It ’s hard not to groupThe Lord of the Rings : The Rings of PowerandHouse of the Dragontogether . Not only are the two shows similar in musical genre and budget but they ’ve also aired their first two season in airless propinquity to each other . Both have made , along withThe Witcherand — to a lesser extent — The Wheel of Time , ambitious fun for the form of address of the Best Post - Game of ThronesFantasy Show on TV . Neither has get by to really fill that monumental series ’ shoe yet , but their shared desire to achieve similar layer of success has been plain from the beginning .
On top of all of that , The Rings of PowerandHouse of the Dragonreleased very similar debut seasons in 2022 . That is to say that their first time of year both turned out to be , for all purpose and use , extended prologue to their kernel stories . House of the DragonandThe Rings of Powerwere both dinge for that pick , and viewers were force to wait two age to see whether their 2nd season would deliver on the long - winded hope of their debuts .
House of the Dragon , for its part , fail to do that . Outside of one memorablemidseason instalment , the HBO series ’ soph run left good deal to be desire . It was full of the same long stretches of table - setting that viewer mother from the show ’s first , as well as superfluousGame of Thronestie - insand an ending that procedure more as a trailer for what ’s to fare than an literal climax . The Rings ofPower , conversely , has n’t made the same misapprehension . The Prime Video series ’ second time of year is n’t just better than its first ; it has also delivered everythingThe Rings of Powerpromised it would two years ago .
The key to Rings of Powers’ success? Momentum
When you compareThe Rings of Power‘s first two season , the immediate mental picture one get of its sec is that it is definitively darker than its predecessor . That ’s by design . The time of year ’s increase focus on Sauron ( Charlie Vickers ) allows it to explore the wickedness at the heart ofThe Rings of Power‘s story far more extensively than the show ’s admirable but misguided first season . The great darkness provided by Sauron ’s fundamental , externally antagonistic role imbuesThe Rings of Powerwith a more tangible tautness and sense of danger this time around . By force us to watch Sauron manipulate his way to exponent , the series instills a feeling of apprehensiveness in the looker , along with a desire to seesomeonestop him .
The wash to bilk Sauron before he finishes forging his extremely coveted Rings of Power also give the series a more satisfying and engaging forward momentum . Its 2d season ’s present - day storyline beginsliterallyin apparent movement with Elrond ( Robert Aramayo ) and Galadriel ( Morfydd Clark ) trying to make the Elven kingdom of Lindon before the other . The season ’s impulse is sometimes halted whenThe Rings of Powerturns its attention back to its weakest and most stagnant storylines — namely , those involving Isildur ( Maxim Baldry ) and The Stranger ( Daniel Weyman ) , the latter of whom spends the entirety ofThe Rings of Powerseason 2 … um … seek for his sorcerer faculty . For the most part , though , the time of year feel more well - paced and cohesive thanThe Rings of Power‘s lackluster , meandering first .
The narrative arcs are richer … and more satisfying
For much ofThe Rings of Power‘s debut time of year , the slow corruption of Middle - world was too vaguely drawn and defined to dramatically ground or move it in any palpable or compelling way . By using the forging of the Rings as its dramatic anchor maneuver this season , though , the series find a way to say a unclouded story across its latest episode . The goings - on of mediate - earth ’s extremely low frequency , Dwarves , and even the Men of Númenor all feel intricately tied inThe Rings of Power‘s 2nd season to Sauron ’s handling and his overarching political campaign for tyrannous domination . That means the serial not only feels more narratively cohesive this twelvemonth but most of its plot beatniks also sense genuinely important . They carry with them a dramatic exercising weight that is both forthwith obvious and impactful .
Many ofThe Rings of Powerseason 2 ’s final moments seem inevitable in good order from the outset , but the serial builds toward most of them — like Celebrimbor ’s last stand against Sauron and the latter ’s retaking of his Orc regular army — patiently and by choice enough that you are even so moved by the tragedy of them . This is a serial publication that is render to track broad themes with evenly big , operatic creative strokes , and in most of its second time of year ’s episode , The Rings of Power‘s large - scurf CRO feels both real and justified . The same can not be say forHouse of the Dragonseason 2 , which has no absolved beginning , mediate , or ending , and which rarely figure out how to amply weaponize and maximize its impressive budget .
Rings of Power fulfills the promise it made when it began
There are many surface - level ways in whichThe Rings of Powerseason 2 is an improvement on the show ’s first . It has , for example , more of the sort of awe - instigate natural process sequences that aid it fend out as a legitimately smash hit - sized television set experience . More significantly , though , The Rings of Power‘s 2nd season does n’t leave you feeling like your time has been waste watching it .
The landscape painting of midway - earth fundamentally changes over the class of the season , and its eight sequence consistently fulfill the promise of Sauron ’s ominous reemergence at the end ofThe Rings of Powerseason 1 . Can anyone say the same thing about howHouse of the Dragonseason 1 ’s final , premonition closeup of Rhaenyra Targaryen ( Emma D’Arcy ) was comply up this year ?
Despite what many of its critics expected , The Rings of Powerhas done what its biggest competitor could n’t . It has deliver with a second season that is n’t just better but actually feels like it tells a complete , satisfying narration . It ’s a season that , unlikeHouse of the Dragon‘s soph stack of sequence , does more than enough right to give watcher Bob Hope forThe Rings of Power‘s futurity . One only wish the same could be said aboutHouse of the Dragonseason 2 .
The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Powerseasons 1 - 2 are streaming now on Amazon Prime Video .
