Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2!
The Second Age of Middle-earth is becoming increasingly fraught afterThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2. The latest chapter of Prime Video’s prequel toJ.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic novelhas seen darkness taking root throughout Middle-earth as Sauron, under the guise of the fair god Annatar, began forging new rings with Celebrimbor while Galadriel raced to stop an Uruk invasion on Eregion. Additionally, The Stranger, Nori and Poppy continued their quest to learn his identity and how to manage his powers, while Númenor found itself in the midst of a civil war.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 finalesaw the Uruk’s invasion of Eregion proving largely successful as the city was destroyed, though Durin IV and the Dwarves, reeling from the loss of Durin III, arrive just in time to rescue Gil-galad, Elrond and Arondir from being killed. The Stranger and Nori, meanwhile, say goodbye as she and Poppy set off to help the Stoors migrate following the destruction of their home by the Dark Wizard, and he returns to Tom Bombadil having found his staff and calling himself Gandalf.
10 Biggest Questions For The Rings Of Power Season 3, And Possible Answers Based On Lord Of The Rings Canon
Rings of Power season 2 ended with a handful of questions left up in the air. Thankfully, Lord of the Rings canon can provide some possible answers.
The ensembleRings of Powerseason 2 castsaw the returns of Galadriel’s Morfydd Clark, Sauron’s Charlie Vickers, Elrond’s Robert Aramayo, Durin IV’s Owain Arthur, Isildur’s Maxim Baldry, Celebrimbor’s Charles Edwards, Arondir’s Ismael Cruz Córdova, Disa’s Sophia Nomvete and Gil-galad’s Benjamin Walker, among many others. Having set multiple viewership records and garnering even further acclaim from critics and audiences alike, theLord of the Ringsprequel has set the stage for season 3 in a massive way.
ScreenRantrecently interviewed showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay to discussThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2, the actual nature of Elrond and Galadriel’s kiss in episode 7, why they elected to reveal The Stranger’s identity as Gandalf in the season rather than further down the line, why Númenor became a smaller focus in the latter half of the season, and a positive update on season 3.
McKay & Payne Assure Galadriel And Elrond’s Kiss “Is Not Romantic In Nature”
“…Elves express their love in different ways.”
ScreenRant: Great to see you both again since just before the premiere ofLord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2.
Patrick McKay: Good to see you again. And ScreenRant has been very kind to this show, and we really appreciate it.
We love this show, I love this show. One of my favorite moments, I will say, in this show, wasGaladriel and Elrond’s kiss, because it was just such a surprise to me, something I did not see coming. I’d love to hear about crafting that scene, especially because Tolkien fans like myself know about Celeborn in the future, so they might see that and go, “Oh, Is there a plan to move away from that canon?”.
Patrick McKay: To our minds, the kiss is not romantic in nature. But also, he loves her, and he’s very scared she’s going to die, and he needs to create a distraction to slip her a way of breaking out of her locks. And this is an expression of his love and regret, and apology for starting to realize that he was maybe wrong about some of the things she was arguing earlier in the season. I don’t know, it grew organically out of the material, and felt like where it wanted to go. But certainly, it does not auger a romance between these two friends in the future.
Yes, there’s definitely a very deep platonic love there in that moment.
Patrick McKay: And Elves are different, you know, Elves express their love in different ways.
Patrick McKay: Yes, yes, a little more European. [Chuckles]
Revealing Gandalf’s Identity “Really Made Sense” Canonically For Season 2
“We also didn’t want to tease it forever, of like, ‘Season 4 you’ll know!'”
So another big thing, obviously, this season, we finally have confirmedThe Stranger is indeed Gandalf. I would love to hear not only about the creation of that moment in the writing process, but also when you both determined that this was the right time to do it amidst the reported five-season plan for this show.
JD Payne: Yeah, so we wanted it to be a journey of discovery for the audience, the character, and for ourselves, and we truly left ourselves open. We said, “We’re bringing this to Middle Earth.” We had some suspicions from the beginning of who it might be, but I think, especially as the friendship between he and Nori and Poppy grew to be so rich, we said, “Gandalf loves halflings. Saruman doesn’t really love halflings, he speaks about them really dismissively. And Radagast doesn’t seem to feel much, one way or another, about them.” We felt like it really made sense, if you were looking at canon, you know where this character would ultimately go. And then also, our wonderful actor, Dan Weyman, brought to it felt like it also made sense, in terms of the decision to do it.
Now, it’s been a journey of self discovery for the character, and we felt like season 1 is all about him figuring out, “What am I? Am I good, or am I evil? I don’t know.” Now that he figures out he’s on the side of the good, it’s like, “Well, who am I, and how do I harness my powers?” So, he goes on this journey to eventually reach Tom Bombadil, and it felt like that journey of the staff, and his name, and figuring out how to control his powers all felt like they sort of wanted to come together. We also didn’t want to tease it forever, of like, “Season 4 you’ll know!”
Patrick McKay: Yeah, in our minds, from the beginning of season 2, we’re showing you the hand of poker, right? There should be no doubt in most of the audience’s mind by those first couple episodes, we’re dropping all kinds of hints. Like, “Yes, that’s who he is. Don’t worry about that. It’s about what he’s learning, about who he’s going to be. That is more important than just a name.”
Rings Of PowerSeason 3’s Development Is Well Underway
“It’s gonna be really good.”
We haven’t heard anything aboutRings of Powerseason 3 yet. I’m kind of surprised. Do you guys have a timetable for when you might start working, whether it be writing or filming, for working on it?
JD Payne: We’re prepping now, very, very intensely. Um—
Patrick McKay: That’s all we can say!
JD Payne: We do [have some exciting stuff coming]. It’s gonna be really good. We’re excited.
There’s A Good Reason Númenor Saw A Lesser Focus In Season 2
“…Númenor’s story is only beginning.”
So, one thing about this season I found surprising was that the latter half really sort of shifted away from Númenor, despite that first half really building up the tension of the politics there, is that going to sort of come back into a bigger spotlight, coming into the future of the show?
Patrick McKay: Yeah, I think that what we can say is, from the very earliest days of talking about the epic project of this whole show — the “full mega epic”, as we called it — we always liked the idea that it was this vast ensemble, and different characters would emerge or maybe recede a little, depending on the story being told and the season. I think it’s true that Númenor was not always the central focus of season 2, that the central focus of season 2 was really more about the creation of the Rings, and the Sauron and Celebrimbor story. But there’s some really important things happening over on Númenor, and Númenor’s story is only beginning.
AboutThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerSeason 2
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without 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.
Check out our previous and upcomingLord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 interviews with:
All episodes of the first two seasons ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 are streaming on Prime Video.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
