This review contains full spoilers for the three-episode second season premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
It takes three episodes for season 2 of Prime Video’s fantasy spectacle The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to keep up with all the different storylines and characters, and that’s a big problem. While the show continues to have some of the highest production values in television history, its story is too thin and difficult to navigate.
After the entire first season has been building up to who Sauron is, Season 2 initially paints him as a jerk. In a flashback, we see him make the orcs such an uninspiring offer that they can’t wait to betray him, forcing Sauron to spend a thousand years rebuilding his body. The fate of the rat approaching the pool of blood is predictable, but the grotesque pile of worms is still terrifying, and the horror continues when Sauron finally manages to crawl out of his pit to search for better meat.
Many television series present episodes from the perspective of the main villain, to build a kind of twisted sympathy for the characters and allow viewers to understand their motivations. But this section of The Rings of Power is mostly concerned with tying up loose ends rather than truly developing Sauron as a character. It provides answers to why Adar (Sam Hazeldine, who took over the role from Joseph Malwe in Season 2) didn’t recognize Sauron as Halfrand and how Halfrand was shipwrecked with a token of a lost line of kings, but offers little information about who he is on the inside.
The way Sauron listens to a kindly old man’s advice to do good every day, only to then betray him at the first opportunity undermines the idea that Galadriel might have actually inspired him to change his ways. Maybe that’s the point: He’s pure evil only pretending to be interested in reform, but there’s also no explanation for why Sauron wants to be the new Dark Lord in the first place other than pure ambition. Sauron eventually returns to Adar to manipulate him, but it’s not even really clear why Adar fears Sauron so much, considering how easily he and his orcs defeated him last time. The effect of darkening Sauron’s eyes as he gives orders to the warg is appropriately creepy, and it’s definitely fun to see Southland traitor Waldreg (Geoff Morrell) get his just punishment.
When the elves discover that the rings that would allow the elves to remain in Middle Earth were inspired by Sauron, they debate what to do with them. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) proves the integrity of his beliefs by doing his best to convince everyone that the risk is too great. In search of a voice of wisdom, he turns to Círdan the Shipwright (Ben Daniels). How quickly Círdan wants to throw the rings into the sea and put one on his finger is a striking demonstration of the insidious power of the rings. His artist vs. art argument rings hollow, because enjoying a poem written by a drunk is very different from using an extremely powerful and mysterious magical item invented by a dark wizard. It’s further proof that most elves are willing to lie to themselves in order to enjoy the power they have found.
The plot involving the Harfoots and the Stranger (Daniel Weyman plays a character who is almost certainly Gandalf) has always been the most reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, with its charming call to adventure and emphasis on music. Unfortunately, Rings of Power doesn’t find a way to incorporate these elements into the main plot involving the elves, dwarves and Sauron, instead sending the Stranger and Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) even further out into the desert of Rhûn. The master of the strange troop that has followed the Stranger turns out to be the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds), a painfully generic evildoer who is more comfortable in the desert. Conan the Barbarian.
The dwarven power couple Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete) continue to be a highlight of the series as they bicker and console each other, which is why it’s a shame they don’t appear until Episode 2. The action in Khazad-dûm works well to portray a slowly developing disaster as an earthquake destroys the network of mirrors used to feed the population and the ancient power of the Stonesingers fails. Disa’s determination giving way to fear makes the crisis understandable, while hammering into Durin’s stubborn head that the problem is much bigger than the current inconvenience at his dinner table.
But the most captivating scenes of the premiere belong to Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Edwards uses his experience as a Shakespearean stage actor to deliver a truly beautiful portrayal of a man doomed by his own brilliance and hubris. Despite Galadriel’s warnings not to get involved with Half-Rim again, Celebrimbor is too curious to know the outcome of their work together and too eager to continue to advance his craft. The pathos he brings to every scene as he lets Sauron – in the guise of Annatar – hold him back highlights how shallow so many of the other elven actors are.
Episode 3 takes us back to the Southlands and Numenor, which are the weakest parts of the series. Numenor feels like a pale imitation of House of the Dragon with its superficial courtly intrigues, while Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) struggles with the fallout from her disastrous military campaign, and her scheming cousin Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) and his allies are quick to capitalize on her weakness. Not everything in fantasy needs explaining, but it would be nice if there were some clearer explanations about the connection between the eagles and their role in Numenor’s coronation. Is it just luck that one showed up when Pharazôn was at the window? Numenor, like everything in Rings of Power, is absolutely gorgeous, but the characters are so one-dimensional that even the best costumes and sets can’t make them interesting.
In the Southlands, Adar prepares to march against Sauron, while Isildur (Maxim Baldry) is rescued first by the greatest horse ever and later by Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova). The section in the spider cave is truly terrifying thanks to all the hatchlings and the different shapes and sizes of arachnids, and raises the question of how many spiders like Shelob there are in Middle Earth. Arondir’s appearance makes him seem like a cross between Legolas and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Xenk saving the day with flying colors and then walking off to do his own epic thing. Their paths cross again as Arondir tries to do what’s best for his lost love’s obnoxious son, Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin). But it’s hard to really get into Theo’s daddy issues or Isildur’s new love interest, given how far removed their actions are from the main plot and how little these characters have been developed. The final moments, involving the attack by a force that is almost certainly Ent’s, are as thrilling as it gets for them.
