Second Season of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' "Remains a worthy backstory complement to Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning cinematic trilogy"

         On August 29, 2024, the second season 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' premiered on Prime Video to acclaim from critics, resulting in a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a Critics Consensus that reads, "The Rings of Power's sophomore season discovers new virtues while retaining some of its predecessor's vices, overall making for a more kinetic journey through Tolkien's world." In the series, "set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone." The ensemble cast includes Robert Aramayo, Morfydd Clark, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Cordova, and Charles Edwards. Read the full review round-up below.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

        Nick Schager of The Daily Beast notes, "Remains a worthy backstory complement to Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning cinematic trilogy." Adding, "The Rings of Power elegantly balances its myriad points of interest, only faltering slightly with a Númenor thread that too closely resembles House of the Dragon. Still, unlike that TV rival, Payne and McKay’s series boasts no stagnant placeholder episodes; every scene and subplot moves with urgent purpose. Better yet, it exudes grandeur in its expansive panoramas of Middle Earth and conflicts between combatants big and small, and it rarely indulges in one-dimensional writing, such that even the Orcs are complicated creatures rather than merely snarling, rabid fiends."

       Jeremy Mathai of Slashfilm says, "Though it doesn't quite reach the heights of Tolkien's original novels or Peter Jackson's adaptations, "The Rings of Power" feels like the next best thing: a confident, thrilling, and gloriously nerdy return to Middle-earth." Continuing, "Thankfully, all this attention to technical detail means that even some of the more distracting flaws scattered throughout season 2 don't put too much of a damper on things. As much as the writers seem to have a better grasp on pacing and story structure, some old habits leftover from earlier episodes make like Sauron and prove difficult to fully die. The Númenórean arc takes some big swings, some of which are executed more questionably than others (like a politics-heavy plot featuring an attempted coup), but it can't help but feel lost at sea (if not an outright slog) without familiar faces like Galadriel or even Halbrand keeping us invested. But it's the handling of characters like Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), and Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) that fares most poorly — a product of characters who have clearly overstayed their narrative usefulness or are stuck spinning their wheels for more important developments in the future. To put it another way, these issues hit a nadir in the lackluster third episode and only improve from there ... which perhaps explains why Amazon bundled the first three together in one supersized premiere."

       Angie Han of Hollywood Reporter was less impressed, stating, it "Falls prey to one of the most common afflictions of its kind. It starts to feel like a story shaped backwards from events we already know will need to transpire, rather than one driven forward by the motives and choices of its characters"

       Carly Lane of Collider praises the series, stating, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power goes even darker in Season 2, but has difficulty giving all of its plots and characters equal weight." Continuing, "other characters, by comparison, seem to be moving in slow motion, remaining in place for as long as the story needs them to while those at the center of the bigger conflicts charge forward. As the Harfoots and the Stranger wander through Rhûn, the plot becomes as plodding and circuitous as the desert itself. Not even the long-awaited addition of a fan-favorite character from Tolkien's legendarium, Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), can successfully inject the right amount of whimsy — and Kinnear's performance, overall, feels almost a little too restrained in terms of its eccentricity, although he does make an effective foil to Weyman's stoic Stranger in more than one episode. Veteran actor Ciarán Hinds, as an unnamed Dark Wizard, is set up to have intriguing potential as a formidable foe, but the season doesn't grant him enough opportunities to become positioned as a real threat."