Rings of Power

Prime Video’s Rings of Power season 2 will be released on August 29th. All 8 episodes of season 1 are currently streaming on Prime Video. But in case you don’t feel like a binge watch before you jump into season 2, or if you thought you remembered everything and then realized that you really really didn’t, we are here with all of the information that you need to know about season 1, before heading into season 2.

Main Characters

Most of the main narrative focuses on Galadriel, who at this time, is a young warrior who doesn’t follow orders very well. She made it her mission for centuries to hunt down Sauron. She spent a good chunk of her life making sure he was vanquished. Halbrand meets Galadriel and quickly ingratiates himself towards her. He becomes a friend and confidant for her before he reveals himself to be Sauron.

Elrond and Galadriel are friends, he is a herald. But he quickly becomes an advisor to the king, and a partner to Celebrimbor, the forger of the rings. One of the highlights of this season was Elrond and Durin’s friendship. Hopefully this is something that we will get to see more of in season 2 because the way that they love and support each other is just really beautifully written.

A strange man falls from the sky near where the hobbits have settled. Nori and Poppy befriend him. Now there is a lot of speculation that The Stranger is Gandalf, and he totally is; we just have yet to get confirmation from the actual show. Though I think at this point that it is pretty obvious. And I think that Daniel Weyman who plays The Stranger has been aware of it since the beginning. Because I figured it out based on his mannerisms he very clearly studied the movies and built his character around that.

Then we have the Numenorians. Numenor is an ancient land and people that are long gone by the time we get to Lord of the Rings. But they once had an allyship with the elves. The people now long to be independent of elven magic. The queen guides her people to Middle Earth to help Galadriel fight the rising evil, this results in the queen being blinded and many of her people dying.

Major Plot Points

Halbrand is Sauron. Celebrimbor likes his newfound power as ringmaster. Durin was cast out by his father for associating so closely with Elrond. Galadriel is also on the outs with the elves. Arondir is a solo elf among humans. The Numenorians think Isildur is dead but he’s really just far away and on his own. Nori and The Stranger left the hobbit camp on a journey of their own.

Unanswered Questions

What will Sauron’s next move be?

How will Galadriel handle the betrayal?

Who is The Stranger?

Will Nori find what she is looking for?

All that said you should now be equipped with everything you need to enjoy the second season of Rings of Power. I have always loved the show, I know some Tolkien history nerds have some problems with it but nothing has ever been that serious. His themes are intact and this is your friendly reminder that he was kind of a crotchety old man and he would have hated Lord of the Rings as well. The man did not believe in anyone taking on his world except him and he would hate any and all adaptations, I really don’t think Rings of Power would send him over the edge any more then the others.