With the series premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuting the first two episodes yesterday (September 1) on Amazon Prime, fans of the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth were welcomed with characters old and new.
Morfydd Clark leads the series as Galadriel, a rebel, warrior Elf who goes on to wear a Ring of Power. Ismael Cruz Córdova plays new character Arondir, a Silvan Elf, while Robert Aramayo (Game of Thrones) plays the younger version of Half-elf, Elrond (aka the lord of Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings). Charles Edwards plays Celebrimbor, the mythical Elven Jewelsmith, a Lord of Eregion and the one who ultimately forges the rings of power. The High-King of the Elves, Gil-galad is portrayed by Benjamin Walker. Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power), plays Queen Regent Míriel the ruler of the greatest kingdom of Men, Númenor. Isildur is played by Maxim Baldry, widely known as the man who kept Sauron’s ring and set the stage for the events in The Lord of the Rings to unfold. Nazanin Boniadi plays new character Bronwyn, the village healer of Tirharad and Arondir’s love interest. Halbrand is another new character played by Charlie Vickers. Markella Kavenaugh plays the Harfoot Nori Brandyfoot, Megan Richards plays Nori Brandyfoot’s friend Poppy Proudfellow and Sir Lenny Henry plays Sadoc Burrows.
Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, similarly to HBO’s prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragons was greenlit for a second season following the success of their premiere episode. The 8-episode season of The Rings of Power has reportedly cost an estimated $715 million – making it the most expensive show ever. Though there were issues with the streamer on having only episode two available in the first hour for some users, those who watched the premiere all seem to have a positive reaction to the cinematography above all else.
That being said, fans on Twitter had mixed feelings about the show. See what they had to say of the premiere episodes below:
