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The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come and gone, and while the show has taken some lumps from critics, it's found its fans. According to a new report from Nielsen, the most reliable arbiter of ratings in the business, Prime Video's share of TV usage in September went up by 12% from August, more than any other service. Sure, at 3.6% of TV usage, Prime Video is still behind Netflix (7.9%) and YouTube (10.6%) but it's ahead of Disney+ (2.5%) and Hulu (2.4%).

Prime Video's September growth was driven mostly by The Rings of Power season 2, as well as Thursday Night Football. The Rings of Power was watched for an impressive 4.3 billion minutes in September, making it the third most-watched streaming title that month.

So obviously The Rings of Power is pulling its weight. Cast and crew members all seem bullish on a third season, but we have yet to hear anything officially.

We've got another doozy winging your way on the Empire Podcast this week, folks. On the guest front, our man in LA James White talks to Sarah Paulson, star and producer of new Disney+ thriller Hold Your Breath, about milking tension — and also cows [21:33 — 34:08 approx]. Then, Chris Hewitt sits down for a chinwag about vampires, changing tyres, and playing people called Bob with Lewis Pullman, star of the latest screen take on Stephen King's Salem's Lot, which is finally hitting our screens after a couple of years spent dwelling in the dark [52:39 - 1:09:31 approx]. And as if that weren't enough star power already to be going on with, we also bring you a special preview of our incredible The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power S2 Spoiler Special Q&a with showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, creative producer Lindsey Weber, and stars Charles Edwards, Megan Richards, and Daniel Weyman...

Warning: the following story contains spoilers from “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2, Episode 8 — read at your own risk!

Prime Video celebrated the end of the second season of “The Rings of Power” by gathering some of the cast members for a screening of the 74-minute finale, “Shadow and Flame,” on Tuesday night. The all-guild FYC event was held at The London Hotel West Hollywood and featured a cast Q&a with Charlie Vickers as Sauron/Halbrand/Annatar, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, Markella Kavenagh as Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, and Owain Arthur as Prince Durin.

The cast members talked about what they were most excited to tackle in Season 2, the pressures working on the big-budget fantasy series based on the J. R. R. Tolkien books, and how they have to keep so many secrets because “Lotr” characters like Sauron and Gandalf are so well-known.

Despite facing mixed reviews and backlash from some self-proclaimed “fans,” Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ultimately emerged as a hit. The show’s second season, which premiered on August 29, 2024, and wrapped up on October 3, 2024, with the finale titled “Shadow and Flame,” has been hailed as a success by Amazon.

Both critics and fans agree that Season 2 marked a significant improvement over the first. While everyone eagerly awaits official confirmation of a third season, fans are buzzing over the major revelations in the final episode.

And it’s not just the fans—showrunners Jd Payne and Patrick McKay recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to share exciting insights about the finale. In this report, we’ll focus on the key revelations surrounding The Stranger, whose true identity has finally been unveiled!

Among the many intriguing characters in The Rings of Power, The Stranger has...

Despite facing some unfavorable reviews and backlash from self-described “fans,” The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon ultimately became a hit series. The show’s second season premiered on August 29, 2024, and concluded on October 3, 2024, with the final episode titled “Shadow and Flame.”

Amazon has labeled the second season a success. Additionally, both critics and fans have noted that it represents an improvement over the first season. And while everyone is waiting for an official confirmation that a third season is going to be made, the fans are still discussing the revelations related to the final episode.

But not just the fans! Namely, showrunners Jd Payne and Patrick McKay sat down for a talk with The Hollywood Reporter in which they revealed several interesting details about the final episode. In this report, we are going to focus on those revelations that are related to The Stranger, whose...

The second season of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power came to an end this week, and the finale seemed to leave little doubt as to the identity of the "Dark Wizard" played by Game of Thrones alum Ciarán Hinds.

However, all may not be as it seems when it comes to this mysterious and very powerful character.

We know that this blatantly evil sorcerer is an "Istar," and it was generally assumed that he must be Sarauman. Granted, it would be a pretty major change to the lore if this character "broke bad" prior to the events of Tolkien's trilogy, but so would the introduction of another Istari who was never mentioned in the saga at all.

This led to speculation that Hinds might be playing either Alatar or Pallando, the "Blue Wizards" who are never really discussed in any great detail in The Lord of the Rings...

[Editor’s note: The following post contains spoilers for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”]

A spotting session is a common practice in film and TV scoring that sets a composer up to write the music for a given project, where the showrunners/filmmakers watch cuts and figure out where they want music and discuss what they want that music to do. But talking about music in the abstract can, in the words of composer Bear McCreary, be a little bit like dancing about architecture. Even when you’re trained in music theory, part of what’s beautiful about it is you’re never quite going to build the idea out of words themselves.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” concluded its second season with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) holding sway over Eregion — if not over the apparent elven ability to fall off of tall cliffs and survive. None of the twists and turns...

*Warning — This piece contains spoiler for all of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 2*****

Like the fledgling fellowship at the start of The Lord Of The Rings, the first season of The Rings Of Power — Amazon’s risky, billion-dollar high fantasy gamble on taking the marginalia of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium and turning it into the next Game Of Thrones — took some time to find its footing. For all its meticulous attention to detail, extraordinary design work, and quality performances, there’s no getting around the fact that in order for creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to immerse us in the Second Age of Middle-earth — a time long before there was even a Bag End, let alone any Bagginses — they had to do a lot of narrative table-setting first. As a result, Rings Of Power’s first season vacillated between great moments — the charge of the Númenóreans on the Orcs,...

[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 finale and Tolkien book plot.] Darkness took over The Rings of Power in its second season, but there was still hope after the dust settled in Eregion. The Season 2 finale saw tragic ends for more than one character and the besieged elven city, but it also revealed the identity of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and established a new home for the elves. Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is still very much at large and stronger than ever at the episode’s end, but his final moments with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) have changed him. Here, the stars break down The Rings of Power Season 2 finale’s biggest moments, reveal behind-the-scenes details, and explain how the episodes set up the potential third season. Why Sauron cried when he killed Celebrimbor Prime Video The season-long tragedy that was Celebrimbor’s arc...

This article contains a massive spoiler for "The Rings of Power" season 2. Proceed with caution, and watch the finale first if you don't want The Stranger's identity spoiled!

Well, folks, the cat's out of the bag. After 16 episodes and two full seasons, the fading moments of "The Rings of Power" season 2 finale finally delivered the one word we've been itching to hear for endless hours of Middle-earth viewing: Gandalf. Yes, Daniel Weyman's mysterious and confused Istar is the one and only Grey Wizard. As the finale wraps up its various storylines and sets the stage for a likely third season to come, one of the last things we get is a scene between Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) and The Stranger. As the sequence draws to a close, Bombadil coaxes the utterance of the inevitable from his companion, and the Wizard in training takes a deep breath and says that his name is "Gandalf.

Beware Spoilers for The Rings of Power season 2 finale below!

The second season of Amazon's The Lord of the Rings prequel show The Rings of Power has just wrapped up. That means there are three seasons left if showrunners Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne want to finish out the five-season plan they've said time and again they started production with. “We were very fortunate to get hired for this gig because we pitched it as heavily-serialized, long-form storytelling — a 50-hour movie,” McKay told The Los Angeles Times. “So while there are discoveries along the way and you never want to be locked into a plan that misses something that could be better, the signposts that we’re hitting are holding to that plan. We have a destination and an arc and a journey for him that will hopefully tie into later stories in a way that is unexpected.”

So here,...

While it would be wrong to say most fans didn't see this coming, the season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally confirmed that Daniel Weyman's mysterious Stranger is indeed Gandalf.

He learns his name after a clash with the Dark Wizard (and even acquires his iconic staff) but according to showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, the original idea was for the Stranger to be another deep-cut J.R.R. Tolkien creation: the wizard Olórin.

"No one will believe us, but this was a journey of discovery for the character and the characters around him, and it was a journey of discovery for the writers," McKay tells the Los Angeles Times (via SFFGazette.com). "We wanted this to be the origin story of a wizard coming to terms with who he is and what he has to do."

Payne adds, "Deep in the history of Middle-earth,...

[This story contains spoilers from The Rings of Power season two finale.]

Granted, you probably guessed this one. But The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had a major reveal about The Stranger in its season two finale — along with a climatic Sauron-Galadriel fight, the climax of Sauron’s season-long seduction and betrayal of Celebrimbor, the Balrog being unleashed in Khazad-dûm, and more.

Below, showrunners Jd Payne and Patrick McKay answer The Hollywood Reporter‘s questions about the eighth and final episode, which brings to close a more smartly paced and visually lavish second season that has continued to perform well in the ratings for Amazon. There’s a lot to cover, starting with the confirmation that The Stranger is, yup, Gandalf the Grey…

***

I was relieved that you didn’t stick with “Grand Elf” because I was thinking, “Oh, is this going to be some weird legally differentiated Kirkland version of Gandalf?” Was this a character you had rights to all along?...

It took two seasons and as many years but “Rings of Power” fans finally know who The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) really is – and it’s exactly who you think.

The Stranger found his name after coming face-to-face with the Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) of Rhǔn at the Storers home. The wizard told The Stranger they were old friends and they came to Middle-earth together to face Sauron. The difference is that the Dark Wizard wants to rule in Sauron’s place.

The Stranger refuses and the Dark Wizard tries to bring the canyon down on the Storers. The Stranger manages to hold the collapse at bay until everyone is free. As morning comes, the Storers have decided to go on the move if Nori (Markella Kavanagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) lead them.

As the group is leaving, they individually thank him as “grand elf.” Nori explains it’s probably because...

Note: This story contains spoilers for the “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 finale.

“The Rings of Power” wanted to go darker in Season 2 and the finale definitely delivered on that promise.

The finale saw heroes lose in every corner of Middle-earth. The elven city of Eregion falls to the orcs, Númenor ousts The Faithful and arrests Queen-Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) gets his hands on the nine rings for men.

On top of all that, a number of characters die in bloody fashion. Sauron gets what he wants from Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and runs him through with a spear in his forge. The Dark Lord also manages to turn the orcs against Adar (Sam Hazeldine) who betray the fallen elf just as he’s decided to team with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark).

“I wanted this season to — since we know who Sauron is now...

This article from the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) Season 2 Episode 8 contains significant spoilers.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, episode 8, marks the final chapter point of a spectacular three-episode run known as the Siege of Eregion. This Prime Video finale is a monumental achievement in fantasy series television. After you watch it, you’ll surely agree.

To Sauron’s delight, he manages to forge the nine rings. This is after escaping Lord Celebrimbor’s (Charles Edwards) ambush and his men with a flick of the wrist. Not to mention, many faiths, including Elrond, Galadriel, and Arondi, lay in the hands of Adar.

The finale kicks off with a stunning cinematic scene. Please read below for our complete second-season finale recap!

Morfydd Clark in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios Related...

Prime Video has already released a brief promo for this Thursday's season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but an extended version has now been shared online which features quite a bit of new footage.

Spoilers for the previous episode follow.

It's not the best quality, but the video shows more of the fierce battle between Galadriel and Sauron that was teased in the first trailer. The Dark Lord is still in his Annatar form here - but as we've already seen, this makes him no less powerful.

We also have another shot of the Balrog, who was first awakened from his long slumber in the season 2 finale. The fiery demon will be unleashed from his cavern deep beneath Moria when King Durin refuses to listen to his son and digs far too deeply into the mountain.

Finally, we get a glimpse of the Dark Wizard (surely Saruman?...

The penultimate season 2 episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming, and despite featuring a massive battle and a couple of deaths (though we'd say Arondir is still kicking), it was a kiss between two characters that emerged as the biggest talking point.

Spoilers from this point on.

Though they never had a relationship in J.R.R. Tolkien's source material, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) locked lips in "Doomed To Die." Were these Elven comrades simply unable to contain their feelings any longer, giving in to their passionate desire for one another?

Not exactly.

The kiss was actually a strategic play on Elrond's part, as he was able to slip the captured Galadriel a cloak pin that she would later use to free herself from Adar. While some fans enjoyed this moment and are even "shipping" the characters, a lot of others...

The intense penultimate episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming, and "Doomed To Die" focused on the devastating Battle of Eregion, as Adar - with Galadriel as his prisoner - and his forces launched an attack on the Elven kingdom while Elrond and King Gil-glad mounted a desperate defence.

Spoilers follow.

With Durin unable to keep his word to Elrond by sending an army of Dwarves to bolster the Elven ranks, Adar ultimately emerges victorious, stabbing Arondir (possibly fatally) and seizing Galadriel's ring, Nenya, from Elrond before flinging the Elf to the ground.

Meanwhile, Celebrimbor realizes that Annatar has been Sauron all along, and he's been tricked into forging the nine rings for mortal men while his city crumbles around him.

Prime Video has now released a brief promo for next week's season 2 finale, and it sees the Dark Wizard (surely Saruman... right?...

Following the reveal that Daniel Weyman's The Stranger is an Istari in Amazon Prime Video's The Rings of Power Season 2, many fans wonder exactly what it means to be one.

The Istari will seemingly be an essential plot point throughout The Rings of Power Season 2, specifically in the storyline centering around The Stranger and the Dark Wizard.

The Istari are fully explained and fleshed out in the source material by author J.R.R. Tolkien, much more so than in any on-screen adaptation.

Read full article on The Direct.

The Rings of Power: Who are the Gaudrim in Season 2? Meet the Dark Wizard's Trackers - Main Image

In a universe filled with elves and hobbits, a new species arises in The Rings of Power's latest season: who are the Gaudrim people in episode 2? We do know one thing: they may not be on the Elven kingdom's side.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Rings of Power season 2, so proceed with caution.

Who are the Gaudrim "People" in The Rings of Power S2E2?

The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, titled Where the Stars are Strange, introduces a masked being answering to the Dark Wizard (played by Ciarán Hinds), which the acolytes described as one of the Dark Wizard's "trackers."

The "trackers" are meant to answer his orders, as they seek something in common with him. The Dark Wizard heard the news of locating the Istar on their trail.

Season 2 of The Rings of Power continues to drop hints that The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is actually Gandalf the Grey. 

Since the launch of Amazon Prime Video's prequel, fans have debated whether the mysterious, bearded stranger (and friend to the Hobbit-like Harfoots) is Gandalf or another misdirect from series showrunners. 

Gandalf's Rings of Power Storyline So Far Read full article on The Direct.

The Rings of Power: Why is Tom Bombadil's Song Important in Season 2? - Main Image

The oldest of all beings in Middle-Earth finally arrived in The Rings of Power season 2 and as part of his introduction to the stranger, he sings a little tune. What's up with Tom Bombadil's song in The Rings of Power season 2?

Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Rings of Power season 2, so proceed with caution.

The Oldest of Old Unveils Himself in The Rings of Power Season 2

Tom Bombadil (played by Rory Kinnear) officially arrived in Middle-Earth, specifically in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4 titled Eldest.

As the episode's name teases, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is the first to stumble upon the "oldest than the old" in Middle-Earth.

When the Stranger is looking for a staff (which fans believe confirms him to be the Gandalf they've been hoping for from...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4 is now streaming on Prime Video, and among the Ents (and Ent-wives), eerie Barrow-Wights and the debut of Tom Bombadil, the most significant talking point might be our biggest hint yet as to the true identity of The Stranger (Daniel Weyman).

Spoilers follow.

When Nori (Markella Kavanaugh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) get separated from their "Istar" friend after being whisked away by a sandstorm he caused (he still doesn't quite have a grasp of his powers), they encounter a group of larger Halflings who call themselves Stoors (Smeagol/Gollum is believed to have been a Stoorish Hobbit). After some initial hostilities, the Harfoots attempt to better explain who they were travelling with.

After describing the Stranger as "a giant" and "bigger than an Elf," Harfoot leader Gundabel sarcastically interrupts with, "oh, so he's a great big grand-elf?"

Say grand-elf...

The fourth episode of Prime Video’s “Rings of Power” did something not even Peter Jackon’s “Lord of the Rings” movies could – bring Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) to live action.

Tom Bombadil is one of the most powerful and mysterious characters Tolkien ever created in Middle-earth, but he was unfortunately cut from appearing in Jackson’s adaptations. We now got our first taste of him in “Rings of Power” Episode 4, and he’s every bit the enigmatic oddball that appeared in the books.

“Tom Bombadil is enigmatic, whimsical, eternal being, and he’s around during this story,” showrunner Patrick McKay told TheWrap. “The idea that our characters might stumble across him, hopefully in the most delightfully unexpected way, was always appealing to us.”

He continued, “I like to say that he’s sort of the most ‘Lord of the Rings’ thing in ‘Lord of the Rings.’”

The Stranger (Daniel Weyman...

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has embraced the mystery box concept in two major ways so far. The first was the "Who's Sauron?" question, which was answered at the end of season 1, when the exiled (and apparent human king) Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) turned out to be the Dark Lord all along. The other mystery, though, dragged into season 2, and it focuses on Daniel Weyman's character, commonly referred to as "The Stranger."

The question of who The Stranger is technically remains a mystery. But the camp that claims he's Gandalf has been loud from day one — and they just got another bit of ammunition in season 2 episode 4, where a character referred to him as a "grand Elf."

In this busy installment (one that includes meeting Tom Bombadil and seeing our first Entwife in action), we also meet the proto-Hobbit race called the Stoors. When Nori (Markella Kavenagh...

The fourth episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is out now on Prime Video, and this mid-season turning point brought in a bevy of exciting characters and creatures from across J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. But few were a bigger deal than Tom Bombadil, the quirky forest-spirit-guy whom the episode, "Eldest," is named after.

If you've read The Lord of the Rings, you'll be familiar with Old Tom. He appears early in the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and gives some respite and a helping hand to the Hobbits on their way out of the Shire. He's been living on Middle-earth since time immemorial, and communes with nature as he sings silly songs and spends time with his wife, Goldberry. Tom's section of the book is notorious for being kind of a whimsical aside that doesn't especially contribute to the overall story — which...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power unveiled the first live-action depiction of Tom Bombadil in the fourth episode of season two on Thursday.

The J.R.R. Tolkien character was absent from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, but plays a key role in The Rings of Power — helping guide the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) as he struggles with his uncontrollable powers. In the books, Bombadil is portrayed as a jolly singing fellow who has been around since the beginning of time. Some Tolkien fans love him, others find him annoyingly over the top. Either way, inserting such a colorful and whimsical character into a dramatic story was a tricky endeavor.

From the moment the first photo of The Rings of Power‘s Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) was revealed, fans have debated the show’s depiction — is he too serious? Is he not enough like the books? As fans are discovering,...

Eat earth, dig deep, avoid spoilers. This article discusses plot details from the latest episode of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power."

You might say that "The Lord of the Rings" exists in the context of all in which we live and what came before. Whether it be the animated movies from decades past, the seminal live-action "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy, the various video games, or "The Rings of Power" series, all stand on the shoulders of what Professor J.R.R. Tolkien originally brought to life when he put pen to paper all those years ago. One needn't look far to find debates raging over whether a particular adaptation "feels like Tolkien" or not, which conveniently cuts right to the heart of the matter. While other IPs seem doomed to a death spiral of endlessly self-reflexive tendencies and references, season 2 of "The Rings of Power...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is off to a great start! The first three episodes were released on Prime Video on Aug. 29. Now, the fourth episode of the season is now streaming, as of Thursday, Sept. 5.

Finally, in the third episode, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers), disguised as Annatar, started making the rings for the Dwarves. It’s called the “Rings of Power” after all, so they should probably get busy.

Elrond and Galadriel set off toward Eregion

In episode 4, the story picks up at the very end of the third episode. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) have assembled a team to accompany them on their way to Eregion. They believe that Sauron has already returned to influence Celebrimbor, and they’re right!

After traveling for a while from Lindon, they find a bridge on the quickest way to Eregion has...

This article from the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) Season 2 Episode 4 contains significant spoilers.

The fourth episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power begins with Elrond leading a mission to Celebrimbor. He, along with Galadriel and four other Elves, finds that a bridge has been destroyed, causing a fortnight’s delay in their travel. Nenya tells Galadriel that this is a trap set by Sauron.

Elrond decides to travel south, much to the chagrin of Galadriel, who questions him with a slight alveolar trill on the “R” in his name. The commander berates her, asking what Galadriel’s intentions are. She tells Elrond that her only intention is to avoid getting anyone killed, including him.

However, Elrond chooses expediency over safety. The friction between them is turning into a deeper fire—by that, I mean romance. At some point,...

Prime Video (via Nerdist.com) has released the first clip from tomorrow's fourth episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and it introduces a character fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's work have been waiting to see brought to life on screen for a very long time.

In the clip, we see The Stranger get himself into a spot of bother when he attempts to pull branch from a tree to fashion his wizard's staff. In a moment that recalls Merry and Pippin falling foul to Old Man Willow in the book, the Stranger is trapped and consumed by the tree until old Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) comes to the rescue.

If you've read Tolkien's seminal trilogy, you should be very familiar with this mysterious character, who was introduced along with his wife Goldberry when Frodo and his company made their way through the Old Forest in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Lotr - The Hunt for Gollum: Ian McKellen Reportedly Asked to Reprise Gandalf Again - Main Image

Ian McKellen had originated so many great roles in his lifetime from X-Men’s Magneto to Sherlock Holmes, but it looks like he could be going back to one of his most infamous cinematic roles from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And no, it’s not Gus the Theatre Cat from the musical Cats.

Ian McKellen Asked to Reprise Gandalf

Deadline reports that McKellen has been asked to reprise the role of Gandalf in the upcoming prequel movie which has been given the working title The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. No details have been given on how large Gandalf’s role would be in the film, but since he’s been alive pretty much since the beginning of the Third Age, he could very well be traveling around Middle-earth,...

The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video, and ep 2, "Where the Stars are Strange," introduces a mysterious character who might just turn out to be the secondary antagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy.

We know most of you will be well aware of who we're referring to, but just in case, spoilers follow.

After first catching up with Durin, Disa and the other Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, we find out who sent the masked marauders that have been tracking Nori, Poppy, and the Stranger through the deserts of Western Rhûn: A powerful sorcerer known only as the "Dark Wizard" (Game of Thrones alum Ciarán Hinds).

At first glance, there appears to be little doubt that this clearly wicked individual is Saruman, but there are other possibilities.

Rings of Power has taken a few liberties with certain aspects of Tolkien's works already,...

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books were brought to life over twenty years ago on the big screen and went on to make close to $3 billion at the box office and win 17 Academy Awards. In 2022, Amazon Studios took on the task of bringing the story to the small screen with The Rings of Power. Fast forward two years later, the series is returning for its second season. Ahead of the premiere, we had the opportunity to chat with the creators and cast to find out what viewers can expect from the second season.

RELATEDThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Review: Massive To A Fault The Rings of Power Season 2 Plot The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2

Building on Season One, the new season of The Rings of Power sees the most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness,...

The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are now streaming on Prime Video, and the premiere wastes little time in taking us back to the Dawn of the Second Age to reveal the shocking origin of Sauron.

Major spoilers follow.

The first episode begins by introducing Sauron in his original form as a Maia spirit made flesh (played Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden) shortly after the defeat of his master, Morgoth.

Sauron gives a speech to a group of Orcs, attempting to convince them to embrace him as their new Dark Lord. However, Adar - now played by Sam Hazeldine - doesn't believe his would-be ruler has his "children's" best interests at heart, and instigates an uprising which results in Sauron's "death."

Though Sauron's spirit appears to leave his body, his blood flows into the earth, and the shape-shifting villain is eventually able to take the form of.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, and one spoiler warning for those who haven't watched the first three episodes of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" season 2.

Don't sleep on one of the most sneakily important storylines in all of "The Rings of Power." Compared to the surprisingly melodramatic intrigue between Morfydd Clark's Galadriel and Charlie Vickers' shapeshifting Halbrand/Sauron/Annatar or the more conventional journey of the Harfoot Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), viewers would be forgiven for overlooking the political subplot currently taking shape over on the island kingdom of Númenor. After all, these characters don't even appear on the scene until the third episode of the season 2 premiere, but showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay quickly make up for lost time. After...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video. Fans have been waiting for more than two years to watch the new episodes of the season.

At the end of the first season, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) knows that Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is here. He’s offered a position in his new world, but she rebukes him for now. He ends the season heading for Mordor to reclaim his crown.

With a slight push from Sauron, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and Galadriel craft three rings using the Mithril to extend the Elves’ time on Middle-earth. Sauron’s hooks are already in Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) as he parroted a line from Suaron’s past to Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) in the season finale, which we learn in the season 2 premiere.

We also know that the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is a wizard. Is he Gandalf,...

Although viewers still have not received confirmation on who The Stranger is in Amazon Prime Video's The Rings of Power, Season 2 continues to make it seem as though he is connected to Gandalf.

One of the biggest mysteries of The Rings of Power Season 1 was the true identity of Daniel Weyman's The Stranger (read Weyman's own comments regarding The Stranger's identity here). When he debuted, some believed him to be Sauron, while others theorized that he was one of the five Istari.

However, at the end of Season 1, many believed that a simple line of dialogue revealed who The Stranger was. When speaking to Nori just before they began their journey, he said, "When in doubt, Elanor Brandyfoot, always follow your nose."

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This article from the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) Season 2 Episode 1 contains significant spoilers.

While The Rings of Power started slowly in its freshman season, rest assured that it will be fine in the second. The Prime Video series gets off to a spectacular start as we learn the origin story of how the current version of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) came to meet Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) on that piece of broken ship in the middle of the sea.

The events take place before Season 1, where we meet the older version of Sauron (played by Jack Lowden), who tells Adar and the Orcs that they will rule over everyone instead of eradicating them. As Sauron kneels for Adar to place the Iron Crown on his head, Adar turns it upside down and stabs Sauron in the back with its sharp spikes.

In a thrilling scene,...

One does not simply discuss "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" ... not without a spoiler warning, at least. Read no further if you haven't watched the first three episodes yet.

A lot has happened in the two long years since we last paid a visit to our favorite figures in Middle-earth, when season 1 of "The Rings of Power" built up to its (literally) explosive climax in the Southlands Mordor and ended on the ominous note with the creation of the three elven rings of power. Although almost no time at all has passed for our heroes and villains when we pick up again in the three-episode premiere, the production demands of this wildly expensive blockbuster have necessitated some noticeable changes from last time.

Some subplots and extraneous characters have been trimmed from the main story, filming has shifted from New Zealand to the UK, and, in a few noticeable cases,...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returned on Thursday morning with a thrilling flashback, lots of deception, and a problematic partnership. Let’s recap just the first of the three new episodes, now streaming on Prime Video.

As Season 2 opens, Sauron (played by Charlie Vickers) addresses his hordes at Forodwaith. Adar (Sam Hazeldine, replacing Joseph Mawle), the dastardly Orc who caused so much trouble last season, stands nearby, his expression unreadable. The Orcs bristle at Sauron’s admission that many of them will die in pursuit of “this new, perfect order,” but none move against him. Not yet.

It’s finally time to head back to Middle-earth for Season 2 of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”

The series continues the story of the Second Age and how the titular rings – including the One Ring – were forged and many of the great societies fell to chaos and ruin. The second season picks up with Sauron’s identity revealed and him having to resort to his manipulations to get his plans carried out.

Here’s everything you need to know about where and when to watch “The Rings of Power” Season 2.

When does “Lotr: The Rings of Power” Season 2 come out?

The second season of “Rings of Power” drops on Amazon’s Prime Video Thursday, Aug. 29.

Is “Lotr: The Rings of Power” streaming?

Yes, “The Rings of Power” is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

Are the episodes released weekly or all at once?

The first three episodes...

It’s been two years since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 ended on Prime Video. A lot has happened since then. We’ve all (probably) watched so much TV, too much TV, and our brains are jam-packed with storylines, characters, and information to remember what happened in The Rings of Power season 1 finale.

We shared a few important points for you to remember heading into The Rings of Power season 2 on Thursday, Aug. 29.

The Rings of Power season 1 recap

Amazon shared a recap of The Rings of Power season 1. It’s a pretty good reminder of some of the main points that happened in the first season.

Heading into season 2, it’s important to remember where we started with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and where things ended. Early in the season, Galadriel believed that Sauron was not killed as previously suggested. She travels far and wide,...

Before any of the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” had streamed on Amazon Prime Video in 2022, executive producers and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had already finished much of their work constructing the story for Season 2. That’s partly due to the free time provided by the Covid shutdown in 2020. But, in truth, Payne and McKay say they’ve known for years how the show will recount the rise of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) through the Second Age of Middle-earth, the millennia-spanning era leading to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” novels.

“It’s surprisingly more mapped out than you would expect,” McKay says.

Season 2 opens, for example, with a sequence the writers first conceived six years ago: the depiction of what McKay calls “the show-canon origin story” for Sauron, a geeky way of acknowledging that many details about the Second Age,...

The people of Númenor live for hundreds of years, dwarves are particularly resilient to the ravages of time, and the elves are basically immortal, but that feels like nothing compared to the long wait "The Rings of Power" fans have had to endure since season 1 debuted back in October of 2022. That, of course, is a product of the very different landscape that this latest adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's work now arrives in. Once upon a time, Peter Jackson was able to film all three of his "The Lord of the Rings" movies concurrently and debut one installment every year like clockwork over two decades ago. The creative team behind the Prime Video series have been given an even more daunting challenge, tasked with bringing a multi-season series to life while crafting dozens of hours of story set in the sprawling world of Middle-earth. As I wrote in my review for /Film,...

Plot: Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without an army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.

Review: Two years ago, Amazon Studios’ massive investment in expanding J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy epic debuted.

Much has been made about the ratings drop in the first season of Prime Video’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. According to Forbes, only 37% of subscribers who started Jeff Bezos’s wet dream of event television finished the first season. Admittedly, the series got off to a slow start, with pacing issues and an onslaught of characters to keep track of.

However, those loyal followers who stuck around were rewarded with an incredible season that was enchanting, engaging, and, at times, profoundly moving. Now, in its sophomore effort, The Rings of Power brings an epic cinematic quality to your small streaming screen. The new season is riveting, truly captivating, a spectacular triumph, and one of the greatest television adaptations ever made.

Certainly, it is the most significant American fantasy adventure series ever produced.

Morfydd Clark in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power...

Episodes viewed: 8 of 8

Streaming on: Prime Video

Rumour has it that Prime Video's The Rings Of Power is the highest-budgeted TV show ever made — though the maths depends on including the vast amount paid for the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus, The Lord Of The Rings. It certainly looks expensive, from its extensive locations to the huge sets. More importantly, however, the plot lives up to the packaging.

It may be cobbled together from tag-ends of material in Tolkien’s appendices, but this packs more incident and excitement into its second season than some entire books. If you’re going to throw money at a TV screen, you can only hope it looks and sounds as good as this.

Admittedly, showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay are standing on the shoulders of giants. They have Tolkien’s unmatched worldbuilding, and the visuals owe a heavy debt to...

Season 2 of the most expensive TV series ever made is here, and it still feels like something of a loss leader.

Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has yet to develop characters we care about or put them in settings and situations — regardless of however handsome or awesome they may be — that make their fates more than rudimentarily moving.

The eight-episode season also fails to move the narrative needle much beyond where the smoking ruins of Season 1 left matters. Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is still the shape-shifting superbad. Elves, dwarfs, humans and orcs remain too blinkered by their own political in-fighting to counter him effectively. The goofy cosmic Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who we all know will become J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous wizard, is still wandering around looking for his magic staff with some proto-Hobbit pals. More rings get made.

Some of these prequel plotlines...