Rewatching Lord of the Rings again

Some people say they do Lord of the Rings marathons. I say Lord of the Ringsis just my background noise for life. I have all three extended editions running while I eat, while I sit around, while I do nothing at all. Fifteen-minute chunks at a time, pause, return, repeat—until I reach the end of Return of the King for the umpteenth time. Then I’ll probably do the same thing with Rings of Power, because why not?

See, good new content is rare. I don’t waste my time on garbage. There’s too much of it, and I have to be in the right mood for anything new anyway. But when something is excellent, I latch on.

What’s the last new thing I actually enjoyed? 65. Yeah, it was exactly what you’d expect—humans, dinosaurs, fast-paced chases, and a narrow escape. I’d just rewatched Jurassic Park, so it fit the mood. But let’s be real: dinosaurs probably didn’t look anything like what scientists claim. Give people a pile of cat bones and they’ll reconstruct some nightmare creature, when in reality, cats are fluffy little weirdos. Same with bunnies. So, dinosaurs? I say they were fat, round, and ridiculously cute.

But back to Lord of the Rings, because somehow I got lost in adorable dino headcanon. Look, I’m obsessed. Always have been. But let’s be honest—the movies are aging. They’re still legendary, but I appreciate Rings of Power for bringing something fresh. And yeah, Tolkien’s world wasn’t exactly diverse. But the representation in Rings of Power? That’s something I love.

I’m a mixed-race woman, and seeing people who look like me in fantasy matters. More than just racial diversity, I appreciate that Rings of Powerexpands the roles of women. Because Tolkien, for all his brilliance, mostly kept women in the background. Even Éowyn, one of the few female badasses, had to disguise herself as a man to enter the battlefield. And yet, she gives us the most iconic moment when she faces the Witch-king.

“No man can kill me,” he boasts.

And she, pulling off her helmet, standing tall in the wreckage of battle, declares:

“I am no man.”

Then boom—Nazgûl king gets wrecked and implodes.

That line? It hits. It’s one of the best moments in the trilogy because it’s pure, unfiltered power. Éowyn isn’t just proving a prophecy wrong—she’s proving that strength isn’t limited by gender.

So when Rings of Power gives us Galadriel as a warrior, I don’t see it as rewriting Tolkien—I see it as finally letting women step out of the shadows. And I love that.

No matter how much I love the original Lord of the Rings, Rings of Power just hits better for me. It’s fresher, more diverse, and finally lets women take center stage. But of course, the originals will always have get me in the feels.