Sexism is the New Racism For Rings of Power As It Lands All-Female Director Line-Up
Amazon's Lord of the Rings endeavor steps up the diversity game while it would clearly better off beefing up the writers' room.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will have an all-female directing team, from Charlotte Brändström (Madam Secretary, The Witcher, Grey's Anatomy) to Sanaa Hamri (The Wheel of Time) and Louise Hooper (The Sandman ).
With the female directing line-up being touted in the media, many fans have concluded that season 2 will have another reason to blast any potential criticism of the show. If season 1 critics would usually be labeled "racists" if they took issue with the show's diverse cast, then season 2, apparently, is on track to dismiss skeptics as "sexists" should they dislike anything about the upcoming new chapter of The Rings of Power, fans believe.
"Ah yes, it was a lack of women that made the Rings of Power suck. If only they had thought of that before! I'm sure season 2 will be much better," Twitter user Sargon_of_Akkad noted sarcastically.
Others were more concerned about the quality of the projects that new Rings of Power directors were involved in than about their gender.
"And here I thought Amazon would at least try to fix the flaming disaster that was Rings of Power Season 1. It looks like I gave them too much credit, especially seeing they're hiring anyone involved in Wheel of Time," Twitter user TheElusiveEye1 said.
Many people blasted The Rings of Power for failing to learn from the first season's mistakes and keep trying to "check the boxes" instead of actually focusing on developing a good story.
However, there are people who believe there is hope, not least due to The Sandman director now being involved.
"I, for one, am extremely excited about this and am sure that that will go a long way towards repairing not only the show but also the relationship with Tolkien fans that felt betrayed with the direction of Rings of Power," Twitter user OhNyo69 noted.
As The Rings of Power is frequently compared to House of the Dragon ( and it rarely wins in such comparisons), it's worth noting that many fans praised the Game of Thrones prequel for actively involving female directors in the first season. Four out of ten House of the Dragon episodes were directed by women. According to fans, the show has only benefitted from some "female gaze", so it's likely that a similar approach might work out for The Rings of Power as well.