When they announced that Amazon would be working on a Lord Of The Rings TV show, some people had their doubts. Jeff Bezos & friends invested $1 billion in this new series called The Rings Of Power which makes it the most expensive TV series ever made. The initial reception from the trailers and marketing have been mixed, but we live in a world where you obviously can't please everyone. If you had your doubts, I can reassure you, Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power is a long awaited welcome to the Middle Earth with an epic scale and a thrilling sense of adventure.
If you don't want anything spoiled, I might go into some mild spoilers but to be honest at this point in time they are really building up the stage for the big picture more than anything else, I won't be talking major reveals. The first episode started with a bang, an absolutely riveting first act sequence where they explore the current state of Middle Earth with flashbacks that feels like Renaissance paintings. I was so happy to be back in this world it brought me tears of joy... Maybe it's nostalgia, but they are making a statement with an absolutely breathtaking visual feast, characters I cared about and a grandiose score by Bear McCreary. This is truly meant for the big screen and it tells you right away: the scale is epic.
We are introduced to one of our main characters, Galadriel, an elf. I think Galadriel is a fantastic character so far that fits superbly in the Lord Of The Rings lore, 10 minutes in I was 100% sold on her quest to hunt down Sauron & the orcs and I'll be honest, I'm usually not much of an elf guy. After that epic intro it calms down a bit, taking its time to set the stage. The world-building is impressive and from what we see in Episode 1, the actors & the crew are bringing their A-game. The fact that they are introducing so many characters makes the first episode a bit slow in the second half, but it ends strongly and I was already clicking "play" on the 2nd episode since they release both episodes this Friday.
Episode 1 Score: 8.5/10
Episode 2
The second episode is highly rewarding after everything that was set up and introduced, I already felt invested in the multiple characters dispersed on Middle Earth. You can feel this is all coming together realy quick. Episode 2 builds up the spectacle and gives us a couple of thrilling moments, I like that they are taking their time laying the ground for this new adventure and introducing different storylines. It honestly feels like the magic of Lord Of The Rings is back again after watching this 2-part premiere. One of my highlights of this episode is the side quest of Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, a SIlvan Elf.
We are finally introduced to the iconic dwarves of Lord Of The Rings and once again, the moment the score from Bear McCreary kicks in, I felt at home. We spend some magical time in Khazad-dûm (which is also known as the infamous Moria in The Fellowship Of The Ring), and get to know more about the relationship between Elrond (half-Elven) and Durin (king of the Dwarven city). This is some golden screentime in my opinion and enriches the different dynamics.
Galadriel is not at the center of this episode but she still gets to do a lot in a sequence that I won't spoil but I absolutely adored. What is going on with the Harfoot is probably my least favorite aspect of the series so far but I'm going to give some time for this side story to mature and hopefully it changes my mind by the end. All things considered this is a great start for The Rings Of Power and another win for high-fantasy epics. Count me in.
Episode 2 Score: 9/10
Comments