If the San Diego Comic-Con trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power made the almost-here Amazon Prime series look appropriately epic and awe-inspiring, the final trailer… kinda doesn’t. Maybe it’s the poor choice of music (just give us Bear McCreary’s score!); maybe it’s the sheer number of characters they’re trying to introduce at once… or maybe it’s the fact that a harfoot seems to look straight at the camera while uttering the words, “With our hearts even bigger than our feet.”
No, I did not make that part up.
To be fair, everything looks gorgeous, and Morfydd Clark, who plays the younger, more tempestuous Galadriel, can intone Super Serious Fantasy Dialogue with incredible gravity. There are some very intriguing moments of fighting here; the elf Arondir (played by Ismael Cruz Córdova) seems likely to become a fan favorite; and of course the show’s true star, New Zealand, shines as beautifully as ever.
This trailer also gives us a moment with the dwarf princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete) and her striking golden eyes; another look at the eerie blonde fellow who is totally not Sauron, the showrunners said; and the suggestion that Galadriel is off hunting the Enemy because her brother died, which is sort of a disappointing cliché so far as motivations go—but as always, this is only a trailer, and the show could have a lot more to say. “Choose not the path of fear, but that of faith,” says Galadriel, and my lady, I am trying.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 2nd on Prime Video.
Buy the Book
The Keeper’s Six
