Everyone else has done one so I might as well as throw my take into the mix. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has potential, but it is it’s own thing. I know Amazon had some limitations in terms of what they could reference since they only purchased the appendices to then tell an original story loosely based in Tolkien’s prehistoric Europe. I am going to address points directly because I want to shed light on issues I have read and heard.
First off the cast is capable and I had no problem with there being characters who were black or Indian or whatever because the acting for what they were given was solid. I will use the example of Tim Russ playing Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager. He played a Vulcan beautifully and the fact he was black never stuck out as an issue. From the Dwarf Queen to the Elf Warrior to the Harfoot (Proto-Hobbit) Patriarch, the acting and casting felt seamless. If anything that struck me as odd was the use of African drum beating whenever they showed the Harfoot Patriarch looking into an ancient book of lore because to me it would be like playing cliche Asian music if someone of Chinese or Japanese, etc., nationality appeared on screen. To me that was arguably a bit unnecessary because a person’s race, creed, culture, sexual orientation should not be why a person was cast. The best person for what they are trying to accomplish should be the only thing that matters.
This brings me to another thing I heard reviewers stating on YouTube. I did not at all get the impression Elrond is gay anymore than Sam and Frodo were closeted homosexuals as some stated when the Peter Jackson trilogy was released. That is rubbish in my opinion and I think anyone that took issue with anything Elrond did in the first two episodes should ask themselves why are they so sensitive? Maybe it went over my head because I did not get that impression at all.
Now as for everything else, it was pretty to look at. I liked to subtle things they threw in there like the Ents watching the meteor come to Middle Earth or what appears to be the shadow of Morgoth above the Two Trees. Other things like a fell beast fighting I think a great eagle did not belong because those were clearly never seen before until the Nazgûl used them in the Third Age of Middle Earth as depicted in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. There are some hints that someone may be Sauron or Gandalf, which for Gandalf, the Wizards were not sent to Middle Earth until the Third Age. They were sent together to bolster the free peoples of Middle Earth to fight against Sauron, but they were not allowed to match power for power so hopefully they are not playing loose with that. Some complaints levied were for things that have not even aired yet so even those that have been highly critical are still going to watch it and I am going to watch it because while not perfect, it got my interest up enough to want to see what happens next.
I could nitpick the Orc who did not have bow legs, which most should have as seen in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy with the exception of the Uruk Hai, but I have not seen anyone mention that because it is all in the details and clearly The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has a lot of them, but it is just getting started and I hope it succeeds, but if it does not then let it be because people did not like the approach or story and not the rants of people making anyone who is remotely a fan look foolish. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will have new episodes streaming Fridays for the next six weeks on Prime Video.
(C) Copyright 2022 By Mark A. Rivera
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