Hey, guys, so I just got back from New York where I finally got to see The Rings of Power
during a special screening of the first two episodes. The audience was mostly composed
of Tolkien fans of varying degrees of fandom. I was able to invite a group of folks which
ranged from super excited about the series to very skeptical, some have read all of Tolkien’s works,
some have read a couple, and some had only ever seen the PJ films. I’ll give you a
rundown of how some of these folks felt in a bit, but first, I’ll give you my thoughts…
Now, this is going to be spoiler free, so I won’t be going into fine details,
but I’ll give you a sense of how I felt about the first 2-ish hours of the planned 50-hour series.
A quick fyi - if you’re one who is fully dedicated to either hating or
loving this show regardless of its actual content,
this review - or any of my coverage on this series - likely won’t be something you’ll enjoy. But if
you want an honest opinion and are interested in nuanced assessments and respectful conversations
about the world of Tolkien and its adaptations, I think you’d enjoy the Nerd of the Rings community.
Now for those who haven’t been around the channel as much, here’s a quick frame of
reference of where I’ve landed on other Tolkien adaptations. Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy is a
complete masterpiece 10/10. Sure there’s moments that bend the lore, but in my opinion it captures
the themes and heart of Tolkien’s world in the most incredible ways. The Hobbit trilogy is a 6.
There’s moments and glimpses of greatness, but it’s weighed down by moments of weak CG,
a super annoying original character, and even the enjoyable original character
is given a terrible storyline. I still enjoy watching it for its great moments,
but I don’t put it on nearly as often as LOTR. Sidenote if you’ve never
experienced it, my other favorite all-time adaptation is the 1981 BBC Radio Drama
With that in mind, let’s get to Rings of Power…
First off, as I think many expected, the show looks absolutely incredible.
I think when hearing the rumors of how much this show has cost, many assumed it would, but it’s
still nice to know this is the case. It not only looks like a film, it looks like a well-made film.
The craftsmanship and cinematography on display is quite simply fantastic.
In some of my other fandoms like Star Wars and Marvel, I’ve seen instances where the visuals
just don’t hold up to their film counterparts, and for me it’s always a reminder “oh yeah,
this is *just* a tv show. Rings of Power is nothing like that.
It is every bit a cinematic experience throughout these first two episodes and I hope, and expect
that to continue throughout the series. You should definitely watch it on the biggest screen you can.
When it comes to the sound, I’ll have to hear more as some of these themes reappear
and intertwine throughout the season, but having listened to much of Bear McCreary’s soundtrack,
I was eager to see how the music and visuals paired together. There were times where the music
was very present, and I took a lot of notice, and others where it didn’t stick out as much,
but I realized there was never any point where it felt like it didn’t fit what I was seeing.
And those moments I took notice of, were some truly great moments.
As you may have seen me post about on other socials, one of my favorite tracks is Khazad-dûm,
and when it kicks in for the first time, it is *a moment.* And quite frankly it’s a
moment I can’t wait to watch again and a location I’m dying to see more of.
As far as the performances, there were some that really stood out. For me,
I was more concerned with whether I would be taken out of the experience by any poor performances,
or just plain bad characters, which I’m glad to say I was not. There were a couple lines
of dialogue here and there that felt so-so to me, but these moments are eclipsed by
others that were packed with deeper meaning. Having a rough idea of what this series does
and doesn’t have rights to, the fact that there are multiple instances throughout that
reward those of us who have delved deep into the books was a welcome surprise.
It’s a fine line to tread when copyrights and licensing are involved,
but the fact that we can have a scene between two characters where the dialogue brings to
the surface all the deeper meaning of their histories feels like its done intentionally
for fans like me - who love everything from “Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar;
and he made first the Ainur,” to the scribbled notes of the Dagor Dagorath and Second Music.
Now characters and storylines will of course change over time, and it’s an area I’ll be
watching. As anyone who has watched my videos on this show before will know,
there are characters and storylines I’m really looking forward to in this series
and ones that I’m not sold on their necessity and I’m curious to see how big of a footprint these
things will have on the overall story. So while I’ve made it no secret I don’t think hobbits are
entirely necessary and could even hurt the overall story if used too much, there was nothing that
reached Alfrid levels of frustration from having them there - at least in these first two episodes.
And while that specific storyline remains a “wait and see” for me, I wanted to mention that
there was a particular character I was pleasantly surprised by - who I had thought was miscast based
purely on the design of the character. For all its flaws in terms of the lore, I really liked the
depiction of Celebrimbor in the Shadow of Mordor games, as he seemed like a Feanor 2.0. So it
came as a pleasant surprise that I really enjoyed Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor in his brief screen
time in these first two episodes. There’s some great dialogue that again references deeper lore,
and we already begin to see small glimpses of how and why certain things will play out
with this character - without the dialogue broadcasting it with flashing neon lights.
I honestly think one of my biggest frustrations with the show will actually be the series format.
We’ve never had a tv show made of Middle-earth, so for the most part we’ve been able to see the
bulk of stories play out from beginning to end in a single sitting. Having to wait a week between
episodes, while a temporary problem, will no doubt be frustrating for those like me who love
experiencing a grand tale told over 3-4 hours (or in 12 hour marathons) rather than waiting a
week after a cliffhanger. Perhaps I’ll be able to grow more accustomed to it as the episodes go on.
The other thing I found myself slightly annoyed by was the pacing.
Perhaps it is because I naturally want to soak everything in and try to remember every detail,
but each scene felt like it went by quite fast, and there were a couple times where we
cut from something I was really interested in and I felt a bit annoyed at being taken away.
It’s very hard for me to theorize where this season will end having seen these two episodes. On
one hand, it’s only 2 episodes. On the other hand it’s 25% of the season. I find myself both wanting
the show to slow down to allow me to relish in some of the great locales and characters, while
also thinking we’ve got big things we need to get to and a finite amount of time to get there.
And it’s this dichotomy that made me realize that quite simply, I wanted to see more of this show.
While there will no doubt be things that I would’ve done differently along the way - things
both big and small - I want to see more of this world and the characters and stories on
display here. And while I’ve always known I’d be watching at least the first season regardless,
because I feel it’s the best way to judge a series, and because of my Middle-earth addiction,
I can honestly say that it is a ride that I’m now excited to go on,
a bit anxious sure, but gone are my darkest fears that this would be an
utter train wreck. If these first two episodes are any indication, it is certainly not that.
As many of us have known since the very day it was announced as a Second Age series,
there will be original storylines, characters, and dialogue. There simply isn’t enough source
material to paint an entire picture of the Second Age without doing so.
Now these things that are original may not work for everyone, but having seen
two episodes with my own eyes, I can say that I think even those with a lot of skepticism,
if they are willing to give the show a chance, will find things to enjoy within this series.
It’s a show full of visual splendor, top notch craftsmanship,
actors clearly dedicated to these roles, and while I think it’s still too early to tell,
hopefully it will be one that captures the heart and magic of Tolkien’s world.
I don’t know if every single thing in this show will work for me,
but because of what I’ve seen thus far, I’m eager and excited to go along for the ride and find out.
Going back to those folks I spoke about in the intro who also attended the screening.
I asked for a 0-10 score from each, with zero being utter garbage that nobody should watch to 10
being it was fantastic and a must watch. Together, the average score was a 7.9, with 9.5 being the
highest, and 6 being the lowest. The most common score was an 8, given by half the group, including
myself. When it comes to the overall experience of watching these episodes, it sure seems like we are
getting something much closer to LOTR than The Hobbit. I’m eager to share more of the thoughts
and conversations from myself and this group of attendees when we go into spoiler territory.
And it's these moments, where I spoke with dozens of book fans and movie fans, casual
fans and scholars, that one thing was clear - this show has the ability to pull people deeper into
Tolkien’s world, and will bring new fans into the fray - which is a beautiful thing. And it’s sure
to spark conversations revolving around not only the show, but Tolkien’s books and the adaptations
that have come before. And for those of us who have been around the fandom for a while, you’ll
recognize what a wonderful thing this can be. For part of the magic of Middle-earth is what happens
outside its pages or its artwork or its frames of film - it’s in a world so powerful that it brings
together folks from all walks of life, bound by a mutual love of this man and the world he created.
These first two episodes are captivating and beautiful
and very clearly made with love for the world - and for this Tolkien fan of over 20 years now,
I’m quite ready for another adventure in Middle-earth.
If you’re interested in watching the show, don’t forget to tune into our watch party on Thursday
night. We’ll have a brief pre-show before, then all play the first two episodes together,
followed by discussion immediately after - so make sure you’re subscribed with your
notifications on so you don’t miss the watch parties here on Nerd of the Rings.
as always i want to say a huge thank you to my patreon supporters who make this channel possible
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for watching and subscribing and we'll see you next time on nerd of the rings