A Philosopher Reviews "The Rings of Power"
InspiringPhilosophy
apologetics
October 15, 2022
I have a masters in philosophy and I am huge Tolkien nerd. I have read all his books, as well as books like, "The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy," which go deep into the philosophy of Tolkien. In this stream I'll review the Amazon show, "Rings of Power" and show where it diverges from Tolkien's philosophical beliefs. Amazon's "Rings of Power" actually injects foreign philosophical ideas into Middle Earth that makes it feel unlike the world that Tolkien created.
Have you ever wondered why Tolkien does not have Frodo defeat Sauron by casting the ring into the fire? Middle Earth has no heroes who rise up to defeat the dark lord. Why did the Valar only send 5 wizards to Middle Earth and not a whole host of Maiar to deal with Sauron? Why didn't the ents help with the war against Sauron? The reason has to do with the philosophy that was guiding Tolkien's narrative. It is not a world, like Game of Thrones, where heroes rise up to vanquish evil. Tolkien's philosophy is far different than what we see in typical fantasy novels. I'll explain what philosophy was guiding Tolkien and why he wrote as he did. I'll also explain why "Rings of Power" fails to capture Tolkien's philosophy.






















