‘Engine of a Lada in a Ferrari’

After the finale of the first season, the baptism of fire of The Rings ofPower past. How did the prequel to The Lord of the Rings passed theinitiation tests? Our final verdict after season 1. “The engine of adilapidated Lada in a Ferrari.”

We have organized our final verdict into two points of pain and two points ofhope.

*This article may contain spoilers

Ever since the last film in the trilogy first hit theaters in 2003, we’ve beeneagerly awaiting a new The Lord of the Rings project. The expectations for_The Rings of Power_ were therefore tense after a waiting period of twodecades. For the time being, however, the Amazon series does not manage tokeep the viewer’s tension taut for long.

We have uncovered three major pain points that could be the cause of this.But, we also offer light in the darkness with two hopeful closings.

Two pain points of The Rings of Power

Now that the curtain has fallen on the first season and all the monkeys havebeen completely shaken up, the time has come to pass judgment on The Rings ofPower. And to our regret, we are not tender.

1. Most expensive series ever

As we reported earlier, the most expensive series ever. This is largely dueto the astronomical price tag that Tolkien’s descendants placed on theintellectual rights of the books.

But why did Amazon pay $250 million for the Tolkien story and then chop it allup, throw it in a pot, and hope the soup takes hold? There’s a reason thoserights are so expensive. Tolkien’s epic has encompassed the imagination ofgenerations young and old for more than half a century and is – notunimportantly – a tried and true cash cow. It’s a nearly perfect story(except for those giant birds that rescue Sam and Frodo). In order to be ableto cast it in a cinematic form, it makes sense that the writers of The Ringsof Power have had to make creative decisions that would have made Tolkienpurists always shudder.

But this is no longer ‘tinkering with the story’. No, this is dishonoring theBible among fantasy books. You don’t buy a Ferrari and put the engine of adilapidated Lada in it, do you?

bronwyn, rings ofpowerBronwyn makes a soup out of it. (Image:Amazon Prime)

There’s a reason those rights are so expensive. Tolkien’s epic has captivatedthe imagination of generations young and old for more than half a century andis – not unimportantly – a tried and tested cash cow. In addition, it is analmost perfect story, where no plot hole can be pierced.

Well, perfectly. Except for those giant birds that Sam and Frodo suddenly cometo rescue. Although Tolkien has (not) an explanation for that.

To tell the story of The Rings of Power To be able to cast it into cinematicform, it makes sense that the series’ writers had to make creative decisionsthat Tolkien purists would have always shuddered at. But this is no longer’tinkering with the story’. No, this is dishonoring the Bible among fantasybooks. You don’t buy a Ferrari and put the engine of a dilapidated Lada in it,do you?

2. Cringe-inducing Disney movie

If you take so many liberties with an almost untouchable original, then theplot must really work like clockwork. Unfortunately, the hands of The Ringsof Power not always on point. The series’ rippling pace flows too often fromone sleep-inducing scene to the next.

Me enjoying all the emotional moments with the Harfoots, Elendil, Berek,> Durin, Elrond, Galadriel, Theo, Bronwyn, and Arondir and ignoring the things> that didn’t work that the some in the fandom are currently having a meltdown> over> #RingsofPower> #TheRingsOfPower> pic.twitter.com/BKih4trMzQ>> — Fabi (@Miss_Fabi_hola) October 7,> 2022

The storyline of Arondir, (but mostly) Theo and Bronwyn feels like a cheap,toe-curling Disney movie and every Harfoot on screen is one too many. Disposeof.

Two Points of Hope

It’s not all doom and gloom in Middle-earth. What can disappointed viewersdraw on?

1. Weight loss = no loss of face

Trim the fat and you’ll be fine. There are plenty of intriguing charactersthat The Rings of Power can build on in the future. Elrond and Durincertainly haven’t seen each other for the last time. And it will also beinteresting to watch how Galadriel’s character develops after she has one ofthe rings on her finger for a while.

2. Eagle Eye

Our greatest hope is that the writers have written the first season with aneagle eye. By that we mean with a complete vision of all five seasons in mind,even before a speck of ink was wasted.

It could be that everything has yet to erupt and that afterwards it turns outthat the plot of The Rings of Power is not attached to each other by snags.Then we might speak a different language next season.

The Criticism You Can Forget

And then there was that ridiculous discussion.

Xenophobia about The Rings of Power

The Rings of Power was hit hard from the masses in the beginning byxenophobic trolls who bombed the series with bad reviews.

arondir, bad reviews, lord of the rings, the rings ofpowerArondir, a character who has beencriticized a lot (Image: Amazon Prime Video)

Different skin color? Come on. The power of a series does not lie on the(skin) surface, but deep below. At the heart and soul of the story. Hopefullywe will get rid of that whining next season.