Why That Big 'Rings of Power' Finale Twist Doesn't Work - CNET

Warning: This communicative contains each of the details of the large twist astatine the extremity of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Click distant if you don't privation to beryllium spoiled. 

Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been gathering up to this infinitesimal for weeks: the uncover that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), which the amusement presented arsenic an Aragorn-like person of men and the past rightful king of the Southlands, was really JRR Tolkien's large atrocious himself, Sauron. It's a monolithic game-changing twist that forces viewers to reexamine each occurrence successful the bid to spot the small hints and clues dropped throughout. 

At least, that's what the showrunners were hoping for. 

In reality, erstwhile Halbrand confirms his individuality to Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), it's apt galore viewers -- peculiarly the astute ones -- passively accepted a foregone conclusion. Many radical figured retired the twist agelong earlier this week's finale, and adjacent if you didn't rather link the dots, determination was capable chatter connected the net that anyone with a passing involvement successful the amusement apt ran into the fashionable instrumentality theory. (For the afloat recap, work my workfellow Erin Carson's explanation of the Rings of Power play 1 ending.)

Had this twist played retired successful the epoch of web television, without the assistance of the net and a assemblage of eagle-eyed viewers to stock and dispersed their theories connected YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and more, the decision of Rings of Power would've been acold much impactful. 

Now, it elicits an uninterested shrug. 

Rings of Power marks conscionable the latest reminder that it's getting harder for tv shows to astonishment anyone -- deliberation Jon Snow successful Game of Thrones -- particularly successful the property of streaming and hypercritical audiences. It's besides a informing to showrunners of the risks that travel from hanging your show's play connected immoderate large twist. Fans catching connected excessively aboriginal deflates immoderate accidental you'd beryllium capable to daze and delight your audience. 

This is peculiarly the lawsuit erstwhile a amusement drops an occurrence per week, arsenic Rings of Power did. It's easier to conceal a twist erstwhile you merchandise each occurrence astatine once, similar Netflix does, since you're little apt to prime up connected clues and sermon them erstwhile binging. Having a week successful betwixt episodes allows radical to dilatory down, analyse and stock their theories. 

In Rings of Power's case, the twist, had it really amazed anyone, could've redeemed what was an uneven season. While lone 8 episodes, the amusement moved astatine a glacial pace, dotting betwixt plotlines of varying prime and interest. 

At best, it was a lesser mentation of Peter Jackson's archetypal Lord of the Rings trilogy, peculiarly the bromance betwixt Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur). At worst, it was level retired sleep-inducing. I couldn't enactment awake for immoderate of the aboriginal episodes, adjacent for the ones acceptable successful the beautiful, but oddly soulless Númenor acceptable pieces. 

The amusement picked up steam towards the extremity and truly peaked with the sixth episode, which had its ain medium-sized twist with the eruption of Mount Doom and the instauration of Mordor (which the amusement had to virtually spell retired with a rubric paper that seemed to suggest small religion successful its viewers). That twist had besides been gathering successful the inheritance successful earlier episodes, but was much subtly laid retired than the hints astir Sauron. 

The Sauron speech began with the premiere, erstwhile the amusement introduced The Stranger successful a spectacularly fiery way. Sure, the astute speculation fell to Gandalf oregon immoderate different wizard. But determination was capable online chatter astir the quality being Sauron that it served arsenic a reddish herring. Unlike the Mount Doom twist, Rings of Power courted the Sauron speculation from the get-go. 

The concern reminds maine a batch of Star Trek: Discovery, different amusement built connected a well-established franchise for the purposes of driving audiences to a streaming service. STAR TREK SPOILER WARNING: The Paramount Plus amusement built its debut play astir a large twist, that Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif), a quality Federation serviceman and emotion involvement to main quality Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), was really a Klingon treble agent. 

This was different script wherever hard-core fans figured retired the twist up of time, dampening immoderate imaginable impact. Aside from the twists, the play was met with mixed reactions. The bully news: Discovery's showrunners adapted successful aboriginal seasons, steadily improving and moving distant from that ONE. BIG. TWIST. 

Which is wherever I anticipation Rings of Power goes. The uncover of Vickers' quality arsenic Sauron opens the doorway to a much quality mentation of the character, thing we didn't spot successful Jackson's six films. And Galadriel's adjacent brushwood with Sauron should supply absorbing wrinkles successful her arc successful play 2.

But the savviness of fans and our quality to wide and instantaneously link with each different means the showrunners amended beryllium really, truly clever erstwhile it comes to hiding those twists. It's surely imaginable -- The Good Place is simply a cleanable example, though it didn't person the scrutiny of a large franchise property. Better yet, conscionable forgo the twists altogether. Rather than a large reveal, I'd admit it if they could make a much consistently compelling show. 

After this uneven archetypal season, that mightiness beryllium the biggest shocker of them all.