Dull with some decent bits. That’s the phrase I’d use to describe season one of The Rings Of Power. At the end of my review of the first two episodes, I said that when the season’s finished we may look back at the opening episodes with either fondness or hatred. Well, I can say now that I look back at Rings Of Power’s first season in its entirety with awe for its spectacle and mostly indifference for its story.

I’m going to ditch my usual format for this review and just talk about what I thought of the plot and characters with some comments on the effects and production design.

Of all the subplots I found Elrond’s to be the most compelling, no contest. During his stay at Khazad-dûm, the friendship he develops with the Dwarf king Durin IV is quite adorable to be frank. It’s of course not without its turbulence. Elrond believes he’s been sent purely to improve Elf relations with the Dwarves but when he learns of the real reason from his superiors, he finds himself at a crossroads. On top of that, the purpose of his mission actually links to the events of The Lord of the Rings.

Galadriel’s arc I didn’t find as compelling. I found it quite difficult to follow in fact. Her quest to kill Sauron brings her to the kingdom of Númenor. There several more subplots kick off, almost all of them reminiscent of arcs played out in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. We have an ill king, a drifter with royal heritage and a young man who wants to go into battle.

Even in the plots that you can’t predict, you just don’t care. I struggle to pin down why and I don’t want to just say they’re badly written. The lack of humour and affection between the characters certainly doesn’t help, and the fact that you’ve got a gazillion other subplots to follow, which may be difficult for some but not all. Pacing is the main problem I believe. Not enough time is lent to these Númenóreans for us to not only to understand their issues but the stakes of their issues. They’re nothing compared to the apocalyptic implications of Elrond and Galadriel’s quests, they’re personal quests but they don’t feel like them. They feel like under cooked sides by a slightly tastier dish.

Arondir’s arc is written no better but it’s more entertaining. He’s essentially the foot soldier in the show’s drama, he encounters Sauron’s forces head on, resulting in some pretty good action scenes. They’re not amazing, some actually look kind of cheap, but after trooping through some boredom in Númenor, you’ll be happy to see Arondir take out a swarm of Orcs.

I was really concerned about the Harfoot characters in the first two episodes. Elanor, our leading Harfoot, came across to me as a Bilbo clone; a Hobbit-like creature who, yearning for adventure, finally embarks on one. As the series progresses, you do see similarities between her and the Baggins however she and the Harfoot tribe do display some original characteristics that are fun to watch. For example, it’s discussed in the first two episodes but we don’t see it take flight until the third episode, the Harfoots embark on a seasonal and perilous migration. This of course is a huge problem for Elanor as she cares for the mysterious giant who fell out of the sky. To make things worse, she fails to hide him from the other Harfoots, resulting in her being ostracized by her fellow tribespeople. This isn’t bad drama. It’s certainly not derivative of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings as I feared. The Harfoot plot isn’t featured in the series as often as Galadriel or Arondir’s, which is a good choice as their story doesn’t have as many beats.

I was quite critical of the makeup effects in the first two episodes but after seeing the other six, I think I was too harsh. The Dwarves and Harfoots do look like people in wigs and beards but the Elves and Orcs look fantastic. I won’t dwell on how perfect the Elves’ ears are so I’ll just focus on the Orcs because they’re the real stars of the show. While their skin has a paler complexion, their design is very reminiscent of the insectoid Moria Orcs from Fellowship of the Ring. They look great.

The landscapes and architecture are perfect. Better than those in Jackson’s trilogy. Númenor is a beautiful city vaster than Gondor, when you see it you’ll believe this show had a multi-million-dollar budget. The same can be said for the Mines of Moria, it’s wonderful to see it so active and teeming with life when it was so desolate in its onscreen debut.

So yes, dull with some decent bits. Does that make it the worst show of the year? Of course not. Not by a country mile. Everyone working on the production was clearly giving it 100%, the same just couldn’t be said for the writing.

It’s mediocre but being based on one of the greatest film trilogies of all time based on one of the greatest books of all time, The Rings Of Power didn’t have the public’s permission to be mediocre. It had to be outstanding and nothing less.

I will check out the second season, certain revelations in the last episode have left me intrigued. Not the best start to a series but as its own thing, divorced from its masterpiece heritage, I’ve seen a lot worse.

I give the first season of Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power an average 6 out of 10.