A new trailer for this September’s Amazon Prime series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been released:
I’ve gone back and forth about this show, which will depict, in temporally compressed fashion, events from the Second Age, when the Rings of Power were first forged. Readers familiar with my extensive “coverage” know that my basic concern is this: Even with all the resources being poured into and pedigree involved in this show, will it respect J. R. R. Tolkien’s vision in the way that Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings did (imperfectly, but still excellently)? Or will it instead concede to modern conventions such that the essence is lost? I’ve gone back and forth about this as more information has been revealed, though my last sense of things, after the Super Bowl teaser from earlier this year, was mixed-to-negative.
This new trailer doesn’t really change my view. You can clearly see all the (deserved) millions on screen. What remains to be seen is whether the essence of Tolkien’s world has been compromised. We already have a bit of license being taken: the fact that proto-hobbits (being called “harfoots”) have been invented for the show. Other licenses are getting dubious justifications, such as the character of “young” (heh) Galadriel. It’s not unusual or improbable that the show would focus on her; she is one of the most important figures in the entire history of Middle-earth, and has been present for many of its key events. It’s a bit more of a stretch to place her in the warrior-queen role she looks set to occupy in the series. Tolkien did describe her as having had an “Amazon” disposition in her youth, but this ignores the possibility that, in Tolkien’s Legendarium, there are other sources of power besides mere martial virtue. Also dubious is the reported inclusion of female orcs. Tolkien did write in at least one instance that orcs reproduced as the children of Illuvatar did, but female orcs were never referenced directly, and certainly not as part of any battles. But I know everyone was crying out for just orc representation.
At any rate, we’ll see in September how well Amazon stewards Tolkien’s legacy.