In the films, it’s never fully explained who actually gives Shadowfax to Gandalf but the books make it very clear. Shadowfax was not a “gift” from Théoden. In Tolkien’s text, a stillinfluenced Théoden tells Gandalf to take any horse and leave. Gandalf then chooses Shadowfax, the pride of Rohan and lord of the Mearas and Théoden is far from happy about it.
A bond Tolkien frames not as ownership, but as mutual respect between two ancient, noble beings.
Netflix is phrasing it like it's a done deal - but confirmation/approval doesn't happen until end of 2026 or early 2027.
This is called "manufacturing consent". They want to avoid giving people a chance to process this, and they're pushing a narrative that everything is fine and it's already done. It is not.
My knee jerk reaction is that this is a "bad thing". My deeper thought is that it's worse than we can imagine.
I am typically a centel enjoyer but i think given the extreme misogynist-racist harassment that go hand in hand with anything involving angel and Caitlin Clark, and severe online media illiteracy, i really don't think it's a great time to do posts like this
Too many mistake constant debate for good journalistic practice. Journalists need to be coming to evidence-based conclusions. Reaching conclusions after thorough investigation doesn’t make me “biased”, it makes me good at my job. 3/4