The furor around Amazon Prime’s Rings of Power has finally started to settle in the wake of the show’s first three episodes, and even detractors are beginning to acknowledge the show’s better qualities. This comes far too late to undo the damage done by racist fans when the show first launched, however, a topic that one of the show’s stars addressed at the 2022 Emmys. Thankfully, most of the cast seemed well prepared for a certain amount of fallout in the lead-up to the show’s premiere, and most fans are far more focused on Rings of Power’s actual content and the sweet, nostalgic nods to Lord of the Rings scattered throughout the show’s first half.
Rings star digs into the pressure of playing one of Middle-earth’s most recognizable elves
One of The Rings of Power’s stars, Robert Aramayo, recently opened up about the responsibility he feels as he steps into the role of Elrond. He’s one of many characters introduced in the Amazon Prime show’s first several episodes, but his role comes with heaps of pressure. Elrond’s name was well known before Rings of Power launched, unlike characters like Gil-Galad, and that name-recognition comes with a hefty helping of pressure. Thankfully, Aramayo is using the pressure to his advantage, and it’s already paying off.
Ismael Cruz Cordova responds to racist backlash
One of several of Rings of Power’s stars to be on the receiving end of racist backlash, Arondir actor Ismael Cruz Cordova responded to the outpouring of hate he received while attending the 2022 Emmys. He shut down critics with a concise statement about the sprawling world J.R.R. Tolkien created, one that he believes is “bigger than me, bigger than those opinions.” He’s right in saying that he “put in the work,” and fans of the show are already pinning him as an easy favorite.
Fans can’t get enough of those minor Lord of the Rings nods in Rings of Power
The Rings of Power was always guaranteed to share quite a bit in common with The Lord of the Rings, but fans are delighting in the opportunity to catch the many details in Rings that pay homage to the films that preceded it. The most recent chance to revel in Amazon Prime’s expansion of Middle-earth came in episode three, which revealed the gorgeous, ancient ancestor of one of the original trilogy’s most iconic landmarks. The palace of Númenor is already turning heads and prompting questions about what oft-forgotten Lord of the Rings details Rings will explore next.
Rings delves into the history of the dwarves and Khazad-dûm
As fans dig in and start to truly appreciate everything that Rings of Power is ⏤ and can be ⏤ they’re sharing appreciation for some of the lesser-seen races in Tolkien’s world. The dwarves have gotten a fair amount of screen time over the years, but that isn’t stopping fans from melting over the far more expansive look at dwarven history and the long-awaited deep-dive into the dwarves of Khazad-dûm.