LotR: The Rings of Power 1.01. and 1.02.
Sep. 3rd, 2022 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakMy Tolkien creds are very flimsy indeed - I read LotR as a teenager, tried the Silmarillion, could not get through it, reread the books as an adult, and that's it. The last rereading of LotR (plus appendices) was, I think, when Fellowship of the Ring, the movie, got released. Meaning: I really have only very vague memories, and thus am unable to make textual comparisons when watching the first two episodes of the "The Rings of Power" series which just got released on Amazon Prime. Though I did osmose some additional facts via fandom, such as, two decades ago, Peter Jackson being unable to reference anything NOT in the appendices but in the Silmarillion by name because Tolkien never sold the movie rights for the Sil and Christopher Tolkien's lawyers would have come after him. Either the Tolkien estate loosened up because Christopher Tolkien is dead or the Amazon Prime guys are more confident, because the word "Silmaril" was spoken and the item(s) discussed by Elrond and another character in one scene, talking about the past.
Now, on to the two episodes forming the show's debut.
First impressions, externals: the New Zealand landscape is as gorgeous as ever, and I do wish I had a larger viewscreen to watch this on, but I am currently limited to my Ipad. Yes, the short haircut for (most) male elfs is distracting, but look, I was able to adjust to a great many different hairstyles throughout history and their more or less truthful rendering of them in various tv shows and movies. Immortal or not, I can see elves changing their hair styles now and then. Maybe the second age guys liked it short.
(Otoh, male Dwarf fashion (both in hair and clothing) seems to have been remarkably consistent. (Well, in terms of the Erebor flashbacks from the Hobbit movies. And we got our first female dwarf with lines and (sparkling) personality. Without a beard, but otherwise perfect. I approve of Dissa, wife of Durin IV. And her braids and voluminous figure.)
One more external: the ancestral hobbits, aka harfoots, as nomads who haven't yet found the Shire to settle in are dressed in far more primitive garb than everyone else, but it looks entirely practical and what nomads would wear.
On to characterisation: Galadriel as intense, driven, and with an inner darkness to struggle with, I can buy at this stage of her looooooooong life, and the actress does look a bit like a younger Cate Blanchett. Younger Elrond in the first episode is mostly a sounding board to her, but in episode 2 he comes into his own, and the scenes with Durin (and then with Durin and Dissa) are absolutely delightful. If Elrond & Durin (or hey, Elrond/Durin/Dissa) stories don't start popping up soon, I'll eat my hat.
Whoever had the idea of making the protohobbits aka harfoots whom we're following female: THANK YOU. Nori and Poppy are great, and come across as their own characters, not an attempted copy of the LotR Foursome or Bilbo, and this said, Nori's curiosity leading her to who I assume is a just-given-human-shaped-form and thus not quite together yet Gandalf reminds me so much of being twelve and watching the Elliot and E.T. scenes in E.T. for the first time. It conveys that sense of (initial) fear and wonder and curiosity, reaching across the barriers, creating a connection through kindness. Also, as interpretations go, I like the idea of Gandalf imprinting on hobbits because they were kind to him in his early Maia-on-Middleearth days.(If it is Gandalf, but really, I don't see who else it can be.)
Of the OC Elves and humans, remember the southern warrior whose body inspired Sam's musing which in the movies is given to Faramir as to where he came from, whether he had family etc.? That's as close as what I recall from the books get to giving layers to the humans fighting for Sauron. So when Arondir (most handsome male elf so far) and fellow elf soldier who were stuck with duty on a remote outpost discussed the humans living there and the other guy said they had served Morgoth, I must admit I sat straighter. And yes, it seems we're getting a spotlight on a bunch of humans who didn't fight on the side of the elves in the previous war, and this immediately heightened my interest. Moverover, it, and something Galadriel finds in the opening sequence, made me wonder whether the series intends to get into the origin of orcs as well. Anyway, the main human characters so far seem to be Bronwyn (healer in the village of previous Morgoth supporters whom Arondir clearly has feelings for) and her teenage son Theo (or maybe I'm misspelling, but that's how I hear the name), not keen on elves, but with a part of Sauron's sword hidden in his luggage which he's fascinated by. Note that between Galadriel (elves), Nori and Poppy (harfoots, the protohobbits) and Bronwyn, that means the only Middle Earth people where the most narrative focus is on is a male character are the dwarves, and here Durin and Dissa seem to come in a package.
So, all in all: I like it. It's Tolkien fanfiction with heart in it, based on the first two eps. May it continue to remain so.
Now, on to the two episodes forming the show's debut.
First impressions, externals: the New Zealand landscape is as gorgeous as ever, and I do wish I had a larger viewscreen to watch this on, but I am currently limited to my Ipad. Yes, the short haircut for (most) male elfs is distracting, but look, I was able to adjust to a great many different hairstyles throughout history and their more or less truthful rendering of them in various tv shows and movies. Immortal or not, I can see elves changing their hair styles now and then. Maybe the second age guys liked it short.
(Otoh, male Dwarf fashion (both in hair and clothing) seems to have been remarkably consistent. (Well, in terms of the Erebor flashbacks from the Hobbit movies. And we got our first female dwarf with lines and (sparkling) personality. Without a beard, but otherwise perfect. I approve of Dissa, wife of Durin IV. And her braids and voluminous figure.)
One more external: the ancestral hobbits, aka harfoots, as nomads who haven't yet found the Shire to settle in are dressed in far more primitive garb than everyone else, but it looks entirely practical and what nomads would wear.
On to characterisation: Galadriel as intense, driven, and with an inner darkness to struggle with, I can buy at this stage of her looooooooong life, and the actress does look a bit like a younger Cate Blanchett. Younger Elrond in the first episode is mostly a sounding board to her, but in episode 2 he comes into his own, and the scenes with Durin (and then with Durin and Dissa) are absolutely delightful. If Elrond & Durin (or hey, Elrond/Durin/Dissa) stories don't start popping up soon, I'll eat my hat.
Whoever had the idea of making the protohobbits aka harfoots whom we're following female: THANK YOU. Nori and Poppy are great, and come across as their own characters, not an attempted copy of the LotR Foursome or Bilbo, and this said, Nori's curiosity leading her to who I assume is a just-given-human-shaped-form and thus not quite together yet Gandalf reminds me so much of being twelve and watching the Elliot and E.T. scenes in E.T. for the first time. It conveys that sense of (initial) fear and wonder and curiosity, reaching across the barriers, creating a connection through kindness. Also, as interpretations go, I like the idea of Gandalf imprinting on hobbits because they were kind to him in his early Maia-on-Middleearth days.(If it is Gandalf, but really, I don't see who else it can be.)
Of the OC Elves and humans, remember the southern warrior whose body inspired Sam's musing which in the movies is given to Faramir as to where he came from, whether he had family etc.? That's as close as what I recall from the books get to giving layers to the humans fighting for Sauron. So when Arondir (most handsome male elf so far) and fellow elf soldier who were stuck with duty on a remote outpost discussed the humans living there and the other guy said they had served Morgoth, I must admit I sat straighter. And yes, it seems we're getting a spotlight on a bunch of humans who didn't fight on the side of the elves in the previous war, and this immediately heightened my interest. Moverover, it, and something Galadriel finds in the opening sequence, made me wonder whether the series intends to get into the origin of orcs as well. Anyway, the main human characters so far seem to be Bronwyn (healer in the village of previous Morgoth supporters whom Arondir clearly has feelings for) and her teenage son Theo (or maybe I'm misspelling, but that's how I hear the name), not keen on elves, but with a part of Sauron's sword hidden in his luggage which he's fascinated by. Note that between Galadriel (elves), Nori and Poppy (harfoots, the protohobbits) and Bronwyn, that means the only Middle Earth people where the most narrative focus is on is a male character are the dwarves, and here Durin and Dissa seem to come in a package.
So, all in all: I like it. It's Tolkien fanfiction with heart in it, based on the first two eps. May it continue to remain so.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-03 03:03 pm (UTC)That was my thought too! Though I guess he could be another of the Istari?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-03 03:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-03 11:07 pm (UTC)Good to know it meets with your approval so far. I might check it out at some point when I feel like watching something.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-04 04:57 pm (UTC)