As those familiar with The Rings of Power would remember, Season 1 of the show was, although widely successful, subject to a fair amount of criticism from fans of the original The Lord of the Rings series. However, the show still rose to commercial success with its exploration of the Second Age in Middle-earth, the time during which the infamous rings were forged, thousands of year before the Tolkien novels we know and love. For those who enjoyed the first season, there was much to look forward to in Season 2 of the series, to see how the stories that the show explored in season one would develop further.
Season two of The Rings of Power starts where the first season left off. Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is cast out by Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) without any army or supporters and, therefore, has to rebuild his own strength and take on a new identity if he wants to create the titular rings of power, in order to bind all the people in Middle-earth to his will. At the same time, the elves fight to save their kingdom from the potential threat of Sauron with Galadriel attempting to regain the trust of those around her. Elsewhere, the Hartford plot continues with Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) helping the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) find his destiny while conflicts rise amongst the dwarfs.
Much like in Season 1, in the second season of The Rings of Power the show's most impressive element remains its production design.We see multiple places that the various characters inhabit: from Númenor to Lindon, the show creates a very unique ambience and atmosphere for every single one of its settings, making each of them feel different from the other from the moment we first see it on the screen. This helps a lot as the plot of Season 2 often moves around between multiple places as we follow different characters in their adventures.
The pacing of Season 2 paced episodes marked an improvement: while they may be long, they definitely don't feel like it. This is particularly true in the second half of Season 2, when the conflict really kicks off with epic battle scenes. Contrary to House of the Dragon – the parallel between the two comes naturally, while it may not be entirely fair admittedly – it feels like The Rings of Power focuses a lot more on showing the actual conflict and fight, without being afraid of revealing too much or portraying too many of the biggest plot points in its second season. Ultimately, this works out very well and proves to be a successful choice as the show is packed with action and excitement.
All the characters in The Rings of Power Season 2 are very well explored, continuing their plotlines and conflicts from season one. The characters are, in fact, an important element of the show as they drive their plotlines and are, in most cases, our connection to the original The Lord of the Rings saga. Interestingly, the show also adds new characters to its already stacked cast, creating new and fascinating dynamics as further conflict is implemented in the plotlines we have seen develop from the first season until now.
Once again, however, Sauron is the character that seems to take over the show in every scene he is in. The actor is especially good at mimicking the mannerisms of the Sauron we saw in Season 1 while also creating an entirely new character and, therefore, making his plotline even more interesting to watch. In particular, The Rings of Power Season 2 focuses on exploring Sauron's rise to power and the way he managed to manipulate everyone around him. In this sense, the dynamic is quite different from Season 1 as the audience now know who Sauron is, even with his new likeness and persona, and literally witnesses the way his master plan unfolds.
However, The Rings of Power fails often to combine the various storylines to their full potential. Oftentimes, the audience spends too much time away from some of its narratives: there are various instances when we don't see a specific plotline for the entire runtime of an episode, which makes all the different stories harder to follow as the viewer may have to wait weeks before picking up a specific arc. Similarly, Season 2 also has an ongoing issue from season 1 with the Harfoots' storyline, as it feels very disconnected from the other plots, which are a lot better integrated together and inform each other in a much more successful way.
Overall, the second season of The Rings of Power is undoubtedly a fitting sequel to the first season of the show. Picking up on the stories we have left at the end of Season 1, the show provides a very interesting continuation to all its characters and settings, with more conflict as the stakes grow higher and higher with each episode of season 2. For fans of the series who have liked the first season, the newest season of The Rings of Power will prove to be a monumental work that remains consistent with – and perhaps even surpasses – what we have seen from the rest of the show so far.