#and i wish theyd just make another generic fantasy series instead of slapping tolkiens name on this

[ode-to-fury]

I have not watched the show and I also don’t plan to, but I do hear a lot about it through second hand sources and articles and posts, and I think the worst thing that Rings of Power has done isn’t any of the lore changes or even the story changes (though I detest both of these deep down to the core of who I am) but the fact that I’ve now heard from multiple people that Galadriel and even some of the other characters are unlikeable.

Because I think at its core, any piece of Tolkien writing is about the fact that humans (or other races, if we’re being pedantic with wording) are good and kind and honourable, when given the chance to be. Even characters who aren’t “good” (Boromir, Denethor, Feanor, Túrin come to mind) are not evil. They mainly do bad things out of a desire to make things better, or an inflated sense of self, or grief. Human flaws that anyone can relate to, but this does not make them evil, because at the end of the day they still fight against the BBEG (Sauron/Morgoth).

What I’ve heard so far from Rings of Power reviews and friends who’ve watched it, is that Galadriel is cynical and harsh and plain mean. And that isn’t a Tolkien Character. The writers and cast and producers hace talked a lot about the series “representing the modern day” or something like that in interviews ive seen, and I just… is that what you think of people now? That at their core they’re harsh and mean? That they would leave each other behind when given the chance to? That they would discount their friend’s feelings of dread instead of listening to someone they trust? That women need to be able to wield a sword in order to be seen as powerful?

Tolkien lived through two world wars, fought in one of them, lost a best friend in that same war, could have lost two sons in the next… and he still managed to write a story that said yes everything is bad but at our core we’re good. At our core there is hope and love and friendship and kindness.

These writers… the worst part is I don’t even think they jilted his themes intentionally. I think they just don’t care. They know some of the heartfelt moments in the peter jackson films are really good cinema, but they have no idea why. Like there is just a baseline dissatisfaction with the source material, the core message of the source material, and it almost feels disrespectful. I’ve heard really good things about the portrayal of Elrond, though, which I’m glad about. He deserves all the love in the world, even in a bad show like this.

Now I’m not saying that there’s no unlikeable Tolkien characters. There’s a whole bunch in the Silmarillion that I destest, and everyone hates Denethor, but this is because Jirt is using these characters to show how bad behaviours and bad attitudes reflect on people’s perception of you. And most importantly These Are Not The Main Characters. This is not Game of Thrones, where main characters can be bad people because Grrm is trying to teach us a lesson using them, this is Tolkien, this is Middle Earth, where good wins. Good wins because good will always win, because again and again that’s the story Tolkien tells. Even with monumental losses, good will still win.

Very long rambling post and I don’t know if I made my point clearly, but I really do believe you can’t modernise Tolkien. Not in the way these writers want to, because modern storytelling is all about moral greyness, and cynicism, and sarcasm and that just… isn’t Tolkien. Though, like I said, I haven’t watched the show, only small clips and reviews, but I still think I’m right.