{"id":951688,"date":"2026-01-01T09:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=445522"},"modified":"2026-01-01T09:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:34:19","slug":"rings-of-power-season-2-still-cant-quite-get-tolkiens-world-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/rings-of-power-season-2-still-cant-quite-get-tolkiens-world-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Rings of Power season 2 still can\u2019t quite get Tolkien\u2019s world right"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The debate over what matters more \u2014 fidelity to J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s original Middle-earth canon, or telling a story that works in its own right \u2014 burns hotter than the fires of Mount Doom<\/a> whenever fans discuss adaptations of The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. Prime Video\u2019s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/em><\/a> <\/em>has epitomized this push-pull since season 1 debuted back in 2022, and season 2 remains firmly on trend. The second season\u2019s three-episode premiere makes a dwarven vault\u2019s worth of changes to Tolkien\u2019s lore that will rankle purists. Some of them work in context. At least as many don\u2019t. Bottom line? The Rings of Power <\/em>season 2\u2019s first three episodes are more of the same \u2014 with all the good and not-so-good that entails.<\/p>\n

[Ed note:<\/strong> This story contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/em> season 2, episodes 1-3.]<\/p>\n

First, the good. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have seemingly taken on board the feedback about season 1\u2019s sluggish start<\/a>; opening with a flashback in which Sauron (played in his OG form by Slow Horses<\/a><\/em>\u2019 Jack Lowden) gets the pincushion treatment from Adar and his orcs is certainly attention-grabbing. Sure, Adar\u2019s rebellion (like Adar himself) is one of Payne and McKay\u2019s inventions, yet it serves its purpose within The Rings of Power<\/em> season 2\u2019s wider narrative. The reborn Sauron is still hiding his true agenda (and nature) behind his new \u201cAnnatar\u201d angelic emissary glow-up. As such, someone else needs to fill the obligatory Dark Lord of Mordor role.<\/p>\n

The same goes for the way Payne, McKay, and the show\u2019s wider creative team approach The Rings of Power<\/em>\u2019s titular jewelry. It doesn\u2019t stack up with Tolkien\u2019s writings, but it\u2019s necessary for the drama of the piece. Season 1\u2019s decision to jump the gun on the Three Rings\u2019 introduction<\/a> \u2014 bringing them forward from the last rings made to the first \u2014 means they can\u2019t be the (relatively) benign bling that Tolkien described<\/a>. They have to be an actively corrupting force, even without Sauron and his as-yet-unforged One Ring to infect them. Your mileage will vary on seeing the canonically chummy Galadriel<\/a>, Elrond, and Gil-galad butting heads \u2014 and trading clunky, decidedly un-Tolkienian dialogue \u2014 but because of the Three, the proceedings would feel pretty limp without this conflict.<\/p>\n

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The Rings of Power<\/em> season 2 also deserves props for visiting a realm that doesn\u2019t factor much into Tolkien\u2019s record of the Second Age (or his wider continuity, period): Rh\u00fbn. This arid environ makes its live-action debut in season 2, and if it\u2019s slightly underutilized in these first three entries, it nevertheless breaks up the abundance of leafy havens, twisted fortresses, and the other familiar fixtures that have to date characterized Middle-earth\u2019s landscapes<\/a>. Ciar\u00e1n Hinds\u2019 Dark Wizard character \u2014 who Payne and McKay so far insist isn\u2019t<\/em> Saruman \u2014 is likewise a welcome addition, even if he is another deviation from established lore. Tolkien listed five wizards, and of these, only the Blue Wizards definitely went to Rh\u00fbn and maybe<\/em> switched sides. So, unless season 2\u2019s new Istar is a palette-swapped Blue Wizard, he doesn\u2019t really jibe with the Middle-earth legendarium. But does it even matter? Like I said earlier, Sauron sidelining himself for the time being demands that other baddies step up, and a rogue wizard backed by a cadre of magic-infused zealots<\/a> is nothing if not that.<\/p>\n

Through this lens, you can also see the logic in continuing to truncate the Middle-earth timeline. If Payne and McKay stayed true to Tolkien\u2019s chronology, none of the goings-on over on the island kingdom of N\u00famenor<\/a> would make it into the show. We\u2019d get none of the political wrangling by shady chancellor Pharaz\u00f4n, nor any of the apocalyptic fallout that his rise to power promises. That counts for something, since the gradual moral decay of an entire civilization \u2014 and its disaster-movie-level consequences \u2014 isn\u2019t really something that other Tolkien adaptations have given us. Cutting this content would result in a more faithful (and focused) Lord of the Rings show, but a duller one, too. To paraphrase a line from The Return of the King<\/a><\/em>, not all of season 2\u2019s changes to canon are an evil.<\/p>\n

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there\u2019s a downside to shrinking Tolkien\u2019s timeline: Everything is super rushed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Some kinda are, though. The biggest offender in this regard is easily the ongoing Gandalf<\/s> Stranger origin story<\/a>. Tolkien devoted a handful of lines (tops) to Gandalf\u2019s arrival in Middle-earth. His cosmic bosses ordered him to go and, after a brief crisis of confidence, he obeyed. Assuming the Stranger is indeed Gandalf<\/a> (and c\u2019mon, how can he not<\/em> be?), Payne and McKay have fleshed this out into a mystery-box-style journey of discovery that feels more and more pointless with each installment. Worse, it\u2019s just not that compelling. There\u2019s a reason Tolkien didn\u2019t craft a backstory for Gandalf\u2019s original staff: Nobody gives a fuck. The Stranger and Nori\u2019s adventures in The Rings of Power <\/em>season 2 won\u2019t change that, if the first three episodes are any guide.<\/p>\n

Speaking of things that aren\u2019t compelling, that\u2019s a pretty adequate summary of season 2\u2019s\u00a0Khazad-d\u00fbm and Pelargir subplots. Both call on flashy window dressing \u2014 a volcanic earthquake and marauders from Mordor \u2014 to jazz up unengaging, and disorientingly modern, family dramas. It\u2019s hard to imagine Tolkien penning the toothless father-son feud between Durins III and IV<\/a>, much less the \u201cyou\u2019re not my dad!\u201d scene we get between Arondir and Theo. Isildur\u2019s meet-cute with Nia Towle\u2019s Estrid also falls under this umbrella, although it at least teases skulduggery further down the line. Hopefully, this is a sign that Khazad-d\u00fbm and Pelargir will hit their stride soon; Durin III\u2019s incoming Ring of Power and Theo getting nabbed by an unseen force are further signs they might. For now, though, they\u2019re only marginally more essential to The Rings of Power<\/em> season 2\u2019s plot than the Stranger\u2019s Rh\u00fbn road trip.<\/p>\n

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It also turns out there\u2019s a downside to shrinking Tolkien\u2019s timeline: Everything is super rushed. Sauron manipulates Celebrimbor into whipping up more rings with almost cartoonish ease. It makes the elf-smith seem petty and gullible, rather than a well-intentioned guy desperate to prove himself. Lip service is paid to Celebrimbor\u2019s lifelong fixation with his grandfather F\u00ebanor\u2019s legacy<\/a>; however, it\u2019s not quite<\/em> enough to justify him selling out his principles with some (poorly telegraphed) psychological manipulation. Similarly, Pharaz\u00f4n\u2019s power play against M\u00edriel needed more time to bake. Sure, revolutions often move fast, but M\u00edriel is ousted (by a great eagle\u2026?) so quickly that it doesn\u2019t really feel earned. It makes me wonder whether the Downfall of N\u00famenor would\u2019ve been better told as its own, dedicated miniseries. But you can\u2019t do that without drastically diminishing The Rings of Power<\/em>\u2019s scope and intrigue.<\/p>\n

This highlights the biggest problem with season 2\u2019s first three episodes (and The Rings of Power<\/em> more broadly): Its central \u201cWar of the elves and Sauron\u201d premise may not be as narratively interesting or thematically rich as Payne and McKay think it is. Tolkien was incapable of dull world-building (even his fictional genealogies are a surprisingly gripping read), and there\u2019s heaps of cool stuff associated with the forging of the Rings of Power. Yet he also recounted it in paragraphs, not pages. It wasn\u2019t The Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u2019 main course; it was a side salad \u2014 and Tolkien knew that. It\u2019s why he invested his energy in the Fellowship\u2019s quest \u2014 with its goal-driven storytelling (destroy the Ring) and thematic clarity<\/a> (friendship, sacrifice, hope, and more besides) \u2014 instead. Three episodes into its second season, The Rings of Power<\/em> still lacks this specificity. Despite Sauron\u2019s return last season, the mission to defeat him remains vaguely defined and oddly devoid of urgency. Meanwhile, the bigger ideas underpinning it all (unity over division, letting go of the past, and the dangers of hubris) are barely better sketched out.<\/p>\n

But, incredibly, none of this is enough to outright tank The Rings of Power<\/em> season 2 episodes 1-3. Despite their various shortcomings, they\u2019re inexplicably watchable \u2014 and they ultimately position the second season mostly where it needs to be. By the end of episode 3, more rings are coming, and with them, the promise that more story threads will come together in the future. The scheming of Adar, the Dark Wizard, and Pharaz\u00f4n should keep those that don\u2019t bubbling along nicely regardless. Will it be the perfect Lord of the Rings<\/em> adaptation? Far from it. But based on what we\u2019ve seen, it\u2019ll be just<\/em> good enough \u2014 and true enough to its source text \u2014 to keep all but the most die-hard Tolkien truthers tuning in each week.<\/p>\n

\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The debate over what matters more \u2014 fidelity to J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s original Middle-earth canon, or telling a story that works in its own right \u2014 burns hotter than the fires of Mount Doom whenever fans discuss adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. Prime Video\u2019s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has epitomized this push-pull since season 1 debuted back in 2022, and season 2 remains firmly on trend. The second season\u2019s three-episode premiere makes a dwarven vault\u2019s worth of changes to Tolkien\u2019s lore that will rankle purists. Some of them work in context. At least as many don\u2019t. Bottom line? The Rings of Power season 2\u2019s first three episodes are more of the same \u2014 with all the good and not-so-good…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":951689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-951688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nRings of Power season 2 still can\u2019t quite get Tolkien\u2019s world right | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The debate over what matters more \u2014 fidelity to J.R.R. 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