Rings of Power S1E4

Rings of Power, like the rings of power, is skillfully wrought and comely; it turns any blade meant to wound its gilt; it beckons one onward; and for all its gusto it is potentially unwholesome in spirit.

You can call it corny; but you can call Jackson's LotR corny; what you can't call the latter is unwholesome; it fought for authenticity against financial prospects; RoP runs the opposite risk. I don't keep up much with Amazon's saga, so I can't blemish RoP too much for suckling at that breast, but I am cognizant of its relative position in culture. I hear it got a lot of money; Amazon isn't known for the purity of soul you like in a Tolkien adaptation; it can enjoy surfing the coattails of Jackson's toils, the enormity of Tolkien fandom now, the prevalence of CGI, all of that; I know these things. So I reserve my love, for now; yet I also reserve my resentment. I am enjoying it well enough, and I do applaud its production. I just need to see how it all falls together; does it feel true?; does it leave a mark?; or are the Rings all glitter, no gold.

It's astonishing they acquired such obscure actors. Benjen Stark is the only one I've recognized, and he's not exactly famous. It's an interesting decision, depending such an enterprise on, seemingly, amateurs. I kind of like it though. It feels more escapist. Denzel as Sauron (not unthinkable considering some recent castings) would have been unbearable. These amateurs just need to prove themselves; you have no pre-seeded affection for them, so they have to earn it from scratch.