I’ve long maintained that the best prequel to Peter Jackson’s iconic Lord of the Rings movie trilogy wouldn’t be The Hobbit (and we all saw how those turned out when they tried), but rather a telling of the Akallabeth, the forging of the Rings of Power and the end of the Second Age.
And it seems Amazon heard my prayer when it released the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power back in 2022. Season 1 had a lot of heavy lifting to do: it had to establish a new era of Middle-earth and re-introduce us to characters we’ve known, many of us from the 2000s-era movies, and some even longer going back to JRR Tolkien’s magnum opus.
It also had to do this without all of the material available to the showrunners, which gave them the monumental task of retelling one of the most important aspects of Middle-earth’s history without all the narrative available to use.
As a result, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s first season fell flat for many. I’ll admit, too, that it largely fell flat for me. I never thought it was an outright bad show, but as a Tolkien lore die-hard, I thought that the showrunners were playing a bit fast and loose with the source material.
I’m also still waiting for Celeborn to appear so people can stop shipping Galadriel with [insert random character here]. I am, however, excited that we finally get to see Cirdan as more than just an Elf standing at the Grey Havens. Ben Daniels is great in this role, and I hope we see one of the great under-explored Elf Lords continue to be shown throughout Season 2.
As I sat down to watch the first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, I wondered whether I would find it an improvement over the last season, and whether it would start to shape up into a solid adaptation - if not a wholly canonical one - of one of the greatest stories Tolkien ever wrote.
And I’m happy to say that three episodes in, Rings of Power feels like it might have started to find its footing here.
The Power of Foresight
Part of what I needed to come to terms with was my own knowledge of The Lord of the Rings. It’s a book and a subcreation that is so wholly important to me that I would use my love for it as a personality trait. You know the kind you put on your social media profile: “Father, Partner, Tolkienist.”
Whenever I would have conversations of Season 1’s lore choices with friends, it would slowly dawn on me that I might actually be at a disadvantage here knowing as much as I do about the actual story itself. The Akallabeth is one of my favorite sections of The Silmarillion, and the rise of Sauron is arguably the most important part of Tolkien’s history, as none of the major events of the Third Age and the War of the Ring even take place if the Second Age’s grand tales hadn’t happened. My knowledge of Tolkien’s world would hamstring me in the moment of seeing the motivations behind the why of what the showrunners were doing.
This started to hit me hard in Episode 1 of Season 2, where we see the motivations behind Galadriel's (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond's (Robert Aramayo) decisions somewhat at odds. Many people would question why Galadriel is headstrong, eager, and, in a word, impatient. But many of us would be comparing this portrayal to the one we see in the Third Age during The Fellowship of the Ring, when she is the Lady of Lorien.
Everything that is going on right now, the brashness, the eagerness to rid the world of Sauron, the hubris of Galadriel lead to where she found herself in the Third Age. She had to go through these moments - from the first time she raised her voice in unison with the Noldor during the Rebellion of Feanor to now as she deals with the Ban of the Valar upon her. This motivation, her actions, and her desire to see the world healed of the decay we found Lindon suffering from at the end of Season 1 is, realistically, how I would expect her to act at this point in her life.
This is on full display even in just these first three episodes. Morfydd Clark’s masterful portrayal of a more headstrong Galadriel is, in a word, perfect, and it’s been one of the major highlights of the series as a whole. Also, the rolled Rs with her Quenya lines (and as a side note: as fan of Quenya, I’m so happy it gets as much screen time as it has thus far) is sublime.
It took me a bit to realize that I found myself judging the portrayals of characters based on how I expected them to act in the Third Age. Yet this age, especially for many Elvish protagonists, is one of the most traumatic experiences that helps shape them into who we eventually know thousands of years later.
One of the best aspects in Season 2 thus far is actually Sauron (Charlie Vickers). Now that he has been unmasked to both Elves and audience, we get to see him work and how he earned the title “Sauron the Deceiver.” Vickers steals the scene anytime he’s on screen for me, his masterful portrayal of Sauron’s subtlety as he works on the minds and hearts of those in his crosshairs is a joy to witness.
Sauron wasn’t someone who simply accomplished his aims through arms (though he certainly does do that throughout his time as Morgoth’s chief lieutenant), but he aims to capture and enslave the mind and heart as well. The Rings of Power do this, as we know from the poem each copy of The Lord of the Rings starts with: “Three Rings for the Elven-kings…”
Sauron’s machinations are fully laid bare for the audience - we know his aim here (and anyone who has seen the movies or read the books knows the result), but it’s really cool to see it take place. Watching the fires of Eregion (in Ost-in-Edhil, specifically - a city Galadriel and Celeborn technically helped to found, though this wouldn’t be something the show could say) blaze in the forge of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is a treat, especially as a Celebrimbor fanboy.
Genuine Tolkien Lines
One area the show still suffers from, unfortunately, is its writing. This is where the limitations of what source material it has the rights to is most keenly felt. Peter Jackson’s movies had a very Tolkienian element because they were adapting the books themselves, and could therefore lift whole pieces of dialogue directly from Tolkien’s own hand.
The Rings of Power does not have this same luxury, as much of its story is being pieced together from passages throughout the narrative, as well as the Appendices. As a result, there just isn’t a lot of dialogue to use.
This makes it feel a step down from even the Jackson films because it loses that genuine Tolkien quality, oftentimes feeling like a Tolkien imitation rather than a duplication.
Seriously, the “Sea is always right?” I am still shaking my head at that.
Thankfully, there haven’t been any moments in Season 2 that have made me feel the same way the Numenorean’s sea chant did. And one thing I’m really happy the showrunners have continued to use is Tolkien’s invented languages with Season 2.
As mentioned before, I’m something of a Quenya fanboy, first trying to teach myself the language in 9th grade, and it’s been such a treat to hear so much of the Elvish language spoken on screen (especially since the movies were mostly Sindarin). Hearing other languages as well, such as the Black Speech spoken outside of simply the Ring inscription helps to root the story in the world Tolkien created, even if the showrunners can’t lift directly from all the pages of material Tolkien wrote.
The story beats also have a similar quality, specifically those that don’t necessarily follow the timeline's golden path. The Stranger’s (Daniel Weyman) journey and the story of the Harfoots that accompany him are interesting, but they feel like sidequests in a video game right now versus the larger narrative happening on the isle of Numenor or within the depths of Khazad-dum.
That all said, I do feel like the writing (thus far) has taken a step up. The writer’s room has found their groove, and even the side narratives don’t feel as disconnected from the broader story on offer. Television shows can tend to take some time to come into their own, and Rings of Power might just be one of those shows that needed that time. Season 1 did much of the world-building of the Second Age; Season 2 is getting down the grittier details of what happened before the Last Alliance could be formed.
Season 2 also feels more Tolkienian than the last, especially with the subtle details and moments that might not mean much to a regular viewer, but as someone who knows everything from The Ainulindale to the Scouring of the Shire like the back of my hand, are incredibly well done. I can’t really say anything without spoiling the moments, but rest assured when the credits roll on the final episode of the season and the spoiler embargo lifts, I’ll be listing a truckload of them.
It’s clear that the showrunners, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are fans of the world Tolkien has created, and it’s felt throughout the first few episodes. Whether that feeling continues remains to be seen, but I’m much more excited to continue each week than I think I was in the first season.
As the credits rolled on the third episode, I was pretty excited and optimistic with where things stood. I want to see how their vision lines up with the one I’ve had swimming in my head ever since I first read The Silmarillion in high school. I want to see these grand events I’ve only dreamed of play out on screen, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has delivered thus far in Season 2.
We'll have more thoughts as the season goes on each week, and eventually our giant Tolkien-fanboy lore dump at the end of the season for you to look forward to.
