Key Takeaways
- The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will delve deeper into the history of Middle-earth and uncover Sauron’s complicated past.
- In season two, Sauron takes on a new form and works on creating the rings of power, closing in on the One Ring.
- Viewers have experienced a mixed reaction to the new season, with social media reactions divided between delight and disdain.
After two years away from the screen, The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power Back Amazon Prime Three episodes premiered last Thursday. The three we chose are: First Season and provided another fascinating look into the history of Middle-earth.
This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Season 2 of The Rings of Power.
The first three episodes of Season 2 have provided a front-row seat to a return to Middle-earth and many of the moments Lord of the Rings fans have been waiting for, but beyond the cool moments, The Rings of Power has a lot more to offer as the second installment.
Put yourself in Sauron’s shoes
An interesting framework for the show’s return
In the first season of The Lord of the Rings, viewers were given the shocking revelation that Halbrand had been Sauron all along. Seeing Sauron in the flesh was already a novel concept for fans of the Lord of the Rings series, but having him as a character we’d been following all season added a whole new layer to the villain.
Season 2 continues that layering, beginning again with Sauron at the start of the Second Age, picking up the idea of ​​”power over the body, not power of the body” that was brought up so long ago. A glimpse into Sauron’s past will shed light on how he became Halbrand and detail what exactly his plan was during that time.
The entire opening showed us exactly how Halbrand got to where he met Galadriel in season one, and also gave us an interesting look at Sauron’s clever use of half-truths. An evil character who doesn’t technically lie can be a well-worn trope, but Sauron’s portrayal in “The Rings of Power” is consistent with people seeing him as they want him to be, and it all comes together.
Apart from Halbrand, Season 2 will see Sauron take on a new form as Annatar, Lord of Gifts, who manipulates Celebrimbor into creating more rings and, ultimately, the One Ring. However, in the episodes released, we only see Annatar begin work on creating the seven rings of power for the Dwarven King.
The exact circumstances under which the creation of the Dwarven Rings of Power would come to fruition had been planned throughout Season 1. Elrond’s quest for mithril showed where problems were beginning to arise for the Dwarves, much in the same way that the Elves’ problems drove them to forge the three Elven Rings of Power in Season 1.
The show looks and sounds fantastic as usual, and while it takes many creative liberties with Tolkien’s original work, I’m fine with that as long as it serves the purpose of keeping the story coherent on screen.
The first three episodes show that the lords of Khazad-dūm and common dwarves are having trouble. One of the main issues is the dwarven gardens withering due to lack of sunlight. Whether this is exactly related to the Balrog that was freed in season 1 is up for speculation, but the fact that this storyline ties up nicely in season 2 gives us great hope for how the show will portray the rest of the casting of the ring.
Aside from Sauron, the first three episodes develop a lot of intrigue regarding the identity of the Stranger and the emergence of the dark wizard. The Stranger remains nameless at present, but the importance of the name is emphasized. As the Stranger’s identity is slowly revealed to be Gandalf, this is a good thematic element to keep in mind… probably.
Another notable element featured in Season 2 is, of course, that Isildur is not dead. In Season 1, Isildur was made to appear dead, but given his importance to the broader storyline introduced in “The Rings of Power,” it seems highly unlikely that he was actually dead. He is found in the giant spider’s den and returns to the story. After his escape, Isildur ends up being tied to the story of Arondir and Theo. Near the end of the third episode, the three are seen being attacked by something, although we still don’t know quite what it is.
There was a lot to unpack in the first three episodes, but I definitely wanted to see more. The show still looks and sounds good, and while there are a lot of creative liberties taken with Tolkien’s original work, I don’t think that’s an issue at all, as long as it serves a coherent narrative on screen.
The return of divisive opinion
Season 2 still received mixed reviews
Amazon Studios
Reaction to the new season on social media has been just as mixed as the previous season, with many enjoying the show while others have slammed it as the worst Tolkien show ever. One aspect of the show that has sparked controversy among some on social media is how season two portrays orcs as more than just evil creatures, while others have argued that this is entirely in keeping with Tolkien’s text and themes.
Apart from the debate over the show’s relevance, the show has received a flurry of praise this season, with more focused episodes airing that centred on the nature of evil stalking Middle-earth.
Whether you see this show as a wonderful creative expansion and celebration of Tolkien’s work, or as a disgrace to The Lord of the Rings, you’ll undoubtedly find people on social media who agree with you. It remains to be seen whether the show will ultimately win audiences over to the other side.
