Reflection and Analysis

Rings of Power - Tolkien Newbies (9/7/2022)

So, one of the problems with Rings of Power is that it's supposed to be the first experience of Middle Earth for those who've never had anything to do with the fandom before.

Let me clarify that the problem isn't that Rings of Power is bringing in new people to the fandom, but that it is majorly letting the new people in the fandom down. I say this having been watching what's appearing fanfic-wise, and I came across fanfic that--

Well, I just can't help but feel really bad for the writer because they're super excited about their fanfic, yet because they don't know the canon material, they don't know how much of a canon breaker it is.

And yeah, someone else could probably go and find this fic, but if you do, please be nice to them.

But what I'm talking about is our first ever Elrond/OC story for Rings of Power that just so happens to be an Elf/Human relationship which in my head, as someone who's read Tolkien, my thoughts are--

"Oh, so you're going to kill off Elrond before Arwen is even born, perhaps even before his wife was born?"

Because that's the messy fate that the Elves were discussing with our Arondir, our Black Elf. Falling in love with a human for Elves means dying when that human dies unless said human is blessed enough to be invited into the undying lands with said Elf and be counted among the elves.

And yes, it is true that Elves can only fall in love once. That's Tolkien canon that each Elf has one soulmate.

Am I saying that the writer in their fanfic can't change what they've written?

No, but here in lies what I'm really worried about.

How is that writer going to feel about their story when they realize just how much their story breaks canon? Will they still like their story?

Of course, the other weird thing here is - well, if I pretend that Elrond isn't Elrond and Durin IV isn't Durin the IV, I actually like their characters. Elrond was never a politician, and Durin IV was called Durin because he was considered to be like the first Durin, yet there are hints he's kind of a pushover compared to other Middle Earth Dwarves we've seen, such as Thorin.

Because pretending this character isn't Elrond, you remove all this weirdness of breaking canon.

And this is why breaking the lore is bad and if you really just want to do your own thing, you go and write actual original fiction.

Oh! And I like Disa. Disa's moment where she tells Durin IV that Elrond will stay for dinner, how she welcomed him into her home was all levels of awesome. There was no political messages in there, but that's how I imagined female Dwarves to be.

Which is weird given how a lot of us thought we wouldn't like Disa with how Rings of Power is using Disa's actress as the poster child for their divestity compaign to try and get people into what is something so depearted from Tolkien that if it had actually been written as an actual fanfic and I read it, I would have encouraged the writer to pull and publish.

Yet on the other hand if they pulled and published they wouldn't be doing well because the writing is bad, although if they pulled and published the could say make the bullying scene with Galadriel at the beginning more believable as they wouldn't have to start it at a time where there is peace, and no reason for weapons like her brother has.