Let me start this review by saying that I LOVE The Lord of the Rings! As for me, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is for me the definitive trilogy. Each of these films was made by Peter Jackson with so much love and care that their excellence will probably never be surpassed. In college I was so fascinated by The Companionsthat I immediately went out and bought the book and read all three books in record time. Except for Cameron’s Aliens, I find The two towers is my absolute favorite movie and when one of these movies is on TNT, I do nothing else for the rest of the day!
During Jackson’s episode The Hobbit While the trilogy wasn’t as compelling and well-received as the original trilogy, it’s always a good opportunity to return to Middle Earth, so when it was announced that Bezos had spent nearly a billion dollars to acquire the rights from the Tolkien estate and cover production costs for a new Middle Earth-set television series, I was more than thrilled. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and would show Sauron’s rise to power in the creation of the Rings of Power and his “One Ring to Rule Them All,” I was optimistic. Amazon’s new series would essentially replicate the opening scene from The Companions over several seasons. The first season of Rings of Power was a fantastic trip back to Middle Earth with incredible production, a gripping story and an incredible twist towards the end of the first season (I didn’t see the whole time that Halbrand is secretly Sauron!). Now that we know all the main players, Rings of Power Season 2 starts at full steam!
Let’s start by saying that the second season of the series is all about Sauron. Avengers: Infinity War has the villain Thanos as its main character, but the second season is all about the Dark Lord and his goal to create “rings of power” with which he can take over the world. And his path is not an easy one. In the first episode, after the creation of Mount Doom, he is cast out by Adar (Charlie Vickers follows in the footsteps of Sam Hazeldine and Joseph Mawle from season 1) and his orc legions. As a shapeshifter, Sauron now goes by the name “Annatar” (and is played by another actor, Charlie Vickers), an elf who meets the elf smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to make the rings he needs. Sauron uses every deception method mentioned by Littlefinger in the books to cast a spell not only on Celebrimbor, but on numerous elves. If you thought his seduction of Galadriel last season was great, then season two is where he really shows how powerful he is with his powers of persuasion alone.
Also in Rings of Power, The “Harfoots” (Hobbits) Nori, Marigold and Poppy have gone with the stranger to the East and spend most of their time wandering around in the desert (similar to Danny in game of Thrones Season 2), when it turns out he’s an Istar (wizard) and they go to Rhun so the Stranger can go on a journey to find out who he is. But the journey is not without danger. In the east there is a “Black Wizard” (we are not told his name, but it will probably be revealed in Season 3, I’m betting on Saurman) who is looking for the Stranger, and he uses Easterlings to find them all and use violence. But as the season progresses they get help. Another famous character from the Lord of the Rings books (who Jackson did not include in the films) steps in to help the Stranger on his journey. The Stranger spends most of the season wrestling with his love for the Harfoots, his destiny, figuring out who he is, and what he must do for Middle Earth. The group also meets an eastern group of “Stoors” (Hobbits), and although “Hobbits” did not appear in Tolkien’s story in this timeline, it is still a fun addition to the story.
The island kingdom of Númenór is probably the weakest link in the entire season. Most of the second season of Rings of Power They are dealing with a power struggle and a coup. There are people in the kingdom who, after the events of the first season, do not believe that Queen Miriel has a claim to the throne. Now we know how important Elendil and his son Isildur are to The Lord of the Rings as a whole, but most of the season is spent dealing with the coup and his son Isildur is in the Southlands after the eruption of Mount Doom and just wants to go home. The overall plot of Númenór feels a little too close House of the Dragon in terms of alliances, betrayal and people seeking power, it is probably the least interesting thing about this season of Rings of Power. It feels like the big Númenórean story begins in Season 3, as Season 2 sets the stage for where these characters will go after this season.
The Dwarves in Khazad-dûm is a very exciting story. After being given one of Sauron’s Rings of Power, King Durin III falls into madness. The Rings of Power seem to have the same corrupting influence that the One Ring did in the films, and King Durin III falls deeper into madness the longer he wears his ring. Fans of the films and books know “Durin’s Bane,” and in the second season we learn how this happens. His son, Prince Durin IV, loves and respects his father, but they have become estranged since last season because of Durin’s friendship with Elrond. Additionally, Durin IV faces two dilemmas over the course of the season: he tries to repair his relationship with his father, who is corrupted by the Ring, and later in the season he helps his friend Elron when the elves have their backs against the wall due to the attack of Adar and his orc forces. As always, the support of his wife Disa is unwavering. She supports him one hundred percent and even asks him several times to do the right thing.
Although the Orcs in the film series were nothing but mindless monsters, we were happy to see the heroes dismembered in battles. However, there are a few moments in The Rings of Power which show a few orcs struggling with their place in life. A few orcs abandon their posts because they don’t want to be cannon fodder, and towards the end of the second season, an orc named Glüg openly questions Adar’s leadership because even though Adar calls the orcs his “children,” he doesn’t shy away from sending them to their deaths unnecessarily as pawns in a battle. It’s just weird to see orcs with feelings and character development of their own.
The elves in the second season of Rings of Power She has a lot going on for her too. Galadriel (who is suffering from the betrayal and humiliation of Sauron when it is revealed that Halbrand is actually Sauron) also wears one of the rings of power that Sauron created. The ring is affecting her as well and with her PTSD from Season 1, she wants to get back out there and try to stop Sauron before he can unleash hell on Middle Earth. Elrond and High King Gil-galad know she is right but are not 100% sure she is trustworthy as she has been influenced by Sauron. Elrond (who is not a warrior like Galadriel) must also take the initiative and lead and proves to be an effective leader and warrior.
As you can see, there are many moving parts in Rings of Power. Sometimes certain storylines take precedence over others, and you can go almost an entire episode without coming back to a major storyline, leaving you to remind yourself what happens to them. Rings of Power is a huge balancing act, with so many characters and so many plot points spread across Middle-earth that sometimes it fails to get through them all. For example, fan-favorite elf (unless you’re racist and believe there shouldn’t be any black elves) from last season, Arondir, doesn’t appear until the third episode of the series. And as mentioned, the Númenórean storyline just isn’t as interesting and engaging as the other characters’.
But my god, this show makes up for it with its high production!! I mean, it’s Amazon and they have more money than the GDP of other nations, so it’s no surprise that the production and CGI are superb. Forest trolls, Ents, spiders and all sorts of Middle Earth creatures appear in the 8 episodes of Rings of Power. Don’t be surprised if your Prime membership goes up so they can recoup some of the costs of putting on this show. Speaking of production, there’s a battle towards the end of the season that must have been a logistical nightmare. If you liked “The Battle of the Bastards” by, Game of Thrones, Imagine if this fight lasted three episodes! Feature films do not offer such impressive battles as Rings of Power did. And Rings of Power is bloody, violent and intense! Beheadings, skull crushing, dismemberment etc. If The Hobbit was for children, then Lord of the rings is for adults and Rings of Power is for adults!
Tolkien purists may have a problem or two with the show, as it takes some creative liberties here and there (there are even cheesy lines from the original films worked into the show), but rest assured that the second season of Rings of Power. The world of Middle Earth is alive, breathing, and even more satisfying in the second season. This sets the stage for a third season, because you really want to see what happens next. Again, Sauron is a badass!
The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are currently available on Amazon Prime with weekly episodes every Thursday.
