LotR: The Rings of Power: Season 2 First Reviews: A Darker, Bolder, and More Complex Story in Every Way 

Amazon returns to Middle-earth with the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and according to the first reviews, the series continues to meet expectations. Two years have gone by since the ambitious and very expensive show premiered its first season on Prime Video, and fans have been anxious for answers to questions left at the end of those first eight episodes. Amazon is unveiling the first three episodes of Season 2 on August 29, and they reportedly come with all the spectacle and world-building dramatics we want from a Lord of the Rings show, though some say it could be moving a little faster through it all.

Here’s what critics are saying about The Rings of Power Season 2:

Does it continue to match the Lord of the Rings movies?

“The Rings of Power remains a worthy backstory complement to Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning cinematic trilogy…an aesthetic triumph, its direction and score channeling the sweeping scope and scale of its big-screen ancestors without ever feeling duplicative or redundant.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“The production values, music, and look-and-feel of the show has reached on par with the feature films.”
— Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap

“Though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of…Peter Jackson’s adaptations, The Rings of Power feels like the next best thing: a confident, thrilling, and gloriously nerdy re-turn to Middle-earth.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm

“Since it’s so reminiscent of the aforementioned brilliantly-made trilogy, I can’t help but think about how I’d rather be watching that instead of slogging through these poorly paced episodes.”
— Pramit Chatterjee, Digital Mafia Talk-ies

“Season 2 of the show pulls from the past — the author’s work as well as Peter Jackson’s movies — but it seems afraid to ask what a Lord of the Rings show should look like now.”
— Graeme Guttman, Screen Rant

How does it compare to the first season?

“Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a dazzling escalation/improvement.”
— Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap

“The Rings of Power Season 2 is a darker, bolder, and more complex story in every way…these eight episodes are a marked improvement in arguably the most oft-repeated criticism from Season 1: the writing.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“In season two, Middle-earth plunges into war. And in a sense, the show begins to deliver on the payoff due to the audience.”
— Michael Idato, Sydney Morning Herald

“The Rings of Power season 2 captures some of the same magic, but loses some of the luster that made the first season so captivating.”
— Graeme Guttman, Screen Rant

“I would not be surprised if the drop-off rate issue which plagued the first sea-son will still be an issue this time around.”
— Mandy Mussen, London Evening Standard

(Photo by Photo by Amazon/MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection)

Is it one of the best shows on TV?

“The new season is riveting, truly captivating, a spectacular triumph, and one of the greatest television adaptations ever made.”
— M.N. Miller, Fandom-Wire

“The Rings of Power Season 2 continues to redefine what’s possible for television.”
— Daniel Baptista, The Movie Podcast

“The Rings of Power Season 2 is so much better than House of the Dragon…there’s more going on in The Rings of Power than just about anything on television.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Forever doomed to be negatively compared to House of the Dragon, the second season of Rings does do one thing better: it delivers the brutal climactic battle that failed to materialize on its rival’s just-completed sophomore run.”
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap

“This could be extraordinary television. Right now, it’s just really good. ”
— Cameron Frew, Dexerto

How is the action?

“Charlotte Brändström’s direction of the biggest battle sequence(s) of the season deserves a special shoutout, blowing last season’s skirmish in the Southlands out of the water.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has breathtaking action reminiscent of The Two Towers, with an ominous atmospheric tone and morally complex despair akin to The Empire Strikes Back.”
— M.N. Miller, Fandom-Wire

“[There are] a collection of set pieces that culminate with an all-out war that re-calls The Two Towers’ Battle of Helm’s Deep.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“The series embraces the elements of a war movie, with the resulting action sequences on par with that of Helm’s Deep or the Pelennor Fields in terms of scale and devastation.”
— Carly Lane, Collider

“Its action scenes, particularly the ones involving Arondir, can be as graceful as they are brutal.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter

“Season 2 significantly ratchets up the battles and the blood…there are burnings, beatings, stabbings and eye-gougings galore.”
— Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap

(Photo by Photo by Amazon/MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection)

What about the visuals?

“The best visual effects ever put on the TV screen.”
— Daniel Baptista, The Movie Podcast

“We still get plenty of those epic vistas, sweeping landscape shots, and nifty map transitions that the public now associates with The Lord of the Rings, though this time they’re integrated with the practical sets and lived-in environments and copious amounts of seamless VFX work as smoothly as ever.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“Is hugeness continues to impress. Its real-world vistas stretch for miles and miles, while its CG settings are awash in otherworldly beauty…it’s possible to get lost in the sheer thrill of getting to behold such incredible sights, created with such painstaking care, at such extravagant cost.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter

“The show looks dazzling, mesmerizing, and, occasionally, scary as well. The production design, costume design, hair and make-up design, VFX, SFX, sound design, score, cinematography, editing — it’s all fantastic.”
— Pramit Chatterjee, Digital Mafia Talkies

“The show sometimes leans too much on blowing out the colors on screen, especially in the perpetually sunny elven lands, but there are some truly magnificent shots that capture both emotional drama and the full majesty afforded by such a lavish budget.”
— Samantha Nelson, IGN Mov-ies

How is the script?

“More important than its style, ultimately, is its nuanced multi-pronged narrative about greed, ambition, and seduction, all of it exploited by Sauron for devious ends…[showrunners] Payne and McKay weave their several storylines together into a coherent tapestry of honor and treachery, selfishness and altruism.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“The urgency of war turns showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay’s story beats from a steady rhythm to a frenetic pulse.”
— Michael Idato, Sydney Morning Herald

“The writers seem to have a better grasp on pacing and story structure.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“It starts to feel like a story shaped backward from events we already know will need to transpire, rather than one driven forward by the motives and choices of its characters.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter

“At times, it feels as if the show is hitting pre-determined points with little to no flair. Characters are fighting over things we already know the answer to and Payne and McKay do little else to make it interesting beyond that.”
— Graeme Guttman, Screen Rant

“Season 2 includes multiple forced, abrupt romances, and more of the wooden dialogue that keeps the viewer at a remove.”
— Alison Herman, Variety

(Photo by Photo by Amazon/MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection)

Will it change viewers’ minds about Sauron?

“Though he divided fans during the series’ maiden run, his duplicitousness proves the lynchpin of its superb sophomore outing.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“The biggest surprise of season 2 is that Sauron comes across as, if not exactly relatable, then at least a wholly fleshed-out and understandable character.”
— Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap

“Despite yourself, [it] might have you rooting for the villain.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“Its second season is all about unleashing Sauron’s darkness in full. And honestly? Call me Mount Doom, because I had a blast watching it.”
— Belen Edwards, Mashable

“The Prime Video epic shines brightest when it’s focused on Sauron’s dark schemes…unfortunately, the further the plot moves from Sauron’s machinations, the thinner and less satisfying it becomes.”
— Samantha Nelson, IGN Movies

Do any of the actors stand out this season?

“Two Season 2 performances stand out…these would be Charles Edwards’ Celebrimbor…Peter Mullan delivers the other Shakespearean performance as Dwarf King Durin III.”
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap

“I’d say Clark, Vickers are Chambers are the standouts of season 2 as Galadriel, Sauron and Celebrimbor, respectively.”
— Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap

“[Vickers’s] terrific turn evokes both Sauron’s slyness and the bottomless void it masks, and it’s matched by a collection of equally solid performances led by Clark, whose fierceness and resolve are as daunting as her skill at rolling her Rs is impressive.”
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Clark and Aramayo deliver their best performances in the series to date.”
— Carly Lane, Collider

“Coming to the performances in season 2, well, based on what I got to see in the first three episodes, they are fine…a round of applause for all the stunt experts and the actors in heavy Orc make-up, Dwarf beards, or heavy armor; they make the show feel alive.”
— Pramit Chatterjee, Digital Mafia Talk-ies

Are there any problems this time around?

(Photo by Photo by Amazon/MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection)

“Season 2 feels largely stuck in place, with many characters either given very little to do from the beginning or shuffled over to the bigger plot so they can participate in a chunk of the overall action.”
— Carly Lane, Collid-er

“It’s the handling of characters like Isildur, Arondir, and Theo that fares most poorly — a product of characters who have clearly overstayed their narrative usefulness or are stuck spinning their wheels for more important developments in the future.”
— Jeremy Mathai, Slash-film

“The problem is that The Rings of Power Season 2 spends all season building to a show-stopping crescendo…you get one battle for every eight hours of television.”
— Mandy Mussen, London Evening Standard

“By prioritizing grandiose lore over intimacy and heart, The Rings of Power puts its story behind glass…precious little of it will feel like anything that might reach out and touch you.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter

“The difficulty The Rings of Power has in communicating stakes or basic mechanics is directly related to its difficulty in creating fictional beings with distinctive traits and memorable quirks.”
— Alison Herman, Variety

Could the show improve further with Season 3?

“Maybe we’ll actually get into the place, and its various people/beings, next season.”
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap

“Season 3 desperately needs to be tighter, funnier, and meaner. But we will still be watching, regardless.”
— Mandy Mussen, London Evening Standard

“To recapture the magic of Tolkien’s work, which The Rings of Power has proven it is entirely capable of doing, it must feel fearless.”
— Graeme Guttman, Screen Rant

“The formula for future success, however, may lie in following fewer characters on their adventures and scaling down in the process, rather than continually trying to go bigger and better than anything that has come before.”
— Carly Lane, Collider

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