It’s risky recommending a TV series based on only a couple of episodes. There are innumerable shows that start off strong, putting their best foot forward to impress viewers. However, very often that level of quality isn’t sustained, and many series just limp across the season finishing line. As with everything else, critical assessments based on an incomplete experience may be inaccurate – so you’ve been warned before reading on.
All this said, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has an exceptionally strong start. Amazon Prime Video’s new high fantasy epic premiered on 2 September with the first two episodes of its eight-part debut season. With weekly episode drops every Friday, we’re about two months from Season 1’s conclusion. Things may fall apart in that time, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’ll be happily watching to the end.
Although unconnected to Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and prequel The Hobbit, comparisons to those films will be inevitable. The Rings of Power is another on-screen adaptation of the work of author J.R.R. Tolkien, regarded as the Father of Modern Fantasy. The Rings of Power uses as its basis the rich literary lore of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, itself part of a broader fantasy world called Arda, which doesn’t shy away from operating at a mythopoeic level.
Setting itself apart, though, and avoiding yet another on-screen rehash of “reluctant Hobbit embarks on a quest to help save the world,” The Rings of Power jumps the action back thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and features a geographically dispersed ensemble cast of new and familiar characters. The Rings of Power is set in the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth, a time when centuries of peace and prosperity has made people complacent. Even the Elves, who came to Middle-earth to battle the evil that corrupted their home, want to move on and accept that dark lord Sauron is gone for good – despite him simply vanishing hundreds of years before. Spoiler: he’s not gone.
The Rings of Power will, over the course of a reported five seasons, depict such events as the resurgence of Sauron and his twisted Orc forces; the forging of the magical Rings of Power (shared between Elves, Dwarves and Men); the fall of Númenor, Mankind’s greatest city; and, ultimately, the Last Alliance between Elves and Men, as they stand against Sauron in a final attempt to save their world.
Apart for brief flashbacks, none of these iconic moments have ever been shown on screen before, giving the series a welcome freshness. Then there’s the fact that the writers of The Rings of Power are tweaking Tolkien’s source material for their adaptation needs, which should keep fans engaged and speculating. Right now, that speculation seems centred on The Stranger.
Speaking of fans, The Rings of Power isn’t solely for Tolkienists or Ringers. Admittedly, you’ll probably get more enjoyment out of the series if you are familiar with the universe. As already mentioned, The Rings of Power depicts referenced events in Tolkien’s major works (often in the appendices) and previous adaptations. It also features younger versions of characters that audiences know, like the Elves Galadriel and Elrond, played before on the big screen by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, and, now, by Morfydd Clark and Robert Aramayo respectively.
Thanks to its positioning at the very start of an Age, though, The Rings of Power is relatively accessible – as long as you have a tolerance for the stilted dialogue of high fantasy. You don’t need to have read Tolkien’s epic tomes or watched the Jackson movies to understand what is going on. For the most part. Occasional name drops from lesser-read The Silmarillion, with no further explanation, may have you consulting a wiki.
Regardless of viewer familiarity, or not, with The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power is a visual spectacle that must be experienced. The first season has a reported budget of half a billion US dollars, and every single shot – staged like a book illustration – drives home that point. From the nomadic settlements of the proto-Hobbit Harfoots, to the subterranean Dwarven stronghold of Khazad-dûm, Middle-earth is brought to life with real sets (enhanced by computer wizardry), intricate production design, meticulous costuming and special effects makeup.
If you, like me, found the three-part The Hobbit to be disappointing – unnecessarily bloated and obsessed with rubbery CGI (and ultra-high frame rates), The Rings of Power will reignite your enthusiasm and emotional investment in Middle-earth. I’ve already said that The Rings of Power is technically unconnected to the The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, but it feels like a spiritual successor. Movie composer Howard Shore has even returned to write the series main theme, while the show’s primary composer Bear McCreary has definitely drawn influence from Shore’s original memorable work on the trilogy.
Like the The Lord of the Rings films, The Rings of Power strikes a better balance between practical and computer generated. In some ways, The Rings of Power even exceeds its big screen predecessor. In the first two episodes, encounters with a troll and orc are surprisingly intense and visceral.
The Rings of Power may be out to visually dazzle viewers but, at least to date, that isn’t at the expense of emotional impact. While the first episode operates at the level of epic poem, with the focus largely on reticent Elves, the Dwarves in Episode 2 – fronted by Owain Arthur’s Prince Durin IV and his no-nonsense wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) – pump more heart and relatability into proceedings.
Two episodes in, the Dwarven Royals are a standout in this new, more ethnically diverse, take on Middle-earth. The same goes for Clark’s Galadriel, whose uncompromising warrior is far from the serene stateswoman she will become, and whose steel will keeps her storyline streaking along.
There are still many more characters to be introduced in The Rings of Power but so far the ones who audiences are encouraged to rally behind, and who evidently will have the greatest impact in the Second Age, share a common characteristic. To some degree, they’re all outliers among their people due to their unconventional attitudes, behaviours and desires.
Not all these characters are equally compelling, of course. Yet again we’re treated to illicit love between Elves and other species, this time in the form of Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) a Silvan Elf soldier, and human village healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). Evidently the onscreen Tolkien formula has been set by Jackson’s films, and whether it’s really needed or not, a bittersweet love story is a box to be ticked – much like unassuming halflings shaping world events.
But The Rings of Power is more than a robotic box ticking exercise. Or wall-to-wall spectacle. It’s the full package, remembering what has made Tolkien’s writings, and the The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, so beloved. If nothing else, it restores the goodwill destroyed by The Hobbit, and makes people excited for high-stakes adventures in Middle-earth again.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is screening right now on Prime Video. Two episodes are currently available with new ones dropping every Friday until the Season 1 finale on 14 October.
