The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has a long road ahead of it

★★★★ | Forging of the great films

It began with the forging of the great films.

Three of them, in fact. Made by a Hobbit from New Zealand who, with his fellowship of craftsmen, actors, and trusted confidants, defied expectation at every turn. After six years of production, The Lord of the Rings trilogy redefined fantasy for the mainstream and created the definitive alphabet for how we saw J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic story.

Is the comparison to a genre-defining cinematic triumph entirely fair, especially for the first season of any show? Maybe not.

But The Rings of Power invites comparison. Over the last five years, especially leading up to its premiere on September 2nd, Amazon’s gargantuan investment has worked overtime to distance itself from Peter Jackson and his films. And yet, it hasn’t.

They’ve hired John Howe, one of the major influences on Jackson’s style, to lead the visuals. Howard Shore, Jackson’s court composer, who crafted the soundscape for Middle-Earth, wrote the theme. Bear McCreary, the new composer, incorporates Shore’s melodies into his work. The cinematography copies the eclectic styling that helped Jackson’s film stand out. The first episode mimics the structure and style of The Fellowship of the Ring. Even the font bears uncomfortable similarity, the same way you see off-brand products attempting to sucker those in a hurry.

Wait a minute, I hear you cry, that’s just continuity. Of course, they want to make things look like one of the most famous films of all time. Absolutely, I say. That just makes sense.

But Amazon and the show-runners have consistently denied that this is the case. According to them, The Rings of Power is Middle-Earth as you’ve never seen it before. Except, it really isn’t. This is so familiar that every once in a while I had to check if certain shots were repeats of the Jackson films. There is a cave troll attack in the first episode that I could swear features a replicated frame from the Shelob attack in Return of the King.

What makes this even more frustrating is that had Amazon just said they’re going to replicate the Jackson films, I’d be happy as a clam. More of a good thing is a good thing. But their constant chest-thumping focuses entirely on how we’re in for something completely different. And, in a way, we are, but not really. It’s like looking in a foggy mirror.

There are singular glimpses into another show that’s completely different from what the other half is doing. The story of the Harfoots, a kind of precursor to Hobbits, is particularly engaging. It has elements of Willow and the looseness of Tolkien’s more whimsical writings. Even the visuals here feel different. Freer to do their own thing. Less John Howe or Alan Lee and more Tove Jansson.

I love these parts of the show. Sadly, for the most part of the season, they’re saddled with a woefully bizarre B-plot involving a visitor crashing into Middle-Earth like a blazing comet. Fans of the books and films can guess who it is, and the series plays it pointlessly coy for most of the runtime.

Then there’s the pacing. You would think a TV series is a perfect home for Tolkien’s expansive and meticulous lore. In an ideal world, it is. But The Rings of Power falls into a weird rhythm of hurrying up to get nowhere. By the time the first two episodes are done, the series has barely gotten introductions out of the way. It isn’t until well into halfway through the season does it truly pick up the pace.

That’s not inherently a bad thing, but hardly anything worth noting takes place, either. The opening monologue, which slavishly follows Jackson’s template, only serves to remind us just how finely tuned the scripts from twenty years ago really are. There’s a myriad of characters, yet despite charismatic acting and beautiful design work on clothes and sets, it would be impossible to tell them apart. This is probably why everyone keeps addressing each other with their full name and title.

These issues extend to the locations as well. Despite juggling a similarly large scale, Jackson’s films never let their audience lose sight of where they were at any time. The Rings of Power, on the other hand, repeatedly returns to an overview of Middle-Earth to showcase transitions. Each place gets a handy subtitle to distinguish it from the others.

Watching the series, I realized the addition was a welcome one because, unlike Jackson’s films, most locations in The Rings of Power lack a spirit and feel of their own.

But those that do have that, and depart from every established visual element we’ve seen so far? They’re amazing. An Elven grove with graves carved into ancient trees is astounding. A warm living room beneath the earth feels lived in and lovingly crafted. A desperate struggle on the Sundering Seas is tremendous. Everything in Moria is pitch-perfect, and one of the genuine highlights that, at times, surpasses Jackson’s films.

The Rings of Power has the capacity for wondrous and epic storytelling. Certain sections towards the end capture a freedom and joy that I didn’t realize it was capable of. When it happened, I was thrilled. It’s a promise of future seasons that could become so much more.

A part of me wonders if the first season falters is because the series plays everything remarkably safe. This is a major gamble for Amazon, and they’ve publicly stated its success will determine how they approach streaming services in the future. That’s a huge pressure to put on any series, let alone one that has to carve out its own identity in the shadow of an iconic classic.

But it’s precisely that trepidation that keeps the series from soaring. The moments that break out from the established mold are by far the best ones. Family life within Khazad-dûm crackles with intimacy and charm. The nomadic life of the Harfoots feels exciting and inviting.

None of which is the fault of the cast, especially the great Morfydd Clark, who is a luminous and magnetic presence throughout the series.

As for the future? I say go nuts. Make whatever. Explore the unexplored parts of Tolkien’s imaginative mythology. It’s rich beyond measure. Have fun with it.

So far, The Rings of Power has all the opportunity to make a name for itself as a unique addition to Middle-Earth.

But to do so, it has to first find out what that uniqueness really is. Even if it’s just updating its visual style. At the end of the first season, I’d argue it has taken the first steps on that long journey, and that, even if it occasionally falters, is much more important than anything else. There are the beginnings of a great show here. If only, like the heroes in the epic story it tells, the series can shoulder the burdens a little while longer.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams on Prime Video starting Friday, September 2nd.