‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ – Season Two – Review
Prime Video’s epic high fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has returned for an audacious second season, and following the shocking ending of the series’ first season, darkness has returned to the land of Middle Earth, and this evil is ready to construct its tools of power.
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has returned. Cast out by Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), without an army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good — Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots — will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all: each other.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was an unprecedented Prime Video streaming event, showcasing a thoroughly epic new take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s collective Legendarium. The first season had a vast job to do in establishing the world of Middle Earth’s Second Age and introducing a collective of characters, both familiar and new, and all of it led to a shocking conclusion where the Dark Lord Sauron, long thought destroyed, revealed himself once more, and in the process set about the events to come. Where Season One of The Rings of Power felt like it was establishing the world of Tolkien’s Second Age, Season Two throws audiences into the presence of a new darkness that is beginning to grip the lands of Middle Earth. This darkness comes in the form of both Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Adar (Sam Hazeldine), who has declared himself the Lord of the Southlands and who is working to build his own kingdom of the Orcs in Mordor. This focus on a narrative that seeks to explore the Dark Side of Tolkien’s world is an interesting point of view and not something normally seen in fantasy works, and it makes for a daring new viewing experience.
Key to this second season of The Rings of Power is the reveal of Charlie Vickers’s heroic Halbrand as actually being the reincarnated form of the Dark Lord Sauron, and this epitome of all evil is ready to put his plan for ultimate power into action. Vickers’s revelation as Sauron was Season One’s biggest shock, and now that he’s free to wreak havoc and move forward with his plan for total domination of Middle Earth, things start to get interesting. Vickers gets to move away from the charades and mask of Halbrand and instead gives a performance that is shaped by seduction and temptation. What we see from Vickers is a series of multiple characters, all of different shapes and forms, but whose actions are the pursuit of one true goal. We see the dark shadow of Halbrand, now open in his manipulations as Sauron, and his calculated actions to lead him to power, which sees him return to the forge of Eregion and his revelation to the master craftsman Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) as Annatar, ‘The Lord of Gifts’, and in this guise, we see Vickers transformed into a beacon of pure godly light, whose beautiful form hides a terrible motivation.
The presence of Sauron and his expanded presence in Season Two of The Rings of Power, as presented through Vickers’ performance, unfolds into an exploration of the theme of creativity and its impact on the narrative of The Rings of Power. Via the art of creativity, we see the power to both create and destroy, and it is in the actions of Sauron, through the guise of Annatar, with the help of Celebrimbor, begin their work on the rings of power that will come to ensnare all of Middle Earth. This theme of creativity and its use for either construction or destruction keeps the action of The Rings of Power interesting, and it gives a unique perspective through which to view the narrative. It is in Vickers’ performance as Annatar that we see this hunger for knowledge and a will to almost bend art and the power of vision to his own ends, and it makes his presence as Suaron more threatening and intense because of it.
Season Two of The Rings of Power sees many radical shifts to the narrative, and this is evident in the presence of the lady Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) who Sauron has deceived is now left low as a character, and challenged by everything she has ever believed in. She is also left at odds with Elrond (Robert Aramayo). The two have fallen out over the presence of the Rings of Power, while we are only at the beginning of Galadriel’s narrative in The Rings of Power this season. It is clear that there is a fracturing in the Elvish world, and that Rings of Power will grow dissent among its ranks.
The action of The Rings of Power also moves out in a bold new direction this season, particularly for the character of Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), who, in offering her help to The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), travels with him into the harsh and barren lands of Rhûn. This new setting is a major departure from the typical European setting of Tolkien’s work, and until now, it has never really been realised on screen for audiences. The sand, beige and burnt orange colours of the desert create a clear juxtaposition for audiences of what we have previously come to know of Middle Earth, and this new environment creates a real test for Nori and The Stranger and new sides of their characters are revealed with dramatic new depth. The presence of The Stranger’s expanded magic is also present in these early episodes, and we see a new shade to magic through the lens of Middle Earth, and there’s a real sense of it being influenced by the power of nature, and it reacts with dramatic and violent tension that will cause a real reaction in audiences.
Season Two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is moving forward with a dramatic sense of pace, and we’re witnessing a bold new chapter of the Tolkien’s narrative as dark forces align, and the tools that will ensnare all of Middle Earth are brought to life, and a colossal season of high fantasy action awaits audiences as this series moves forward.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.
Image: Prime Video
