"Rings of Power" The Seeds are Sowed

 

    Rings of Power is certainly a controversial show that had its work cut out for it from the outlook. I mean my first experience with the show was people complaining that elves and dwarves were black, which is frankly such an annoying complaint I promise it isn't that serious. I mean you're basically saying that all the good guys have to be white because an old white guy in the 60's made all his good guys white. Moreover, the entire review cycle was filled with mad alt-righters review bombing the whole thing, and people on reddit talking about how the show lacked any focus when they watched the premier, so my expectations were not very high for this series.

    I mean I started out this series playing games and journaling while watching it, I didn't think it deserved my full attention, and to be honest it didn't. When people were concerned about the series, it was evident in the first couple of episodes, where they desperately try to show four storylines, but to no avail. I mean considering every episode was an hour and ten minutes long, you'd think it would move at a pace faster than a snail, but it seems to too ambitious, and unambitious at the same time. I mean the only storyline that really shined was the one between Elrond and Durin, hence why I used them as the thumbnail, because every other storyline felt that it was bloated with too many random characters and scenes that contributed ultimately nothing to the overall plot.

    Luckily, the show manages to remedy this in the later episodes, and by the end I had put down whatever I was doing to dedicate my full attention to this show. I mean did anyone really care about the harfoots? Personally, I was just there to see if the mysterious stranger was Gandalf or Sauron(spoiler alert: he's not), and could care less what happened to a species that's seemingly extinct by the start of Lord of the Rings. While I wouldn't consider myself an action whore, absolutely nothing happened in the Galadriel storyline or the random storyline involving that kid named Theo, and frankly it only became interesting once action was involved. 

    I mean once the fighting started the plot started moving, and I think pacing is by far the biggest issue with this show. Game of Thrones proved you could have a complicated multi-plot hour long fantasy show, but Rings of Power proved that you need to actually have the plot move in meaningful way the majority of the time the characters are on screen, or what else are they here for? A common counterpoint to this is that, the show was already planned out for four seasons, and so its simply laying the groundwork, but that doesn't mean they don't have to make a compelling show. 

Final Score: 69/100

    Ultimately, despite all of my complaints, I think the show had some really bright moments, especially with the dwarves, and ultimately I'm optimistic for what season two of Rings of Power may bring. They have proven with the latter half of the show that they can make a good tv show that moves at a good pace, and with the seeds sowed I hope they continue with the good momentum, instead of reverting back to old habits for the next season.