The Rings of Power 204

Warning, Today's episode contains spoilers for Rings of Power episode four. Hello, my name is Jason Concepsion.

And I'm Rosie Night And welcome back.

Dex's revision of the podcast where Re Dying Deed do your favorite shows, movies, comics and pop culture company from iHeart Podcast, where we're bringing you two huge episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

In today's episode, which is huge, too huge. In the previously on, we're talking about the Xenomorph coming to Earth in the newest teaser for the Alien TV show on FX made by Legions Noah Hawley. Also Minecraft is coming to the big screen and it looks cursed. Plus Sony pulls the plug on the newly released concord Lots of o's today and in the airlock Rings of Power episode two O four, what's going on in midleth We're gonna tell.

You first news. First up, new alien series coming to Hulu of course, Alien Earth as mentioned up top, written directed by Noah Hawley of Legion and Fargo fame, and the new teaserers up and you don't get much, but you do get the the terrifying visage of the Xenomorph screaming at you with that double mouth.

And it's looking at Earth, and it's gonna look.

On Earth, starring Sydney Chandler, Alex louthor Timothy Ola Fant, sc Davis and Moore. And you know that we love the xenomorphs. I think I will be watching this.

Yes, I'm very excited.

It's set about seventy years of where we are now, so it's a close future. And it's gonna be about a mysterious spaceship craft crashing to Earth and kind of how that impacts wail In Utani. And obviously I think we will see some xenomorphs on Earth. So yes, I think this will be the first alien project that's not an alien versus predator project that will have the xenomorphs on Earth.

Right, which is I was going to ask, do you think the alien predator lore will be enforced here?

It is alien predist Holy come on the show and ask answer whether it is canon or not?

Please?

Next up, Minecraft movie trailer long awayed. Minecraft Movie coming to theaters April fourth, twenty twenty five, will be a massive hit. I'm calling it now.

Yeah, kids like past stuff out, I can.

Tell you to be a huge hit and for those of you who have played Minecraft or grown up with Minecraft, or watch someone grow up with Minecraft, you will notice that the graphics look more move afied, more smooth, and therefore, as Rosie said, mentioned kind of cursed a little curcast.

I do have questions. I'm not entirely sure how the humans are in there. I'm guessing it's some kind of Jumanji situation, some tron j Jumanji situation. This is gonna come out next year April fourth, twenty twenty five.

They are pulled into a portal and sent to Minecraft World. So they've jumanjid.

Yeah, they've JUMANJID.

They've Jumanji and they have to relearn the important lessons about themselves and also like crafting and the power of imagination, That's what I'm guessing. And they gonna meet Steve played by Jack Black, who I will say, when this casting was announced, everyone was like best casting ever. But I think in the trailer when it's just Jack Black just wearing a T shirt and he doesn't look like a square or and I think people are kind of like, what is going on here?

You know what?

I this is probably gonna be like the Mario movie, a movie I didn't fully understand why it made so much money, but it made so much money.

Good for the industry. I love it.

Also, I enjoyed Jason Momoa's outfit here, like they really he's looking like he's from the Game.

I will say, Oh.

They cut his hair. Everything he's wearing like a crazy wig.

He's got the rageous jacket, like you know what. Who knows, maybe it will have the most banging script of all time and we'll all be there like, wow, this was so hilarious, Like I want to make things again because there were many toy movies that we did not Lego movie.

Who knew that was gonna be like.

A modern classic, very fun, fantastic movie. So yes, interesting. As Forbes said, the trailer was utterly horrifying in almost every Concen.

I will tell you, speaking of banging, I'll tell you what's banging. Jason Momoa's bangs. He got straight across bang cut page boy life out here looking like a fifteenth century dutch Man.

Looking Mikey Coumpy in Game of Thrones.

Yeah, next up, Concord, I hardly knew you. Oh my god, wow, So Concord, Sony's uh, you know, much marketed Overwatch team based shooter game has had its plug pulled and it will end its services to the video gaming community after only like three weeks. There was a point where, like Boom, there was a point where it had just dropped and there was like six hundred and fifty four concurrent players like.

On Steam and they were like, this is the highest that it's been.

Uh ah.

And the game I have not played it, but the reviews and from places that I trust seem like it's a solid game. I'll say this, this is it is a mark of how toxic conversations in the video game space are. That like there's a lot of creators and articles and comments of people just yet fuck them good. It's failed good, which I don't understand personally, but there goes concord.

I also think that you make a good point.

A lot of conversations drive reactionary choices on both sides, and I wonder, you know, if there's a different version of the discourse, or different version of the numbers, or a different version of the conversation where Concorde gets to live a little bit longer and see if it gets that ground swell, if it gets the games, if it gets you know, the streams. I'd even seen some people coming out and being like, what does six hundred and

Yeah, you make a good point in because we live in I mean, we were talking about this series before we started the mic, like, we live in a world in which the conversation that the tone created by the whole gamer Gate controversy, which we won't go into now, but is now over almost a decade or about a decade old story has invaded the rest of pop culture.

Come on, okay, okay.

And my gal Gavrett, you bought Sadar onto Lyndon Bay, like you're lucky you're still involved at all.

Yes, let's like, like, let's a little bit of humility. I get it. You are a capable and fearsome military leader and soldier. That said, we can we can call your judgment into question. I think that's absolutely fair for you to take a back seat for a little while.

Also, everyone does like your best thief for like two thousand years, so like, get like, just be okay, be happy that he feel happy for you actually wanted him to come along on this mission anyway, You're just upset that he got a different like uh rank than you were expected.

You know, quite surelish from me, very childish. The elves sit out on foot and we get some wonderful, wonderful, classic Peter Jackson esque landscape scenes of elves running across valleys and up the top mountain ridges and down into woods. It's wonderful. The elves come to a point where they discover that the bridge that they need to take the direct route to region has been destroyed. This is the

And then I will say, look, I will say, anyone probably could have guessed that, seeing against the whole bridge is just burnt up, Like yes, and he is a you know, there's a mad wizard about and his name's sourn But I.

Will say Elwand he too is struggling.

With the churlish nature of like being pissed off, the rightfully pissed off that Galadriel bought sour in it because he's like, okay, so we can go The guy with the map is like, we can go north, which will add two weeks to our thing, or we can go south and that will be like quick.

And Gladriel touches hello, Ring, and she's like it's.

Gonna South's gonna be bad man, and Alron's like, fuck, you were going to South. He's like, I don't believe that ring. I don't believe it's sourn. I don't believe any of this, Like I don't care we're going South. And I will say, Elron, you probably should have listened to Galadr. You two just need to work it out, like kiss, It's something.

It's just like a tough situation because Elron is like, hey, would you stop like consulting the Evil Ring? This is your ring? If this is your advice, fine, but I can't be sure if it's like the Evil Rings advice.

And also like we know South. Okay, so actually let's talk about that. I want to know what is your feeling about the Rings at.

This situation in time during this episode, because I am starting to wonder, like, yes, you know sarn.

I'm not saying that.

I would be wearing the ring even though that was look very nice. Maybe I'd be perceiving it. But I will say I do feel like this episode makes the argument that the Rings themselves are conflicted, like sometimes they are definitely doing sourns kind of like manipulation and sending people in the way.

He would want. But sometimes they do seem to be helping the.

Way interesting I disagree. I have a different take. I think of it like our phones. Our phones are track us everywhere we go. They share they could potentially share information about your health, about if you're ovulating.

With if you're a sleeping Wow.

It's this massive invasion of privacy, but they're so convenient and they really help with stuff. And I think of the rings as like that. They have an overarching purpose, which is to further Sourn's aims, but in order to get people to wear them, they have to be useful, and they are. They they made the leaves come back,

I think that's very real.

So we go to Rune, the wastelands of Rune. Gandalf is off looking for Norri, who blew away in the sandstorm he created, Norri and Poppy both gone. He comes across a farm and a bearded man who is definitely humming the melody to cash by leads ups and I was like, Tom, Tommy, are you are you humming Cashmere by leeds up let And he does it throughout the episode.

Well you know what he.

Is, as we will find out, a very powerful old man, maybe he's been in the post who knows.

Gandalf is like, can you help me? Uh? I have this map and it's a star map and I'm looking for these stars? Do you recognize this stuff?

Stuff?

Yeah?

You do?

You recognize this? And a sudden gust of wind carries the map to a nearby tree and then the tree eats Gander. What the fuck?

I I'm out of that. That shit was scary as hell.

It was really cool looking and absolutely scary. Nori wakes up somewhere off in the desert. Poppy is like right nearby in a bush. They're fine, but they have to go running because the evil wizards hen cheese are right there.

By the way.

Terrible trackers, like their literal only job is to be tracking people, and they're just terrible at our.

Harfoot's dive into ravine, where they find a desert Hearfoot, another pre hobbit people.

Yeah, this is that they have a big connection to, like a fan fave of character.

That's right. So this this guy is named Merrimac. Poppy is immediately like oh hello, oh hi, hello there, and Mac is busy stealing water. He's absconding with like a wagon full of stolen water. He agrees to take them to his dwell leader. Uh. And he tells them various rules about this meeting and is like, just don't lots of rules, but the number one rule is don't call the dwell leader the goon, which is like their actual title, but don't call them, don't call them that. Don't do

I don't know, because they're very distinctly just calling him the dark Wizard, right, So I feel like, also timing wise, that istar Wizards were not like supposed to fully show up yet, but they clearly are here.

So this is one of the blue Wizards.

I think so, because when we were guessing from Law Lost season, I think that the butterflies and the connections to Ruin were kind of pointing us in that direction.

But I do think it's quite hilarious that we're like almost I think we're like halfway through this season and they're just like this dark Wizard.

They're like, he's a wizard, but you don't know his name, and everyone just calls him the dark wizard, which I do think is interesting too because have we seen him do any magic? Is he actually a dark wizard or is he just someone who's like threatening people by saying he's a dark wizard?

Right, Maybe he's just wearing the roads.

Maybe he's just wearing the roads like that he knows sourn.

We go back to bearded farmer guy who shock of shocks, folks sit out. It is the ancient, the long lived, the ni immortal, the person who's been here since the beginning of time. Tom Bombadill. It's him.

Everyone who watched The Lord of the movies and was like, where is that little guy? Just where's Tom's he wearing his They'll singing his little songs, wearing the ring, not being impacted.

That's the funny thing about Tom Bombadil. We don't know a lot about him, but what we do know is he loves to sing, and also he can wear.

The one ring and he's just like, oh, this looks nice. It's just a nice bit of jewelry. He's not impacted by it. So here they expand that to being like this man's like the most ancient and powerful of all, and that's that's why he couldn't wear that ring.

Gandalf takes a bath and he's hearing Tom talk to someone else, sing along with someone else in the other room, a woman's voice. He comes out. Tom's like, you forgot it? Nope. Tom speaks in riddles. Is the other thing. He never gives you a straight answer about what's going on. He tells Gandalf that he is the eldest. He says that he was here before the river and the trees and

This man is old h.

And he says, listen, this dark wizard, it's the same with all the other dark wizards. He hungers for power, and he's probably gonna lie with Sourn because that's how he's gonna win. Tom taels Gandalf that Gandalf's mission is to face both Sourn and this dark wizard of Root in the hills on the Southern Path that Galadriel told everyone was fucking evil. We're in the woods on this Southern Path, and guess what it looks.

Obviously, I will say we mentioned that we get those lovely, like you know, beautiful green rolling like Peter Jackson esque hills. Allie and I do feel like in this sequence they're really leaning into that kind of spooky forests and the team having to like look around. It felt very Peter Jackson. They were definitely invoking that. To me.

Here lots of fog, lots of you know, gee looking trees, spooky trees. This is apparently. One of the elves says the barrow downs where in ancient times men buried their kings, and you know, it's weird. Things start to happen. One of the elves thinks he sees glowing eyes in the dark Gladriel. He tells Gladriel, I think I heard a song. L Rond then comes across that crushed tube that King Gilgilad had put his message to kelibrinborn, and they realize, oh my god, the messenger has never made it to

Very good fantasyla of that, I felt like I was wonderful. I was like, this is exactly right, totally a logical thing. But in the moment you're like, yes, a jose sounds. This is why your Kamanda, this.

Is why that's right. Get in those coffins and and pull out whatever is in there. Elsewhere in the south Lands, we go to Aran Deer and a sil door. They're still searching for theo who has been captured in what was probably an end attack. Under tells Isildur that don't worry about THEO. He's been through worse. He started this whole thing with Saraon and was touched by his evil, so he's fine, don't worry about it.

Right after, I know you're upset about the mom, but like, chill out.

Yeah, come on, we don't need to We don't need to support this guy. Right after that, Aran Deer after around Heer had just gotten done, saying, oh, he's probably fine. They find like a body all torn apiece, uh and sadly.

It's not there.

Back in town, Aeron Deer and a sel Door are like rallying the town folk. They're trying. They're like, listen, okay, there's a bunch of wild men brigands in the woods, and also we don't know what killed them, but we gotta go in there because Theo's in there, and also a horse.

The best boy.

But Estrid, who it was recently revealed has the mark of Adar, had the mark of a Dar on her. She burned it off. It's like, no, no, no, no, let's let's go to the north where the woods are very old, because that's that's why the guy there are They're over there probably and she and a sil Dour are vibing. I got to love in this episode. You've got Poppy and Merrimac, and you've got Isildur just like hearts coming out of flying out of his eyes and find what was he missing.

In his life that he is so deaf, but to find a love connection because I look Astro, she's pretty, she's cool, she's bob woman.

I know nothing about her.

You know nothing about her.

You've spent like maybe thirty minutes of your day with her or something like chill out a Silda.

Now is Sildor feels like he's getting the vibes back and he's like now he just like flat outs, like what about your fiance? And she's like what who?

Who?

Who?

Who?

What? Man?

Aarn Deer is suspicious of Estrid correct a little correctly, so she came out of nowhere and his friend de Sildeur is getting smitten and he feels weird. Estrid realizes that Arondier is on too him. She shows she's like

This is such a traumatic moment, Like the creature work is horrifying. Everyone's just trying to, you know, get out alive estrians like what the fuck's going on? It still does like, oh my god, Like what was that. I've just come out of this guy's belly. And then Ronde's like, we'll call this one supper and he likes good, yeah, yeah, he has to show off to his new little bro.

Ronde was like, we'll call this supper. He was like really happy for that one.

But you know what, crawfish delicious, so probably it probably was delectable.

Let me tell you his quick story and a side about crawfish. Once upon a time, I was playing a show when I was in a band. I was playing a show in New Orleans at this indie music festival, and the festival promoters had like made this whole like gumbo and crawfish like spread dinner for like everybody who's there at this small festival, and the musicians. You got a little ticket so you could go and if you're

They called her the good so what else could you say?

So now I'm obsessed with like you know that in the mo in the critically lau died financially successful movie The Crow, Yeah scars, God wears this jacket that says goon on the back for no reason. And now I'm just obsessed with a jacket that looks like that, but it says the gooned, and she's just wearing it all the time.

So somebody get me that jacket.

So the goon takes him to a rock painting that's been there apparently forever and done by ancient stores, and it basically is a prophecy kind of about the Harfoots, about how someone very much like Satock Burrows would lead the stores home to the proms Land. And she's like, oh my god, Nori, are you the one who's gonna lead us there? And she's like no, because actually, like we Harflets, we never found it. Still we're still looking and we just kind of wandering circle.

They do mention Hobbit fans that the promised Land looks like, you know, land that's so easy to dig in. You can build a hobbit hole with a door in less than a month, a circular door, so you're getting.

In a beautiful garden.

Beautiful garden. You can be eating smoking on your little pipe.

You know, blowing beautiful smok rings, beautiful smoking.

So you know what they're talking about. They're talking about the future home of the Hobbits that.

You know and love. That's right, the future development coming to you soon the shire. But they don't have time to discuss this because the Dark Wizard hen she's arrived. So the Dark Wizard hen she's arrived, and the goon goes to welcome them, and they immediately slap the.

Gird and you remember, you remember the size difference between like a human man.

And terrible half, Like this is unnecessary.

It's so mean. It was awful, and they're like, where are the harfoots?

Then?

I don't know the stores? The stores shouts to them they were about to throw these people into the wilderness, but they cover for them and they say, we don't, we have no idea. What are you talking about? And the stalkers say, okay, well fine, we'll leave, but if you're lying, you're gonna be in big fucking trouble. Meanwhile, el Rond is like, am I a bad leader? We just lost the guy he's like going through feeling.

Like a demon grave like it was it was he chewed up.

We don't even have his body. And maybe I should have listened to Gladriel in that Cursed Ring. Glad Reel tell you know is a way to kind of like booy her friend's or it's just like, listen, the ring is guy, but it's on the ring.

I mean, just for a minute, just be like, bro, it wasn't your fault. We're on this mission Souran's evil for a day. Instead, she's like, guess what, bro, the ring is guiding me. The ring did try and tell you, Like she can't help.

Its obsessed with this fucking ring.

Elron is like, listen, you're never going to convince me that the rings are good or even worth using to fight Sarahn, so just drop it. Meanwhile, Galadriel has another vision, and this one is very harrow and she sees like war. She sees a reggaeon being torn down. She sees Elron getting killed, and she makes him promise. Elrond, promise me that before you do anything else, you will defeat Sarn.

He is.

He's like, he's like, maybe we could just do like a little smooth way.

He brushes her hair away like hi, And just as he's like going in, she steals his sword and she's like, oh, it's not like Meanwhile, Iran Deer is like fifty feet away on a boulder, aiming as bow at her like a silverer bro. I told you so, did I not tell you? Fish Is? Sildur is like listen, I won't

She's dead. Sorry, there's no way she survives that irl Like.

It was like he was very very destructive and powerful, budget.

Hilarious, tiving, like so just like cannot fucking catch a break, this guy, He cannot catch a break or a kiss.

It was like the impact was much like the impact taken in The Fall Guy. Yes when uh if anybody has seen the kind you know what on rewatch, you can watch it for free on Peacock and subscribe to that service. The actually kind of fun.

It's married.

I saw in the theaters and was a little disappointed by but I have since rewatched it and been like, you know what, perfect rental movie, perfect Friday night movie. But it's much like the stunt in the early part of that movie. And yes, you're right estrad should Be should Un talks to the en wife and and husband and is like, listen, can we calm down a second? I was like, have you ever cut down a tree?

She said, have you ever you ever put a blade to a branch?

And Aaron is like a fuck.

He's like he's I hate to say it, I'm ashamed, but I have.

And she's like we did.

We did cook a crawfish last night on some branches, and I'm so sorry. But and so the end is like, listen, we are very angry right now because an army of orcs came through the woods and they've been chopping down trees and making us very upset. Auran Deer is like, well, I'm sorry. He puts his hand on the wife's branch and he's like, I am so sorry. And with whatever we can do in our power, I promise you that the trees will be left him peace and we will

As it goes about to smooch Estrad and he's like, oh I did, We're free, We got THEO. And then who should show up? But no medieval husband, say he's wearing the classic Horrible Histories medieval style hat you only see in this specific circumstance. I don't write somebody, but this man has been trying to kill a child, like we have seen this man kill a child.

Husband first solo horse and has been trying to kill a child. And yes, you're exactly right. He is wearing the entire outfit of somebody who dies of body. Yes, History Channel's remake. And there he is, and he shows up and fucking Arondier's smile fades away instantly, and and Estrad.

Is like, ah, like yourn, she is so so stressed you because I was like in Neumanov we have like aqueducts and we have got to come to in our houses.

It's gonna be so great.

And then here comes her bubonic plague future victim fiance, and he's like, let's go back to the wild woods where we can occasionally serve oda for some orcmeat.

And she's like, oh, yes, let's go.

Let's let's just be like highwaymen in the woods. It's like capturing small children and killing them taking It's like you could have running water, babe, you could have running water.

So I feel like, anyway, it's not gonna go out there.

Well, we'll see has some splaining to do. Aaron dear wisely says, fuck all this drama. I'm going off to kill the Orc army. I'm not dealing with all this ship THEO you want to come, and Theois says, I have somewhere else where.

Where are you gonna go help sour on a on one of your famis.

Clearly, I think that's I think that's the subject. That's like, yeah, I've got other sour On business that I need to attend to elsewhere. Elrod's party discovers the Orc army that's been moving through the woods and upsetting the ends. The Orcs just fire a blind arrow like into the night and it absolutely finds the guts of one of the elves. Lucky shot one in a million. Elron is like, oh no,

A right?

She tells Alron, Okay, listen, take the ring. I am gonna fight these Orcs. I'm gonna hold them off. You go to Lindon and tell them it seems like this incredibly beauty selfless the beautiful selfless thing.

And all the healths are like wow.

She saphrifies herself for us, and I was like, you know what, that's Galadriel from the first season.

She would do that, no question. Bro. Elron sees straight through that shit.

Elrond is like, nah, she doesn't want the ring to fall into the Orcans. She just doesn't want to live. It is so hot broken.

He is like, ah, He's like, my girlfriend, I have lost my two thousand year old will we won't we?

Like, joh know, I've lost that to this fucking ring and how brand hel brand uh And you know, Galadriel is a great soldier and she makes some tay here but there's way too many works and also a Dar is there and a Dar takes her prisoner bomb bomb bum. Fun episode of the Rings of Power.

Just really fun.

I think I'm not surprised this one is so much higher rated on by critics.

I think the first season had some pacing.

Issues with balancing all the stories, even though I was a huge fan of it, And I think it's this is just a very fun, fast paced, action packed season that's giving us like a lot of fun moments.

To react to.

You get a lot of kind of twists and turns of whether it's big ones or little ones, whether it's those action moments like that and wife punching Estrid, Like I cracked up.

When that happened.

You're just like okay, like a Silda, no kisses for you, Like this is not happening. A giant tree is gonna slam her out of the way. Yeah, just a really fun episode and I'm excited to see I thought Ada was one of the most interesting kind of additions to the first season, and I'm interested to now see him

And just Calebrinborg is like he's got the mountain dew, like he's got the doritos, and he's just like pulling and all he's got like the.

The pulling, the undercover all night.

The coffee. Yeah, he's just pulling in all night or just like rings ringing.

Him and Anata like together causing problems. But yeah, great time, very fun.

On the next episode of X ray Vision, we're diving into Star Wars, Outlaws, and more video game news. Thursday we continue our Animation Month coverage, and of course Friday, we're back with Rings of Power episode five. That's it for this episode. Thanks for listening. Bye. X ray Vision is hosted by Jason Gitsubsion and Rosie and is a production of iHeart Podcasts. Our executive producers are Joelle Smith and Aaron Kaufman. Our supervising producer is a Boo Zafar.

Special thanks to Soul Rubin and Chris Laude, Kenny Goodman and Heidi our discord moderator.