2 years ago, I, like many other fans of Tolkien’s work, was excited to watch The Rings of Power, which brings Tolkien’s Middle Earth back onto the screen once more in the form of 8, one-hour episodes. Now 2 years later, Amazon Prime has released a second season after leaving the previous season on a cliffhanger. I’m excited to dive back into the world of Middle Earth with the Rings of Power; the Epic prequel to the legendary Lord of the Rings, and even the Hobbit movies, taking place in the second age of Middle Earth following the war against Morgoth.

Characters & story points season 1

The Rings of Power is set in what is known as the “second age” following the war against Morgoth for destroying the “2 trees”. This is when we meet our first protagonist, an elf Galadriel whose brother died in the war. Galadriel now 1,000 years later, had made it her life’s mission to track and kill Sauron, the last general of Morgoth’s army. Along the way, we meet new key figures, Elrond, Galadriel’s friend, and Gil-galad the king of the elves.

Separate from this, we are introduced to Arondir, an elf tasked to watch over a settlement of men whose ancestors fought with Morgoth. Along with him, we are introduced to a woman named ​​Bronwyn and her son, Theo who reside in the settlement. Separate from them we are introduced to even more characters, 2 Harfoots, Nori and Poppy, who discovered a meteor crater with a man in the middle, known as Stranger later, as he does not know his name. Back on the elven plotline, Elrond is sent to help a new key character, Celebrimbor -the greatest smith of the age- build a new forge. Needing more muscle, Elrond visits his old friend Durin IV.

After they make up, we are introduced to Durin’s wife Disa. We also find out that dwarves have found Mithril with the introduction of Durin III. On Galadriel’s journey, we are introduced to Halbrand who is later believed to be the king of the Southlands, we are then introduced to the Numenoreans, basically better humans. Among them, they met Elendil and later met Queen Regent Miriel, we are also introduced to Isildur, a sailor. Beyond them, we are later introduced to Pharazon, a Numenorean Statesman, and Adar, a Uruk, an elf turned orc, leader of the orc forces.

These are all the relevant characters that you’d need to know for season 1 and coming into season 2. Although there is a long list of characters the actual plot is pretty simple. It’s the story of how the rings of power were made, the fall of Númenor, and the rise of Mordor.

Likes & Dislikes

Now, if that that was hard to follow, I don’t blame you, this leads to my first point of criticism. To many directions, the show has 2 main plots, the first one I will call the “Ring plot” and the second one I will call the “Stranger plot.” The Stranger plot is the most simple of the 2, being centered around the two harfoot’s Nori and Poppy, as they try to solve the mystery of the stranger who came down in a meteor.

Now that’s all fine and dandy but the issue is the Ring plot, this is because it causes the story to be diluted by subplots. For example, Elrond’s trip to Khazad-dûm (Durin III’s country) creates a sub-plot of the feud between Durin IV and his father. Similarly, The Númenor plotline was made by Galadriel’s visit. Now to be fair, all the Sub-plots do help with the storytelling, and especially the world-building. I personally can somewhat follow the different plots, but if you are not used to this kind of storytelling then you’d be quickly overwhelmed by what going on. And that’s not even counting the names of the characters, which if you know Tolkien’s fantasy, you’d understand how complicated they sound.

This leads to my second point of criticism. As a Tolkien fan with a moderate understanding of the lore, I can tell they changed some things in regards to the story. Now to the everyday viewer, it does not make a difference, it is indeed a little disappointing to have to see it be changed the way it did. If you want to know more about the world of Lord Of The Rings you can read “The Silmarils” By J.R.R. Tolkien, which covers the time that The Rings of Power takes place.

But I also have some good opinions of the show as well, the story is top-tier, and the visuals are gorgeous. Of course, that is to be expected of Tolkien as one does not simply make one of the greatest franchises of all time. And when combined with the bottomless bank of Amazon, it seems only natural that it would look stunning. Now, I will say that while the story and world-building are good, there are some moments in both seasons 1 and 2 that you might not get without some knowledge of the story Amazon is trying to tell. For example, in season 1 when Galadriel went to Númenor, she was met with less-than-friendly attitudes from the Numenoreans. Thankfully you were given some insight in season 2, the reason being because of their jealousy of elven immortality. But deeper (and unless you have pre-knowledge) than that was the ban the Valar (essentially powerful angles of Ilúvatar) had placed on the Numenoreans to never sail west toward Valinor. Valinor is essentially where the Valar live and the elves are permitted to live there because of their immortality. Since this is barely explained in season 2, it just seems like the Numenoreans have a dislike of the elves without much reason for the first season. Although it is briefly expanded upon in season 2, this is not the only time something like this happens, although on a smaller scale.

Worldbuilding aside, there is another gripe I have about season 2, although I noticed the problem in season 1 as well. The problem? Props! Throughout season 2, I have noticed that some of the props look like… well props. Granted it’s not every prop, it’s just something I see from time to time. It just kind of breaks my immersion, it’s not that bad of a problem but it’s certainly something I noticed. Speaking of the visuals, I’m happy to say that the CGI is pretty good. There was never a time I thought something was jarring or inconsistent. Overall It was a pleasant watch.

The Audience and Rating

The Lord of The Rings trilogy has been around for 21 years and I think it is some of the best cinema that has ever been conceived. The Rings of Power while not at the same level as LOTR (Lord of The Rings), I feel that If you are a fan of LOTR then you would enjoy The Rings of Power. Of course, there are flaws but that does not take away from the world and story. I also feel that an ordinary person would enjoy watching the show if they are a fan of the genre. All and all I would recommend giving it a watch and if you do enjoy it and you are new to Tolkien’s work, I’d highly recommend watching or reading Lord of the Rings. And overall, I would give The Rings of Power a 4 out of 5 stars.