The Rings of Power, Series Review, Season 2 — The Billion Dollar LOTR Gamble
The Rings of Power will end up costing over $1 billion to produce, if Amazon Studios makes all 5 seasons, with $250 million going just for the rights to produce it. That kind of money just boggles the mind and puts into perspective why Amazon Prime is throwing everything into the story, including the kitchen sink, to get enough viewers to make the series a success.
You can read the review below or watch the video review on YouTube:
So, what does success mean for The Rings of Power since it’s obvious that they had to break canon, but does that mean they had to choose between critical success and financial success? Or was there another way?
Let’s get into the problems with the canon, what the series should have been, the series that we got, the characters, and how this all washes out in the end. This is a long video. So, feel free to skip around with the chaptering of the video.
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The Canon Problem
For The Rings of Power to be successful as a series, it has to draw from Tolkien’s original stories, which cover three separate ages that span thousands of years and include an array of characters who mostly come and go due to the short lifetimes of most beings in Middle Earth. So, Amazon had come at the original text with editorial brutality. With a pair of scissors in one hand and a pen in the other, they identified the key event of the series as the War of the Last Alliance, which is the battle that Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron’s hand.
The Series that Could Have Been — Season One Suggestion
Here’s how I think the 5 seasons should have been produced to stay closer to the lore while making some light changes to fit within a streaming TV series:
Season one should have been about the The Rings of Power and the arrival of Sauron as Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts.” It should have exclusively focused on the building of the rings, their distribution, and the revelation of the mystery of Sauron. We should have seen the effects of the rings on the Dwarves and Elves as they realized Sauron’s plan and betrayal.
Season Two — Suggestion
Season two could have then featured Sauron realizing that he couldn’t control the Elves or the Dwarves, leading to his attempt to corrupt men. So, off to Númenor he should have gone to cause trouble. The bulk of the season should have happened there with Sauron meddling in the affairs of men until they turned again the Valar, causing the destruction of the island. The elves could have shown up part way through the season to help spoil Sauron’s plan, but it would have been too late. Elendil and his people would flee to Middle Earth with the Elves, and Sauron could have hidden himself as a different looking “man” since he had gained the power over flesh and life.
Season Three — Suggestion
Season three should have been about Sauron building his army of Orcs and fortifying his stronghold before going to Eregion to take his revenge against Celebrimbor for not creating the rings in a way that he could control them as he had hoped. This would have been the perfect season for the confrontation within Moria, leading to the Dwarven King’s death and Durin’s ascension to the throne. Meanwhile, Elendil could be establishing Gondor and Arnor, where men began gathering and making their homes with the survivors of Númenor. The sack of Eregion should have been the season finalé with Celebrimbor’s death, shocking the Elves out of their desire to not get involved in a war.
Season Four — Suggestion
Season four should have focused on Elendil making Gondor and Arnor strong, and helping to fortify both cities against Sauron and his growing power. This would also be when Durin would have to manage internal disputes with his brothers and figuring out how to manage the rings to keep his people safe while establishing new trade routes with Gondor and Arnor. We should have seen the Elves approach Elendil and Durin about an alliance. The finale would form around the reaction to the corruption of the 9 men who became Ring Wraiths.
Season Five — Suggestion
The fifth and final season should focus on the coming together of the peoples of Middle Earth and the siege and battle of Barad-dûr as the War of the Last Alliance threatens Sauron enough to force him into battle where he is cut down by Isildur. With the series finalé focusing on Isildur’s death and the loss of the ring.
Creating a Spinoff — Suggestion
This would have also created the potential for a spinoff series that focused on The Hobbits and Gandalf after Sauron fell. This would have given us the time of the wizards to dig into other more unexplored stories that could have built Gandalf’s legend and expanded the lore in areas that wouldn’t break canon.
The Series that We Got
While I’ll admit that I am loosely entertained by The Rings of Power, the further we get into the series the more dissonant the story becomes, making it more and more difficult to embrace because if you know anything about The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, certain elements stand out more and more as being wrong. This is likely to paint The Rings of Power series into a finalé that will not align with the events that feed into the global understanding of the Tolkien’s saga as we collectively know it, which is going to be a massive problem for Amazon Studios.
The Biggest Problems in the Series
The biggest problems in the series include some of the foundational choices that the studio made when creating the series. These problems all rest on how certain characters where changed and developed for the series, which feels unnatural for the story. Certain choices seem very socially transparent as if they were trying to add complexity and equality, but doing so without understanding how to make a socially complex and strong characters who can rise above the slings and arrows of criticism.
Sauron
They spent a season making Sauron into a sympathetic, likeable person who was merely misunderstood and largely wronged by society. The result is that the impact he had in Númenor was unintentional, he fell in love with Galadriel, he turned away from the Orcs, he never showed true evil and outright deceit in his dealings with anyone — until he needed to push Celebrimbor to finish the 9 rings for men before the orcs destroyed Eregion. The result is that the two critical things Sauron actively caused to happen in the lore (things that brought men and elves together against him) were actually never done by him. He didn’t bring down either Númenor or Eregion. Worse, there is a difference between being a “bad guy” and being “Sauron, The Lord of the Rings,” and Sauron hasn’t really shown any true evilness up to this point of the series. So, how will this impact our heroes and the “good guys” in the story?
The Orcs
The orcs are not the orcs we know. They are not nearly as cruel in this series. Several of them show a deep desire for family and for a father to lead and protect them. With even a few of them being shown in the series, this is meant to be representative of the larger Orc society, and that doesn’t jive with Tolkien’s orcs at all.It also undermines their role within the series, making them look like misunderstood and abused beings who are just trying to make a place for themselves in a world where nobody wants them in their region.
Galadriel
Galadriel is supposed to be the heart of wisdom for the Elves. I could buy that maybe she might know how to fight and that she’d likely be very good at it. However, the series made her into the best fighter in Elven history and the leader of their armies, in an effort to make a strong female character. I love strong female characters, including women who can fight, but that is just an aspect of a strong character not the defining feature. (Why does every studio seem to thing giving a woman the ability to fight and kill is how you create a strong woman?) They then turn her into a lovesick girl who rejects Sauron when she realizes who he is, basically becoming “the” reason that he stops trying to be good. He then decides to bring peace to the world by controlling everyone, except the Orcs who are the ones creating all of the war without him. As a result, the Elves have no beacon of wisdom in their community because the writers stole that role from her and basically gave it to nobody.
Elrond
Elrond is possibly one of the most beloved characters in Tolkien’s work. He is a great warrior. He is a well-respected leader. He was supposed to be everything that they turned Galadriel into within the series. For the last two seasons, he has not really done anything that stands out as important other than visiting Durin, which led to some Dwarves eventually showing up to scare off the orcs from Eregion. Where is the Elrond of legend?
Elendil, Isildur, & Durin
They have done a really nice job with Elendil. Of all the characters so far, he is the one who rings true. Isildur is also fairly well done but has been largely forgettable until the last few episodes of season 2. Durin is a fantastic character, and he feels just like I imagined he would be as the son of the Dwarven king.
Nori and the Hobbits
The Hobbits don’t make any sense in the series. They play no part in the final battle, and for Frodo to succeed in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron has to remain unaware of the Hobbits. However, they wouldn’t be in the series now, if they weren’t going to play some part in the battle, which could undermine everything.
However, I love Nori. I think she is possibly one of the best characters in the series because her character is so well developed and you instantly know her, what drives her, and who she is as a person. I have a feeling that she is the direct ancestor to Bilbo and Frodo, which would be a nice connection for our favorite wizard and would explain why he takes a special interest in the later Hobbits. This connection was very nicely developed…even if they didn’t pace it out very well.
Gandalf
The same problem comes up with Gandalf. We have essentially spent two seasons watching him fuddle around as he tried to figure out who he is, what his name is, and how to control his power. I can only imagine they decided that they needed him in the series because the dark wizards will be wearing rings, and the Alliance was going to need some magical fire power to balance the scales — which makes a certain amount of sense.
I think that they could actually pull off this deviation from the canon successfully, if they do it. However, they have wasted so much time with him over the last two seasons that they have undermined his character making him look weak, confused, and befuddled. Now, they’ll be playing catch up.
Recommendation
Despite the break from canon and lore, the pacing issues, and the drastic character changes within the series, it is a great fantasy series … it’s just not a great Tolkien series for the reasons that I have already mentioned. What the series gets right is the art direction, the costumes, and the general atmosphere of the story. They have created a world where magic, elves, and evil creatures feel normal. There are certain story threads that still ring true and characters who are compelling. However, this is all balanced out by irregular pacing, annoying characters who make bad decisions, and more simultaneous plot lines that even George RR Martin could untangle.
I have no idea how they will pull all these threads together while maintaining the interest of the current audience (which includes a huge number of longtime fans who find the logic of the lore important) while bringing in new fans to sustain the level of viewers needed to be a financial success.
What Did You Think of Season Two?
But that’s enough from me. What did you think of the series? Is it working for you? Are the events and characters in line with what you hoped for, and if not, are you okay with how things are coming together? And, I’m curious, what did you think about my suggestions for how they could have done the series instead of what we got? And, as always, it’s okay to disagree with me. That’s part of the fun.
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