LOTR

Of course, my LOTR title refers to Lord of the Rings. Along with The Hobbit, they performed an important function for me about more than 4 decades ago. Good grief! when I counted the years, I was almost shocked, but here we are, forty-plus years later, in my later seventies and not my earlyish thirties.

I was still a youngish teacher, but in my eleventh year I was transferred from my city high school to a country one. If that wasn't enough of a change, I was also tasked with doing some teaching out of my area. I was not in a happy place. Without droning on and on, let me tell you that my department head was arrested for attempted murder in the next year, and he had to serve time, so yes, it was a difficult transition in several ways.

Being shunted from a pleasant situation to what was then an unpleasant one for me, without a by-your-leave, was a tough experience, and I became depressed. I don't mean in a clinical sense, but my spirits were at a low ebb.

Before, I go on with the narrative, I am chiming in to tell you that it became a very good experience in the end. All told, I spent 12 years in that school in two stints of six years. I am thankful for the experience, but I had to get past that first year.

Somehow, I picked up The Hobbit, and being transported to a whole different world was wonderful for my mental health. I kept on reading the ensuing trilogy and loved it. The escape to Middle Earth was much of what I needed to cope with my work situation.

Twenty years later, LOTR was made into three movies. I was skeptical about them, wondering how it would be possible to adapt the series to the screen. Creating that world seemed like an impossible task, and we also know how films can take liberties with their source books.

I was completely impressed. To me, the films were about as faithful to the books as they could be, and they created Middle Earth and its characters better than my own imagination, or at least in a different and wonderful way. How they were able to create those characters and that world with the technology of that era  was both awesome and inspirational.

Twenty years later, Amazon has developed The Rings of Power, and I am somewhat on the fence. For sure they have created costumes and an environment that is really impressive, especially for a tv series. However, while the series definitely has been fashioned in the spirit of LOTR, it is a made-up story in a sense. The setting is eons before LOTR, and constructed from  bits of Tolkien's mentions in other tomes that he has written. They have added much to the bits and pieces while, in my view, maintaining the Tolkien authenticity, at least somewhat overseen by Tolkien's decedents. (At least this is the case as I understand it, but I am open to being corrected.)

I don't really mind that they have extrapolated and added material, for the series is very harmonious with the LOTR films in my unworthy opinion. I can tell you that the narrative does move slowly, and I wonder if those without a LOTR background would want to follow it. I even wonder about my own involvement sometimes, but I also know that I will see it through.

However, seeing it through, will take three more years, for they are only on season two of a projected five series.

I am interested to know if you are watching or will watch, and if you are a Middle Earther or not. If not but you are watching nevertheless, how does the series play for you, bearing in mind that season two isn't over yet?