Has Middle Earth ever been so full of dread? Forget the armies of Sauron trying to storm Helm’s Deep, or indeed Minas Tirith: if you want to cultivate a sense of building doom, season two of The Rings of Power is where it’s at.
There’s a lot to contend with. Sauron is finally on the loose, having successfully crafted three of the twenty rings of power he wants to use to rule Middle Earth, spreading darkness and evil across its lands. This promises to make the series more interesting than ever: Lord of the Rings fans have never witnessed this era of Sauron’s rise to power on-screen before, and it should be carnage.
So for fans of the mega-budget, behemoth series, it’s a drool-worthy premise. And yet, the issue which plagued the Rings of Power’s last installment poses a threat once again. The Rings of Power season one had a damning drop off rate, with only 37 per cent of viewers making it through the entire series. Unfortunately, though season two has much to offer, it suffers from a similar problem.
Season two picks up exactly where season one left off. To recap the many, many characters, there are the Elves we already know well: Royal Elf and military commander Lady Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), fighting to stop the dark forces of the rings that she allowed to be created in season one (one hell of a whoopsie). Her former confidant Elrond (Robert Aramayo), who’s doing the same but begrudgingly, because he’s angry at Galadriel for allowing these ultra-powerful rings to be forged in the first place.
And then there’s the Elves we don’t know so well: Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), greatest of Elven Smiths, who is continuing to forge the rings of power while being manipulated by Sauron, who is posing as the Elven Lord of Gifts, Annatar. Plus Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), a Silvan Elf entrusted with protecting the realms of Men (currently not doing a very good job - his human love interest just died and he’s very sad about it).
Over to the Dwarves, because yes, there’s more. Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) is in a power struggle with his dad, King Durin, regarding the over-mining of Mithril in Khazad-dûm. Meanwhile the Men are in a period of political strife in Númenor, as the wily Pharazôn tries to overthrow Queen Míriel and her loyalists, including Elendil (captain in Númenor's Sea Guard). Meanwhile Elendil’s son, Isildir (future king of Gondor, destroyer of physical-form Sauron, played by Maxim Baldry) is in the Southlands after the explosion of Mount Doom, trying to find his way home.
Also knocking about is Adar, a dark elf set on destroying Sauron, and a couple of Harfoots (kind of like Hobbits) who are wandering the desert with a Wizard in search of his great purpose.
Sounds like a lot of storylines, right? That’s because it is. And some of them are absolutely captivating. It’s a treat to see Sauron in human (or lying Elf) form on screen, and Charlie Vickers is wonderfully menacing, especially when juxtaposed with the sincerity of Celebrimbor – this goes double for when the mask is allowed to slip in later episodes. Isildur goes from boring side character to a budding fighter and convincing love interest, in an almost Frodo-esque arc.
Arondir fills the hole left by Legolas and provides the necessary coolness factor for the Elves, running up the arms of cave trolls and offloading arrows from atop fortified walls. Durin and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete), act as similarly enjoyable Gimli stand-ins, though Rings of Power never allows them to have quite the level of humour afforded by the film trilogy.
Plus there’s plenty of beasties. We get to see glimpses of Cave-trolls, Great Spiders, Barrow-wights and even a Balrog. They provide necessary action when the plot is proving a little slow moving, which it sadly often is.
I wish The Rings of Power could have learned more from the mistakes of season one, or even just heavily leant on the formulas of the films. The problem is that The Rings of Power season two spends all season building to a showstopping crescendo, whereas the film trilogy was packed with well paced action and comedy.
In Lord of the Rings, you get at least one battle per film, usually arriving somewhere between the second and third act: see the aforementioned scraps at Helm’s Deep and Minas Tirith. That’s a battle every two or so hours. In The Rings of Power, you get one battle for every eight hours of television. I would not be surprised if the drop off rate issue which plagued the first season will still be an issue this time around.
Season three desperately needs to be tighter, funnier, and meaner. But we will still be watching, regardless. Well, for the first few episodes, at least.
