Amazon has bet big on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (wow, that’s a mouthful, I’m going to call it ROP from now on). Is it any good?
I’m two episodes in and here’s what I think so far:
The Good
Galadriel – Badass Elf. Oh my, this isn’t the barefoot hippie queen we’ve seen in the movies. She’s fierce, she’s driven, she leads elite war bands to the ends of Middle Earth, slays ice trolls single-handedly, and turns away from the gates of the Undying Lands of Valinor because she still has work to do. I enjoy every scene she’s in and let’s face it, its an easy storyline to empathize with: taking on your dead brother’s quest to rid the world of evil. It’s a proper high-fantasy storyline that has sold millions of novels over the decades. As of episode two, she’s stuck on a raft with a guy named Halbrand in the middle of the ocean, surviving a wyrm attack and harrowing storm because, as my son pointed out, “They’re both too beautiful to die.”He’s right, though admit I my growing crush on Galadriel shades my judgement just a bit.
Nori and The Stranger. It wouldn’t be Lord of the Rings without hobbits, and this time around we’re getting Harfoots (Harfeet!), who in the Second Age are a nomadic version of the Shire hobbits we saw in the movies (set in the Third Age). Nori is our Bilbo and Frodo substitute, a hobbit that goes against typical hobbit xenophobia and wishes for adventure. She gets her wish when a meteor crashes near the Harfoot camp with a naked stranger in the crater and decides to hide and feed him. The Stranger as of episode two seems like a nonverbal Gandalf, commanding great winds when threatened, scratching out spells (possibly) in the dirt, and talking to fireflies in order to show the hobbits a specific constellation. Nori’s story is also variation on a high-fantasy staple: the wizard’s apprentice. We’ll need a few more episodes to see how Nori’s relationship to the Stranger evolves, but this could be fun.
Khazad-dûm. Amazon gave ROP a big budget and this is where some of the money went. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the dwarven stronghold in all its glory and picking out the places where the Fellowship might be scampering across its walkways and halls a thousand years hence. Just stunning visuals that make me wish I could visit and explore more.
The Bad
Elrond, Elven Politico. I’m not certain if it’s the actor’s portrayal, or something deliberate in the writing and direction, but our future Elf Lord rubs me the wrong way. A bit too smarmy, even when he’s supposedly being genuine. I think it’s the dialogue that’s always feels like Elrond rehearsed it in his head several times for maximum influence, and faint smile on his face when he delivers it. I’m actively rooting for someone to punch him in the face.
Arondir, stone-faced warrior. If Elrond is too flowery and emotive, Arondir is the opposite. In episode 1, I sort of get it: humans don’t like him because he’s an elf and he’s on the elves think he’s gone native because he’s sweet on Bronwyn, a human. He’s isolated and conflicted. But by the time we reach episode 2 and he’s making his goodbyes to Bronwyn after going AWOL, I expect a bit more emotional development. Instead, the writers are playing a game where the scene leads up to an expectation of Arondir expressing his feelings, struggling to find the words, Bronwyn even asking him to “say what you came to say” and then some distraction enters stage left and Arondir comments on it instead. I have to imagine Ismael Cordova has more than one expression, but I’ve yet to see it. Maybe he subscribes to the Kevin Costner school of acting, or maybe he’s setting something up for later in the series. We’ll see, but so far this is my least favorite story thread.
The Ugly
There’s some online backlash against the diverse casting in the series and I’m not here for it. Yes, it looks different from earlier adapted Tolkien works and perhaps JRR himself didn’t think of his characters as white by default — I didn’t know the man that well — but there’s nothing wrong with the actors’ performances. I do like to be challenged, and the diverse casting did jump out at me, which made me realize how white the franchise has been up until now. A person might quibble about how the range of ethnic markers hasn’t homogenized across these insular communities like the Harfoot’s and Southland hamlets but it’s no worse than the wooly rationalizations canonizing casting, fight choreography, and plot decisions in other franchises (Star Wars, I’m looking at you!) If the color of the casting not matching up with the characters in your head is the worst thing about a new Tolkien series, you’re doing pretty well.
Now that that’s out of the way, my main ugly is the uneven pacing. It’s still early in the series and the show is still setting up its varied storylines which means just when things are getting interesting on screen, expect a cut to another storyline, usually at a point of lower tension. I understand what they’re doing, but in the moment I want to groan and shout at the screen, especially if I was watching Gladriel’s story. I remember having the same reaction to the first book of Game of Thrones and how things got better once all the storylines found their stride so I’m hopeful ROP will do likewise.
Have you watched Rings of Power? What did you think?
Reader Goodies
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