10 Thoughts on The Rings of Power Season 2 (TV Review)
While not without shortcomings, the second season comes closer to reaching the lofty heights of immersive Middle-earth drama many fans hoped to see from the beginning.
About the Film
As an unabashed Tolkien fanboy, I approached the first season of The Rings of Power with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Impossibly lofty expectations due to the sizable budget and beloved source material, inevitable comparisons to Peter Jackson’s superb film trilogy, and toxic rhetoric from people quick to drag the show into the culture war discourse made it challenging to determine season one’s true success (or failure). At best, reception of the debut season was mixed. Personally, I thought it was an enjoyable—if imperfect—return to Middle-earth (you can read my review of S1 here). After rewatching S1 (distanced from the external noise and discourse), it held up even better.
In S2, the show has found surer footing. While not without shortcomings, the second season comes closer to reaching the lofty heights of immersive Middle-earth drama that many fans hoped to see from the beginning.
Below are ten thoughts on what it did well and which areas still need improvement.
1. The Writing
Too often in film criticism, “bad writing” is used as a shorthand for “the story did something I didn’t like” or “I would have done it differently.” The Rings of Power has been criticized by some viewers for its “terrible” writing. Justifications for this claim include “condensing Tolkien’s timeline” or focusing on a “young, headstrong Galadriel.” These concerns may be valid, but they speak more to the show’s overall design and vision than to its writing.
Contrary to that unfavorable narrative, I found the writing in S2 to be strong, even excellent at times. It is a step up from the occasionally clunky writing in S1. Much of the dialogue and character work is outstanding, including Celebrimbor’s beautiful speech in defiance of Sauron during the finale, almost every interaction between King Durin and his son, and Elendril’s wisdom about the nature of faith and courage. I don’t think The Rings of Power is a poorly written show; it may just not tell the story some hoped it would.
2. An Ambitious Scope
The Rings of Power is arguably the most ambitious television show ever attempted. At times, its grand scope is a major strength. The breadth of the story is truly unlike anything else on TV and holds up against many recent movies. With Tolkien, the world of Middle-earth is as much of a character as those who inhabit it, and the show doesn’t hold back in showcasing Middle-earth in all its glory.
The poisoned side of that Nazgul blade is that the show buckles under the immense weight of its scope at times. S1 struggled to juggle its many storylines. In S2, the cast is even further fractured. A frequent criticism of the show is that it’s “slow.” It’s not that nothing is happening (big, world-changing events take place almost every episode), but the runtime is stretched as thin as “butter scraped over too much bread,” which derails its momentum. The expansive cast and the large number of races and realms involved means the show can’t explore each one in much depth. As a result, some characters (ie. Isildur and Gil-galad) feel trapped in a waiting pattern. They will ultimately play a necessary role in the narrative, but they aren’t given adequate screentime to establish themselves before those important canon events take place. The show may work better as a sprawling 10-hour film rather than as staggered-release episodes in which characters and plotlines are absent for weeks at a time.
3. The Harfoots
I remain a tentative Harfoot apologist. The machinations of lofty elves or noble men may be flashier, but there is an important niche in Tolkien’s stories for the “little people.” Tolkien used hobbits to provide the “everyman” perspective, and the Harfoots serve that crucial function in this show. I appreciate that Nori provides a starry-eyed, Spielbergian vantage point, especially against the backdrop of the weight and darkness of the other storylines.
Hobbit-lover that I am, I’ll concede that the Harfoot subplot is unquestionably the weakest link in S2. I wonder how the season would have unfolded if that portion of the runtime, which remains wholly disconnected from the wider narrative, were instead allocated to the more compelling plots in Eregion and Númenor? In S2, the Harfoot scenes seem merely to be “filling in the blanks.” The subplot is presumably headed toward the establishment of the Shire, which is an intriguing part of the backstory for The Lord of the Rings. But must it be included in this show? Time will tell, but S3 would do well to start integrating these characters into the main narrative sooner rather than later.
4. The Villains
Peter Jackson’s film trilogy is incredible, but the movies aren’t necessarily elevated by great villains. Sauron is a big glowing eye, Saruman never steps foot outside of his tower, and the orcs are mostly mindless grunts. The Rings of Power reverses that script. Its villains are arguably the most interesting and well-developed characters in the show. Charlie Vickers is incredible as Sauron, emphatically quelling any skepticism that the actor who played the roughish Halbrand from S1 could successfully embody the Dark Lord. Adar is equally compelling as the show’s most complex character (though the original actor, Joesph Mawle, is sorely missed). Even the orcs are explored in nuanced ways that (despite the rhetoric around the “orc baby” controversy) are true to Tolkien’s own conception and theology.
Tolkien’s stories present a clear dividing line between good and evil, but his flawed characters don’t always fit easily into that stark dichotomy. If Jackson’s film trilogy showcases how even the heroes could give into evil, then The Rings of Power explores how even the “bad guys” can feel the pull toward the light.
5. Galadriel
The hotheaded and brash Galadriel of The Rings of Power was not what many fans expected, especially in contrast to the elegant performance by Cate Blanchett in the films. I understand the thinking behind the creative decision though. After all, a Yoda in his early 20s is unlikely to be the same wise Jedi sage from The Empire Strikes Back. Don’t forget that Galadriel’s great “test” in The Lord of the Rings is to refuse the temptation to take the One Ring from Frodo and become a powerful queen that is “beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night!” She was not exactly a meek elf in her later years either.
That said, the Galadriel of The Rings of Power is in desperate need of a heroic turn. Perplexingly, the show continues to heap nearly all the plight of Middle-earth on her shoulders, almost inviting audiences to root against her. Her best moments so far have been when she shows glimpses of the wise, powerful woman she will eventually become. Unfortunately, those moments have been too infrequent. I understand that her character needs to have an arc, and perhaps the show is building toward a satisfying payoff. But it’s high time she starts moving in that direction (and the season finale gives me hope that she will)
As a side note, is there anyone other than the showrunners who are invested in the silly Galadriel/Sauron romance angle? Tolkien wrote some beautiful romances, but this one feels more like something from Twilight. The same goes for the unnecessary Galadriel/Elrond kiss that seemed designed more to stoke online discourse about “shipping” than to honor Tolkien’s stories. Less of this in S3, please.
6. The Visuals & Music
After the first season aired, I heard several people say, “I mean, it looks great, but….” Story is obviously important, but TV is still primarily a visual medium. The visuals matter, and The Rings of Power continues to raise the bar for what is possible on television. There’s nothing wrong with having stuff that looks epic and cool for the sake of being epic and cool. Also, a shoutout to composer Bear McCreary. His music remains one of the highlights of the show. It is worthy of sitting alongside the iconic film score by Howard Shore.
7. True to Tolkien?
Is S2 true to Tolkien? Once again, the answer depends on how you define terms. If the expectation is a visualized The Silmarillion Wiki page, then the answer is no. Condensing the timeline, creating new characters/storylines, and rearranging the chronology (ie. making the Rings of Power out of order) are all departures from Tolkien’s writing. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Peter Jackson’s films took plenty of creative liberties as well, including some drastic ones that completely undercut Tolkien’s original stories (the Army of the Dead at Minis Tirith, Frodo sending Samwise away, Faramir and Aragon as tortured heroes, etc.).
A literal page-to-screen adaptation of Tolkien’s The Simarillion is unfilmable for the same reasons it was virtually unpublishable (it was released posthumously for a reason). What works on the page does not always translate to the screen. Not all changes are evil. At the same time, Tolkien was a master at his craft, and it is no coincidence that S2—which contains more plotlines drawn directly from the source material—is an improvement on S1.
Rather than expecting the show to follow the “letter” of the lore, my hope was that it would at least capture the “spirit” of Tolkien. In that sense, the show succeeds. The weightier, dialogue-driven show arguably comes closer to achieving the Tolkienian spirit than the more action-oriented films did.
8. Tolkienian Themes
A large part of capturing the “Tolkien spirit” is harnessing the deeply theological themes of Tolkien’s writing and mythology. Like many, I had a healthy skepticism that Amazon was up to that task. I have been pleasantly surprised. The Rings of Power explores several redemptive themes straight from the heart of Tolkien’s writings, such as the nature of light and darkness. Celebrimbor (a standout character this season) declares, “Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.” That’ll preach!
Another interesting thematic thread is about faith and courage. Elendil belongs to “the faithful,” the Numenorian faction still loyal to the Valar (the “quasi-gods” in Tolkien’s mythology), and essentially must withstand religious persecution. It is refreshing to see a character who remains uncompromising in his moral convictions. He makes a great statement that “Faith is not faith if it is not lived.” It is also interesting how the show sets him against his own daughter, a relationship dynamic that is rarely explored in stories (it’s more common to see a child resisting an oppressive parent).
9. Establishing the Stakes
The fantastic battle at Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers is iconic not only because it is epic but because it clearly establishes the stakes and sets the scene. The Rings of Power consistently struggles to communicate its conflicts with the same clarity. This shortcoming is most egregious in the Númenor storyline. A budding civil war should be a compelling drama, but the show has done a poor job of establishing the parameters and factions. As a result, the high and mighty Numenorians appear mindless and fickle as they change their allegiances from episode to episode. Similarly, how many elves are in Middle-earth? The season concludes with the elves ready for war, but I’m not sure if they are the dominant power or the underdogs. I love what the show is doing with many of the smaller, character-driven conflicts, but I hope the same attention to detail will be applied to the larger-stakes battles as well.
10. Prequel-itis
The Rings of Power demonstrates some of the best and worst tendencies of prequels. The introduction of Tom Bombadil (!!!) by recreating his introductory scene from The Fellowship of the Ring and using dialogue taken directly from the books is “fan service” in a positive sense. It feels like a loving ode both to Tolkien and to fans. The same goes for the inclusion of thematic foreshadowing, such as when the Dark Wizard says that “Pity will not defeat Sauron.” Fans know that it is ultimately “the pity of Bilbo” that proves to be the Dark Lord’s undoing.
On the other hand, the same cannot be said of the annoyingly excessive tendency to borrow quotes from the films, such as repurposing Gandalf’s classic “some who choose life” speech. In those moments, it feels as though the show is saying, “Hey, remember that thing you liked from that other thing?” The revelation of the Stranger’s identity is another callback that relies on audience affection for previous stories. I’m optimistic that the decision will ultimately pay off, but right now it feels a bit like when Peter Jackson forced Legolas into the Hobbit films.
