Let me start this review by stating that I LOVE The Lord of the Rings! As far as I’m concerned, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the definitive trilogy for me. Each of those films was done with such love and care by Peter Jackson that their excellence will probably never be outdone. In college, I was so mesmerized by Fellowship of the Ring, that I immediately went and bought the book and read all three books in record time. Outside of Cameron’s Aliens, I think The Two Towers is my favorite movie of all time and anytime any of those films is on TNT, I ain’t doing nothing else the rest of the day!
While Jackson’s follow-up The Hobbit trilogy wasn’t as engrossing and well-received as the OG trilogy, it’s always a great time to go back to Middle Earth. So when it was announced that Bezos spent almost a billion dollars obtaining the rights from the Tolkien Estate and in production costs for a new TV series set in Middle Earth, I was more than excited. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and would showcase 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 was to basically provide the opening scene from Fellowship of the Ring over multiple seasons. The first season of Rings of Power was an awesome trip back to Middle Earth with an incredible production, an engaging story, and one hell of a twist towards the end of the first season (I did not see Halbrand secretly being Sauron the whole time!). Now that we know all the key players, Rings of Power season 2 hits the ground running!
Let’s start off by saying, the second season of the show is all about Sauron. Much like Avengers: Infinity War has bad guy Thanos as the main character, the second season is really all about the Dark Lord and his quest to create “rings of power” so that he can take over the world. And his journey isn’t easy. In the first episode shows that after creating Mount Doom, he’s cast aside by Adar (Charlie Vickers fills in Sam Hazeldine and Joseph Mawle’s shoes from season 1) and his legions of Orcs. Being the shapeshifter he is, Sauron now goes by the name “Annatar” (and is played by another actor Charlie Vickers) an elf who goes to meet elf-smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to craft the rings needed. Sauron uses every Littlefinger deceptive method in the books to have not only Celebrimbor fall under his spell, but numerous elves. If you thought his seduction of Galadriel last season was great, in the second season he really shows how powerful he is, just with his powers of persuasion.
Also in Rings of Power, the “Harfoots” (Hobbits) Nori, Marigold, and Poppy have gone with The Stranger into the East and spend most of their time wandering in the desert (similar to Danny in Game of Thrones season 2) as it’s revealed that he is an Istar (Wizard) and they are going to Rhun so The Stranger can go on a journey to discover who he is. But the journey is not without peril. In the east, there is a “Dark Wizard” (we aren’t given his name, but it’ll probably be revealed in Season 3, my money’s on Saurman) who is searching for The Stranger, and he’s using Easterlings to try and find them all and use force. But throughout the season they have some help. Another famous character from the Lord of the Rings books (that Jackson didn’t include in the films) makes an appearance to help The Stranger on his journey. The Stranger spends most of the season wrestling with his love for the Harfoots with his destiny to discover who he is and what he needs to do for the sake of Middle Earth. The group also gets to meet an eastern group of “Stoors” (Hobbits) and even though “Hobbits” weren’t in Tolkien’s story in this timeline, it’s also a fun addition to the story.
The Island Kingdom of Númenór is probably the weakest link throughout the season. Most of the second season of Rings of Power has them dealing with a power struggle and a coup going on. There are those within the kingdom who don’t think Queen Míriel has a claim to the throne after the events of the first season. Now we know how important Elendil and his son Isildur will be for The Lord of the Rings as a whole, but for most of the season Elendil is dealing with the coup and his son Isildur is in the Southlands after the eruption of Mount Doom and just wants to go back home. The overall plot of Númenór feels a little too close to House of the Dragon regarding alliances, betrayals, and people plotting for power, that it’s probably the least interesting thing about this season of Rings of Power. It feels as though the big Númenórean storyline will be in season 3 as season 2 puts the pieces for where those characters will be going after this season.
The Dwarves in Khazad-dûm is a very engaging story. After being gifted with one of Sauron’s Rings of Power, King Durin III descends into madness. The Rings of Power seem to have the same corrupting influence that the One Ring had throughout the films, and King Durin III goes deeper and deeper into madness the longer he wields his ring. Fans of the films and books know about “Durin’s Bane,” and in the second season, we get to see how that comes about. His son Prince Durin IV loves and respects his father, but they are estranged from last season because of Durin’s friendship with Elrond. Plus, Durin IV has two dilemmas throughout the season: trying to repair his relationship with his father who’s being corrupted by the ring, and later on in the season, helping his friend Elron when the elves’ backs are against the wall due to Adar and his Orc forces attack. As always, his support from his wife Disa is undying and she’s got his back 100% and even challenges him to do the right thing numerous times.
Even though in the film series the Orcs were nothing but mindless monsters we were glad to see the heroes dismember in battles. However, there are a few moments in The Rings of Power that show a few orcs wrestling with their station in life. A few Orc abandon their posts because they don’t want to be cannon fodder, and towards the end of the second season, an Orc named Glüg is openly questioning Adar’s leadership because even though Adar refers to the Orcs as his “children,” he’s not above sending them needlessly to their deaths as pawns in a battle. It’s just weird seeing Orcs with feelings and their own character arcs.
The elves throughout the second season of Rings of Power also have a lot going on for them. Galadriel, (who is suffering from the betrayal and humiliation of Sauron when it’s revealed that Halbrand is really Sauron) is also wielding one of the rings of power that Sauron created. The ring is influencing 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 all hell on Middle Earth. Elrond and High King Gil-galad know she’s right, but aren’t 100% sure she’s trustworthy as she has been influenced by Sauron. Elrond (who isn’t a warrior like Galadriel), he also has to step up and take charge, and he proves to be an effective leader and warrior as well.
As you can tell, there’s a lot of moving pieces in Rings of Power. At times some story beats take priority over others, and you can almost go through a whole episode without revisiting an important storyline, to the point that you have to remind yourself about what’s going on with them. Rings of Power has a huge juggling act with so many characters and so many plot points throughout all of Middle Earth, that it’s unsuccessful sometimes handling them all. Fan favorite Elf (unless you are racist and don’t think there should be black elves) from last season Arondir doesn’t even show up until the third episode of the show for example. And as stated before the Númenórean storyline just isn’t as interesting and engaging as the rest of the other characters.
But good God does this show make up for it in 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 outstanding. Wood trolls, Ents, spiders, and all sorts of Middle Earth creatures show up throughout 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 associated with pulling this show off. Speaking of production, towards the end of the season, there is a battle that must have been a logistical nightmare. If you liked “The Battle of the Bastards” from Game of Thrones, imagine that fight lasting 3 episodes! Feature-length films don’t put out battles as impressive as Rings of Power did. And Rings of Power is bloody, violent, and intense! Decapitations, skull crushes, dismemberment, etc. If The Hobbit was for children, then Lord of the Rings is for adults, and Rings of Power is for grown folks!
Tolkien purists may have a problem or two with the show as they take some creative liberties here and there (there are even cheesy lines from the original films remixed into the show), but rest assured there is no sophomore slump in the second season of Rings of Power. The world of Middle Earth is living, breathing, and satisfying even more in the second season. It helps set the table for a third season as you absolutely want to see what happens going forward. Once again: Sauron is a badass!
The first three episodes of The Lord of Rings: The Rings of Power are currently available on Amazon Prime with weekly episodes every Thursday.
