Round Two voting is open until the end of the day Sunday 27 March. Below is the updated bracket, and the buttons for voting.
How does it work, you ask? Simple! Click on one of the orange division buttons below. Then click the ‘Vote Now’ option that appears above the divisional bracket. This year you get to vote in each divisional match-up in one convenient and visual interface. Note – you need to click each division to vote in their respective brackets. So let’s get voting!
Round One is underway! This year’s Middle-earth March Madness tournament focuses not on characters, costumes, or movie moments, as with previous years. Instead, milestone events are stepping into the competitive arena: major creations, critical turning points, the founding and breaking of kingdoms, births, deaths, victories and defeats. These events appear in four competing divisions, each representing one of the epic ages that comprise the history of Arda and Middle-earth: Ages One through Three, along with the foundations – the ‘Pre-First Age’ that unfolded before the rising of the Sun and Moon.
Even casual fans are likely to be familiar with many of the landmark events of the Third Age, especially those covered by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. With Amazon’s entry into the Tolkienverse, we will soon be drawn into a more extensive familiarity with Second Age affairs, like the rise and fall of Númenor and the forging of the Rings of Power. Thanks to the enduring body of work curated by Tolkien’s son, Christopher, we have a rich pool of resources covering First Age affairs, like the romance of Beren and Lúthien, the tragedies of the Children of Húrin, and the fall of the elven kingdom of Gondolin.
Now’s your chance to brush up on your History of Middle-earth, as we explore events which happened throughout the four ages leading up to the final departure of the Rings of Power. Stay tuned for posts taking a look at the events in the Pre-First, First and Second Ages; if you need reminding of the events of the Third Age, may we suggest it’s a perfect excuse to rewatch Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy?
For more discussion of the 64 events starting out in March Madness this year, join us TONIGHT on the TORn Tuesday live stream. And then – place your votes!
How does it work, you ask? Simple! Click on one of the orange division buttons below. Then click the ‘Vote Now’ option that appears above the divisional bracket. This year you get to vote in each divisional match-up in one convenient and visual interface. Note – you need to click each division to vote in their respective brackets. So let’s get voting!
You have until the end of the day Thursday March 24th to vote in Round One; on Friday 25th we’ll announce winners and open voting for Round Two! Let the games begin!
‘We come to it at last – the great battle of our time.’ Or – in this case – the great battle of the Ages! On Tuesday 22nd March we’ll kick off this year’s Middle-earth March Madness; and the theme is A Battle of the Ages.
Each of the four brackets this year represents an Age in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. This is the perfect opportunity to brush up on your history, as we get ready for Amazon’s Rings of Power – and the events of the Second Age – in September.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll have some posts to explore these brackets in more depth. What happened in the time of the Two Trees? Who conquered Glaurung in the First Age? And just when were those rings forged in the Second Age? Get ready to explore some History of Middle-earth together, as we vote to decide fandom’s favourite event from thousands of years.
How does it work, you ask? Simple! Staffers at TORn already voted to narrow down the many, many happenings to their top 64, and instead of seeding this year, the events appear in chronological order in each bracket. For each round, we will have a poll, where you vote for your choice in each match-up. Is Gandalf falling to the Balrog more significant than the Last March of the Ents? Are you more interested in when Beren first sees Luthien, or when they recover a Silmaril together? Which is more terrible – the destruction of the Two Trees, or the Elven Kinslaying? You decide!
Join us on Tuesday to kick off the Middle-earth March Madness tournament for 2022. 64 events will start out – but only one will be crowned Champion!
I’ve been thinking a lot about that picture this week. A lot. Have you? You have? Well, that’s a good little Tolkien fan!
While we bask in the glow of the first APME (Amazon Prime Middle-earth) image, what’s going through your mind? You may have read some of our thoughts here, elsewhere, and certainly had your own. A few days later, where are we now?
Waiting. And waiting. And speculating. And lighting up the interwebs with lots of buzz.
In other words, we are right where Amazon wants us to be. Awoken, alert, attentive, and responding like puppies to treats. Personally, I’m okay with that, for now. It was truly inspiring to explore that tantalizing image of Valinor and let our Middle-earth wanderlust venture into the guesswork of what’s happening behind the curtains.
Yet, after the euphoria of that first taste dissipates, I find myself sobering up. This launch has returned to earth.
Friends, it’s way to early to get comfortable or overly excited about what’s coming from Amazon. I personally might be on guard until after the “Season 8” finale is complete for this first series. Nobody wants to be burned by another bad ending.
We are certainly impressed with the artistic chops, vision, and potential scope of storytelling demonstrated in this image. Yet, no matter how sumptuous the visual experience will be, what will mater the most about this series is the writing.
TORn staffer Justin asks, “Is it (the image) true to Tolkien?” Well, so far, it looks like it just might be. Funny thing about us old Tolkien fans, though: razzle and dazzle us, but don’t color too far out of the lines.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. It’s gonna be awhile.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
Anyone who tells you that they expected the first promotional image for the LOTR on Prime series to reveal an iconic panorama of Valinor — the land of angelic beings of Middle-earth — is either a liar or is inside the production.
Because I’m certain that there was nothing in previously teased material and maps that even hints at Valinor.
What’s more, this single image is as much of a statement as a certain someone recently flying to the very edge of space.
At first, you think: “Well, it’s another Middle-earth city. But, hey, it’s pretty cool.” You’re expecting, perhaps, Armenelos or Rómenna on the island of Númenór. After all, we know the series is supposed to encompass the rise and fall of the island kingdom and there does seem to be a glittering body of water even if it’s a bit small to be a bay, much less the ocean.
Then your eye is drawn inexorably to the background glow and it dawns that what you thought was merely the sun nearly (and neatly) conceals a pair of colossal trees.
And in an instant your whole worldview of the series just … changes.
Because, you know — if you’ve tried your hand at reading The Silmarillion or have delved into the pre-history of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit — that these aren’t just any pair of trees.
The tree of silver and the tree of gold that are the source of all light in Valinor. That provide the light for Fëanor’s Silmarils, and ultimately for the Phial of Galadriel. And whose destruction triggers a cascade of events that stretches all the way to the end of the Third Age.
If anything can be, this is the heart of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth mythmaking.
LOTR on Prime has enormous ambitions and it’s not afraid to declare as much.
It’s declaring that it’s here to challenge the Peter Jackson movies as the definitive visual depiction of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
It’s declaring that it has the talent, technology and resources, and access to the necessary source material.
I think, above all, LOTR on Prime is declaring to Tolkien fans that it doesn’t want to be underestimated.
It’s declaring that it’s not simply making a Game of Thrones clone for the mass market.
And it’s declaring that they’re going to take us, the readers of Tolkien’s work, to places that we never thought would be possible in a film or a TV series.
Sure, we already knew some of that — intellectually. We knew we were promised 50-odd hours of telly over five seasons. And, we knew that the rights and production investment runs into hundreds of millions of dollars. But you just can’t /feel/ a series of numbers.
This, on the other hand… this is real. Real, tangible proof that we’re on a journey to somewhere special.
Strap in, kids, we’re about to blast off into space.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
