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PeterPirate

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Everything posted by PeterPirate

  1. Here is a video from my second-favorite reaction channel.
  2. Plus, in Institutional Memory, Danny says he is fine with being "Mr. Cregg". This was not a case of a competent female who settled for being "just a wife and a mother".
  3. The recent Harry and Meghan series reminded me of this scene.
  4. It's not unfathomable to think Sauron was in control of the sea monster. In Appendix A it is revealed that Gandalf helped Thorin and his company take back Erebor because Sauron might use the Dragon "with terrible effect".
  5. In the chapter Shadow of the Past in FOTR, Gandalf is explicit about how the One Ring "abandoned" Gollum in an attempt to re-unite with its master. He goes on to say that another power was at work which caused it to be picked up by Bilbo Baggins. Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought. I fully expect that next season we will see Sauron use his powers to maneuver his way into meeting with Galadriel. And probably the encounter with Elendil's ship as well.
  6. Well, to my knowledge only Ismael Cruz Cordova has said he was the victim of racist bullying. But they all work for a studio that is claiming the show is the target of "relentless racism". So when the studio arranged an interview that presupposed that they had been such victims, they were careful with their language. I actually think they did quite well in threading the needle.
  7. Morgen used Penny as an Exposition Fairy so Elizabeth could deliver the real truth. Just another contrivance to serve the plot.
  8. Ben Daniels, who played Lord Snowdon in seasons 3 and 4, has been cast in Rings of Power in an as-yet unnamed role. As the oldest member of the ROP cast, he will likely play Cirdan, the oldest of the Elves. But with his experience playing the husband of Princess Margaret, he could also be Celeborn, the husband of Galadriel.
  9. Here's a nice video essay about the show in general and the shortcomings of season 5.
  10. The show has included a number of flashback scenes. It would be good to see them portray some of Diana's formative years. But I also see the value of including the story of the Fayeds. "The Crown must win" is the central theme of the show. Diana, imo, had a profound impact on the monarchy, in both life and death. The Fayeds, like it or not, were an integral part of that story.
  11. Ben Daniels has had a pretty extensive career. He's also quite old for this cast.
  12. It is what it is. Also, William and Kate are coming to the US. I wonder if he will have a comment about his portrayal in season 5.
  13. For that matter, in the show Diana tells Khan that she has been out on dates before in her wig. But at the same time, by the time of this episode, Diana had made a trip to Pakistan to meet his family. And passing references are not the same thing as depicting what happened. So on balance I still have my own opinion about how Diana has been portrayed by this show. As always, mileage varies.
  14. That is certainly how Peter Morgan decided to portray matters. Whether the show has depicted the reality of it is for the History threads.
  15. Has Diana ever not been disempowered during her time on the show? Just to clarify, I used "this season" in my previous post because I didn't pay too much attention to the Charles and Diana story in season 4. For me, Diana's storyline this season, and I don't know if Peter Morgan meant this, is about how she thinks she has agency but really she has no agency at all. It's a sad and depressing arc. Just to clarify, when I use the word "agency", I am talking about Diana's ability to make her own choices. The show has portrayed Diana as being manipulated and coerced into doing the Bashir interview instead of having her make that decision on her own.
  16. I'm not sure William lived a particularly balanced life as a child. Diana was a very hands on mother, whereas Charles' parenting style came more from his parents. I've always had the impression that both boys were closer with Di than Charles (not that they didn't love them both). It would have been awful for both William and Harry to be around all that discord and pain - just like any other "normal" child in an emotionally volatile situation. Just to clarify, I think the show is unbalanced in portraying Williams' reaction to his mother's interview, but not his reaction to his father's interview, or to Tampongate. I chalk this up to Morgan's decision to dis-empower Diana this season. The Bashir interview aired in November of 1995, and by this time Diana had had a couple or three extramarital flings of her own. Yet the show hasn't shown any of these (this season, if not last season as well), because to do so would be to portray Diana has having agency of her own.
  17. What do you mean? Showrunners are a rare breed. Some can improve upon classic literature or iconic source material, while Peter Morgan knows better and can improve upon history. You are right, of course. Peter Morgan obviously possesses the same casual and cavalier sense of fidelity to source material as other showrunners who make shows that reflect the world we live in today. (For those of you who are wondering, CameraOne and I are frequent posters at the forum for Rings of Power.) Fwiw, here is the text of the actual Annus Horribilis speech: And here is the speech from the show:
  18. I guess it depends on how one looks at things. One could make the argument that Diana brought down three traditions--that the royal consort had to be from the nobility, had to be a virgin, and could not be a divorcee. Diana was all three of those things and she ended up leaving the marriage. While I'm here I will also add that I will be royally PO'ed if Peter Morgan messes around with Earl Spencer's eulogy to Diana. And after this season, I wouldn't put it past him to write his own.
  19. Also, Nicholas took personal charge of military operations during the war. So he was close to the front when unrest in St. Petersburg forced him to abdicate. If I remember correctly, he was on a train back to the capital when he got word things there were so bad he had to give up the throne. And let's not forget the fact that Nicholas ordered a general mobilization before Kaiser Wilhelm did. This episode, more than most, is filled with non-historical contrivances. Which wouldn't be so irritating if they served a satisfying narrative. But the hour ends with the Queen of England playing with her corgis. This makes me think about the discussion between Philip and Elizabeth in Margaretology about the dual nature of the Windsor family. Ipatiev House could have been the perfect setup for another such dialogue about the role of the British monarchy in the modern era. But instead we got melodrama.
  20. I don't have a strong opinion about whether they wrote a positive version of Charles. They did include the Phone Call, after all. And they created a story line wherein he wanted his mother to abdicate so he could lead Britain into the modern era (although mileage will vary about whether that was a positive portrayal or a negative one). My main objection is how they portrayed Diana (and Elizabeth too for that matter). As I wrote before, So in the end I would say that, relatively speaking, Charles had a significantly more positive treatment than Diana or Elizabeth. I will add that it would have been pretty entertaining if they had added a scene where Charles daydreams about tying his wife and/or mother to some train tracks like he was Snidely Whiplash.
  21. Philip had his own personal experience with being part of a deposed monarchy. He and his family were transported out of Greece by a British cruiser. I find it, well, incongruous that he would blame his wife's family for the ills suffered by his family.
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