The Rings of Power
Overview
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a 2022 fantasy television series created by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay for Amazon Prime Video, based on the appendices of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The series is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, during the Second Age of Middle-earth. The series follows an ensemble cast of characters across multiple storylines. The main storyline follows the elf Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), who is obsessed with finding the surviving lieutenant of the dark lord Morgoth, a sorcerer named Sauron. She is convinced that Sauron is still alive and plotting to conquer Middle-earth. She is mocked by the other elves, who believe the war is over. She eventually finds Sauron — who has been hiding in plain sight as a human man named Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) — and brings him to the elven kingdom of Eregion. There, the elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is convinced by Halbrand (secretly Sauron) to forge the Rings of Power. Other storylines include the dwarf prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his friendship with the elf Elrond (Robert Aramayo); the human healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) and her son Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin), who find a broken sword that is connected to Sauron; the harfoots (proto-hobbits) Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and her friend Poppy (Megan Richards), who find a mysterious man who has fallen from the sky; and the human queen regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and her conflict with the sea captain Elendil (Lloyd Owen). The series has been praised for its stunning visuals, its musical score by Bear McCreary, and its ambition. It has been criticized for its slow pacing, its large cast of characters, and its deviations from Tolkien's lore. The first season ended with the revelation that Halbrand is Sauron, and that Galadriel has been helping him. The series has been renewed for a second season, which is currently in production. The Rings of Power is the most expensive television series ever made, with a reported budget of over $1 billion. It is a beautiful, flawed, and ambitious attempt to bring the Second Age of Middle-earth to life.
