In 2022 The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power The event was declared one of the greatest events of the decade. This is not just a new version of J. R. R. Tolkien’s beloved universe from an unknown point of view. In addition, it had significant production resources from Amazon Prime Video. There’s something remarkable about how hard the production team worked to demonstrate that they could handle a multi-million dollar project without issue. This combination announced a series that would allow us to delve deeper into the classic fantasy universe while devoting time and attention to the serial format. Especially so rich details and with such a vast mythology as the one imagined by the British writer.
But two years after its premiere, the series seems to be in trouble again. With the end of the second season The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power This shows that he still hasn’t found his identity. Moreover, to achieve the level of epic promises that was his main interest when entering multi-screen mode. In the new chapters, the production showed an obvious improvement in the rhythm and way of telling a variety of stories. However, this fails – and resonant – being something more than an ordinary fantasy story.
This is, of course, a problem that has existed in the story since its inception, but which is now more noticeable than ever. With an ending that announces that a great battle in Middle-earth is about to take place, the production is left in the middle of a precarious balance. Because of this, it loses the power of its major twists and, even more unfortunate, its ability to reflect a larger work known for its sensitivity. For better or worse The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power This is a part of the imaginary that cannot be freed from (and should not be done at a certain point), which makes his work more difficult. And what makes him currently hesitant about what he wants or can offer in the future.
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The untold story of the challenges of maintaining oneself
As you may remember, the series is actually closer to a free version than a direct adaptation of Tolkien’s works. The reason is very simple. Production has rights to investigate the events of the call. Ring trilogyapplications for work and Hobbit. So nothing stated in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth or History of Middle-earth, may be named or retold in the series.
What he left showrunners John D. Payne and Patrick McKay in the middle of a hypothetical location. In other words, directly coming up with original plot twists and characters in order to piece together fragments of disparate information. And not only that: a departure from the rigid British canon, which itself has become a mythology. What, taking liberties in the personalities of the characters, as well as the circumstances that surround them.
The result is a production that, although based on locations and characters invented by Tolkien, tries to go its own way. But it dares to separate completely from the original trunk. The script tries to connect both dots and fails. As a result, some of its episodes are a confusing and often disorganized mixture of adapted information and its own events. From the adventures of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) to how Galadriel (Morfydd Clarke) faces the pursuit of evil. The truth is that the production hasn’t yet found a way to bring together the elements it’s working with in a compelling or even logical way. Either way, choose one way to tell your story.
Controversies come and contradictions come
Instead of, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power she is trying too hard to prove that she is a worthy heir to the business from which she came. So he spends a lot of time showing deference, which ultimately adds nothing to the story. This clarified the charming but inconsequential presence of the long-awaited Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear). Another good example comes in the first episode of the second season, in which we had to go a long way to understand Sauron’s motives. What could have worked if they hadn’t said it? already in the previous season or even guessed in the previous performance of the character.
But it is clear that both writers and producers have a need to connect directly with the myths created by Tolkien. This leads to it posing as an independent story. It is, being unable to make a frontal decision, to simply not follow Tolkien’s story – not entirely – and rethink one’s own story. But the production goes back and forth between tributes, references, winks and a particularly sumptuous production seeking to find its own aesthetic.
Intellectual Property Issues
This leads the series to yet another obstacle to its promised success. Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Ring, is fundamental to understanding modern fantasy. Not just to adapt the books it’s based on with noticeable fidelity. At the same time, to build on a foundation of a universe that ranges from aesthetics, character appearances to the territories of legends. All of this ended up becoming an important part of how understands Middle-earth in popular culture.
The above is now owned as a unique work by New Line Cinema. Therefore, Amazon products had to create their own identity, without departing from the already known ones, but without looking too similar. The confusing interplay of possibilities gives the series a distinctive feel, closer to a conventional epic than the rich world many fans love. A good example of the above? The characteristic appearance of elves, which in the series moves away from the image in which Tolkien wrote them to open up to new possibilities.
Too many stories going nowhere
While the second season was much faster and better told than the first, it still has the problem of telling too many things that go nowhere. While the story of Sauron in Eregion was the climax of the script, the rest of the stories the characters seemed insignificant or downright secondary.
From the details of what is happening in the dwarf kingdom of Khazad-Dum, to the journey through the Rune of the Stranger (Daniel Wayman) and the two little peloso now in the village of Los Fuertes. The truth is that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power tries to tell a few situations that don’t contribute to the main story. This, in addition to the accelerated infection by evil, which represents Sauron and the remote possibility of a frontal war against evil.
But as a concept, a character’s ability to be evil is not enough to support the entire plot on its own. Something that is becoming clearer than ever as the series strives to show extraordinary battles without a real story to back them up. The evil embodied by Sauron is important. But these are also the decisions of Middle-earth, full of fascinating characters who resist his influence, or at least directly challenge him. Something that is never fully shown.
Pros and cons of a villain
Which leads to one of the toughest moments of the season. On the one hand, it is obvious that The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power benefited from having a real villain to go up against. Which allows the whole story to make sense, or at least move towards achieving a goal. Sauron ceased to be a dark name, becoming Annatar, a being with weaknesses, ambiguity and a strong determination to dominate Middle-earth.
This change was important enough to make his parasitic and abusive relationship with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) the centerpiece of the season. The series really showed what it could do with classic characters, pitting the vanity of an elven master smith against the intellectual seduction of Sauron. Which was the reason for several the central birth scenes and those that will no doubt be most remembered in the future.
But the strength of this plot thread made it clear that the rest of what the series tells is less new and, without a doubt, interesting. In fact, as of chapter six, virtually nothing is known about the Stranger’s journey to find his staff – and discover its power – or what will ultimately happen in Númenor. The latter, a political conspiracy with many possibilities, eventually turned into a convoluted scenario in which a dynastic king was removed from power by a known usurper. This is without the series provided more context, meaning, or even logic as to why something like this happens.
The ship is drifting
Given the stunning season finale, it’s clear that the series has shown it has more to offer than what it’s done so far. Now the question is where he plans to direct all the energy that went into creating a scenario for the total decay of Middle-earth and the triumph of Sauron. Can he get rid of a minor and clumsy version of a major work?
For now, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power indicates a third season more focused on the all-out war that will occur after the kingdoms are united. Will this allow the production to overcome its failures? This remains to be seen. An unknown that has an alarming effect on product quality.
Source: Hiper Textual