The Tales That Really Matter

10/22/2026

"This is your hour, the time of the power of darkness."
The first full trailer for The Lord of the Rings on Prime dropped yesterday, almost two months after the Teaser premiered at SDCC. It is easily the biggest and darkest of all the trailers that the show has offered so far, a solid hint at what will probably be our biggest and darkest season so far. But no darker, honestly, than the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, or Turin Turambar's tragedy, or the relevant portions of Akallabeth and "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. And we know from the previous two seasons that this show GETS Tolkien's sacramental worldview with none of the doubts that are present concerning the...other fantasy movie that just recently dropped a trailer.

10/21/2026

"This is your hour, the time of the power of darkness."

10/20/2026

“It is interesting to observe how often the most beautiful things in Middle-earth are both gold AND silver.”--Holly Ordway, "Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography"

Galadriel and Celeborn, by Morfydd Clark and Jamie Campbell Bower, in a closeup of our newest poster for The Lord of the Rings on Prime Season 3.

10/20/2026

"Men proved easier to ensare. Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors...They obtained glory and wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life become unendurable for them...And one by one, sooner or later...they fell under the thralldom of the ring that they bore and under the domination of the One, which was Sauron's."--The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

Let the hunt begin.

10/19/2026

"How would you like to rise with it?"

The Shadow rises in Middle-earth.

10/19/2026

Frodo wrapped up in Shelob's webs be like:

10/18/2026

“there is someone else in my smile

flashes of another's laughter”

--Colleen DiDonna, "Musings of a Fantasy Writer"

10/17/2026

10/17/2026

Celeborn, in armor and physical appearance inspired by what we have seen so far of Jamie Campbell Bower's portrayal in The Lord of the Rings on Prime (chiefly a couple of pictures from Empire) by Irana on Instagram.

10/16/2026

One of my favorite essays that I've ever written is "The Falling Stars of Victory," where I talked about what the historiography of the Battle of Midway can teach us about engaging with The Lord of the Rings on Prime; it still holds up to this day, honestly. And two books that were vital to that essay, and to any serious student of the battle, were written by Dr. Craig Symonds of the US Naval Academy. He was an excellent historian and a fine writer, and as a historian, a writer, and even a Tolkien fan (as this essay shows) I am in his debt. Sadly I'll never be able to meet him, for he died on October 13th. May his memory be a blessing, and may a merciful God bring him to the same place we all hope Tolkien is.