'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power', Episodes 1-3'


1. A Shadow of the Past

2. Adrift

3. Adar

I've been sat on this post for a little while (well, it feels like it but it has only been a couple of weeks, anyway...), mostly because I wanted to sneak in once all the fuss had died down. Doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon though so I thought I may as well jump in with a post ;o) Before I do though, lets clear up a couple of things.

What the heck is all the fuss about? I saw a Tweet today saying that Morfydd Clark doesn't look like a real elf, what? Is this really what we've come to (should a real woman look like a fictional creature, seriously?) or are people just trying to be provocative? Either way, it's pretty clear that a large chunk of the fandom needs to sit on the nearest naughty step and have a good think about their life choices... If my kids kick off, I remind them that their behaviour will lead to them having nice things taken away; seems like a few people could do with learning that lesson.

And I'm no Tolkien scholar, not at all. I loved reading 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' (not the appendices though) and enjoyed the hell out of the movies (yep, even 'The Hobbit) but 'The Silmarillion' was almost the end of Tolkien and I; I've never quite managed to get into Christopher Tolkien's books either (one day). I'm just a guy who owes a lot to the story and setting and has been eagerly waiting on this show. It may not be entirely canon but I don't care to be honest; I'm looking at it more along the lines of a 'Middle Earth, What If...?' event. If it works for Marvel... ;o)

And on that note... You can probably guess that I've been loving this show and you'd be right. Lets talk about it a little bit though.

The visual approach to the first two episodes really makes you feel like you're back in Peter Jackson's Middle Earth and you can't help but think that's intentional. If you want to get people on board quickly, give them something familiar and it doesn't get much more familiar than Middle Earth, even if it's thousands (?) of years ago. I'm a little hazy with the timeline but that's besides the point, it's all about immersing yourself in the world again and it's just the best.

Having said that though, if we're going for 'familiar' then do we really need two whole episodes of scene setting? I'd say that we don't need much more than one. I'm all for hints of things to come, even if they're signposted a little too clearly (if the Stranger doesn't turn out to be Gandalf, I'll actually be very impressed) and Galadriel's story is being built up gradually at this stage. I guess I'm just impatient, especially when Sauron is out there somewhere, doing his thing.

I'll tell you what I did enjoy though, those Harfoots popping out of nowhere and on the move to... I don't know, presumably the Shire at some point but they've got a way to go (and presumably over more than one season). The fighting may be going on elsewhere but something equally as important is taking place within this little clan. If it's what I think it is, I'm really excited to see that relationship grow).

And then we're onto Episode Three and everything kicks off all of sudden; we've clearly had enough scene setting, it's time to roll :o) The Stranger is now a Friend (although I suspect everyone will keep calling him the Stranger for a while yet) while Galadriel and Arondir's journeys won't cross yet but you can see it coming. I'm loving Arondir by the way, he makes Legolas look positively clumsy. Plans are starting to form but there's still just enough intrigue in Numenor to keep things interesting. Talking of which, what is Halbrand all about? I suspect he's being lined up as a 'proto-Aragorn' but there are enough little hints of darkness about him for Halbrand to be something far more interesting, especially as it looks like he may be putting down some roots in Numenor... Add Galadriel looking like she's about to cut loose and 'Adar' buzzes in a way that the first two episodes, as good as they were, just don't.

It looks like things are stepping up a gear then and as much I just love drinking in the scenery, it's clearly the right time for the plot to start doing it's thing. You've probably already guessed that I'm in this for the long haul but I've got a good feeling about 'The Rings of Power' based on what I've seen so far. I think it's worth sticking with, canon or not.


And P.S... Morfydd Clark totally looks like an Elf and Lenny Henry is a great Hobbit ;o)

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