The Rings Of Power

CREDIT: AMAZON
The Rings Of Power dropped its third and final Season 2 trailer this morning, and once again I’m more than a little surprised by how good it is. Amazon put out a trailer a few weeks ago that was also surprisingly engaging, giving the impression that this new season will be much better and more action-packed than the first.

I wonder if it’s all just deception. That would certainly be fitting, since Season 2 of Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings prequel is all about Anatar (Charlie Vickers) the Lord Of Gifts, one form Sauron takes in his attempt to deceive Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and the elves of Eregion. We also know that the best trailers often hide things from viewers—all marketing is inherently deceptive—and this is a very well-made trailer. I wonder if showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay can deliver on what it promises.

Here’s the trailer:

Lots is happening in this three minute spot. We have Adar—Sam Hazeldine taking over the role from Joseph Mawle—apparently teaming up with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) in a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” moment.

We see a very distraught Celebrimbor deep in the clutches of Sauron’s Sith mind control powers. Baby Elrond (Robert Aramayo) is bedecked in armor in what appears to be a genuinely epic battle over the fate of the elven city of Eregion, where the titular rings are forged. (I’m still very confused by the Season 1 ending, in which it appeared the Three elven rings were already forged, out of order, and thus unsure how this will all work).

In the halls of Khazad-dûm, it appears that Durin the Elder is already under the sway of Sauron, his fingers heavy with bejeweled rings.

And sitting sternly, holding a staff, we see a wizard with a long black-and-grey beard looking ever so much like Saruman, though this time played by the always excellent Ciarán Hinds instead of the legendary Christopher Lee. If this is a young Saruman, kudos are in order for the casting director. I could not think of a better replacement.

I am confused, however, as I so often am by this show. If this is Saruman, why does he seem so regal and sure of himself, while young Gandalf wanders about barely able to string together a sentence (though Daniel Weyman is also a great casting choice for Gandalf, if only he had better lines!)

This is basically the expression I’m making while watching Rings Of Power while trying to understand all the bizarre writing choices:

Baby Gandalf

CREDIT: AMAZON
There are three possible outcomes for Rings Of Power Season 2:

 

The new season is much better than the first and far more true to Tolkien’s work and vision. This is the least likely outcome.
The new season is much better than the first but remains little more than expensive fan-fiction, making a mess of Tolkien’s lore and the timeline of the Second Age. This is what I’m leaning toward, though there’s a spectrum of outcomes in this option: It could be much better and still very mediocre, after all, or much better but only if you ignore all the source material discrepancies but still fun, etc. etc.
The new season is just as badly written, just as garbled, just as much a mockery of Tolkien’s work as the first. This is also very likely given how disappointing the first season was, but I remain hopeful that the trailers aren’t entirely deception and that we do get some improvements.