OK, I’m legitimately on the hype train for The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, despite that clunky name that makes spouting Galadriel seem easy. In fact, it has caught my attention more than House of the Dragon. And the reason for this burst enthusiasm comes from a trailer shown off at Comic-Con.
While this one builds upon the bountiful amount of cinematic sweeping shots seen in the previous pair of teaser trailers, this new 3 minutes and 2 seconds trailer gives us a clear idea that The Rings of Power will all be about the rise of Sauron.
It seems like the dark lord of Middle-earth will arise at a time when everything is fine and dandy in the fantasy continent, with elves, dwarves and men all happily forging their kingdoms, and hobbits finding the Shire. Then the brown stuff is likely to hit whatever a medieval equivalent of a fan is.
Granted there are some seemingly cheese moments in the trailer, with actors earnestly delivering lines in plummy British accents. With. Overly. Pronounced. Pauses. Between. Words. And some of the special effects don’t quite tickle my fantasy synapse.
But after the somewhat lackluster Hobbit movies and then the more gritty fantasy of Game of Thrones and The Witcher, I’m more than ready for some J R.R. Tolkien fueled high-fantasy fare. Oh and there’s going to be a Balrog in The Rings Of Power. and Balrogs are frickin’ cool man (or, elf, dwarf, hobbit, whatever you are).
It’s looking like it’ll be a good year for fantasy TV series. Not only is The Rings of Power coming September 2, but House of The Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones is also coming August 21. So as a fan of fantasy fare, I’m a happy fellow.
Analysis: Why Rings of Power is more exciting
But arrow to my head, if I had to choose the one series I’m most excited for it has to be The Rings of Power.
I’m a big fan of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, and loved most of Game of Thrones. But like many others the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. The latest trailer for House of the Dragon has piqued my interest in dipping back into HBO’s take on Westerosi history. But at the same time I’m a little tired of series with Machiavellian plots that one needs a frickin’ flow chart to follow.
Sure, House of the Dragon is based on the Dance of the Dragons, a part of Game of Thrones history that’s rather interesting for lore nerds like me. But with the likes of Succession, Westworld season 4, and Game of Thrones still not being that much of a distant memory, my appetite for twisty-turny HBO series had dwindled.
Even if The Rings of Power is simply okay, it’s looking like the palette cleanser my TV diet needs.
As such, I’m fully ready for some proper high fantasy fare, where bare-backed fornication is replaced by pristine saddled horse riding, and the only C-word likely to be uttered with intent would be Celeborn (that’s the husband of Galadriel — yes I do go outside, shut up). I just want to lose myself in pure escapism that eschews highlighting human flaws and frailty and simply puts all the blame on a corrupt Maiar spirit — all while giving me sumptuous fantasy visuals that pop on my LG C1 OLED TV.
Yes that might sound basic as heck in the face of cerebral series like Severance. But if there's one thing that Stranger Things season 4 taught me, I still have a lot of capacity for big fantasy fun with a big bad that’s not really human.
Even if The Rings of Power is simply okay, it’s looking like the palette cleanser my TV diet needs. So, for now, it has my axe (TV remote).
