

Brynden (played by two different actors on House of the Dragon) was better known in life as Lord Bloodraven. He got that moniker thanks to the red, raven(ish)-shaped winestain birthmark on his cheek. He was cunning, intense, feared, and loyal to his King, as he fought against his own bastard siblings when his half-brother Daemon Blackfyre tried to claim the Iron Throne. The first Blackfyre Rebellion cost Brynden Rivers an eye, which he chose not to cover up.

His pale skin, white hair, signature birthmark, missing eye, and uncanny ability to know countless secrets from around the Realm all contributed to many calling Brynden Rivers a dark sorcerer. “How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have?” asked a popular riddle-turned-song. “A thousand eyes, and one.” That answer were right, but not because Bloodraven used sinister magic. He was one of the most powerful greenseers in the Westeros’ history.

He also greatly outlived his natural life. After his nephew, Aegon the Unlikely, sent his uncle Bloodraven to the Wall, Brynden Rivers became Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He held that position until one day he vanished to the far north. Game of Thrones‘ fans know what became of him there. He joined with the Children of the Forest, had his body consumed by the roots of a tree, and began watching Bran Stark so that one day he could begin training Ned’s son to replace him.

Now thanks to House of the Dragon we know Lord Bloodraven was also guiding his own ancestors during their lives.

When Daemon touched the weirwood he saw Bloodraven, a greenseer who knew all of his family’s secrets from the past, present, and future, appeared. That powerful figure, who will dedicate his life to his family and all of the living, then showed Daemon the White Walkers and the army of the dead. Bloodraven then showed Daemon the death of dragons amid a sea of bodies and blood. The King Consort then saw himself consumed by water before ultimately he watched the rebirth of dragons one day. Daemon saw his own descendent, Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys Targaryen, hatching three dragons from the flames. But that was not the end of his vision. Daemon saw all of that will only be possible if Rhaenyra, not himself, sits on the Iron Throne.

Yet Alys Rivers, the Green Men, and Bloodraven were not the only greenseers to show Daemon what he “must do.” To truly learn he is “but a part” of the only story that matters, the story of the living and the dead, Daemon also needed the guidance of Helaena Targaryen, his niece the Queen.

Want to Know More: Read Our History of Thrones Piece “Brynden Rivers, the Three-Eyed Raven of King’s Landing“

From King’s Landing she also saw through the weirwood her Uncle held. Rather than hate the man who had her son killed, the soft-spoken prophet told him what he must do. Like the other greenseers, she knows what awaits her family and the world one day. What Daemon does in his life will matter in that coming war. (Even if it seems what her own brother Aemond does will not.)

The Rogue Prince did not merely hear about the Song of Ice and Fire as a young Rhaenyra did. Daemon experienced it. Because he did, he knows the truth about why House Targaryen conquered the Seven Kingdoms in the first place. It wasn’t about the Iron Throne or crown he’s always craved. Nor was it about power, bending the world to your will, or commanding your fate. It wasn’t even about love and respect, two things Daemon has always yearned for yet never earned. It’s about saving the living from the dead.

Only when Daemon finally understood his only purpose did he bend the knee to his wife. Daemon finally knows Viserys chose Rhaenyra for a reason, and that reason is bigger than any Targaryen king or queen.

Now her husband who amassed an army in the Riverlands must serve her so he can serve his House Targaryen. That’s the only way he can prepare the living for the only war that will ever really matter. Unfortunately for the Realm, before the White Walkers come the dragons still have to dance.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist obsessed with Lord Bloodraven. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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San Diego Comic-Con 2024 briefly turned into Middle-earth when the cast and crew from The Rings of Power came to Hall H to celebrate the series’ upcoming return to Prime Video. They did that by debuting an all-new season two trailer. But humans, dwarves, wizard, Harfoots, and elves weren’t the only ones from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world to make the trip to pop culture’s premier showcase. The Rings of Power panel also debuted a behind-the-scenes featurette of the many creatures that will also appear during the show’s sophomore season. Now Prime Video has shared it with everyone on this Earth.

In addition to some terrifying beasts and an army of Orcs, we’ll be revisiting some truly iconic figures from The Lord of the Rings. Ents and a young Shelob will make their presence felt during the Second Age.

This creature teaser has everything: Barrow-wights, Hill-trolls (our new boy Damrod!) and Sea-worms. And since this is Middle-earth after all, there are also plenty of Orcs around. and dark lords are only some of the enemies you’ll have to face during your journeys. But we’re most excited to see two very memorable creatures.

The show is bringing back our favorite lumbering, slow-moving talking trees, the Ents. Only, they don’t seem that slow at this point in their lives, which is thousands of years before they meet Pip and Merry. And we’re also going to get the chance to see another of Middle-earth’s most notorious creatures as a youngster. The spider Shelob is here to eat anyone and anything unlucky enough to cross her path.

We can’t wait to see a youthful, nimble, still totally horrible Shelob in action. This teaser also includes some tantalizing scenes of non-creatures in combat or on trial. And we can’t wait to see all of them, but we have to wait a little longer for that. The Rings of Power will return to Prime Video for its second season on August 29.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Creature Featurette Includes Ents and Young Shelob appeared first on Nerdist.

Queen Rhaenyra has her dragonriders, but many Targaryen bastards who tried to claim the world’s greatest power died on Dragonstone. That infamous event from Fire & Blood known as “The Red Sowing” gave the House of the Dragon episode its title. The show did make some big changes to George R.R. Martin’s book, but ultimately the result of both versions is still the same: the Blacks have never been stronger. And, we have some interesting new dragonriders in House of the Dragon that fans will want to keep their eyes on.

What Did House of the Dragon Change about “The Sowing of the Seeds” From the Book?

House of the Dragon made some major changes to the “Sowing of the Seeds” even before season two’s penultimate episode.

The prequel series began looking for new dragonriders by having Ser Steffon Darklyn be the first and only person to try and claim a dragon. That was entirely a House of the Dragon creation that changed the origins of the Sowing entirely. Rhaenyra specifically asked her Lord Commander to try after searching through old family scrolls following an idea by her son Jace. She learned Steffon’s grandmother’s grandmother had been a Targaryen. In both versions of the Sowing Ser Steffon died bathed in dragonflame.

On House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra only got the idea to turn to Targaryen bastards (known as dragonseeds) after another big change from Fire & Blood. On the show, Seasmoke went and made/forced Addam of Hull to become his rider.

In Martin’s in-world history, her son Jace wasn’t worried about bastards claiming dragons. He came up with the plan to let anyone and everyone try and become a dragonlord. He offered knighthoods, lands, and riches to any man (not women) who successfully mounted a dragon.

What followed was a single day event that came to be known as “the Red Sowing.” In Fire & Blood, that’s when both Steffon and Addam made their attempts along with dragonseeds and anyone else willing to risk death. However, unlike on House of the Dragon, those Targaryen bastards did not come from King’s Landing. They were dragonseeds of Dragonstone. Mysaria’s (not so) covert recruitment plan in the capital was another change from the show..

In Fire & Blood, sixteen men died during the sowing. Dragons burned or maimed three times as many, with some suffering grievous wounds, including have limbs bitten off. (Hence the “red” moniker.) One man who suffered burns during a failed attempt was Alyn of Hull. On House of the Dragon, Alyn didn’t even try to claim a dragon despite his brother’s success.

One other major change in the HBO series was that Rhaenyra only had people try and claim Vermithor and Silverwing. In the book’s version, would-be dragonriders also made attempts to mount three wild dragons. Those untamed beasts attacked many people, with one especially vicious wild dragon responsible for some of the most gruesome scenes of death and mayhem. (Only Vermithor caused either on House of the Dragon, which was just as deadly.)

In Fire & Blood, someone the show seems to be eliminating from its story did claim one of Dragonstone’s wild dragons during the Sowing. (If you don’t care about spoilers you can read more about that here. If you paid attention to this episode, though, you probably already know what might happen.)

House of the Dragon Turned “The Red Sowing” Into a Horror Film

Instead of a long day of agony where people approached a dragon one at a time, House of the Dragon‘s “Red Sowing” was a quick, chaotic event of mostly failure.

Rhaenyra took all the dragonseeds, a group made up of both men and women, down into the caverns below Dragonstone. There she summoned Vermithor, a massive dragon nearly as big as Vhagar but even more fierce. (She had to call on Vermithor herself because the dragonkeepers quit when they learned she wanted to let commoners try and claim the sacred beasts. That’s also a new addition to this event.)

A single dragonseed came forth when Vermithor answered the call, but the former dragon of King Jaehaerys attacked the entire group. Some ran away while others either fled down stairs or got knocked down to the ground below the platform. There Vermithor hunted the remaining dragonseeds down, burning and eating them alive. The “Bronze Fury” only stopped when Hugh the blacksmith came forward to sacrifice himself to save a woman.

Hugh’s bravery gained him a dragon, as Vermithor bowed his head and accepted the bastard son of an infamous Targaryen Princess as his rider.

Silverwing’s new dragonrider claimed his mount in a very different way. Rather than bravery or nobility, Ulf the White stumbled in the darkness until he came upon Silverwing. Without doing anything notable, including not even approaching her, she accepted him as her rider. It was closer to how Seasmoke claimed Addam than how Hugh claimed Vermithor.

Despite their differences, the “Red Sowing” of both House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood ended the same way.

Who Are the New Dragonriders in House of the Dragon?

Hugh the Blacksmith Claimed the Dragon Vermithor

Hugh the blacksmith, also known as Hugh the Hammer in Fire & Blood, claimed Vermithor.

House of the Dragon revealed his mother was Saera Targaryen, the notorious, exiled daughter of King Jaehaerys. His first-cousin is Daemon Targaryen, which makes Rhaenyra is second cousin. Hugh showed bravery standing up to Vermithor, which may have been why the fearsome dragon accepted him.

Ulf the White Claimed the Dragon Silverwing

Unlike in Fire & Blood, Ulf the White did not try to claim Silverwing directly by approaching the she-dragon. Instead they met by accident with Silverwing seemingly choosing Ulf. The new dragonrider didn’t waste anytime taking to the skies. He went on an ill-advised dragon joy ride over his home in King’s Landing, where he has long claimed to be the son of the late Baelon the Brave, Saera’s older brother.

Before going to Dragonstone, Ulf doubted his own tale of royal heritage and whether he’s really the bastard brother of Viserys and Daemon when Rhaenyra called for dragonseeds. His success claiming Silverwing indicates he is at least the bastard child of some Targaryen, even if it’s not Baelon.

Addam of Hull Claimed the Dragon Seasmoke

He didn’t have to do it at the Sowing, but just as in Fire & Blood Addam of Hull is now Seasmoke’s dragonrider. The HBO show did raise the possibility his mother was a Targaryen bastard herself, but it’s still possible Seasmoke allowed Addam to mount him because he has the blood of Old Valyria via his father Corlys Velaryon. Corlys isn’t sure, though, because House Velaryon were never dragonriders but that’s obviously going to change in House of the Dragon.

Queen Rhaenyra doesn’t care how Addam claimed Seasmoke, only that he supports her. Neither does she care about Hugh and Ulf’s lowborn status. Just like in Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon gave her and “army of bastards” she hopes will give her the Iron Throne.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and  dragon historian. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Interview with the Vampire just concluded its second season, and almost immediately, AMC announced a third season. As predicted, it will be based on Anne Rice’s second Vampire Chronicles novel, The Vampire Lestat. At Comic-Con in San Diego, at the end of the Interview with the Vampire panel, AMC revealed the very first teaser for season 3 of Interview with the Vampire. It leans heavily into Lestat’s rock star persona, a central factor in Rice’s book. You can watch the full Interview with the Vampire teaser for season 3, which introduces The Vampire Lestat and Sam Reid as the glamorous rock star version of the vampire, right here:

The Interview with the Vampire season three teaser starts with someone sitting in Lestat’s chair as he’s about to be interviewed by journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). It seems in the series, Lestat will tell his side of the story to Daniel as part of a documentary while on tour with his rock band. In this way, the title Interview with the Vampire still makes sense for season three, even though the later novels don’t include an interview framing device. The other person sitting in Lestat’s hair has dark hair and wears black leather. This seems to be a joke about the very off-book version of Lestat from the film Queen of the Damned in the Interview with the Vampire season three trailer. He very quickly has to make way when the real deal steps into the room.

We hear Sam Reid in voiceover say “I am the Vampire Lestat. I am immortal, more or less. The light of the sun, the sustained heat of an intense fire — these things might destroy me. But then again, they might not.” These are the same opening sentences of the novel The Vampire Lestat. We also hear a reference to Christine Clair, Lestat’s lawyer, another character from Rice’s book in this Interview with the Vampire season three teaser. The crew person who holds the clapper has an interesting tattoo that says “Armand told the truth.” It seems in the universe of the show, we have some human conspiracy theorists. (Alternatively, fan conspiracy theorists wonder if its Daniel Molloy’s own arm that holds the tattoo, since it appears to be in the red-brown script Armand used to make his director notes in Interview with the Vampire season two.)

According to series showrunner Rolin Jones, the musical influences series composer Daniel Hart is drawing from for Lestat’s music in Interview with the Vampire season three include David Bowie, Bjork, T-Rex, Freddie Mercury, Beastie Boys, Iggy Pop, Saint Vincent, Prince, Florence Welch, Brandon Flowers, and Anne Rice’s original inspiration, Jim Morrison. Lestat’s rock star appearance also looks very ’70s glam rock in the Interview with the Vampire season three teaser trailer, giving us Velvet Goldmine vibes aplenty. Jones said that while Lestat only played one concert in the novel, he’ll be going on a full tour in the series. There’s no release date yet for season three, but we imagine it’ll premiere on AMC and AMC+ sometime in 2025. We absolutely can’t wait for more from the season.

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Daemon Targaryen claimed Harrenhal on House of the Dragon, but he hasn’t found peace in that haunted castle. What he has found instead is a mysterious woman named Alys Rivers. Who is this strange figure and fan-favorite from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood? Is this bastard of the Riverlands nothing more than a wise woman who minds her surroundings? Or is she something much more magical and sinister? Here’s everything we’ve learned about Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon.

Who Plays Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon?

Gayle Rankin (GLOW, Perry Mason) plays Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon. She joined the prequel series during season two. While the character is known to readers of Martin’s Fire & Blood, the in-world history reveals less about her than many other figures in the book.

Alys Rivers Arrives With an Ominous Warning (Season 2, Episode 3)

Alys Rivers made her debut (without being named on-screen) in House of the Dragon season two’s third episode. She first appeared in Harrenhal’s dining hall when Daemon Targaryen claimed the castle for Queen Rhaenyra (and himself). Alys was the only person not to kneel to his “Grace.”

She truly made her presence felt later in the episode when she showed up during Daemon’s nightmare-turned-waking vision. After dreaming about his wife (who appeared as a young woman) sewing the head of little Prince Jaehaerys onto his body, Daemon suddenly found himself outside. He was standing near a dying weirwood tree overlooking the sacred Gods Eye lake. A confused Daemons then saw Alys Rivers appear below him. She only said one thing, but it made a major impact. She ominously told him, “You will die in this place,” before walking away.

Alys Rivers: Maester, Owl, or Witch? (Season 2, Episode 4)

Another nightmare once again led Daemon to walk directly to Alys Rivers during House of the Dragon season two’s fourth episode. He found her working late at night in what appeared to be a kitchen.

She explained she was the castle’s de facto maester after the last one fled in the night. Like Daemon, the maester could not rest at Harrenhal. Alys said the castle is responsible for Daemon’s nightmares because Harrenhal is haunted and has been since its first stone was laid. The King who built the massive structure, Harren the Black, felled a grove of sacred weirwood trees for the land. He then used the wood of the heart trees to make the castle’s furniture. According to Alys, the spirits who lived in those ancient trees still roam the castle. She said you can hear them whispering in the night.

When Daemon asked who she really is, Alys jokingly said she’s really an owl trapped in a human woman’s body. (At least it sounded like a joke. In a world with wargs that isn’t totally unbelievable.) Later Daemon accused her of being a witch because she seemingly knew things she shouldn’t. That included how she seemed to know everything Daemon has left unsaid about his feelings for his wife’s ascension. Alys didn’t claim witchcraft or other magical powers for her insights. She cited the many clues he’s unhappy being below Rhaenyra, including how he arrived alone but had yet to send a raven back saying he claimed the castle.

The alluring, wise, mysterious Alys then easily got Daemon to drink an unknown potion just days after he feared someone poisoning him. It was as though she had placed him in a trance and he couldn’t refuse her. Whatever she gave him was powerful. It knocked him out completely. Daemon lost a huge chunk of time after taking her potion. He awoke the next day, in the middle of a meeting, with no idea how he’d gotten there.

Alys Rivers Hears Cries of Anguish in the Wind (Season 2, Episode 5)

In season two’s “Regent” Alys Rivers continued to call out Daemon Targaryen. This time she chastised him for war crimes Ser Willem Blackwood committed in his name. Daemon had told the knight to do his “worse” to bring House Bracken to heel. Even before the other riverlords confronted Daemon for those atrocities, Alys Rivers knew about them. She told Daemon she heard the “strange things” on the “wind.” She spoke of “cries of anguish, children being taken from their mothers, men coming home to find their doors unlatched, their wives carried away.”

Did she mean she heard reports and rumors of those things from others? Or did she actually hear the real screams from far away? If so, how? In visions? Dreams? Through weirwood trees? Sorcery? No matter how she knew, she knew what it meant. “And once again, in the name of power,” she said, “It’s the weak and the women who must endure.”

It was also unclear if Alys happened to mention Daemon’s late mother by chance, or if that meant she was the one who caused his Oedipal dream about his mom. That was a curious topic for Alys to bring up at that exact moment. It raised the possibility that even if she isn’t responsible for Daemon’s nightmares, it’s possible she somehow knows about them.

Alys Rivers “Predicts” the Death of Lord Grover Tully (Season 2, Episode 6)

With Daemon losing his grip on reality thanks to frustration in the Riverlands and his own nightmares, the King Consort was ready to flee Harrenhal before he asked for Alys’ help counsel. She offered him insights into the “mud” men of the region. She said they would rather get bogged down fighting one another than bend an inch. Only the stability of House Tully could bring them all together and give Daemon the army he seeks.

With Lord Grover Tully too old and sick to bend the knee, that seemingly left Daemon without any options. But Alys told him while he couldn’t do anything, “in three days time the winds will shift.” That would offer him a path forward. Sure enough, three days later Grover Tully was dead and his young healthy grandson was the new Lord of Riverrun. And who was with Grover at the end? Alys Rivers, who had gone to help.

Did she kill Grover Tully as Daemon (and possibly Ser Simon Strong) believe? Or did she go there—possibly to ease his pain, make Daemon think he can trust her, or both—exactly because she somehow knew Lord Tully would die then? Either she’s a murderer or a seer, either of which would be of great value to Daemon Targaryen.

Also of value was her insight into what it takes to rule. She cited Daemon’s desire for the crown as reason for him not to be worthy of it. Rhaenyra needs her husband (and his dragon) fighting for her. Alys is the only one showing Daemon why the best he might ever be able to hope for is serving as King Consort and not the King.

Is House of the Dragon‘s Alys Rivers Really a Witch?

Is Alys Rivers a witch? Is she the one actually causing Daemon’s nightmares? Or is she an owl? Could she possess amazing greenseer abilities like Bran on Game of Thrones? Is that how she knows so much about the past, present, and future? And, maybe most importantly, was she predicting Daemon’s death at Harrenhal as a prophecy or simply warning him what will happen if he stays there because every Lord of the castle has died before? Or could it be because she will one day kill him, like she might have with Oscar Tully?

There’s still much to learn about Alys Rivers, and we can’t rule out any possibility about who, or what, she might be. The mysterious bastard of the Riverlands could just be a smart woman with a keen eye. Or she could be so much more.

Originally published on July 9, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s still mad we didn’t get GLOW’s final season. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Whoopi Goldberg is undoubtedly a big part of Millennial and Gen Xers pop culture experiences. From her beloved role as Guinan in the Star Trek franchise to the Sister Act movies, us sci-fi and musical nerds feel like we’ve known her our whole lives. Now, the acclaimed EGOT winner and host of The View is stepping into yet another arena with The Change, a graphic novel featuring a superhero who is unlike anyone we’ve met before. 

Isabel’s a grandmother who loves gardening, ganja, and her grandson Fury. When she begins to experience the symptoms of menopause, she gets a few new abilities that she didn’t quite expect. You know, those of the pyrokinetic and electrokinetic variety, among other fun things. Now, it’s up to her to fight crime and injustice in her tight-knit community while facing a turning point in her personal life. We caught up with Whoopi Goldberg (no, you’re freaking out!) to talk about The Change, her new memoir Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, and the real-life heroes that inspired her iconic journey towards fame. 

Nerdist: I absolutely loved The Change, especially its heroine Isabel Frost. She’s quite unorthodox with such a killer outfit and a personality that just jumps off the page. Can you tell me more about how you crafted that character and what made you want to write this story?

Whoopi Goldberg: Well, 20 years ago, I was going through “the change” and watching all of these superhero movies come out and not seeing any superheroes [like me] with the exception of Storm. [There were] no black women, nobody with an uneven chest, and nobody whose butt is really big. [laughs] 

And I thought, “Well, if you’re going to b**ch about it, you better write it! You better do it yourself!” And so I created it and I took it to Marvel and they loved it. Then, I got their conditions and their contract and they basically said, “You’d lose all control over it.”  There was no guarantee she was going to be a Black woman and that she’d be going through the change.

They wanted the rights to use this idea. And I thought, “Well, the idea is too good, so I’m just going to hold onto it. I’m not going to let y’all have it.” They loved it, but they wanted to do what they wanted to do with it. I’ve tried for 20 years to figure out how to get it together. And friend of mine, Jamie Paglia, I said to him, “So I’m writing this thing about a superhero and she’s going through menopause and she’s a certain age and it’s something I want to do.”

It took forever! Now I’ve aged out of [the change]… but I wanted to make sure that [menopausal women] were part of this conversation about who can save the world… you have all these superhero origin stories from different planets [and] those characters had parents. Were their mothers superheroes too? What happened to them? Usually they kill everybody off, but if they were there, they would be a certain age now and they would be going through whatever changes they’re going through. So I believe that there’s a place for lots of different women in this arena. Dark Horse Comics was kind enough to say, “Yes, we believe that too. Write it and we’ll put it out there.”

That’s awesome. And it seems that Dark Horse stuck to your vision. You know, one part of The Change that hit my heartstrings was the relationship that Isabel has with her grandson Fury. It provides a great foundation to the story. Why was it so important to have him be a part of her hero’s journey?

Goldberg: It was important because I have three grandkids and they have always seen me as a superhero, even though they are grown now. I knew I had to have a little kid who recognizes what’s going on. Isabel has grown up and she’s stopped doing a lot of things and didn’t do things she wanted to do. She did what many women of a certain age do. They drop their lives to pick up a life with their partner and their children and move forward. [Fury] recognizes all of these things that Isabel sort of forgot about. She’s a gamer and she knows that these things happen there, but she would never put it together [in real life].

Right, he can see and believe the supernatural things going on. Fury is also that audience surrogate to kind of help bring the reader along with the journey, right? 

Goldberg: Yes!

He’s great at giving us a new perspective on this world. Interestingly, The Change leaves us with this big cliffhanger. Where is the story going next for the “Pyro Princess,” as she’s called on TV? 

Goldberg: Wouldn’t you like to know? [grins] It is my hope that if people really get behind [the book], Dark Horse will say yes to a series. 

Hey, I have to ask, even if I know I won’t get a straight up answer! Fury’s grandmother is his hero and you are such a pop culture hero for many of us Millennials and Gen Xers. Who were your heroes when you were younger and what were the nerdy things you loved? 

Goldberg: I was into comic books! My heroes were really in my house. It was my mom and my brother. Those are the folks who said, “There’s more to the world than you’re seeing here. Look at this. What about this? You could do this. Who is that? That could be you.” All of these things were presented to me by people who I now see maybe didn’t have the encouragement that I got and maybe didn’t have the kinds of talents that I had at the time. But they recognized it in me… I don’t know who I would’ve been had I not had those two. My brother was amazing. I wasn’t ever a “pain in the butt” as a little sister to him. We went on adventures.

I love that! How sweet. 

Goldberg: Yeah. And there was my mother who, I think, as a Black woman, felt that people were trying to limit her imagination. So she poured all of that into our brains and I believed that everything was possible. Those are my heroes.

And look at where that got you! Your accomplishments are amazing, including The Change. You’ve also written your memoir, Bits and Pieces. Why did now feel like the right time to tell your story and open up about your family?

Goldberg: I was forgetting things. It was just the three of us: my brother, mother, and me. I know this is going to sound naive, but it never occurred to me they wouldn’t be here. I mean, I knew it, but I ignored the fact that one day I’d be the lone repository for our history. And so I thought, “Okay, let me remember some stuff.”

Recording your personal history and your family’s history is so vital and important. With the level of fame that you have, how do you really decide what parts of your life that you want to share with the world? How do you find that line between being open and not oversharing? 

Goldberg: In this world that we live in, there is no way to keep your personal life personal. Nobody has a personal life. In the days when I was getting famous, we had the National Enquirer. So there’s not a lot about me that people don’t know. What the memoir does is tell you my perspective, the person who lived it. This is just “cleaning house” in a funny way. Just to say, “You thought this happened? No, this didn’t happen like that. This is what went down and this is why they said it happened like that, to keep you thinking other stuff was going on.” 

Got it. And so you got to narrate the audiobook for Bits and Pieces, correct?

Goldberg: Yes!

What was that experience like?

Goldberg: That was lots of fun! I could take my time and make a story less wordy by saying a couple of things, and then you get it… when you’re narrating, it allows you to have your voice and feel how you’re feeling about any given thing…

Absolutely. One last question in regards to The Change. If you could describe that book in three words, what would you say? 

Goldberg: Nothing is normal.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Whoopi Goldberg’s The Change is currently available via Dark Horse Comics and bookstores. Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me is available to purchase here.

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This post contains possible/likely spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon based on known events and figures from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. If you hope to remain completely in the dark about the show you can instead read all about how the series created its own dragon lore in season two’s sixth episode.

The people trapped inside King’s Landing are scared and hungry. Now they’re also angry and out for blood. In House of the Dragon‘s aptly named “Smallfolk,” Mysaria’s genius PR move paid instant dividends. Dragonstone’s fleet of food turned the capital’s cries of “Rhaenyra the Cruel” into cries of “long live Queen Rhaenyra.” Those locked inside the city have turned against the Greens, as Alicent and Helaena had to flee a mob outside a royal Sept. Their escape still came at a cost. An inexperienced member of the Kingsguard foolishly sliced off a desperate citizen’s arm. And that might prove to be a monumental moment for House of the Dragon. That bearded man might very well be a major figure who will play a huge role in the Dance of the Dragons, a prophet from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood known as the Shepherd.

“No! No!” Alicent’s screams in season two’s sixth episode came too late. A member of the Kingsguard, a group overrun with Aegon’s unqualified lickspittles, made a terrible mistake. The mob forming outside the royal Sept was screaming and throwing fish, but no one had resorted to outright violence yet. It was the Kingsguard that first shed blood. He cut off the arm of a man who’d grabbed the Dowager Queen. That horror sent the already dangerous crowd into a frenzy. It also confirmed what they already thought, that the only Queen who cares about them is the rightful one in Dragonstone, Rhaenyra.

The meaning of this scene in the episode is obvious. The smallfolk of King’s Landing are coming to hate the Greens, who the people now see as unlawful usurpers. The Green rule over a city they say the people can’t leave, even though there is no food and an abundance of fear dragonflame will come for them at any moment. Now the royal guards are chopping off those worried peoples’ arms. If Rhaenyra seemed like their great hope when she provided food, the thought she will also provide them safety will only endear her to them more.

But readers of Fire & Blood know this moment could have much bigger implications for the entire war. The prequel has spent much of season two establishing just how important the feelings of the smallfolk are during the Dance of the Dragons. King’s Landing might be where the Iron Throne sits, but it’s also where a million people live. No one can rule there if the people won’t let them. And soon a compelling prophet full of righteous indignation will speak out against the family who is fighting itself to do just that.

History will only remember that massively consequential figure as the Shepherd. That thin, bearded, one-armed religious figure will soon rouse the terrified people of King’s Landing. He will galvanize them with sermons about the unholy demons who terrorize them. The Shepherd will give voice and power to those who will also come to see dragons and their riders of House Targaryen as a curse upon the entire capital.

If you don’t already know what that will lead to, we won’t say anymore about what awaits…

Fire & Blood offers few hard facts about the Shepherd. We mostly just know the role he played in King’s Landing during the Targaryen civil war. Now House of the Dragon might have shown why so many will come to follow him.

The people have no food and no hope. Those with empty bellies and too much despair will provide willing ears and hearts to anyone who can provide comfort. Anyone who speaks out against the family destroying the lives of countless innocent—all over which one gets to have the most power over the powerless—will find eager converts. Who better to deliver that message than a man who lost his arm to because of House Targaryen.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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It’s no secret that George R.R. Martin often uses real history to inspire events in Westeros. From William the Conqueror being the template for Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms to the Wars of the Roses serving as an influence on the conflict between the Starks and Lannisters, Martin’s work is filled with allusions to medieval history. And House of the Dragon, which brings Martin’s Fire & Blood book is no exception. The political and familial turmoil in Westeros parallels to a 12th-century English civil war known evocatively as “The Anarchy.” Just as the Targaryen civil war sprung from a succession crisis, The Anarchy came about the same way. (All of this without dragons, of course.) Let’s dive into the real life history that inspired the Dance of the Dragons war in House of the Dragon.

What Happened During The Anarchy and How Does It Compare to House of the Dragon‘s Dance of the Dragons?

King Henry I, King of England and Viserys Targaryean’s historical counterpart, had two legitimate children. His son and heir, William, and his daughter Matilda, named after Henry’s wife Matilda of Scotland. On November 25, 1120, Henry, William, and the rest of the English court were in Normandy across the English Channel. William the Conqueror originally held the Duchy of Normandy in France before conquering England. Therefore the lands remained under the control of his family. It’s not a perfect analogy, but think of Normandy like Dragonstone in House of the Dragon: ancestral holdings of the ruling dynasty separated from the rest of the kingdom by the sea.

Henry’s daughter, Matilda, was not present as she was in Germany fulfilling her duties as Holy Roman Empress. She married to Henry V (yes, there are a great deal of Henrys in this story) several years earlier. When it came time to return across the channel, William and his friends and hangers on decided to drink (a lot). They were aboard a beautiful, sleek, new ship—simply known as the White Ship—that was the fastest in the entire English fleet. 

The drunken revelry continued and, that night, the crew and patrons decided they would head to England. That captain confident that they would beat the old king back to the English coast, despite his head start. Unfortunately for all aboard, disaster struck shortly after casting off. The ship hit a rock formation in the harbor and it was overtaken by the sea. Like a medieval Titanic, the flower of the English nobility drowned in the freezing water. We guess the real life history parallels go beyond House of the Dragon.

When word reached Henry about his son William’s death, his grief was unbearable. Chroniclers claimed that he never smiled again after that night. In addition to his personal loss, the shipwreck presented an immense political problem for Henry. Without a legitimate son to pass the crown to, who would succeed him? An unclear answer to that question would rip the unstable realm apart between rival claimants as male relatives came out of the woodwork to press their claims. 

The King Chooses His Daughter as His Successor

Like Viserys choosing Rhaenyra to succeed him, Henry designated his daughter Matilda as his heir. But, wasn’t Matilda the Holy Roman Empress? Well, she was, but the marriage had not produced any children. When her husband Henry V died unexpectedly in 1125, Empress Matilda returned to England.

This decision did not sit well with the English barons, but Henry would not be swayed from his choice. In fact, he brought the great lords of England before him three separate times to swear sacred oaths that they would obey Matilda as their queen when he died. And each of those times, the lords swore their oaths. 

So, when Henry I suddenly died in 1135, the succession seemed secure for his daughter. Unfortunately, a rival claimant saw his opportunity and pounced. Matilda was out of the country when Henry died, and as House of the Dragon showed us, that is the most dangerous time for the heir to the throne to be absent from the center of power. 

A Man Steps in to Take a Woman’s Claim to the Throne

Matilda’s cousin Stephen heard the news of Henry’s death and raced to London. He was acclaimed as king by the common people there. Stephen quickly moved on to Winchester, where his brother was the Archbishop, to secure the royal treasury. With the gold of the realm under his control, and the powerful symbol of being chosen as king by the people of the capitol, Stephen was officially crowned mere weeks after Henry’s death.

The fact that he had sworn a sacred oath before God and King to recognize his cousin as the heir did not concern him or those who supported him overmuch. The truth was that a woman succeeding Henry did not sit well with many in the Kingdom. They were more than happy to throw their support behind a man with a weaker claim, especially if it meant quickly crowning a new monarch to ensure the stability and security of the realm. It was even rumored that on his deathbed Henry, wracked with guilt over appointing Matilda as his heir, absolved the barons of their oaths.

The parallels to Aegon II and the seizure of power by the Greens immediately following Viserys’ death are clear. It must be said, being a son of the previous king made Aegon’s claim to the throne infinitely stronger than Stephen’s. When news reached Matilda that Stephen had been crowned, she could choose to accept that she had been robbed of her promised inheritance, or she could choose to fight. 

Matilda Chooses to Fight for Her Crown, Just as Rhaenyra Does in House of the Dragon

Like Rhaenyra did on House of the Dragon, Matilda chose to fight in real life, sparking a conflict that changed history. The war was brutal. There were many swings between Stephen and Matilda, with lords and the Church switching sides to support whoever seemed to be winning. As the Anglo-Saxon chronicle evocatively put it: “It was as if Christ and his saints were asleep.”

After 15 years of brutal fighting, an agreement was reached when it was clear that neither side would fully win. Stephen would continue to sit the throne, but he would be succeeded not by his own son, but by Matilda’s son Henry. When Stephen died of stomach issues in 1154, Matilda’s son became Henry II.

She wasn’t able to sit the throne, but her direct descendants would rule England for the next 300 years. Though lacking in dragons, real medieval history can be just as dramatic and shocking as the tales weaved by George R.R. Martin. House of the Dragon brilliantly brings the real life history of The Anarchy to life.

Will the conflict between the Greens and the Blacks end the same way as the struggle between Stephen and Matilda? We’ll have to keep watching to find out.

Editor’s Note: The author’s primary source for the information in this article is from The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who Made England by Dan Jones.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Civil War Is Inspired by a Real Medieval Fight for Power appeared first on Nerdist.

The Legend of Vox Machina has now delighted Critters for two glorious seasons. And happily, season three of the animated series will be heading to our screens soon. But that’s not all there is to get excited about. The Legend of Vox Machina is based on Critical Role‘s first roleplaying campaign, of course. And if there’s one thing that Dungeons & Dragons fans love, it’s getting to take a closer look at the details and nuances of a world. Roll for perception, please! The Legend of Vox Machina is getting a gorgeous “making of” art book, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina. Anyone who has so much as glimpsed the show knows that this art-filled tome will be a pleasing treat for the eyes (and minds) of fans everywhere.

You can take a look at the cover art of The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina below.

This New The Legend of Vox Machina Art Book Celebrates the Creation of the Series

Dark Horse Books and Amazon MGM Studios are bringing The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina to life. This hardcover art book will delve deep into the making of seasons one and two of the animated show. For fans who want to truly immerse themselves in the world, it’s a must-have. The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will take fans behind the scenes of the incredible animated television series and offer “never-before-seen concept art and commentary on the show’s creation.” This art book offers a brand-new way to explore Exandria and learn more about Vex’ahlia, Vax’ilda, Keyleth, Percy de Rolo, Scanlan Shorthalt, Pike Trickfoot, and Grog Strongjaw. We bet this The Legend of Vox Machina art book holds some tantalizing trivia about your favorite character in its pages.

The Art of the Legend of Vox Machina is written by Meredith Kecskemety (The Legend of Vox Machina, Midnight Gospel) and includes the work of various interior artists from Titmouse Animation. Additionally, The Art of the Legend of Vox Machina features cover art originally sketched by Sung Jin Ahn, characters by Phil Bourassa, background by Howard Chen, and colors by Arthur Loftis.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition Celebrates Shaun Gilmore

For the ultimate Critter, though, Dark Horse Books and Amazon MGM Studios have a special item waiting in their merchant shop. They’d like to invite you to stop by Gilmore’s Glorious Goods for something truly sumptuous. The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will also be available in a deluxe edition, perfect for the member of your party with exceptionally discerning tastes.

The deluxe edition will have packaging inspired by Matthew Mercer’s fan-favorite NPC, Shaun Gilmore. It will feature a purple and gold color scheme with holographic foiling and ribbing on the spine. All of this will come together to make it feel like a fantasy tome plucked right from the world of The Legend of Vox Machina. The deluxe edition will also include a slipcase, a ribbon bookmark, and a lithograph print. Truly, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition will be a glorious addition to any superfan’s collection.

You can check out concept art for the deluxe edition of The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina above.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Release Date, Price, and Other Details

For those who are already preparing a space for The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina on their bookshelves, here’s some information you’ll want to know about the book and its release. Firstly, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina and its deluxe edition will release in bookstores on December 10, 2024, and in comic shops on December 11, 2024. The art book is now available to pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TFAW, and your local comic shop.

The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina will cost $49.99. Meanwhile, The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina Deluxe Edition will cost $99.99. Both versions of the book will be printed in hardcover and contain 192 pages. The dimensions of the book are 9.5×13”.

For more announcements and updates on The Art of The Legend of Vox Machina and other exciting titles, be sure to follow Dark Horse Comics on social media and check out its website, www.darkhorse.com.

And, of course, be sure to tune in when season three of The Legend of Vox Machina premieres on Prime Video on October 3.

The post THE ART OF THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA Book Gives Fans a Gorgeous Inside Look at the Series’ Creation appeared first on Nerdist.

Around these parts we love fantasy stories, we adore cozy stories, and we can’t get enough of romance. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst promises to deliver on all fronts. It was the book’s gorgeous Ghibli-esque cover with sprayed lavender pages that caught my eye first. That alone feels like a warm hug. But once I read the description of the book about a librarian who returns to her home and goes on to open a secret spellshop, I became even more curious. We have an exclusive excerpt from The Spellshop that will have you ready to read more.

The story follows Kiela. She was a one-time librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium and worked there with her assistant Caz, a magically sentient spider plant. But her and Caz had to leave the library. Now they’re taking refuge in her childhood home and using some illegal magic to open the island’s first spellshop. Tor describes it as “a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic.” Yes, please.

Without further ado, here’s the excerpt from The Spellshop:

The Spellshop – Chapter 2

As the sun stained the horizon orange, Kiela sailed toward a little cove on the island of Caltrey. It was just a mile east of the village and its harbor, tucked behind a veil of rocks and trees. She aimed the boat between the rocks.

“You’re going to crash,” Caz observed.

“I’m not going to crash,” Kiela said. “I’m going to dock.”

Inside the cove, there used to be a wooden dock that belonged to her family’s cottage. She remembered she used to squat on the end and watch the fish dance in the water. At low tide, she’d be able to see crabs scuttling over the rocks, and at high tide, merbabies would swim around the dock posts, before they were called out to sea by their parents—a sighting that locals said was good luck. She wasn’t, of course, entirely certain the dock would still be standing, but she supposed she could drop anchor and they could wade to shore. Or she could just beach the boat, provided she could avoid slicing the hull on the rocks.

One hand on the rudder, she guided the sailboat around the rocks and into the cove. Caz clambered up the mast, using his ten- drils to climb, for a better view. With the light so low in the sky, the cove was coated in shadows. The water looked near black, and the trees, with the rocky cliffs behind them, cast even more shad- ows. It was silent, except for the lapping of the waves on the rocky shore and the call of an unseen bird from one of the pine trees. But despite the shadows, it didn’t feel unwelcoming. As they drifted deeper into the cove, it felt as if the shadows were embracing them, in the same way that a thick nest of blankets did on a chilly night.

Kiela spotted the old dock, right where it was supposed to be. It was more rickety than she remembered, though. About a third of the slats were missing, like the smile of an old man who’d lost some of his teeth. Luckily the posts were there, sturdy but coated in seaweed.

Using the pole, she sidled the boat up next to the dock and tossed a line around a post. Yanking on the line, she dragged them closer and tied a bowline knot. She remembered her mother teach- ing her how to make this exact knot on this very same dock. It felt both like just yesterday and a lifetime ago. She shook her head to chase the memory away. Clambering over the crates, Kiela pulled the sail down and wrapped it tight against the boom.

Caz was perched on one of the book crates. “I am not walking on that.”

“You’d rather swim?”

“I’d rather stay on the boat,” he said.

Kiela sighed and rubbed her eyes. She’d never felt this bone- marrow-deep tired before. Even when she stayed up all night with her books, it was never like this. Between the stress of their escape and the effort of their night-and-all-day sail, she felt like a book so well read that its pages curled and spine cracked. “I can carry you.”

He was quiet for a moment, then he said, “That’s undignified.” “You think the shrubbery is going to mock you?”

If he’d had eyes, she expected he would have rolled them at her. “Fine. Carry me. But only if you tell no one.”

“Who am I going to tell? I don’t know anyone here and don’t want to.” She scooped him up, careful to gather all the soil that clung to his exposed roots. It felt like holding a very plump and very leafy toddler. His tendrils draped over her shoulders, and he grumbled as she adjusted her grip. “We’re going to lay low, keep to ourselves, and avoid trouble,” she said. “With luck, none of the locals will even know we’re here.”

Kiela tapped the nearest slat of wood with her toes. It seemed sound enough. Cautiously, she shifted her weight and was pleased when the dock held. Caz’s leaves flattened around her back. She carried him carefully as she stepped from slat to slat, testing each one before she trusted it. At last, she reached the shore.

He climbed down from her arms to the ground. Shaking out his leaves, he groomed himself with a tendril. He looked a bit like a cat licking his fur. “We won’t ever speak of that again.”

“Of course,” she agreed.

She looked up at the knot of greenery in front of them. There used to be a path, with stairs carved into the rocks, but all she could see was a tangle of vines cascading down the hill. Frowning at it, she paced in front of the green. The stone steps should still be there, if she could find— Ah, there!

Kicking away a few vines, Kiela uncovered the first step. “Found it.”

“Found what?” Caz asked.

“The way home.” She felt the word vibrate through her.

Step by step, she climbed, with Caz behind her, clearing the steps as best she could. Some, she was only able to uncover a few inches, but it was enough. By the time she reached the top, the sun was completely down.

Bathed in the silvery gray of twilight, the cottage waited for them. She wanted to feel as if they’d made it—she was home, they were safe, and everything would be easy from now on. But the cot- tage was nearly as enveloped in vines as the stairs. She couldn’t tell where the walls ended and the green began. Her former home looked one gulp away from being swallowed entirely.

“It’s nice,” Caz said.

“Now who’s lying,” Kiela said. “It has a roof. And walls.”

He was right about that. It could be worse.

An owl hooted much too close, and Kiela jumped. Caz skittered behind her. She forced herself to breathe and calm down. It didn’t look as if anyone was living in the house, which was good. She could have come back to find squatters. Or new owners, if the lo- cals had decided there were no more living relatives who might return to claim it. She couldn’t vouch for how many mice, birds, or other critters had taken up residence inside.

She wished they’d arrived earlier so it wouldn’t look so dark in there.

“Should we go in?” Caz asked.

Yes. Maybe. No. She wanted to retreat to the boat, sail back to Alyssium, and sequester herself in her nice, warm, safe cubicle deep within the stacks of books, where she knew what to expect out of every night and every day. If she went into this house, what would she find? And if she didn’t, what would happen then? She hated not knowing which was the right choice.

Have I made a terrible mistake coming here?

The owl hooted again. “We go in,” Kiela said.

They approached the front door. It felt like walking up to the mouth of a slumbering beast. It was ajar, with dead leaves clogging the entranceway. She nudged them out of her way with her foot and leaned against the door to push it open farther. It squeaked loudly, as if it hadn’t been moved in years, which was entirely possible.

Stepping inside, Kiela waited for her eyes to adjust. The last gasps of day shed a grayish light through the few windows that weren’t blocked by vines. It was enough to see shapes: chairs, she guessed, and a table. She matched the shadows to her memories and was surprised to find that it felt familiar, like a half-remembered old tale. The wood-burning stove was . . . ahh, yes, there, squatting like a hulking creature, with a chimney rising from its back. A daybed used to be in the front corner—that’s where she used to sleep—and her parents’ bedroom budded off the back. A kitchen area with a sink and a window that overlooked the back garden should be to her left, beyond the table. She couldn’t see that in the darkness, though, and it made her feel like she’d walked into a surreal kind of dream, with pieces of memories overlaid by shadows. She wondered how Caz felt about this place. “If you’d rather, we could spend the night in the boat, and explore this in the morning,” she offered.

“Sleep on the boat?” Caz sounded appalled. “With fish under us?” “You really have a thing about fish,” she said. “I had no idea.” “You hear stories,” he said darkly.

“Do you? Do you really?” She navigated across the room, leaves crunching underfoot, and found the daybed, exactly where she re- membered it. It seemed smaller, though. And dustier. Lifting the quilt, she shook it, and twigs, leaves, and dust flew into the air. She coughed.

Setting the quilt aside in a heap, she pushed her hands against the mattress. It hadn’t disintegrated, which was a plus. She sup- posed it would hold her, and under where the quilt had lain, it wasn’t that dusty, at least in comparison. It wasn’t as if, after sailing through the night and all day, she was particularly clean anyway.

“Hey, there’s a hole in the floor,” Caz said, pleased. “I can root here for the night.”

Could she sleep here? After their escape and long sail, she should be able to sleep anywhere. If mice or raccoons or whatever murder me in the night, at least I’ll get some rest. Gingerly, she lay down on the little bed. It creaked but didn’t collapse. The quilt was the vel- vety soft of worn cotton, and the mattress cradled her as she sank into it. It smelled like dust and a little like roses. She felt her neck and shoulders begin to unknot.

Outside, the owl hooted softly.

As dawn pried its fingers into the vine-covered cottage, Kiela opened her eyes. And screamed when she saw a man standing in the doorway with a scythe in his hands. She tried to jump to her feet, but the little daybed couldn’t handle the quick movement. It toppled over, and she spilled onto the floor.

The man rushed forward. Kiela screamed again.

He backpedaled. Leaned his scythe against the wall. Held up his hands, palms out. “Sorry. Very sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He had a deep voice, soothing. She’d never seen him be- fore, which wasn’t a surprise since she hadn’t been here in ages. He wasn’t what she’d call handsome, but he didn’t look like a mur- derer either. Not that she knew what that would look like. He was tall, which wasn’t an argument for or against murderer. He must have had to duck through the doorframe. He also appeared stron- ger than the average library-goer. Judging by his arms, he looked as if he could pick up one of her book crates one-handed. Or crush her throat with his pinkie. None of that was at all reassuring.

She got to her feet and scanned the cottage quickly. She didn’t see the spider plant anywhere, and she felt panic rise up from her stom- ach. “Caz? Caz, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Hands still out, the man said in the same soft, deep tone, “I didn’t hurt anyone. Or see anyone else. There was only you here when I came in.”

Her heart was thumping wildly in her rib cage, even though he hadn’t made any threatening moves beyond coming into the place where she was sleeping and scaring her half to death. It was terri- fying enough that he was large, male, and here. And I don’t see Caz. “Why are you here?” she demanded, trying (and failing) to keep the shake out of her voice. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Mildly, he said, “I had planned to ask you the same questions. This house has been abandoned for years, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t someone’s home.”

“It’s mine,” Kiela said. “My home. It was. Is.” “Ah,” he said.

He waited for her to explain further.

“My name is Kiela Orobidan. My parents lived here, and my mother’s parents before them. I was born here. We moved away when I was eight. Nine. But they never sold their cottage. It’s mine.”

“Ah.”

He wasn’t going to say more than that?

She saw a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced up at the rafters. Caz was there, draped around one of the cobweb-choked beams. He waved a tendril at her, and she exhaled. He’s okay. Just hiding. She wished she could have done that. “And you are?”

“Larran Maver. I live at the base of the cliff, near town. Noticed your boat in the cove and came to see who was using the old Orobidan cottage. Around here, we like to keep an eye out for each other.”

Outer islanders care for our own. She’d heard that dozens of times as a kid. This far away from the cities and the larger islands, they didn’t have much choice, but it was also a point of pride.

She supposed it was a reasonable explanation for why he was here. He couldn’t have known she’d be asleep on a dusty old day- bed. She still didn’t like the way he filled the entire doorway, block- ing the exit. “You mean you’re nosy.”

He smiled, and the expression transformed him from ordinary into stunningly handsome. It was like the sun coming out from be- hind the clouds over a stormy sea. She found herself smiling back without meaning to. As soon as she realized she was doing it, she frowned. “Sure,” Larran said, “that’s one word for it. We prefer neighborly, but ‘nosy’ is probably just as accurate.”

Still could be a murderer, she reminded herself. There was no law that said dangerous men couldn’t also be handsome. On the other hand, he hadn’t moved any closer since she’d screamed. In fact, in retrospect, he’d looked almost as spooked as she felt.

She was suddenly very aware that her hair was matted on one side, and her mouth tasted like peanuts. This wasn’t how she wanted to meet the neighbors. In fact, she’d been hoping to not meet them at all. It would have been simpler if she could’ve stayed unnoticed. Fewer variables; fewer problems. She wished he’d leave.

“What brings you back to Caltrey?” he asked.

Kiela considered a half-dozen answers, but she settled on the one that was simplest and required the least amount of reliving recent traumatic events. “I’d had enough of the city.”

“Ah.”

Miraculously, he seemed to find that answer both reasonable and sufficient.

“Would you like help . . .” He looked around the cottage, as if cataloging all the myriad things she could possibly need help with, which was, at a rough estimate, everything. “. . . settling in?”

Absolutely not. The last thing she wanted him to do was stay and help. The entire point of coming to Caltrey was to hide away in a place where she knew no one and no one knew her, and she and Caz and the books would be safe. “Thanks, but we—I have it covered.”

He raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t argue or try to convince her otherwise, which she appreciated. “Well, if you change your mind, I’m just through the woods, down by the shore.” He waved toward the northwest. “It’s the merhorse farm with the yellow house near the water. Drop by any time.”

She had absolutely zero intention of ever doing that, but she thanked him. Best not to be rude to their new neighbor. Especially if it got him to leave faster.

He left, taking his scythe, and she watched him out the window, through a hole in the ivy, as he strolled away. A few minutes later, the green had swallowed him entirely.

The Spellshop is available on July 9. Get a copy wherever you buy books.

The post This Excerpt From Cozy Romantasy THE SPELLSHOP Will Enchant You appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon has finally shown why Westeros remembers the first Targaryen civil war as “The Dance of the Dragons.” Season two’s fourth episode brought to life the infamous moment from Fire & Blood when those creatures first fought one another high above the Realm. The Battle at Rook’s Rest was a brutal, terrifying, impressive sequence that was also a mostly faithful adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s in-world history. But the prequel series did make some meaningful changes, and they will have long term ramifications on House of the Dragon.

The Similarities Between House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest”

House of the Dragon followed the same general story about the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” as told in Fire & Blood. It began when new Hand of the King Criston Cole left behind both King’s Landing and the letter-writing campaign of his predecessor, Otto Hightower, to be Aegon’s “steel fist.”

Cole began by moving his small force swiftly through the Crownlands, the region surrounding King’s Landing, which is also close to Dragonstone. The Lord Commander easily took both the castles Rosby and Stokeworth when their namesake lords swore fealty to King Aegon. Those houses’ forces then joined Cole’s army on the march to Duskendale. There, the “Kingmaker” beheaded Lord Darklyn, who refused to bend the knee. Those at Duskendale who did also joined the new Hand of the King’s army.

Rather than turn his growing army towards the vital Harrenhal, Cole instead marched towards Rook’s Rest, seat of House Staunton. Lord Staunton, a member of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s small council, tried to stay safe inside his castle’s walls. But the attack on Rook’s Rest was nothing more than a ploy. Cole’s real plan was to draw one of Rhaenyra’s dragons into battle. It worked. Princess Rhaenys and her experienced dragon, Meleys, came to the rescue. When she arrived, she bathed many of Cole’s soldiers in dragonflame.

Rhaenys wasn’t alone in the sky for long. She soon found herself facing two dragons, Aegon’s Sunfyre and Aemond’s Vhagar. The brave Rhaenys refused to flee and led Meleys into a fight for their lives. When the civil war’s first dragon dance ended, both Rhaenys and Meleys lay dead, having fallen when Vhagar bit Meleys’ neck.

It was not a total victory for the Greens. Aegon and Sunfyre also lay greatly wounded on the ground, with both rider and dragon burned and battered.

What House of the Dragon Changed from Fire & Blood‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest”

While not completely inaccurate, Fire & Blood‘s account of the Dance of the Dragon is notoriously unreliable. (Sometimes, in ways we can’t even know that are unknowable or obvious.) That gives House of the Dragon the freedom to tell its own version of the story and fill in gaps without technically “changing” anything. However, the HBO series still made some choices that are clearly different from the history presented in Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon‘s Aegon Almost Screws Up the Plan

One of House of the Dragon‘s biggest changes at Rook’s Rest was Aegon’s role in the battle. The King was not part of Cole’s plan like in Fire & Blood. On the show, the rash, impetuous King, determined to prove his worth to his family and small council, flew off to the invasion alone atop Sunfyre. On House of the Dragon, he forced Cole to call on Aemond and Vhagar much sooner.

This made Cole’s plan on the show less impressive. Having two dragons in hiding is smarter than only one, especially when the Greens had no way of knowing how many dragons Rhaenyra would send. It also changes what we know about Aegon, making him even more of a fool than his book counterpart. But neither of those mean this change was bad or indefensible. It completely fit with the story House of the Dragon is telling about Aegon. He felt weak and unimportant, as his Hand and brother plotted without him. They also had already refused to let him in on their secret plans, as well, lest he interfere needlessly. This scene showed why they were right.

House of the Dragon‘s Aemond Is Not Loyal To His Family

Fire & Blood presents the stern, humorless Aemond as ambitious but also fiercely loyal to his family. Book Aemond would seemingly never do anything to harm any member of the Greens, no matter how much he wanted to rule. It’s arguably his best trait and adds immense depth to his character in Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest” changed what we thought we knew about Aemond. At best, he was completely reckless with his brother’s life and, at worst, actively tried to kill Aegon. Rather than come to his King’s rescue when Meleys had Sunfyre in her grasp, Aemond had Vhagar shoot fire without worry, endangering Aegon’s life. (The nature of Aegon’s role in this sequence also changed that Fire & Blood says all three dragons fought at once.)

If there was any doubt Aemond wasn’t worried about saving his brother’s life, it looked as though Aemond was about to finish off either Aegon, Sunfyre, or both on the ground before Cole showed up an stopped him.

Aemond hates his brother (with good reason), and that hatred, combined with his ambition, seemed to push Aemond to a place we didn’t know he could go. He’s still a fascinating, dynamic character, just a different version than Fire & Blood‘s.

Gwayne Hightower Fights at the “Battle at Rook’s Rest”

House of the Dragon has already greatly changed Ser Gwayne Hightower’s story from Fire & Blood. Alicent’s brother was not at Rook’s Rest that faithful day because he was serving as second-in-command of King’s Landings City Watch at the time. His father installed him in that role at the start of the Dance because the Greens feared the City Watch was still loyal to its former Commander, Daemon Targaryen. Gwayne had also already lived at King’s Landing for many years with his family and new Criston Cole for a long time.

A Quick Attack on Rook’s Rest Instead of a Siege

Fire & Blood tells us that Criston Cole surrounded Rook’s Rest and burned its nearby fields. Lord Staunton then sent ravens to Dragonstone begging for help. Nine days later Rhaenys arrived alone.

House of the Dragon changed this by having Cole attack the castle immediately. Rhaenyra instead preemptively sent Rhaenys atop Meleys to help her sworn bannerman after her other allies had already falle. However, Rhaenyra sensed something about Cole’s movement didn’t make sense, as Rook’s Rest had little obvious value. Despite her sixth sense, Rhaenyra fell for Cole’s trap, losing the Black’s most valuable dragon.

Rhaenyra Keeps Jace Behind to Tell Him About Aegon the Conqueror’s Dream

In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra prevented her sons Jace and Joffrey (no longer at Dragonstone on the HBO show) from joining Rhaenys out of fear for their lives. The history stresses that the death of Luke and the recent loss of her unborn child made Rhaenyra scared to send her other children into battle.

On House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra kept Jace behind (at least in part) so she could finally tell her heir about Aegon’s prophetic “A Song of Ice and Fire” dream about the inevitable White Walker invasion. She also cited that responsibility as part of her reason for finally unleashing dragons on her enemies, but no one else knows that but her son.

What the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” Means for House of the Dragon

No matter his reason for being there, Aegon is either dead or badly wounded. That calls into question how many people supporting his claim will still back the Greens now. Alicent’s callousness towards her son also contributed to him flying off into battle, another tragedy she will now have to live with. How much guilt and pain can she withstand?

Meanwhile, Aemond might have just tried to steal the crown (and possibly did), showing he’s not the loyal family member history remembers him as. With little Prince Jaehaerys dead (and the show omitting Aegon’s youngest son Maelor entirely) Aemond would likely be named King if Aegon died. What other treachery is Aemond One-Eye capable of? What might he do to rule? Can anyone trust him if he would willingly maim his own brother and king?

Things are even more dire for Rhaenyra. She lost her wisest adviser and biggest advocate. She also lost her best, most experienced fighting dragon and her allies in the crownlands. Rhaenyra also allowed Rhaenys to go off to battle alone while keeping her son and his dragon safely on Dragonstone. How will Lord Corlys and the rest of the (already frustrated) small council react to this disaster? How much will they trust Rhaenyra’s judgement both as a leader and a person? Where do her loyalties lie? To her sons or to her kingdom?

Who Won the “Battle at Rook’s Rest?”

The Blacks lost the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” in more ways than one. But the Greens did not win that day. Each side suffered losses that will shape the future of the Targaryen civil war on House of the Dragon. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely either faction will learn the one lesson they should have when dragons met high above the Realm, because the dancing has only just begun.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the world’s leading Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post How HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Brought a Major FIRE & BLOOD Battle to Life appeared first on Nerdist.

Interview with the Vampire ended its second season, concluding the events of Anne Rice’s first novel. In the series finale, the conductor of the titular interview, Daniel Molloy, (Eric Bogosian) publishes the interviews as a book and goes on a press tour. During a stop on an Atlanta news show, the host mocks his book, and laments how this once respected journalist was now “a Bigfoot hunter, tracing the bloodline of Jesus.”

This was, of course, a jest at The Da Vinci Code, and the conspiracies that proliferated after the book’s success. However, it might mean more, as Jesus is actually a character in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. And in a potential future season, we could see the Vampire Lestat drink the blood of Christ. We don’t mean metaphorically in a church either. We mean the actual blood of Jesus, some two thousand years ago.

The Vampire Lestat Meets Jesus in Memnoch the Devil

The event in question occurs in Anne Rice’s fifth vampire novel, 1995’s Memnoch the Devil. This book came out at the peak of Lestat-mania, right after the release of the 1994 feature film Interview with the Vampire. In fact, the VHS rental of Interview had a video message from Rice promoting Memnoch the Devil. The novel was a huge bestseller in hardcover, but was a departure from the period vampire melodrama of earlier books. Instead, it focused on religious themes. Vampire Chronicles fans still remain divided on it.

After the world-shaking events of book three, The Queen of the Damned, and having his body highjacked in book four, The Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat is at his most powerful. A being who claims to be Satan approaches Lestat in New Orleans. Only, he hates that name, and much prefers the name Memnoch, the Devil. He wants the “Brat Prince” Lestat at his side, thinking he’d make a perfect lieutenant in his ideological battle against God, and takes him on a trip through history. Memnoch then displays all the religious atrocities done in God’s name.

Lestat Was at the Crucifixion (Or Was He?)

At one point, Lestat actually encounters Jesus at the crucifixion. Jesus offers Lestat his blood, which he consumes. Lestat emerges into the present day with the Veil of Veronica, proof of his religious experience. The Vampire Armand became so moved by this, he immolated in the sun in front of a crowd as “proof” of the miracle (Don’t worry, he gets better, and he even gets his own book). By the end of the novel, however, Lestat isn’t sure if what he experienced was real or not. He suspects it was. Lestat loses his marbles at this point and becomes catatonic for the better part of a decade. Several novels in subsequent years focused on other vampires in the series.

Could we ever get to this controversial moment in Rice’s story? Memnoch the Devil is book five in the series, and Interview with the Vampire showrunner Rolin Jones has recently said recently he’d love to get to potentially eight seasons. If each book constitutes two seasons of television, then seasons seven and eight could adapt Memnoch the Devil. Perhaps by that point, the world will be ready to see Sam Reid’s Lestat meet a fictional Jesus of Nazareth.

The post Could Lestat Meet Jesus in a Future INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Season? Quite Possibly! appeared first on Nerdist.

At Nerdist, we love a battle-tested friendship. What could be better than deep connections forged in the midst of harrowing danger? There’s nothing like an epic adventure to bring people together. And that’s why we’re thrilled to exclusively reveal the cover of DAW Books’ The Serpent Called Mercy, a Malaysian Chinese-inspired fantasy by debut author Roanne Lau. The underlying, steadfast friendship between the protagonists of The Serpent Called Mercy creates the beating heart of this story. But, in addition to resonant interpersonal dynamics, the fantasy-adventure book also promises no shortage of heart-pounding battles and mysterious (and ferocious) sun-cursed beasts. And we feel like we can see all of this well-represented in The Serpent Called Mercy‘s cover.

You can take a look at it below.

Exclusive Cover Reveal for The Serpent Called Mercy

Okay, isn’t this cover art stunning? We are stunned. The Serpent Called Mercy‘s gorgeous cover is by Rowynn Ellis (they/them) and art directed by Katie Anderson. We absolutely hope we’ll be seeing all these monsters in the story. But both literally and symbolically, we’re obsessed with them already. The elemental energy, the dynamic action, the little hint of adorable friendship in the corner—we feel it all in this cover. The ferociousness, fury, and little brushes of gentleness all come together perfectly to help us understand what awaits readers in The Serpent Called Mercy.

(But seriously, get that little guy his own streaming show, stat. We would follow him until the ends of the earth.)

Likely, this cover will only become more beautiful as fans grow to learn more about its true meaning as they read the book. But we’re honestly thinking of buying a second copy of The Serpent Called Mercy just so we can display this piece in our house.

More About The Serpent Called Mercy

Just in case The Serpent Called Mercy‘s swoon-worthy cover reveal isn’t yet enough to sway you, here’s a little bit more about the book. A release shares that “Fans of the tense, dynamic action and battle-tested friendships like The Witcher and Squid Game will love The Serpent Called Mercy, where a debt-ridden slumdog joins an illegal monster-fighting arena for some fast coin but quickly learns the most dangerous beasts are outside the ring.” Basically, this book strives to answer the question, “What if an epic fantasy with already high stakes met even higher stakes and added heart-wrenching friendship on top?” It sounds guaranteed to have us both sobbing and at the edge of our seats. And we could ask for little more from a book than that. We also just have to say that the home of this novel adaptation should definitely be Netflix. An even fuller synopsis of the book can be found at the end of this article.

Of additional interest to some, Roanne Lau’s novel will feature asexual and neurodivergent representation, which we definitely support and applaud. Both asexuality and neurodivergence deserve more representation in media, and books that feature representative characters should be championed.

Pre-Order The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau Today

The Serpent Called Mercy releases on December 3rd, 2024. You can pre-order it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Bookshops.org. You can also follow Lau on Twitter, @roannelau, and Instagram, @roannelau, for more updates on the story.

The Serpent Called Mercy‘s Full Synopsis

Here is the full synopsis of The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau:

Lythlet and her only friend Desil are shackled to a life of debt and poverty that she fears they will never escape. Desperate for money, they sign up as conquessors: arena combatants who fight sun-cursed beasts in the seedy underworld of the city.

Match-master Dothilos is initially enamored of Desil’s brawling reputation, but after seeing Lythlet lead the pair to triumph with her quick cunning, he takes her under his wing, scorning Desil. Ambition takes root in Lythlet’s heart as a life of fame and wealth unfolds in her imagination.

But Lythlet isn’t the only one out for coin and glory, and she soon finds herself playing an entirely different game—a game of politics and deception. As the cost of her ambition grows, she will have to decide if sacrificing her honor, and only friendship, is worth the chance to shape her own fortune.

A whirlwind of blood-pounding battles as characters grapple with their choices in the face of wealth and financial security, The Serpent Called Mercy’s heart is the underlying, steadfast friendship between its protagonists.

The post Check Out the Cover for THE SERPENT CALLED MERCY, a Fantasy Book Full of Deadly Adventure and Battle-Tested Friendships appeared first on Nerdist.

The finale of Interview with the Vampire season two had quite the twist, as a flash forward showed the audience that the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) had turned the reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) into a vampire, some time before or after published his interviews with Louis and Armand as a book. We don’t know exactly how and when this happened. It seems to be an act committed more out of spite towards Daniel than love. However, Armand making Daniel a vampire on Interview with the Vampire does have its origins in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series of novels.

In the novels, Daniel Molloy doesn’t even have a proper name until the third novel in Rice’s series, The Queen of the Damned. In the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, the young reporter was simply referred to as “the Boy.” At the end of that first novel, he ran off, with Louis’ tapes in tow, hoping to find Lestat. In book two, The Vampire Lestat, we find out that the boy had the recordings transcribed and published as the book Interview with the Vampire. A recently reemerged Lestat discovered that his name and much of his life was put on public display for mortals, passed off as fiction. Yet we never learned what became of the young reporter until Rice’s third novel.

“The Story of Daniel, the Devil’s Minion, or the Boy from Interview with the Vampire“ from Queen of the Damned

In 1988’s Queen of the Damned, we learned in Part 1, Chapter 4, a chapter called “The Story of Daniel, the Devil’s Minion, or the Boy from Interview with the Vampire” that the anonymous boy went searching for Lestat after his fateful interview with Louis in San Francisco in 1973. We also now had a proper name for him—Daniel Molloy. Lestat was slumbering at the time of Daniel’s search, and he didn’t find the undead French aristocrat. Instead, the Vampire Armand finds Daniel while he searches for Lestat, during a time when Armand made New Orleans his home. No other vampires lived there, as Lestat had long ago gone to sleep. Armand had “cleaned out” the city of any younger vampires. No one else dared to call New Orleans home at this time, as it was Armand’s territory.

Scanning Daniel’s thoughts upon encountering him, Armand discovered this young mortal boy knew his name, and his true vampiric nature, and became fascinated. He began stalking him, and no matter what city or country Daniel ran to, Armand would find him. At first, he casually threatened to kill him if he ever published his book. Yet he continued to allow him to live for his own amusement. Then something unexpected happened. After years of cat and mouse, Armand came to actually love the mortal Daniel. Even so, he constantly refused to give him the Dark Gift, no matter how much he begged.

Daniel, Armand, and the Night Island

Many years into their relationship, Armand decided to become “incalculably wealthy.” Using his knowledge of where old ships with treasure lay at the bottom of the ocean, he recruited Daniel, who now saw himself as “the Devil’s Minion,” to help him procure wealth. All while he was asleep during the day. With this fortune, Armand, with forged documents Daniel helped him create, purchased an island off the coast of Florida. Armand turned it into an entertainment and shopping paradise that came alive only after dark called The Night Island.

Armand and Daniel lived at Night Island for years in the Vampire Chronicles. Daniel had everything he wanted from Armand, the finest clothes, the newest cars, all except the one thing he wanted most—to become a vampire himself. However, when Daniel’s life was in danger, on one of the many instances when he would run away from Armand, the 500-year-old vampire gave him what he wanted at last, and turned him. As Armand feared, however, making Daniel a vampire would only serve to drive a bigger wedge between them.

Daniel and Armand in AMC’s Interview with the Vampire

All we know from the AMC Interview with the Vampire series is that sometime after Daniel reveals to Louis the truth about Armand, and how he planned to let his Paris coven execute him along with Claudia, he turns Daniel into a vampire out of spite. (Or so Louis says.) But when did this happen? We don’t know yet. Do Interview with the Vampire‘s Daniel and Armand engage in a relationship similar to the one they had in the books? There doesn’t seem enough time for that intense love/hate relationship to have happened offscreen. Unless there is one further wrinkle to Daniel and Armand’s story that Interview with the Vampire is waiting to spring on us.

We know from episode five of season two of the series, that Armand encountered Daniel back in 1973, interrupting Louis almost killing Daniel. Not only encountered him, but very nearly killed him, and erased his memories of the event. Yet he clearly had a fascination with Daniel, and Interview with the Vampire leaves space for the possibility that the pair had a relationship decades ago. One that Armand then wiped from Daniel’s mind. After all, there is a limited series AMC announced called The Night Island. Could this series, at least in part, involve Interview with the Vampire‘s Armand and Daniel and their relationship? There are lots of ways this story could go for Daniel and Armand, and we’re eager to see how Interview with the Vampire tackles this fan-favorite pairing going forward.

The post The Book Inspirations Behind the Armand/Daniel Vampiric Pairing in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (And What ‘Devil’s Minion’ Really Means) appeared first on Nerdist.

Tomi Adeyemi has brought the gods back and, to be honest, she is a goddess herself. As a 23-year-old, the Nigerian-American author, speaker, and fashionista broke open the doors for Afro-fantasy books with her debut novel Children of Blood and Bone in 2018. The fantasy world, set in a reimagined Nigeria, features protagonist Zélie Adebola, a young diviner who strives to restore magic to her people after an oppressive monarchy took it away. Seven years later, Adeyemi has two #1 New York Times bestsellers, Children of Blood and Bone and the sequel Children of Virtue and Vengeance.

Now, with millions of copies sold worldwide and a movie in the works with The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood at the helm, her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy is ending with Children of Anguish and Anarchy, released June 25. As Adeyemi’s characters have grown and matured, so has she. At 30, she’s embracing and reveling in being a creator who can do whatever she wants—cue Beyoncé.

Unearthing Diverse Protagonists Through an Enlightening Moment

“I look at the world, and I just see the fabric of the world… I just see this as being a part of the fabric of the world. And so I’m grateful,” Adeyemi tells Nerdist. “I’m grateful to play a part with all the amazing creators and storytellers who have been fighting this fight, not just in our generation, but I even look at Gina Prince-Bythewood, who’s been creating these stories for us for 30 years. It’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m just excited to keep watching this story ripple throughout the world.”

Adeyemi didn’t always see herself within the fabric of the literary world. Although she was always a voracious reader, Adeyemi didn’t see herself on the page. This lack of representation initially influenced the way she described her characters. She routinely wrote what she wanted her life to be; however, her titular characters were often white or biracial Black girls. When she got to college, she began looking back at her writing and had an awakening: She had erased herself from her subconscious in the same way her Blackness was ignored in the books she read.

“We grew up with these amazing fantasy novels, these amazing characters, but the same way I can watch a Bollywood movie every day for three years and believe in love…fate…family…color…music…dance is the same way I can look at all these worlds and consume them and love them and say, oh wait, I don’t belong here,” Adeyemi said. “And even if I didn’t tell myself that consciously, I realized and internalized that subconsciously because what does it look like for a little girl to spend ten years writing herself out of her imagination?” 

This personal journey of self-discovery and realization is a thread that connects Adeyemi’s work to her readers, fostering a sense of empathy, understanding, and pride.

The Tangible Impact of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone

Since the debut of her first novel, a wave of YA fantasy novels featuring Black protagonists, such as The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, and Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams, have emerged. This surge in diverse representation is a testament to the transformative power of Adeyemi’s work, inspiring a new generation of writers and readers.

Now, with her characters Zélie and Amari—dark-skinned Black girls with kinky hair—as the newest faces of fantasy, Adeyemi sees a new future for the next generation of Black girls. She believes the popularity of her book series and the forthcoming movie will make it impossible for a young Black girl not to see herself on bookshelves, television screens, films, and even toys.

“I’m so excited because when I put out Children of Blood and Bone in 2018, there weren’t [many] covers like Zélie,” Adeyemi notes. “They were few and far between. Now, if you click on Children of Blood and Bone, the algorithm is going to show you dozens of fantasy novels with beautiful Black girls on the cover. And [it will be] similar with this [movie adaptation]. When I was writing Children of Blood and Bone, Black Panther hadn’t been released yet. So now, to be actively closing out this trilogy in book form, to be actively awakening this franchise and movie form, to be meeting with cast and production, and just to see all the collective genius…brought to life through this film…in two generations, I don’t think a young Tomi is going to have an opportunity not to see herself.”

Inserting Ifa and the Orïshas Into a Fantasy World

The representation Adeyemi has brought to the culture goes deeper than phenotype. Her series highlights the ancient African Traditional Religion of Ifa—the Yoruba tradition practiced across the Black Diaspora. 

Although raised by two Nigerian parents, Adeyemi didn’t learn about the Orïshas until she did a fellowship in Bahia, Brazil, after graduating from Harvard University with an English literature degree. She stumbled upon a shop in the market with the Orïshas splashed across plates and was in awe. She’d never seen or read about gods that looked like her. Thanks to her Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, she’s brought these revered Nigerian deities to the forefront of pop culture, instilling a sense of pride and admiration for Nigerian heritage and culture in her readers.

“The way the Yoruba tradition has spread across the diaspora, whether you call it Ifa, candomblé, santería… it’s human, and it’s spiritual, and it’s divine,” Adeyemi said. “And when I started this journey with this trilogy and saw the Orïshas for the first time, I was struck with, I guess, my own divinity because I had never even imagined myself in a divine light. So to be face to face with these ceramic plates and not even know what I was looking at, but to see African divinity and be like, whoa, we’re out here.”

She said that being able to help bring Ifa and the Orïshas out of the shadows while breaking the stigma and stereotypes around the divination system has been beautiful and glorious. The reception from fans continues to Adeyemi’s heart. Those who practice Ifa feel seen, and those who discovered the Orïshas through this series say this knowledge was life-changing.

Children of Blood and Bone Moves Toward Live-Action as Children of Anguish and Anarchy Hits Bookshelves

Now, the film is moving forward, with Adeyemi announcing that casting is underway. She cannot wait to see how people react to the film and says working on the film has been breathtaking. So many creative geniuses—who she won’t name—are onboard to bring her story to life.

“[There are] Academy Award-nominated people who have designed things that have taken over pop culture in front of the camera, behind the camera…bringing a hundred percent of their genius to 1% of this story,” she teases. “And every single time, just my mind doesn’t know what to do with that… to have a genius come in and be like, ‘Look at all the details that I’m using to build [this world].’ To see a fight coordinator who’s designed a style for Zélie that no one has ever seen before, that never existed, and show it to me…like, what the heck did I just see? This is cinema-changing, and it’s all us…it’s insane and gorgeous to have [people that look like us] at the helm.”

The excitement about the film and the latest installment isn’t confined to Adeyemi. On Children of Anguish and Anarchy‘s release date, she kicked off her highly anticipated book tour at Barnes & Noble-Union Square in NYC. As she entered the sold-out affair wearing a stunning leather burgundy ensemble designed by British Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, she received a standing ovation with fans chanting, “Tomi, Tomi!”

The emotions culminating at the end of this seven-year journey overwhelmed her as she tearfully thanked her fans and family in attendance for all of the support they’ve shown her. After trying—and failing—to keep her tears at bay, she allowed herself a beautiful moment of vulnerability.

“This isn’t even about the book; it’s about looking out into this room… you’ve been reading this and supporting me, and supporting this series makes you all you’re blinding to look at right now…thank you for being here,” she said tearfully. “This has been the journey of a lifetime and encapsulates so much of the first half of my life. It encapsulates the girl in her room watching Naruto and reading Harry Potter. The teenager who desperately used to come to Barnes & Noble… touching the books all dramatically…even walking around at Barnes & Noble is very emotional. To come into this room and see all your faces means so much to me.”

As the Legacy of Orïsha continues to be a global phenomenon, Adeyemi is breaking the glass ceiling in terms of what Black writers, young Nigerians and others across the diaspora can achieve. Yet, she says she’s not focused on comparisons to calling her the “Black J.K. Rowling” (Editor’s Note: Pretty sure no one wants to be like her in 2024.) or Octavia Butler—the mother of Afrofuturism. In her words, just call her Muva because she is only competing against herself.

“I think there are greats who have done incredible things,” Adeyemi states to wrap up our interview. “I’m still wowed by Octavia Butler; I got to write a foreword for Kindred for the new edition…and that’s been such an incredible honor. It is an incredible honor to be compared to a literary titan. Even if I’m [considered] a literary [icon], I still want to put on [my] boxing gloves and like go up against [my]self and get better and stronger and deeper and learn more about the human experience and then like take you to church.”

The post Tomi Adeyemi on Ending Her Orïsha Trilogy with CHILDREN OF ANGUISH AND ANARCHY appeared first on Nerdist.

Interview with the Vampire‘s second season is officially over. The AMC series now heads into Anne Rice’s second vampire novel, The Vampire Lestat for season three’s contents. This season of Interview with the Vampire gives us a finale makes a big change to the narrative of the book. And it is a change that some longtime fans might find themselves shocked by. It’s a fairly big alteration to a pivotal moment in the novel that alters the relationships of Lestat (Sam Reid), Louis (Jacob Anderson), and Arman (Assad Zaman) as we head into future seasons.

Interview with the Vampire the Novel’s Ending

In Rice’s original 1976 novel, vampires Claudia and Madeleine are executed by the Paris coven for the crime of killing Claudia and Louis’ maker, the Vampire Lestat. Or at least, for attempting to kill him. Louis is given a lighter sentence for the same crime, however. (Perhaps it is a worse sentence, depending on how you look at it.) Louis is imprisoned by the coven members inside a locked coffin. That coffin is placed within the walls of the catacombs under the Théâtre des Vampires. He’s meant to die excruciatingly slowly, perhaps over several years, all while going insane from his lack of blood sustenance.

However, in the climax of the novel (and the 1994 film), Paris coven leader Armand rescues him. He tells Louis he could not prevent the execution of Claudia because she’d broken too many laws. Yet he exerted his power over his coven enough to rescue his beloved Louis from eternal imprisonment. Louis then takes revenge on the entire Paris coven by setting fire to the Théâtre des Vampires. Later, he takes a scythe to vampire Santiago, the coven’s second in command, ending his undead rival for good.

Louis then leaves Paris with Armand, both now free of the machinations of the coven. The pair wander the world for decades. Louis eventually confronts Armand with the truth—he knows Armand allowed the Paris coven to murder Claudia. He denied the truth to himself for years, but now realized Armand orchestrated Claudia’s death and his rescue (and the subsequent revenge against the coven) as a way of securing Louis’ companionship.

The film tackles this in a slightly different manner. Louis (Brad Pitt) tells Armand (Antonio Banderas) that he knew he was behind it all immediately after the events took place. Louis then wanders the world alone, and we never discover what became of Armand afterward. Now, the Interview with the Vampire AMC series presents a third version of these events.

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire Season Finale Modifies the Original Ending of the Book

In the series, Louis is freed from his coffin prison, when Armand feeds him his blood, giving him the strength to break free. We never see who the vampire rescuer is, but Louis insists that it was Armand. Louis remains too starved and out of it to really care. The rest of the events transpire much like the book, as Louis takes his bloody revenge against the entire Paris coven, burning the theater to the ground. He then leaves with Armand, who takes credit for rescuing Louis.

Louis knows full well that Armand betrayed him, along with Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and Madeleine (Roxane Duran). But he believes they forced Armand to cooperate, thanks to a coup within the Paris coven masterminded by Santiago (Ben Daniels). Rescuing Louis was Armand’s way of making amends for letting the coven abduct them and force them into a public court spectacle. The two flee Paris together, apparently staying a couple for decades.

But Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), via his Talamasca contacts, discovers the truth about what happened decades ago in Paris. Despite appearances, Armand was not an unwilling accomplice in what the coven did. He didn’t just write the kangaroo court/mock trial play. He absolutely directed it. He was perfectly willing to sacrifice Claudia, Madeleine, and Louis to death in order to save his own skin. His vampiric underlings were revolting against him and he needed to prove himself to them (again).

In fact, it was not Armand who saved Louis from death. It was his maker Lestat. Lestat used his telepathy to force the mortal audience to give Louis a different sentence than death. Louis always believed Armand did this. Once Louis took his revenge on the coven and slaughtered them all, Armand happily took credit for saving him. With the threat to his own life gone, he now had everything he wanted. But Louis’ true rescuer was none other than Lestat.

This revelation enrages Louis in the modern day, who beats Armand by throwing him around their Dubai home. He later goes to New Orleans, where he tells Lestat that he knows the truth now. This is all a pretty big change from the original narrative. We always knew Armand was willing to sacrifice Claudia to remove her as an obstacle to his being with Louis. But, in the series, we now know he was also willing to let his beloved Louis die to save his own life. Once the coven was no longer a threat, he took credit for Louis’ commuted death sentence. Louis introduced Armand as “the love of his life” in season one, but it is actually his maker, the Vampire Lestat.

The post How the Season 2 Finale of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Changes the Book’s Ending appeared first on Nerdist.

The second season of Interview with the Vampire has ended, bringing a close to the events of the book of the same name that inspired it. But the show’s creators, Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, have already said a third season tackles The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice’s second chapter of The Vampire Chronicles. This was confirmed in AMC’s official announcement for season three. Yet the season two finale actually hinted at more than just book two in the future. There are hints for elements from book three and beyond. Here are the biggest things in the season two finale that tease what the future may hold for Louis (Jacob Anderson), Lestat (Sam Reid) and the other eternally sexy undead.

The Vampire World Exposed

One of the central conceits of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles is that each novel in the series is also a book in-universe. Daniel Molloy’s interview with the undead Louis is published as Interview with the Vampire, and most of the world at large consumes it as historical fiction. But those in the vampire world, and in the Talamasca Order? They know that it’s all true, and that Louis has exposed the world to their secrets, breaking their highest laws.

In book two, The Vampire Lestat, we learn that Louis is Public Enemy #1 in the undead world for giving the interview, and the end of season two suggests that scenario is already in play. Vampires all over the world are already threatening to tear him apart for his crimes. In The Vampire Lestat, the vampire community declares war on Louis and Lestat for revealing their secrets to the mortal masses. It looks like that fight is certainly coming in season three.

Interviewer Daniel Molloy Becomes a Vampire

One of the biggest changes to Rice’s overall story in season one concerns the reporter, Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). In the novels, the young reporter published his interview with the vampire Louis in the ‘70s. He then enters into a long and twisted affair with the vampire Armand, which lasts for a decade. He becomes his human familiar, but Armand continuously denies giving him the Dark Gift, no matter how much Daniel begs for it. All of this occurs in book three, The Queen of the Damned.

Armand finally makes Daniel a vampire while he’s still a young man, when he thinks he’s near death, in the novel Queen of the Damned. With Daniel growing to old age in the series, many believed the Armand/Daniel relationship would never play out in the series. But in the season two finale, we flash forward some time, and learn that Armand (Assad Zaman) did indeed make Daniel into a vampire. The how and why remains a mystery, but it seems that we might see the twisted story of Daniel and Armand from Queen of the Damned play out in season three. Especially as Eric Bogosian is confirmed as returning as Daniel.

The Arrival of Akasha, the Queen of the Damned

One of the most important characters in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles finally gets a name-drop in the season two finale. When Louis goes to say his seemingly final goodbye to Lestat in 1940s Paris, after the execution of Claudia (Delainey Hayles) by the Paris coven, he and Armand threaten to kill him with the Fire Gift. (In other words, mentally set him on fire). He tells Armand that it won’t work, even fire won’t kill him, all because he has “the blood of Akasha” in his veins.

So who is the mysterious Akasha, you may ask? She is one half of a royal pair of vampires known as “Those Who Must Be Kept.” The other is King Enkil, her consort. The reason they must be kept is because as the first vampires, the bloodline of the entire race comes from them. If they die, the entire vampire race dies too. The official season three announcement mentions the inclusion of “Those Who Must Be Kept” in the upcoming continuation.

Akasha, in Rice’s vampire mythology, is the first vampire, over 6,000 years old. The mother of the vampire race, Akasha was an ancient Egyptian ruler, who became the source of all their power. Her husband Enkil actually was only the second vampire made, and so the power truly lies with Akasha. She first appears in book two, later playing a central role as the titular Queen of the Damned. The late Aaliyah played her in the 2002 movie of the same name. With season three adapting The Vampire Lestat, it means our first glimpse of the undead royal in the flesh. A queen who has sat frozen like a statue for millennia. Start your casting guesses now. Who will fill Aaliyah’s crown?

Armand’s Treachery Exposed

In the season two finale, reporter Daniel Molloy finishes his interview with the vampires Louis and Armand. He reveals the bombshell information to Louis that evidence he uncovered suggests Armand didn’t save Louis’ life in the trial of the Théâtre des Vampires as he’s believed for decades. It was his maker Lestat that did. Lestat telepathically influences the “jury” to give Louis a sentence of banishment instead of death. He later secretly helped Louis escape his torturous imprisonment in the walled-up coffin.

Louis becomes enraged at this revelation, that Armand not only fully orchestrated Claudia’s death, but also his own, all in order to save his own skin from his own coven. Only when he was out of danger from the coven did he take credit for Lestat’s actions. In the novel, Louis realizes that Armand was ultimately responsible for Claudia’s death decades later. Instead of making a fuss, he quietly leaves him. In the series, however, this revelation comes in the modern day, fracturing their relationship. In the books, Armand then moves on to seduce the interviewer, Daniel Molloy, and establishes a billion-dollar vampire lair called the Night Island. With Armand’s duplicitous nature revealed, we may see these aspects of the story play out now.

Lestat the Rock Star

Louis sees Lestat (Sam Reid) again, for the first time in decades, at the end of season two. He encounters Lestat singing to himself and playing music in a rundown old shack in New Orleans. This occurs right as a hurricane is about to hit. He quips to Louis about “practicing to go on tour.” Now, that may seem like a joke, but in The Vampire Lestat, the 18th-century bloodsucker becomes a bonafide rock star, an internationally famous performer with stadium tours and music videos, all depicting vampiric history. And in the official season three announcement, they confirm that Lestat is putting together a band to go on tour. Even the announcement image features what look like stage lights.

When his progeny Louis tells his story and has it published, Lestat feels the need to one-up him. Not only does he tell his (far more expansive) backstory, he also tells his story on stage and MTV. This was the ‘80s after all. Since the series takes place in the modern day, the notion of a vampire rock star seems very dated. It already seemed dated in the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned. But who knows? Maybe this series can make that aspect work. We already know Sam Reid can sing. It would be a shame not to see him rock out in some capacity. We’re very curious to see what the future holds for this bold TV adaptation of Anne Rice’s vampiric universe.

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Interview with the Vampire is close to ending its second season soon, and thus, closing out the events of Anne Rice’s original novel. So what will a possible third season entail? Well, even though the show’s name is Interview with the Vampire, it’s actually adapting elements of Anne Rice’s entire Vampire Chronicles saga. And that’s a whopping thirteen books. According to series creators Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, season three will tackle Rice’s second undead novel, The Vampire Lestat. Here’s what Rolin Jones recently told us at the Interview with the Vampire season two premiere:

The next book was the one I wanted to do. So I hope I get a shot at it — The Vampire Lestat.

At the time, season three didn’t have an official greenlight, but Deadline recently announced that Rolin Jones had signed a new deal with AMC. And that made us think a greenlight for their anchor Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe show was imminent. And we were right: Interview with the Vampire has now been renewed for season three. There was a dash of The Vampire Lestat in this season, with episode three in the form of the flashback of Armand (Assad Zaman’s) first meeting with Lestat, but we’ll be heading into the book full force next season.

Season 3 of Interview with the Vampire Will Officially Be Based on The Vampire Lestat

A synopsis for season three of Interview with the Vampire reveals that we can expect The Vampire Lestat in full. It shares:

In season three, resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller “Interview With The Vampire,” the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can—by starting a band and going on tour.  Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma. No Auto-Tuning. No Trigger Warnings. All Feels Amplified.

More About The Vampire Lestat

Anne Rice’s second vampire novel The Vampire Lestat was published in 1985, nine years after Interview with the Vampire. Interview was initially a cult hit that took years to build into a classic. Yet its sequel was an instant best-seller, truly spawning a franchise. Rice took the original novel’s villain, made him an anti-hero, and greatly expanded the vampire mythology. In book two, through Lestat’s eyes, we go back in time to Renaissance Italy, the Roman Empire, and ancient Egypt. The scope is much bigger, so it will be interesting to see how Rolin Jones tackles it in a series.

One potential problem fans might have is that Louis, played by Jacob Anderson, is a very minimal presence in book two. The bulk of the events of the novel take place before Lestat ever meets Louis in New Orleans. One remedy for this problem could be Louis interviewing Lestat about his past, instead of Lestat merely writing a memoir, as he did in Rice’s novel. Thus, the name Interview with the Vampire still makes sense, and Jacob Anderson could remain in the series. Anderson’s Louis going from interviewee to interviewer would be an interesting twist for sure.

Originally published on June 17, 2024.

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Two titans of the comic book publishing world are coming together to celebrate one of the medium’s most celebrated characters. They are also celebrating one of its greatest creators. Dark Horse Comics and Marvel are teaming up for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man by John Romita, coming in Fall 2024. This oversized hardcover showcases several essays on Romita’s interior artwork, as well as covers. It also includes original art scans from the Marvel Comics archives. Aside from Peter Parker’s co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita is the most influential artist in Spidey’s publishing history. You can see the cover for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man down below:

The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man is the first of a new collaboration series and imprint between Dark Horse and Marvel, called Bullpen Books. This follows up their Marvel collaboration with The Art of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This new line of deluxe art books will honor the works of legendary Marvel Comics characters and creators. Spider-Man and John Romita are but the first of many. We expect to hear additional details about other books in the series very soon. Here’s what Dark Horse Comics’ John Lind had to say about this new Bullpen Books series:

Our initial projects will concentrate on exploring the extensive artistic and design legacy of Marvel Comics, including the substantial contributions made by its iconic creative teams. Combining the incredible depth and content within Marvel’s art archives with Dark Horse’s exceptional design and production will offer fans unparalleled editions of this material.

Meanwhile, Dark Horse President and Publisher, Mike Richardson shared:

I grew up with the Marvel characters and their creators from my earliest days, so I’m very excited about this new collaboration. We’re very excited about working with Marvel to highlight some of the greatest art and artists from their extensive library. I’m sure these books will be a special treat for comics fans everywhere

The Art of Amazing Spider-Man is available for pre-order at your local bookstore, comic shop, and various online retailers for a price of $59.99. This oversized (10” x 14”, 200-page) in-depth art book arrives in bookstores on October 15, 2024. It arrives in comic book shops one day later, on October 16, 2024.

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Fans of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, be it the novel or the film, knew the current AMC version was barrelling towards one horrible event since the show began. That is the death of the child vampire Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and her newly made vampire companion Madeleine (Roxane Duran), at the hands of the vengeful Paris coven who operates the Théâtre des Vampires. It’s a heartbreaking moment in the novel, and the series did it justice, while tweaking a few details. Here’s each medium handled Claudia’s executionm in the novels, film, and ultimately, in the second season episode “I Could Not Prevent It.”

The Death of Claudia in Anne Rice’s Novel, Interview with the Vampire

In Rice’s 1976 novel, when the Paris coven discovers that Louis and Claudia broke the Great Laws of the vampires by attempting to murder their maker, the Vampire Lestat, they capture them and hold them in a sort of trial for their crimes. Their star witness is Lestat, who survived their murder attempt in New Orleans years prior. Lestat eventually discovers his progeny fled to Paris, and follows them there. Once the coven discovers that Louis and Claudia broke their laws, they capture them and put them on trial. Of course, it’s trial with a predetermined verdict.

When the coven deems them guilty, they execute Claudia, the chief architect of the crime, and her new companion Madeleine, via murder by sunlight. They leave them alone in a well, until the sun rises and burns them both to ash. The sun rises, and all that remains of Claudia is a tattered yellow dress, covered in ash. The coven gives Louis a different punishment, as they bury him alive within the theater in a locked coffin, meant to slowly drive him mad, and eventually, starve. In the book, all of these events take place in the late 19th century.

How the 1994 Film Version of Interview with the Vampire Handled Claudia’s Death

In the film version, the trial is nonexistent, and the Paris coven merely proceeds to the verdict—guilty. The coven leaves Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) and Madeleine (Domiziana Giordano) alone in the well, with the sun rising and burning them to ash. However, in the film version, both Claudia and Madeleine burn together and their bodies form an ashen sculpture. A sculpture that collapses into dust with the slightest touch. It’s a visually striking effect, but one made just for the film. Claudia’s dress does not survive the sun any more than Claudia does in director Neil Jordan’s big-screen iteration.

Claudia and Madeleine’s Death in Interview with the Vampire on AMC

In the series, the Paris Coven captures Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine. Their kangaroo court trial is actually a matinee performance at the Théâtre des Vampires. The human crowd watches the spectacle of suffering, as the court deems each vampire guilty for attempting to murder Lestat. The coven only gives Madeleine a special dispensation, as Louis made her after the murders. However, she chooses to die with Claudia. Louis is buried within the walls of the theater catacombs. This is after the “jury,” a.k.a. the crowd of mortals in the theater, are telepathically manipulated to give Louis a different sentence than death — exile. Did the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) save Louis’ life? Did he plant the exile verdict in their minds? That’s the assumption, as that is what occurs in the book and the film. But perhaps the series will go down a different route.

Instead of executing them in a well, Claudia and Madeleine are murdered on stage, in front of the horrified theatergoers. She threatens to come back from the afterlife and murder each and every person in the audience. The vampire Santiago (Ben Daniels) then opens a skylight that only hits the two female vampires on stage with rays of sunlight, as they writhe in agony and turn to ash. Lestat (Sam Reid) watches, with tears in his eyes as the vampire child he created, and later condemned to death, burns away to nothing. Just as in the novel, all that remains of Claudia is her yellow dress.

Claudia’s Original Fate

The original ending of Rice’s novel had Claudia live, finding happiness with a group of vampire children like herself. But Anne Rice’s editor believed the novel called for a tragic ending. And she was right. So Rice rewrote the entire second half of the book, with Claudia’s death as the emotional climax of the novel. It’s easily the moment Louis’ tragic tale hinges on. Claudia never comes back to life in later novels. Yet she remains a haunting presence in the minds and hearts of Louis and Lestat for eternity. We imagine that in Interview with the Vampire the series, this will remain the case.

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The wonderful worlds of wizardry, lush lands of fantasy epics, and all sorts of fictional adventures in between feature so many elements. There’s magic, monsters, adventure, action, and much more to craft narratives that whisk us to universes. The themes of these stories often intertwine with different sociopolitical viewpoints, providing commentary on the world we live in. But, it’s done with the flair of aliens, spaceships, wands, and maybe even a lightsaber. Or, if we’re really lucky, it is simply a fun romp that taps into our escapist nature. 

One part of magical and fantasy narratives, specifically books, that could always make room for improvement is representation. Why does it seem to be so hard to imagine a whimsical world or a space saga with non-White leading characters? One demographic that is oft overlooked is young Black boys. Many of their stories, film or otherwise, tend to center on similar narratives. But what if they wanted to be wizards and wield magic? 

That’s what writer LaDarrion Williams delivers in Blood at the Root, a New York Times bestseller novel that features a young man’s journey at an HBCU for those who are young, Black, and magical. He learns about his family roots and mysteries and finds a new set of family at Caiman University. Nerdist caught up with Williams to talk about his nerdy childhood loves, crafting Blood at the Root, Black Southern culture, and more. 

Nerdist: What were the nerdy franchises and interests and stuff that captured your attention as a kid?

LaDarrion Williams: I was a Disney kid back when Disney Channel was the good version because I don’t know what these kids got nowadays. I remember when the new Disney Channel original movies came out, you had to sit at home on Friday night at seven o’clock to watch them… I was the nerdy boy that was watching all of those movies every Friday night. And I remember when High School Musical came out and Camp Rock, all of that… I always [loved] ‘90s black cinema, watching all of those movies really shaped me. Some of those movies I’d had no business watching when I was a kid!

Yes, Love and Basketball, The Wood, Love Jones…

Williams: Yeah! Even The Best Man. Watching that now as an adult is wild! But those movies shaped me. I remember watching Eve’s Bayou and really becoming very fascinated by not only the story, but the magic that it had, the southern mystery that it had. And also, The Mummy with Brendan Frazier. But yeah, that’s what I grew up on. I have a big range of movies that I used to love watching growing up.

Love it. So how did you get into creative writing? 

Williams: I’ve always been a creative kid, but I really didn’t take it seriously until high school. I was in detention and, once you finished all your homework for the day, you had to do something. They don’t just let you sit there. And the teacher at the time, she gave me a newspaper or a book, and I was like, “well, I kind of just want to read a book or something.” I don’t want to read a newspaper all day long. And little did I know it was the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. And I read that play literally from front to back. And I really resonated with Walter Lee Younger… I was like, “man, these characters sound like my family.”

And I was like, “I kind of want to write something like this one day.” …the next year I got into theater, I was always the choir kid. I love singing. I love the arts, but I didn’t take it seriously until I think the 10th or 11th grade. And I started acting and doing theater, and my theater teacher gave me the play “Fences” by August Wilson. I was blown away. 

So I wrote a play about two people trapped in a hospital room during Hurricane Katrina, and come to find out they were dead the entire time. It was like The Sixth Sense. I don’t know why I wrote that at 17. When I wrote that, I won a competition and first place in playwriting in the state. My teacher was like, “I think you’re going to be a playwright. I think you’re a writer, you’re an actor, you’re a creative.” That’s what ushered me into creative writing. 

And look at where it got you! You’re here now with a successful book. Tell me about your journey with Blood at the Root, from conception to the present. 

Williams: The conception of it came in the middle of the pandemic. It was the pandemic and a lot going on in the country… I was binging The Originals and The Vampire Diaries at the time, and I was just like, “man, I’m tired.”

The Vampire Diaries made me so mad! Justice for Bonnie.

Williams: Listen, they won’t see Heaven, whoever created that. So I was just kind of angry about the type of representation we were seeing. And then Lovecraft Country came out, I was like, “whoa, wait, what?!” It just felt so refreshing. Once Lovecraft Country came out, Twitter was going crazy every Sunday night. But it was really when Beyonce dropped [her album] Black Is King as well. I was finally being fed creatively after a long time… I tweeted and said, “what if Harry Potter went to an HBCU?” It was random. I don’t know where it came from. I’m just randomly tweeting. Everybody kind of gravitated towards that tweet and I think it kind of sparked something. And so people were like, “you got to make that.”

And I was like, “well, I can’t make it in the middle of the pandemic.” We could barely get toilet paper. I’m not going to go out and shoot a whole film… I started writing the television show because Blood at the Root wasn’t supposed to be a book. It was supposed to be a TV show. I moved to LA to be a TV writer. 

I wrote the pilot script and me and my friends did a Zoom reading of it and people were like, “man, this is really cool.” I was sharing pages on Twitter and people felt like they were with it from the conception, from the tweet to the short.

That’s so cool. How did you eventually get to making the short film? 

Williams: People started donating money and were reaching out to me… I asked my friends to go shoot the short film. And everybody was like, let’s do it. And I was like, okay, let’s go do it… We snuck onto the UCLA campus to shoot the magic school [scene]. Shout out to them for not arresting these Black people for making a short film there during the pandemic! 

I realized I had something very, very special because it was really cool to see my friends being in this fantasy space. We felt like little kids playing again. And when we got done with the short film, we posted it on YouTube and Amazon Prime and people were having watch parties. 

I remember when that happened and it was great! Why didn’t you move forward with Blood at the Root in the film space? 

Williams: I was thinking Hollywood was going to come calling. I had this short film that’s viral. At the time, people were going viral and getting brand deals. They were getting TV shows, even though it was the pandemic. But when things started opening up, I couldn’t get an agent. I couldn’t get a manager. I couldn’t get nobody to even look at the short film. It was getting rejected from every single short film festival that we submitted to… It got rejected from every single one. 

That is so surprising! 

Williams: Yeah. Having that rejection toppled on me every single day, checking my email every day, I got very depressed about it. I was embarrassed because I was like, “oh, I’m going to be this big shot with this movie.” And nothing came of it. But I started to fall in love with this story even more. After a year of trying, my friends were like, “hey, why don’t you turn it into a book?”

…I saw The Hate You Give. I saw Children of Blood and Bone. I was like, “well, okay, so there are Black books that are making it.” I asked the bookstore clerk at Barnes & Noble if there were stories with Black boys. I want to see myself and be able to relate fully to the character. We went over to the YA fantasy section and we couldn’t find anything.

I’ve noticed that many Black fantasy stories will include Black girls prominently but the boys not so much. 

Williams: Black girls absolutely deserve everything and more! But when it came to the Black boys, I was starting to see a certain type of story being published. I was like, “Why are they getting killed by police? Can Black boys not live too?” I literally made the declaration right there at the bookstore that I would write this story. I locked myself in my apartment for 12 days and I wrote the first draft of Blood at the Root, the book. I took ideas from the short film and the television pilot script, and I put it into the book and created this full story about this Black kid named Malik Baron going to a magical HBCU.

You get to meet his friends and you get to go to classes and all of that. I was going to self-publish it but I worked with an editor, Margot Westin, a Black woman for Louisiana. She said, “LaDarrion, you got to traditionally publish this novel.” I know you want to self publish it. And I was like, nah. At that time, publishing really didn’t want Black boys in YA fantasy. She eventually convinced me. We worked really hard and I ended up getting an agent, whom I worked with for a year. We went to publishers and I was getting the same rejections I was getting from the short film. “We can’t connect to the character, we don’t know how to market this.” 

Mmmhmmm, we all know what that means.

Williams: Right?! But in January of 2023, we eventually signed with Penguin Random House for a three book deal. And now here it is, Blood at the Root book one is out. And I’m currently working on the sequel. 

That’s an amazing journey. You got delayed a few times, but you ultimately were not denied. What are your ultimate hopes for this trilogy and how it’ll affect the YA space?

Williams: I really hope publishers are more open to not always trying to think about white audiences. Because I think ultimately what they are saying is that they think audiences can’t connect to Black people because you don’t see Black people as human. At the end of the day, we connected to a little white British boy going to magic school. I connected to him even though I grew up in Alabama. I didn’t know nothing about the UK. I hope that publishers are more open to all types of Black stories, especially Black stories that are set in the South that do not always try to center whiteness. 

I hope that Black girls, little Black kids, queer kids, Black boys, like everybody, I hope they could see themselves in the story because Malik can be you… I also hope people are open-minded to Malik. He talks with a Southern twang, he cusses. He is angry, he is vulnerable, he’s everything. And I hope people are more open to that, to seeing that type of character in the publishing world and also in audiences. I hope they’re open to receiving it.

I certainly hope so, too. And I want people to have a more open mind when it comes to reading about and engaging with Black Southern folks and our culture. There’s always these stereotypes and thoughts about our perceived intelligence or the lack thereof based on how we talk. I want people to reject that notion and maybe Blood at the Root will help with that. People love to consume Black culture without acknowledging that a chunk of Black American culture as a whole comes from the South. I say this as a Carolina girl. 

Williams: I know that’s right! The South got something to say, just as OutKast said, right? But I think people don’t realize that. I think I’m out here in LA and I’m just like, “y’all, some of the stuff that y’all are doing is from the South.” …a lot of us don’t know about the great migration. People went from Mississippi to Chicago to Alabama. A lot of people came from Alabama to LA and Texas and Louisiana. You don’t think they brought their customs and their traditions and stuff with them?

I think about my mother, I think about my father, my grandmother, my aunties, and seeing them. And they’re reading books probably for the first time in a long time. And they say,”man, this grandmother sound like me.” Now they feel seen and they feel edified in the book. And I think I want to show that the simplicity of life in the south, the poetry, the language of the everyday people, that’s what August [Wilson] did.

I love it and I hope so many people feel seen and that we get to celebrate Black culture and the joys of magic in Blood at the Root.

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Although not entirely absent, Sam Reid’s Vampire Lestat has been a minimized presence in season two of Interview with the Vampire. As fans of Anne Rice’s novel know, the character of Lestat largely disappears for the second half of the novel. This is after the attempted murder of Lestat by his progeny Louis and Claudia in season one. But Sam Reid is such a vibrant presence, the creators wanted to keep him around for season two, which covers the back half of the book. So he appeared peppered throughout season two as the manifestation of the guilty conscience of Louis (Jacob Anderson). But in episode six of season two, “Like the Light By Which God Made the World Before He Made Light” Lestat finally shows up in the flesh. And it restores a pivotal moment from Rice’s novel that the 1994 movie cut out.

At the end of episode six, the coven at the Théâtre des Vampires has all the evidence they need that Louis and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) attempted to murder Lestat, not just their maker, but the owner and founder of the Théâtre des Vampires itself. That is a violation of the vampire coven’s highest “Great Laws.” Now that they know the truth, Santiago (Ben Daniels) holds a trial for the accused in a special matinee performance. (Why matinee? Remember what sunlight does to the undead). And yes, Louis’ lover Armand (Assad Zaman), leader of the coven, is complicit in this. The star witness is Lestat himself, giving testimony as to his attempted murder by his American fledglings. This is how Lestat appears in the flesh at last in Interview with the Vampire’s second season.

Although the series often deviates from the novel, this is one instance where it restored an important part of the book which the 1994 film deleted. In Rice’s novel, Lestat reappearing at the Paris coven’s trial for Louis and Claudia was a key moment. They believed Lestat dead, and when he reappears, it confirms to the coven that Louis and Claudia broke their sacred laws. And thus, needed punishment. Neil Jordan actually did film a version of Lestat’s reappearance in Paris for the movie. Yet for unknown reasons, he deleted it from the final film. However, images of Tom Cruise’s Lestat in burnt makeup from that scene have surfaced over the years online. We’re glad they finally adapted this important moment for Lestat’s character arc for the AMC series.

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House of the Dragon has a big creative advantage over most adaptations. George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is not a definitive account of events. It’s a history of House Targaryen “written” by a maester that is incomplete or even wrong in certain places. (Though we can’t always know how or where). That’s especially true of the time period the HBO’s prequel series is retelling. That section is based on three biased sources that frequently conflict with one another, often because none of the chroniclers actually witnessed the events they wrote about. Their blindspots and distortions provide House of the Dragon narrative freedom. It also lets the show fill in huge gaps never mentioned. And House the Dragon‘s season two premiere used that storytelling advantage to make Queen Alicent and Ser Criston Cole’s relationship far more troubling, complex, and interesting.

In Fire & Blood, Kingsguard member Criston Cole goes from being the sworn sword of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to the personal protector of her enemy, Alicent Hightower. No one in Westeros ever hated Rhaenyra more than the man who crowned her brother Aegon king. The Targaryen history provides a very personal reason for the enmity between the two formerly close duo: their relationship turned sexual.

In Fire & Blood, one source claims Cole asked Rhaenyra to run across the Narrow Sea with her, giving up her claim to the Iron Throne. Another says it was Rhaenyra who asked him to forsake his vows to the Kingsguard. What every historian agrees on is that, after that moment, the two despised one another. Criston Cole didn’t just turn his back on her, he worked to destroy her.

House of the Dragon‘s first season provided a definitive answer as to what happened between them. It’s the one that always made the most sense based on what we knew about each. It was Criston Cole, the worst person ever, who begged Rhaenyra to leave Westeros behind with him. The HBO series also gave us a reason for his request. It wasn’t one driven by love or even lust. Cole felt guilt for having broken his sacred vows in the first place and he wanted Rhaenyra to give up everything to make him feel better about himself. When she refused in House of the Dragon season one, Criston Cole abandoned her and went into the service of Queen Alicent instead.

For everything Fire & Blood says/suggests about Cole and Rhaenyra’s relationship, both explicitly and in subtext, it says almost nothing of his relationship with Alicent. Criston Cole becomes Alicent’s sworn sword and protector, but none of the book’s sources raise even a hint of impropriety between the two. But that doesn’t mean the show created a physical relationship out of thin air, either.

Westeros remembers Criston Cole for the unethical punk he was. It also knows he almost certainly broke his vows and slept with Rhaenyra. (Who was a drunk teenager the first time they slept together on the show). It’s not a stretch, in any way, to imagine Cole also went on to violate his oaths with a young, beautiful widow like Alicent. Nor it is absurd to think that a woman whose entire life was defined/bound by duty until that point took her handsome knight to bed when she was under the most stress she’d ever know.

While their physical relationship contributed to the show botching Fire & Blood‘s most shocking moment (the other side of the adaptation freedom coin), this expansion of their story is ultimately a good thing for the show. It makes all of their interactions more fraught. Their advice to Aegon, whether they agree or not, is also harder to trust. Alicent and Criston Cole have entangled themselves in a way that has often doomed other duos because personal relationships have a tendency to undermine duty and rational thinking.

Each character is also more interesting on their own now, too. This evolution of the relationship makes Alicent more complex and, therefore, more compelling. She’s not as “perfect” as she thought. Maybe now she fears/knows Rhaenyra was right about her true nature, especially since Alicent did the very thing she held against Rhaenyra. It’s even possible jealousy of how Rhaenyra got to live her life drove Alicent into Criston Cole’s arms in House of the Dragon season two. And while Alicent’s hypocrisy makes her less righteous, calling her piety into question, it makes her more human and, therefore, possibly more sympathetic. She’s as vulnerable and flawed as anyone. She gave in to her basest desires just like any other human might.

While this relationship twist makes Alicent more dynamic, it also makes Lord Commander Ser Criston Cole an even greater villain. He’s less a knight and more a walking fraud who speaks with a forked tongue. Every awful thing he says about Rhaenyra is projection. He can’t truly protect the King and his family because he’s compromised himself. He’s the amoral, unethical center at the Dance of the Dragons.

He’s what the show needs just as Game of Thrones needed characters like Joffrey, Ramsay, and Baelish. The handsome Kingsguard member who began his story so nobly and with so much promise is like a reverse Jaime Lannister, someone we hated but grew to love.

No one will ever love Criston Cole… Except apparently Alicent Hightower. And House of the Dragon is better for it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the original Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s second season began in the North. There, Prince Jacaerys met with the Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark. Their discussion revealed a monumental secret about the two families’ deep bond. But their shared past might have also finally answered a question fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire have long had about Benjen Stark: why did he join the Night’s Watch?

Benjen Stark, the youngest sibling of Ned, took the black shortly after Robert’s Rebellion ended the Targaryen dynasty. At that point, Benjen’s father Rickard, oldest brother Brandon, and only sister Lyanna were all dead. That left Ned the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Despite Ned needing all the support he could get (both as a ruler and as a person), Benjen swore his oath to the ancient order mere months after his only surviving sibling returned home. That left the entire ancient family on the verge of total annihilation.

Even with Ned’s best friend atop the Iron Throne, and their surrogate father Jon Arryn serving as Hand of the King, the war left House Stark in tatters. There just weren’t as many of them left in a region where brutal winters can claim the lives of even the most powerful Northerners. If something happened to Ned, the only Starks (by blood) left were two newborns, Robb Stark and Jon Snow.

Why would Benjen leave his family for the Night’s Watch at that exact moment? Why didn’t he get married and have kids, replenishing the line with potential heirs and strengthening their numbers? It’s not as though fathers or older men can’t join. Even if he wanted to join previously (as youngest siblings were known to do), why wouldn’t he at least wait until Ned’s two boys got older and stronger? Or until Ned had more children? One bad chill could have left House Stark without a lord or worse. A single sickness at Winterfell could have wiped them all out. If that happened, Benjen wouldn’t have been able to do anything. He couldn’t violate his sacred oath to the Night’s Watch to claim his family’s ancient seat, just as Maester Aemon couldn’t claim the Iron Throne after the death of the Mad King Aerys II.

Benjen’s decision to become a Sworn Brother when he did has never made sense. George R.R. Martin hasn’t explained it yet, either. The only overt textual evidence he’s ever provided is that a teenage Benjen became enamored with the Night’s Watch after hearing a member try to recruit new members during the very same tourney where Lyanna fell in love with Rhaegar. But that hardly explains why he headed to the Wall just a couple months after Ned returned and House Stark was holding on by a thread.

This mystery has always been a fun one for fans to speculate about. Did Benjen’s departure have anything to do with him possibly knowing the secret of Jon Snow’s birth? Or was it made out of guilt for not fighting in the war? For knowing Lyanna wasn’t kidnapped and had voluntarily ran off with Rhaegar, the entire reason for the rebellion? Had Benjen actually been the one who helped Lyanna run off in the first place? They’re all fascinating possibilities, the kind of small character mystery that give Martin’s story so much emotional depth and intrigue. But House of the Dragon might have revealed Benjen’s reason had absolutely nothing to do with him because he didn’t have a choice at all.

The prequel’s season two premiere opened with new Northern lore. Lord Cregan Stark was overseeing a ceremony his ancestor Torrhen Stark began a century earlier. That’s when House Stark began sending one in ten of its own kin, drawn by random lot, to the Night’s Watch at the outset of every winter. The order, made up mostly of “doomed men,” needed strong, capable, noble members and leaders to keep the Night’s Watch in line. House Stark would keep its sacred oath to protecting the Wall and the Realm by sending their own men to fill those roles.

That ceremony and its origins indicate Aegon the Conqueror told Torrhen Stark about his prophetic vision of a White Walker invasion. That has huge ramifications for all of A Song of Ice and Fire. It also provides the best, most logical explanation for why Benjen Stark joined the Night’s Watch at what seemed like the worst possible time for his family. House Stark needed to send someone and he was the only option since Ned couldn’t go. There was literally no one else to go, so the family and Benjen made a sacrifice in the name of duty, echoing Cregan’s opening words in the episode. It didn’t matter the Starks needed Benjen at Winterfell. “Winter is coming” and that’s the only thing that has ever mattered.

If this sacrifice is why Benjen joined the Night’s Watch, why wouldn’t Martin have revealed it long before? It only makes both Benjen and House Stark look more noble. It was always the one family that truly put Westeros first. Likely because the ceremony that sent Benjen to the Wall is so much bigger than any one character. Tying House Stark and House Targaryen via Aegon’s Dream is a monumental revelation. Assuming it’s not entirely a show creation (or alteration), Martin might very well have been holding the truth of Benjen’s departure back until his final two books in A Song of Ice and Fire.*

Of course, even if this does fully explain why Benjen Stark joined the Night’s Watch, readers still don’t know what happened to the Head Ranger. His story will be different in Martin’s novels than what we saw on Game of Thrones. And in the books Benjen is still missing and presumed dead beyond the Wall.

We hope someone finds him, for lots of reasons. When they do he might confirm he had no choice but to take the black in the first place.

*No comment

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and loyal bannerman to House Stark. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere ended with a violent scene readers of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood have desperately waited to see. It was the iconic, infamous event known as “Blood and Cheese,” arguably the single most shocking, cruel, and heartbreaking moment in the history of Westeros. And House of the Dragon completely botched it by needlessly delivering a vastly inferior version.

I love every single book and short story George R.R. Martin has written about Westeros. Yet I also know books are not TV shows and TV shows are not books. Adaptations, even faithful ones, must make significant changes if they hope to succeed. The written word, no matter how good, simply does not always translate to the screen. In its first season, House of the Dragon made a lot of amazing changes, the majority of which I supported and celebrated. From the revelation of Aegon’s Dream to an infinitely more dynamic King Viserys, it provided so many fantastic new aspects to Martin’s story.

Of course, the show also made some terrible changes. It undercut the major figures’ storylines and created big spectacles free of logic. Those kinds of alterations are frustrating (to be polite), but it’s a part of the process. I get that. I really do.

But some scenes need zero changes because they’re not only perfect on the page, they’re already perfect for the screen. And—more than any other moment in all of Fire & Blood, and maybe in all of A Song of Ice and Fire—no scene was ever more TV ready than “Blood and Cheese.”

The murder of Prince Jaehaerys on House of the Dragon almost certainly shocked and bothered those who had no idea what was coming. The violent murder of a child, even in Westeros, is still inherently stunning. The problem is those who did know what was coming, the people most excited and invested in this scene, know this version is monumentally, infuriatingly worse. George R.R. Martin’s version is so much more powerful, creative, and awful than House of the Dragon‘s. It’s also more logical and far more meaningful to the story.

In Fire & Blood a scheming, angry, worried Alicent Hightower is the chief architect of Aegon usurping his half-sister’s throne. House of the Dragon took away some of her agency by making her believe Viserys had a deathbed change of heart about succession. Fortunately season two’s premiere gave some back to Alicent by showing she knows the only way forward now is violence. She accepts blood must be shed and she has played a role in that inevitability. That scene with her father (along with the rat catcher walking by her earlier in the episode) also seemed to be setting up the horror that awaited her at the end by having her naively believe a war for the Iron Throne would free of “wanton” violence. The series did a fantastic job foreshadowing the worst moment in Alicent’s life, one that would make her truly face the consequences of her choices.

Then it didn’t have her experience it.

In Fire & Blood, Daemon’s two hired assassins aren’t bumbling around without a plan. They are far more capable, focused, and diabolical. The rat catcher is chosen specifically because he knows how to get around the Red Keep’s secret tunnels (including where the royals live) in a way few others do. That includes even those who actually live there. Cheese, as he is eventually called, knows all the hidden passageways in and out of bedchambers and offices. His intimate knowledge is also partly why they targeted Haelena’s young son rather than Aegon or Aemond in the first place.

Book Alicent resides in an accessible part of the castle, the Tower of the Hand. The highly protected King and his family sleeps in Maegor’s Holdfast, which has no secret ways entrances. King Maegor had the Red Keep’s secret tunnels installed, but wisely didn’t want any where he lived and slept. The subtext of Martin’s story reveals no one in the royal court worried about where Alicent, Helaena, and the kids went anyway because they obviously weren’t targets. This is a war between Rhaenyra and Daemon against Aegon and Aemond. Even the murder of Lucerys Targaryen wouldn’t make someone think little Prince Jaehaerys was in danger. He’s a literal child. But that’s one of the major points of the entire scene, which is really not about Jaehaerys or Helaena at all. They’re just victims. The scene is really about Alicent and how she made her loved ones targets.

In Martin’s book, Blood and Cheese hide in Alicent’s bed chamber because that’s how they can get what Daemon wants, “a son for a son.” Spies let Daemon (not still on Dragonstone at this point) and Mysaria (still in King’s Landing and willingly involved in this scheme) know about the Queen’s activities. Every night Helaena takes her three kids— the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehara, aged six, and son Maelor, aged two—into their grandmother’s bedroom to say goodnight.

On that fateful evening, Blood and Cheese had already bound and gagged Alicent and strangled her bed maid. Then they waited, as a helpless and terrified Alicent looked on, not knowing exactly what they had planned. When Helaena walked in with the three kids holding Maelor’s hand, Blood “barred the door and slew the queen’s guardsman, whilst Cheese appeared to snatch up Maelor.” After promising to kill them all unless Helaena stayed calm and quiet, they also swore to only harm one son. Only, in one of the most horrific decisions ever faced by anyone in Westeros, Helaena would have to pick which son died.

The Queen pleaded with them to take her instead, but they threatened to assault her daughter if she didn’t choose. Finally, “on her knees, weeping, Helaena named her youngest, Maelor.” Why him? Some think because he was too young to understand, others because Jaehaerys was the King’s heir. Whatever drove her choice, it didn’t matter. Cheese whispered to little Maelor, who must have been so confused and scared, “You hear that, little boy? Your momma wants you dead.” Cheese then smiled at Blood, who instead struck Jaehaerys’ head off with a single blow.

Yeah. Yeah.

On the page this horrible, shocking, heartbreaking scene—a true testament to Martin’s gift as a writer—reads like a short play in a way few moments of Fire & Blood do. It’s all there. There’s no guessing at the action, tension, and dialogue. There’s no mystery to fill in. Nor is there any way to improve it. It’s perfect, as is the purpose it serves in this story about two women fighting over the Iron Thrones. That’s what really matters.

This is the moment where Alicent literally must face what she’s put in motion. For all her talk about protecting her family from Rhaenyra, she is the one who put them all in mortal danger. She started this war. Her anger and ambition helped make such a moment of evil possible.

And for all of the Greens’ arrogance about righteousness, they must now spend the rest of the war knowing none of them, not even the youngest and most innocent, are safe. This is a fight to the death no one will win even if they survive. Helaena, Alicent, Jaehaera, and Maelor all walk away from Blood and Cheese with their lives, yet each life is destroyed in its own way.

For indefensible, incomprehensible reasons, House of the Dragon decided not to have Alicent present for any of this. Neither does it make Helaena agonize over an impossible decision only to be left with a son who knows she named him for death. Instead Alicent only had to hear about what happened while Helaena instantly gave up her son. (Which itself was an illogical moment of non-tension. Blood and Cheese could have easily looked under the kids’ pajamas to identify Jaehaerys.)

Why did House of the Dragon take a scene this good and beloved, one of the most highly anticipated in all of Game of Thrones history, and make it inferior? Why did it lessen the emotional impact, horror, and meaning to the story? It’s not as though these changes were about lessening the violence. The show actually amped the physical brutality of the moment. The murder of little Jaehaerys was worse because Blood slowly sawed off his head rather than chopping it off in a single blow. Why amplify the physical awfulness but lessen the emotional aspect when that’s the entire reason for the scene in the first place?

Ultimately the show’s reasons doesn’t matter, at least not to book readers who know what they missed out on. The only thing that matters is that House of the Dragon blew a rare opportunity. It had the chance to adapt a book moment that was already perfect for the screen in every way.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. (Or complaining about how House of the Dragon did the impossible and screwed up “Cheese and Blood.”)

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House of the Dragon‘s first season featured one of the most significant revelations in all of A Song of Ice and Fire. Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros because he “foresaw the end of the world of men” at the icy hands of the White Walkers, and he believed the only hope to defeat the darkness was a unified Westeros led by a Targaryen. We learned about Aegon’s Dream when Viserys shared the secret with his daughter Rhaenyra. It was a vision the family’s kings had only ever told their own heirs. Or so we thought.

House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere has indicated the Conqueror shared that secret with an outsider, the Lord of a family Aegon knew would be the first line of defense when a “terrible winter gusting out of the distant north” began: House Stark. And that shared secret deepens the binds between House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, Aegon, Jon Snow, the Targaryens, and the Starks.

House of the Dragon returned by returning us to Winterfell at the outset of winter. Season two also began with the voice of Lord Cregan Stark. He said, “Duty is sacrifice. It eclipses all things, even blood.” Those were no mere words, either. He said them as part of a ceremony we’ve never seen on either Game of Thrones show before. When winter starts, House Stark sends one in ten of its own kin, drawn by random lot, to join the Night’s Watch.

Most members of that ancient order are made up of “doomed men who had their life as their only possession.” Game of Thrones viewers know those doomed men—often rapists, thieves, and cravens—usually aren’t the best Westeros has to offer. The Night’s Watch needs capable, honorable fighters and leaders to keep those men in line. The Night’s Watch needs Starks.

Even without that ceremony, though, Starks have served in the Night’s Watch since its inception. The family’s members have often served as Lord Commanders.

What makes this new piece of northern lore so monumental is who began this tradition and when. This “sacrifice” changes everything we know about Aegon Targaryen’s interactions with the Starks and the North, and, therefore, the “bastard” who will one day unite the Realm against the White Walkers.

With the ceremony complete, Cregan Stark brought Rhaenyra Targaryen’s oldest son and heir, Jace, to the top of the Wall. Jace was on a diplomatic mission to secure support of major houses for his mother’s claim to the Iron Throne. The two talked about the first time a Stark swore an oath to a Targaryen, when King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon.

The current Lord of Winterfell then assured the prince, “Starks do not forget their oaths.” The North will keep the vow Cregan’s father Rickon made to Viserys when the King named Rhaenyra his rightful heir. However, Cregan also said he has an even more sacred oath that limits how many men he can commit to the Queen’s cause.

“My gaze is forever torn between north and south,” Cregan said. “In winter, my duty to the Wall is even more dire than the one I owe to King’s Landing.” Jace did not understand why guarding against “wildlings and weather” was more important than stopping the Hightowers and saving the Realm from a war that will rip it apart. That is until Jace gazed out past the Wall in awe.

Cregan then told the story about how Jace’s great grandparents, King Jaehaerys and his wife Queen Alysanne, once visited this very spot with his father Rickon. From there, the two Targaryens watched as their dragons, “the greatest power in the world,” refused to cross the Wall. The implication was obvious even before Cregan spoke again. “Do you think my ancestors built a 700-foot wall of ice to keep out snow and savages?” Lord Stark asked the prince. When Jace then asked what the Wall does keep out, Cregan told him: “Death.”

The Warden of the North’s comments show House Stark, even millennia after the First Long Night, always knew what the Wall kept out. That exchange also reflected a memorable and ominous moment from Game of Thrones‘ pilot.

In the original series’ premiere a visiting Benjen Stark, member of the Night’s Watch, discussed whispers of White Walker attacks with his brother Ned. Unlike everyone in else Westeros would for many years, the two did not dismiss or mock those reports. They spoke of the possibility with the solemnity of a Stark who knows, and has always known, “winter is coming.” House Stark’s ancient words were always a reminder of the real threat out of the darkness plotting its return.

That’s what makes the timing and originator of the Stark Night’s Watch ceremony so significant. That’s actually an understatement. It’s among the most meaningful pieces of lore ever introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire. To understand why, we need to go back to the start of House Stark and House Targaryen’s relationship, a century before House of the Dragon.

Aegon Targaryen had already conquered most of Westeros when he turned his attention to the King in the North, Torrhen Stark. Torrhen had marched 30,000 men into the Riverlands to take their stand against the larger force of House Targaryen. But by then, Torrhen knew what Aegon, his sisters, and their dragons could do, both good and bad. The Targaryens had already ended the lines of ancient houses who had not bent the knee while empowering those who had. Aegon bestowed honors on his new allies and spared their people.

Not surprisingly, some northern lords still wanted to fight, even though they must have known on some level they would lose. Instead, the evening before the battle, Torrhen sent his bastard brother and maesters to treat with Aegon.

George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood tells us “all through the night messages went back and forth” between the camps. In the morning, Torrhen did not fight as most expected of the northerners. Instead, he knelt as the King of Winter and “rose as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North” for King Aegon Targaryen.

Why did Torrhen kneel? Wouldn’t a Stark—-leader of a family that traces its ancient blood back to the First Men, who defended Westeros against the White Walkers long ago, who held firm against the Andals—rather go out on his shield fighting than kneel to a foreign invader?

Those obvious questions have always made Torrhen’s decision seem an easy one to explain. He was a wise ruler who didn’t let his pride get in the way of saving the people he swore to protect. But those obvious questions are also why that explanation has always felt incomplete. Why didn’t Torrhen Stark, at least, offer to fight Aegon Targaryen in single combat? He might have died, but it would have been an honorable death that still kept northerners safe from dragon flame. Without understanding what he was fully saying, on House of the Dragon, Jace provided the reason why.

The prince told Cregan, “Surely the great Torrhen Stark would’ve sooner died than bent the knee. Unless he believed the Conqueror could bring unity to the Seven Kingdoms.” Cregan said that was right, but it’s not completely accurate. Before Aegon no one cared about unifying the Seven Kingdoms, especially the North, which was unlike any other kingdom. Torrhen Stark would not have knelt to Aegon Targaryen in the name of unity.

Not unless he truly knew what Aegon was unifying the Realm against.

Everything House of the Dragon revealed about Torrhen Stark—from why he kneeled to the Night’s Watch sacrifice he began right after he knelt—can be explained by something unsaid in words during that scene yet so obvious when taken as a whole: Aegon Targaryen told Torrhen Stark about his dream.

The Conqueror believed the battle with the White Walkers would begin in the North. He even personally called his prophetic dream “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Aegon trusted Torrhen with the most important secret in the world because only together, Stark and Targaryen, did the living have a chance against the dead. We know Aegon was right. Jon Snow, the son and rightful heir to the Iron Throne born from the love Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark shared, was the only one who could unite the Realm to stand against the White Walkers. Jon Snow’s song, as the prophecy foretold of the Prince That Was Promised did, in fact, promise, was a song of ice and fire.

Did Torrhen tell his own heirs? That seems unlikely based on everything else we know of House Stark, but he didn’t have to. The Starks always knew what was lurking beyond the Wall, which is why Torrhen believed Aegon Targaryen in the first place. It’s why Torrhen started making sure the Night’s Watch had men from his own family who could lead them. It’s why Cregan Stark can’t send all his men to help Rhaenyra Targaryen. Winter has arrived, and that means the Night King might come with it.

Like in season one with Aegon’s Dream, this enormous revelation does more than just connect both shows. It’s also bigger than even the Starks and Targaryens and how important Rhaegar and Lyanna’s love will be one day. Its beauty goes beyond even that of the wondeful symmetry it creates, as King in the North Jon Snow—secretly named Aegon Targaryen—will one day kneel to a Targaryen ruler in the name of uniting the Realm just as Torrhen Stark once did.

This revelation gets to the beating heart of George R.R. Martin’s massive story.

Without this bond between Stark and Targaryen, these houses of ice and fire, death would have done what Aegon and Torrhen both feared. Together, they began crafting the song that would save the world.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who got goosebumps during Jace and Cregan’s scene. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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AMC’s Interview with the Vampire serves up lots of Easter eggs for fans of The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice. In episode five of season two, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” we get one that’s fairly obscure to even some of the biggest fans of Rice’s novels. In the series, the interview in question is actually a “round two.” Eric Bogosian plays Daniel Molloy, the reporter interviewing the titular vampire, Louis (Jacob Anderson). “Round one” of the interview took place in 1973, just as in the original novel. In episode five, we get a proper flashback to that interview, and the house it takes place in looks exactly like the home that inspired Rice over 50 years ago.

In Anne Rice’s 1976 novel, the vampire Louis gives his interview to an unnamed boy reporter (played by Luke Brandon Field). The interview occurs in a house on Divisadero Street in San Francisco. This is near where New Orleans native Rice was living at the time with her husband, the poet Stan Rice. Louis is said to be looking wistfully out of the window at traffic going by the busy street. A street to this day filled with popular bars and shops of all kinds. Rice chose the 1888 Victorian house because she thought it reflected Louis himself. It was an old-fashioned creation standing among neon signs and modern life, an anachronism blending into the background.

Anne Rice never gave an actual address for the house in the novel, just the street it was on. However, in The Vampire Companion: A Guide to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles by Katherine Ramsland, she finally says where the house she imagined Louis gave the interview was. It was a Victorian home with a stained glass window, on Divisadero not far from Haight Street. The Vampire Companion shows an illustration of the house, but not a photo or an address. But it didn’t take ardent Rice fans long to discover which house it actually was. The Vampire Companion all but drew an “X” as to where it was in fact.

The 1994 film version of Interview with the Vampire still had Louis give the interview in San Francisco. However, it was from an apartment on Market Street instead (which you can see above). The producers of the TV series clearly knew about the house on Divisadero Street which served as inspiration. They either filmed there (unlikely) or created an exterior that matched it. Why is that address important? Given the significance of the Vampire Chronicles series to the LGBTQ community, it matters that Divisadero Street is where Castro Street ends. And Castro Street is one of the original gay neighborhoods in America. So tipping the hat to the house that inspired Anne Rice to imagine a vampire looking out its window? That was a very nice touch.

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