The Rings of Power season two will explore a new “central relationship” between Sauron and one of the series’ extensive supporting cast of characters.
In quotes carried by the latest issue of Total Film magazine (via GamesRadar), the high-fantasy show’s co-showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay revealed that Galadriel won’t be the primary protagonist this time around. That honor will fall on Celebrimbor, the elven smith who had a small but major role in The Rings of Power‘s first season. Indeed, the pair have teased that Celebrimbor will be “the principal protagonist” in season two, and that the dynamic between him and Sauron will be the “central relationship” that’s explored throughout its eight-episode run.
That’s not the only significant change we’ll see in one of the best Prime Video shows‘ sophomore outings, either. Payne and McKay have also claimed that “season two is all about the villains”, which sets the stage for a much darker and, from a character perspective, life-threatening entry compared to its predecessor.
“This time, Sauron’s agenda sets everything in motion,” Payne and McKay said. “Adar and his army of orcs; Galadriel, Elrond, and Gil-galad and their armies of elves – all of which will come crashing together in the most ambitious battle our show has seen yet, a battle from which many big players may not make it out alive.”
Ringing the changes? Not as much
Full spoilers follow for The Rings of Power season one.
As you’ll no doubt remember from the Amazon TV show and/or J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary The Lord of the Rings books, Celebrimbor helps Sauron to forge the titular rings. At the time of their creation, Sauron is disguised as an elf named Annatar (in the literature) and a human called Halbrand (in the TV adaptation), so Celebrimbor has no idea that he’s helping Middle-earth’s most notorious antagonist in his quest for world domination.
Unfortunately for Halbrand/Sauron, his true identity is revealed not long after the first three Rings of Power are made. Well, in the hit Prime Video show anyway – in Tolkien’s literary works, all of the rings (19, to be exact) are crafted before anyone realizes what’s going on. This was but one of many narrative deviations that The Rings of Power season one made from the source material; changes that some diehard Tolkienites were frustrated by.
Thankfully, it seems like the show’s creative team plan to forge closer ties to The Lord of the Rings books this season. Indeed, given what it showed, The Rings of Power season two’s first trailer proved that lessons had been learned from its forebear. You’ll want to read my article breaking down The Rings of Power season two’s inaugural trailer to see what it teases about this entry, too, and refresh your memory about what happened in last season’s finale with my Rings of Power season one ending explained piece.
That’s not to say that the most-watched Prime Video Original series of all-time will directly translate Tolkien’s texts, mind you. With The Rings of Power season two set to include a fan-favorite character in a live-action Lord of the Rings project for the first time, some creative liberties have still been taken by Payne and McKay. Still, as long as they’re the exception to the norm in the show’s next chapter, I doubt many people will complain.
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