Crime
The Irrational
The Irrational finds a behavioral scientist asking questions about memory and the human condition while investigating murders.
When you live forever, it’s hard to forget about the pains of the past.
At least, that’s how Galadriel feels in Rings of Power. She remembers how the world was back when she lived in Valinor—when the warm light of the world was still provided by Telperion and Laurelin, those two great shining trees during the Days of Bliss. She remembers how her brother was killed during the First Age at the hands of Morgoth and his wicked forces. And she remembers how even though Morgoth was defeated, his faithful servant Sauron managed to escape with his ranks of orcish troops.
It may be centuries since then, but Galadriel—now a great warrior—hasn’t forgotten. And even if many of her elven kind have chosen to believe that Sauron is no more than a bad memory, she continues to search for him. Because she knows that it’s simply not that easy.
“Evil does not sleep,” Galadriel says. “It waits. And in the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.”
And while the elven master smith Celebrimbor commissions the young, honey-tongued Elrond to help him build a great forge, others across Middle-Earth begin to notice signs that not everything is as peaceful as people delude themselves into thinking.
Galadriel was right to worry. Sauron is back, and, as the second season of Rings of Power opens, he is growing in power. Unfortunately, she had no idea that she was helping him grasp it.
Galadriel didn’t expect Sauron to come in the humble form of Halbrand, a shipwrecked man she’d met while crossing the Great Sea. Nor did she expect that his helpful words were fork-tongued half-truths meant to set his own rise to power. Indeed, it was only after he had helped her and Celebrimbor craft the three elven rings of power (at the end of Season One) that Galadriel recognized his deceit.
But as Galadriel warns King Gil-galad in the High Elvish capital, Lindon, of Sauron’s threat, she can’t deny that the rings he helped craft do contain magical power—power that could maintain the ever-fading magic and extend the dying Age of the Elves. And as the elves decide to use the rings to do just that as Season Two begins, Elrond wonders if he’s the only one left who fears how they all may be playing straight into Sauron’s hand.
Meanwhile, Sauron reveals yet another form to Celebrimbor—that of a fair elf named Annatar, “Lord of Gifts.” Though at first wary, “Annatar” deceives Celebrimbor into believing he is an Istar, an angelic “wizard” sent by the god-like Valar themselves. And in order to combat the rising darkness of their age, he and Celebrimbor need to create more powerful rings as gifts for the men and dwarves to use …
Time would fail to tell of the many other events happening in and around Middle-Earth: the political turmoil assailing the island kingdom of Númenor; the ruminations of deep-rooted threats against the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm; another, familiar, tall wizard traveling far east into the hostile land of Rhûn with a couple of Hobbit predecessors.
They’re all delicate situations, full of tension and ready to topple into chaos at any given moment.
And Sauron is nearly ready to provide that final push.
A wise little Hobbit once said, “Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.”
Well, Peter Jackson carried J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous work The Lord of the Rings to the big screen, and now, Amazon’s Prime Video has decided to take a crack at it with Rings of Power. But rather than focus on the journeys of Bilbo and Frodo’s journeys at the tail-end of Middle-Earth’s Third Age, Prime instead decided to give us a glimpse into the world’s Second Age.
If you’re looking for an estimated time period, the end of that age occurs roughly 3,000 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. While the Frodos, Gimlis and Aragorns of the world are a long time away from being born, viewers will recognize the immortal elves Elrond and Galadriel—albeit looking a bit younger (as going backwards thousands of birthdays tends to do).
And as Galadriel battles the rising threat of Sauron, viewers will see many of the major events of this hectic age in this and perhaps subsequent seasons—including Sauron tricking the elves into creating the Rings of Power, the downfall of Númenor and even (perhaps) the War of the Last Alliance.
Now, if you’re not deeply invested in Tolkien lore, those events might not mean much to you. But the confirmation of those events within the series means that Prime Video hopes to stretch over 2,000 years of Tolkien history into a single show.
To that end, the show’s creators have taken a few creative liberties, such as compressing these major events far closer together to avoid having to cycle through countless mortal main characters. Additionally, we’ve been introduced a number of characters who make no appearance in Tolkien’s lore, and the somewhat empty Second-Age story of Galadriel is given a Prime Video drama series worth of additional story.
All that being said, Rings of Power still feels like the Lord of the Rings we’re used to. There’s swordplay, violence and a couple frightening creatures—and the mayhem we see can often feel grittier and bloodier than than Jackson’s take on Tolkien: It can be extremely discomforting to watch, for instance, when a warg (a huge dog-like creature) tears into a woman’s side or when a giant spider splits an orc’s face open. Fortunately, though there were rumors of possible sexual content, we’ve yet to see anything more scandalous than a man briefly seen wearing a scrap garment similar to Gollum’s.
And though families will want to be aware of the various spiritual elements that the various god-like Valar may introduce as the seasons continue (as a couple of them play a pretty significant part in the Second Age) even that’s still no different from what we’re accustomed to in The Lord of the Rings. After all, Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron and even the Balrogs are all, in essence, lesser gods who served said Valar.
Tolkien used those fictional gods, of course, to point to the real One, once saying that “The Lord of the Rings is of course of fundamentally religious and Catholic work.” Those religious elements aren’t explicit in his books, of course. And they’re perhaps even less so in the Prime Video series. But Rings of Power remains a story of good and evil, of temptation and sacrifice. And certainly, if so inclined, a viewer can still hear Christian echoes in this fantastical tale.
Aside from some increased violence over the Jackson trilogies, it seems that the biggest issue is just how much creative license the series will take away from its source material. But still, we’ll be the first to light the warning beacons of Gondor should any dangers arise to our audience.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
When Pharazôn begins arresting the faithful Númenóreans, Elendil must flee the city. King Durin’s ring brings forth a horrifying discovery. The Stranger is confronted by another Istar.
Dozens of orcs and elves are killed in a variety of ways: Someone is gruesomely stabbed to death by a mob of orcs. An orc is set on fire. Orcs stab elves, and others are hit with arrows. Elves kill orcs. An elf is tortured, shot full of arrows, stabbed and severely bloodied before succumbing to death. A man dies when he’s impaled in the back of the head by a piece of wood. Someone is crushed by falling rock. Injured dwarves lie on the ground. One dwarf is visibly bloodied. A dwarf is killed by a fiery creature.
The Stranger and the other Istar (a word for the angelic wizards) use supernatural magic. The rings of power heal a couple of elves from injuries. Sauron transforms into various male and female forms. Pharazôn claims that Miriel is in league with Sauron, and he declares all the faithful as traitors. Celebrimbor prophesies about the end of Sauron.
Prince Durin IV and Disa kiss. A woman begins an affair with a man by kissing him.
Celebrimbor forges the nine Rings of Power for men. Arondir arrives to support a besieged Eregion, and Elrond returns to Prince Durin IV to ask for support against the orc armies.
Someone says, “Valar bless you.” A character references Melian, one of the angelic Maiar. Sauron claims that he was tortured “at the hands of a god” by Morgoth. Sauron also claims that people willingly put themselves under his magical influence.
Dozens of orcs and elves are killed a variety of ways, including arrows, swords and explosions. Orcs burn alive, and one poor orc has his head bitten off by a troll. We also see severed heads on spikes.
Sauron bleeds black blood. Galadriel bleeds from her neck. A woman is thrown to her death and gutted by an axe. Catapults launch flaming rocks into a city, decimating it and killing people offscreen. An orc kills a horse. That orc is later catapulted through the air and into a wall, killing him. A pyre of bodies burns. A dwarf is bloodied, and he references other dead dwarves. Elves are magically compelled to kill one another. An orc loses an arm. Some orcs and elves get crushed under a troll’s foot.
A man and woman kiss.
Elendil faces judgment from King Pharazôn for his actions at the Valar shrine. Adar makes a proposition to Galadriel to aid in his fight against Sauron. Meanwhile, Sauron continues to manipulate Celebrimbor and the dwarves at Khazad-dûm.
Tom Bombadil likewise continues to guide the Stranger in his use of magic. He references serving the Secret Fire, a reference to Eru Ilúvatar’s power of creation. A dwarf thanks the Vala Aule. Elendil claims that “faith is not faith if it is not lived.” And when he’s confronted with potential death, Elendil says, “If it is the will of the Valar that my life will be saved, then it will be.” A man uses a Palantír, a wizard’s magical seeing stone, to glimpse the future.
A dead elf’s chest is carved with bloody runes. Arondir slays three orcs with arrows and blade. Prince Durin IV is thrown to the ground.
A man and woman kiss.
King Durin III, who’s given a dwarven ring of power, begins to exhibit signs of greed. The newly appointed King Pharazôn shows his disdain for the reverence of the Valar and seeks to expand Númenorean territory. Meanwhile, Sauron persuades Celebrimbor to craft rings of power for men.
The rings provide their wielders with various powers, including the ability to see through stone and invisibility. Prince Durin IV’s wife, Disa, dislikes the rings, explaining that the ability to hear the mountain is a gift from the Aule, the particular Vala who created the dwarves. Prince Durin IV agrees, claiming that “some devilry” has gone into making the rings. An elf catches a glimpse of the unseen world after putting on a ring.
On Númenor, Elendil becomes a leading figure of the Faithful, those who still hold to the worship of the Valar. They pray for the ousted Queen Míriel, who claims that “sometimes, stillness of heart is the greatest act of faith.” Likewise, they shout “the Valar bless you” to Elendil. Pharazôn sends guards to condemn the eldest shrine in Númenor to make way for the construction of an aqueduct. However, a priest there desires to take a depiction of the Vala Nienna with him. He explains his reasoning, saying, “If she is not stored, the souls for whom she weeps will be lost.” Someone intentionally breaks the statue in front of him.
A character is stabbed through the chest with a sword and dies. People get into a fistfight, and a man is nearly drowned. A man dislocates his opponent’s shoulder. Elendil punches a man in the face.
We hear one use of the British profanity “bloody.”
In this travel-filled episode, Elrond and Galadriel lead a small company to find and warn Celebrimbor (creator of the Rings of Power) that his new helper—the seemingly angelic Annatar—is a far worse influence than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, the bearded Stranger runs into an even stranger character, the ageless Tom Bombadil. Proto-hobbits Poppy and Nori encounter an unexpected village full of folks just like them. And Isildur, Arondir and the mysterious woman Estrid look for Theo in an old, foreboding forest, and they find some very big inhabitants.
All these people run into a variety of frightening and often violent adversaries. Barrow wights—skeletal, zombie-like beings—kill someone by dragging him underground. (We hear snapping and squelching afterwards.) The wights seem, at first, immune from injury themselves. We see them “suffer” sword-and-arrow wounds, but the wights grotesquely reassemble themselves (until their vulnerability is discovered).
One elf battles a host of orcs—shooting, hacking and setting them on fire. A massive thing—seemingly part snake, part tree—drags two people into a bottomless bog of mud and muck before it is dispatched. (“There are nameless things in the deep places of this world,” a survivor says. “This one, we shall call supper.”) A man slaps a halfling, knocking her down. A tree envelops someone before releasing his prey, while a large creature knocks a couple of people around. She and her mate are very upset about the damage done to their forest, reporting an army of orcs “maiming and murdering [trees] as they marched.” A character bears a self-made scar on the back of her neck—apparently to hide a brand from the Orc king Adar. An orc threatens to cut off someone’s thumb. A character is shot by an arrow but is magically healed.
Tom Bombadil, the “Eldest,” clearly has a great deal of power over the natural world, and that power looks quite magical. The Stranger asks Bombadil to teach him magic. When Bombadil refuses, the Stranger asks the hermit to teach him how to wield a staff. “A wizard’s staff is like a name,” Bombadil says. “It’s yours to wield already—if you proved yourself worthy of it.” We see a brief scene featuring a rival wizard—the Dark Wizard of Rhun.
Númenor’s Queen Regent Míriel tries to quiet a disgruntled populace as they mourn the loss of many soldiers. The elf Arondir and Númenorean soldier Isildur reunite. Elvish craftsman Celebrimbor and the disguised Sauron begin crafting rings for the dwarves.
A giant spider rips an orc’s face apart, sending gore flying. A woman stabs a man in the thigh. An orc gets impaled on a tree branch. A man dies after being hit in the chest with an axe. A troll carries a decapitated orc head. Men die after being shot with arrows, and an elf cuts a man’s throat. A man gets beaten, and a woman gets thrown to the ground. Men get thrown far into the air by an unseen enemy. A man stitches another man’s wound. A woman brands herself. Someone stumbles across fresh corpses. We see long-dead skeletons. A woman slaps another woman.
We hear a reference to the Valar, and we see one of their mythical giant eagles. A magical item blasts someone across a room.
The dwarven prince Durin struggles to make amends with his father even as Khazad-dûm descends into darkness. The Stranger encounters resistance on his eastern journey. Elrond struggles to accept the elves’ decision to use the rings of power.
Elrond debates the use of the rings with elven shipwright Círdan, who tells Elrond that the rings, though forged by Sauron, are powers that are in the hands of good people—perhaps a reference to Boromir’s foolish desire to use the One Ring against Sauron in The Fellowship of the Ring. “You are wise to fear this power, Elrond,” Círdan says. “But do not let that fear blind you to the ways it can be used for good.”
Círdan also makes a reference to either the Vala named Mandos (the Judge of the Dead) or the ultimate God of the world, Eru Ilúvatar. “Judge the work, and leave judgment concerning those who wrought it to the Judge who sees all things,” he says.
Meanwhile, Princess Disa of Khazad-dûm sings into the vast caverns of their underground kingdom. She’s a “stonesinger,” and singing helps her to “hear the mountain,” implying a deeper, spiritual force. Villanous Easterlings shapeshift out of moths and use foul magic. Galadriel and Gil-galad have prophetic visions. Círdan uses his ring to cause fish to follow him. The Stranger conjures a massive dust devil which sends people flying. Sauron shapeshifts to deceive Celebrimbor.
In a dream, a man is strangled to death by roots and vines. A falling rock crushes some dwarves. We see the dead bodies of two elves and two horses. A woman cuts her hands in tribute. A rattlesnake is stabbed through.
The elves debate whether to use the rings of power. Meanwhile, the bearded Stranger travels eastwards to Rhûn with proto-Hobbit Nori to learn more about who he is and his purpose. Sauron speaks of being worshipped. He longs to introduce a new power to the world—“not of the flesh, but over flesh. Power of the unseen world.” We hear a reference to the divine Vala named Manwë. Likewise, a large sudden splash of water causes someone to drop an item, and it is heavily implied to be as a result of Ulmo, the Valar of the waters. The Stranger uses his magical abilities to cause a tree to explode.
Someone is brutally stabbed multiple times, reminiscent of the assassination of Julius Caesar. A man is mauled offscreen by a warg. Someone gets stabbed through his chest. Prisoners are whipped and branded. A sea monster attacks and sunders a ship. People inside get pinned below bannisters and drown. Sauron kills and consumes a woman offscreen. An orc’s throat is cut, and someone is stabbed in the eye. A rat dies when consumed by black goop.
Galadriel and Elrond reunite, and Halbrand helps Celebrimbor devise a way to save the Elves. Míriel and Elendil return to Númenor. The Stranger’s identity is revealed as Nori heads after him.
Someone is hit by a thrown dagger. Another few are attacked with magic (and some turn into skeletal figures). We hear a reference to using the restroom. Halbrand is briefly seen shirtless. A character nearly drowns.
The Southlanders struggle to survive the eruption of Orodruin (better known as Mount Doom). Meanwhile, the Harfoots arrive at the Grove, only to find it different than how they remember. Prince Durin must decide between family and friend.
We see the burning aftermath of the eruption of Orodruin: Buildings collapse, both a man and horse are seen aflame and other corpses are seen among the ash. And the survivors carry injuries with them. Of the worst, a man is seen as his leg receives stitches, another man’s face is completely burned and a third man sits with a recently amputated leg wrapped in a bloody bandage.
Wagons are lit aflame. A Harfoot folk song references cannibalism. Durin and his wife kiss.
Meanwhile, we also hear a few discussions regarding good, evil and the will of the gods. “It darkens the heart to call dark deeds good,” Galadriel says. “It gives place for evil to thrive inside us.” Galadriel and Theo additionally discuss the benevolence of the gods’ plan.
“Bloody” is used twice.
Arondir and Bronwyn rally the Southlanders for battle as Adar begins his assault. Meanwhile, the Númenoreans, spearheaded by Galadriel and Halbrand, arrive in Middle-earth.
As battle commences, dozens upon dozens of humans and orcs alike perish via arrows, blades and other weapons. Some people are crushed by falling rocks and other debris. An orc is impaled by a collapsing support beam. An orc’s head is seen impaled on a spike. We see a woman’s throat cut. One orc has a chunk of wood stuck into his eye, and he pulls it out, causing black blood to drip over the face and open mouth of his opponent. A horse is tripped, and others are cut with swords. Someone is stabbed through his hand.
A character has an arrow removed from a shoulder wound onscreen, and we see a lot of blood. Afterward, the wound is cauterized with a fiery stick.
Arondir and Bronwyn share a kiss.
[Spoiler Warning] What was thought to be a mountain erupts, sending flaming rocks and volcanic ash everywhere.
While the Númenoreans begin preparations for battle, Isildur attempts to join the army. Tensions grow between Elrond and High King Gil-galad as Elrond suspects Gil-galad has hidden motives. Dangers test the Harfoot travelers. The Southlanders, led by the one-time healer Bronwyn, debate how to respond to the threats of Adar, the mysterious leader of the orcs. Southlander Halbrand must make an impactful decision.
Wargs attack Harfoot travelers. An orc’s skin bubbles and blisters from the sunlight. The Harfoot Nori is thrown through the air by a blast of magical force. A man punches Isildur. Someone burns a boat, and it explodes. Another person has their throat cut offscreen.
People drink wine. We hear reference to the Valar Aulë and Manwë (prominent god-like beings in Tolkien theology). A man kisses his fiancé on the cheek.
A dwarf starts to say the s-word, but he is cut off.
Arondir comes face to face with the orc leader Adar, who wants him to deliver a sinister message. Galadriel attempts to convince the Númenoreans to fight alongside the elves against Sauron. Queen Regent Míriel, leader of the Númenoreans, has an apocalyptic vision. Elrond discovers a new ore that the dwarves have uncovered.
An orc slashes at someone, striking his leg. Orcs beat each other, and other orcs are killed with swords and arrows (and one’s head is nearly decapitated). We also see the aftermath of an orcish raid on a village: Sheep are seen slain, and a cow’s decapitated head lays on the bloody ground. Adar stabs a dying orc.
Isildur punches a man in the face. A crowd is given wine to drink. In Míriel’s vision, a massive ocean wave destroys Númenor.
While Galadriel and her new companion, Halbrand, are taken to Númenor, Nori and the other Harfoots prepare for their migration. Meanwhile, Arondir is captured by orcs.
Orcs capture and hurt various humanoids, whipping and beating them as they force them to work. A man’s neck is cut, killing him. A woman and man are both killed by a warg (a large, vicious wolf) tearing at their abdomens, gruesomely spilling a large amount of blood. A woman takes a thrown hand axe to her back, killing her. Another person is shot and killed by arrows. Arondir and others strike orcs with their chains, and Arondir stabs an orc and spears a warg.
A gang of men attacks Halbrand, and he fights back, snapping the arm of one of them onscreen and slamming the face of another into cobblestone. A Harfoot reads the ways other Harfoots died at a memorial service. We hear a reference to the Valar.
Galadriel struggles to survive a difficult decision, and Elrond is sent to ask for aid from the dwarves at Khazad-dûm. Nori attempts to communicate with a mysterious stranger, and Arondir explores a tunnel to find its inhabitants.
A man’s foot is broken onscreen, and it is later seen with a deep purple bruise. People are eaten or crushed by a sea monster. A boy smashes a floorboard. Two people fight an orc, and the end result is a decapitation. A dead sheep is seen.
The dwarf Prince Durin burps, and he kisses his wife. There’s also a reference to Aulë, the Valar (a sort-of angelic-god being) who canonically created the Dwarven race. We hear a reference to beer.
“Bloody” is used once.
As Rings of Power opens, much of the world believes Sauron to be a finished threat, Galadriel continues searching for traces of him. Meanwhile, Elrond works to prepare a gift for Galadriel and her fighting force. The Harfoot “Nori” longs for adventure, and the Elven soldier Arondir discovers a terrible threat.
We see a couple scenes of general violence as elves and orcs fight, resulting in people being stabbed and killed. We see dead bodies and a couple bloody scrapes, and one hostile creature is stabbed in the head. A snow troll crushes people with rocks and throws them across a cavern, though they all appear to survive the hits—albeit in somewhat bloody fashion. We see some skulls, and general sorcery is referenced. A dragon bites an eagle.
Galadriel, as a child, tackles a boy to the ground. A cow is milked, and its udders exude a black ooze. A town is burned. We see an unconscious man wearing nothing but a ragged cloth garment around his waist.
“Bloody” is used once.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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