One ring to rule them all.
The spectacular Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is back with Season 2, now available to stream, with new episodes released on Thursdays.
The first season was a gamble, reportedly costing a whopping $715 million (some reports even say $1 billion).
Was it worth it? Well, Prime Video is opaque about viewership, but it wasn’t a clear hit like their other series Reacher, it wasn’t showered with Emmys, and the reception among fans was polarizing. So, no.
“Rings of Power” is set in JRR Tolkien’s fantasy world thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson’s films and follows the elves Galadriel (Cate Blanchett in the films, Morfydd Clark in the series), Elrond (Hugo Weaving in the films, here Robert Aramayo) and a number of other characters, including the dwarves Durin (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete), the Silvan elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), the Harfoot – a kind of hobbit – Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Aragorn’s ancestors Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and Isildur (Maxim Baldry).
Season 2 of Rings of Power picks up where Season 1 left off. Galadriel is angry and feels foolish after trusting the mysterious stranger Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) and he secretly turns out to be the evil Sauron. Now she and her allies must try to prevent his rise as he takes on a new disguise and continues to plot.
Yes, before he became a flaming eye in the sky, according to Rings of Power, the infamous villain from Lord of the Rings was a man who looked like he belonged on a CW show.
Meanwhile, Nori is still traveling with the show’s other mysterious stranger (Daniel Weyman).
The sinister Adar (Joseph Mawle in season 1, recast as Samuel Hazeldine in season 2) rules the orcs. Although Mawle is missing, the recasting is fluid and not too distracting.
Season 2 fixes some of the show’s missteps from Season 1, but not all of them.
Season 1 built up to Half-Rand being secretly Sauron. This “twist” was obvious, and the show took its time working it out – so now at least Season 2 is unencumbered and can move on with the story. This time around, the plot is a little more urgent and the stakes are clearer.
The Numenor storyline still feels like an afterthought, like the show felt obligated to include it but took on too much. Arondir continues to look cool, but it also feels like the show doesn’t know what to do with him.
Cate Blanchett is a tough act, but Clark remains one of the series’ highlights, convincingly portraying a younger, more headstrong version of Galadriel.
Rings of Power occupies the strange cultural position of being both David and Goliath.
On the one hand, there is the dizzying sum that Prime Video has invested in the film. And on the other hand, there is the huge intellectual property, because the “Lord of the Rings” franchise is on a par with Marvel and “Star Wars”.
But at the same time, the show is strangely almost an underdog. Many fans were determined to hate the series from the beginning before giving it a chance. And the show has been bombarded with racist attacks because of its diverse cast.
Isolated from these external factors, the show is stunning to watch, but it doesn’t really fire up.
All the ingredients for a great Rings of Power are there—characters, aesthetics, soundtrack—but the film never manages to bring them together into a work that is as satisfying as it should be.
It’s a meal that tastes good but just isn’t seasoned properly.
Rings of Power feels too polished and made by committee. It’s as shiny yet forgettable as the interior of an Apple Store. The show lacks the personality and shaggy charisma of the original Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Still, it’s not as bad as the screaming online haters would have you believe.
“Rings of Power” isn’t mind-blowing, but it’s a nice addition to the fantasy genre for viewers who want something more sophisticated than the raunchy and bloody “House of the Dragon,” but also want to see genre television that’s more adult than “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”
And while the Lord of the Rings films are still better, The Rings of Power doesn’t embarrass their legacy like the Hobbit film trilogy did.
