Passions: Fantasy fanclub

“RoP justified it’s budget of a billion”

By Shiv Ram Krishna Pandey  

I don’t understand the hatred towards RoP (The Rings of Power). The production value was stupendous, with the budget of a billion for this season. They have justified it—it was stunning cinematographically.

I liked the character arcs and portrayal of those you already know from LOTR (Lord Of The Rings). There’s young Elrond, who’s not the warrior you meet in LOTR. He has this promise and hope of youth. There’s Galadriel, a battle-hardened warrior, in her childhood and youth, a woman with a mind of her own.

I loved that they showed the elves as people of colour. When you look back at the fantasy we ’90s kids grew up watching, like Harry Potter, (or even LOTR) all the primary actors were Caucasian.

RoP is not slow. It’s because of GoT (Game of Thrones) that we now expect every episode of every season to have some wow appeal or scandal. Sure, showing Rhaenyra Targaryen getting intimate with her uncle showed families and what happens behind closed doors in palatial halls. But it was like going back to GoT. HoD is nothing but a vile Mahabharat.The first episode shows a caesarean delivery and the last, a miscarriage. There is no need for it.

RoP has taken creative liberties, but what’s wrong about it if they have followed the spirit of JRR Tolkien? Even if it was inspired by fan fiction, they didn’t murder the soul of it like GoT did.

Shiv, 33, is a recent convert from the TradFi to DeFi space, who rewatched LOTR four months ago, but couldn’t rewatch GoT.

“HoD established each character in a memorable way”

By Sahil Kakar

HoD (House of the Dragon) showed the crucial history behind why all the madness ensued in GoT. The direction and story were gripping. I like that they didn’t focus on too many kingdoms at the same time and stuck to key moments which build up in GoT.

They gave each character time and established them in a way that the audience remembers them. Like Ser Criston Cole, who has limited screentime at first, but there are signs he will play a significant role later on.

They’ve also handled the emotional aspects well. Like how Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower still want to mend their friendship, but aren’t able to. And the fact that mothers can do anything for their children.

The storyline overall seems realistic. Because even today, in Indian households, you see fights because of inheritance and ancestral properties.

In RoP, the dialogues weren’t memorable, though it had a lot of potential. HoD had a little too many time jumps—two in four episodes—but it was a good pace, not slow like RoP, which only picked up in the eighth episode.

I’m excited about HoD because of how they ended the season. Rhaenyra is ready for war. The Dance of the Dragons will be a visual treat if the dragon scene between Lucerys Velaryon and Aemond Targaryen is anything to go by!

Sahil Kakar, 28, is a PR account manager, who watched both series the day they released to avoid spoilers on social media.

From HT Brunch, November 5, 2022

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