What’s wrong with The Rings of Power?

7 specific examples where Tolkien's moral vision is replaced by Hollywood's.

I’m getting into an increasing number of conversations online and so I thought I’d make the core of my concerns more explicit.

But first, if you’re not a huge Tolkien fan and you’re just looking for a fun generic fantasy epic I’d say The Rings of Power (TROP) is a 6 or maybe even a 7 so you’ll find my frustrations hard to relate to.

I’m not judging it on that standard.

As a lifelong Tolkien superfan, I’m evaluating this series on whether it enhances or detracts from the Tolkien universe.

On that scale, it’s getting a 4 out of 10 and is poised to sink lower with every episode.

Why? Because the creators took the moral heart out of Tolkien’s world and put in its place the confusing moral vision of Hollywood. 

Why do this? I can only assume they thought this would be an improvement and it’s at that point that my frustration starts to feel more like betrayal.

So I’ll walk you through 7 moments from the first episode (and it gets worse from there) where this exchange has taken place and you can judge for yourselves if you think Professor Tolkien’s Christian worldview is being enhanced through a woke “upgrade”.

1. The Metanarrative

• Tolkien: Pride and the Fall of the Elves

• TROP: Pride and the Triumph of the Elves

The prologue literally inverted the story and reversed the morality of the Silmarillion.

Pride is evil in Tolkien’s world and leads the elves to cross the sea to fight Morgoth but in TROP pride becomes a celebrated virtue that leads them to conquer.

This is the most subtly dangerous exchange in virtue that exists in the modern world and these creators make it in the first moments of their series.

2. The struggle of the feminine

• Tolkien: Family loyalty

• TROP: Systemic oppression

Compare how Luthien, Arwen, Eowyn, and even Galadriel from the Silmarillion all wrestle with the tension of family loyalty as the central struggle of the feminine.

Today’s Galadriel has to deal with the oppression of society symbolized by a gang of thoughtless, bullying, elven children too blind or envious to see Galadriel’s engineering genius.

Imagine how many more women would be in the STEM fields if society would have encouraged them in childhood.

3. Battling physical evil

• Tolkien: Teamwork and sacrifice

• TROP: Girl Power

Compare the battle with the cave troll in Peter Jackson’s LOTR with the Ice Troll in TROP.

One was filled with real danger countered by teamwork and the constant risk of personal danger.

The other started with the evisceration of the incompetent male warriors until the female defies all physics to kill the beast so easily she doesn’t even need to look.

4. Romantic Love

• Tolkien: Love vs Duty

• TROP: Systemic racism

In Tolkien’s world men like Aragorn and Beren who desire a lifelong mate face a crushing duty that first must be fulfilled.

In TROP we are treated to a white elf lecturing an elf of color about the evils of interracial marriage by saying in their history it always ends in tragedy. Which is the opposite of what happens in the Silmarillion where salvation for both elves and humans comes through an interracial union.

5. Friendship

• Tolkien: Steadfast loyalty

• TROP: Petty comparison games

The great friendships of Tolkien’s world, whether between Maedhros and Fingon or Frodo and Sam are used to highlight how far someone will go to stand by their friendship.

In TROP Durin wins the award for the world’s whiniest dwarf who does everything he can to destroy a multi-decade friendship with Elrond because he didn’t bother to check Instagram to discover he might be missing a major life event.

6. The Afterlife

• Tolkien: A sacred place of ultimate rest

• TROP: Premature escapism from self-actualization

In TROP Galadriel would rather attempt to swim an ocean rather than return to Valinor.

Further, she’s portrayed as so immature as to make this decision at the last possible moment proving to everyone that even if it means certain death you must follow your heart.

7. Wisdom

• Tolkien: Council knows best

• TROP: Jr knows best

When facing a complex decision with many possibilities Tolkien gathers the world’s wisest people to ensure they make the best decision.

TROP follows the tired formula of Jr. knows best where the most impulsive and immature person in the story (Galadriel who would rather watch her soldiers die of frostbite than betray her own passion project) knows better than the king. 

Oh, and when there is a council Elrond isn’t even invited. “Elf-lords only.” I suppose because a half-elf like Elrond is the victim of systemic racism.

Conclusion:

These may seem like subtle points but in fantasy, the moral vision of the author infuses a thousand tiny details. 

Stories are the language of morality and every story is a morality tale.

When we want to teach our children the difference between good and evil we tell them stories that have stood the test of time. 

The decision to swap Tolkien’s moral framework for Hollywood’s ensures this story will cease to resonate once the winds of modern morality blow in a new direction.

In the meantime, I’m going to do my best to just enjoy the multi-million dollar special effects.