The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been criticised for changing elements of Tolkien’s work, but it seems it was in some cases necessary.
Prime Video
The subject of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s adaptation of Tolkien lore has been something that has been hotly debated since the series premiered on Prime Video. Among the numerous changes made to the history of Middle Earth, the three Elven Rings being the first of the titular bands to be forged was something that the production needed to do in order to better fit the overall story they are planning on telling across their multiple seasons. While speaking in a new interview with Inverse, Rings writer Gennifer Hutchinson explained:
“So much of the season was about the elves and their journey, and Galadriel’s journey, and the fading [of Eregion]. So, we wanted to tie those rings into that story. It was about narrowing our focus down on them and having those rings cap off the season. Because we had to make rings. It felt like the climax of that arc, as opposed to trying to manage the timeline in a different way.”
The Rings of Power has been watched by two different types of audiences: those who know Tolkien’s work in great detail and those who have a passing knowledge, and the latter of these seem to have enjoyed the show much more for it. However, in the context of the series being a show that is based on certain parts of Tolkien’s novels and has a lot of gaps to fill in, there were always going to be changes that would be called out by some fans. There have certainly been plenty of those over the last couple of months.
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Related: The Rings Of Power Showrunners Address Ringwraith-Like Appearance of The Show’s Witches
How Will The Rings of Power Season 2 Address Fan Criticism?
Amazon Studios
The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have addressed how the second season of the show will move the story forward, and will include more elements of Tolkien canon, but not necessarily because of fan reactions to the first season. McKay previously commented:
“We’re really excited. Season two has a canonical story. There may well be viewers who are like, ‘This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!’ In season two, we’re giving it to them.”
However in an interview with Vanity Fair, Payne commented that while they have listened to what fans have been saying, the contents of season two have been set for some time. This means that while the next season may be more inclusive of Tolkien’s lore, but that doesn’t rule out some subtle last minute changes. He said:
“Certainly, you look at audience response, and you see what characters people love, and what kinds of storytelling moves them. I wouldn’t say we’re over-correcting for any of it, but we’re certainly listening to people’s responses. In terms of how it’s impacted season two, we wrote most of season two before season one came out. We’re refining the last bits of it now as we’re starting to shoot. But really, the cake was kind of baked before the audience response came in.”
Season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently streaming in full on Prime Video.
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