‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Review – The Epic Return to Middle-Earth Has Finally Arrived

Rings of Power Proves to be a Real Powerhouse for Prime Video

I know it’s been said again and again, but it’s true; the scale of this show is beyond anything we’ve ever seen in a streaming service. With each episode being over an hour long, it really feels like I’m watching just another film installment in the Middle-Earth saga. That is to say that the battles, the special effects (both practical and digital), the costuming, set design, score, and story all feel worthy of the big screen. Days later and I’m still buzzing with excitement that we’re about to embark on a whole new journey through Middle-Earth.

A Multi-Faceted Plot That Promises Excitement

While I don’t want to give away any specifics on the plot of the show, I do want to take a moment to talk about the scale of the story. This story is going to be massive, as it should be. Just from the trailer alone we see these massive wars, scary monsters, and a legion of exciting new and returning characters. A whole show about Sauron’s rise to power with the forging of the 19 Rings of Power and The One Ring to Rule Them All would surely have a lot of stories to tell. The writers for this show seem to promise a massive tale just based off the first two episodes. This multi-faceted epic seems to have every character, every race, every tribe entangled in the fate of Middle-Earth and I look forward to seeing how it all plays out and comes together.

A Cast of Characters Both New and Familiar

With such a wide variety of characters in this epic story, I can’t go on without talking about the amazing cast. Everyone in this show plays their characters to perfection, both existing and original characters. Morfydd Clark as a younger Galadriel is an amazing choice as she can bring something new to the role while still emulating what Cate Blanchett already did with the character in the past. And Robert Aramayo as a young Elrond adds much more depth to the Lord of Rivendell. The two of them share a few scenes in the first couple episodes and I look forward to seeing more of them as they grow into the characters we’ve come to know in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films.

What’s exciting about this show is that we are finally introduced to characters who are important to the lore of Middle-Earth and events that transpire in the original story, but have never actually be seen before. I’m of course talking about Celebrimbor (Charles Edward), the Lord of Eregion and the one responsible for the forging of the 19 Rings of Power. Those of you who played through the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War would know exactly who I’m talking about. Much like the game, the show will also show us how this elf found himself so intertwined with Sauron, the fate of Middle-Earth, and the forging of the Rings of Power. Just from the first couple episodes though, I’m not sure just how similar his journey will be to the story feature in the Middle-Earth games, but one can hope!

We also get our first look at some of the ancestors of the Hobbits we’ve come to know and love. The Harfoots, one of the three breeds of hobbits, make their on screen debut in this show and I just know people are going to love them. These particular hobbits are more nomadic and keep to themselves, hiding from others in order to remain safe. The costuming on these characters are so wonderfully detailed, and the more I watched them, the more I noticed in their outfits. I have a feeling that after the show releases, many will cosplay as these characters and make their own costumes inspired by the look of these solitary creatures.

Enough about established characters, let’s focus on some of these wonderful new additions to the Middle-Earth lore. Rings of Power features a large cast of new and exciting characters, my personal favorite being Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova. Taking on the role of a hot, badass, bow-wielding, elf, Arondir leads one of the more compelling plots of the show.  I won’t go into what our hero is up to in the series, but I do believe that he will become a fan favorite and his plot be one storyline discussed the most.

Living and Breathing Costumes

The costuming on this show is astonishing. Every article of clothing, every plate of armor and every tool, weapon and prop all look lived in. Each costume looks like it has a story to tell, and has gone through history. It reminds me very much of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I recently rewatched in preparation for the debut of this show. The showrunners knew that they needed to bring authenticity to the world of Middle-Earth and one of the best ways to do that is with the look and feel of the characters and what they are wearing. In a day and age where everything in a show or movie can just be made with CGI (looking at you Marvel), it’s very refreshing to see a piece of media that takes so much love and care into what they are putting out. I look forward to seeing more costuming from this show moving forward as well as people who will recreate these breathtaking costumes to cosplay at conventions.

Travel to New Lands

The nerd side of me was freaking out seeing all these locations in Middle-Earth we’ve come to know and love. While the Hobbit films weren’t too long ago, Rings of Power made me realize just how long it’s been since we’ve had the pleasure of visiting this rich and intricate world. Seeing locations such as Khazad-Dûm or Lindon had me so excited to be back in the land of elves and dwarves, hobbits and men, orcs and trolls. Seeing locations only mentioned in the films was also very exciting. Seeing unexplored areas of the sprawling lands of Middle-Earth has me excited for more, although I should probably have a map handy when I watch the show since sometimes it’s hard to remember where locations are in relation to each other.

Visuals More Beautiful Than Mithril

Of course I can’t wrap up this review without talking about how stunning this show is. Not a penny was wasted on these special effects. You can tell from the trailer alone that this show looks insanely good. The wrinkle and scars across the wolves and trolls, the powerful and mighty strength of the Kingdom of Khazad-Dûm, and the horrors and scale of the wars waged all shine with brilliance that are unmatched in the TV show medium. Which is to be expected since Amazon supposedly spent $60 Million per episode. No CGI in this show sticks out like a sore thumb; very reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Having just rewatched those films, I noticed that the CGI looks the same across both projects, in which I mean the special effects for the original movies really hold up, and the CGI for Rings of Power manages to keep this distinct feel that the movies had with their special effects.

And it’s not just the special effects that look amazing, it’s the fight choreography as well. We get to see a couple skirmishes in the first couple episodes and each fight has such incredible weight. You can feel the struggle from some of these characters, as well as see the ease and love for fighting from the more skilled warriors on the cast. If the small fights look as good as they do, I can’t imagine how insane some bigger scale battles will look later on in this show.

My Final Thoughts

Considering this is my longest review to date, you could probably tell that I am absolutely in love with this show. Lord of the Rings was a big part of my childhood growing up so when Amazon first announced that they would be making a prequel series to this fantastic franchise, I was all in. After finishing both episodes my head was spinning with theories for what’s to come. I’m also really looking forward to discussing these episodes with fans on social media. So while I may be biased, this show is legitimately good. Fans new and old will definitely enjoy this show, so if you’re a fan of the original films and books, or just the fantasy genre in general, definitely check out this show.

Episode 1  of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiers on Prime Video on Thursday, September 1st, and Episode 2 on Friday, September 2nd, with a new episode every Friday after that.