“I know you believe this ring is deceiving me. But I believe it is guiding me.” Galadriel soothes in the trailer for The Rings of Power season two, released during San Diego Comic-Con. Those, we must say, are famous last words. To us, it feels like Elrond’s perspective is a bit more in touch with the reality of things. He notes, “In choosing to wear those rings, you have all become Sauron’s collaborators.” It’s hard to argue with that, especially as we see Sauron’s influence spreading across Middle-earth in this The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two trailer—and he is certainly being helped along by a quickly growing number of rings. This SDCC sneak peek at the upcoming season spotlights the rings but also the epic battles, wondrous creatures, deep friendships we’ll see in the upcoming episodes of The Rings of Power.
You can watch the new official The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two trailer below.
Evil is spreading and no one is safe, not the elves, nor the dwarves, nor man. And even more than that, no one is safe from the true evil of Sauron, the turning of hearts and minds to his will. As Sauron famously said in season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he seeks power not of the flesh, but over flesh. And with his new vision of rings, he might just achieve that. As Galadriel more lucidly notes, “He sees himself master of all Middle-earth, he seeks to rule it not only through conquest, but by bending the minds of all its peoples to his own. And for that, he needs not armies, but rings.”
In this The Rings of Power season two trailer, we see the elven rings that were crafted in the season one finale of the series. They were inert then, but now the elves are actually wearing them. Although it looks like the power of the rings has indeed done what was hoped for and kept the light of the Eldar from fading in Middle-earth, what is the cost?
Elsewhere, in Khazad-dûm, another ring makes its appearance in this The Rings of Power season two SDCC trailer, the first of seven dwarven Rings of Power. It seems like King Durin III has put this ring power on his finger as well, and it has dire consequences. We see the king attack his son, our beloved Prince Durin IV, for even suggesting that his father remove the Ring of Power from his hand in in this The Rings of Power trailer. In The Lord of the Rings lore, the dwarves were not as corrupted by Sauron’s evil through the rings, however they did become more greedy and reclusive. It will be interesting to see how the dwarves are impacted by Sauron’s rings in The Rings of Power season two.
Even the seven rings for man make an appearance in this The Rings of Power trailer, as Sauron demands that Celebrimbor give him “The Nine.” It’s all fun and games with the sharer of gifts until he turns angry and vengeful, we suppose. We see a glimpse of Sauron transforming into Annatar in this trailer as well, but surely, his angelic disguise will soon fade to something a bit more evil.
And, if all that weren’t enough, there are other evils to contend with. The Balrog is roaring. The Barrow-wights are looming. The orcs are marching with Adar at their helm. The cult of witches is witching. We even see a young Shelob slithering about. And, of course, more banal evil, like that surely stirring in Númenor, rears its ugly head.
BUT. It’s not all doom and gloom. There are epic battles to look forward to, which we glimpse in the The Rings of Power season two’s SDCC trailer, truly wild-looking clashes between huge armies as befitting The Lord of the Rings. There are also some fun new faces from Tolkien’s lore, such as Tom Bombadil, who is meeting with The Stranger, and Narvi, played by Kevin Eldon, a master dwarven smith who in The Lord of the Rings‘ world helped to build the Doors of Durin.
There’s also what most befits a The Lord of the Rings story: powerful friendship and deep hope. Who among us did not delightedly cheer when Elrond said, “I need your axe, old friend.” And Durin offered, “Fight with our friends!” These obvious call-outs to the Fellowship that forms in The Lord of the Rings and the friendship that lives in a later age between Gimli and Legolas in these Elrond and Durin scenes truly warm the heart. We also get to properly meet the Ents in this The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer. And although these creatures can be fierce, there is a deep wisdom in them that makes us happy to see them. “Forgiveness takes an age.” The Ent tells Arondir. We wonder what that means.
At SDCC, Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay shared the Hall H stage with over a dozen cast members for an incredible panel moderated by the wonderful Yvette Nicole Brown. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Maxim Baldry, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sam Hazeldine, Ema Horvath, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Charlie Vickers, Benjamin Walker, and Daniel Weyman all participated in this massively epic panel. And at the convention, over 6,500 fans were surprised by the unveiling of this brand-new exclusive trailer for the upcoming season. But now we can all enjoy it together.
In short, this is one epic-looking trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. The season premieres on August 29, and we simply can’t wait.