Critique: Rings of Power (TV)

*****SPOILERS*****

 

I neither loved nor loathed this series. It was an enjoyable, engrossing watch. Yet there were too many problems (black hobbits NOT being one of them). I will watch the future series because the positives outweigh the negatives. I just hope the creators pull themselves together.

 

From a mythological sense, a real-life sense, and a Tolkien sense, black hobbits make sense.

            Tolkien describes three groups of hobbits. Harfoots, he notes, were ‘browner of skin’ than other varieties. Considering the hobbits in the Ring of Power are Harfoots, having individuals with brown skin is definitely fitting.

            People complained that races in this series should have pale skin because it’s based on Scandinavia and Scandinavians have pale skin. True, Norse people are pale. But the region is co-inhabited by the native Sami, people who have darker skin tones. So if the Ring of Power is based on real life Scandinavia, and real life Scandinavia has different skin tones, then the Rings of Power would have different skin tones, too.

            Finally, Norse mythology has dark elves. These are individuals who have dark skin. Also, trolls and goblins were at times depicted with dark skin. So dark skinned individuals are in Norse mythology. If the Rings of Power is based on Norse mythology, and Norse mythology has dark skinned individuals, then the Rings of Power should have people with dark skin tones.

(Further, skin elves and dwarves are suggested to the same beings in Norse mythology. Dark people of short skin power have a place in Norse mythology and, hence, a place in the Rings of Power.)

            With all this in mind, saying hobbits shouldn’t be black is simply ignoring the facts.

 

Galadriel was my favourite Lord of the Rings character. She’s a wise witch, having immense intelligence and magical power. Plus she is one of few female characters so having her be as extraordinary as she is had a big impact on me. It is no surprise, then, that my anticipation for having her as a protagonist in the Rings of Power was high.

            Yet she demonstrates no magical capacity in this programme. Nothing. Instead, she just goes stabby-stabby with her sword. This was an utter disappointment for me. Maybe she learns magic in the thousand years between the Rings of Power and Lord of the Rings, I reasoned. Nope. My Tolkien-enthusiasts say she was magical during the Rings of Power period.

            Another thing baffled me. Galadriel got all suspicious of that guy’s lineage. But it came completely out of nowhere. No thought or action betrayed him as lying. As their conflict was provoked by the suspicion, and the plot relied on their conflict, having unconvincing suspicion was a major failing.

            I will congratulate, however, her relentless, single-minded focus. It was believable in both intensity and reasoning. Sometimes the vengeance element of it was stronger than the ethical element, but a shifting balance is believable. So this, her characterisation and driving of the plot, was well-managed.

 

There are around a thousand years between the Rings of Power and the Hobbit. This comes with criticisms and positives.

            First, a criticism that should be a positive. Some people complained that the wargs look too distinct between the two productions. But looking back at dog breeds hundreds of years ago, they are often unrecognisable from their current forms. If selective breeding can produce these results in a few hundred years, a thousand years is enough time for the wargs to change as little as they did.

            Next, a criticism. The technology and clothing between the two time periods are practically the same. A thousand years should be more than enough time for at least some innovation. Between magic and having lives long enough to develop intelligence, having a technologically stagnant world isn’t plausible.

Finally, a pure positive. The hobbits in the Rings of Power are vastly different from those of the Hobbit. This can be seen most notably in their clothing (particularly the headdress) and behaviour. Yet the hobbits in both time periods are both most definitely hobbits: their society evolved yet their identity remained.

 

There are more talking points in regards to the hobbits.

When the hobbits were saying ‘Harfoots’, I first thought they were saying ‘half-foots’, as in a reference to their size. They do, after all, call everyone else ‘Big Folk/People’, so calling themselves a name that references their height wouldn’t be too far out there. It wasn’t until I did research into Hobbit society that I saw the phrase ‘Harfoot’ that it clicked what was going on. So that changed how I thought the Harfoots thought about themselves.

The storyline of the hobbits didn’t interact with the other storylines. When writing, things that are irrelevant to the main story are often discarded because they’re not actually adding anything. The hobbit storyline happening at the same time as the rest of the plot doesn’t really justify it as ‘relevant’. However, the hobbit storyline could interact and be relevant to the larger plot in the next series, making this storyline necessary development. So this criticism can’t be fully actualised until series two.

The hobbits detect the wargs in the first episode. But at no point are the wargs seen, or even thought about, again by the hobbits. So the wargs being present with the hobbits seemed rather pointless. Maybe it was to illustrate how far the orcs were spreading, but if this was the case then maybe the hobbits should have seen wargs/orcs on their travels. Even just a tiny glimpse of an orc campfire then avoiding it would have been enough, both to make its point to the plot and make it relevant to the hobbits.

When the hobbits came to the orchard and found it destroyed, the Stranger made it all grow back. So you’d think the hobbits would be grateful. (They were.) You’d also think they’d have a good opinion of the Stranger and not assume the worst about him. Yet when a tree branch falls on Nori, an event that happens often in nature, the hobbits all blame the Stranger. Even Nori, who’s worked so hard to get the Stranger accepted by her community. This makes absolutely no sense. The plot needed a reason for the Stranger to leave the hobbits (so that the hobbits would have to chase after him) and this is what they came up with?

 

It was the most expensive show ever produced. Big drains of budgets include salaries, animation and the script.

            The animation was really good so it would have cost a lot. The plot/script was likewise good and likewise would have cost a lot. But I’ve seen shows with better (and more) animation which are produced for a far lesser cost. Plus the same with the script.

            Yes, there were loads of actors involved, so the accumulated salaries would have been high. But the main drain on salaries is those of famous actors. In this programme, there were only a handful of famous actors, and none of them were major big-hitters, so their salaries wouldn’t have been such a drain on the budget. Plenty of productions have more actors, and a higher percentage being big-hitters, yet their budgets are smaller.

            So why the budget was as high as it was, I don’t know. Even all these elements together don’t account for it. The quality of what came out doesn’t match the cost. Maybe global events hitting inflation, and the production having so many elements that are each effected by inflation, just made this programme a victim of the times? In other words, if inflation were accounted for, would the Rings of Power still be the most expensive production ever?

 

Just two final positives to point out.

Three people were tracking the Stranger. Their clothing, props and make-up were phenomenal. So different from anything else in Middle-earth! The costume designer(s) worked literal magic with them. Also, it’s funny they spent all this time and effort tracking the Stranger who wasn’t Sauron like they thought he was!

Ents are my favourite species from Middle-earth. I hope they’ll be brought in during the future series. As long as there’s a sensible place for them, that is (shoehorning them in would be the wrong decision).

 

The Rings of Power was a good show. The things that went wrong should have been noticed, especially as so much money was spent making it. I’m interested to see what direction it takes in the future series and look forward to the positives this will bring.