the plot is slow, the reputation is declining, the fantasy ip derivative drama, "the ring" is not as good as "game of thrones"
2024-09-08
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[global times special correspondent lu ke] as one of the most popular western fantasy ips, the second season of "the lord of the rings" spin-off "the power of the rings" started airing at the end of august, attracting many viewers who love "the lord of the rings" and fantasy themes. however, compared with the first season two years ago, the second season of "the power of the rings" has not made much progress in terms of word of mouth, and it has not even caused as much heated discussion as the similar "game of thrones" spin-off "house of the dragon". the road to the derivative of fantasy ip does not seem to be as smooth as expected.
focus on middle-earth "second age"
tolkien's masterpiece "the lord of the rings" has an extremely important position in western fantasy literature and has a far-reaching influence. especially after it was adapted into a movie by peter jackson in 2001, the two film trilogies achieved great success, not only widely praised worldwide, but also becoming an unsurpassed peak in the field of fantasy ip. when the streaming platform amazon invested a huge budget of us$1 billion to shoot a five-season spin-off of "the lord of the rings", "lord of the rings fans" were both excited and worried, fearing that this classic would become a shoddy soap opera.
the lord of the rings poster
in september 2022, the first season of "the power of the rings" was released, and the reputation was not surprisingly controversial. the timeline of the play is before the movie version of "the lord of the rings", focusing on the "second age" of middle-earth, telling the intricate relationship between the long-lived elves and the devil sauron. "the power of the rings" has been recognized for its production level, costumes, props and special effects, but it has been controversial in its dramatic structure, performances and casting.
as the heroine, the young galadriel has a good image, but the appearance of other elves is far less handsome than that in tolkien's works. at the same time, although the appearance of dark-skinned elves meets the current "diversity" requirements in europe and the united states, it goes against tolkien's original intention and has been criticized by many fans of the original novel and movie.
the second season of "the power of the rings" was launched after a lapse of 2 years, and the first three episodes were released on august 29. sauron, who was once expelled by galadriel, is back. although he has no army or allies for the time being, he relies on his incomparable cunning to rebuild his power. at the same time, he supervises the creation of the "lord of the rings" and attempts to spread his evil will in middle-earth. "elves and dwarves, humans and orcs, and wizards, as friendships and kingdoms fall apart, based on the ambitions of the previous season, "the power of the rings" season 2 is dragged into the darkness by fragile people to find their place in a world of disaster, and the forces of good need to be more courageous to stick to themselves."
this spin-off series, which continues the "middle-earth" worldview, has once again polarized its reputation. the media on rotten tomatoes gave it an 83% freshness rating, but the audience's popcorn index was only 49%. the mainstream media score given by the metacritic website was only 67 points, 4 points lower than the first season.
the creative idea is more "family-friendly"
in the view of the british magazine empire, the second season of ring of power is "absolutely the highest level of fantasy, luxuriously produced, and provides a truly epic adventure". the website roger ebert believes that the new season "has made a leap forward from its predecessor, and although there will be resistance from fans of the original novel and the movie, it is undoubtedly the most eye-catching fantasy drama this year". the website collider believes that the second season "retains the excellent qualities and shortcomings of the first season, with an expansion of the cast and scenes, but the plot has rhythm problems".
the guardian said, "season 2 is mainly about conspiracy, overcoming some of the shortcomings of the previous work." ign also believed that "season 2 does a good job of showing sauron's conspiracy and manipulation of others, but wastes a lot of time on secondary plots, portraying those thin characters and mediocre schemes." the hollywood reporter simply criticized, "there is a dramatic construction, but it still looks boring."
a reporter from variety magazine in the united states criticized the show mercilessly: "i didn't see any characters that were particularly worthy of my concern, and i couldn't feel any emotions. the first season two years ago seemed to have received polite praise from critics, but it was full of flaws in the eyes of the audience. according to statistics, only 37% of people watched all eight episodes of the first season, which is a pity for a fantasy drama that was invested over 1 billion and was highly publicized."
the report said that now that the second season is online, there is no sign of reversing this ratings. although the show finally has some weak narrative momentum with the return of sauron, it still looks very bland overall. other successful prequels and spin-offs, such as "house of the dragon", will double down on the tragedy of the characters, but "rings of power" seems to be lighter, healthier, and more "family-friendly", which is exactly its shortcoming.
streaming upstarts lack experience
after the premiere of "the power of the rings", it was destined to be compared with another fantasy spin-off "house of the dragon". the second season was also launched in the summer, and the rotten tomatoes freshness was similar, but the audience's reputation was far apart. the latter received a popcorn index of 74%, indicating that ordinary audiences are more optimistic about the spin-off of "game of thrones". the metacritic website also scored 73 points, slightly higher than "the power of the rings". the two spin-offs of the same type of subject matter have different trends in reputation. the reasons are multifaceted, involving the positioning of the platform, the target user group, the level of the main creators, and whether the original work is a help or a drag.
in terms of production standards, the established tv channel hbo is more experienced and confident than the streaming upstart amazon. "house of the dragon" also basically continues the style and setting of "game of thrones", which can be said to be an "official orthodox spin-off". in contrast, "rings of power" is the result of a new platform and a new creative team starting over. although both are based on tolkien's original novels, they have their own "unique" ideas in terms of style and casting.
given the age and influence of the novels of the lord of the rings, many loyal fans have already left a fixed impression on them. jackson's film version has further strengthened its world view and character design, and later works will inevitably be compared with it, which brings greater pressure and more controversy. however, both the novels and the tv series of game of thrones are contemporary works, and the audience's aesthetics and tolerance will be higher, which is also conducive to its higher reputation.
it is undeniable that the fantasy craze and its aftermath in the european and american film and television circles, which lasted for more than 20 years, was brought about by the hit movie "the lord of the rings" in 2001. with the integration of many similar themes, an imaginative fictional world and a large fantasy fan group were constructed. creators also need to be sincere and respectful of these fantasy ips in order to allow this subculture trend to continue to spread and develop.
