As The Rings of Power premiere is only one month away, I wanted to share my thoughts on the show so far: my hopes, my concerns, my overall state of mind in regards to the series thus far. In the end, we’ll have to see for ourselves on September second, but here’s what I’ve been processing over the last few months. 

As the full trailer and additional Hall H footage have provided a tad bit of insight into the plot of season one, I can see the story developing into something with a life of its own. This will indeed be a new story set within Tolkien’s published story, though it draws from the source material as often as it would like. (How often this is remains to be seen.)

I’m thrilled to see so much First Age material included in what I assume will be a detailed prologue, but as soon as the show steps into the ‘time compressed’ Second Age its story remains relatively unknown to me.

I’m familiar with Akallabêth and the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, but the vague and undefined use of time compression has left me feeling incredibly disoriented and without a frame of reference. It’s in this spot where I feel like I know too much about Tolkien to be the show’s intended audience, but not enough about Tolkien to fully untangle what’s happening here — which is a bummer!

At that point it begins to feel less like the familiar works of Tolkien and more like a story of its own. It’s also been pointed out that some of the prologue might be told differently than in Tolkien’s works because of the licensing, which will be sad to see.

This does cause me to worry, and it essentially comes down to the question of whether or not— or to what extent — I trust the show-runners. Until we’re able to see at least one episode in its completion, it seems as though what’s being asked of us is a blind trust and I feel very much like a Númenórean in that sense.

“For of us is required a blind trust, and a hope without assurance, knowing not what lies before us in a little while.” - Akallabêth

The employment of time compression is an example of one thing I’d appreciate hearing from the show-runners about in interviews, rather than the many ‘fluff’ interview questions we’ve seen asked thus far. 

To be completely honest I don’t care which race of Middle-earth they’d be if they could choose or who their favorite characters are, I want to know what their plans are for this world that I love and I want to know why I should trust them with it. 

There’s only so many times they can tell us it’s going to be great; and I know that ultimately we will have to wait to let the show speak for itself, but some concrete answers would go a long way for me.

While some interviews done by cast members seem to undermine the show-runners’ insistence that the show will not reflect our own current social or political circumstances, these comments tend to hold less weight for me than that of the show-runners. It seems natural that actors would bring their own personal beliefs or experiences into their portrayal of their characters, but it also seems to be the intention of the production team to ensure that the show succeeds in its goal of becoming ‘timeless’.

So I wouldn’t say that I’m worried too terribly much about the show feeling too modern or politically motivated — at least not yet. I do not want to be watching the show and think, ‘ah they want me to connect this to [whatever recent current event]’ because if they want the show to succeed, they will avoid this altogether. I hope the writers, production, and cast members will have been willing to let go of themselves enough to allow us to really like we’ve left our own primary world and entered into Arda, if that makes sense.

As we’re seeing the marketing efforts really ramp up for the show, book tie-in covers are finding their ways to bookstores and apparently there’s some sort of collaboration happening between The Rings of Power and KitKats. 

To be honest, I truly hate the book covers and don’t think they make any sense at all. Elrond doesn’t even appear in The Two Towers and yet they’ve placed his character poster on the cover; the mysterious Oren/Adar seems to be on the cover of The Return of the King which begs the question, which King do they thing is Returning? (And is Adar/Oren even a canonical character? We don’t know.) 

I can accept the themed KitKats a bit more easily as their marketing concept is very clever and similar things were done for Peter Jackson’s movies, but it still feels as if it’s cheapening Tolkien. This seems to be one of the inevitabilities of modern capitalism which I should’ve seen coming but still caught me off guard! However, at the same time, I also kind of love them.

In general, I am still looking forward to watching the show as its story unfolds with cautious optimism. Their large push at marketing the series over the past two weeks has been very overwhelming so I’ve been trying to pull myself back from the news since coming home from Comic-Con, but I did want to share my thoughts on everything for anyone who might be interested in reading them.  

Many aspects of what I’ve seen so far have been very promising, from the detail in the costuming to the knowledge of the lore possessed by many of the show’s cast members. The footage itself has, for the most part, been incredible. There are some cheesy moments in the footage I’ve seen but overall I feel it has been both human and epic, and captured the tone of Middle-earth for me quite well. I’m not a huge fan of the Harfoots, and not as into the Dwarves as other Tolkien fans may be, but I appreciate that it seems like there’s something for everyone in terms of how many realms are being presented. I also think they’ve absolutely nailed it with casting Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad, and the level of commitment displayed by Leith McPherson as dialect coach is impressive. 

So in all there’s much to look forward to, though many questions and doubts still linger.

Notes on the Rings of Power Full Trailer

Galadriel: “We thought the war, at last, was ended.” 

Gil-galad: “Today our days of peace begin.” 

Galadriel: “We thought our joys would be unending. We thought our light would never dim.”

In The Rings of Power, we will meet many characters invented for the sake of the show, but we will also be reintroduced to many familiar characters as they are presented in a new light. However, I think the audience needs to be keenly aware that these are not going to be the exact same characters that we know from the books. The combination of gaps in the narrative, licensing issues, and liberties taken by the writers will reintroduce us to familiar names that devoted Tolkien fans may or may not necessarily feel are faithfully portrayed. 

As we are meeting Elrond and Galadriel thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings, we will watch as a young and optimistic Elrond grows into the disenchanted and worn Elrond of the Third Age; we will follow a headstrong Galadriel as she grows into the wise, prudent Lady of Lórien. In these cases, I’m looking forward to walking with these Elves as they fight the long defeat. 

But it’s unclear whether the Galadriel seen in the show is the same Galadriel we know, who has been married to Celeborn since the First Age and has had a daughter since the beginning of the Second Age — as we’ve seen no mention of either thus far. The Galadriel of Tolkien’s works is reminiscent of the Blessed Virgin Mary (something he even discussed in his letters), so her character is one who should be approached very carefully by anyone attempting to adapt her into a new tale. 

“He Has Not One Name, but Many.”

While some questions seem to have been answered, the trailer has also left me asking new questions. Because so many characters have been invented for the show, and we know that Sauron has the ability to present himself in many different forms, I’m left with the gnawing question: Where is Sauron? Will he be depicted by one actor, or many? However, I don’t believe that we will see Sauron until the end of season one and I don’t believe we’ve seen him yet. 

The trailer introduced a new character to the story, a pale blonde person with piercing blue eyes. This character immediately called to mind the depiction of Satan in The Passion film, which may have been intentional. At first I was certain we were meant to interpret this character as Sauron (or, Annatar), but after some thought I’m leaning more towards the theory that this is some kind of leader in the cult of Sauron or Morgoth. I think Sauron appearing as Annatar will look more suave and seductive, whereas this character looks very obviously evil. “I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler.” - Frodo Baggins

Adar / Oren

There was surprisingly no news or really many mentions of the rumored Adar / Oren character in any of the footage seen throughout the week, which left me quite disappointed as he’s become one of my favorite characters thus far. Joseph Mawle, who depicts this mysterious character, was not in attendance at any of the San Diego events.

I’ve heard some implausible theories about him, ranging from the thought that he’s Fëanor himself to perhaps one of his sons — but unless the lore has been deviated from significantly, neither of those are possible. Prime Video has still not confirmed his character poster on their press site, which is intriguing to say the least.

In the most recently released image of the character, he seems to be wearing the same star on his armor that Galadriel is seen in, and it appears that he is covered in ash just like Galadriel (though much less of it). Make of that what you will!

The Stranger

After viewing the trailer and hearing the way that Daniel Weyman speaks about his character (”The Stranger”), I am convinced that his character is not a villain and will likely have some kind of positive impact on the Harfoots. Most of the Tolkien experts I’ve spoken to seem to favor the theory that he is one of the Blue Wizards. 

Theo: Future Witch-King of Angmar?

In the trailer, Theo can be seen picking up the broken sword we’ve seen on various promotional images as it begins to materialize. This immediately called to mind the Morgul blade which was seen vanishing in Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring after Frodo has been stabbed with it. Could this be the same sword?

An old man grabs a young Theo by the wrist, saying “Have you heard of him lad? Have you heard of Sauron?” Later in the trailer Bronwyn embraces Theo, her son, and we hear a voiceover of her saying, “Find the light and the shadow will not find you.”

I’m developing a theory that Theo and his mother will be separated, and that perhaps he is being brought to Númenor. I’m also thinking that he may grow up to become one of the Nazgûl, perhaps even the Witch-King himself. Personally I love this theory because I think it would be an incredibly tragic storyline to watch unfold, especially as we meet him at such a young age.

Practical Effects

While the studio is working with some of the best digital artists for world-building, it seems they are relying equally as heavily on practical effects. The show-runners emphasized that the Númenórean set was an immersive city, several blocks wide. The prosthetics, particularly on the Orcs, look stunning (and very scary). It looks like this Orc’s cloak may be made out of dragon skin, or perhaps some kind of giant snake?

Palantír

We also see a moment between Galadriel and Miriel in Númenor. I’m still not sure why Galadriel is in Númenor, but Galadriel looks into the Palantír as Miriel says, “it is here Galadriel, the moment we feared.” Several scenes flash across the screen but I don’t believe any of these are visions from the Palantír, just a juxtaposition for the sake of making the trailer interesting.

Balrog

It’s interesting to note that the Balrog depicted in the trailer looks incredibly similar to that of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy. The only major difference seems to be that this Balrog does not have wings. I do think this is a different Balrog than we see in The Lord of the Rings, but it’s a very similar style. 

“Each of us Must Decide Who We Shall Be.”

This seems to be the major theme of the footage we’ve seen so far. The thought that every character must choose to fight in favor of the Light or Darkness feels adequately Tolkienian, especially in reference to the fates of Men. Especially the men of Númenor.

Misdirection in the Trailer

I also wanted to point out that the trailer does seem intent on misdirecting viewers in order to maintain secrecy or the element of surprise. I think the studio is hoping to keep the major elements of the story under wraps for the time being, so it may turn out that moments which may seem like they’re happening together are unrelated. This seems to be a common technique for trailers, but I just thought I’d mention it. 

More Material?

One last thought, I think it seems likely that the showrunners have been given access to more material than they’ve let on. This seems to have been confirmed by Corey Olsen (the Tolkien Professor himself), who has said “if they don’t have the rights, they just have to ask.” What this means for the show, I’m not sure, but it does seem to cast the floodgates wide open for possibilities. (Source)