The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power, Season 1 - Review

2022年10月30日

Amazonプライム・ビデオで配信中の連続ドラマ「ロード・オブ・ザ・リングリング・オブ・パワー」シーズン1のネタバレなしレビューです。(English) This spoiler-free review of Season 1 of the drama series "Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power" is currently distributed on Amazon Prime Video.

The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power, Season 1 - Review
Fantasy drama that visualizes the epic scale and beauty of Tolkien's works

Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power" is the highest-budgeted drama in history.

It had to satisfy the avid fans who have read J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Tales of the Silmarils" and are looking for differences from the canonical history.

At the same time, it had to draw in viewers unfamiliar with Middle-earth and only vaguely remembered the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy released 20 years ago.

But the significant investment paid off.

Season 1 was not perfect, but it showed great things amid many good dramas.

The new characters, the long-lived elves, and the wizards from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy have created a well-developed drama.

The film is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, but the events spanning thousands of years in Tolkien's mythology are reasonably compressed.

Still, the development is leisurely, and the ring of the title does not appear until the final episode.

But the episodes leading up to it rarely feel wasted.

The world is well presented with enchanting scenes of the homelands of elves, humans, and dwarves.

The development of the people living there and their response to the looming threat of darkness was well-timed.

The slowness of the flow was felt particularly strongly in episodes 4 and 5 when Numenor was the setting.

However, this was necessary to introduce characters who would play important roles towards the end of the second period leading up to "The Lord of the Rings."

The plot protects them well until they meet their fate in the distant future.

It is difficult to make that danger feel real.

At the same time, it isn't easy to care about the characters around them to generate drama.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power" fails to overcome these challenges. As a result, the fourth episode was the worst of the season.

Still, the film makes good use of two particularly well-established characters, Galadriel and Elrond.

Both become dignified legends when they appear in the film version.

However, this film portrays them as young men who have grown up significantly, using their end of the road as a guidepost.

This is, in effect, an officially sanctioned fan-derivative work depicting the rage that would have turned Galadriel into a woman "as beautiful and terrible as the dawn."

In contrast, it depicts the younger Elrond as an ambitious and charming half-elf dignitary, desperate to show his worth without tarnishing his honor.

The film attempts to avoid some of its problems by hiding the identity of its characters, with mixed results.

Much of the conflict in season one is devoted to finding out Sauron's whereabouts and purpose.

The film is structured so that viewers are left wondering the same thing.

Is Sauron the mysterious stranger who fell from the sky and was rescued by Halfhut?

Or is he the dark lord who leads an orc army and runs rampant in the southern lands?

Is he a handsome descendant of a lost royal family seeking a new start?

Or is it someone else entirely?

With so many fakes and clever misleading interspersed throughout, it is perhaps no surprise that each piece does not fit properly when the puzzle is complete.

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However, given the quality of the phases in which this film reaches its highest point, many of these failures can be accepted.

It is a beautiful, tender moment that looks at the power of friendship and community and the tragic battle in which darkness looms large.

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Good and evil are significant forces in Tolkien's world.

The recurring battle between them is fought not only with fire and sword but also in the hearts of those forced to choose between fear and courage, love and hate.

The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power feels as accurate to Tolkien's world as possible while blazing its trail.

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Summary Comments

The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power is generally victorious in staying true to the themes and tone of J. R. R. Tolkien.

While some inconsistent plotting and unnecessary misreading slow the pacing, it does not hinder the story's progression.

Everything comes together beautifully when the sixth episode reaches its climax.

13)

Amazon has invested an enormous budget in creating some of the most remarkable stages and scenes in the drama's history.

It created a strong successor to the famous "Lord of the Rings" trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.

Still, they did not forget that little scenes of humor and character development brought Middle-earth to life in a big way.