As the streaming war intensifies, Amazon is making big bets on the Lord of the Rings. The company spends hundreds of millions of dollars on a prequel series set long before the movie event. This series, The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, which is an important time when literally the face of the planet was reshaped.
If you’re not familiar with the extensive behind-the-scenes stories behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, don’t worry. Here’s everything you need to know about Middle-earth’s Second Age and what that means for the plots in the first part series. And check out the Ring of Power trailer here:
Second Age: Basic
The fantasy world created by JRR Tolkien is much larger than the Hobbit and Ring Lord’s event. The land of Middle-earth is part of a larger world called Arda. In the course of decades of work (many of which were only published after his death), Tolkien created a detailed history of Arda, from the creation of the universe to the modern era of mankind. Arda’s recorded history is divided into four eras, each spanning hundreds or thousands of years.
The Second Age is a brief glimpse of the Lord of the Rings movie. This setting spans a long period between the expulsion of Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) and the first defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is defined by important events such as the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Númenor, the creation of a circle of power, and the formation of the last alliance that temporarily saved the world from the wrath of Sauron. This is the setting for the first part of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series.
Second Age: Major Events
The Second Age begins with a devastating war over a mysterious gem known as Silmarils and the aftermath of Morgoth’s expulsion from Arda. In this new era, both men and elves begin their adventures to the west, leaving Middle-earth. Many elves retreat to what is called the Land of Immortality (where Frodo and Bilbo are taken to the end of the king’s return), while a group of men called Edain settle on an island called Númenor. The Númenors are benevolent at first, but become more warlike because of the jealousy of the elves for immortality.
The Second Age is where Sauron begins to strengthen his power and fill the void left by his master, Morgoth. Sauron, skilled in flattery and deception, manipulates elves to create the Rings of Power and gives him the weapons he needs to rule Middle-earth. The ring is forged by an elf lord and jeweler named Celebrimbor, a character who played a major role in the 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel. It’s too late for Celebrimbor to discover the essence of Sauron and the true purpose of these powerful artifacts.
The Númenor reign culminates in the rise of a king named Al-Farazone. Sauron turns his back on Valor (basically a version of Tolkien’s angel) in Ar-Pharazô and persuades the Númenorites to attempt to invade an immortal land where they may find the coveted immortality. This is one of the few examples of Ilúvatar (or Tolkien’s fantastic cosmic god) directly intervening in mortal matters. Ilúvatar annihilate Númenor in a destructive manner, turning Arda from a flat surface to the Earth. This act also separates the land of immortality from the rest of the world and forever denies men the chance of immortality.
The opening of the Ring’s Fellowship marks the end of the Second Age.
Sauron himself was almost destroyed by this attack, but his spirit survived and soon began to build a new army in Mordor. Fortunately, not all men were destroyed with Númenor. A group called Faithful, led by King Elendil (a distant ancestor of Aragorn), returns to Middle-earth to form the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. With his sons Isildur and Anárion, and the elven kings Gil-galad and Elrond, Elendil forms the final alliance and wages a long and costly war against Sauron.
Lord of the Rings fans probably know what’s going on from there. Sauron was defeated but not destroyed, Isildur claims that the One Ring and the Second Age give way to the Tertiary.
Rings of Power: Amazon’s first part series
Knowing that the first part of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is set in the Second Age doesn’t tell us much about plots. For one thing, the Second Age lasts almost 3500 years. More importantly, this is an era of Middle-earth history and is not very well defined. Tolkien has never actually published a book after completing the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1955. Much of what we know about the Second Age is taken from posthumous works such as The Silmarillion, The Ending Story, and the History of Middle-earth series. Edited by Tolkien’s son Christopher using an unpublished manuscript and an early draft of the LotR trilogy.
Basically, there is no single set story or cast of a particular character that Amazon can trust when creating the first part series. Significant casts of the series include Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Benjamin Walker, Sara Zwangobani, and Markella Kavenagh. Includes Poppy Proud Fellow (Megan Richards) and Saddock Burrows (Sir Lenny Henry), Stranger (Daniel Weimann), Dwarf King Durin III (Peter Muran) and Prince Durin IV (Owen)・ Arthur), Hullbrand (Charlie Vickers), Alondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), QueenRegentMíriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Kemen ( Leon Wadham), Eärien (Ema Horvath).
While certain important events such as the fall of Númenor and the formation of the Last Alliance may unfold over several seasons, the series introduces new plot points and characters to fill the void and make wide strokes. You also need to write for Tolkien’s complete and cohesive story.
Also, I don’t know if the first part series will try to record the full range of the Second Age or focus on a particular conflict. Showrunner and Executive Producer JD Payne and Patrick Mackay hinted that the series might be taking the first approach.
“This is the title we imagine we can live on the back of a book next to other classics of JRR Tolkien,” Payne and McKay said in a statement. Forging of the ring, the rise of Dark Lord Sauron, the epic story of Númenor, and the final alliance between elves and men. “
One possibility is for the series to investigate multiple different periods. Amazon has reportedly promised five seasons and potential spin-offs, so each season may focus on important events that differ from the Second Age.
Early rumors suggested that the first part series would focus on young Aragorn. Aragorn wasn’t born until thousands of years after the end of the Second Age, but these rumors can still spread. In this series, you can use the story of Aragorn as a framing device. The king learns about the history of his people and the mistakes made by former kings such as Ar-Pharazô and Elendil. This may be an ideal way to show viewers the complex history of Middle-earth and at the same time showcase familiar characters.
The Ring of Power will debut on Friday, September 2nd in Prime Video around the world, dropping new episodes every week.
This story was updated on July 14, 2022 with the latest information about the show. Originally published in August 2019.
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