Hey, everyone, just popping in with another article to share. Beware, spoilers for The Rings of Power Seasons 1 and 2 ahead.
As usual, the Gospel Coalition has put out another insightful article that pinpoints exactly the feelings I’ve been having about the show but can’t put into words. I was surprised — pleasantly — to see an example of a good marriage between Durin and his wife, and irritated by the iffy lines on morality, as well as the just over-the-top monsters and battles and gore. It drives me a bit crazy that it doesn’t actually adhere all that closely to the Silmarillion timeline, but every adaptation of a book that takes some liscense does that to me. The show swings back and forth, giving us lines like Cirdan’s about ‘the Judge who sees all things,’ and then almost seeming to give us some ridiculous message like, “Orcs are people too.” It illustrates the corrupting nature of power, and then bends over backwards to make sure every ethnicity is equally represented (somehow) in a world based off of Scandinavian/European folklore.
Anyone else feel like they’re also copying Star Wars a bit by bringing in all these weird new peoples and species, like those blokes with antlers, or the Asajj-Ventress-style witches? And the spider episode of the Mandalorian, anyone? Or Spiderman black goo/Mistborn kandra vibes with Sauron in his gelatinous ooze form?
But I digress. LotR is and was a Christian series, built on Christian morals and Christian symbolism. Sadly, today we’re trying to make it less so, though I’m still glad to see bits and hints of Truth shining through here and there in The Rings of Power. Sauron serves as a perfect example of Satan’s trickery, deception, and wiles, and through characters like Elrond and Elendil we see loyalty, discernment, and the determination to do right even when everyone around is against it. We must choose, in this enemy-occupied world, whether to bow our heads and accept the mark of Sauron or fight back, heal, mend, and inspire hope.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/rings-power-season-2-review/
Cover image by teksomolika on Freepik
