OVERVIEW OF PLOT

The plot of Season One of the Rings of Power was very intricate—too intricate, in my opinion. The story thread of Galadriel is her looking for revenge for her brother on Sauron. But also, apparently, she mentioned in a later episode that Celeborn (her husband) was missing…which seems like it should have been mentioned in episode 1. The story thread of Elrond was his friendship with Durin and his faithfulness to his friend and his people. The story thread of Bronwyn and Theo and Arondir was to protect the Southlands from Adar and the orcs. The story thread of the Harfoots, which is my least favorite, was to befriend the “stranger,” who seems to be some kind of wizard (hopefully blue, not gray). The story thread in Numenor showed Queen Miriel returning to the faithful of Numenor and helping Galadriel against Sauron and Adar. Meanwhile, Elendil was mourning the death of his wife, trying to find the best place for his kids, and trying to navigate the politics of Numenor. In the end, he fully commits to the faithful.

FAVORITE CHARACTERS & EVENTS

 My favorite character was Elrond half-elven, herald of Gilgalad. His friendship with Durin seemed one of the most “Tolkien” relationships (if you know what i mean?). His outfits I like a lot; the blue fit his character well. 

Elendil was a close second for favorite characters. He was noble and protective of his family. I would love to see the relationship between him and Isildur grow and see how it will develop before Elendil dies and Isildur takes the one ring as a payment for his brother and father.    

One of my favorite events was in Episode 2 when the scene fades out to the map of Middle Earth and the dwarven music starts playing–and you see Celebrimbor and Elrond going to see Durin. It was a very dramatic scene with the music and visuals. 

Another favorite event was when Halbrand gives the idea of using another alloy to combine with the mithril to make the elven rings. Then he says, “Consider it a gift.” Which is a very Sauron thing to say since in the books, he was disguised as Annatar, the “lord of gifts.” Even though they did not use that name, possibly because they did not have rights to it, this little comment is a clever way to hint at the name to anybody who knows the Silmarillion. It was like putting a sign on Halbrand’s forehead saying, “I am Sauron.”  

LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTERS & EVENTS

My least favorite character was Nori, or to give her full name, Elanor Brandyfoot. My first point of dislike, which not many have discussed, was that the name Nori is a name of a dwarf from the company of Thorin Oakenshield. To use this name for a hobbit seems odd. Hobbits, I will say again and again, do not appear in Tolkien’s second age, so they should not be in the Rings of Power second age. 

My second least favorite character was Galadriel. The actor was good, but Galadriel’s story went downhill. Her character was completely ruined because she was always fight-y, fight-y, fight-y. Yes, in the Silmarillion she wanted to leave Valinor to establish great realms for the elves, but she doesn’t fight at all in the book. Jumping off of a boat near Valinor and swimming to Middle Earth was like swimming across an ocean–not possible, even for a great elf. It was also inconsistent, because when Galadriel was trapped in Numenor, she could have tried to swim to Middle Earth if she was such a great swimmer.

My least favorite event in the first season was the big battle in the Southlands. It was quite bloody and every time somebody got hit, apparently it was a major artery and blood started shooting out everywhere. When Bronwyn was shot, she needed to die, but she kept staying alive somehow. The reason she needed to die is because there are only THREE love stories between men and elves: Beren and Luthien, Tuor and Idril, and Aragorn and Arwen. Having Bronwyn and Arondir as a love story completely destroys the pattern. The one good feature about this battle was how cool Mount Doom looked before it popped its top. But when the volcano erupted and ash was coming towards the town, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere, which was confusing.

HOPES AND FEARS

My hope, along with many others, is that the stranger (“Meteor Man”) ends up being revealed as…not Radagast…not Gandalf…not Saruman…but one of the BLUE WIZARDS! If he is a blue wizard, my hope is that the second one will also show up. Another hope is that they bring Isildur’s brother Anarion into the series. He is one of my favorite characters in the book–but I have a lot of those. Another, probably futile hope, is that the Harfoots will get destroyed by Sauron and that Arondir and Bronwyn will not survive. 

My hope for Isildur is that he will somehow in someway make an oath with the Southlanders, but when it is time for the Southlanders to fulfill their oath they will not answer—making them prime candidates for the ghostly wraiths in the Paths of Dead. This would depth to Aragorn’s story as the heir of Isildur summons the dead to fulfill their oath.

One of the flaws I’ve noticed (something I may have mentioned in an episode review) is that Elrond is supposed to marry Galadriel’s DAUGHTER. How is that going to work out? I’m afraid they’ll have to change the story or do a weird, awkward time jump. Another thing to worry about is that I just heard a week ago that the Adar actor quit the show–he was very good. What are they going to do? I don’t like when movies or shows change actors after you get used to one person playing a character.

COMPARISON WITH ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL

First off, Galadriel I give a two out of ten for faithfulness to the original source material. As I already mentioned, she is too fight-y, and her arrogance makes her a different person than the one in the book. Elrond I give a nine out of ten. The Durin plot was an add-on to the original story, but it felt like it fit with the original story (since in the books the dwarves of Khazad Dum rush out to save Elrond when he is fighting Sauron and about to be destroyed…which hints there could a friendship between Elrond and Durin). 

Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, Nori, and the Stranger all get a zero out of ten. Even if the Stranger turns out to be a Blue Wizard, he doesn’t come to Middle Earth from a flying meteor in the book. Gilgalad I was really disappointed in. He barely came into the story, and his character doesn’t seem like the Gilgalad we know in the books. His attitude wasn’t open with Elrond, instead of being like a father to him as he was in the books. Gilgalad will have to become a much stronger character if he is to join Elendil in fighting Sauron in the last alliance.

Elendil gets a…I don’t know what I would give him. Elendil’s character was a good one, but he didn’t get much dialogue or attention in the show. There was barely anything to work off of to decide if he will be true to the original, especially this early in the Numenorean timeline. We should find out how good Elendil really is in the show when Ar-Pharazon takes over and launches an attack on Valinor. 

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The first season of The Rings of Power introduced you to lots of characters. It did not track with much lore besides the forging of the rings…and that was kind of “off” since they didn’t forge all the rings they were supposed to before Sauron left. The music was excellent. The story, not so good. Some of the story threads were interesting, and some were boring or ridiculous. Despite this, I will definitely watch the next season because it wasn’t a total failure and it’s not like there are better Tolkien shows out there…

There is also hope. If you despised this show, there is an animated show coming out in 2024 about the Rohirrim and Helm Hammerhand whom Helm’s Deep is named after. It is narrated by Miranda Otto, the actor who played Eowyn in the trilogy. 

Rings of Power Episode 3, titled “Adar,” was a lot more gruesome and had a lot more tragic scenes, including the fight with the warg and the tavern brawl.

Scattered and alone after the first dark lord has fallen, the orcs are trying to rebuild without being eradicated by elves and men. The practical orcs were really fun to watch, especially because of the way they had to hide from the sun while making the slaves work. They look much better than the orcs in The Hobbit movies which uses CGI to make orcs. The orcs in Rings of Power are much scarier because the actors seem to do better without a green screen and the full costumes are more realistic.

Hallbrand, the man on the raft in episode 2, was thrown in jail in episode 3 for stealing a smith’s crest. His fight with the smith and other Numenoreans was one of the more gruesome scenes. I hope that soon, somehow, Isildur frees or aids Hallbrand, and in the process an oath is made. Next, Hallbrand should travel to Middle Earth and attempt to unite the southlands under one banner. but he will be defeated and retreat to the white mountains (the future Paths of the Dead) with the rest of his people. When Isildur eventually founds Gondor, he should call Hallbrand to his aid, invoking his faith to defeat Sauron. But Hallbrand has already lost many people and is afraid of a massive defeat. He will deny the summons, thus becoming the king of ghosts in the Paths of the Dead that Aragorn will later summon in The Lord of the Rings. This is all speculation on my part, but I want Hallbrand to be this character.

Numenor was extraordinary to look at. The music was not as good as the dwarven theme, but still outstanding. In Numenor, in the Silmarillion, the scepter falls to Miriel after her father’s death (in the show, he does not seem to be dead). Pharazon forces Miriel to become his wife even though they are cousins so he can take over the kingship of Numenor. In the show, he still appears to be chancellor. Hopefully, queen regent Miriel is undercover as one of the faithful. The “faithful” were the remnant of the Numenoreans who stayed faithful to the elves and the Valar (the gods of Middle Earth). The Numenorean character I appreciated the most was Isildur’s father, Elendil. Future high king of Gondor and Arnor, Elendil was played wonderfully by Lloyd Owens. He is right up there with Elrond, half-elven, in my opinion..

Since we’re on the topic of Elrond, there were no scenes featuring him in this episode, or any of the elves of Linden or the dwarves, for that matter. Since this is one of the story lines I most care for, I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t expanded upon. I want to see more of the friendship between Elrond and Durin.

The Harfoots in this episode were worse than they had been in the other episodes. They did not expand on the Stranger story line (the most interesting thing about the Harfoots), and their time on the screen took away from the epic story of Numenor.

In closing, an interesting line from this episode is when the orcs mention that Adar, their leader, is searching for a weapon. I think this is Theo’s blade. Adar is most likely Sauron in disguise. In The Silmarillion, the name Sauron deceives elves and men with is “Annatar,” lord of gifts. Adar…Annatar…see the connection?

I rate this episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars (or 5 out of 7 palantiri, if you prefer). What did you think of this episode, and what are you most looking forward to in the next episodes? Leave a comment.

Rings of Power Episode 2 was interesting, easy to watch, and enjoyable. The music continued to be outstanding, especially the Dwarven theme. There were a few hidden treasures of Tolkien lore. It had many more intense and creepy scenes than Episode 1. I rate it a 4.5 out of 5. Beware that if you read on, there may be some spoilers for Episode 2.

One of the hidden treasures of Tolkien lore was the fish dragon. A fish dragon is a special breed of dragon living in the sea that Tolkien wrote about in a volume of The History of Middle Earth: The Lost Road and Other Writings. In the show, it was impressive and very serpent-like. I encourage you to call this catastrophic sea creature a “fish dragon” and not a “sea serpent” as that is its proper name.

In the first episode, Sauron looked amazing when we glimpsed him in one scene–he looked similar to the Sauron from the Peter Jackson films but different enough to hint at his cunning and deceitful personality in the second age. But this is not the form he will have for the whole show. In the Silmarillion, Sauron disguises himself as Annatar, “lord of gifts,” to deceive elves and men. He appears to Celebrimbor, forger of the rings of power, and deceives the elf into teaching him the techniques that will lead to the One Ring. With Annatar being a disguised Sauron, we have no idea who Sauron will end up being in this show. It could be Meteor Man (the stranger from the sky), it could be Halbrand (the man on the raft with Galadriel), or it could even be one of the Harfoots. Uh, probably not.

My favorite scenes from Episode 2 were the Dwarven sets with the breathtaking imagery of Khazad-Dum in its former glory. For those who don’t know (my mom), Khazad-Dum would be abandoned to a balrog and later earn the name of Moria, which means “black chasm” in Tolkien’s invented language. In the show we see the splendid halls, windows, and greenery inside the mountain.

The creepiest scenes surround Bronwyn, the healer from Episode 1. When she returns home, her son Theo is hiding in a cupboard from an orc who came from catacombs under their house. She decides to have some mother-son bonding time and stays behind with Theo to defeat the orc. The orc was famished because after Morgoth’s defeat, the orcs had been scattered around Middle Earth until Morgoth’s lieutenant Sauron took his place. I liked the way the orc was very afraid of the sun and had a bone and leather helmet and armor to cover its skin from the sun. This is very important because later in the Third Age, Saruman would breed the Uruk-hai to be not affected by the sun and able to raid more freely.

I still didn’t enjoy the Harfoots much, but they haven’t intruded yet into the main story, so we will have to wait to see how it unfolds.

In the upcoming episodes, I am most looking forward to seeing Numenor in its splendor and glory. At the end of Episode 2, a Numenorean ship, most likely carrying Elendil, rescues Halbrand and Galadriel who are stranded at sea. Elendil is the man who would later flee from Numenor when it sinks into the sea (Tolkien’s Atlantis legend), and his descendants would be the kings and queens of Gondor and Arnor. Eventually, the line would lead to Aragorn who would reunite those separated kingdoms.

What are you most looking forward to in the next episodes? Leave a comment.

The Rings of Power TV show details the history of the second age of Tolkien’s mythology. Episode 1 did a satisfactory job with the plot. Sadly, I cannot describe the show’s plot if I am planning to keep no spoilers in this review.

The music was outstanding. Howard Shore, the composer for most of the music in the Peter Jackson trilogy, composed many songs for the Amazon show which made everything feel more and more like Middle Earth.

The visuals were absolutely stunning, particularly with the lighting and the landscape scenes. We got to see most of the important locations such as Linden, the southlands, and the vales of Anduin. It felt right for the world of Middle Earth. It probably helped that they filmed it in New Zealand.

The costumes were amazing. Gil-galad’s laurel wreath matched with the Linden landscape. Elrond’s blue was perfect for his character. Arondir’s Ent chest-plate was perfect for his elven character.

So far, Elrond is my favorite character. His attitude, his friendship with Galadriel, and his need to find out where he belongs in Elven society make him a perfect representation of what a young Elrond should be. The actor is a good fit for Elrond, half-Elven.

It is possible that Galadriel could be considered the main character, but we’re only on the first episode. Galadriel needs to have a much bigger character arc to become the character that we know her as in the third age. Right now she is: “Battle, battle, battle–kill Sauron!” Like Gil-galad says, sometimes the wind that tries to blow out the fire can make the fire bigger. Galadriel is risking the lives of elves in her lust for revenge. In the Silmarillion, Galadriel spends much time with Melian, queen of Doriath, having some calm time. But in the show, it looks like she stayed with her brother through the battles of the first age, making her a rage monster.

My least favorite part of the show are the dirty, grimy, un-lore-true Harfoots. They remind me of “Radagast” from the Hobbit movies with their unkemptness and hair situation. None of the Harfoot characters are truly Middle Earthian.

All in all, I would rate Rings of Power, Episode 1 nine of ten “hobbit holes,” four out of five “wizards,” a half of the one ring, or for you normal folks, 4.5 stars out of 5.