TV Review: Lord of the Rings - The Rings of Power

It’s finally here and after all the moaning and criticism thrown at it before it even aired we ask, is Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power as terrible as it’s being portrayed?

The First Episode

Let me just answer the question above first and get all of the negativity about this show out of the way. If you believe all those Youtubers who shit on absolutely everything for clicks and money and feed on negativity by firing up fanbases to become toxic, then you need to stop listening to everything they say.

Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power is nowhere near as bad as these people are saying it is. I saw one video posted online by a fairly popular Youtuber that criticised the opening credits, well the video they shared was compeltely fake and yet garnered thousands of snidey comments and fed the hate machine.

Now that’s out of the way let’s get to the show.

First thing is that the set design and costumes are top notch and you can tell from the off that a tonne of money has been spent on every area of production. The SFX is movie quality, the music is subtle yet excellent and evokes that fantasy feeling.

Now, for the plot. If you go into show not expecting it to stick 100% to Tolkien’s Silmarrilion then you will enjoy this show a lot more. Think of it more as a loose interpretation. I have a few issues with it, but nothing that ruined it for me. My biggest criticism so far is the character of Galadriel and some of the dialogue. Why the showrunners decided to make her such a moody warrior is beyond me. We’re suppossed to believe that she’s this great commander and yet the first time we meet her she makes some terrible decisions that result in her own crew turning on her. I get that in this she is obsessed with finding and destroying the Enemy and it’s set long before she is the character we know from the LoTR books and movies but aren’t Elves supposed to be wise and undying?

Other well known characters are Elrond, who is a much more light hearted man in this show than the super serious one we know from the movies. He is likable and so far well played by Robert Aramayo. We are also introduced to a tribe of Hobbit like creatures called Harfoots. In this they are nomads who travel in camps. I’m not sure why they all have Irish accents and all look filthy but meh I can get over that. With them we meet Nori, an inquistive girl you wants to know the world beyond her community. She’s likeable enough and is likely to play a pretty key role with the character she encounters at the end of the first episode.

The first episode kicks off with a really quite impressive scene of the final days of the war with Morgoth and for the first time on screen we see the lands of Valinor. It sets the story of what is to come well. The rest of the episode is a bit of a slow burn as we are introduced to a wide variety of characters and lands but it also sets up the mystery of Sauron’s presence in Middle Earth. The ending, however, sets up an intriquing scenario and was a strong finish.

Overall I give episode 1 a solid 7/10.

Episode 2

Things pick up a bit in episode 2 with the highlight for me being Elrond’s visit to the Dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm and his interactions with Prince Durin.

Elsewhere, Galadriel is adrift at sea after rejecting the trip to return to Valinor. As she drifts in the sea she encounters a bunch of shipwrecked men and women whose ship was destroyed by a pretty impressive looking Sea Wyrm. Most of the people are eaten but Galadriel and one man named Halbrand. He explains that they were at sea in order to escape Orcs. This naturally sets Galadriel off and makes her determined to seek out who led them. The two survive a storm with Halbrand saving Galadriel’s life and together they are rescued by a mysterious ship.

Again, this was a solid episode and I enjoyed it. I’m liking the set up for what is to come and I’ll keep watching.

Episode 2 score - 7/10

Overall

If you accept this show as one that is ‘based’ on Tolkien’s works then you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re a die hard stickler to his works then you will find a lot to criticise so probably best to avoid this. Otherwise ignore the hate peddlars on Youtube and elsewhere and give it a go yourself. It’s nowhere near the train wreck those people are making it out as and I’m sure the low review scores on the likes of Rotten Tomatoes etc are just the hate peddlars followers review bombing for the sake of it.

Altogether I give the first two episodes of the Rings of Power a 7/10.