REVIEW #414 The Rings of Power (Season 2)

SYNOPSIS

The three Elven rings are made but the deception of Sauron creates tension amongst the Elven leaders. The Dark Lord has his sights set on the people of Middle Earth and his manipulation knows no bounds.

REVIEW

INTRODUCTION: 

Season 2 seems to have finally won over general audiences, with pretty widespread praise flooding in for the highly anticipated sequel season and it’s certainly warranted! Every aspect of the show is improved upon, from the character development to the production value and it all seems to be falling in to place nicely in terms of the overarching narrative. I will say that there are still a lot of storylines being explored and the show could probably benefit by reducing then to avoid spreading itself too thin in the future. For me, I really struggle with The Stranger and the Harfoots (hobbits) storyline, it’s slow and simply just less entertaining compared to its more exhilarating counterparts. I did appreciate finally seeing Tom Bombadil but it just wasn't enough to win me over on that particular adventure! As for the rest of it, I was absolutely loving it. The interconnected nature of the Elves, Men and Dwarf  storylines allows cohesion and it just makes everything run a little smoother, compared to the disjointed nature of The Strangers storyline.

CHARACTERS: 

My favourite character in The Rings of Power is without a doubt, Durin the younger! This come at quite a surprise because I have always been mesmerised by the Elves in Tolkiens world and the dwarves, less so. But Durin embodies what it is to be a great person, valuing family, friendship and loyalty and it’s meant that whenever he was on the screen, there was always a smile on my face. Of course I loved seeing Elrond grow into himself as a warrior and a leader, then we had Arondir who transitioned into an absolute beast this season, leading such cool action sequences. To be honest, there’s characters for everyone to enjoy here and I think that’s what makes the show so good, despite being spread thin by having to cover so many characters, they’ve still done a great job at their development, which is nice to see. The surprise contender however, was Adar, who became one of my favourites due to the loyalty to his Orc children, how he dealt with conflict and hostages, it showed his honourable side and it made the downfall even more impactful, having overcome so much to get to where he was.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & EFFECTS: 

The investment from Amazon is so evident in the show and not just for season two but the first as well. The cinematography is simply incredible and it’s bringing audiences some of the best shots of Tolkiens world that we have seen thus far. I’ve seen some of the behind the scenes footage of how they created some of the transitions, particularly around the day to night transition in Eregion and it’s refreshing to see practical sets and practical effects being executed so well in real time. Another aspect I love is the return to prosthetics for the Orcs, the hobbit movies suffered from CGI in that regard but the realism of Rings of Power is enhanced by just how cool the orc designs are. Then, where CGI is used, it still looks really well done! The show also provides gore beyond what Peter Jackson ever could with his movies due to the age restrictions. I’ve appreciate seeing the bloody consequences of warfare and it helps the audience appreciate the high stakes even more.

CONCLUSION: 

I’m really happy with the progression this show is making, even happier that season two has won over even more fans of the show. Don’t let people dictate to you about which Tolkien projects you should and shouldn’t like, for every bit of lore ‘broken’ there’s a passage in Tolkiens notes that shows the lore has been followed. Tolkien isn’t just simply books, the sheer amount of writings the genius had, means that there is so much open to interpretation and I think that any changes the show runners have made, have worked well. But if there’s one thing that annoys me, it’s the people who think they know better than Tolkiens own estate, who have worked with Amazon on Rings of Power. I appreciate how frustrating it can be to see things you value, changed by studios, but it seems the same people crying about the changes in this show, seemingly ignore the many changes made by Peter Jackson in the movies! So let’s apply the same criteria for criticism to all projects, rather than pick and choosing when you care about something.

Overall 8.8 out of 10

Thanks for reading.

Film Review Club