Whatever one may think of the somewhat-verbose writing of legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien, one thing that can never be questioned is the man’s moral compass.
Tolkien, famously, never believed in moral relativism.
No, the author of luminary fantasy novels “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” always exuded that he believes there is good, and there is evil.
It is a far cry from the narrative musings of many modern shows that love to espouse, “But the good guys are really bad guys!” and vice versa.
(See: Acolyte, The.)
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One of the most quoted lines in all of his works is when Aragorn, a shining example of masculinity done right and a key character in “Lord of the Rings,” responds to someone who is confused at the crazed state of the world:
“How shall a man judge what to do in such times?”
Aragorn responded: “As he ever has judged … Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
It’s a very noble, heroic, and — sadly — rare sentiment, and one that should easily translate to television, where viewers naturally crave a protagonist and an antagonist.
Are you a fan of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”?
So then why in Middle-earth is the second season of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” struggling so mightily with some Tolkien fans?
In short, because the series doesn’t seem too keenly interested in the moral absolutism of Tolkien.
In fact, it’s so bad, that one famous YouTube media critic, “The Critical Drinker,” lambasted this second season as “The Ultimate Insult to Tolkien,” which is a scathing assessment, to say the least.
(You can watch the video here, but be warned that it includes language the viewer may find offensive.)
“Season one had only a tenuous understanding of the morality of Tolkien’s world,” Critical Drinker mused. “And that understanding seems to have completely vanished here [in season two].”
The YouTube critic further blasted the show, saying it “ticks almost every diversity box except acting ability.”
“This show is quite simply an abomination,” he said, further noting that it was “a ruined, corrupted form of entertainment twisted and mutilated, lost beyond all hope of redemption.”
Indeed, others on social media found similar issues — if perhaps not quite as dramatic — with many of the second season’s plot points, including the suddenly humanized orcs.
(Orcs, for the unfamiliar, were the bloodthirsty monsters that largely populated the evil armies in the books and films.)
The obsession with making the bad guys just “misunderstood” is killing the genre.
Let evil be a simple thing, and heroics be a simple and just reaction.
— Grummz (@Grummz) August 29, 2024
“Orcs just want a safe place to raise their kids, be evil, and practice their corrupted form of life in peace,” media critic Nerdrotic posted on the social media platform X.
Mark Kern, a famous video game developer, chimed in with: “The obsession with making the bad guys just ‘misunderstood’ is killing the genre.
“Let evil be a simple thing, and heroics be a simple and just reaction.”
Now, Tolkien is quoted as describing the orcs as such in his writings: “The Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real things of its own. I don’t think it gave life to the orcs, it only ruined them and twisted them.”
Some have taken that quote to mean orcs were once good before being “twisted” into evil, and these humanized orcs of the “The Rings of Power” are pre- or mid-twisting, but that really isn’t what’s been shown so far.
Regardless, this second season’s tepid reaction is a blow for Amazon, which paid a high price for a generally poorly received first season of “Rings of Power.”
The first season was so odious to X owner Elon Musk, that the tech mogul claimed, “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”
