The Rings of Power Season 2 begins with a grim, 20-minute prologue detailing Sauron’s previous assassination by Adar and his subsequent reemergence. It’s a powerful mission statement for what’s to come: This is Sauron’s world, and we’re just living in it.
So much of the second season’s plot revolves around Charlie Vickers’ Lord of the Rings – but not quite in the way you might expect. Instead, after being exposed, Sauron-Halfrand enters the walls of the elven kingdom of Eregion and reinvents himself as the pale, cunning Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts,” in order to trick Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) into helping him with his plan to “perfect” and subjugate Middle Earth.
While some may be disappointed that Galadriel is absent from the season’s storyline in Eregion, it allows the dynamic between Annatar and Celebrimbor to come to fruition in a clever way. The latter’s transformation from steel smith to quivering wreck is an important step in making Sauron one of television’s greatest villains.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Edwards’ performance. In a season filled with standout work – Morfydd Clark’s nuanced Galadriel and the hugely likable couple Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete), to name a few – the Celebrimbor actor still manages to stand out from the crowd with his vice-like grip on the spectrum of emotions displayed by the Blacksmith, from triumph to tragedy.
Forged in fire
Although Galadriel is out of Sauron’s orbit for most of the season, she wields considerable influence elsewhere. As the elves argue over how best to deal with Sauron, Clark’s elf commander eventually comes across one of the biggest new additions to season two: Adar.
Adar is a perfect example of how the second season surpasses the first. Rather than going bigger and better, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay wisely sidestep most of the spectacle and instead opt to delve more into the emotional depth of the characters – often by pushing them into seemingly hopeless situations.
While Joseph Mawles’ Adar was quite capable in the first season, newly cast Sam Hazeldine confidently takes on the role of the orc leader, commanding attention and delivering each line with the kind of weight and dignity that turns a one-dimensional antagonist into something far more complex and worthwhile.
The fact that it all culminates in an epic battle spanning multiple episodes is an added bonus. It’s not the Battle of Helm’s Deep – partly because parts of the scenery seem decidedly too sanitized for open war – but it’s reminiscent of the golden years of Game of Thrones, as it effortlessly combines the adrenaline of action with well-earned and emotional character arcs.
If the story of Galadriel and Adar were balanced alongside that of Celebrimbor and Annatar, Season 2 of “The Rings of Power” would almost certainly be the best series of 2024. Unfortunately, there is simply too much to juggle – even if almost everything is good to great.
Now take a deep breath: The new season includes Galadriel and the battle of the elves, complete with the new council of the “wisest” elf Cirdan (Ben Daniels); Celebrimbor and Annatar in Eregion; Durin and the changing balance of power of the dwarves in Khazad-dum; Adar and the march of the orcs through Middle Earth; Pharazon’s rise in Numenor; Arondir and Theo’s adventures; the journey of the stranger and Nori through the new desert region of Rhun and finally the young partnership between the stranded Isildur and the newcomer Estrid (Nia Towle).
That’s just too much for eight episodes. A 10-episode series could have given some of the less mature storylines time and space to breathe. Frustratingly, this is a problem that shows still haven’t been able to solve in the age of streaming.
A happy guy
At several points throughout the season, the characters are asked to “speak plainly,” in Middle Earth terms. To put it bluntly, The Rings of Power occasionally spends too much time on mediocre storylines and not enough time on the more robust plots.
Those familiar with Tolkien’s works, for example, will be well aware of Numenor’s future significance. Still, viewers may not be so keen on the slow-moving political intrigue that is so far removed – both spatially and tonally – from the core of the second season’s overarching story.
The only exciting loose thread from the first season – Miriel, robbed of her sight and still uncertain about her rule – also fails to catch on, as the character seems equal parts underexplored and underused. There are certainly good reasons why Numenor skipped the season entirely and returned in the third year.
But that’s not the case for all stories outside of Eregion. With his bright yellow boots and love of ditties, the godlike Tom Bombadil is a paradoxical presence in Middle Earth, often at odds with the stories and the darker tone that surrounds him. I assumed his role would be nearly impossible to get right in an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Fortunately, Old Tom in The Rings of Power is a surprising triumph, as Rory Kinnear’s homely, quirky recluse not only generates plenty of curiosity of his own, but also infuses The Stranger’s plot with a slightly cutesy mix of mystery, magic, and a dash of explanation as he guides The Stranger to his truth.
The Stranger’s story, complete with the looming shadow of Ciaran Hinds’ mysterious dark wizard, is ultimately one of the season’s great successes because, unlike most of the narratives in it, it presents a complete, satisfying story arc that doesn’t rely on prior knowledge of Tolkien or belief that the showrunners will stick the landing. And yes, we learn the Stranger’s name. That helps, too.
Is The Rings of Power season 2 on point? Not quite. Much like Tolkien’s work, the Prime Video series is twisty, dense, and at times contradictory. And yet somehow it comes out feeling like it’s done a job extremely well, mastering the unenviable task of fully capturing the grand fabric of Middle Earth and its peoples. And that’s despite a Sauron-like, wandering-eye approach to narrative structure that almost undoes its masterful work.
Each character feels as rich and emotionally complex as any on television, and the second season delivers on the promise of the first year with wild action, a deliciously evil villain, and one of the best ensemble casts in recent memory. Despite feeling like you’re about to burst, it’s a real pleasure to return to Middle Earth again.
The first three episodes of The Rings of Power season 2 will begin streaming on Prime Video on August 29, with new episodes added weekly. For more information, see The Rings of Power season 2 release schedule.
