A new season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has arrived on Prime Video, and with it comes the promise of a beautiful expansion of the Middle-earth as we know it from books and films. Unlike the Peter Jackson versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which many have grown up with, The Rings of Power doesn't come from a clearly written novel with a beginning and ending. The writers of this show are taking some liberties with the story, and filling in gaps in time and narration left by J.R.R. Tolkien and his family.
In the first season of The Rings of Power, showrunners J.D Payne and Patrick McKay were clear they made adjustments to the story as it's told in the books based on an enormous amount of research and consultation with Tolkien scholars from around the world. Because Amazon only has access to a small section of the Tolkien legendarium, there are things in the books that are known but can't be shown on screen without breaking the agreement with the Tolkien Estate. We outlined those changes in our coverage of the last season, and how these story choices differ from the source material. Now that a new season is here, we will be updating this article with each episode to break down what is part of Tolkien's created lore and what has been filled in or altered by the creators of this show.
To be clear, this analysis does not include:
- Whether people of color should be on screen as Dwarves, Elves or Harfoots. (They should, end of conversation.)
- Whether Dwarven women should have full beards. (Tolkien was never clear on this, so I won't be taking a position.)
- Whether Tolkien is OK with people inventing things in his world. (This letter from Tolkien to his publisher in 1951 makes his position clear.)
Episode 1: Elven Kings Under the Sky
This episode is all about setting up the stakes for the Elves, who now finally agree with Galadriel that Sauron is a threat to be taken seriously. In order to save their people and join the fight, three rings need to find their way to their owners. Nori and The Stranger are also in this episode.
Sauron Betrayed
The episode begins with a version of Sauron that does not look at all like Halbrand of the Southlands shortly after the fall of his master, Morgoth. Sauron does not appear to have the loyalty of the Uruk around him, and Adar lands a seemingly fatal blow which leads to the area known as Forodwaith to freeze over as Sauron's physical form vanishes. Over time, we see Sauron barely survive long enough to find enough energy to take the form of Halbrand and get on the ship we see him clinging to in the first season. A lot of what we see here was described in bits and pieces across the last season, but it's a great demonstration of Sauron's ability to change shape and deceive.
While there's nothing in Tolkien's lore which explicitly states any of this happening, most of it fits well within the gaps in the material about this Age. Forodwaith is a region described as being terribly cold due to Morgoth's extended presence there, and Tolkien never describes Sauron as having been attacked by Morgoth's forces during the change in leadership, but that's because very little about this area at this time was ever written about. Personally, I call this a reasonable addition to the lore even though what Halbrand does next does not warrant the same description.
Three Elven Rings
What is possibly the largest deviation from Tolkien's writing takes up a lot of time in this episode, namely that Lord Celebrimbor forged three great rings while guided (at least initially) by Sauron disguised as Halbrand of the Southlands. In this episode, Elrond is so afraid of Sauron's potential influence he runs away from Galadriel and then High King Gil-Galad when it becomes clear Elrond's position is not the popular one. Elrond runs to Cirdan the Shipwright, who almost throws the rings into the sea before the sea itself seems to discourage this action and causes Cirdan to look at the rings for the first time. He puts on the blue ring, Narya, while the other two are presented to Gil-Galad and Galadriel.
There is quite a bit about this which differs from the source material. For starters, in Tolkien's story the three rings meant for the elves were made after the rings for men and dwarves while Sauron was forging The One Ring and the elves hid their existence from Sauron. Elrond had no reason to fear the influence of these rings because they were made in an effort to defend against Sauron, and the risk of influence was not a concern. Additionally, Tolkien wrote Cirdan the Shipwright and Galadriel were given their rings by Gil-Galad willingly and without reservation. Later in Tolkien's stories, Elrond himself becomes a ring-bearer.
The Unknown Ahead
When we last left Nori and The Stranger, who we now know is a Wizard but not necessarily _the_ Wizard everyone knows from that time he turned Bilbo Baggins into a burglar in The Hobbit, they were headed to the far off land called Rhun. When we see them now, not only does journey not appear to be going particularly well but they got so lost, only Poppy Proudfellow was able to catch up and help them. It sure did seem like Poppy was well on her way to becoming the next Trailfinder for her Harfoot community when we saw her last, but she is here now to help and conveniently found some pages from Sadoc's books about a time when Harfoots once travelled to Rhun.
Tolkien never got around to writing a ton about Rhun, and what he did write is fairly vague. We know Rhun is mostly home to a group of evil-leaning people called The Easterlings who were mostly interested in fighting one another until they were all united under a single banner by Sauron. We know Gandalf never explored Rhun but early in his time on Middle-earth Saruman the White as well as the Blue Wizards Pallando and Alatar did at some point before Sauron consolidated power. This creates a fairly large sandbox for the Rings of Power writers to play in, and that's exactly what we see on screen.
One quick note from this part of the episode, after The Stranger has a vision where a "branch" floats before him and grants him visions of power when he touches it. Nori refers to the branch his is looking for as a "gand" which is significant, as the name Gandalf comes from the Norse word Galdalfr or "wand elf". This could be a little easter egg to keep Tolkien-obsessed viewers believing this is Gandalf only to surprise us later, but we won't know for sure until we get there.
Episode 2: Where the Stars are Strange
Sauron's influence has quickly spread from Adar's darkened domain of Uruk soldiers to the Dwarven city of Khazad-dum and finally Eregion, the city of Elven smiths where the great rings are forged. Elrond gets a chance to show his quality.
Dwarven Stubbornness Abounds
With the Durins still not speaking with one another, the underground city of Khazad-dum is rocked by the eruption of Orodruin (later known as Mount Doom) and is plunged into darkness. Resources are dwindling, and an unseen source is stopping the Dwarven women who sing to the mountain from seeing a way out. Some are quick to blame Durin's friendship with Elrond while Disa tries to get son and father to put aside differences and solve this crisis for the sake of their kingdom.
Tolkien describes the Second Age as a time of prosperity for the Dwarves in Khazad-dum, and it seems like these scenes are setting the stage for that prosperity to begin. It's coming a little later than Tolkien describes, and there's nothing written about the eruption of Oroduin impacting this city, but it seems like this part of the story is setting up an exciting time for the Dwarves under the mountain. Tolkien wrote of a great working relationship between these dwarves and the elves of Eregion, which we have yet to really see take shape. If this is the first step towards that part of the story, it would end up being quite close to Tolkien's description of the city in this Age.
Galadriel's Vision
A dark dream at the start of this episode sees Celebrimbor uttering the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous poem about the great rings before being brutally murdered by vines which grew from seeds Galadriel planted. When she returns from this vision, she seeks the advice of Gil-Galad who shares that his sense of foresight has also been enhanced since he started wearing the red ring, Narya. A warning is sent to Celebrimbor, but he never receives it.
Several elves have been known to possess limited forms of foresight, including Galadriel, but that ability is not granted to her by wearing the Nenya, the white ring. When she learns to master it, Galadriel will be able to use Nenya to conceal and to preserve but that is not what we see here. I would interpret this scene as Galadriel being able to more easily access the power of foresight now that the ring is opening her up to new power and not a power granted by wearing the ring, which would be well in line with Tolkien's writings on the how ring-bearers experience the power of a great ring.
The Lord of Gifts
After standing in the cold and the rain for what appears to be days due to Celebrimbor's agreement to not treat with Halbrand for any reason, the badly beaten man is brought inside and Sauron is finally able to finish what he started. A flash of bright fire and glowing smoke reveals to Celebrimbor that Halbrand was actually sent by the gods and is in fact a divinely powerful being called Annatar who is here to help.
Halbrand of the Southlands is not a character J.R.R. Tolkien ever created but the person he becomes at the end of this episode very much is. Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, is described by Tolkien as having appeared to the elves of Eregion as an almost angelic emissary of the Valar (the gods of Middle-earth) to guide them to creating great objects of power. It's difficult to describe what is seen on screen as anything but that description. While it's true Annatar should have been here the whole time, his entrance is as close to straight from the text as we're likely to get.
Episode 3: The Eagle and the Sceptre
Isildur and Berek live, Arondir and Theo grieve and Pharazon sees his chance to claim the throne of Numenor. The Dwarves seek partnership with Eregion and the power of a great ring.
Surviving in Pelargir
Having been released from service at the end of the last season by Elendil, the brave horse Berek finds his owner Isildur and saves him from an untimely demise. Isildur connects with Arondir and makes his way to Pelargir with a young woman of questionable intent in tow. The people now huddled at Pelargir are surviving, but mainly in grief after losing nearly everything.
If you've read much about the Second Age of Middle-earth, you likely know Pelargir to be where Numenoreans who remained faithful to the ways of their forefathers go to escape the moral decline of the only home they have ever known. The Pelargir we see on screen so far is not that place yet, but the story shown in the rest of the episode suggests that version of Pelargir is on its way. What we see here is not something Tolkien wrote, but it doesn't run explicitly counter to the source material either. And it's a nice way to put all of these characters in one place while the larger stories unfold elsewhere.
What we do get in this scene that lines up with Tolkien's writings is Bronwyn's passing. Tolkien never created Arondir or Bronwyn, and while their existence in this story has been a lot of fun to this point, their relationship couldn't continue. There are only three recorded long-term relationships between an elf and someone from the race of men and each are hailed as great and terrible things which become legend and song in this world. Bronwyn's passing was more or less guaranteed in order to maintain this pillar of Tolkien's lore.
Pharazon's Stolen Eagle
Now that the mourning period for Miriel's father and the King of Numenor draws to a close, it's time for the coronation. Miriel faces new challenges as she returns home from what is widely viewed as a failure, and her cousin Pharazon is presented with an opportunity to seize power thanks to Elendil's daughter Earien. Just before a Great Eagle appears to bless this coronation, it is revealed that Miriel has been using Elvish power to influence her rule. This is viewed as a betrayal by the citizens who have grown to distrust elves, and the coronation swiftly changes to Pharazon who becomes the new King of Numenor.
There are two pieces of this that are quite different from Tolkien's writings, but I'm going to give one of them a pass.
First, Tolkien's description of Pharazon's ascension to the throne is pretty gross by modern standards. As written, when Miriel's father dies Pharazon breaks Numenoran law and forces her to marry him against her will. He takes power from Miriel who is supposed to be the next queen of Numenor, and uses that power to do all kinds of unpleasant things. What we see on screen is not at all what is written on the page in this instance, but I think it might be for the better in this case.
Second, and this is a discrepancy with Tolkien's writings which goes back to the Peter Jackson films as well, Tolkien established that Great Eagles can speak. This giant bird didn't just show up to look pretty while everyone celebrated, these are beings of incredible intelligence who would have arrived with a purpose. This Great Eagle arrived to bless the coronation of Miriel, and when it saw that wasn't happening would almost assuredly have spoken up about it instead of preening and then leaving.