The thrills rise in season 2 of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power"

Audio By Carbonatix

In my review of season one of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, I noted that the Amazon program marked "a commendable and solid return" to  the beloved world J.R.R. Tolkien created. Fortunately for viewers, season 2 ups the tension and drama leading to a stronger and more memorable sophomore year.

While the first season — which introduced dozens of characters and a number of seemingly-disparate storylines — only hinted at the show’s potential, the second season makes it clear how strong the program can be.

 At the conclusion of the first season, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) discovered how truly duplicitous Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) could be just as the first set of rings were being crafted by the naïve Lord Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Many of the other characters on the show were dealing with the rise of evil in the realm while Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), two halflings, went on an adventure with The Stranger (Daniel Wyman), a nomadic wizard who chose good over evil as the season concluded.

The second season has raised the stakes for all of these characters as the story’s conflicts come into greater focus. While the first season felt like an appetizer, this one feels more complete and more filling. Now that the players have been reintroduced, the showrunners have seized the opportunity to show how these individuals deal with the harsh realities they are faced with.

It's here where the show depicts the growing power of the rings and how individual characters react when faced with the power of good and evil. There's a struggle within these figures and the program wisely shows how many of them are tested. From King Durin III (Peter Mullan) to Lord Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to the malicious Orc Adar (Sam Hazeldine), the show builds these characters more fully by showing how they react to the life-altering events of the new season.

It also builds on the story of Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his wife Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), two standout characters from the first season who provide some comic relief in the story but also prove to be one of its greatest assets. This couple feels like the beating heart of this new season as they struggle to adjust to the changing behavior of their King, Prince Durin's father.

There are many different players on the stage here and the entire cast is solid. However, Aramayo and Ismael Cruz Cordova do stand out in this second season as the noble warriors, Elrond and Arondir.

Like in the first season, the visuals of this second season are particularly spellbinding. This is a gorgeous-looking program and it's obvious that Amazon has invested heavily in bring this breathtaking world to life. Additionally, the second season offers bigger battle sequences with hundreds of characters facing off against each other in a few epic scenes.        

Although I liked the first season, this second season stands out far more as the characters grow, the adventures broaden and the story grows more compelling. There are still a lot of characters on the board here. Because of that, there are a few that still don't stand out and in this new season, a few character twists and deaths don't ultimately have the impact they should.

That being said, fans of the first season and the cinematic series will likely be thrilled by this strong second season, which shows how thrilling this show is capable of being.