The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 made some controversial decisions in its choice of plot and characters, and it looks like The Rings of Power season 2 will be no different, with certain characters standing out. The Rings of Power had a mixed reception on its 2022 launch, with its original material coming under fire for stepping away from a faithful adaptation of Tolkien’s work. The show’s original characters included Durin’s wife, Disa, Bronwyn, the Elf Arondir, and the Harfoots Nori, Poppy, and their community. Season 2 will add more original characters.

With The Rings of Power set in Tolkien’s Second Age, it is using the appendices to legendary fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for its source material, with rights to adapt these plus the full Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It is often pulling on scant resources, since the majority of Tolkien’s words on the Second Age were in works that the show doesn’t have the rights to adapt, such as The Silmarillion. The show bulks out this content with original material, and season 2’s newly announced original characters may prove divisive.

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Is Repeating Its Controversial Harfoot Choice With The Stoors

The Stoors Will Join Rings Of Power Season 2

In an exclusive for Entertainment Weekly, Amazon Prime Video revealed that it would include the Stoors as new Rings of Power original characters. The show’s choice to include Harfoots, the race that preceded the Hobbits, was met with controversy throughout season 1. The Rings of Power is doubling down on its stance and including another pre-Hobbit race that led to the Third Age Hobbit community, the Stoors. The Stoors were one of three pre-Hobbit communities, with the final one being the Fallohides, who have not yet been added to the show.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will be released on August 29, 2024.

The Stoors were revealed to be living in a part of Middle-earth called Rhûn in The Rings of Power season 2, which isn’t their canonical place of residence. The Stoors in Tolkien’s world were water-lovers who dwelled beside the Anduin river. New Stoor actor Gavi Singh Chera commented, “It’s so interesting that their origins are a really arid and dry environment, a place where water is sacred. So if you then travel and… come across a river… it must seem like the ultimate oasis.” Despite this link to canon, the show’s change to the Stoors’ Tolkien-sanctioned location won’t please everyone.

Why J.R.R. Tolkien Fans Didn’t Want The Harfoots In The Amazon Series

Harfoots Weren’t A Huge Part Of The Story

Like much of The Rings of Power’s content, there is not much to go on regarding the Harfoots in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or its appendices, leading some Tolkien fans to dispute their inclusion in the show. The Lord of the Rings prologue stated that “The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the Elder Days,” and went on to describe the Harfoots. Therefore, the Harfoots’ existence in the Second Age is indisputable. However, the text didn’t give much more than context on the Harfoots, not picking out any characters in particular. The resultingoriginal material polarized fans.

To retain the continuity of Tolkien’s whole tale, Nori and Poppy shouldn’t draw Sauron’s attention in the show.

The show’s original content took up time in the show that could have been spent telling stories that were included in the source material, which was the crux of the problem for some viewers. Additionally, despite the Harfoots’ existence at the time, Sauron “entirely overlooked the existence of hobbits,” according to Gandalf. It follows that pre-Hobbits were not doing anything of fame or renown in the First or Second Ages. To retain the continuity of Tolkien’s whole tale, Nori and Poppy shouldn’t draw Sauron’s attention in the show. This risk was noted by fans, but hasn’t yet materialized.

The Rings Of Power’s Harfoot Change Means It Has To Include Stoors In Season 2

The Harfoots Foreshadowed The Stoors

The Rings of Power’s inclusion of the Harfoots foreshadowed its inclusion of the Stoors and foreshadows its inclusion of Fallohides, to a certain extent. While the show wouldn’t be remiss to leave Stoors and Fallohides out of the narrative merely due to adding in Harfoots, it makes sense for the show to explain all pre-Hobbits, rather than just one type. The Harfoots were a Chekhov’s Gun of sorts, paving the way for world-building around one of Tolkien’s most popular races. The Hobbits humanized the dark Lord of the Rings, so it’s unsurprising that the show is replicating this.

Adding in Stoors, and possibly eventually Fallohides, makes the pre-Hobbit story complete in The Rings of Power. The show can build on elements of Tolkien’s world alluded to in the appendices to Lord of the Rings, but it should watch out that it doesn’t contradict source material. This is, after all, a part of its deal with the Tolkien Estate. As such, Nori’s journey with the Stranger in Rhûn, and the Stoors they will probably bump into there, shouldn’t really cross paths with Sauron. If they do, it should fly mostly under Sauron’s radar.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is more than capable of navigating the Harfoots and Stoors without contradicting the source material, and its fleshing out of roughly sketched races could be a valuable contribution to the franchise. The Stoors’ inception in the eastern Rhûn could segue to their eventual migration to the Anduin, resulting in an origin story for Hobbits. Lord of the Rings does allude to pre-Hobbits migrating west, fleeing the influence of Sauron. The Stoors won’t satisfy everyone, like the Harfoots didn’t, but if they stay within Tolkien’s framework, they could add a rich new layer to his world.