Hello, my friends, and thanks for joining us for Tea with Tolkien. I’m Kaitlyn and this afternoon we’re going to be joined by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who of course plays the Queen-Regent Míriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
I was so thrilled to be able to chat with Cynthia! I remember when we met briefly at Comic-con earlier this year, we didn’t have much of a chance to talk so it was great to have a little bit more time today. If folks are interested in checking out all of the new Behind the Scenes X-Ray footage that’s just gone live today, they can find it over on Prime Video.
I was so honored to be invited as a special guest co-host for the first LOTR_on_Prime Reddit community’s awards show, the Varkies! This was such a joy, especially as I was able to announce that my favorite character Adar had won “Best Dad” and I was also lucky enough to win a Varkie myself under the “content creator - other” category.
SME036: With Season 1 complete, Thomas Salerno, Kaitlyn Facista, and Jeff Haecker give a new look back to the whole season, including how it all appears on a re-watch, plus their predictions for what comes next.
SME035: Finale! Thomas Sanjurjo, Kaitlyn Facista, Thomas Salerno, and Jeff Haecker discuss the Rings of Power finale; the big reveal of two characters; the forging of the Rings; and the future of this podcast.
SME034: As season 1 races toward its end, Thomas Sanjurjo, Kaitlyn Facista, Thomas Salerno, and Jeff Haecker continue to play “guess the Sauron;” marvel at the Dwarves; note the characters who CAN’T die; and note the Tolkien-ish flourishes in the script.
SME033: Doom! Thomas Salerno, Kaitlyn Facista, and Jeff Haecker discuss the latest episode, including the question of the redeemability of orcs; Halbrand’s secret; and Galadriel’s focused drive.
SME032: The mystery of mithril. Thomas Sanjurjo, Kaitlyn Facista, Thomas Salerno, and Jeff Haecker discuss the latest episode, including the great friendship between Durin and Elrond; the odd trio following the Harfoots; and Gil-galad’s tale about the origin of mithril.
ROUNDTABLE: The Register spoke to four Catholic critics to get their take on the billion-dollar Amazon series halfway through its first season. Read the full article here.
SME031: Choose not the path of fear, but of faith. Thomas Sanjurjo, Kaitlyn Facista, Thomas Salerno, and Jeff Haecker discuss episode 4 and the vision of the great wave; theories about the identities of various characters; and how Galadriel’s character is being built.
Mysteries abound this week as Thomas Sanjurjo, Kaitlyn Facista, Jeff Haecker, and Thomas Salerno discuss the arrival at Numenor, and the increasing number of questions and strangers in this 3rd episode of The Rings of Power.
The very existence of The Rings of Power as a series feels like evidence that Tolkien truly succeeded in his creation of a Myth for England and for our ‘primary world’ as he would call it. A story may die with its author, but the Great Tales live on well beyond their lifetime and with that comes the inevitability of change as they are passed down from generation to generation.
Hope and vigilance! Dom Bettinelli, Thomas Sanjurjo, Thomas Salerno, and Kaitlyn Facista discuss the first two episodes of The Rings of Power, the themes it is unrolling so far, and how faithful to Tolkien’s vision it stays.
I can’t wait to watch the first two episodes again once they’ve been released next week. I’ll probably need to watch them at least two more times before I can begin to form any coherent or constructive thoughts, to be honest, but it will be such a joy to be able to speak freely without worrying about spoiling anything for anyone and to be able to hear everyone else’s thoughts as well. I’m excited to finally see the show speak for itself, for better or for worse!
Every Friday leading up to the show's release, we will be here to discuss one of the Lord of the Rings movies, their primary plot points, our favorite moments and especially the things that will connect to Rings of Power.