Galadriel in full hunt for Sauron, the foundation of the rings and the alliance between dwarves and elves so commented on in books and movies, humans discovering part of their strength and weakness, a forbidden love between two races and an unknown and powerful being that arrives to hobbit land. All this promised the advances of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerthe long-awaited production of Prime Video which has an original script, but is inspired by Tolkien’s writings, is his extensive and descriptive accounts of what Middle-earth was like before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring Y The Hobbit. To put fans at ease, in the first two episodes the respect for the original work and the atmosphere of Peter Jackson’s films are present and evident in the entirety of the first two episodes.
The fiction was announced years ago, with the confirmation that it would not be one more series: the initial plan is for five seasons and the budget that the production slipped is above one billion dollars. The first season alone, which includes the construction of imposing sets, costumes as diverse as elegant and design of weapons and castles, is close to 500 million dollars. And the good news is that it translates on the screen. It is, perhaps, the most titanic series that you will see so far since, as is common in Tolkien’s stories, the details such as the grandiose environments are as much a part of the stories as the characters.
The Lords of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the original title of the series, itself is a prequel to the movies. To define it more strictly, it is the prequel to The Hobbit, since it happens 2000 thousand years before the events narrated in said trilogy. This period of time in Middle-earth is known as the Second Age, made up of 3,400 years between the fall of Morgoth (end of the First Age) and Sauron’s defeat at the hands of the Last Alliance. In the middle of this era, the stories of the series that at the time was presented as “the rise of Sauron in Middle-earth and that of the island of Númenor” appear.
As fans of The Lord of the ringsthe films were adaptations of the three books written by JRR Tolkien, but the TV series does not have such a complete origin, concrete source material. Amazon Studios could not get the film rights to The Silmarillionthe collection of Tolkien’s stories before The Lord of the ringsbut the series’ writers, Patrick McKay and JD Payne, along with J. A. Bayonne (The impossible, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), director of the first two episodes, made it clear that “it is not his work” since it is created based on various materials of the author between the appendices of the three books of The Lord of the rings, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth and a good list of loose notes on his works that Tolkien left. There are plenty of blank spaces where the creators of the series could write their idea but always respecting the original author’s invention.
About the result of the first two episodes that are released in very few cinemas in the world on August 31 and that will reach Prime Video on Friday, September 2 (possibly Thursday, September 1 at night), there are countless things to say about his story, the enormous number of characters to be presented, the slow but precise and expansive pace, but two observations stand out for above any other. The first is that there is no television program or show similar to this visual and production level. The investment is reflected on the screen and the choice to present the series in theaters is more than successful. It is enjoyed and it feels like going back to Middle-earth from minute 0. And the second observation is that the first half hour really feels like one more episode of the great adaptation of Peter Jackson to the big screen because it goes straight into a story known to all, although perhaps with an innovative approach.
Many hours can be discussed and an enormous number of texts can be written on some of the themes of this adaptation: the warrior side of Galadriel (excellent work of Morfydd Clark), the inclusion and arrival of that mysterious and magical character (Joseph Mawle) that they created for the series; about the details of the creation of the rings, but the neat and majestic work of each of the scenarios created for the first two episodes is indisputable. From the dark jaws of Sauron in the Land of Men, to the beautiful dwellings of the dwarves in their moment of greatest splendor led by two of the most charismatic characters in fiction such as Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Princess Disa ( Sophia Nomvete). Everything is beautifully constructed and based, of course, on Tolkien’s extremely detailed description.
Having seen only two of the episodes of the first season, the conclusions are several. Among them, that the series seeks to build from minor to major, but with moments of high intensity so as not to alienate the viewer. This could become the first criticism of the general public, since it is a contemplative fiction, which has many characters (and even feels like the beginning of Game of Thrones, where there was much to explain and the feeling was that nothing was happening between so many stories) and relationships to establish. Assemble the complete map and then make them interact. Nevertheless, Galadriel She is one of the most benefited from adventure and action scenes and one of the most powerful protagonists in fiction. The series leaves it established from the start. Also the character of Ishmael Cruz-CordovaArondir, a warrior who guards the human world and who is close to bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) and his son. This one has another one of the most important and action-packed subplots that will become one of the connections between the two races.
And the other fundamental story for the development and meaning of fiction is that of Elrond (now played by Robert Aramayo), who has a key mission for the future, but delving into that plot would reveal part of the surprises that the couple of chapters of the debut deliver. What can be revealed thanks to the trailers is that he will have a strong bond with the dwarves, led by the aforementioned Prince Durin IV Y Princess Disa who are the soul and fun of the series, finally showing their race as it was portrayed in the movie trilogies, with all the sparkle, joy, humor and revelry.
the rings of power it is a fiction that carefully builds from the individual stories to finish, surely, at the end of the first season, presenting and uniting the complete map of characters for what is to come. It feels like a series of The Fellowship of the Ring even more extensive and nourished. With this analysis, it is impossible not to highlight the participants in this story of the Second Age of Middle-earth among the high points of fiction, which will help give it an extensive tour until their stories come together.
Among the “buts” that will surely raise The Rings Of Power The beginning of Galadriel’s story is going to stand out for addressing her most warrior side (and so well done, by the way). Also the characters designed exclusively for the production of Amazon Studios, but above all, they have their own imprint. It cannot have the same development as a three-hour movie, there is a heavier story in a good way. It is a series that has a lot to show and present and there are no basic books to support it for the much sought after but unnecessary comparison and that could be its greatest virtue, but also its disadvantage.
The scriptwriters did a titanic job, something that the director of The orphanage. Bayona puts into practice a large part of his experience as a director at the service of the initial couple of chapters: he builds terror in a very well orchestrated way between the sound, the voiceover story and detailed shots of Sauron’s symbology. He also puts all the experience of him with more imposing scenes. According to his words, he applied what he learned in The impossible to direct a really intense scene from the second episode (better not fast forward). But always, the risk that she takes, she does it with the necessary respect for the original work, which highlighted that she is possibly the mother of all the franchises that dominate the audiovisual market today, such as Harry Potter, game of Thrones and others.
Possibly chapters are missing (75% of season 1) to draw deeper conclusions, but with what has been seen it is enough to understand the risk and the bet of Amazon Studios in the rings of power. Each of the actors had to do six months of casting, half a million dollars was invested in the first season alone, and entire sets were built. The myth that was built around the series also ensures that the directors wrote the scripts locked in a room with maximum security. But beyond everything that surrounds the series, visually the result lives up to the aspirations of the company and the return to Middle-earth that has little to envy Peter Jackson feels pleasant. In fact, Bayona assured that the two trilogies were the instruction manual to rebuild this universe. However, it is still missing to affirm that this is a worthy episode of JRR Tolkien, but what you see seems like an unbeatable entry to learn more about the Second Age, the one of the rings of power.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power It will have a theatrical release on August 31 and on September 2 it debuts in Prime Video. Then two chapters per week every Friday.
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