It’s no secret that Prime Video’s The Rings of Power has been controversial among Lord of the Rings fans. From the very beginning, longtime lovers of Middle-earth have been wary about the new series, which aims to tell a more complete story about the forging of the Rings of Power leading up to the epic confrontation between Sauron and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. As a fan of movies and television, I tend to have the opposite reaction when a show gets heavy backlash from the fanbase to which it is directed, so I wasn’t surprised when I liked the first season of The Rings of Power more than the average viewer. However, Season 2 changed everything for me–and it should for other Lord of the Rings fans too.
I excused many of The Rings of Power’s early weaknesses, shrugging them off as the typical unsteady pace of a freshman series trying to find its footing. Some other viewers were quick to immediately condemn the show for its every flaw, no matter how minuscule. Now about to conclude its second season, The Rings of Power presents a much stronger narrative than it did at the outset. While I would once have said that the Prime Video series simply doesn’t appeal to all Lord of the Rings fans, I’d now argue that the fanbase was wrong about the prequel from the very beginning.
The Rings of Power’s Backlash May Have Been Too Hasty
If we’re being honest, some of the backlash to The Rings of Power wasn’t really about the series itself. Videos and memes mocking the show started long before its premiere, with most fans deciding that they hated the series before they had even seen a second of footage. People were angry about the show not involving Peter Jackson, who worked on the iconic Lord of the Rings trilogy and later the Hobbit films, as well as Prime Video’s plan to condense much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s timeline to fit most events from the Second Age of Middle-earth into a five-season arc. Further, Prime Video only added fuel to the fire by touting the show’s landmark $1 billion budget, which only opened the door for audiences to criticize any part of the show that failed to live up to such high expectations. On this particular point, it is important to note that the show’s budget includes purchasing the rights to the events of The Silmarillion, which made up $250 million of the $1 billion total, as well as the construction of several massive sets that would be used for multiple seasons.
After months of negative hype and, in some cases, toxic online chatter, confirmation bias then led many fans to watch the series with the express hope of finding reasons to support their dislike. Admittedly, the first season of The Rings of Power was flawed, but it was far from the devastating mess that many viewers claimed it was. With Season 2 now mostly available to stream on Prime Video, it’s become clear that Season 1 was only laying the groundwork for the epic storylines that the writers planned to introduce in the future.
The Rings of Power Season 2 is Proving Lord of the Rings Fans Wrong
I absolutely love Season 2 of The Rings of Power. The show is everything that a haunting prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy should be. It isn’t Peter Jackson’s trilogy, but it was never going to be, nor should it try to be. Season 2 feels like a high-speed train ride–one that audiences know leads to a dour destination. Things get darker and darker as Sauron rises in Middle-earth, and there is no stopping it. Lines are drawn between characters as each chooses which side they will fight for, but the viewer knows all along that disaster will befall them all. The show now carries a distinct sense of foreboding that only grows stronger with each passing episode, crafting the perfect environment to introduce the Rings of Power, which will almost destroy Middle-earth.
There isn’t time to discuss every aspect of The Rings of Power’s growth over the last season, so I’ll focus on one example. Season 2’s handling of Sauron and Celebrimbor’s storyline is perfect. The depiction of Annatar as a beautiful servant of light accompanied by all kinds of heavenly symbols is not only visually stunning but also perfectly aligns with the symbolism that Tolkien conveyed in his legendarium. As Annatar, Sauron also displays his perfect manipulation tactics as he preys on Celebrimbor’s ego and love for his craft until he agrees to craft the remaining Rings of Power. Furthermore, the show brilliantly shows Celebrimbor’s descent as he realizes the gravity of what he has done, but cannot bring himself to halt the project unfinished. This is exactly the kind of storytelling that we wanted from a Lord of the Rings prequel. Viewers who wrote off The Rings of Power after its first season are missing out on a sobering tale that brilliantly plays on the same themes that Tolkien so eloquently portrayed in his original works.
The Future of The Rings of Power is Worth Sticking Around
Fans know that The Rings of Power is going to get darker as it moves toward its conclusion, and I’m more excited about this finale than any other show currently airing. In the seasons to come, devastation will reign supreme in Middle-earth as Eregion falls, Khazad-dûm burns, Númenor sinks into the ocean, and Sauron finally crafts his One Ring to Rule Them All. Ultimately, the series is building toward an epic conclusion in The Siege of Barad-dûr, previously seen only briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring. In this battle, many of the characters that we’ve been following for seasons will meet heroic but grisly ends as they make their last stand against the rising darkness of Sauron. Isildur will grow as a hero until he finally defeats Sauron–but fails to destroy the One Ring and therefore dooms Middle-earth to another war. Coupled against the backdrop of an epic battle sequence akin to those in Jackson’s trilogy, this finale is worth the wait.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t a perfect show, but it improves with each season. While there are many reasons for fans to hate the show, there are also plenty of reasons to love it, which all too often go ignored in favor of rage-baiting YouTube channels and other unsavory corners of the Internet that thrive on negative press. I encourage anyone on the fence about The Rings of Power to give the second season a chance. You might find that it’s much better than some give it credit for.
