TheQuartering [8/30/2022]

According to BoundingIntoComics:

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay recently responded to a criticism that the Prime Video show is only “vaguely connected” to J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a reporter described the series as “vaguely connected” while attending the series Television Critic Association’s press tour panel on Friday.

McKay took issue with this description addressing those in attendance saying, “I just want to sort of quibble with the ‘vaguely connected.’”

He then explained why, “We don’t feel that way. We feel like deep roots of this show are in the books and in Tolkien. And if we didn’t feel that way, we’d all be terrified to sit up here.”

Instead of pointing to parts of Tolkien’s works that are in the show, McKay continued to claim it’s just his and Prime Video’s feelings that make them believe the show is connected to Tolkien.

“We feel that this story isn’t ours. It’s a story we’re stewarding that was here before us and was waiting in those books to be on Earth,” he said.

“We don’t feel ‘vaguely connected.’ We feel deeply, deeply connected to those folks and work every day to even be closer connected,” McKay concluded. “That’s really how we think about it.”

YouTuber Disparu succinctly eviscerated McKay’s comments saying, “Your feelings are entirely irrelevant and when the current speech about your feelings directly contradicts things that you’ve already said in the past the only conclusion that’s safe to come up with is that you’re just lying to the audience or the journalists in this instance ,and just hoping they’re going to swallow it and not confront you about it.”

He later adds, “The thing is the fact that you’re just changing the base text. It’s not even controversial.”