It’s that time of year again, when Bilbo Baggins’s birthday comes back around.  It’s always worth revisiting this clip from The Fellowship of the Ring:

In line with this Tolkien moment, we’re halfway through the first season of The Rings of Power, Amazon’s attempt to tell the stories of the second age in a condensed but thoughtful form.  I’m really enjoying the series.  I think any chance to dip your toes into the river Anuin (or Sirion, for that matter) is a good thing, even if some things are a little different.  I’m glad that some of the all-new characters have their own concentrated storylines.  And it helps that the production values are so high.  I found the final moments of episode four to be quite moving, which I wasn’t really expecting.  I’m curious to see how the rest of the season goes (and how it sets up season two).