The Rings of Power: Episode 1 & 2 Review

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review is spoiler-free.

To say I was excited for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an understatement! I love both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, and the world of Middle-Earth is just something that really makes me feel a great amount of comfort and brings me a lot of happiness. Having never read the books – well, I’ve read The Hobbit and listened to all of the audiobooks – I am far from a Tolkien purist! So, with some of the social-political fallout over The Rings of Power, I very much have the belief that this world is for EVERYONE!

The first episode does an outstanding job of getting the audience up to speed with the state of the world and works fast to effectively establish the ensemble of characters that we will be following throughout these eight episodes. The main arc and subsequent sub-plots all move along at a very pleasing pace and everything, already, seems to fit into its own place and the storytelling flows really well. It also very much feels like a continuation of the movies in a lot of ways, and it is great to see those legacy influences on display, while also allowing the show to do its own thing.

In terms of the cast, it only took the first episode to establish how amazingly talented this ensemble is and how great their character performances were!

Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) and Robert Aramayo (Elrond) are fantastically cast and as well as honouring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, their performances are not just simple mimicry. These are much younger versions of the characters we have grown up with, and Clark and Aramayo give their own unique interpretation in their performances as well! Markella Kavenagh (Nori) is utterly charming and magical, and you really feel all of her excitement for adventure and the unknown every time she appears. Ismael Cruz Cordova (Arondir) and Nazanin Boniadi (Bronwyn) have such great chemistry on-screen and are two very layered characters, both of whom are struggling with different inner conflicts that I am really enjoying so far. Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc) reaffirms his national treasure status with a ‘fun but serious’ portrayal of his character and Daniel Weyman (The Stranger) really heaps on the mystery with a very dramatic, yet subtle, performance.

While we have a few familiar names among the characters, I am pleased that we also have plenty of new and original characters introduced into the story. The problem with any prequel media is that the audience knows where things are heading, so we know some characters are protected, thus losing some of the high stakes and drama. With the introduction of so many new characters, these elements are returned to the story and keep the audience guessing and on the edge of our seats! Finally, there is a strong female presence at the forefront of the many different storylines, which is refreshing as the previous films have only had male lead role characters. Another refreshing aspect is the greater representation on screen, as briefly mentioned at the start of this review.

With a phenomenally talented cast, we move on to the production side of things, and I am pleased to report that the visuals and sounds of The Rings of Power match the on-screen talent! In terms of the direction, at least in regard to these first two episodes, it is clear that J.A. Bayona was made for Middle-Earth, as his stunning talent is really transferred onto the screen before your eyes! The same can be said of the outstanding and at times jaw-dropping, cinematography! The Rings of Power contains some of the best visuals I have ever experienced on the small screen! In fact, this goes beyond the small screen, as this is an epic cinema-quality experience, but in your home. It almost feels wrong that this masterpiece is not being experienced, for the first time, at the cinema – the quality is THAT good!

Howard Shore’s main theme is a feast on the ears, but it is the main composer, Bear McCreary, who does a lot of heavy lifting and, so far at least, is probably one of his best scores to date! The music is so pure and emotive that it penetrated my very soul and moved me in so many different ways – including getting goosebumps at least three times from the music alone!

Honestly? I am truly scratching my head to think of any negatives so far! I have fallen head over heels in love with The Rings of Power and everything I have seen and heard from these first two episodes fills me to the brim with excitement, happiness and the purest joy – The Rings of Power is a masterpiece!

What did you think of the first two episodes of The Rings of Power? Let us know in the comments below or find us on Twitter or Instagram!