‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Recap – ‘A Shadow of the Past’

Written by Joel T. Lewis

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’.
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​It feels good to come home again. Middle Earth is the granddaddy of fantasy fiction worlds. Both in print and on film, the storytelling and pop culture influence of The Lord of the Rings has few rivals. It was an important root point for me as a kid struggling through Fellowship of the Ring and then skipping ahead to Two Towers after leaving the theater the day Peter Jackson’s trilogy came out.
 
I spent a lot of time in Middle Earth. Turning pages, eating popcorn, watching hours of footage of how they put it all on film, and crossing swords with hundreds of computer-generated orcs at the 75th Battle of Helm’s Deep. There’s a magic about that place.
 
Magic enough that it dragged me back for 3 prequels that, though they had a charm, there was no real reason for 2 of them to exist. By the time the final Hobbit sequel was released, there were 4 seasons yet to be aired of the other generation-defining fantasy fiction crossover, Game of Thrones. GOT did for television storytelling what its predecessor had in film and then some, defying the classic tropes (some would say almost to a fault) and had stumbled at the finish line. Did I want to go back to Middle Earth after all of that? All that progress and regression? You bet your hairy feet I did!
 
So, with the semi-sour taste of the prequels and the recent success and then abrupt anti-climax of the would-be successor to Tolkien’s throne swirling through my mind I began Prime Video’s new series.

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I breathed a sigh of relief as Galadriel’s voice returned to set the stage for a younger Middle Earth and an all too familiar threat.
 
Galadriel narrates the attack on the undying lands by the evil Morgoth and his cruel lieutenant Sauron. She fills us in on the centuries long war fought with legions of orcs and the continued occupation of middle earth and its people. Galadriel, we discover, is a soldier without a war being forced to retire to the undying lands though the horrors of war have traumatized her mind.  She protests unheeded that the war is not over, that she is convinced (rightly so) that Sauron’s power endures.
 
She briefly reunites with Elrond, a herald of the Elven King Gil-galad and an old friend. After persuading her to take the ship to the undying lands, Elrond is tasked by his King to accompany and assist the Elven Master Smith Celebrimbor with his newest and mysterious endeavor.
 
Laced between the scenes of Galadriel’s resistance, acceptance, and final rebellion in diving overboard rather than returning to the elven homeland we follow an adventurous Harfoot (hobbit-ish folk), Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot. Nori’s natural curiosity sets her at odds with her people’s secretive philosophy of hiding away from the other races of the world. Nori wonders whether the early appearance of hunters, and now wolves near her seasonal home bode well for the future.

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And finally, we meet the Elven Soldier Arondir, who explores a mysterious dark petulance infecting the land with his unspoken and forbidden love, the human Bronwyn.
 
And with that the stage is set for another receding and yet deepening darkness threatening a familiar but rougher Middle Earth. It looks amazing, it carries the weight of that well-tread world well, and I’m so excited to see what comes next (especially if the stranger who makes a late appearance in the episode is who and what I think he is!) There are mythic blades, legends, and little world-building flourishes that feel uniquely Tolkien as we explore this projected time before the third age. They’ve managed to kindle the old under-the-hill magic that has led generations to step out on their own long journeys over the misty mountains.
 
So, mount up, lace up your greaves, and take that family blade off of the wall as we continue to explore the magical world of the Rings of Power with episode 2 real soon!

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