Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy are among my favourite films ever created, and are largely responsible for me being as in love with films as I am. Likewise, J.R.R Tolkien, the creator of Middle Earth, has inspired millions around the world across multiple generations. So it was with a collective and hesitant gasp that Amazon announced that they had acquired the rights for the Middle Earth franchise, as everyone hoped and prayed that the house of Bezos wouldn’t butcher something held so dear by so many.
What with two film trilogies having been made in the last twenty years, and multiple books of Middle Earth lore left untouched, Amazon set their sights on a series that would loosely adapt aspects of Tolkien’s work from thousands of years prior to the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
With a bank busting budget of $500 million, The Rings of Power had a lot to prove, something money can’t buy; and now with the first season wrapped and many left feeling underwhelmed, is The Rings of Power a disappointment, or is it a strong foundation for a truly epic fantasy tale?
Middle Earth is experiencing a time of peace, though tensions are beginning to grow amongst the many races that share the land. A half-Elf architect, Elrond (Robert Aramayo), learns of a powerful new mineral discovered by Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum. A young Harfoot, Nori (Markella Kavenagh), meets a strange man capable of powerful magic (Daniel Weyman) who has no knowledge of who he is. A Silvian Elf, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), helps prepare a settlement of men for battle against an advancing army of Orcs. And an Elven warrior, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), believes the powerful dark Lord Sauron is planning his return to Middle Earth and seeks the help of the legendary Numenor.
What with two film trilogies having been made in the last twenty years, and multiple books of Middle Earth lore left untouched, Amazon set their sights on a series that would loosely adapt aspects of Tolkien’s work from thousands of years prior to the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
With a bank busting budget of $500 million, The Rings of Power had a lot to prove, something money can’t buy; and now with the first season wrapped and many left feeling underwhelmed, is The Rings of Power a disappointment, or is it a strong foundation for a truly epic fantasy tale?
Middle Earth is experiencing a time of peace, though tensions are beginning to grow amongst the many races that share the land. A half-Elf architect, Elrond (Robert Aramayo), learns of a powerful new mineral discovered by Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum. A young Harfoot, Nori (Markella Kavenagh), meets a strange man capable of powerful magic (Daniel Weyman) who has no knowledge of who he is. A Silvian Elf, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), helps prepare a settlement of men for battle against an advancing army of Orcs. And an Elven warrior, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), believes the powerful dark Lord Sauron is planning his return to Middle Earth and seeks the help of the legendary Numenor.
The key to enjoying The Rings of Power is tempering your expectations. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films are truly exceptional films, containing a kind of magic that even Jackson himself couldn’t recapture a decade later when he adapted The Hobbit. Knowing this, my expectations for The Rings of Power were suitably adjusted, I knew it wouldn’t reach the same illustrious highs as The Lord of the Rings did, because nothing really can. I had a good time with The Rings of Power as a result, I definitely have issues with it, but on the whole, I felt like this was a strong start for what will hopefully be an impressive and epic fantasy series.
So, let’s start with what I liked. I think Galadriel and Elrond are fantastic in this show, and the performances provided by Clark and Aramayo respectively are both evocative of how the characters have been portrayed previously by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, whilst also bringing out new sides to the characters that we previously never saw. We’re used to seeing Galadriel and Elrond as old and wise Elf leaders, but in Rings of Power they are barely old enough to be considered adults in Elven culture. They’re short of temper and quick of tongue, a far cry from how they conduct themselves by the time they meet Frodo.
Their stories are by far the most interesting of the season, with Elrond being caught between his friendship with the Dwarves and his responsibilities as an Elf, and the newly discovered Mithril being the catalyst for the races falling out with each other.
Arondir’s story takes a while to get going, but once it does it builds into the season’s most impressive episode that ultimately goes on to steer the show in the direction of which it will be going from that point on. Nori and the Harfoot’s meanwhile are just kind of there. I get the feeling they were supposed to invoke the joy and whimsy of Hobbits and The Shire, but the story remains directionless for the entire season and whenever their story takes the lead it feels like the show is at a standstill.
In fact, it’s the pacing that’s Rings of Power’s greatest enemy. There are only eight episodes in this first season, and it takes until episode six to find its footing. Whilst I’m an advocate for a TV show to take its time and not rush things, the fact that there’s quite literally no discernible plot for three quarter’s of the season is pushing it. The first two episodes set the stage nicely, but the subsequent three episodes that follow it feel like padding, and whilst there’s a lot of politics happening and weaving of multiple story threads, it all feels like The Rings of Power is stalling for time. The final three episodes are truly great, and though the journey to get there is long and tiresome at times, it’s worth seeing through as they set up what looks to be an extremely promising show.
So, let’s start with what I liked. I think Galadriel and Elrond are fantastic in this show, and the performances provided by Clark and Aramayo respectively are both evocative of how the characters have been portrayed previously by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, whilst also bringing out new sides to the characters that we previously never saw. We’re used to seeing Galadriel and Elrond as old and wise Elf leaders, but in Rings of Power they are barely old enough to be considered adults in Elven culture. They’re short of temper and quick of tongue, a far cry from how they conduct themselves by the time they meet Frodo.
Their stories are by far the most interesting of the season, with Elrond being caught between his friendship with the Dwarves and his responsibilities as an Elf, and the newly discovered Mithril being the catalyst for the races falling out with each other.
Arondir’s story takes a while to get going, but once it does it builds into the season’s most impressive episode that ultimately goes on to steer the show in the direction of which it will be going from that point on. Nori and the Harfoot’s meanwhile are just kind of there. I get the feeling they were supposed to invoke the joy and whimsy of Hobbits and The Shire, but the story remains directionless for the entire season and whenever their story takes the lead it feels like the show is at a standstill.
In fact, it’s the pacing that’s Rings of Power’s greatest enemy. There are only eight episodes in this first season, and it takes until episode six to find its footing. Whilst I’m an advocate for a TV show to take its time and not rush things, the fact that there’s quite literally no discernible plot for three quarter’s of the season is pushing it. The first two episodes set the stage nicely, but the subsequent three episodes that follow it feel like padding, and whilst there’s a lot of politics happening and weaving of multiple story threads, it all feels like The Rings of Power is stalling for time. The final three episodes are truly great, and though the journey to get there is long and tiresome at times, it’s worth seeing through as they set up what looks to be an extremely promising show.
There is one thing that can be said about The Rings of Power’s enormous budget and its that you can certainly see it on screen. An extraordinary amount of detail has gone into creating Middle Earth for the show, a lot of it relying on CGI. This worried me initially as it ran the risk of what happened with The Hobbit trilogy of everything looking a bit rubbery, out of place, or under-developed. But Amazon Studios really have pulled out all the stops with making The Rings of Power look spectacular. It does have that soft-focus sheen to it that plagued The Hobbit films, and I think this is an intentional choice to give Middle Earth an ethereal quality. Personally, I’m not a big fan of it, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker.
Something everyone loves about the Peter Jackson Middle Earth films are Howard Shore’s beautiful and iconic scores. Whilst Jackson brought the world to life through visuals, Shore effectively translated Tolkien’s words into music and gave Jackson’s Middle Earth a distinct sound. Shore does return for The Rings of Power, but only for the title sequence. One that is very evocative of Jackson’s Middle Earth and could easily have been lifted from those films. The rest of the music meanwhile is handled by Bear McCreary, who some may know from shows such as Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and Outlander. McCreary is more than up to the task of producing a score that evokes those nostalgic emotions about Jackson’s films whilst also ensuring that Rings of Power has its own distinct sound. Crucially, it sounds like the same Middle Earth we know and love, but just a different take on it; rather apt for what The Rings of Power is trying to be.
The Rings of Power suffers from trying to do too much too quickly, and as a result the pacing can feel extremely sluggish. One only needs to look at Game of Thrones for an example of how to do a reasonably self-contained first season whilst also setting up the grandeur of what later seasons will contend with. But aside from these pacing problems, The Rings of Power is a promising start to a TV show that will delve deep and thoroughly into some of Tolkien’s lesser-known works, and as a lover of all things Middle Earth that is an extremely exciting prospect.
Something everyone loves about the Peter Jackson Middle Earth films are Howard Shore’s beautiful and iconic scores. Whilst Jackson brought the world to life through visuals, Shore effectively translated Tolkien’s words into music and gave Jackson’s Middle Earth a distinct sound. Shore does return for The Rings of Power, but only for the title sequence. One that is very evocative of Jackson’s Middle Earth and could easily have been lifted from those films. The rest of the music meanwhile is handled by Bear McCreary, who some may know from shows such as Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and Outlander. McCreary is more than up to the task of producing a score that evokes those nostalgic emotions about Jackson’s films whilst also ensuring that Rings of Power has its own distinct sound. Crucially, it sounds like the same Middle Earth we know and love, but just a different take on it; rather apt for what The Rings of Power is trying to be.
The Rings of Power suffers from trying to do too much too quickly, and as a result the pacing can feel extremely sluggish. One only needs to look at Game of Thrones for an example of how to do a reasonably self-contained first season whilst also setting up the grandeur of what later seasons will contend with. But aside from these pacing problems, The Rings of Power is a promising start to a TV show that will delve deep and thoroughly into some of Tolkien’s lesser-known works, and as a lover of all things Middle Earth that is an extremely exciting prospect.