The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video) is likely to prove divisive, not least depending on whether you watch it on a big TV or squint at its splendour on a phone or laptop. It is so rich and gorgeous that it is easy to spend the first episode simply gawping at the landscapes, as it swoops and swooshes between the lands of elves and dwarves, humans and harfoots. This is TV that is made for big screens, although surely destined to be watched on smaller ones. It is so cinematic and grand that it makes House of the Dragon look as if it has been cobbled together on Minecraft.
This makes it difficult to judge The Rings of Power as an ordinary series, because so much about it is extraordinary. It is Tolkien, which means this world is already venerated and beloved by so many, whether in the form of the books, Peter Jackson’s films or both. There is an extraordinary weight of expectation before any viewer presses play. Add to that the fact that this is reportedly the most expensive TV series ever made – $465m for eight episodes – and it is tough to view this as just another show. It is an event, a spectacle, but if it isn’t entirely perfect, does that make it a failure?
