I was not a fan of the first season of ‘The Rings of Power,’ the Prime Video streaming series based on the appendices of JRR Tolkien’s beloved ‘Lord of the Rings’ books. My biggest gripe was in the depiction of the elves as people who were just as frivolous and emotionally unstable as the humans. I talked about the inevitable comparisons that were going to be made between the show and Peter Jackson’s vision of that world in his ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. But considering the amount of money that Prime Video has thrown at this show, I was curious to see if things would get better on its second round.
The second season is now focused on the forging of the titular Rings of Power. The eight-episode season is focused on Sauron (Charlie Vickers), who has now disguised himself as the elf Annatar manipulates the elvish smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edward) to forge more rings for the dwarves and the race of man. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) must face the consequences of her actions in season one as she is forced to confess of her dealings with Sauron, when he was disguised as the human Halbrand to Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) and Elron (Robert Aramayo). The dwarves are in disarray as an earthquake caused by the rise of a volcano in Mordor destroys the sun shafts in Kaza-dum forcing King Durin (Peter Mulan) and his son Durin (Owain Arthus) to navigate their tempestuous relationship. The Harfoots Nori (Markella Kavanagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) continue to accompany the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) to find the point of the stars while, in later episodes, we discover the chaos that is happening in the realms of men, highlighting the story of Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Isildur (Maxim Baldry) as the orcs march out of Mordor led by Adar (Sam Hazeldine).
It’s a lot of stories that is happening simultaneously and what is attractive about the show is how the immense budget is reflected in the CGI and the production of each scene. The show looks expensive, and the special effects are convincing enough, giving life to giant spiders, ents, trolls, and even the Barrow-Wights. The world is immersive, with hundreds of extras keeping the world populated and making sure the show doesn’t feel small.
In fact, with all the storylines at play, it’s just a marvel at how much all of this must cost.
There is an enjoyable aspect to the narrative: a classic epic adventure story with multiple protagonists on their own quests to strive towards stopping a great evil. But as we are now into the second season, several characters have yet to interact and some of the storylines have yet to fully intersect, which slows down the pace of the whole show altogether. At eight episodes, the Stranger and his quest for his forgotten memories and his name takes forever and while it continues to strengthen the bond between him and the two Harfoots, his storyline still feels adjunct to the main narrative.
The ones who get the most focus are the elves, and this is still my most sour spot on the whole show. For beings that live for thousands of years, they make the most foolish mistakes and make the most questionable of actions. Galadriel’s insistence of facing Sauron despite the fact that he has fooled her for almost all of the first season should be a cause for self-reflection and instead, it emboldens her to do more acts that feel impulsive and reckless. The same can be said for Elrond and the way by which Celebrimbor is so easily swayed and manipulated by Sauron-as-Annatar does not feel at all seemly for the character of the elves.
The highlights of the show are the moments when it focuses on the Dwarves. Disa is still one of the most realised characters in the show and is performed extremely well by Sophia Nomvete. Their storyline is the one that moves at a proper pace yet still manages to delve into the emotional weight of the issues at hand. Things get even worse when the dwarven rings come into play.
Season 2 grounds itself by exploring the corrupting effect of power and fame and glory. It’s best when it navigates this as best seen in the storyline of the Dwarves or when Elrond argues with Galadriel regarding her ring (though Galadriel’s position, considering her past experience with Sauron, makes for a weak argument) or the way by which Sauron plays with Celebrimbor’s own pride. It would have been interesting to see this play out if the writing was stronger and tighter (which means removing the adjunct stories like The Stranger’s or Isildur’s) but all of this is bogged down by the rest of the storylines that all don’t push towards a clear focus.
And, by the end of the season, there’s still so many storylines left opened – of course, for the eventual third season – but none of which feels even partially resolved. It still feels like the first act of the larger story and that can get quite tedious.
My Rating:
The Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video. Watch it here.
