I’d like to start this off by saying that I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan. I’ve read and watched the whole series multiple times, saw all The Hobbit movies on opening night, and was even Arwen one year for Halloween in middle school. That being said, I wasn’t all that excited for the new Rings of Power series when I saw it premiering on Amazon. I feel like there are so many stories to tell in the LOTR world, but in recent series from Marvel or Star Wars, I found myself bored and uninterested in characters that I had previously loved on-screen. That being said, I was still hopeful that I would be proven wrong and that the newest installment in Tolkien’s world would tell a refreshing and engaging story. Sadly, my initial fears were proven correct. Based on the first two episodes, The Rings of Power is a bland, watered-down version of the magic that the original Lord of the Rings had to offer and I’m not sure I’ll even finish the series.
My first big issue with the series was the number of plot lines occurring simultaneously. Whenever there are multiple plots, I find myself favoring one over the others, even if I try my best to get invested in them all. The story taking my eye-roll spot for this series is easily the Harfoot plotline. I’m not sure if these creatures are supposed to be early Hobbits, but the characters are annoying and I honestly don’t really care for them at all. The great thing about the Fellowship of the Ring was the fact that it started in the Shire but quickly moved out to start the actual adventure. That way, you don’t get bored of the Hobbits and their simple, quirky lifestyle. The two Harfoot leads, Nori and Poppy, stay among their kind for the entirety of the first two episodes, and the whole atmosphere gets old fast.
Galadriel was one of my favorite characters in the original trilogy, and I feel like her character is very vanilla here. The writers try to make her rebellious and a strong lead, but even though her actions are somewhat heroic, it doesn’t really portray the strength I think they were going for. The actress they have playing her, Morfydd Clark, is perfect look-wise for the character, but she really doesn’t give off the air of quiet, controlled power that Galadriel did in the Lord of the Rings. Maybe that’s a purposeful choice, but I still find it frustrating to see such an iconic character fall short.
That being said, the show is not unwatchable. I did enjoy the effects and I think there is some good storytelling at play that could amount to something more. That being said, I’m not overly excited to continue watching. I probably will, just because of how near and dear the series is for me, but I feel like this is just another stretched-out story that could’ve been a movie, but was instead turned into a dragging original series. All in all, the Rings of Power really needs to work on upping the “power” of its acting, script, and characters. Then, it might just be worth traveling across Middle Earth for.
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