Hunky Sauron returns in the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and though he divided fans during the series’ maiden run, his duplicitousness proves the lynchpin of its superb sophomore outing.
Determined to create additional rings of power and, with them, to manipulate Middle Earth’s numerous races into aiding his quest for world domination, Sauron is a villain of menacing Machiavellian proportions, and Charlie Vickers’ sterling performance as the dark lord drives much of this thrilling saga. Rife with deceptions and betrayals, the latest installment in the J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired prequel is a grand and unnerving showcase for Sauron’s superior cunning, intuition, and gift for treating his adversaries as pawns and rendering them fools—including a legendary craftsman who turns out to be the one dupe to ruin them all.
With these eight new episodes, The Rings of Power, launching August 29 on Prime Video, remains a worthy backstory complement to Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning cinematic trilogy, marked as it is by CGI that brings the diverse realms of Middle Earth to stunning life, intricate plotting that’s rooted in three-dimensional characterizations and a sense of this civilization’s history and lore, and a collection of set pieces that culminate with an all-out war that recalls The Two Towers’ Battle of Helm’s Deep.
