‘The Rings of Power’ recently premiered its second season, and while the initial reactions were good, the overall consensus is that the show did little to improve upon the mistakes of the first season while adding some of its own problems to the mix. The viewership for the first three episodes of the second season is abysmal, and that likely doesn’t spell a bright future for the show overall, but you can’t say that ‘The Rings of Power’ did absolutely everything wrong.
We decided to analyze the show when compared to Jackson’s movies, and well, in some aspects, it thrives and in some, it falls ridiculously short. Let’s see.
1. The timeline
The main and original challenge for the series is that Tolkien never wrote a dedicated book about the Second Age, and the production lacks the rights to the book in which he covered it most extensively. As a result, the show is not that accurate when it comes to canon. The show tried to compress thousands of years into a much smaller time frame, and in some aspects, it made sense when it comes to human characters, but in some, it confuses viewers regarding certain storylines and how much impact they actually had on the story overall.
‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies cover a much much smaller timeframe which resulted in maximal accuracy and minimal confusion.
There are a lot of inaccurate and confusing stuff in the show, unfortunately, this piece can be only so long…
2. Galadriel is radically different
This was the first beef that the fans had with the showrunners, Galadriel is made, well, something she is not. In the original trilogy of movies, Galadriel is portrayed as a wise, ethereal, and powerful Elven leader with a serene and almost otherworldly presence. – the keyword being serenity. She is benevolent and compassionate and has that matronly aura around her.
‘The Rings of Power’ made Galadriel into a brash and foolhardy character, someone who shoots and asks questions later. She is not that wise and doesn’t have good self-control in the show. While Galadriel was described as “powerful” in the books, she was never mentioned to be a kickass warrior. She should have never been the lead of the show. There are also some aspects of her character that weren’t referenced at all. Galadriel was married to Celeborn and had a daughter, Celebrían, during that timeline—a fact not even acknowledged in the show. This leads us to…
3. The romantic undertones in the dynamic between Galadriel and Sauron
In ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Galadriel and Sauron are depicted as ancient and powerful enemies, Galadriel is one of the few beings in Middle-earth who has both the knowledge and the power to actively resist Sauron. Galadriel represents one of the last great bastions of resistance against Sauron’s growing shadow. She is aware of the temptations and dangers of power.
In ‘The Rings of Power’ Sauron plays Galadriel like a fiddle, and their relationship is hinted as being somewhat romantic, and the showrunners confirmed that there exists a special connection between Sauron and Galadriel in the second season. This is borderline sacrilege, which leads us to the next big thing.
4. Orcs are just misunderstood
Tolkien never reached a definitive conclusion about the origin of the orcs. He often considered the idea that they were corrupted elves, but he struggled with questions about their origins, their capacity for free will, and their ultimate fate. In ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ orcs are depicted as malevolent, cruel creatures who serve as the foot soldiers of evil forces, primarily under the command of Sauron and Saruman.
They are depicted as lacking moral values or compassion, motivated by hatred, fear, and malice. Despite their seemingly chaotic nature, they are organized and disciplined under the direction of their dark masters.
‘The Rings of Power’ has recently shown us that orcs are just misunderstood with families and don’t really want to fight under the leadership of Sauron and actively hate him. It’s seen as a generally negative thing as the writers are trying to reinvent concepts and add their own ridiculous spins on things that are at the core of Tolkien’s lore. Orcs are bad, just leave it at that.
5. Forced diversity
Tolkien’s world was already plenty diverse, you have numerous races and monsters, mythical beings, and gods, and the original movies reflected that. ‘The Rings of Power’ attempted to create skin color diversity, but only a few “diverse” characters are actually meaningful. There’s nothing wrong with having black elves, or black dwarves, but the way ‘The Rings of Power’ is approaching that is as if they are just trying to put “one of each” in important scenes. It comes off as cheap and disingenuous.
6. Isildur is much better in ‘The Rings of Power’
Isildur was originally never meant to be a cartoonish villain who just refuses to destroy the ring while sporting an evil cocky grin. That was never in the books. As far as I can see, ‘The Rings of Power’ is trying to redeem this by giving much more context and depth to Isildur’s character. We know how his journey ends, but pretty much everything in between is a mystery and the show will redeem that, I hope.
7. Sauron is better
Sauron in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is largely depicted as a distant, malevolent presence rather than a physical character, which makes it a bit problematic to see him as the ultimate and primary enemy in the movies. You are most likely to focus on Saruman and the orcs. ‘The Rings of Power’ showed us several of Sauron’s forms and identities and quite frankly depicted that aspect of his character better than movies ever did.
Sauron is after all a great deceiver, and over the course of the show, he already did a lot of damage by utilizing only a fraction of his power – mostly through guile and deception. Sauron in the show is corruption reborn and that’s how I honestly prefer him.
8. Dwarves are more interesting
Dwarves in the movies are depicted as a proud, hardy, and resilient race known for their exceptional skills in mining, metalwork, and stonecraft. They are portrayed as physically strong, stocky, and sturdy, with a love for craftsmanship, wealth, and treasure—particularly gold and precious gems, but more importantly, they were somewhat of a comic relief. ‘The Hobbit’ did alleviate this problem in part, but it wasn’t until ‘The Rings of Power’ that we got to truly see their once proud civilization and exceptional skills.
9. More locations, more stories
The focus of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was mostly on a few characters in key locations, ‘The Rings of Power’ has the opportunity to explore pretty much the whole world in its planned 5 seasons. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films, which had limited time and had to omit certain plot points and locations now feel bland compared to the diversity of the show, the TV series benefits from the format’s ability to explore and develop stories in greater depth.
10. Elrond is more accurate
Elrond in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is depicted sort of like a hardass, who rarely smiles and rarely admits that he is pleased with people and outcomes in general. He is graceful and dignified, with a calm demeanor that reflects his age and experience. The biggest difference when compared to lore and the films is that Elrond was lying and manipulating Arwen to “keep her away” from Aragorn. In reality, he had nothing against their marriage as long as Aragorn took over his destiny as king. ‘The Rings of Power’ shows him as kinder and more compassionate, which is overall more accurate. His key character trait, however – the fact that he is highly prone to criticism – remained.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
News
Adele Announces Indefinite Break From Music: “I Will Not See You For An Incredibly Long Time”
Adele has revealed she is ready to step out of the spotlight and take a well-deserved break. After an impressive run of live performances, the beloved British songstress is preparing to hit pause on her music career for a while. During…
Johnny Depp’s New Pearly Whites Shine In Video After His “Rotting” Teeth Went Viral
Johnny Depp seemed like he was living his best life while vacationing in the Bahamas, smiling and laughing away with customers and staffers at a beachside bar in Exuma. But it wasn’t just his laid-back island vibes that caught people’s attention: it was…
Queen Camilla Shares Rare Update On King Charles’ Health Amid Abdication Speculations
Amid rampant speculation about King Charles III’s health and possible abdication, Queen Camilla offered a rare comment on her husband’s well-being. The 77-year-old queen shared the update during her visit to the new state-of-the-art Dyson Cancer Center at the Royal United Hospital in…
Katy Perry Reveals Orlando Bloom Split Up With Her Because He Didn’t Want To Play Her “Games”
“I would be dead without it,” Katy Perry said about a monumental shift in her life after she broke up with her current fiancé, Orlando Bloom. The separation, which took place in 2017, happened due to an incompatibility between the lifestyles of both…
Dave Bautista’s Weight-Loss Transformation Has Fans Concerned: “He Most Definitely Looks Sick”
Dave Bautista recently addressed his striking body transformation, which left some fans raising eyebrows over his leaner appearance. The 55-year-old former WWE superstar has come a long way since his days in the wrestling ring, where his massive frame made him a force to…
“Fine Taylor … You Win”: Elon Musk Offers To Impregnate Taylor Swift
Elon Musk, who always seems eager to expand his ever-growing family, proposed the idea of fatherhood to none other than Taylor Swift. The billionaire Tesla CEO offered to impregnate the pop star after she shared her thoughts on the U.S. presidential debate, which…
End of content
No more pages to load