Final Conclusion of Rings of Power Season 2 - A Critique of the 2nd Season

This is my critique of the 2nd Season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. I have a section where I go through some examples of what I liked (the pros) and a section where I go through examples I did not like (cons).

I tried to be fair and explain why I liked season 2 more than season 1, but still think they did not use the full potential yet and why the writing and structure of the show has still big problems. I hope you enjoy.

► Disclaimer:
I have permission of the artists to use their art works.

► Artwork and special thanks to:

► Sources:
The Lord of The Rings (1954-1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion (1977)
The Hobbit (1937; 1951)
Unfinished Tales (1980)
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
The War of The Jewels (1994)
The Book of Lost Tales Part Two (1984)
The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)
Morgoth's Ring (1993)
The Road Goes Ever On (1967) by J. R. R. Tolkien & Donald Swann
History of the Hobbit (2007)
The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)

Maps:
Amazon (John Howe)
Edited by: Murdo
Aman map by ThePhilosophersGames

► Mistakes:
-

► Playlists:
If you are interested in Tolkien's legendary fantasy Epic The Lord of the Rings and his related works, here some recommendations:

► Time Codes:
Intro - 0:00

► Social Media:
The Philosopher's Games / TPhGames / TPhLore aka Chris

► Of Games and Rings Podcast:

#RingsOfPower #LotR #LordOfTheRings

[ThePhilosophersGames]

How did you people like Season 2 of Rings of Power? Liek I said: it' better than season 1, but still has quite a bit of room for improvement still. The writings and structure needs work and I'm not sure if that could be fixed without severe changes.

[RicoThingol]

I can’t watch a show that has Elrond randomly kissing Galadriel. Nah. Tolkien is not Twilight.

[Faktor]

To be totaly honest, hated the show, actually screamed at the screen one time (catapults bring down a mountain side a mile away to accidently create a perfect dam, lots of continuity errors, characters easily survibing deadly situations without a scratch, distances have no meaning). But I agree with you, some of the actors were aswome!! Watches only because of Durin the 4th, Celebrimbor and Sauron.

[Enerdhil]

Chris, you make a great point about how poorly parts of the show are connected to other oarts of the show.

So many times I found myself asking the question "how did ~ happen?" or "Why did so-and-so do ~?" And the only logical answer was that it was because the show runners said it was.

Why would Dwarves make a tunnel into a city they almost never visited? Payne wanted the tunnel.🙄

How could Arondir completely recover from a serious sword wound so quickly? McCay loves Ismael and wanted yo keep him in the series.🙄

Why was Damrod so dammed (😅) easy to kill? Payne and McKay only needed him to breech the wall.🙄

Why did Adar turn back into his Orc form when he took the Ring off? McCay thought it would look cool.🙄

Why were all the Uruks running toward the city with the sun shining in their faces? Payne wanted the viewers to see how good the make-up was.🙄

Etc. etc etc ad infinitum....😞

[federicaesu]

I agree with you. Season Two is far better than season One, but it is still not a good show IMHO. Besides the aspects you examined, such as the plot holes, the teleporting of characters, things happening just for convenience sake, the two main flaws were the massive use of quotes taken from The Lord of the Rings extrapolated from their original context with the result of changing their meaning. The other big flaw is the soap opera structure - for lack of a better word - that requires multiple storylines to include as many aspects as possible: mistery, adventure, romance and a bit of comic relief

[Marcelgaminggranie]

If the show continues it's improvement at the current rate, it'll be on the level of the lotr trillogy around season 19

[kevinfelix]

I stopped after season 1, but eventually gave in and watched the first three episodes of season 2. However, I had to stop again because it just didn’t seem worth it, especially with the Stranger so obviously being Gandalf—it felt like some of the weakest writing I’ve ever seen put to screen. The only decent part was the final confrontation between Sauron and Celebrimbor.

I’ve been critical of this show a lot lately, not out of hate, but from genuine frustration at the lack of authentic Tolkien storytelling. The showrunners seemed more focused on writing their own version of Middle-earth, only trying to course-correct somewhat toward the Annatar storyline in season 2—which is what they should’ve done from the start instead of all that Southlands filler.

I don’t want to sound overly confident, but I truly believe I could’ve written something more faithful to the source material without making up unnecessary lore, like the connection between mithril and saving the elves. The visuality is 9/10 tolkien, i loved numenor but the writing is what holds up movies and shows, not cool visuals. its still mind boggling to be that they can visually create a world so accurate only for the writing to be a nearly polar opposite. Im really looking forward to seeing the hunt for gollum film because i know with andy serkis and peter jackson that they will do there homework on the source material.

[snirkohavi]

I have a hard time coming to terms with what they did to Galadriel, a far cry from Blanchett's elegance and grace in the trilogy.

[j.d.]

Like your channel, on the series. I watched the first season, what a pain that was. I did not watch season 2, not planning to. I hope the "creators" (like calling Morgoth a "creator") will pay for what they did and they are not hired for any important project ever.

[Henez]

This show was genuinely good in places this season. It's so cluttered, so inconsistent, and sometimes so bizarre in its choices. But it does have moments. I'm mostly still interested as an editing hobbyist. There's a solid 'Lord of Gifts' movie in there. Perhaps a 2nd age trilogy if the show delivers in later seasons.

It's not the adaptation anyone wants but I'm not mad at it. The world is fun to explore for an hour a week.

[AnthonyBerkshire]

1:03 I think they really didn’t know were the show is going. They hinted that in the NerdoftheRings interview.

[istari]

I will agree that there were more good scenes in season 2. But there were more things that were awful. The plot holes just kept getting bigger. The so-called Gandalf reveal was pathetic and then the showrunners tried to claim they didn't decide to do that until season 2 was well underway. And to top that off they also claimed they were caught off guard by the backlash to the Elrond and Galadriel kissing scene. What utter BS!

I completely agree on the matter of canon; at this point the show is so far off track that it would be impossible for them to follow what Tolkien wrote short of starting over. But I remain completely unwilling to give them a pass on that.

[PriscilaTV]

Agreed on Númenor. I was fully expecting the forced marriage plot to start there. Miriel did wonder if Pharazon in power had changed the vision. I was curious to see how she would balance this out and eventually try and save Elendil...instead we get "Not-so-Evil Earrin" lending her father a hand. Ugh.

[theamazingbatboy]

I've enjoyed all the music well enough (massive fan of Bear McCreary's work on Battlestar Galactica) but that piece at the end when Gil-Galad does his He-Man impression was spectacular! Best musical track of the series for me.

[a.k.]

Just another great critique by my favorite Tolkien Scholar!

[jjosoriomc]

I was pretty much convinced that Adars Elf name was going to be Celeborn! Because of the inconsistency of the show with some characters.

[theamazingbatboy]

For me personally, the perfect version of this show would've been this: 1. Numenor—90% of Peter Jackson's LotR fans would have no idea Middle-Earth had its own version of Atlantis, with basically the height of human civilization lording it over the rest of the world for a couple thousand years. It's fresh and unique and the drama inherent in their downfall alone would make a hugely compelling series.

2. The Stranger and the Harfoots—I like this stuff when they pay attention to it. The 'lighter' tone as you mentioned is lacking in every other part of the series and yet is fundamental to Tolkien's writing. Tom Bombadil's inclusion helps here to lend it that storybook vibe. This contrasts the grandeur of Numenor with the small folk of Middle-Earth and gives the audience something familiar. A deeper exploration of Rhun is still welcome and a journey through strange lands interwoven through the various consequences of the series (think, the volcano boulders wrecking the Harfoot's grove) should be a fun and interesting adventure. Link them up at the very end to give Gandalf his ring.

3. Keep the Elves mysterious and ethereal. Talk them up, the Valar and Sauron through the Numenorean lore perspective (and to a lesser degree the Harfoot's POV) but don't reveal them until later (Babylon 5 style, treat then as heightened beings like the Vorlons or Shadow). 100% make it Elrond who journeys to his brother's ancient kingdom to warn them of the threat of Sauron (which has been hinted at via portents, the palantir etc.)—total dramatic misfire, what they went with and a massive waste of literary potential.

Ultimately, things start with just two main storylines: the Numenoreans and the Harfoots. Sauron's menace is shown mainly through the Stranger and the Harfoots story, while the political drama builds in Numenor and is not a main character until his appearance in Eregion. Eventually the Elves get involved at the climax of season 1. The Eregion plot joins the series for the creation of the rings in season 2 with Elrond as our POV character and the Harfoots take a back seat. Galadriel's sparring with the strange new visitor to the city starts here. The Dwarves appear as part of the Elven storyline, using Elrond's friendship with Durin (who's actually King here) facilitating Celebrimbor's connection with Narvi. Unfortunately (and this stings because they're terrific), I don't see an extended role for the them and the show's efforts to make one has been pretty contrived so far. They're introduced via visits to Khazad-dum and appearances in Eregion (Dwarf characters could even live there), with some optional development in later seasons once Durin receives a ring. There is NO Balrog or Mithril magic hoohah in my version!

Gandalf has to absolutely be occupied saving the world in Rhun rather than being directly involved in events in the West—sorry my lore brain just can't reconcile anything else. His plot would be an on-going slow burn that takes its time, allowing focus to remain on the denser arenas of the Numenoreans and the Elves.

[fpvx]

I can watch it for free... and still did not manage to get past venom in Episode 1. Thanks for summing everything up :)

[MikaelKKarlsson]

I felt that Celebrimbor did a lot to keep this season going, and wonder who or what could possibly do the same for the third season. The Witch King perhaps?

I don't see the Gandalf character growing sufficiently. And certainly none of the other existing ones.
But at least I am expecting to watch it, which is an improvement.

[stefannicolaescu]

16:24 - you misused Bilbo's quote, proving you didn't understand it :) . The quote refers to prolonging something (his life) more than necessary, but you used it like there are to many stories and not enough time to cover each of them, so they are compressed not stretched. The perfect example of the quote being used correctly is in reference to The Hobbit - a short story stretched unnecessarily over 3 movies ;)