Rings of Power The first two episodes premiered on Prime Video and were a resounding success. But, at the same time, in the unknown. With divided critics, baffled fans and many questions, Prime Video’s great storytelling experiment has a long way to go. Particularly because the producers decided to tell a story that takes place – not adapted – at a difficult historical moment in the literary saga.
After Peter Jackson’s trilogy provided a detailed look at the Third Age, production in streaming decided to return to the past. So much so that you can get to the very beginnings of some of JRR Tolkien’s greatest tales.
As a result, the argument Rings of Power he’s had to make some big decisions about what he’s showing. The events that preceded the history of the Ring of Omnipotence are barely outlined in the work of the British writer.. Most can only be read in a famous book Silmarillion. Although also in unfinished stories, essays and indirect references to tragic, epic or painful events that affect the main work.
If you’re having trouble fully understanding the complexity of the story the series is trying to tell, here’s a basic guide. One that includes the times, places and characters that can be included in the production, down to the most prominent moments.
History of Middle-earth and its features
Tolkien’s work is temporarily divided into Four Ages, which are equivalent to Ages separated by situations of great complexity and importance. The so-called First Age includes the creation of everything that is connected with reality and the world in the mythology of the writer. It ends with a cataclysmic event called the War of Wrath, in which Morgoth (the absolute evil) was defeated. Previously known as Melkor, he was the Valar or lesser god associated with the god Ilúvatar.
The fire against such a being united Men, Elves and Valar to protect themselves from Melkor and eventually cast him into the timeless void. Which not only prevented him from attacking again, but also put an end to the protracted confrontation with the hosts. Another consequence was the reconfiguration of Middle-earth, which reached a geography that later became definitive.. Apart from the creation of new civilizations through Arda, what is the name of the world in Tolkien’s poems dedicated to this event.
The Second Age begins with the founding of the Gray Havens by Cirdan, a Teleri elf. At the same time, Lindon was founded in the region west of the Blue Mountains, this time by Gil-galad, an important elven leader. Nonetheless, The Second Age is defined by what happened on the Isle of Numenor.. Territory ceded by the Valar to the people, called the Dunedain.
The Numenoreans/Dúnedain were blessed by the gods with intelligence, a much longer lifespan than the rest of their kind, and a sophisticated culture. The Valar allowed them to go to Middle-earth on one condition. They could not touch and could never reach the Undying Lands, the continent at the edge of the World, beyond the great ocean of Belegaer. As the name suggests, it was a place inhabited only by eternal beings, so mortals were not accepted on their lands. The prohibition came to awaken the ambition of men. So much so that the Valar will eventually disobey.
The origin of the monster called Sauron
At the same time in Mordor, east of Gondor, a being was plotting to bring back Morgoth. It was Sauron, the Maia (an entity created by Ilúvatar to help the Valar form Arda) who started a rebellion. So much so that he became a dangerous creature with the same destructive impulse as his master.
Disguised as the magnificent Annatar, Sauron became close to Celebrimbor, the smith of the elves. He manipulated him into forging the Rings of Power as a “gift” to the high elves and humans. Secretly, he did the same to another magic stone, which would allow him to control the others. But the elves discovered the plan in time to prevent Sauron’s reign. However, the creature gave the rest of the rings to the dwarves and people. The first resisted its pernicious influence. Human kings, on the contrary, turned into Nazgûl.
Despite the relative failure of his strategy, Sauron gained power and clashed with the inhabitants of Middle-earth in the so-called War of the Elves.. Events accelerated, and the twenty-fifth king of Numenor, Ar-Pharazon, intervened in the conflict to contain the incarnation of evil. But this was another trick of Sauron. Having been captured and taken to Numenor, he seduced the inhabitants of the island and promised them eternal life.
With the support of a sophisticated population of splendid men and under the influence of evil, Ar-Pharazon attempted to lead his Númenórean army into the Undying Lands. Then Ilúvatar intervened. He turned Arda from flat to round so that no one could sail to the holy places and flooded the Isle of Númenor. Sauron fled the tragedy to Mordor and again hid in the shadows.
End of the Second Age and farewell to elven power
The Second Age ends with the decline of Elven influence in Middle-earth. In fact, several events were mixed, including that an important citizen of Númenor managed to escape its sinking. It was about Elendil, who remained true to the will of the Valar. It was this leader who, with his family, sailed to Middle-earth to found Gondor and Arnor.
Sauron, once again fortified, clashed with both kingdoms. Elendil, along with his sons Isildur and Anarion, resisted. They also joined forces with the mighty elf Gil-galad to forge an alliance between the peoples and once and for all resist evil.
The war dragged on for decades and ended with the siege of Barad-dûr. With his father and brother dead, Isildur became the tragic hero who cut the Ring of Omnipotence from Sauron’s hand. This one particular event destroyed the creature’s physical form and ended the Second Age. However, the son of Elendil failed to destroy the magical artifact that opens the gates to the Third Age.
