The long awaited Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power arrived last week and it’s a mix bag of praise and criticism.
The show takes place a thousand years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy and features new and returning characters. Unfortunately some fans aren’t impressed with this new take on the Tolkien-lore. Critics however think the show is decent enough to carry the franchise into the future.
The rest of us are still on the fence. Personally, I think the show is a good fantasy story. I mean, we’re two episodes in so I don’t want to jump the gun yet. Do I think the show honours the Lord of the Rings lore? Not really, but it’s still not a bad show.
The creators obviously took some creative liberties with the show to tell something that reflects modern times, but again it’s a fantasy show so does it really need to pull from modern times? A great story is built on a captivating premise and flawed and interesting characters.
Unfortunately, none of the characters stand out for me yet. Compared to House of the Dragon this show has nothing that makes it stand out. The Game of Thrones prequel captivated me from the opening and I’m already able to pick my favourite characters.
Another thing that The Rings of Power struggles with is pacing, I get that they want to play the long-game, but it’s getting boring really fast. The visuals of the show are stunning, but again it doesn’t compare to House of the Dragon.
The musical score is fantastic, it’s one of the few things that might actually save the show in the end. I don’t want to be too harsh, since we still have 6 episodes to go, but if the producers want a successful show then they should probably listen to the fans.
I really hope the show gets better and that it will end up complementing the Peter Jackson-trilogy. The Lord of the Rings is probably the most important fantasy story, so messing that up will anger a lot of people. Do I think this show fits into the Lord of the Rings lore? No comment.
My Verdict
If you want to watch the best fantasy show of 2022, then go check out House of the Dragon. If you want something else, than this is the show for you. It doesn’t live up to the hype, but I don’t think it’s too bad. It has its moments, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed hoping it gets better.
My Rating: 5.5 out of 10 – Could’ve Been Better
