The first season of The Rings of PowerSet in the world created by JRR Tolkien, but thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Ringswas not universally popular. Some Tolkien hardliners lambasted the film for taking liberties with the sacred texts. Depressingly, online cave dwellers were annoyed that not all members of the huge cast were white. And some people just didn’t like the film very much.
But that didn’t stop Amazon from calling the series an “unprecedented success, watched by more than 100 million people around the world.” I’m one of the few who enjoyed it. The series looked stunning, had spectacular scenes, and was often unexpectedly funny. Morfydd Clark was impressive as the elven special forces warrior Galadriel, as was Markella Kavanagh as Elanor “Nori” Proudfoot. Not that any of that matters – a second season was approved before the first had finished filming.
But before we get to that, a quick recap of the mysterious characters who will play a major role in this second series of episodes. The first, who befriended Galadriel and then gaslighted her, was confirmed in the finale to be Sauron, the main villain of the piece. Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is hell-bent on world domination by creating magical rings that give him influence over their wearers. The identity of the second enigmatic character, who fell from the sky in a fireball, has not yet been confirmed. “The Stranger” (Daniel Weyman) cannot remember who he is, although fans are pretty sure he will be revealed as Gandalf at some point.
Season two begins with a long prologue that gives us some gruesome backstory on Sauron and takes us to the point where he met Galadriel last season. Then it’s off to Lindon, where the elves are arguing about what to do with the three rings in their possession. Galadriel believes they can be used to defeat Sauron. Her friend Elrond (Robert Aramayo) wants them destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Stranger, who wields powerful magic but cannot yet control it, embarks with Nori on a dangerous journey to the land of Rhûn to find out who he is. Elsewhere, the Men of Númenor, the Orcs of Mordor, and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm all struggle with their own problems.
Like the first season, this one is visually lush and benefits from being watched on the largest screen available. Although the dwarf couple Durin (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete) provide some welcome moments of levity, these episodes are darker and more brutal; there are several scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film.
Criticisms about the slow pace have evidently been heeded, as the plot moves along briskly for the most part, building to an epic, episode-spanning battle. Clark once again delivers an intense performance, and the Welsh actress rolls the elf names in Rs with genuine delight. I particularly liked her line, “Our letters to Celebrimbor have all gone unanswered. I fear Sauron may be in Eregion.”
New characters, creatures and artifacts that are already familiar to Tolkien fans appear: we meet some terrifying tomb monsters and the divisive (adorable or downright annoying? Decide for yourself) Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) makes his debut. Finally, it is possible to see how The Rings of Power feeds into The Hobbit and finally The Lord of the Rings.
It’s not perfect – there are still some long stretches and not all of the storylines are equally exciting. I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the political maneuvering in Númenor, for example.
But if you liked what you saw in 2022, these eight episodes, much like magic rings, will really hook you. There are five seasons planned, and I for one want to see them all.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is streaming on Prime Video. New episodes are streamed on Thursdays
