Didn't even know they were doing this until I read of some controversy.
Are you concerned like many Tolkien fans?
I read a little and it's hard for me to be too upset, although I'm pretty ignorant of the complaints. I'm not like a purist or superfan or anything.
The one I read that seemed to matter a little bit was a dwarf woman not having a beard.
Any other thoughts?
Now that season 1 has finished, I think the fears of the hard-core Tolkien fans were only slightly justified. We finally have come to the forging of the three rings that Sauron never touched, and the Numenorians have come to Middle Earth as we knew they must. Most of the events and characters are consistent with the Tolkien legendarium. Since this Amazon series (ROP) is set in a time period that is only sparsely covered in the Silmarilion and the LOTR, there is not much Tolkien data to compare with. I do have some complaints. One is the character of what we suppose is Mithrandir/Gandalf/Olórin who apparently was sent by the Valar with memory wipe, so that he needs to "discover" is own true identity. True, we don't
known anything from Tolkien about the manner of the arrival of the Istari, but it seems the only reason for them to arrive in such a state of confusion is to pad the runtime out to 8 episodes for season 1 with cute bonding moments with the Harfoots. But I did enjoy the showdown with the three creepy witches thinking he was Sauron. I liked how he used his staff to levitate and rotate his foes just like Saruman did to him in LOTR.
Was Elrond besties with Durin IV in the Tolkien world? I don't know. But it is reasonable. We know that in the Second Age there was a period of friendship between dwarves and elves by the inscription over the door to Moria in Fellowship. I think we are seeing that same door in ROP, but it lacks the inscription. And at the time of ROP, there is great distrust between elves and dwarves. So I suppose the better times referred to by the inscription are at some time yet to come in the Second Age. It is notable that ROP does not reveal any specific year, but we can narrow it down quite a bit. Since Elendil and his son Isildur are already alive, and since Isildur is killed two years after the Last Alliance of Men and Elves in 3430 S.A., and since Isildur was born in 3209 S.A., this series must be fairly close to the end of the Second Age (which ended in 3430 S.A.) Also, since the wreck of Numenor is supposed to take place in 3319 S.A., and it is not yet wrecked in ROP, we must be before 3319 S.A, but after 3209 S.A. But Isildur looks to be at least 20 years old, so we must be in 3229-3319 S.A. And somehow we've got to get Sauron back to Numenor to corrupt king Ar-Pharazôn to attack the undying lands, which will lead to the destruction of Numenor. But right now the season one ended with Halbrand (who we now know is Sauron) back in Middle Earth, building Mordor. I guess that can happen in 90 years so as not to break with Tolkien canon.
The style of storytelling is very different from Tolkien, telling the story mostly as a mystery. Also I find it disconcerting to follow the currently unrelated story lines. We have hobbits + the stranger, trouble in the Southlands, elves vs. dwarves, Galadriel vs. everybody, Numenor being Numenor. I know they eventually all tie together, but the way it was revealed it did not seem like it for a long time. Still, overall I have to say, the series is not terrible, and is worth watching, even if you are a hard-core Tolkien fan.
