Their romance echoes Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship, and Córdova’s stoic performance brilliantly sells his character’s age and sense of justice. Ismael Cruz Córdova’s Elven guard Arondir and his human lover, Nazanin Boniad’s Bronwyn, have the same palpable Middle-earthian feel. Payne have invented these characters, and they are as Tolkien-esque, perhaps more so, than anyone Jackson created for his adaptations (especially when you consider how un-Tolkien Evangeline Lilly’s Elf was). Markella Kavenagh’s Nori is as troublesome and funny as either Merry or Pippin, while Lenny Henry’s mysterious soothsayer Sadoc Burrows adds intrigue to this whimsical tale that soon takes a more substantial turn as the Harfoots are drawn into the world of Big People. We also meet the Harfoots, ancestors to the Hobbits who have that same knack for accidentally stumbling into trouble. That’s not the only story being told in these first chapters. Her character goes through a minor arc that feels condensed and complete in the premiere, while the follow-up sets her up to be the series driving force behind the series. Galadriel is ostensibly the series lead, the episodes taking her from hunting down Sauron in a distant land to the Elven kingdom of Lindon, and then beyond that. Morfydd Clark, previously best known for leading the horror Saint Maud, plays a young Galadriel, here a straight-talking Elven warrior – a different proposition to the more ethereal, threatening presence portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Jackson’s movies. There are also a few recognizable characters. While Bilbo, Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf are nowhere to be found, The Rings of Power shares the same kinetic cinematic language sweeping shots of New Zealand landscapes, huge orchestral score, and living, breathing world. Indeed, the premiere holds a fair amount in common with its theatrical forbearers. A prologue retells the encounter, the montage of battles and tears harkening back to the opening of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring. We’re initially taken back to the First Age of Middle-earth, when the Elves fought the great enemy Morgoth and his chief lieutenant, Sauron. The word "epic" doesn’t do justice to the sheer scale of the story being told. Every dollar Amazon has spent on The Rings of Power can be seen on screen in the opening two episodes.
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