Fellowship 1: Mostly Darkness

I genuinely believe a good opening line can cure a lot of ills. Star Wars is ultimately just a bunch of random nonsense George Lucas made up on the way to work, but "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" makes the whole thing seem more like an actual cohesive *narrative* and less like a random patchwork of cool shit George saw when he was a kid. (Fun fact: this blog is gonna be at least 15% dunking on Star Wars.)

Obviously The Lord of the Rings is a little more put-together than Star Wars (to the best of my knowledge no-one makes out with their sister in Fellowship) but still, that opening works wonders. "Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it" perfectly sets the stage: it's sad, scary, mysterious and ultimately prepares you for a world that is *unprepared* for what's about to happen.

Fellowship came out in December 2001, right after The Sorcerer's Stone and in the afterglow —such as it is — of The Phantom Menace. I can't help but think Rings had quite a lot of tone setting to do: this isn't a kid's show, this isn't some kaleidoscopic thrill ride, this isn't another shallow reskin of the Hero's Journey. This is *important*, in a way those films weren't.

Finally, a few small notes as we're getting started:

• My abbreviations are Rings, Fellowship, Towers, King. LOTR sounds like a Warcraft DLC.
• Italics are for movie titles, I emphasise with *sparkles*. Fight me.
• I haven't seen these movies in a while. If I miss something, get in the comments!