The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 caught flack for its writing, but season 2 improved in that department, and in other ways too. The show started coming into its own as it launched some of its plotlines in earnest, having spent season 1 on a lot of character and location exposition. The Rings of Power season 1 finale ended the big Sauron mystery box by confirming that Halbrand was Sauron. Likewise, the season 2 finale ended the Gandalf mystery box by confirming that the Stranger was Gandalf. This revelation signified just one big improvement.

With Sauron’s real identity exposed in The Rings of Power season 2, a noticeable betterment of the show’s various storylines occurred. The Sauron deception was vital, allowing the show its Sauron-Galadriel hook. The tension between their unity and opposition is a big enough sandpit for the show to play in for its whole five seasons, and since that had been established, season 2 got on with the meat of the matter. The show exceeded expectations as a faithful adaptation in many ways, while proving the worth of some of its original material.

The Harfoots Proved Their Relevance To The Rings Of Power’s Plot

Nori United Harfoots And Stoors

The Rings of Power season 2 proved why the show included Harfoots, which seemed unnecessary in season 1. Just like Hobbits were the human interest in The Lord of the Rings, offering relatability and humor, Harfoots were the everyday person’s avatar in the show. They shone in terms of fun, comedy, and recognizable everyday issues and relationships. In this way, they evidently brought value, but it wasn’t clear how they told the story of the Rings of Power or the Second Age. Harfoots didn’t feature at all in The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s main repository of Second Age stories.

Turning out to be Gandalf, the Stranger and his friendship with Nori explain Gandalf’s love of Hobbits.

The show has rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but has secured approval to adapt elements of multiple other works. Therefore, it has rightly focused on the Silmarillion stories. However, in uniting Harfoots and Stoors, Nori proved that she demonstrates Hobbit history and how the race was eventually formed out of multiple pre-Hobbit tribes. While original material, this provides delightful backstory for The Lord of the Rings’ Hobbits. It also makes Nori’s relationship with the Stranger far more relevant. Turning out to be Gandalf, the Stranger and his friendship with Nori explain Gandalf’s love of Hobbits.

Gil-Galad Started Looking Like A Warrior Worthy Of The Last Alliance

Gil-Galad Finally Donned His Armor

The Rings of Power season 2 started making good use of Gil-galad. High King Gil-galad was an excellent Second Age Tolkien character, and it seemed like a bit of a waste for The Rings of Power to put him in the annoying bureaucrat’s role in season 1. Although demonstrating his intelligence in season 1, his role was small enough that it still didn’t portray his strength, wisdom, or value.

Gil-Galad finally picking up his spear in Rings of Power season 2 was the moment that Gil-galad fans had been waiting for since 2022. The High King of Elvendom showed his prowess in battle, with his legendary spear, Aeglos. Not to mention that Gil-galad actor Benjamin Walker did his own singing for the Eregion hymn scene, creating a genuine impression of Gil-galad’s ancient, mournful voice.

Elrond Developed A Backbone In The Rings Of Power Season 2

Elrond Started Looking More Like A Leader

Elrond started shaping up to be Rivendell’s leader in Rings of Power season 2. Robert Aramayo seemed, at first, like a strange choice of actor for someone who was going to be one of Lord of the Rings’ most powerful characters. His youthful appearance made him seem like an aide or assistant rather than a leader, although it was understandable if he looked younger than Hugo Weaving’s Elrond in the Peter Jackson movies, being a younger Elrond. Indeed, Rings of Power season 1 showed an Elrond who was not yet a leader.

Elrond’s status as a leader only really started coming into play when he established the realm of Rivendell in the Second Age. Fortunately, this is the character development that viewers can look forward to, with Elrond finally located in the “sanctuary” that will likely become Rivendell at the end of season 2. To build to this point, season 2 showed Elrond starting to disagree with Galadriel and Gil-galad, distrusting Sauron more than either of them. He committed treachery for the sake of his own integrity and went to war, leading a legion against Adar.

The Rings Of Power Finally Picked A Side On Its Orc Redemption Tease

The Show Came Clean And Redeemed Orcs Properly

The Rings of Power season 1 explored The Lord of the Rings’ Orc origins and rights, suggesting sympathy for Orcs while showing their threat, but it wasn’t until the very end of season 2 that the show made its position clear. The Rings of Power is, beyond all doubt, redeeming Orcs. It would have been fine had the show decided not to redeem the Orcs and manifested a convincing portrayal of their true and irredeemable evil, but the inconsistency had been confusing.

Choosing a position on its Orc redemption issue was what the show needed. And, in reality, it chose the right side. Not only was Tolkien leaning toward a more sympathetic view of the Orcs in his older years, but Adar was the original character with the most potential. Thankfully, his full potential was exploited in season 2, offering up a villain-to-hero arc that ended in the biggest tragedy the show has conceived of so far.

Pharazôn And Kemen Showed Their Teeth In Númenor

Everything Up Until Season 3 Is Just Setup In Númenor

Season 1’s Númenor storyline received criticism for appearing at least a millennium before it was supposed to, according to the books, but season 2 proved why it had been included. The show clearly always intended to depict its main events in a roughly canonical timeline, as evidenced by how it adapted the Siege of Eregion in season 2 and has not yet adapted the fall of Númenor. The show could have chosen to tell the story of Lord of the Rings’ magical Rings of Power without also telling the story of the fall of Númenor.

Second Age Event
Second Age Year

Sauron began construction on Barad-dûr
1000

Sauron befriended the Elves of Eregion as Annatar
1200

Rings of Power were forged
1500

The Three great Elven Rings were forged
1590

The One Ring was forged, Barad-dûr was completed, Sauron openly proclaimed himself
1600

Sauron began to prepare to invade Eriador
1605

The War of the Elves and Sauron began
1693

Sauron invaded Eriador
1695

Sauron sacked Eregion and killed Celebrimbor. Rivendell was founded. The Dwarves assailed Sauron. Khazad-dûm closed.
1697

Sauron overran Eriador
1699

Númenóreans defeated Sauron
1700

Sauron was driven from Eriador and fled to Mordor. First White Council held.
1701

Ar-Pharazôn seizes the scepter
3255

Sauron becomes Pharazôn’s prisoner in Númenor
3262

Númenor falls
3319

However, with five seasons approved, no showrunner would resist. Honestly portraying the huge span of time between the Siege of Eregion and the fall of Númenor would have been a challenge, but portraying events in order works just as well. Season 2 finished setting up the fall of Númenor by having Pharazôn and Kemen finally turn on the Faithful. With Pharazôn in power, he is free to take center stage in the inevitable Númenor storyline of season 3.

The Rings Of Power Explained Season 1’s Far-Fetched Halbrand Plot

Episode 1 Explained How On Earth Sauron Came To Be Halbrand

Sauron’s presence in season 1 baffled many who had been expecting the Second Age Annatar of Tolkien’s description. The Sauron-Galadriel dichotomy was always going to be central to the show’s five-season structure, continuity, and modern appeal, so the season-long deception made sense. However, the original character Halbrand necessitated some serious explanation on Rings of Power’s part in season 2. Luckily, season 2 got straight down to business in episode 1.

Opening with a flashback to Sauron’s coronation 1000 years before the events of season 1, Jack Lowden played Sauron in the form he had for the War of Wrath, presumably. Adar and the Orcs stabbed him to death, leaving him to slowly regenerate over many years, eventually taking his Halbrand form. Bumping into Southlanders fleeing the Orcs, Halbrand joined the Southlanders on their journey across the sea, opting to tackle Adar again when he had gained more strength.

Sauron Finally Became The Statuesque Annatar Of Second Age Lore

There Is No Second Age Show Without Annatar

Many viewers were concerned by season 1’s big Sauron reveal, feeling that they were never going to get the statuesque Annatar described in The Silmarillion. Halbrand embodied Sauron’s fair form as it was given in The Silmarillion in many ways, and could easily have been a rights-friendly stand-in for Annatar. His “call it a gift” line referenced Annatar, whose name means “Lord of Gifts,” and Galadriel even said it was Sauron’s fair form.

So, Annatar himself was the biggest gift of the season, and he couldn’t have been more faithful. It was bizarre to see Sauron take another form that so closely resembled his old one. Clearly, this was to preserve the excellent Charlie Vickers. But it was made to work by Sauron confessing his God-like abilities to Celebrimbor, rendering his Annatar form an impressive display rather than a necessary disguise.

Viewers Could Start Believing Galadriel Was Competent And Diplomatic

Galadriel Seems Worthy Of Her Ring

Galadriel was an upstart in season 1 and she didn’t yet seem anything like the magical and pure witch of the Third Age. Season 2 started to get her there. The Peter Jackson movies popularized this magical, pure image of Galadriel, which was only consistent with some of the legendarium. But there were other versions of Galadriel, including the kind shown in Rings of Power. In fact, the legendarium was remarkably inconsistent here – Galadriel was one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most complex characters.

It is the age of the strong female lead, and it was right to place Galadriel as the heroine of Rings of Power. But in season 1, she fell prey to Sauron’s lies and then covered it up. In season 2, Galadriel showed military competence by pioneering the Elves’ retention of the rings and their following Sauron to Eregion. She also wisely advised Adar not to attack Eregion, as it was Sauron’s choosing. Galadriel also grew from the bigoted hypocrite who called Adar an Orc despite his simple request to use a different term, becoming a progressive diplomat.

The Rings Of Power Stopped Trying To Hide The Stranger’s Identity

The Rings Of Power Always Needed Gandalf

When The Rings of Power season 2’s ending finally revealed that the Stranger was Gandalf, it became clear how badly the show had always needed Gandalf. The Stranger functioned well in season 1 as a red herring for Sauron’s real disguise, which was Halbrand. But he showed no purpose. It seems this was intentional, given that he needed to embark on a quest with Nori to find out this very thing. The quest paid off for the Stranger and the show.

The Stranger discovered a lot in Rhûn, but it was really the show that found itself when Gandalf was revealed. Finally, opposing Sauron feels like a fair fight.

Finding his name, his staff, and the fact that he had to oppose Sauron, the Stranger discovered a lot in Rhûn, but it was really the show that found itself when Gandalf was revealed. Finally, opposing Sauron feels like a fair fight instead of a morbid study of Tolkien’s darkest narratives. Rings of Power was overwhelmed by darkness in portraying a villain origin story, having waded in Galadriel’s revenge arc throughout season 1. The show needed a real counterpoint to Sauron outside of Galadriel’s messy love-hate standoff, as vital as that is to the show’s success.

Sauron & Celebrimbor’s Story Fulfilled The Rings Of Power’s Original Premise

The Show Is About Sauron’s Rise To Power Through The Rings

Rings of Power season 2’s real payoff was the Sauron and Celebrimbor relationship, which finally made good on the show’s promise to tell the story of the Rings of Power. Although the three Elven-rings were finally forged at the end of season 1, it took until season 2 to see rings for Men and Dwarves. The rings for Dwarves were given great attention throughout season 2, sending huge drama into Durin’s relationship with his father. Setting up the Ringwraiths, the Nine are an exciting catastrophe waiting to happen in season 3.

The forging ended in tragedy, as it always should have. Sauron shooting arrows into Celebrimbor and flicking them as torture was the perfect interpretation of this moment in Unfinished Tales. Framing Sauron’s final murder of Celebrimbor as a conflicted loss of control on Sauron’s part was perfect too, indicating the rapport the two had built. Finally hoisted onto a pole, Celebrimbor’s status as a gruesome “banner” of sorts was the canon material of Tolkien fans’ most horrific dreams, proving that The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power is just as thirsty to manifest the legendarium as any fan.