Before Amazon began producing the most expensive TV show ever made, its mega-tycoon CEO Jeff Bezos reportedly told his executives that he wanted his own version of HBO’s hit fantasy series, “Game of Thrones”. thrones.”
That his “game of thrones” turns out to be “the lord of the rings: the rings of power” is curious for several reasons. First, it must be hard to sell something like the next figurative “Game of Thrones” when there’s an upcoming literal “Game of Thrones” airing at the same time, the much-hyped “House of the Dragon” prequel series on HBO. >
Furthermore, it’s ironic that the upcoming “Game of Thrones” is a “Lord of the Rings” product, since “Thrones” author George R. r. Martin, like basically all fantasy writers since the mid-20th century, modeled his own fantasy world on J.R.R. tolkien’s middle earth Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” books, the basis for “Thrones,” are largely subversions of the high-fantasy tropes Tolkein had popularized in the “Rings” books.
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so it’s fascinating to note that “rings of power”, now airing on amazon prime, is so far the most similar to “thrones” of the two shows. House of the Dragon is shaped like a Shakespearean tragedy, tracing the family complexities and palace intrigue of a royal family’s succession and the crisis of a declining king. there just so happens to be dragons.
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meanwhile, “rings of power” has adopted the “game of thrones” storytelling format, albeit a more pg-13 version, leaping across kingdoms and continents while immersing viewers in the full geopolitics and disparate cultures of his fantasy world. : their elves, men, dwarves and harfoots (hobbits’ nomadic ancestors).
created by j. d. payne patrick mckay, the series is set in the second age of middle earth, thousands of years before the events of “the hobbit” and “the lord of the rings”, covering the creation of the titular rings and the growing threat of mordor. .
In terms of cinematic scope and production dollars spent, the series points even further than Peter Jackson’s two middle-earth movie trilogies. Amazon’s purported multi-billion dollar investment is visible every time a camera pans over a hill to show a gleaming elven city, flashes back to a full-scale orc battle, or heads underground to the majestic dwarven kingdom of Kazad. -dum.
there are some familiar names. A young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), the powerful elf played by Cate Blanchett in the films, has been leading expeditions to the far corners of Middle-earth to eradicate the remaining forces loyal to the vanquished supervillain Morgoth and his powerful lieutenant, Sauron. .
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Try to convince elven politician Elrond (Robert Aramayo) that evil is on the march again, as it always is at the beginning of a fantasy story. He later meets a young Isildur (Maxim Baldry), the future king who would eventually possess the one ring Sauron intended to enslave the world with.
The pacing of the first three episodes, which are released weekly, is careful, the narrative setting deft, and the visual effects serve the story rather than stifle it. bet there are still several seasons of wonders to be drawn from tolkein’s world. (The source material is mainly historical appendices.)
Whatever magic a viewer feels upon plunging back into this realm will depend on their relationship to existing versions. Jackson’s original “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy from the early 2000s remains a treasured piece of visual storytelling and the best setting for the adaptation of a beloved series of books.
his 2010s “hobbit” trilogy is a milestone of a different kind, one more typical of the entertainment industry as it exists today, when every piece of franchiseable intellectual property is mined for every conceivable dollar and green screen cgis knock viewers into submission.
So far, it’s hard to predict which series of “rings of power” will end up looking more alike. either way, it’s probably too big to fail. Amazon has already committed to producing five seasons, whether anyone enjoys them or not, while Lord Bezos’ all-seeing eye gazes with satisfaction at his reign of loyal subscribers.
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