Despite some bumps in the road, which include some ridiculous production costs and criticism from certain groups of fans, Amazon's Rings of Power has enjoyed a strong opening with plenty of positive reviews. The series is based on the long history that preceded The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, mostly with a focus on the Second Age of Middle-earth.
Given that Tolkien was a prolific writer, there's plenty of material from the original work that writers have used to craft the lore in the show. Rings of Power uses this source material but also has some unique settings and characters, and there are a few easter eggs that only book readers will recognize.
6 Silver And Gold
The first shot of Galadriel the viewers see is one with her back to us, and almost the only thing that's visible is her hair. It's important to note that Galadirel's hair isn't blond, but silver and gold, imbued with the light of the Two Trees of Valinor which are shown in their full glory only minutes later.
This isn't only a nice way to describe how old Galadriel is, but also to remind us of the story of Gimli the Dwarf, who would visit her in Lothlorien thousands of years later and be granted that which her uncle Fëanor was denied.
5 An Age With No Sunrise
"FA" and "SA" stand for First Age and Second Age, but when the initials "YT" appear before a number in Tolkien lore, it means "Year of the Trees." Book readers understand this was the earliest period in Tolkien lore when Elves were the only beings in Middle-earth and they lived in a place called Valinor.
Laurelin was the name of the Gold Tree and Telperion was the Silver Tree, and it was this light that both Fëanor and Gimli saw in Galadriel's hair. After the trees were destroyed, two Maiar were chosen to bear their last fruits across the sky as the sun and moon.
4 Galadriel's Brothers
The character in the show is Finrod, Galadriel's oldest brother, and his story is a long and compelling one that would be worthy of its own series. Finrod Felagund was the first of the Elves to make contact with the race of men and helped found Minas Tirith. In the original lore, he was killed by a werewolf in Sauron's prisons, a fate he accepted to save Beren so that a Silmaril might be recovered.
Galadriel had two other brothers, and they had many adventures, some that viewers of Rings of Power might recognize. For example, Aegnor, the youngest brother, was in love with a human woman named Andreth but kept his feelings a secret because it was wartime. This is similar to the story of Bronwyn, a human, and Arondir, an elf, that spans the first two episodes.
3 The Helcaraxë
Not all of the Elves took ships across the ocean to Middle-earth. Some of them crossed a length of snow and ice called the Helcaraxë, or the Grinding Ice, and not everyone survived the harsh journey. This was the same route that Morgoth and Ungoliant had taken in their flight after stealing the Silmarils.
Galadriel, being a cousin to the house of Fingolfin, was one of the Elves that crossed the Helcaraxë and survived to tell the tale. It's not clear as to the exact setting of the beginning scenes that show Galadriel and her company braving a harsh winter landscape but it's likely to be the Helcaraxë or somewhere near it. By the end of the First Age, after the Valar made the world round, the Helcaraxë ceased to exist.
2 The Brandyfoots
Several of the Harfoot names are references to the Hobbit culture into which they would eventually evolve, and both book readers and movie fans know some of them. Girls are still named for flowers, and two of the Harfoots are named Poppy and Elanor.
Her nickname is Nori in the show, but Elanor Brandyfoot is a symbolic name for those familiar with the books. Elanor was Samwise Gamgee's oldest daughter's name, and it's a flower that has a special significance for the Elves. Elanor's surname, Brandyfoot, is likely a reference to the Brandywine River, which the Harfoots eventually cross and help found the Shire, Buckland, and other places their descendants would call home.
1 The Silmarils
These have only been given a brief mention so far, during a conversation between Elrond and Celebrimbor, and only book readers understand their historic significance. It wasn't only the destruction of the Two Trees that drove the Elves to follow Ungoliant and Morgoth into Middle-earth. The Silmarils, precious jewels that had been crafted by Feanor to hold the light of the two trees, had also been stolen.
Celebrimbor is the grandson of Feanor, which might explain why he has the crafting hammer in his possession. It's also believed that Celebrimbor inherited some of his grandfather's talents when it came to craftsmanship but so far only book readers would know that the two were related.