Rings of Power - Episodes 1+2

I have thoughts.

Important note: the following contains heavy spoilers for Episodes 1 & 2 of the new Rings of Power show from Amazon.

If you don’t want spoilers, save this post and come back to it once you’ve watched them. I’d love for you to share your thoughts once you’re ready to join the conversation.

I was crying within 4 minutes of the show running.

“Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot? Because the stone sees only downward. The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible. The ship feels the darkness as well striving, moment by moment, to master her and pull her under. The ship has a secret. For unlike the stone her gaze is not downward but up—fixed upon the light that guides her; whispering of grander things than darkness ever knew.” - Finrod

Watching Galadriel’s brother take her under the tree for some elder wisdom was a beautiful way to set up Galadriel’s arc and drew me into the story immediately. 

The writing, cinematography, and acting combined together to make me deeply care about Finrod’s character in the mere moments of screen time he was given. In that way, his loss was brilliantly written so I felt it deeply.

And then, when the music swelled and I saw the Trees of Valinor in their full glory, my chest ached. 

For those who don’t know the depth of that moment, the trees were the sun and the moon of that age until Morgoth made an alliance with a she-demon in giant spider form named Ungoliant (sound familiar? She’s Shelob’s much more horrible ancestor. Yikes). Together, Morgoth and Ungoliant massacred the city and razed the trees to the ground. 

I also found this easy-to-read article that summarized the significance of The Two Trees in case you’re curious about that.

Galadriel is one of the last elf-children alive to remember the light of those trees. 

So when it showed her smiling at her brother with the light from their beautiful home on her face, totally unaware of the evil to come, it pierced my heart. 

“We had no word for death…” 

Ugh. Take me now.

It’s been a long time since I could visit Middle-earth and that scene alone made me realize how much it means to me.

I’ve missed this place.

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3 things I loved: 

• The beautiful, sweeping elements. The cinematography, the music. It felt grand, immersive and other-worldly. Which is exactly what the standard Tolkien’s work requires. 

• This will step on some toes, but I liked that it “felt different” than Peter Jackson’s adaptation. If you’re looking at a Middle-earth timeline, this story is taking place thousands of years before Frodo and his pal’s are born. The Rings of Power feels different from The Lord of the Rings because it’s supposed to. Rings of Power felt like I was being immersed in a far more ancient history than even Lord of the Rings offered. It felt old in the right way.

  If it helps, watch this TikTok which brilliantly explains the differences between these two ages of Middle-earth. Seriously, watch it. It completely changed my perspective on the LOTR story.

• Khazad-dûm! We finally got to see a dwarven kingdom in full splendor and I was here.for.it. In previous adaptations we got to see Lothlorien, Rivendell, Gondor and even The Shire—all the realms of different races with their kind still living in them. But this is the first time we’ve gotten to see a full blow dwarf city (and dwarf home!) and I loved it. Watching Disa describe how they sing to the rock is unquestionably reminiscent of how we watch our familiar Gimli (“the silver-tongued” dwarf) poetically describe his love of stone in The Lord of the Rings books.

3 things I didn’t like: 

• The slow pace of the first two episodes. I kept having a, “Get on with it.” feeling during certain scenes. But at the same time, I understand why this show isn’t firing on all cylinders for the pilot episodes like a typical show would. They’ve already signed for 5 seasons. They’ve reported it having over 50hrs of runtime once it wraps. They’ve got time to tell the story. I just hope they use that time wisely. 

• It might seem insignificant, but the jump-scare scene with the orc in Browyn’s home. It was brilliantly done EXCEPT they didn’t show us a full close up shot of the orc.

  As a viewer, it left me frustrated because I wanted to see the dagum thing and know how terrifying it was instead of having it jumping around in the shadows which conveniently hid its features.

  With the show having the massive budget it does and that being the first onscreen orc we see—after all the buildup and denial that they’re still around—I was a little disappointed. That being said, when Bronwyn slammed that orc’s head down in the tavern in front of the townsmen who wouldn’t believe her, that was a stand out scene I loved. 

• All the names and characters. Because the cast is so big, it’s hard to keep track of who is who and what they’re doing. Seeing Tolkien’s work spread out in a series instead one straight forward tale kind of hurts my brain a little. Each time the series moved onto a different set of characters, I felt like I was watching an entirely different movie/show, not one that’s working together. I’m hoping they start to make them more cohesive as further episodes release.

Honorable mentions and squibbles:

• Dwarf-beard armor. Yes.

• Why are some of the characters already really bad at decision making and good at being impulsive for no reason?

• Arondir and Browyn. I love y’all already.

• Thank you for showing us more elf cities and culture.

• Please don’t give Galadriel an “enemies to lovers” romantic trope with Halbrand. It’s not the vibe. Trust me.

• I loved the Harfoots. No notes.

I have more I could say, but this is everything that’s fresh on my mind after finishing the first two episodes last night.

In summary, while I didn’t love absolutely everything I saw, I can honestly say I was in no way disappointed and am sad I won’t have new episodes to watch tonight when the kids get to bed.

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In case you weren’t aware, I’m going to be your personal tour guide through Middle-earth starting this Autumn. That’s right, I’m opening up my Lord of the Rings book read-through for the second time on September 22nd!

This read-through is for everyone. Long time Tolkien fans, book only fans, film only fans, completely new fans. All are welcome to grab a copy of the books and join me in journeying through Middle-earth again this Fall.

The content I have planned for this informal book club will be hosted—completely free!—right here on The Redemptive (with a few special bonuses for paid subscribers only).

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Question for you:

What are your thoughts, takeaways or theories about The Rings of Power show so far? (I have two theories about who ‘The Stranger” is. Time will tell if I’m on the right track).

Stop by the comment section to chat. I’ll make sure to personally respond!