I Have Finally Seen the Rings on Prime.

 So as an update to this post, here's what I've realized about Rings on Prime:

• They really did promote Tar-Miriel, unlike I had assumed, but questioned a fundamental part of the lore in doing so
• Yes, Elendil is still Numenorean, so that was the journalist getting that wrong, not the show
• Their talk of wanting to be independent from the Peter Jackson movies is far falser than I had predicted
• Much of their conflict (which is the driving force in a story) relies on them ignoring the lore
• The actors are fabulous, but the writers and directors aren't
• Tolkien's themes of morality weren't good enough for them--either they didn't understand how truly complex his themes were, or they thought it was too outdated for a "modern audience"

Okay, let's go. 

Miriel is the Regent for Her Father... who is still alive? 

Admittedly this one isn't really a problem with the show, so much as my quibbling with how they interpreted a rather fundamental bit of lore. Lore, I might add, which is central to the conflict in Numenor. 

So Tar-Miriel is indeed allowed to rule alone in place of her father, Tar-Palantir, who is still very much alive. Just... sick, out of his mind, and about to die. But clinging to life.

That's not how I would have read the Silmarillion. 

If you have read the appendices, you will have seen the story of Aragorn and Arwen (which is dear and sweet and wonderful); at the very end, as Aragorn is very old, he says something like, "It is within my power to decide to give up my life when I choose". (I'm on vacation in another state, I don't have the books with me, so I'm working from memory.) This ties to the theme of death vs. immortality, and which one is the better gift. The Alkallabeth mentions that Aragorn has this ability to willingly lay down his life because the Numenoreans all had that right. The Faithful kings choose this option; the rebellious kings don't. 

The Alkallabeth says this: 

"But Atanamir [one of the earlier kings of Numenor] was ill pleased with the counsel of the Messengers [from the Valar, who encouraged him to view death as a gift and not a curse] and gave little heed to it, and the greater part of his people followed him; for they wished still to escape death in their own day... And Atanamir lived to a great age, clinging to his life beyond the end of all joy; and he was the first of the Numenoreans to do this, refusing to depart until he was witless and unmanned, and denying to his son the kingship at the height of his days.

Two things to highlight from this passage. First, notice how his clinging to life is put directly in opposition to loyalty to the Elves and the Valar; and secondly, Tar-Palantir was "witless and unmanned" in the show, so, as a Faithful king, he should have willingly laid down his life. 

At least, that's how I read the Silmarillion. What Tolkien says of Tar-Palantir's death is simply, 

And it came to pass that Tar-Palantir grew weary of grief and died. 

So... did he die painfully, clinging to life, or did he die the same way all the kings before Tar-Atanamir did? Given that he was loyal to the Valar and the Elves, I would infer that he died the same way Elros and Aragorn did. Maybe not, perhaps trying to protect his daughter from his griefs.

Also, at the end of episode...7? I think?... Miriel suddenly says to The Main Character, "I am Miriel, daughter of Ar-Inziladun." Using the language of the Numenoreans (Ar-Inziladun) is a deliberate and direct defiance of the Elves and the Valar. Whether Miriel was of the Faithful, of the King's Men, or never chose a side is kind of unclear in the lore, so I don't dispute that it makes sense Miriel might use this name for her father. What I do question is a) why she would only say it to The Main Character (who she is agreeing with in that moment) and b) why The Main Character is okay with it. 

While on the subject, let's talk about Miriel and Elendil

So aside from the fact that Elendil is supposed to be the only human that Sauron truly feared and although the actor was clearly talented the script and direction gave no reason for Sauron to be afraid of Elendil (even to the point that Sauron steals from him with impunity!), Elendil in the Silmarillion is the son of the Lord of Andunie, the second-highest ranked person in Numenor after the king (and presumably the king's family). They're the descendants of Elros by Elros' great-great-granddaughter Silmarien, who couldn't become the ruling queen because during her life, Numenor's laws of primogeniture forbade women from ruling. (That changed later when one king only had a daughter.) The Lords of Andunie had a guaranteed place on the king's council.

In the show, Tar-Miriel has never heard of Elendil until he brings The Main Character to Numenor. So... they just stripped away the nobility of Elendil's lineage? Why??? It certainly wasn't necessary for anything that happened in season 1 (the plot parts where Elendil needs to look after The Main Character could have happened just as easily if Miriel had already known Elendil), so what exactly was the point of that? 

About Those Others

So it took me months to realize I hadn't finished this post, and, yeah, I'm going to deal with other problems of this show in separate posts. There's just so much to write about I barely know where to start. 

So... there'll be more posts. Later.