However we have now to confess that The Rings of Energy, for all its high-priced grandeur, likable forged, and intriguing characters, is … boring as hell. Even for a present that may be a prequel to a narrative that consists largely of individuals strolling, it’s staggeringly sluggish.
There are solely eight episodes this season, which means that we’re already midway via the primary story chunk – however weirdly, regardless of the dense world-building and broad forged of characters, it feels as if little or no has truly occurred. The explanation for this could possibly be that the present isn’t doing the factor that made Tolkien’s tales so participating within the first place: giving a handful of characters a quest.
Like, each The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit equally have lengthy stretches the place nothing occurs (typically with singing), however it by no means actually feels uninteresting or aimless as a result of the tales are in the end constructed on a really clear narrative monitor; Frodo has to take the ring to Mordor, whereas Bilbo has to journey with a cadre of dwarves to a Dragon’s den (however not the sort the place you pitch horrible merchandise to soulless wealthy guys). It’s easy, mythic, and, by design, all the time has a way of ahead momentum.
The Rings of Energy, however, follows a extra status TV-friendly format, chopping between an array of assorted characters, every with particular person storylines, who’re largely relegated to at least one setting. It’s Lord of the Rings by the use of The Wire – which, maybe not coincidentally, can also be how Sport of Thrones was structured. The closest we get to any sort of a quest is with Galadriel; however the issue is, her quest – to search out and kill Sauron – is derailed within the very first episode, leaving her adrift and ultimately holed up in Numenor till the top of episode 4. And even as soon as her quest will get again on monitor, we all know from the occasions of The Lord of the Rings that she is going to in the end be unsuccessful.
Clearly, there’s nonetheless time for the present to construct in the direction of one thing that’s … not so boring. However looking back, it’s sort of stunning that anybody would spend a billion {dollars} adapting Tolkien’s work whereas ignoring probably the most fundamental storytelling ideas that made these books so profitable – that’s like shopping for up the rights to the works of Agatha Christie, then ditching the entire “investigating a homicide” angle.
You (sure, you) ought to comply with JM on Twitter!
Thumbnail: Amazon
Associated: Did ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ Rip-Off … ‘The Lord Of The Rings’?
Get the Cracked Film Membership Publication
For film and TV geeks, the Cracked Film Membership is filled with nerdom, trivia and suggestions. Subscribe now!
