The prospect of a second season of HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was exciting for several reasons. Fans would get to see the show’s takes on other major moments in NBA history following the L.A. club’s 1980 NBA Finals win. Of course, there are also the evolving character dynamics, which include the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Celtics phenom Larry Bird. Fans only received hints of that animosity during Season 1, but it’s now truly about to kick into high gear. On that note, one of the show’s director’s compared the feud to Lord of the Rings and, now, I can’t unsee it.
Winning Time’s latest episode, “The Second Coming,” serves as something of an origin story for Larry Bird. It also helps to establish his feelings towards Magic Johnson, who bested him during the 1979 NCAA tournament’s championship game. The installment was directed by Todd Banhazl, who provided some insight into his take on the brewing tension within the show. A point he made that most would probably agree with is the notion that an all-out (basketball) war seems to be on the horizon. What some may not have expected, though, was for him to compare the drama with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga in a key way:
