The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season 2

Two years ago, Sauron's true identity was revealed towards the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power by the vengeful Galadriel - an odd characterisation in an extremely uneven interpretation of the lore from J.R.R. Tolkien's incomparable fantasy world. Along with the Harfoots, an elf, an amnesiac wizard, and Numenor's top politician, these stories form the basis of Sauron's masterplan, in which he resorts to his most ingenious disguise yet: a simple blonde wig.

No, I'm not going to be like that. Sauron is one of the few aspects that actually worked for me this season, with Charlie Vickers being convincing as Middle-earth's master manipulator - this time under the name Annator - and felt like the show's only working thread. Otherwise, we're back in the tangle of superfluous characters, lost potential, and forced long-winded dialogue about the light of hope and overwhelming darkness. It's very clear that Amazon would rather have a new Game of Thrones this time, rather than a faithful Tolkien epic. Death, torture, discord, betrayal, manipulation and other misery become central themes in the making of The Rings of Power, which feels as distanced from Tolkien's lovingly tailored world as it can be. It probably says a lot about the one-dimensional heroes of the series when the deformed orc leader Adar turns out to be the most sympathetic. Go, Team Mordor!

What kept the first season alive was its constant guessing games about the true identities of Sauron and the wizard, but now that Sauron's identity has been cleared up, you're mostly left with the leftovers and the majority of the stories can best be described as filler. For example, Isildur, Harfoots and Arondir could easily have been cut without affecting the main story in the slightest and the show would probably have benefited from trimming down the Numenor politics as well. One of the bigger draws here is still the dwarf Durin, the character who most resembles Peter Jackson in terms of acting and make-up - although his conflict with his greedy father tends to get repetitive.

Those who disliked Galadriel can probably also take comfort in the fact that she is not as crazy anymore and has basically swapped roles with Elrond. Galadriel is now the one who doesn't completely oppose Sauron's magic rings, while Elrond becomes the one who doubts the Dark Lord and literally becomes the hero of the season in shining armour. A strange decision, but one that at least shakes up the character dynamic somewhat. Another bright spot is Tom Bombadil, a legendary Tolkien character who manages to inject some mystery and warmth into an otherwise chilly show. So, there are quite a few bright spots, which are unfortunately overshadowed by a lot of nonsense and long drawn-out scenes that rarely lead anywhere.

Towards the last two episodes of the season, however, something unexpected happens. There's a spark, the show picks up speed, and there's a hell of a lavish battle that lasts for two macabre episodes - and suddenly I'm hooked again. Sure, it's still riddled with oddly contrived scenes and a lack of logic, but the psychological aspect actually works unexpectedly well here. The last two episodes, flawed as they were, made up for a lot of the season's duller side-tracks. At least it's significantly better than The Battle of the Five Armies!

It's a strange show. There are still fundamental problems when it comes to recreating Middle-earth's past, and at times it can get downright frustrating. It's still hard to really define this as a The Lord of the Rings series given that it has far more in common with George R.R. Martin's work in terms of tone and violence. At the same time, the Sauron focus is so strong and the climax so sensational that the series somehow managed to land on its feet in the end - even if the journey there has been turbulent at best.