Why THE RINGS OF POWER Underscores Good Versus Evil in Season 2

Published: September 3, 2024

Why THE RINGS OF POWER Underscores Good Versus Evil in Season 2

By Movieguide® Contributor

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER showrunners and executive producers Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne are diving into their complex character analyses in Season 2, which came out Aug. 29.

“We’re really interested in a universe where there is ultimate evil and there is ultimate good,” said showrunner and executive producer Patrick McKay, “but that doesn’t mean it’s that easy for everybody who lives within it.”

“Good and evil are very clearly defined in Tolkien[‘s] [work], and he has a very strong sense of right and wrong, and that’s present in all the work,” he continued.

The show’s misunderstood villain, Sauron, wants to rid the world of his past mistakes and creations by cleansing it. But he is clouded by his personal pursuits, even if there is some “good” in them.

“Sauron is the ultimate utilitarian,” showrunner and executive producer J.D. Payne said. “He knows exactly how to heal Middle Earth and no matter who he has to betray, killing everyone else is just standing in the way.”

Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron said about his character’s story, “ Tragedy is when he realizes it’s too late to redeem himself.”

Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:

Episode One of Season 2 of THE RINGS OF POWER on Amazon Prime starts with what happened to Sauron before he met Galadriel. After being betrayed by the orcs, he changes form and emerges as Halbrand. Then, he meets Galadriel, an immortal elf, when he’s shipwrecked. Cut to the end of Season 1. Galadriel has a disagreement with Elrond about whether the three rings of power recently acquired by the elves are tainted with Sauron’s evil. Meanwhile, the young hobbit woman, Nori, travels with the Stranger as he heads West to recover his memory.

Episode One of THE RINGS OF POWER: Season 2 shows how cleverly Sauron is able to warp the desires of elves and other creatures to suit his own evil designs. The episode encourages people to make sure they’re doing the right thing and not to be easily swayed. However, the opening scene is very violent. Happily, the violence in the next two episodes isn’t as strong. That said, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for the violence in the first scene of RINGS OF POWER: Season Two: Episode One.

McKay confessed that Sauron isn’t the only character who wants to do what’s right but missteps along the way.

“The characters I always find myself the most drawn to are characters who aspire to do the right thing by doing the wrong thing,” McKay said. “That struggle is a struggle that I think we love the idea that almost every character in our show could grapple with at some point.”

Payne said, “Drama can be really instructive for us when we can sort of see our own flaws in someone else and maybe have a way to think about recalibrating. These are Tolkien’s characters, and we wanted to take cues from him in how we reimagined them for the story.”

The Gospel Coalition said, “Refreshingly, the contrast of good and evil, light and dark is clearer in season 2 than in season 1, where we got murky, theologically questionable lines like ‘Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness.’ By contrast, season 2’s central quote comes from Celebrimbor, who seeks to remind the Elves as they consider how to defeat Sauron: ‘It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still light endures. And it is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.’”

Círdan’s advice to Elrond is also worth noting. Elrond is afraid of the power of the rings, as the responsibility of their holder is much to bear. He thinks only of the great evil that can be done through the rings.

Círdan tells him, “You are wise to fear this power. But do not let that fear blind you to the ways it could be used for good. For it is not your enemy that bears these rings, but your most trusted friend. If you believe they have strayed, do not abandon them but rather open your eyes and guide them before the darkness spreads across Middle Earth and blinds us all.”