REVIEW: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Is Only Halfway There

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 picks up immediately after Season 1, well, mostly. The premiere episode takes time to look backward to show you how Sauron (Charlie Vickers) came to meet Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). In that way, we see his ability to shapeshift and his ability to exert power even then. He can be what people need him to be, which is the danger that hangs over Season 2.

The audience must watch as Sauron convinces Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to make seven rings for the Dwarven Kings, nine for the Kings of Men, and finally, the One Ring with the name Annatar as his guise. In this season, Númenor is embattled in a civil war, the Hardfoots are learning more about the different communities of small ones, Saruman emerges, and The Wanderer’s identity is the most badly kept secret in Middle Earth.

The movement from the threat of evil to its emergence is Rings of Power Season 2’s most vital asset. In the beginning episodes, Sauron’s appearance and clear move to dominance move the story forward. Conflict, battles, and the fear of not knowing if you’ll survive are reasons to become enamored with the season. The series is strongest at its beginning and in the last two episodes.

From an existing lore perspective, some characters are hard to understand from their literary counterparts. It can sometimes be extremely distracting; for others, it feels like a misunderstanding. While I am not on the team, “orcs can’t have babies,” it’s hard to tell a story so focused on light and dark when the entire army of literally defiled creatures is given a PR treatment.

It’s a hard line to walk between keeping orcs as an evil force and also giving them substance that apologizes for their looting, burning, and killing of every territory. Rings of Power Season 2 sometimes walks that line well, adding depth to the orcs instead of losing their meaning in Middle Earth. At others, it seems to refuse to accept that sometimes evil exists without rhyme of reason.

Adar’s identity as the father of the Orc is sometimes somber and, at others, unruly. But even with my issues regarding how the orcs are treated, the ultimate choice to have them choose evil corrects much of the pomp and circumstance surrounding Adar’s request to align with Galadriel.

I find it hard to fully love Rings of Power Season 2. With Celeborn, the romantic tension between Galadriel and Elrond loses pace and reason when you remember that Elrond marries Galadriel’s daughter. More importantly, it seems that much of the relationship we know between Celebron and Galadriel has been used to inform her relationship with Elrond in a way that makes her beholden to Hollywood’s expectations for women, which often involve romance. This is ultimately a shame given how vital platonic relationships and fellowship are to Tolkien’s stories.

That said, I feel the weird yearning for Celeborn’s inclusion since the largest issue of the series is that it is telling too many stories at once. Rings of Power Season 2’s pacing oscillated between feeling like a slog and feeling like a sprint. With the primary events in the season focused on the elves and the dwarves, both Númenor’s and the Hardfoot’s storylines feel too forced into the fray than adequately explored.

In fact, during the fight for the throne in Númenor, the stakes never feel too emotionally weighted. We have spent so little time with Queen Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Elendil (Lloyd Owen) that it’s hard to feel deeply as the city picks itself apart. Had the season had a longer episode order or separated each secondary storyline into its own seasons, telling the wider interconnected story of the Second Age wouldn’t feel so forced and disjointed. But perhaps that’s more of an issue because the production lacks official rights to The Silmarillion. 

Even the Season 1 standout new character, Arondir, feels too disconnected from the primary story being told, including those in his party. Yes, Isildur, too. Isildur’s inclusion feels like a checkbox to tick off for the story and the upcoming war of the ring approaching instead of a character who is meant to be there. The scope of Rings of Power has become so far cast that it has lost the elements that are so beautifully executed.

Lore issues aside (like how a ring can heal a wound), Galadriel’s story is excellent, and Clark’s portrayal as the powerful and brave elf is stunning. At the same time, some moments feel too out of character, mainly where Adar is concerned. Galadriel’s willingness to work with Adar is shocking, but the unification of elves and uruk lands exceptionally well, even if I wanted to ignore the bridge itself. Of course, Sauron appears to ensure this lore-breaking alliance can’t come to pass.

For his part, Robert Aramayo as Elrond is fantastic, and his care and intelligence balance each other out in a way that is pivotal to understanding him as a character. Never selfish, Elrond is the heart and soul of the elves in a way I didn’t expect to see on screen. Aramayo’s performance has made a character I tolerated in the source material into one of my absolute favorite characters in a television series all year.

Additionally, the manipulation we see as Sauron appears to Celebrimbor and ultimately destroys him is expertly crafted by Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers as Annatar (well, to Celebrimbor). As Sauron, Vickers expertly moves through Halbrand, Annatar, and his real identity without being bogged down by expectations of each. Instead, he morphs into what the person in front of him needs. That makes Sauron so unnerving that he can be what you need by prying into your desires. His danger is exponential, and it feels that way in Rings of Power Season 2. 

Vickers’ performances as Sauron, Annatar, and Halbrand are beautifully captured. The malice, the hope, and the beauty all swirled into one, tethered to the people around him by their desire for power. Vickers is one of the best villains we have seen in a long time, and that’s the place that Sauron deserves.

Finally, where the elves hold a special place in the story, the other narrative thread that stands out in Rings of Power Season 2 is the dwarves. The strongest new character to the series, Disa’s (Sophia Nomvete) steadfast dedication to her husband and her people, is beautiful to see. Her understanding of the mountain and the importance of being in harmony with it and each other make her a fierce princess.

The choice to make the Dwarves, both Durin (Owain Arthur) and Disa, find strength in their love of each other and their people is beautiful. Dwarves are often cast as brutes, but here, Rings of Power Season 2 gives them the depth they deserve. They deal with the greed that comes with the lore, as we see King Durin controlled by his ring, but in his final acts, we see the core of family and people that is important to understanding who the Dwarves are at their core.

But the core of the series lies in how it ends. With a narration that tells the audience that sometimes things are just lost, sometimes they break, and sometimes we can not find or fix them. The central theme in Tolkien’s work is the permission to accept the darkness in life and the fact that we can not change everything that pains us.

More importantly, it’s about how we move forward with the lot we have been given. In that way, the series rights itself and becomes what I loved about the first season. In the last two episodes, The Rings of Power Season 2 is where I have wanted to be all season, and that’s the hope I need.

Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is uneven but still has such deep potential for the future—yes, even if the lore adaptations aren’t all well done. The score, the themes, and ultimately, the actors themselves keep the series worth investing in even when the show lulls to what feels like a complete stop as it buckles under the weight of the many stories it’s attempting to tell.

The narrative is too broad to give every character the due they deserve, but in the moments where it constricts its lens toward a specific people or thread, The Rings of Power Season 2 is excellent. I just wish we had found more of those moments outside the premiere or the final two episodes.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is streaming now on Prime Video.