The Rings of Power review

I like to think that I'm a really big fan of Tolkien and his works, but I'm not really one. I can't compare to the people who live, eat and sleep The Hobbit or LotR. I don't speak any of the languages. I don't own any costumes. I do have some of the movie posters though, but I keep them rolled up rather than hanging them on the walls.

When The Rings of Power was announced I tried to stay away from all the rumors of the development. I did so because almost all of this material is new to everyone. The writings or notes of Tolkien were hidden away and not known to the public. This is material which was supposed to be used for another three books but he died before anything could be finished.

So I watched with an open mind.

The first episode was good. The main characters were introduced, there is some drama, some intrigue and a mix of fighting. I was impressed with the Ice Troll scene. I thought the CG was good. I'm glad they didn't skimp on the special effects.

The casting is good. I found most the actors believable. I did not complain about the different colored skin for the elf. I didn't care. Who should care? I mean, he could be descended from another line of elves from a different area where it is hotter and more sunlight. I know what  you might be thinking. This is all supposed to be based on Northern European countries during a specific time, but in defense of the production of this show, Tolkien never said anything about their skin color and who cares, seriously. Try to enjoy the show for the other merits.

I will question one thing about skin color.

A dwarf should have pale skin and they should be sensitive to sun light when they come out of the mountain, for at least a while they should have to wear sunglasses. haha.

This aside...

The wardrobe is good. The cinematography is good. The action is good. I felt like this was going to be a good show, until...

I started to see a problem with the writing in episode 4. It was minor, but I did start to see sloppy writing. Then in episode 5, it happened. Deus ex machina.

In case you do not know, Deus ex machina is a "god of the machine" and it is a plot device used by writers who either have painted the story in to a corner and need an act of god to get out, or it is sloppy writers who don't know how to get from one scene to another. Deus ex machina is when the problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.

Tolkien used this many times in his writings and one of the plot devices he used was the Eagles. The Eagles always seem to come along and rescue characters and they do just enough to move the story along. They do it in LotR. They do it in The Hobbit. I hope they do not appear in this series. Please. No Eagles.

Episode 6 is even worse. Episode 6 is so bad I am thinking about not watching the show any more. Episode 6 is the worst episode in the series so far, and episode 7 doesn't fix the mistakes in episode 6 or at least nudge things back in to place.

Episode 7 was alright. There were some good scenes, but it didn't really improve the situation. I found myself skipping over most of the scenes in Episode 7 because it was painfully boring.

In closing, I still give the show a good rating. For people who are unfamiliar with the world of Tolkien then this might well be a good introduction for you. It pre-dates the Hobbit and LotR. If you haven't see the later then I suggest you watch this series first.

I hope the writers only had a burp and get back on track with better writing. If they continue in this manner I will drop the show.