The Second Season of the Second Age

I do not understand how people say this show isn't like Tolkien. There's so much going on, I forgot about an entire continent of people between seasons. It is packed full of characters, settings and societies that match the feel of Tolkien's work.

Sorry purists, but we can't have Silmarillion The Series.

1) Because they only have the rights for the stuff in the Lord of the Rings appendices.

2) Because the time span is so incredibly huge, even with Elves it would be impractical.

and finally

3) Because it would be an incomprehensible mess.

In Rings of Power, there are multiple storylines going on but they all have touchpoints where you can see either how they affect each other, or at least hint at how they will eventually come together.

There are a great many individuals, fitting for such a mythological scoped tale, but there are "focus characters" because that's more important to help the audience follow the narrative in a visual medium than when reading. 

It keeps to Tolkien's idea of absolute good and evil, but also provides more than one dimensional characters working through personal issues to get a focus on which side they are on.

Tolkien was an amazing world builder, but he was much more concerned with the mythology, languages, history and settings than individuals, leading to blanket descriptions of races and such. They can't film actual elves dwarves and orcs, they can only cast humans. Humans come in a variety of shapes and colors, and picking the best individual for each role means sometimes ignoring those blanket descriptions to provide the highest quality performance.

Like the first season, the show rewards paying attention. There's a lot going on. This is not a "glance at your phone while watching" adventure. I stopped doing that immediately because doing so meant I needed to rewind. 

The series has increased the balance between epic scale action scenes and intimate character moments. Both the story and cast are developing in measured, but engaging and complex ways.

There are two cool connections to the Third Age that is the more well known era of Middle Earth. 

A) Seeing living breathing evidence of civilizations and peoples that are only referenced in Lord of the RIngs time. 

B) Seeing how those more well known people, places and things of The Third age evolved and came to be. 

Sauron comes into his own as the true mastermind villain in this season. He is shown as a unparalleled manipulator, true to his reputation. Everyone that helps him thinks they are acting of their own volition and in their best interest. While there are times he uses powerful illusions and other magic to get his way, much of the time he is far more subtle and insidious. Those moments are masterfully shown.

We finally got Tom Bombadil in an adaptation!

And, true to his book version, he doesn't fit in at all, but has a light and entertaining side that is clearly masking immeasurable power. 

And once again, Rory Kinnear really reminds me of his dad's sense of fun in a part. 

The Elves are beginning their transition from main civilization on Middle Earth to their ending age, but they still have a few more key locations to masterfully build. 

The Dwarves are loud, boisterous, and argumentative, but an overall force for good as well as being a giant hoot.

The Orcs are monsters, but monsters that have a few layers to them. 

Proto-Hobbits are shaping up to be as surprising, resilient and unexpectedly important as we know their future versions to be.

The Istari are mysterious, powerful, and not quite an accurate fit for this world. 

And the Men are beginning to make a mark on the continent, for good and ill. 

All around, an excellent and exciting new lens into the world of Middle Earth at a different time than we are used to seeing.