TV Review- The Rings of Power Season 1

 

Prequels can be awkward things; on the one hand we all have this fascination with delving deeper into people and places we’ve seen yet this can also offer fewer surprises and far less jeopardy. After all we already know how matters turn out, a lot of things are set in stone before we start watching.  Back in 2022 when this was first released I never got round to seeing it so now that the second season is out, I thought I should catch up and I’m glad I did. Being set so long before the familiar events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films allows The Rings of Power some breathing space. Based largely on appendices from the original books as well I would think that only the most churlish Ringer would chafe at what is presented here. It is one of the best prequels I’ve seen but more than that it is also its own animal.

I had expected tons of exposition and while there is some it is always delivered with economy, helped by a handy map that shows us where we are. The narrative follows multiple storylines that ultimately intersect but each have their own character. So for the sort of warmer, bucolic tale we might associate with the early part of the films, we have the Harfoots. They’re like hobbits only instead of sticking to one place and never daring go far, they travel regularly on a set trail with a ramshackle collection of overs stuffed bags and rickety wagons. They seem to be Irish but their lifestyle brings to mind travellers. Literally landing amongst them one day is a giant who seems to possess vast powers yet unable to make himself understood. Only Eleanor Brandyfoot a bold girl cut out, we feel, for more than Harfoot life, bonds with him. The viewer thinks- is this stranger Sauron? Though I’m not sure why as his powers and tangled hair call to mind quite the opposite.

The plot that surprised me the most is the friendship between dwarf heir Durin the fourth and Elf Elrond. This come alive perfectly thanks to strong performances from  Owain Arthur and Robert Aramayo who lift the dialogue they are given which draws both the similarities and differences in their situations. It’s a story of tradition, of nationalism, of doing the right thing and more than anything friendship. I wonder if its just coincidence that the dwarves seem to be Scottish and the Elves RP English? For viewers from the UK it adds a little extra something to the political dimension. From what I recall of the films the dwarves were never this nuanced or eloquent, the Elves never this open. That’s what this series does well. At the centre of each plot are two characters whose common bonds do not always sit well with what they are required to do. As you’d expect much is spoken of loyalty and there is heroism too.

If there is a lead character it is Galadriel, yes her from the films but played here by Morfydd Calrak as determined, powerful and stubborn. She is not the politician her fellow Elves wish her to be, in fact they literally ship her off to some sort of retirement from which she escapes at great peril. Like many fantasy character she feels she has an unfulfilled destiny yet unlike many this is put over convincingly Not a perfect heroine by any stretch and it is this that makes her such a good character to build a show around. Her encounter with the mysterious though outwardly amiable Halbrand leads us into thinking this is going to be the big romance of the show. Its not quite that, but there is a mutual fascination even if this man, who claims to be the long lost king of the Southlands, is clearly acting to his own hidden agenda.

Unfortunately, I had found out before watching that, yes, he is Sauron but I can see the reveal is one of those chilling tv drama moments. The lanky stranger with the Harfoots then must be Gandalf mustn’t he? This isn’t explicitly  confirmed even though someone says he is a wizard. The time line is a bit off though if he is the big G he isn’t supposed to show up till later. Perhaps he’s Gandalf’s Dad? A little less engaging perhaps are the Numinor strands which foreground duty and power though Trystan Gravelle gives a superbly understated performance as the Queen regent’s chancellor. A wily politician his every look suggests he is up to no good. A word too for Joseph Mawle whose creepily strange semi Orc Adar is a palpable threatening presence throughout.

The series scores highly with different locales. The Harfoots’ are to be found in lush forests whereas in the Southlands there s a rougher landscape. This resembles the frontier town in many a Western movie and here we meet villagers who have reasons not to be as cheerful as the Harfoots while we also visit the ornate watery city of Numanor which is like Venice on steroids. Elves and Dwarves make up the other main plot and their destinies become entwined when the latter’s secretly mined luminous mineral becomes vital to the survival of the Elves. In fact there’s a lot of metal in this story - we’re never far from a forge. Its almost as if the producers are planting them to make us think- well who is Sauron then?

All these characters are very well but what people are watching for is the spectacle. This is reputedly the most expensive tv show ever made and you only have to watch a few minutes for confirmation. Even the gorgeous scenery has to play second fiddle to huge cityscapes and battles that are as brutal as they are spectacular. The centrepiece is a sequence when the Southlands village is attacked and victory seems assured until the Orcs cause the nearby dormant volcano to become very active spewing lava, smoke and ash everywhere. The chaotic results are mesmerizingly created. Everywhere the boundaries between digital effects and real places are blurred to excellent effect none more so than the lavish towers and minarets of Numinor.

This is a show that sort of settles that debate about where to watch tv. A phone or even laptop screen would simply not be large enough to encapsulate all the elements.   It really should be shown at cinemas. The series cost a staggering $465 million to make but sometimes you look in wonder and think “is that all it cost?”