I didn't like Amazon's The Rings of Power. Week to week, from a higher level, it felt like a chore to watch. The details of the plot frustrated me repeatedly. My first inclination was to make a long complaint post (there were notes, to be sure), but it's for the best to let most of that die in drafts.
My love for the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien goes back to my childhood. I get that in making an adaptation Amazon was going to make changes, it's inevitable. There were certainly changes in Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy (the rapidity with which Frodo leaves Hobbiton, Arwen replacing Glorfindel, the Elves at Helm's Deep, the Army of the Dead at the Pelennor Fields...), but these (with one exception, maybe) don't alter the narrative and fit the grand vision developed by Tolkien. The divergence with the Rings of Power is orders of magnitude more significant. Now, while I recognize these changes don't prevent the creation of a good television show, they do mean I won't be able to be objective about it. In my mind it's Tolkien's way, at least as close to it as possible, or the highway.
Okay, like I said before, I'm not going to dwell on the totality of issues I had with the first season of the Rings of Power (like why is Galadriel so different and unlikeable?), but I do feel one broader aspect needs to be discussed: the massive compression of time.
Needless to say, some spoilers ahead.
One of the Lord of the Rings greatest assets is its ridiculous depth. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings take place during the Third Age of Middle Earth. Each age is thousands of years long. The First Age began well before the creation of the Sun and saw many of the Elves (including Galadriel) live in Valinor (the Undying Lands) before the great war with Morgoth. Tolkien created an elaborate, full history that shaped the very world itself and defined many of the beings that live there. It's no small thing.
To get where I'm going I want to explain something not covered by the Rings of Power. The show did an okay job summing up the First Age during its first episode as background and setup. What was left out were the Silmarils, three strikingly beautiful gems crafted by Fëanor, the most gifted and powerful of Elves. They contained the essence of the Two Trees of Valinor and were the most prized possessions in Valinor. Morgoth, as depicted in the Rings of Power, does attack and kill the two trees but beyond that he also steals the Silmarils, containing the only remaining light of those trees. This, in reality, was the event that kicked off the long conflict, generally called the War of the Jewels, and a large group of Elves departing for Middle Earth. The critical nature of the Silmarils is why the book that tells these events is titled the Silmarillion.
You see connections to the legends of the First Age, and surrounding the Silmarils, numerous times in the Lord of the Rings. When Aragorn sings of Beren and Luthien (in the book and the extended edition of the Fellowship) he's dreaming of another time when a man and Elf fell in love. Beren, a mortal, snuck into the fortress of Morgoth himself and cut one of the Silmarils from his crown, all so he could marry his Elf love, Luthien. In the end both sacrifice much to be together. This story, and its result, distresses Aragorn for more than the content, as Beren was an ancestor to the Numenorean kings (i.e. him).
After visiting Galadriel in Lothlorien members of the Fellowship receive gifts before they continue their journey. The greatest gift she provides is to Frodo, and it's a vessel, called the Phial of Galadriel, filled with water from her mirror (the fountain of visions). What makes the phial special is that it omits light, 'the light of Eärendil,' for use in the darkest places when there's little hope. Many people, on hearing this, probably move on and think, okay it provides light. But there's more to it then that.
Remember the Silmaril that was taken from Morgoth? Well it eventually ended up with Beren and Luthien's granddaughter, Elwing. Elwing married a(nother) half-Elf, and mortal, named Eärendil, who's perhaps the most central character in all of Tolkien's legendarium. Eärendil, along with Elwing and the Silmaril, sailed across the sea on behalf of the children of Ilúvatar (men and Elves) in Middle Earth and appealed directly to the Valar (literally the gods) for aid in the war with Morgoth, which was going horribly. The Valar acquiesced to his plea and the result was the largest battle ever fought and the final defeat of the First Enemy. For his heroism, Eärendil, Elwing and their sons (all half-Elves) were granted the choice between Elf-kind and man-kind. Eärendil allowed Elwing to choose for the both of them (Elf), but he was also not allowed to return to the lands of the living. His ship, with the Silmaril, then traveled across the heavens and became the origin of a new, very bright star (akin to our North Star). So when Galadriel offers Frodo the light of Eärendil she's actually offering him light of a Silmaril. A mighty gift, even if only a reflection, and one with deep roots.
Btw, Eärendil and Elwing's twin sons became pretty important themselves. Elrond, a name who probably know, chose to be an Elf and was later master of Rivendell. Elros, on the other hand, chose to become a man and was the first king of Númenor.
Alright, back to the discussion of time. The sheer amount of history, centuries and millennia, Tolkien built into his world is a credit, a benefit, that provides much to his stories. That's not something that should be cast aside easily. The Rings of Power, in order to make a comprehensible, fluid television show about the Second Age, does just that.
When I first tried to predict what this show would be about (see here), I pointed out the main source would be a ~page and a half timeline in Appendix B of the Return of the King. I didn't consider they'd take the events and completely ignore the dates, though maybe I should have. Thus far, through one season, we've seen the first arrival of Númenoreans in Middle Earth (SA 600), the forging of the Three Rings (SA 1590) and Sauron's coming to Mordor (SA 1000). We've also met several notable Númenoreans, including Ar-Pharazôn, Elendil and Isildur (SA 3200s+). Lastly, in a reveal at the end of the season finale, we learn that the tall stranger who's been a total mystery is actually Gandalf (first appearance Third Age 1000). Thousands of years are being compressed together so the major events of the Second Age (and more, since Gandalf shouldn't be there at all) can all happen more or less simultaneously.
My main premise here is simple: this is a bad thing. The Lord of the Rings is built upon this expansive history, with many tales and heroes and lots of time passing. Númenor, Lindon and Moria are all civilizations that rise and fall during the Second Age. Something essential will be lost if thousands of years suddenly become, what, 20? 50? That's what's going to happen here. Not great Bob.
I say all this but also realize I'll probably keep watching. There's a lot left and, at the very least, it's a gorgeous show visually. I know I'll want to see the sinking of Númenor and more of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Perhaps they'll even win this old purist over.
Hopefully I don't just sound too much like a curmudgeon. I wanted to articulate one reason why I feel the way I do, while ditching a rant-ish laundry list of complaints. If you're loving the Rings of Power, great!, especially if it also makes you more interested in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't have to like it, but it's fine if you do.
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