The Rings Of Power
Amazon’s new Lord Of The Rings TV show, The Rings Of Power, debuts on Amazon Prime Video tonight.
I published my spoiler-free review of the epic fantasy yesterday, and I was more than a little enthusiastic about this unexpectedly wonderful return to Middle-earth. I entered a skeptic, but walked away a believer.
Not everyone agrees with me. Rotten Tomatoes has The Rings Of Power marked certified Fresh, but like House Of The Dragon, it’s in the low 80% range, not quite a universally beloved new show.
Still, for anyone eager to immerse themselves into a new big-budget fantasy that’s a bit more family friendly than HBO’s Game Of Thrones spinoff, there are plenty of reasons you should tune in tomorrow. Here are five.
You can also watch my spoiler-free Rings Of Power review below:
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1. The production values are truly stupendous.
The Rings Of Power is anything but cheap. It’s one of the best-looking TV shows I’ve ever seen. Everything from the special effects to the wildly detailed costumes is extraordinary. I gawked a great deal watching the screeners, and those weren’t even 4K and had anti-piracy watermarks all over them!
Shimmering elven cities, sprawling underground dwarven cities, golden-leaved forests and frozen vistas all conspire to make Middle-earth and The Rings Of Power a true feast for the eyes.
2. The characters are great.
One thing that really bothers me about a lot of TV shows is how little effort goes into crafting relatable characters. Sometimes this means we get two-dimensional villains. Sometimes it just means we don’t care about anybody, heroes included. But The Rings Of Power already has me caring about characters like the Harfoot, Nori, or the rugged elven warrior, Arondir.
Galadriel, Elrond, Durin, Bronwyn and and every other character introduced in the sprawling two-episode premiere already have my attention. Some of these characters are also quite funny, and a sense of humor goes a long ways in any good story.
3. Rings Of Power keeps the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien alive.
One thing a lot of people have been concerned about is that this adaptation won’t be true to Tolkien’s work. On the one hand, that’s true. Amazon has adapted the appendices to The Silmarillion, and the only way to do that and make it a palatable TV show is to make a lot of changes. (Some people are also concerned deeply with the diverse casting and claim this means it has a ‘woke agenda’—something I find spurious at best).
The good news is that this show, at least in its first two episodes, stays faithful to Tolkien’s themes, if not the letter of his writing. Friendship, steadfastness, courage, honor, the importance of good men to stand vigilant when evil rears its ugly head—all this is present in The Rings Of Power.
4. The musical score is gorgeous.
Beyond the grand scope and scale of this production, there is the music.
Howard Shore, who composed the score for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, wrote the title theme for The Rings Of Power, and Bear McCreary (Outlander, The Walking Dead) composed the rest of the score. It’s simply outstanding, adding layers of drama and emotion to the show that simply wouldn’t exist without it.
McCreary said composing the score, which was recorded with a 90-piece orchestra and a 40-vocalist choir in London and Vienna, the latter singing in the languages Tolkien created for this world, was like “writing a symphony.”
“That means whether you are seeing a giant battle, an epic montage, or just two Harfoots sitting in the woods talking, you have the largest orchestra that could fit in Abbey Road or AIR studios supporting them, along with the best soloists in the world and a huge choir,” McCreary told Variety.
5. There’s some great mystery to keep you guessing.
Without spoiling any of the show, I can tell you that some of the mysteries introduced in the first two episodes will keep you guessing, and should make for some fun fan theories and debates over the next six weeks (see the release schedule for the show here). Some of these mysteries include a mysterious stranger encountered by some of our heroes, who may or may not be connected to The Lord Of The Rings.
And then there is The Enemy—Sauron—who we know can shape-shift and look however he pleases. Could he already be there right before our noses, hiding in plain sight disguised as one of the characters? These and other mysterious should keep the show fresh and interesting week after week—another advantage of an adaptation that doesn’t flinch from making some changes to the original stories.
You can read my full review of The Rings Of Power here. I’ll be recapping each episode as we go as well, so be sure to follow me here on this blog and on Twitter or Facebook if you’d like to read along or join in the conversation.
And hey, if you end up not liking the show that’s fine, too. I’d love to hear your thoughts either way.
