SDCC Rings of Power Update: The Eagles Are Here
Nerd Alert: Clusterhuck hits San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con has been a bucket list trip of mine for a while, so I was in no position to turn down an invite from Amazon to get some Rings of Power content. I am a true nerd, and all true nerds must make the San Diego pilgrimage at some point in their lives. And doing so to cover Tolkien-core’s streaming diaspora? Well, that’s up my alley too.
The first season took a little while to get going, didn’t it? “You have to give it a while but it gets good by the end,” is probably the worst thing you can say about a show and all but guarantees whoever you’re telling won’t watch it. However, after almost giving up on the first season a few times, I ended up enjoying the final episode so much that I watched it twice. I even cried a little. So I approach season two with cautious optimism, and what I’ve seen so far doesn’t dampen my interest at all. Season one was mostly Galadriel’s story, season two will shift its emotional fulcrum to Hot Sauron. (Have you seen Hot Sauron? Well, I have now seen him in the flesh. Man. Hot Sauron, guys. It’s not gay if he’s an elf, right?)
In any case, love or hate Peter Jackson’s ponderous, self-indulgent pacing, you gotta credit Rings of Power for sticking to the vibe instead of trying to make Elrond brat or whatever. Season two isn’t gonna switch up the vibe too much, but based on the Comic-Con trailer, it does look like we’ve got a few more battles on hand. Oh, speaking of: the trailer!
This trailer’s got lots of good, gooey easter eggs for true JRRHeads. Trolls. Spiders of unusual size. Barrow-wrights. Balrogs. Bombadill. Ents. Eagles! And rings, lots of rings, everyone in San Diego is going crazy about rings. Freaks can’t get enough of ‘em.
That’s the sort of stuff that lets Jeff Bezos flex his bank account, and there’s no denying that this show’s VFX makes most recent digital creatures I’ve seen look like Commodore 64 graphics in comparison. I like that stuff. Good special effects matter because they’re made by talented people who often work long hours for zero money to make something that can look truly special. Tolkien had one of the biggest imaginations of his generation, and I appreciate seeing these guys shepherd his vision onto screen.
That said, most of us come to Tolkien not just for cool creatures but for, well, stuff that I’m going to be getting into more in-depth in an upcoming feature that I don’t want to spoil yet. But if you’re more interested in the moral framework of Middle Earth: stay tuned.
Anyway, season two of The Rings of Power will be on Amazon Prime on August 29.
I’ll end with this. I’ve got a few conversations coming up with The Rings of Power’s cast members, writers and showrunners. If you’ve got some good questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.
Apocryfun returns! Novelist and noted wife Liz Riggs joined me on another episode of Apocryfun to talk about Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love. If you’ve never heard Liz go full hater, you’re in for a treat. Listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you haven’t, pick up a copy of Liz’s book here.