The Rings of Power continues to be the talk of the town, whether in the form of fans lambasting the show for getting almost everything wrong in their estimation or others simply being glad that Middle-earth is back in live-action after nearly a decade. But as we close the book on the show’s middling penultimate episode, fans wonder if they should leave well enough alone and give thanks that Amazon didn’t opt for a more modern take on Tolkien’s world.
Meanwhile, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have apparently had enough of false criticisms and are here to address them at length. Here’s your daily Lord of the Rings roundup.
Fans are appreciating this parallel between Aragorn and Isildur
Some may call it a daring nod to what came before. Others will describe it as a shameless recycling of old ideas. But ultimately, I think everyone understood exactly what happened with Isildur’s horse, Berek, when he galloped off to save his rider from Tirharad’s ruins. Even the mane’s name resembles Aragorn’s horse Brego from The Two Towers, who saved the protagonist after his fall in a skirmish with the Wargs. You know what they say; like father like great great great great grandson.
‘The Rings of Power’ showrunners address the criticisms head-on
Whether you think the Amazon adaptation is too cash grab-y, flaunts its so-called woke agenda in our face, or Dwarven women should have beards, there are a lot of reasons to hate on The Rings of Power. The crew will take most of your objective thoughts to heart, but J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are drawing a line when it comes to some gatekeepers accusing them of going against what Tolkien intended. They try to address the top five lore criticisms in a new interview, though who can say if you’ll be convinced by the end of it?
Some Tolkien fans are glad that ‘The Rings of Power’ is so vanilla
Say what you will about Tolkien’s high-fantasy storytelling, but its most diehard enthusiasts are actually more than okay with the fact that it doesn’t contain so much as a peep at nudity or sexuality. A lot of them even worried that in their race to make the next Game of Thrones, Amazon would take a more modern approach and let such mature elements run amok in their adaptation. Fortunately, The Rings of Power showrunners at least understood this much about the story not to go there at all. So even if the show is lackluster when all is said and done, we’re glad that it’s the same Middle-earth.