{"id":2337721,"date":"2024-09-06T07:56:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T11:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rings-of-power-doesnt-take-tolkien-or-storytelling-seriously\/"},"modified":"2024-09-06T08:02:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T12:02:57","slug":"rings-of-power-doesnt-take-tolkien-or-storytelling-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rings-of-power-doesnt-take-tolkien-or-storytelling-seriously\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Rings of Power&#8217; Doesn&#8217;t Take Tolkien Or Storytelling Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frings-of-power-doesnt-take-tolkien-or-storytelling-seriously%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2337721&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u200dsecond\u2063 season of Amazon&#8217;s adaptation of &#8220;The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of\u2064 Power&#8221; begins with Sauron attempting to rally\u2064 orcs to \u200bfollow him as their new\u200b Dark \u200cLord, a campaign that\u2064 fails dismally. Critics have\u2062 noted that \u2064this season is an \u200dimprovement over the first, \u2062but still falls short, \u2064moving from &#8220;bad&#8221; to merely &#8220;mediocre.&#8221; Persistent issues from the first season linger, like\u200c an aimless Gandalf meandering with early hobbits, \u200bwhich strays from\u2064 Tolkien&#8217;s lore. The writers struggle\u200c to balance the \u2062complexity of Tolkien&#8217;s narratives with engaging television, opting instead for \u200ccheap drama and impulsive \u2064character behavior, which muddles \u200dcharacter\u200d development and plot\u2062 progression. While some characters, like Galadriel, show growth, the overall storytelling suffers from\u200b a \u200clack of depth, with blunt \u2063dialogue and anachronistic themes undermining the story&#8217;s authenticity. The series introduces intriguing moral questions\u2014such as the potential for orc redemption\u2014but fails \u200cto explore them \u200csubstantively. Similarly, \u2064Sauron\u2019s motivations \u200dlack\u200b the depth needed to make his character compelling.\u2063 Furthermore, the depiction of Numenor\u2019s politics veers into farce, highlighting a broader issue of tonal inconsistency\u200c within\u200b the show. the series seems incapable of delivering\u2064 the \u200cmaturity \u2064and sophistication expected of a story\u200d rooted \u200din \u2062Tolkien&#8217;s rich, complex world.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Dark Lords <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t do campaign speeches.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, season two of Amazon&rsquo;s Tolkien adaptation, &ldquo;The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,&rdquo; opened with Sauron trying to persuade a small band of surviving orcs into accepting him as the new Dark Lord after Morgoth&rsquo;s defeat. Worse still, his &ldquo;Who else can you go to?&rdquo; campaign pitch fails.<\/p>\n<p>This is a poor beginning to the new season, though it is, thus far, an improvement over season one. But this just means the show has elevated itself from bad to mediocre. Part of the problem is that even if the showrunners realize the need to improve, &ldquo;The Rings of Power&rdquo; is still stuck with the poor decisions of last season. For example, a confused Gandalf is wandering around with a proto-hobbit or two in tow, utterly disconnected from the rest of the story (or anything Tolkien ever wrote about Gandalf&rsquo;s origins).<\/p>\n<p>But even if the creators of the show were unburdened by their poor decisions last season, they would still not know how to make television for grown-ups. In fairness, they faced a great challenge. It is hard to portray Tolkien sagas on the screen; both internal moral struggles and grand epics are difficult to film well. Depicting both simultaneously requires skill, as well as trust that the audience can pick up on subtleties of character and dialogue amid a sprawling narrative.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the writers do not trust the audience to stick with a mature story and well-developed characters. Instead, they rely on cheap drama to maintain interest. And so there are continually shifting relations and motives between characters &mdash; even the debates of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazons-rings-of-power-fails-because-it-abandons-tolkiens-moral-imagination\/\" title=\"Amazon\u2019s \u2018Rings Of Power\u2019 Fails Because It Abandons Tolkien\u2019s Moral Imagination\">elven lords<\/a> have a lot of angsty drama for a group of wise, millennia-old immortals. For instance, at one point Elrond rushes off to try to destroy the three elven rings in a stunt that the writers seem to have invented just to add a brief hit of drama and pad the length of the episode. The same character and plot development could have been had with a few lines of dialogue and some actual acting.<\/p>\n<p>This sort of overstimulated script requires characters to constantly behave impulsively, which stunts characterization and therefore plot development &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-secret-service-agent-discusses-assassination-attempt\/\" title=\"Ex-Secret Service Agent Discusses Assassination Attempt\">things don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t unfold so much as just happen. Thankfully, Galadriel has matured some, but her gain is Elrond&rsquo;s loss. And even when characters sustain more consistent motives, the show beats the audience over the head with them. For instance, Sauron playing on Celebrimbor&rsquo;s feelings of being unappreciated is presented in the bluntest way possible.<\/p>\n<p>This crude approach is also manifest in many characters dumping their feelings all over the place while speaking fluent 21st-century therapeutic babble. Not only is this jarringly anachronistic, but it results in the charisma of many characters having an inverse relationship to how much they say. Gil-galad may be played with all the charm of a block of wood, but at least we don&rsquo;t have to listen to him tell a stranger about his feelings.<\/p>\n<p>When the showrunners do reach for adult themes, they do not know what to do with them. For example, from the opening scenes, they continue to ask whether orcs can be something other than orcs &mdash; that is, can they be redeemed? This is an interesting point that Tolkien never resolved, but the writers do not seem to have any answers themselves or even any real sense of how to reach them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, they toy with the idea of Sauron repenting but never really grapple with the sin that prevented it. Per Tolkien, Sauron could not bear to be humbled and so returned to evil. That could have made for a good subplot in the show, but instead we get Sauron meandering back toward evil for no particular reason, doing so in a way that is neither particularly plausible nor interesting.<\/p>\n<p>Another example of the immaturity of the show is found in the farcical politics of Numenor, which never feels like a great empire. For all the money they spent on the show, couldn&rsquo;t they have spared some to make it look a bit grander? Perhaps the giant CGI eagle used up the budget, but for such a mighty kingdom, Numenor sure has a small crowd for a coronation, with lax security and plenty of rabble allowed in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The show likely would have done better, both visually and narratively, to have shown less palace intrigue, which is always presented in a way that makes Numenor seem smaller. Instead, the showrunners should have focused on Elendil&rsquo;s family, which was, per Tolkien, powerful but isolated. Not only would this have been truer to Tolkien, but it would have made for a much better show by establishing distance that would have created more suspense while managing the scale better.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the show&rsquo;s failure is not just in infidelity to the source material but also in storytelling for adults. The showrunners take neither Tolkien nor their craft seriously. Yes, the demands of an epic, genre-spanning story are significant. But the resources were there; this may be the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-justifies-spending-465-million-on-one-season-of-lord-of-the-rings-series\/\" title=\"Amazon Justifies Spending 5 Million On One Season Of \u2018Lord Of The Rings\u2019 Series\">expensive television show<\/a> ever made, and there are moments when that budget is harnessed to create beauty and wonder in the viewer. But these aesthetics are overshadowed by too many instances where the show is adolescent and paint-by-numbers. Instead of treating &ldquo;The Rings of Power&rdquo; as an opportunity to create an enduring masterpiece, its creators seem to regard it as just one more piece of content to be slopped out to viewers.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, even though the second season has yet to hit the abyssal lows of its predecessor, it is still a failure and will remain so as long as the showrunners love and respect neither their source material nor their audience.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Nathanael Blake is a senior contributor to The Federalist and a postdoctoral fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dark Lords typically don&#8217;t engage in campaign speeches. However, the second season of Amazon&#8217;s adaptation of Tolkien&#8217;s work, &#8220;The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,&#8221; begins with Sauron attempting to convince a small group of remaining orcs to accept him as their new Dark Lord following Morgoth\u2019s defeat. Unfortunately for him, his pitch\u2014\u201cWho else can you go to?\u201d\u2014falls flat. This lackluster start is a disappointing introduction to the new season, although it does show some improvement over the first season. Yet this merely elevates the show from bad to mediocre.<\/p>\n<p>One issue is that even if the creators recognize the need for improvement, &#8220;The Rings of Power&#8221; remains burdened by last season&#8217;s poor choices. For instance, Gandalf appears lost and is accompanied by a couple of proto-hobbits, completely disconnected from the main narrative and any established lore regarding his origins in Tolkien\u2019s writings.<\/p>\n<p>Even if they were free from past mistakes, it seems that the show&#8217;s creators struggle with crafting mature television. They face significant challenges in adapting Tolkien\u2019s complex narratives; balancing internal moral dilemmas with grand epic tales requires skill and faith that viewers will appreciate nuanced character development amidst an expansive storyline.<\/p>\n<p>Regrettably, instead of trusting audiences with a sophisticated plot and well-rounded characters, writers resort to superficial drama for engagement. Character relationships are constantly shifting; even discussions among elven lords are laden with unnecessary angst typical of less wise beings rather than ancient immortals. For example, Elrond abruptly rushes off on a mission to destroy three elven rings\u2014a contrived plot point seemingly designed solely for dramatic effect rather than meaningful storytelling.<\/p>\n<p>This overly stimulated script forces characters into impulsive actions that hinder genuine characterization and plot progression; events occur without proper buildup or context. While Galadriel shows some growth as a character, Elrond suffers as a result. Even when characters exhibit consistent motivations, their intentions are presented in an overly blunt manner\u2014for instance Sauron manipulating Celebrimbor\u2019s feelings comes across as heavy-handed.<\/p>\n<p>This simplistic approach extends to many characters who express their emotions using modern therapeutic language that feels out-of-place within Tolkien&#8217;s world\u2014resulting in diminished charisma for those who speak too much about their feelings instead of showing depth through action or dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>When adult themes do arise within the narrative\u2014such as whether orcs can be redeemed\u2014the writers fail to explore these ideas meaningfully despite them being intriguing questions left unresolved by Tolkien himself. Similarly frustrating is their treatment of Sauron&#8217;s potential repentance; while he could have made for compelling subplot material based on his inability to accept humility according to Tolkien\u2019s lore\u2014the show presents him drifting back toward evil without clear motivation or interest.<\/p>\n<p>Another signifier of immaturity lies within Numenor&#8217;s politics which never convey an image befitting its status as a great empire; despite substantial production costs there seems little effort made towards creating an impressive visual representation fitting such grandeur\u2014a coronation scene feels underwhelmingly populated and poorly secured given its significance.<\/p>\n<p>The series might have benefited more from focusing less on palace intrigue\u2014which diminishes Numenor\u2019s perceived scale\u2014and more on Elendil\u2019s family dynamics which would align better with Tolkien&#8217;s vision while enhancing suspense through isolation rather than overcrowding scenes unnecessarily.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately this series falters not only due its deviation from source material but also due its failure at mature storytelling standards\u2014the creators seem neither respectful towards Tolkien nor committed enough towards honing their craft effectively despite having ample resources at hand given it may be one most expensive shows ever produced\u2014with moments where budget shines through beauty overshadowed by juvenile writing choices reminiscent more content churned out hastily than crafted into lasting art piece worthy legacy envisioned originally behind \u201cThe Rings Of Power.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Thus far into Season Two has yet reached depths seen previously but remains unsuccessful until those behind it embrace both respect towards original works alongside audience expectations sincerely<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":538,"featured_media":2337722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-04-at-2.01.48%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[27281,17326,40274,10559,39942],"class_list":["post-2337721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-critique","tag-fantasy","tag-ringsofpower","tag-storytelling","tag-tolkien"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-04-at-2.01.48%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2337722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2337721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2337721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}