More than a year has passed since the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series on Amazon Prime Video. Yet, Tolkien fans cannot stop arguing about it. Many have welcomed it with open arms, while others have butchered it for its significant canonical problems, resulting in noticeable deviations from Tolkien’s source material. And it seems like those canonical dilemmas are going to haunt the show’s sophomore entry.
Rings of Power excels in terms of action sequences, visuals, and acting performances. But it is also notorious for taking noticeable liberties in terms of storyline. The series condensed Tolkien’s original LOTR timeline and introduced several prominent characters in the same events. For instance, Isildur and Celebrimbor appear in the same timeline in the show. These characters are separated by hundreds of years in the author’s original work.
When it comes to fantasy television, Amazon has only two big players, Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time. And we all know which series has more significance in the eyes of streamers and Amazon’s executives.
Problems revolving around the legal issues associated with Tolkien’s works forced Rings of Power creators to deviate the show’s storyline from the actual source material.
Tolkien’s appendices served as the primary source material for Rings of Power Season 1. Amazon failed to secure the rights for a substantial amount of the author’s work, forcing it to take creative liberties in terms of the show’s plot. As a result, this decision angered a large portion of Tolkien’s die-hard fans. Season 2 may have some “controversial” moments as it approaches key events, like Sauron’s war, the making of the One Ring, the Fall of Numenor, and the Elves. It is impossible to ignore the odds of several plot holes or contradictions popping up in the second season. This scenario may further trigger Tolkien’s purists, eventually complicating the show’s connection with Peter Jackson’s LOTR movies.
Rings of Power has done a great job at adhering to most of the appendices. But it fails to align well with the events of ‘The Silmarillion’. It will be interesting to see how the show deals with this canonical mess. Stay tuned for more updates.