3 Things That Actually Make The Rings of Power Highly Tolkien-Accurate
Yes, we said what we said.
Despite the huge amount of hate The Rings of Power received from old-school Tolkien fans over how it seemingly neglects to follow the book spirit, it seems that five episodes into the story, people are starting to believe that the show is, in fact, "the most Tolkien-accurate media" made so far.
Even though John R.R. Tolkien hardly implied that his characters could be black or brown, it seems that The Rings of Power manages to grasp the main thing: the atmosphere of Middle-earth and the essence of every character.
First thing that makes the Amazon show so faithful to the canon, according to fans, is how it uses music and songs. In the books, characters would often turn to songs in order to reflect on the events or just set the mood; The Rings of Power appears to do exactly the same. In episode 4, when dwarven princess Disa sang a song to the mountains, asking the stones to release those stuck in the mines, it was somewhat a mixture of a pray and a folk chorus. Later in episode 5, when the Harfoots sang the song 'This Wandering Day', pretty much every viewer felt like they were right there with the caravan, migrating in search of a better place.
Then, The Rings of Power appears to also be attentive to the smallest details that illustrate what it means to belong to a certain race in Middle-earth. For instance, when tearful Arondir had to cut down a large tree in order to save the lives of his brothers captured by the orcs, we felt the emotional weight he accepted when doing it. For an elf, doing such a thing to a tree is equal to killing an actual living being.
Finally, when it comes to a certain elf, Elrond, many fans believe that The Rings of Power actually managed to portray him more accurate than the movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson did.
"Opinion that will anger TRoP haters: when it comes to personality, RoP's Elrond is more accurate to the books than the films's Elrond. Tolkien himself describes Elrond as being "kind as summer" in The Hobbit." – @beccahdavis
Elrond portrayed by Hugo Weaving "had a constant scowl on his face and came across as almost completely ineffective", according to Twitter user departied, while " new Elrond is resourceful, wise, shrewd, and would be a lot funner to hang out with."
All of these things do not seem to appease the outraged fans who take issue with the show's writing and overall freedom with the storylines, blasting The Rings of Power as nothing short of "the Amazon fan fiction".
The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes premiering every Friday.