Note–this is not a review per se. I don’t actually care much for the idea of reviewing TV shows anymore, because it suggests that I should be watching with an eye to criticism. I don’t do that. I watch with an eye to enjoyment, but I don’t leave my brain behind either. These are just a few thoughts I had after watching.
Spoilers for Episodes 1-3.
The Series Premier
Oh boy!
I really procrastinated quite a bit with starting The Rings of Power because I freaking love The Silmarillion. So I know I’m probably not gonna have a loving eye when I watch. And what’s the point of spending your time watching something when you aren’t poised to enjoy it? Welp, I risked it to ambiguous results. I should also say that when I watched this episode, I didn’t realize that they didn’t have the rights to the Silmarillion anyway…which honestly is terrible for them. So much of Tolkien’s theology and mythopoeia is in the Silmarillion…it’s really an incalculable loss for telling a LotR story. So, they are working with a handicap there, but it certainly ain’t gonna help them. I don’t care how good your writers are, you aren’t going to outdo or even compete with Tolkien in meaning-making, and that’s what makes the LotR great. So, sucks to be these guys trying to make Tolkien’s work come to life without the heart and soul of it.
Galadriel’s flashback opening. It makes sense to start this way for a couple of reasons: one to hearken back to Galadriel’s narration in Fellowship, and two, to try to give us a sense for this Galadriel. I hated it. Ha! Partly, I hated it because you have a chance to show us an Elven utopia–or the closest thing to it–and the best you can do is a childhood bully story. Why is Galadriel being bullied? No idea–cuz kids are jerks? Even in Elven utopia? Cool story, bro.
Okay, that might be too harsh. There’s plenty of stories in the Silmarillion that can basically be boiled down to Feanor and his relatives suck. But they don’t suck out of context and for no reason. I would have loved to get some character or culture beats out of this excursion to Valinor, but nope, we didn’t. Is this an attempt to say children are the same everywhere? Because I don’t believe that. Those kids live with the gods in the Undying Lands. Later on, characters mention the powerful joy of Valinor…would have been nice to see that WHILE WE WERE ACTUALLY THERE. Grumble. I also hated the fact that they didn’t mention how badly it went when the Noldor left Valinor, but could be they had to skip the kinslaying of the Teleri and the traversal through the artic Helcaraxe because that lore is only present in the Silmarillion. (Ironic that Galadriel goes back to the far north at the beginning of the “present day”?) It’s presented as heroic. I kinda like the idea of Galadriel lying about that to the audience because basically the Noldor who come to Middle-Earth are mostly bad guys.
Anyhoo, I don’t really think this introduction to Galadriel tells us much about her. The only really relevant part is her conversation with her brother. They could have skipped the rest of it and actually showed us something about Valinor–or how this Valinor is different from the Silmarillion Valinor.
The Elves kinda suck. Right now, Galadriel is a mildly sympathetic character who bears almost no resemblance to the Galadriel who we meet in LotR. She seems proud and arrogant, which would make more sense if she were actually powerful. The Galadriel we meet in LotR is insanely powerful, but also beautifully humble and even meek. She’s not afraid of power or using it, and even covets the Ring, but is too wise to succumb to temptation. This Galadriel has been hardened by grief, and has achieved some success as a military commander. The only reason the Elves beat Morgoth is because the Valar fought with them. What about that backstory makes for someone as arrogant and haughty as this Galadriel is? She has a chip on her shoulder a mile wide, and acts like her own people have failed her. That seems to be about her spirit of vengeance, not her foresight into Sauron’s return. Frankly, she’s regressed into bad military commander who no longer cares about the morale of her very faithful company. She has very little warmth for Elrond. None of this seems like wisdom, and is a puzzling way to characterize a young Galadriel.
Oh, also, shout out to bad writing–the Elves she’s with have to suck at fighting the snow troll so we see Galadriel is a bad ass. However, I would have much rather seen why Galadriel, as a military commander, was actually good at her job. If she had been better at it, her troops would have been prepared and competent at defending themselves. They weren’t because it was somehow more important to show that Galadriel is a good fighter than she is a good commander. Sigh.
More on “the Elves kinda suck” later. Cuz a lot of suckage happens throughout the series. I think Elrond is the only Elf we’ve seen so far that even seems like a nice person. Gil-galad seems like he’s in it for power, Galadriel is crazed with vengeance and obsessed with finding Sauron, and a lot of the other Elves seem like they have contempt for all sentient creatures who aren’t Elves. Elf-supremacists, if you will. Great.
Galadriel is nuts. I was so happy she didn’t totally pop-off at Gil-galad when I guess he tried to honor her against her will. It would have been a politically terrible mistake, but also would have made her either look unsympathetic or so stupid as to be weak. Her heart to heart with Elrond about why she felt she shouldn’t go to the Undying Lands was the best scene in the episode (I think) and genuinely gripping. I left that scene thinking they were both kinda right, or that her perspective at least made sense. What doesn’t make sense is Galadriel not thinking she has some internal work to do and thinking she’s fit to continue after Sauron in her emotional state. She needs a break–maybe one of years–to do some healing. And then get back out there. It’s a shame she can’t see that. Glad she has a friend like Elrond who can (even if some of his speech is politically motivated).
Her decision to jump in the damn ocean rather than going to Valinor is bat-shit crazy. Now, if she had pulled some Luthien-style magic awesomeness (and why not??), and found herself a friendly dolphin or giant swan or eagle…that would actually make sense of her actions. What she did makes no sense and I hated it. Again, bad writing more than anything else. Even if there is supposed to be some hand of fate or destiny here, they should have foreshadowed it. Ya gotta know a little bit about how the rules of a fantasy world work to buy into it. I didn’t buy that at all. I don’t blame her for not going to Valinor. But the way they chose to write that is crazy. No reason why they can’t find another way to get to Numenor.
Stuff I actually liked. Since I’ve been foaming at the mouth with incredulity so far, I should mention some positive things.
- I actually liked the proto-Hobbits. Or actual Hobbits? That was cute and somewhat heartwarming. Nori I liked, although she walks the line between brave and stupid, kinda like Pippin.
- That we see the Southlanders. In LotR, we don’t really see what the humans who followed Morgoth were like and why they did what they did. I was pleasantly surprised to see this. I hope we get to flesh this out.
- Good lord, I hope they give Arondir some emotional range, though. Broody-boy is killing me, I don’t care how pretty he is or that he wants to bang a human. He is incredibly flat and unappealing as a character, and he makes the Elves seem like really creepy imperialists. Which I guess they are. His line about Bronwyn being the only person who has been kind to him is crazy. What is wrong with the damn Elves??
- One more complaint. What kind of kid sees a sword like that and wants to keep it?? Strains credulity.
- Elrond in general. Seems like a nice guy. We could be friends.
Summary: This hurt me some, but there were a lot of redeeming moments. The problem is mostly with the writing and with Galadriel’s character, especially since she’s the main character. I’m not sure I will stick with the show, but it wasn’t all bad.