The Rings of Power: Same game, beautiful but thoughtful new moves

Web series format facilitates deep dive into Tolkien universe, but the danger of having too much fun with new characters lurks beyond the frame

The Rings of Power (ROP) is not part of the The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) film trilogy. And that’s not bad, not bad at all! The last time Peter Jackson tried to capture lightning in the bottle, he stretched The Hobbit into the no-sense zone. Thankfully, Jackson isn’t running the show, J D Payne and Patrick MacKay are. And they present a new tapestry of Middle Earth.

From the very first scene, the audience encounters a very different texture, a finer weave of plots that also leaves enough space for the overall fabric of tales to breathe. We meet familiar characters in a completely new light, some quite far away from where they will end up in LOTR, setting up intriguing character arcs. Yet, there’s familiarity. There is a sense of impending doom, a lurking darkness — a narrative trope common to both the LOTR and The Hobbit movies.

The different races/domains of Middle Earth remain conventionally inward-looking and self-obsessed. The dwarves are very familiar, and at times too similar to the Gimlis and Gloins of Jackson. The elves, however, are much less stoic, much less mysterious even. They seem closer to an exalted royalty, rather than the aloof demi-gods self-assured in their hoary wisdom we meet in the films. It fits because they are a much younger civilisation in ROP. When the two meet, sparks fly — this is as usual.

We are also introduced to the Harfoots, a new breed of hobbits. Unlike the Shire-folk who were more akin to a community of landed farmers, the Harfoots are nomads — much more restless, and yet quite industrious.

Humans, so far, appear in a few smaller settlements from the Southlands. And they are boring. To be sure, there’s much that the show can build up on in the Southlands — the colonisation by elves, the allegiance to the dark side, the sense that the entire community is doubted and reviled for the crimes of a few — but it must do so quickly.

Southlands are also where we meet this age’s orcs — feral, slinking in the shadows, and menacing. In their brief appearance, they appear to be most consistent with their film version. Overall, it does feel like a very different age, but in the same world.

The actors are still only halfway slipping into their characters, even the best of them. It would be fun to watch how well they can wear the role they put on as the season progresses. So far, Owain Arthur for Prince Durin IV and Markella Kavenagh for Nori Brandyfoot light up their characters with sparks of expressive brilliance. Robert Aramyo is convincing as the regal, yet empathetic, yet wily young Elrond. Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel shines in fits and starts. But this is also a very different Galadriel than the one Cate Blanchett portrays in films. It is Clark’s job to convince us that the writer’s logic for such starkly different precedence, actually works; one only hopes she feels more comfortable in the driver’s seat as the season progresses.

Finally, the most tired and boring piece of the jigsaw appears in the Southlands-based Arondir-Bronwyn angle. The acting, the plot, the twists — most of it is predictable and taken straight out of a million other high-fantasy narratives. I found myself skipping those by full minutes and not just seconds.

But, there can be no qualms about the visuals. The landscapes and cityscapes are grander, evidently capturing Middle Earth in its younger days. Khazad-dûm, awe-inspiring even as the cavernous ruin in the Fellowship of the Ring, stands out as the most magnificent of the new cities and realms the show introduces. There’s also the beautiful fireworks and memorial scene in Lindon, complete with an endless corridor of ethereal tree-carved memorial statues and elven lamps.

The cinematography is on point as well: Reaction shots between Elrond and Galadriel subtly capture the tension of their worldview, while Durin’s rage is allowed to erupt on its own accord as the camera keeps the viewer at bay, silently observing.

ROP has been granted a five-season commitment and a production budget reportedly of $1 billion or more, and it shows. Most importantly, the web series format greatly facilitates the deep dive into the Tolkien universe. Consequently, while the board remains the same and many of the chess pieces are familiar, the moves promise to be completely new. That’s fun. But the danger of having too much fun with new characters lurks just beyond the frame.