Can The Rings of Power Really Live Up To Its Expectations?

The billion-dollar question (literally) for Amazon as the premiere looms closer. With so much hype, and even more criticism, surrounding The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is it really possible for this show to live up to its hype?

In all of entertainment history, I don’t think there has ever been a show as criticized, mocked, belittled, and outright disrespected BEFORE it was released than the Rings of Power has been.

Sure, a good portion of the criticisms the show has received have been valid (ex: Super Bowl trailer that look weird, lore discrepancies, etc.), but some of it has just been said to rile up the masses and drive-up view counts.

Yet, the thing that most of these criticisms and rants (well, at least the ones I have watched) have lacked is one key element: patience.

These people don’t want Rings of Power to succeed (for whatever reason) and will try to convince/pander to as many people as possible, who share a similar viewpoint about the show, through social media/the internet that it is destined to fail.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-Official Trailer) — Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
(Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-Official Trailer)

Personally, I think this is really unfair to the Rings of Power.

Yes, I’ve also been disappointed with some of the creative choices the show has released to the public, and I think its marketing has been ATTROCIOUS (I still have no idea what the story is), but I still think people should give it a chance, even if that means they only watch the two premiere episodes.

Maybe it’s because I’m not as big into Tolkien as some critics are (which is why they are more aggrieved about this show), which probably explains why I’m a little more open-minded about this show. Still, I just think that this show deserves a chance for people to see it before they judge it.

Nevertheless, the real question is: do I think that the Rings of Power can overcome the criticism and live up to the $1B hype Amazon has put behind it? The simple answer is…no, I don’t. But that doesn’t mean that I think the show will be bad. In fact, I think it will be pretty good.

Obviously, the visuals, sets, production, and CGI will all be A+ quality as Amazon has poured an astonishing $715M (according to the Wall Street Journal) into Season 1, which roughly equates to $89.38M/episode. Thus, making Season 1 the most expensive T.V. series ever.

However, where I think this series will come short is it’s writing and storytelling. Despite all of Amazon’s hundreds of millions they have put into this show, the studio failed to acquire the rights to the source material the Rings of Power is adapting: The Silmarillion.

Simply put, the Rings of Power must deviate heavily from The Silmarillion (the book where the Second Age is written about) or be faced with extremely expensive lawsuits from the Tolkien estate.

Now, the Rings of Power can still use SOME Second Age material that was included in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novels through the appendices, which is what Amazon has the rights to, but not everything.

But I’m predicting that will not be enough to tell a story that is unique and creative, but also faithful to Tolkien.

Along with the series’ time constraints (it’s only 8 episodes) being restricted by Amazon’s STUPID “8-episode show” policy, I think that showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne will create a visually stunning adaptation of the Second Age related-appendices but will be forced to create a new story/world that will end up being too removed from Tolkien’s works.

Nevertheless, I believe this adaptation can still be a hit, both critically and financially, for Amazon, but not for the majority of Tolkien purists/enthusiasts (which makes sense). Or for the plain opportunist looking to drum up people to a certain political/social/cultural viewpoint they wish to spread, who are usually the individuals that will be most vocal on social media when all is said and done.