warning: This story contains all the details of the big twist that happened at the end of The Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power. Click if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been building for weeks until this moment: a human leader like Aragorn and the last rightful king of the Southlands as we know them. The deduced Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is revealed. , Actually, JRR Tolkien’s villain was Sauron.It’s a game-changing twist that forces viewers to revisit every episode of the series to see the little hints and clues dropped throughout.
At least, that’s what the showrunners wanted.
In fact, many viewers, especially astute viewers, may have passively accepted the foregone conclusion when Halbrand identified himself to Galadriel (Morphid Clarke). Many understood the twist long before this week’s finale.Even without fully connecting the dots, there was enough chatter on the internet that anyone interested in the show likely stumbled upon a popular fan theory.(Full recap) About my colleague’s girlfriend Erin Carson Rings of Power season 1 ending explained.)
This twist takes place in the age of network television, and without the help of the internet and a community of keen-eyed viewers sharing and disseminating theories on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, etc., the conclusion of Rings of Power would be much more. It was influential.
Now it’s an indifferent shrug.
Rings of Power is just the latest reminder that it’s getting harder and harder for TV shows to wow anyone. For example, think of Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. Especially in an age of streaming and hypercritical audiences. It’s also a warning to showrunners of the risks that arise from hanging a season of shows with big twists. increase.
In the case of Rings of Power, if the twist had actually surprised anyone, it could have brought back an uneven season. Interest was interspersed between plot lines.
At best, it was a lesser version of Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy, specifically the bromance between Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Durin IV (Owain Arthur). , it was totally sleep-inducing. Even the episodes set in the beautiful but strangely soulless Numenor setpieces, I couldn’t stay awake for a few early episodes.
The show picked up momentum towards the end and really peaked in the sixth episode, it had its own mid-range twist with the eruption of Mount Doom and the creation of Mordor (the show literally has to spell it out in its title card which seems to suggest most trust in its viewers). did). That twist had been built in the background in previous episodes as well, but laid out more subtly than hints about Sauron.
The story of Sauron began at the premiere. introduce a stranger In a spectacularly fiery way. Indeed, wise speculation fell into the hands of Gandalf and other wizards. But there was enough online chatter that the character was Sauron, and it acted as a red herring.Unlike Mount Doom’s twist, Rings of Power sparked Sauron speculation from the start.
The situation reminds much of Star Trek: Discovery, another show that builds on an established franchise with the goal of luring viewers to the streaming service. Star Trek spoiler alert: The Paramount Plus show featured a major twist where Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif), a human federal officer and lover of main character Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), was actually a Klingon double agent. We built our debut season around it.
This was another scenario where hardcore fans figured out the twist ahead of time and dampened its potential impact. The good news: Discovery’s showrunners adapted to later seasons, improved steadily, and moved away from that ONE. distortion.
I hope Rings of Power goes. Sauron’s reveal of Vickers’ character opens the door to a more human interpretation of the character not seen in Jackson’s six films. Season 2 should provide an interesting wrinkle to her arc.
But fan knowledge and our ability to respond broadly and instantly to each other means that showrunners are really, really smart when it comes to hiding those twists. is a perfect example, but it didn’t have the scrutiny of big franchise establishments. It would be nice if we could create a consistently engaging show instead of a big announcement.
After this uneven first season, it might be the biggest shocker of them all.