'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' review: Tolkien adaptation is a triumphant return to Middle-earth

Two cloaked figures stand in a snowy wasteland. One has planted a sword in the snow.

You know that sense of pure joy that comes from watching a world you love get translated marvelously to the screen? That's the feeling you'll get when watching The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Prime Video's series is a stunning, meticulously crafted love letter to J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth. It draws from a variety of Tolkien's works, including The Silmarillion and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. However, showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay also make the bold choice to weave entirely new storylines and characters into stories we may already know. Instead of pulling focus from Middle-earth as we know it, these new stories help bring parts of the world we haven't yet seen onscreen to life. In the end, The Rings of Power's gamble pays off: It is as much a fully-fledged portrait of Tolkien's universe as it is an epic tale of the battle between good and evil.

Welcome back to Middle-earth

White-cloaked elves kneel in a circle under a tree with golden leaves, watching as their King Gil-galad places a golden circlet on Galadriel's head.

Lindon in all its beauty. Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

The Middle-earth of The Rings of Power is different from that of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy. We're in the Second Age, thousands of years before Bilbo and Frodo took their first steps outside the Shire. This is a world where the great dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm is still at the height of its power, where elves are ruled by the High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), and where hobbit ancestors known as harfoots migrate with the seasons.

It's also a world at peace — for now. In an epic prologue reminiscent of Cate Blanchett's narration at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring, the elf Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) speed runs us through key events of the First Age. The great evils of Morgoth and Sauron have been defeated, and now elves, dwarves, and humans can live without fear. At least, that's what most of them think. The shadow of Sauron still lingers, and threatens to appear in the most unexpected of places.

In our journey to some of these places around Middle-earth, The Rings of Power brings us to gorgeously wrought locations. The Elvish realm of Lindon is reminiscent of Jackson's take on Rivendell and Lothlórien, full of natural beauty and delicate Elvish architecture. Khazad-dûm is a stony marvel, and the harfoots' village is a quaint (and mobile) version of the Shire. Add to that the sheer beauty of New Zealand, where this season was shot, and you've got a world you'll want to get lost in for hours.

New heroes — and some familiar faces

A human woman, an elven man, and a young human stand at the front of a crowd of humans, looking concerned.

Bronwyn, Arondir, and Theo are all new characters, but they fit right in in Middle-earth. Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video

But what good is a beautiful world if you don't have interesting characters to follow? Luckily, The Rings of Power has those in spades, boasting an ensemble of exciting new heroes to latch onto, as well as a wonderful cast.

Let's start with what is arguably the main arc of the series: Galadriel's hunt for Sauron. Sauron killed Galadriel's brother Finrod. Now she has taken up his mission to find the evil left in Middle-earth and snuff it out. Her fellow elves doubt her, but she remains steadfast in her quest. Her journey takes her from the icy wastes of Forodwaith to the perils of the Sundering Seas, and beyond.

We've seen Galadriel before, but not like this. Clark's Galadriel is a dedicated warrior hell-bent on justice. She has centuries of life experience, yet she has much to learn — and much to prove. Clark is phenomenal, taking a role so closely associated with Blanchett and making it her own. She is captivating right from her very first voiceover, which serves as an instant gateway back to Middle-earth.

Joining Galadriel in the "you may recognize us from Lord of the Rings" squad is Elrond (Robert Aramayo). With Middle-earth now at peace, Gil-galad sends Elrond to work with master smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Celebrimbor's next great project will involve the cooperation of the dwarves, including Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), who will for sure be your new favorite Middle-earth power couple. Of course, the fact that this show's title references the forging of the Rings of Power does not bode well for this group's endeavors, but the dwarf-elf interactions are, as always, a delight to watch.

Balancing out the stories of elven commanders and dwarven princes are characters like young harfoot Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and human healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), whose lives are upended by forces beyond their control. Bronwyn and Nori's stories are wonderful contrasts to the high drama of, say, Galadriel's journey. Boniadi and Kavenagh's performances are grounded and immediately engaging, reminding us that Middle-earth is not solely a place of cosmic forces of good and evil. It is also a place where anyone can be brave in the face of darkness.

Equally excellent is Ismael Cruz Córdova as the elf Arondir, who forms a deep bond with Bronywn. Their romance is sweet yet understated, and Córdova is every the inch the stoic elven hero. He and Clark deliver some of the first two episodes' best action sequences — including a tense tunnel chase and a troll battle — proving that epic fights are still very much alive and well in Middle-earth.

There is still so much more to come

Three ships with suns painted on their sails sail into the harbor of an island city.

We'll find ourselves in Númenor soon. Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video

While I have only seen the first two episodes of The Rings of Power provided to critics for review, they have absolutely left me hungry for more. Based on the trailers, we still have the entirety of the Númenor plotline to explore, as well as further adventures with the characters we've already met and grown to love. (If Disa, Nori, and Bronwyn don't immediately capture your hearts within two seconds of screen time, you may simply be heartless.) Sure, there's a slim chance that The Rings of Power falls apart in the next episodes, but the show more than earns the audience's trust with these first two episodes.

Perhaps the show's most impressive accomplishment is how true it feels to The Lord of the Rings while so much of it is new material. Showrunners Payne and McKay have clearly used Tolkien's work as more of a guiding frame than a strict list of plot points to hit, but they do so in a way that captures the spirit of the original source material. The Rings of Power turns out to be a rousing tale of perseverance in the face of evil, a sumptuous re-introduction to Tolkien's world, and just all-around great TV. You won't just feel like you've returned to Middle-earth: You'll feel like you never left.

The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere on Prime Video at 9 p.m. ET on Sept. 1. New episodes release weekly Fridays at 12 a.m. ET.

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