*This review does not contain any spoilers*
If you have been an ardent fan of “The Lord Of The Rings” anthology and movie series for as long as I have, I bet you can’t have enough of the mythical world created by J. R. R. Tolkein. For most of us, the books piqued our interest and fueled our imagination of Middle Earth and its diverse races of Men, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Hobbits. Then came Peter Jackson in the early 2000s and delivered an intricate and rich experience with his LOTR movie trilogy, which earned popular and critical acclaim (along with 17 Oscar wins across the trilogy). Personally speaking, the best part of the trilogy was its “Extended Edition” version – a whopping 11 hour 22 minute saga of the ‘Third age of the Middle Earth’ which went into extraordinary details in the interest of character and plot development. But no matter how detailed and perfect the movies were and how many times one has seen it, the non-reader fan(atic)s (and even some readers for that matter) must be wondering “What was Númenor like and what happened to it?”, “What was the Second Age of the Middle Earth where Sauron thrived?” and “Who are Elendil, Isildur and Durin in Durin’s folks – as the dwarves are now called”, and so on.
Finally, 20 years after Peter Jackson’s masterpiece, (a mere blink of an eye in Elven terms) we are offered more insights into the backstory in Prime Video’s highly anticipated show – “Rings of Power”. The title is a reference to the twenty rings of power forged during the Second Age of the Middle Earth.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Based on what’s in print, the show intends to cover the forging of these rings and the final battle of the Second Age between Sauron’s army and the alliance of Men and Elves that leads up to the events mentioned in the famous prologue of the Lord of the Rings movies. I am curious to see if the makers sidestep the “Hobbit” books (as they take place BEFORE the Lord of the Rings story). Judging by the first season, the Second Age of the Middle Earth promises to be equally exciting while setting up the context for things to follow in the Third Age (the trilogy).
Comments:
I felt that the opening episode of the show was a bit of a letdown, partly due to the subpart script and the not-so-realistic CGI. However, as it progresses, the show gets better on both these fronts. The prologue of the LOTR trilogy is arguably one of the finest. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have done a fantastic job of keeping it tight, crisp and setting up the trilogy perfectly pulling in fans and newcomers alike into the mythical world. The writers of Rings of Power could’ve taken a few tips from the trio. To get over this minor hiccup, I would recommend binge-watching the season to avoid not being able to relate to the characters or losing interest midway.
As expected, the show features several characters – some familiar, like Galadriel and Elrond, some who have been fleetingly mentioned in the trilogy like Isildur and Durin and then there are others who are complete strangers. The Elves are the main protagonist in this season and we finally find out more about Valinor – the place all Elven ships are bound for in the LOTR trilogy. Valinor is ruled by the high Elven King Gil-Galad (readers may remember him from the ballad of Gil-Galad). We also learn that Sauron is in the process of amassing his power after the fall of his master, Morgoth.
The familiarity with characters goes even further. Harfoots – a new race that’s introduced here – bears uncanny resemblance with the Hobbits of Shire and there are a couple of Harfoots who remind us of Frodo (or Bilbo) & Sam, The dynamics between Elrond (an elf) and Durin (a dwarf) mirror those between Legolas and Gimli. The story arc of Halbrand, a new character, may bring back memories of Aragorn. It is also refreshing to see a mix of racially diverse and strong women characters like Arondir, Princess Disa and Queen Regent Miriel.
As far as locations are concerned, we visit Lindon – the capital of High Elves, Númenor – a bustling island kingdom of Men and Khazad-dûm, kingdom of the Dwarves. We also visit Forodwaith – the Northern wastelands and Southlands – a human settlement in the deep South which is taken over by the Orcs. Speaking of Orcs, they are more powerful than their counterparts in the LOTR trilogy and definitely not to be messed with. My only quibble would be that none of these locations have a theme music that resonates with the audience – like it did with Hobbiton, Rohan or Gondor in the LOTR trilogy.
And finally, there has been a lot of talk regarding how the creators have drifted from the original source material and added a few new characters who are not part of the canon. I feel that I am OK with this creative freedom as long as it does not fundamentally alter the tone, setting or messaging of the story. Transferring a book to the screen is a tough job and if the changes aid in smoother storytelling, then by all means, go for it. Only time will tell how well these new narrative arcs contribute to the tale.
Cast and Crew:
Amazon has spent over half a billion dollars making this one season and it shows in its detailed sets and brilliant CGI effects. The attention to detail is just as amazing as the trilogy. The intricately rich Elvish dresses, the sets of the kingdoms of Númenor and Khazad-dûm or the crude weapons of the Orcs are all crafted with the minutest details. The technical teams are the unsung heroes of this show. The music of the show is composed by none other than Howard Shore- who worked on the LOTR trilogy – but as mentioned before, it falls short of the high bar set by the trilogy.
As for the cast, Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) is the defacto protagonist and she plays her role in a decent albeit somewhat one-dimensional manner. She is much more angrier and vengeful here compared to the wiser and calmer version played by Cate Blanchett that’s familiar to most of us. It could be because she is much younger (around 1500-2000 years old) here in the Second Age as compared to her character from the trilogy where she is around 7000 years old. Ah, youth! Weren’t we all a little brash at that young age? Other than her, Markella Kavenagh as Nori, an adventurous Harfoot, shines in her role. Rest of the cast does a good job.
Final Thoughts:
The creators of the show take their time to develop the story lines and characters and set up the show nicely for its forthcoming seasons. However, as is the case with most prequels, without the context of Tolkein’s work or Peter Jackson’s two trilogies, Prime Video’s ‘Rings of Power’ may be a tough show to appreciate. I, for one, am eagerly waiting for the next season to arrive.
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