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 tense after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. The final chapter of Prime Video's prequel to JRR Tolkien's iconic novel saw darkness taking root across Middle-earth as Sauron, in the guise of the righteous god Annatar, began forging new rings with Celebrimbor while Galadriel raced to prevent an invasion of Uruk in Eregion. Additionally, The Stranger, Nori, and Poppy continued their quest to discover their identity and how to manage their powers, while Númenor found itself in the middle of a civil war.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power The season 2 finale saw Uruk's invasion of Eregion being largely successful as the city was destroyed, although Durin IV and the Dwarves, reeling from the loss of Durin III, arrive just in time to rescue Gil-galad, Elrond and Close to death. Meanwhile, the Stranger and Nori say goodbye as she and Poppy leave to help the Stoors migrate after the Dark Wizard's destruction of their home, and he returns to Tom Bombadil having found his team and calling himself Gandalf.
The set Rings of Power The Season 2 cast saw the return of Morfydd Clark from Galadriel, Charlie Vickers from Sauron, Robert Aramayo from Elrond, Owain Arthur from Durin IV, Maxim Baldry from Isildur, Charles Edwards from Celebrimbor, Ismael Cruz Córdova from Arondir, Sophia Nomvete from Disa and Benjamin Walker of Gil-galad, among many others. Having set several audience records and garnered even more praise from critics and audiences, the Lord of the Rings prequel set the stage for season 3 in a massive way.
TelaRant recently interviewed showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, the real nature of Elrond and Galadriel's kiss in episode 7, why they chose to reveal the Stranger's identity as Gandalf later in the season rather than later, why Númenor became less of a focus in the second half of the season, and a positive update on season 3.
McKay and Payne secure Galadriel and Elrond's kiss”Not romantic in nature”
“…Elves express their love in different ways.”
ScreenRant: It's great to see you two again, just before the premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 2nd season.
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, was Galadriel and Elrond's kiss, because it was a huge surprise for me, something I didn't expect. I'd love to hear about the crafting of this scene, especially because Tolkien fans like me will know about Celeborn in the future, so they might see this and say, “Oh, is there a plan to move away from that canon?“.
Patrick McKay: In our opinion, the kiss is not romantic in nature. But also, he loves her and is very scared that she will die, and he needs to create a distraction to give her a way to free herself. And this is an expression of his love and regret, and an apology for starting to realize that maybe he was wrong about some of the things she was discussing earlier in the season. I don't know, it grew organically from the material and felt like where it wanted to go. But this certainly doesn't portend a romance between these two friends in the future.
Yes, there is definitely a very deep platonic love in that moment.
Patrick McKay: And Elves are different, you know, Elves express their love in different ways.
JD Payne: They're a little more European.
Patrick McKay: Yes, yes, a little more European. [Chuckles]
Revealing Gandalf's Identity”It really made sense“Canonically for Season 2
“We also didn't want to tease it forever, like, 'Season 4, you'll know!'”
So another big thing, obviously, this season we finally confirm that The Stranger is in fact Gandalf. I'd love to hear not only about the creation of that moment in the writing process, but also when you two determined this was the right time to do it amid the reported five-season plan for this series.
JD Payne: Yes, so we wanted it to be a journey of discovery for the audience, the character and ourselves, and we really left ourselves open. We said, “We’re bringing this to Middle Earth.” We had some suspicions from the beginning about who it might be, but I think, especially as the friendship between him and Nori and Poppy became so rich, we said, “Gandalf loves halflings. Saruman doesn't really love halflings, he talks about them with disdain and Radagast doesn't seem to feel much, one way or another, for them. We felt like it actually made sense, if you were looking at the canon, you'd know where this character would go. actor, Dan Weyman, made it seem 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 feel like the first season is about him figuring out, “What am I? Am I good or am I bad? I don't know.” Now that he's found out he's on the side of good, it's like, 'Well, who am I and how do I control my powers?' So he goes on this journey to eventually reach Tom Bombadil, and it felt like that journey of the team, and their name, and figuring out how to control their powers, it felt like they wanted to come together. We also didn't want to tease it forever, like, “Season 4, you'll know!”
Patrick McKay: Yeah, in our minds, since the beginning of Season 2, we've been showing you the poker hand, right? There should be no doubt in the minds of most audiences in these first few episodes, we are dropping all kinds of hints. Like, “Yeah, that's who he is. Don't worry about it. It's about what he's learning, about who he's going to be. That's more important than just a name.”
Rings of Power Development on Season 3 is well underway
“It will be very good.”
We haven't heard anything about Rings of Power 3rd season yet. I'm kind of surprised. Do you guys have a timeline to start work on, whether it's writing or filming, to work on this?
JD Payne: We're working on it.
Patrick McKay: We're working now!
JD Payne: We are preparing now, very, very intensely. Hmm—
Patrick McKay: That's all we can say!
JD Payne: We do [have some exciting stuff coming]. It will be very good. We are excited.
Patrick McKay: It's going to be amazing.
There's a good reason Númenor has less focus in Season 2
“…The story of Númenor has only just begun.”
So one thing about this season that I found surprising was that the second half really moved away from Númenor, despite the first half really ramping up the tension of politics there, is that going to come back into greater prominence going into the future of the show?
Patrick McKay: Yeah, I think what we can say is that from the earliest days of talking about the epic project of this whole show – the “complete mega epic,” as we call it – we always liked the idea that it was this vast set , and different characters would emerge or perhaps retreat a bit, depending on the story being told and the season. I think it's true that Númenor wasn't 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 story of Sauron and Celebrimbor. But there are some really important things happening in Númenor, and the story of Númenor is just beginning.
On The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2
In season two of The Rings of Power, Sauron returned. Driven out by Galadriel with no 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 unite all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. . Building on the epic scope and ambition of the first season, 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 destruction. calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Hairfeet… as friendships grow strained and kingdoms begin to fragment, the forces of goodwill fight ever more valiantly to hold on to what is most important to them. … each other.
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Source: TelaRant Plus