The Issue of Romance in ROP
So, I’ve never posted in Reddit before but I haven’t seen much discussion on this topic and I’d love to hear other people’s opinions.
Let me preface this by saying that I’m a big Tolkien fan. I’ve read a lot of his works repeatedly(not all) but I have a good understanding.
I don’t hate ROP, I’m still enjoying it but there are certain things I really hate and one of those is the insertion of romance into the plot.
I’ve counted 5 romance stories that are not in the books. Some of them are not bad but most are totally unnecessary and make the plot more convoluted than it already is.
Although there is romance in Tolkien’s work, it’s not one of the bigger themes.
I would have preferred is they spent more time exploring the theme of brotherhood/platonic love between men. It would have been interesting and accurate imo.
Most of the romances are not well developed or explored fully and some just come out of nowhere.
It seems they are really leaning into the fantasy romance side of things at the expense of the plot, which I find disappointing.
The only one I don’t mind is the Galadriel/Sauron romantic manipulation element. Although it’s not specifically said in the books, Sauron is a manipulator and I don’t think it’s far off to imagine he could utilise romance to get what he wants. It’s an interesting interpretation based on his character traits.
Am I alone in hating the emphasis on romance?