The more I read about Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings TV show, the less I understand. I’m a Tolkien diehard – I wrote about why The Lord of the Rings has such brilliant maps yesterday – and would like to think I know a thing or two about Middle-earth. In fact, speaking of maps, I knew this series was going to be set in the Second Age before it was even announced because of a map Amazon unveiled on Twitter, which had Numenor on it. By the time we hit the Third Age, which is when the events of The Lord of the Rings actually transpire, Numenor is at the bottom of the ocean.
We know this for a fact now, obviously. Amazon’s show is set in the Second Age prior to the sinking of Numenor, which is a very important period in the history of Tolkien’s legendarium that anyone who has read either The Silmarillion or the appendices to The Lord of the Rings will likely already be aware of. Probably the most central part of this era is the genesis of Sauron. If you want to know who’s playing him, go through the cast list and pick the most classically handsome person – Sauron was a real head-turner before he started wearing a fork helmet.
Related: The Lord Of The Rings Proves The Importance Of Mapmaking
That’s worth dwelling on, because right now, it’s very difficult to ascertain who has been cast as who. The villain of the show, Oren, isn’t a real character, echoing Peter Jackson and Christopher Tolkien’s invention of Tauriel for The Hobbit trilogy. It’s worth noting that Aragorn is of Numenorean blood, as well as the fact that he’s Isildur’s heir. Isildur’s dad was called Orendil, which is the closest reasonable name to Oren, although there are at least three millennia between the sinking of Numenor and the Battle of Dagorlad, so… maybe it’s Aragorn’s ancestor. I mean, the whole idea of making a show set in the Second Age seems like the basis for young Aragorn.
On that note, it seems as if there are quite a few young characters being cast. Game of Thrones made stars out of dozens of young actors, while Freya Allan looks set to play a starring role in The Witcher season two. Both of these series are based on books that also focus on young characters though – The Silmarillion and the appendices to The Lord of the Rings are different. Also, it seems as if the show is only pulling from the appendices – I’m not sure Amazon even got the rights to The Silmarillion. All of that being said, the most reasonable thing to discern from this casting is either that there are going to be flashback sequences or that Amazon is writing even more original characters. I’m very sceptical about the latter, if I’m honest, while the former feeds my young Aragorn theory, so I’m going to go with that – let’s just hope the timeskips aren’t as convoluted as The Witcher, eh? I loved Netflix’s adaptation of Sapkowski’s saga, but it was extremely deterring for viewers who weren’t already acquainted with the setting. I know The Lord of the Rings is far more globally ubiquitous than The Witcher, but I’ve met a lot of people who couldn’t tell you who Pippin is, never mind Peregrin Took. The Lord of the Rings needs to be good, sure, but it can’t compromise on approachability for the sake of some pretentious shite that appeals to a relative minority of fans.
As I stated at the beginning of this piece, the more I see about this show, the less I actually know. I predicted the Second Age setting well in advance of its actual reveal, and I’m sticking to my guns on young Aragorn playing a big role in it – maybe not in season one, but definitely down the line, and after forking over $465 million on eight episodes, “down the line” is pretty much certain to be made. Amazon has been very tight-lipped about The Lord of the Rings, which isn’t easy when you consider the sheer scale of a project like this – I’d say everyone onboard is up to their arse in NDAs.
I reckon it’s going to be good. All I really have to go on here is my gut, which tells me that Amazon spent a lot of money hiring very talented people to adapt stories I already know and love. It’s certainly not going to be shite. I can’t for the life of me understand what’s actually going on, though. Is Oren really the main antagonist? Is that an alias for Sauron? Are we going to see anything about Morgoth? How deep into the appendices have they gone? Am I right about young Aragorn, or are they going to steer clear of the Third Age entirely? Questions and more questions, that’s all I have right now. Here’s hoping we get to see the answers for ourselves before the year is out, eh?