Once again, Amazon and the production/CGI/visual department/whoever runs the animation and set designs over there has blown me away with the newest Rings of Power trailer at San Diego’s 2022 Comic-Con event. And, as I have already mentioned, the visuals, acting, and production sets will not hinder the success of this show. Only the writers and the showrunners have that power to doom themselves.
Amazon has done it again. The “SDCC” trailer has established one thing: this show is going to look AMAZING. Yet another showcase of the stunning set designs of Numenor, Rivendell, Khazad-dum (Mines of Moria), the open plains of Middle Earth, and that red-wasteland battlefield, etc. were on display in the new trailer. However, what makes this trailer surpass the other three is that we finally have some clarity as to the “story” of Ring of Power.
I put “story” in quotations as, yes, we do know that it revolves around Sauron forging the rings of powers (oh really, James, we never would have guessed that). What I really mean is that we finally got an insight into what these characters’ viewpoints, lives, worldviews, etc. will be at the start of Season 1.
Judging by the trailer, only a handful of characters (such as Galadriel, Numenorean Queen Tar Miriel, and Elven High King Gil-galad) believe the evils of Sauron are still lurking in the shadows.
(Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-SDCC Trailer)
Or, I should say that only a handful are willing to fight against Sauron and his armies of orcs.
The entwining of Elrond and Galadriel’s speeches at the start of the trailer, where Elrond is talking about a new hope and lasting peace versus Galadriel’s monologue lamenting the false hope of such ideals while Sauron still free, is the perfect representation for the theme (I’m predicting) of this show. It is going will be an almighty struggle for Galadriel, Queen Tar Miriel, and High King Gil-galad to convince the world that Sauron is still alive and needs to be defeated.
Thus, the theme is shaping out that (Galadriel, Gil-galad, Tar Miriel, etc.) will need the peoples of Middle Earth to face their fears by uniting together to defeat Sauron or die divided and afraid of the fallen Maiar and his forsaken minions.
Luckily, this leads me to my main point: the writing of this show will be critical. Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has the potential to become one of the greatest T.V. shows of all time, rivaling even Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, etc.
The budget, visuals, acting talent, production talent, directing talent, and cinematography have all been set in place by Amazon. It is up to rookie showrunners JD Payne and Patrick Mckay and their writing staffs to bring these characters and story lines to life with complex, emotional, and relatable viewpoints.
(Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-SDCC Trailer)
Plus, they need to be (mostly) Tolkien-lore accurate. A MASSIVE complaint I’ve seen so far is that this new show will be a lore-breaking mess that disrespects the very foundation of J.R.R Tolkien’s magnum opus.
Do I necessarily agree with all that? No, I think this show will be better than what the YouTube comments of EVERY SINGLE LOTR AMAZON PRIME VIDEO (I know you guys are concerned/worried, as we all are, with the show, but do you need to spam every single comment section with the same two or three Tolkien quotes?) would lead one to believe.
Nevertheless, am I afraid that the show could break Tolkien’s lore? Yes!
If the showrunners and writers end up placing too many (key words here) generic, out-of-place ideas, characters, outfits, cultures, tropes, etc., then the show is doomed. As long as JD Payne and Patrick McKay stick to what Tolkien wrote (as much as possible), add only story-enhancing characters, ideas, outfits, cultures, and tropes, and write convincingly, then the show will be a massive success.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Amazon/Amazon Prime) (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – SDCC Trailer – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Amazon/Amazon Prime) (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – SDCC Trailer – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (Amazon/Amazon Prime) (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – SDCC Trailer – YouTube)
