Always together, like two ancient rivals who have mutual respect for each other but who have no intention of giving way. Yesterday, Tuesday 14 May 2024, curiously gave us the first teaser trailer for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and the official trailer for the new episodes of House of the Dragon. A coincidence that takes us back to 2022 and reopens the question: What is the best fantasy series of the moment?
There is no shortage of parallels between the two series: both are based on a very popular literary saga, they are spin-offs that were more or less expected at the time of their announcement and were accompanied by criticism and review bombing similar in how they tried to “colour” the genre by inserting characters and actors from ethnic groups that were distant from fantasy imagery for years. Joining the cast of black characterstogether with the centrality of strong female figureshave pushed a part of the public to criticize and take actions which, however, have not affected the popularity of the two series.
If we put aside the issue of the so-called gatekeeper (the die-hard fans who believe they should have the final say on franchises based on popular and historic IPs), the approval rating of the two shows speaks for itself: critics have promoted House of the Dragonwith a percentage of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes against the still solid 83% of The Rings of Power (the audience score, however, is very different: 82% versus a merciless 38%). Also looking at IMDb there doesn’t seem to be a story: the Game of Thrones spin-off has an average rating of 8.4/10 with 379,029 reviews, while the series set in the Second Age of Middle-earth stops at 7/10 with 353,140 ratings.
Game already over, then? Maybe yes maybe no. Beyond the fact that every value judgment is subjective and much depends on which narrative universe you prefer, House of the Dragon seems to have put the crown of the best fantasy series of the moment in its head, but on its side it can count on some elements that work in its favor: much of its success is in fact due to having given continuity to the mother series Game of thrones, whose ending however left many fans disappointed. Maintaining that authorial, photographic and acting structure but starting again with a new story, curated more closely by George R. R. Martin, benefited the show and its audience reception. The lower basic narrative complexity also helped: there are names and facts to remember, yes, but essentially it is the story of a throne disputed between two royal families who want power for themselves. Very simple.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerinstead, he was called to a much more difficult challenge. The purchase of the rights for a stellar sum the appendix of JRR Tolkien’s book by a giant like Amazon immediately annoyed the fans of the Lord of the Rings, still fond of the Peter Jackson trilogy and for this reason we were convinced that there was no point in bothering that same imagination again. We also saw this recently, with the announcement of the new films in the franchise. Although the series distances itself from that story, many characters are in common and this is also why reception was immediately tainted by prejudice and “nostalgia”. The characters in particular ended up under pressure Galadriel, Sauron, Elrond and the other protagonists of Lord of the Rings. But the production still put a lot of effort into it.
The first episodes released on Prime Video two years ago, in fact, were largely spectacular, with off-scale production values, but narratively still immature. The first season served to present the new world and the protagonist characters, but will require time and patience to settle. The 400 million dollars invested make it clear that the objective was not to conquer everything immediately with a few episodes, but to create a long narrative that – they hope – will pay off over time. The series is as imperfect as it is ambitious The Rings of Power she is running a marathon and, as we know, in this type of competition it is important to measure her energy, while the “competitor” is engaged in a relay race and has taken the baton of Game of thrones.
For the moment, therefore, House of the Dragon it really seems to have something more, but it also lives on reflected glory. Building from scratch (or almost) like Amazon is doing with The Rings of Power it is in some ways a more difficult challenge, the outcome of which will only be seen in the coming years. Fans, meanwhile, can prepare for another great summer of fantasy streaming.
What do you think about it? At the moment which is the best fantasy series for you? The Rings of Power or House of the Dragon? Go wild in the comments.
Photo: Prime Video / HBO
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