The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 2 Review

the first of the magical objects that give the Lord of the Rings the rings of power its name finally made an appearance at the end of season 1 and in season two of this prequel to JRR tolk's fantasy epic they live up to their promise to transform Middle Earth when showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne focus on the duplicity and scheming surrounding the Rings or the impact they have on their wearers the rings of power delivers poignant drama that delves into the Perils of self-deception and hubris no matter how bright those scenes shine they're DED by tangential plots that do nothing but set up future Seasons especially during the early episodes no this is what saon wants I felt bound to try and do something special you must for me c with the storm's High Sauron may be the Lord of the Rings but that title and the role of season 2's main character could also be claimed by the Elven Smith Lord Kell bmore of Aron played by Charles Edwards kellmore certainly provides the heart and soul of the season with all of its best scenes focused on how his desire to save his people drives him down a dark path Edwards is a veteran Shakespearean actor and he brings the full weight of tragedy to his character's Arc I have apprenticed I have studied I have reached the very height of my crop it takes a while for Charlie Vickers to settle into the role of a fully revealed Sauron but as the character's plots come into Focus Vickers embrace faces overt villainy with gusto I about to serve a lot of M his greatest power is telling people what they want to hear to the end of my days playing the quintessential abuser who blames his victims for their suffering while also savagely betraying and discarding anyone who trusts him might be just the way to earn back his respect I'm sorry who exactly are you the elves debate whether they can trust the rings with elron serving as the stubborn voice of caution but the dwarf King Duran III quickly falls under their sway the stubborn and insular ruler was already deeply flawed he stripped his own son Duran the fourth of his title because of his desire to help the elves with old ways of life and Duran's realm failing the promise of not just salvation but enrichment is too much to pass up the scenes between Father and Son in season 2 are emotionally devastating as the king offers the prince everything he wants if he'll just go along with a twisted plan to profit off thec coming conflict I keep wondering what if you were right during the fourth's greatest source of strength is his Plucky and funny wife daa who perpetually berates him into doing the right thing while showing deep compassion for how hard it is to find weakness in the man he idolizes it's king is death to the sorrow of his own son Ste your a diesa unfortunately the further the plot moves from sauron's minations the thinner and less satisfying it becomes assuming the rings of power stays faithful to its source material isor will be extremely important to fight against Sauron but he has nothing to do this season except fight some random monsters which admittedly look incredible he gets a throwaway romance plot with the Southlands Refugee estrid and goes on an adventure that seems to help Theo get over some of the guilt of helping turn his homeland into Mordor unfort fortunately all of those threads feel like loose ends from season 1 being strung along until they finally get somewhere in the season 2 finale things are even worse in numor where the death of the king pits the recently blinded queen regent Muriel against her conniving cousin ferzon anyone interested in royal succession Intrigue will be much better served by house of the Dragon you'll find only the broadest character archetypes here with Muriel and the pious captain elil always taking the higher ground against ferzon and his petulant son keman sure the costumes and sets on the island nation are absolutely gorgeous and there's more great creature work here too but the numor plot just feels like it's being dragged along until it's time for Sauron to show up and really wreck things the harf foots Nori Brandy foot and Poppy proud fellow continue to bring plenty of charm to their series their scenes emphasizing the values of kindness and perseverance that serve as the core of tolk's work as they try to help the wizard known known as The Stranger discover his true identity they bring lightness to an otherwise heavy season that plot is Tainted by the Bland evildoing of the dark wizard who pursues The Stranger with the help of minions who look cool but don't do much the dark wizard himself feels like a knockoff of Christopher Lee's portrayal of saramont minus any clear motives or effect on the rings of power as a whole also adding little here just as he did to tolken The Fellowship of the Ring is the enigmatic Tom Bombadil Rory caner brings a whimsical to the character but there's a good reason the merry fellow has never made the leap to the big screen his TV Incarnation merely presents the stranger with an obviously false choice between his friends and his Destiny the grand battle scenes monster designs sets and richly detailed costumes all make the world of the Rings of power feel appropriately epic the show sometimes leans too hard on blowing out the colors on screen but there are some truly magnificent shots in season 2 the rings of power uses music which is essential to tolken work to great effect too characters connect by simply singing around a hearth and use songs to evoke magical [Music] power meanwhile the dramatic score creates a sense of place with setting specific themes and builds Rich tension into release during the battles season two of The Lord of the Rings the rings of power does a great job portraying sauron's machinations and his impact on the those he manipulates but too much time is spent on disconnected subplots delivering only mediocre Intrigue and thin characters the moments of powerful Pathos and dramatic action delivered by season 2 are bogged down by scenes focused on places and people who will only become important later in The Saga of Middle Earth he so for more reviews check out what we said about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and alien Romulus and for everything else stick with IGN