Everything The Rings of Power revisits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy (so far)
One of the appeals of a sprawling prequel series like The Rings of Poweris in seeing the world you love from the Lord of the Ringsmovies (and the Hobbittrilogy, we see and appreciate those fans as well) in a very different form. This lets fans participate on another level entirely, making every new tidbit that the show reveals a puzzle in and of itself, a pocket mystery where we already know the end, but not the “how” or “why.”
To its credit, The Rings of Power isn’t overly familiar yet. In its first two episodes, there’s plenty of recognizable iconography — flora and fauna, armor designs and architecture — but very little direct transposition. For now, the show is taking us mostly someplace new. But there’s still some important stuff you might recognize.
With that in mind, here’s a brief run-through of everything shown in The Rings of Power that hearkens back to previous on-screen adaptations of Middle-earth so far.
An early highlight of the show, Galadriel is perhaps the closest thing to a protagonist that can be found in The Rings of Power’s sprawling cast. That’s because she immediately has a clear and compelling journey: As the series’ sprawling story begins, Galadriel is on a quest for revenge, one that will ultimately result in a take on one of Tolkien’s most complex and unrealized characters that The Fellowship of the Ringmerely hinted at.
The arrogant cutie here eventually becomes the stern leader of Rivendell played by Hugo Weaving in Peter Jackson’s films. He’s one of the few links between every screen adaptation of Tolkien’s work, as Elrond was there for it all. This makes it all the more sad to see him as such a chill elf lad in The Rings of Power — he’s going to see some stuff that makes him a
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