Shall we look at The Rings of Power? Season One impressed me as a flawed, ambitious project. I want the show to succeed, and I’m willing to give it latitude to develop its themes.
However, the reviews were brutal. I’m curious. Is the show a structural boondoggle? Do the characters ignore their motivations? Is tRoP actually terrible?
The episodes are long, so I’ll partition them. Let’s begin.
LEFTOVER NINE
A child Galadriel folds a parchment boat. Other children (dressed like creepy Logan’s Run extras) demean her efforts. When the floating boat magically unfolds into a paper swan, the children sink it with rocks. Galadriel jumps on the loudest offender, but is stopped by her grown brother. He gives her a wise elvish pep talk.
Show the beautiful elven city and its eternal light while adult Galadriel, in voiceover, introduces the evil that destroyed the city. Warrior elves travel to Middle Earth to fight against Morgoth.
(This introduction is reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s opening to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Galadriel narrates the pertinent backstory over huge, impressive set pieces.)
Wearing an adult version of her child nightgown-robe, Galadriel with the same blonde hair walks the battlefield. Her voiceover introduces Sauron, master of the orc horde. (He wears the Jackson version of his tall, crenelated crown.) At her brother’s bier, Galadriel notices that his shoulder has a mysterious symbol, etched by Sauron’s blade. Weeping, Nightgown Galadriel takes her brother’s dagger and vows vengeance. Warrior Galadriel pursues Sauron across the centuries, beyond the time that even her fellow elves will follow.
She and her select company locate the cold, evil castle she seeks. They carefully explore until they find a forge with the same mysterious mark as on her dead brother. She will persevere, never returning home until she’s found Sauron.
A snow troll attacks their group and Galadriel kills it. It’s the final straw, though: all of the company, doubting the mission, abandon Galadriel and her quest. Her only response is to grasp her dagger and continue on.
Roll credits.
(Oh, dear. This was and continues to be an opening with little context. Twenty minutes with no structure is very bad. I understand that this amount of time in the first episode is supposed to carry us throughout the entire season as Galadriel’s motivation, but it’s too much. Is it even necessary? This is a lot of visual information that shows us nothing. Even the annoying narration conveys little.
Look, this is what I need to know: Galadriel is a rebel with a temper who feels a deep connection to her older brother and her lost land. It shouldn’t take twenty minutes to show me this. These twenty minutes are potentially all the attention your audience will grant you. What a waste of eyeballs.
Also, it sets an annoying tone. A driven Galadriel, almost outcast by her people due to her commitment, should be an underdog. However, she’s not a charismatic leader. She’s brusque and unconcerned. One person faints from the overwhelming cold, and Galadriel begrudgingly drapes her cloak around the person and marches on, willing to leave her comrade behind.
An overbearing Thondir questions her authority in a way that looks bullying rather than just. He has a fair point, but he’s presented as a rival (who leads a mutiny) rather than a counterpoint to her obsession. Galadriel is a flawed character — wonderful! Great story and motivation potential! What is her strength, though? What are we to like about her?
The showrunners became confused. Unrelenting warrior is one of her weakness traits, yet they’ve presented it as her strength. It’s actually quite fascinating to watch a character who has hero tropes as her failing. I’m not quite sure the showrunners understood that, though, because they’ve given us a lot of steely-eyed aggression and nothing else.)