The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted to mixed audience reception in 2022. Some fans took issue with the show’s departure from J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing about the Second Age of Middle-earth, but any adaptation changes the work it’s based on to better suit a different medium. The slow, purposeful worldbuilding of season 1 sets the stage for a blowout second season focusing squarely on Sauron, the Lord of the Rings himself.
[Note: this review contains early impressions on the first three episodes of The Rings of Power season 2]
Setting up a rise to power in The Rings of Power season 2
Sauron has taken a new form in Middle-earth following Galadriel’s discovery of his deception as Halbrand. As shown in trailers for season 2, he is now masquerading as the Elf lord Annatar, an emissary of the godlike Valar. Unlike his Halbrand disguise, Annatar is a canonical character who changes the course of Middle-earth forever through his manipulation of Celebrimbor and his Elven-smiths.
While Tolkien purists will be thrilled to see Sauron’s deceptions brought to the screen for the first time, they may not like the changes made to Sauron’s strategy as a result of events in season 1. Three episodes in, it’s clear that The Rings of Power is taking a very different approach to Annatar’s scheming. As someone who loved the first season despite the lore changes, the beginning of season 2 worries me.
After all the careful setup in season 1, I expected season 2 to hit the ground running. In a way, it does. But it also grinds to a painstaking halt. Part of Sauron’s backstory is revealed, but it may provide more questions than answers. We spend more time with Halbrand, which isn’t something I wanted or needed to see more of. The Elves get a wonderfully dramatic storyline centering on the creation of the Three Elven Rings of Power, but even that initial conflict is resolved quickly, and that’s not entirely satisfying.
Time compression is always a big talking point around The Rings of Power, since the series condenses over 2,000 years of history into the span of a human lifetime. This compression bothered me in the first season (in regards to how long it should take to build structures or travel long distances) but it becomes even worse at the beginning of season 2, where 1,000 years pass in what appears to be a single day. The passage of time is one of the series’ biggest problems, and it’s disappointing to see that the problem only seems to be getting worse.
Although the plot of the first season was essentially made up by the showrunners, season 2 is firmly based on events Tolkien outlined in The Silmarillion. While the writers don’t have the rights to this work, the fallout of season 1’s changes to the source material are affecting the characters and their motivations in ways that may not pay off. However, I will point out that while I didn’t like Season 1’s changes on paper, I did like their execution. Hopefully, I feel the same way by the end of season 2, since the first three episodes feel surprisingly rushed for a show that made its mark by taking its time.
Charlie Vickers, Morfydd Clark and the rest of the cast
The Rings of Power has an all-star cast that’s firing on all cylinders this season. While the plot changes may disturb some fans, no one should have an issue with the characters on our screens! The costumes are gorgeous, and every actor already has more to do in season 2.
Charlie Vickers finally gets to flex his muscles by playing both Halbrand and Annatar and will undoubtedly grow more evil as Sauron’s mask slips. Halbrand was a decent character but with Sauron’s deception revealed to the audience, Annatar gets to display subtle hints of his true personality beneath the disguise. Vickers really delivers in his line readings and subtle facial expressions.
Morfydd Clark returns as Galadriel but gone is her angry, vengeance-fueled righteousness. In the wake of Sauron’s trickery Galadriel is shaken to her core, finding her relationship with Elrond broken beyond anything she imagined. Although not outcast by the Elves as Sauron predicted, she’s no longer the commanding military leader she once was, but that doesn’t mean she lacks power and influence.
Speaking of the Elves, Robert Aramayo takes on a wonderfully bigger role as Elrond. Distrustful of the Rings and unwilling to bend to the will of Elven commanders like Gil-galad, Galadriel, and Círdan, Elrond’s faith has been shaken in a different way. As Galadriel becomes closer to the Elves, Elrond seems to be pulling away from them.
Sophia Nomvete is a pleasure as always while Owain Arthur has some wonderfully tense scenes as Durin struggles with estrangement from his father. Charles Edwards gets more of the spotlight as Celebrimbor this season, but Annatar steals some of his thunder in the early episodes.
Markella Kavenaugh and Megan Richards continue to be a delightful Harfoot pair, while Daniel Weyman explores the Stranger’s newfound power in Rhûn, a region often mentioned in Tolkien’s works but unexplored until now. The mysterious eastern desert brings a distinct flavor to Middle-earth, featuring some of the series’ best music from Bear McCreary in the process.
Meanwhile, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Maxim Baldry, and Tyroe Muhafidin make for an unlikely trio as they escape the destruction of the Southlands, transformed into the dark land of Mordor by Sam Hazeldine’s Adar. Hazeldine replaces Joseph Mawle from Season 1 and plays the character without the melancholy that made him stand out, which is an unfortunate loss. The character is still intriguing, but without Mawle’s performance, Adar is missing a quality that captivated us all in the first season.
The Men of Númenor are splitting along ideological lines this season, with a struggle for power taking shape between Cynthia Adair-Robinson’s Míriel and her cousin Pharazôn, played by Trystan Gravelle. Lloyd Owen continues to stand out as Elendil, while his daughter Eärien (Ema Horvath) heads down a dark path we all saw coming.
The entire cast’s performances are excellent, though the separation between the various groups of Middle-earth feels starker in season 2 than season 1. Part of that may be due to Númenor’s isolation this season, as those scenes are completely disconnected from the Rings of Power themselves, despite diving into the emotional fallout of Númenor’s defeat in the first season.
The strongest aspects of The Rings of Power
The tricky thing with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is that we know how the Second Age ends. Certain moments must happen according to Tolkien’s writing and the series is about the journey we take with these characters despite knowing how most of their stories conclude.
Season 2 is off to a slightly rocky start, unevenly picking up the threads of all the disparate characters introduced in season 1. But it’s already showing signs of strengthening in episode three as characters are brought together and the emotional conflicts of the season begin. The trick will be sticking the landing by playing out the tragedy we know this season to be and hitting every emotional moment with care.
The true strength of The Rings of Power lies in its characters and the complex relationships they have with each other, which the first few episodes only give you a glimpse of. The first two episodes of this season play like more table-setting despite season 1’s thorough setup, although the third episode promises dramatic turns ahead. As the season progresses, we should see genuinely devastating developments as our favorite characters rise and fall together. One thing is for sure, though: this is Sauron’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premieres on Prime Video on Thursday! Let us know what you think of the series on social media @mycosmiccircus!
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