The new season 2 featurette of The Rings of Power hides some big secrets in plain sight – here are 6 of the best
Possible spoilers follow for The Rings of Power season 2.
The Rings of Power The Season 2 release date is fast approaching and Amazon is busy ramping up its marketing campaign in preparation for the return of its most-watched TV series.
Indeed, we didn’t just get an epic new teaser – check out my article where I break down the details The Rings of Power Season 2 official trailer – recently, but we also got a new behind-the-scenes video to go through. Check it out below:
After watching it, I’m sure you’ll agree that there are some interesting insights and revelations hidden in the nearly four-minute Prime Video featurette. From the big reveal about other returning faces from The Rings of Power From Season 1 to the occasional confirmation of a subplot, here are six of the biggest hidden details.
1. Kemen, Theo and Eärien return in season 2
While I expected three The Rings of Power‘s younger cast members – Kemen, Theo and Eärien – to return for the show’s second season, we had not yet received confirmation that they would do so. Indeed, the trio was noticeably absent from The Rings of Power the first teaser of season 2 and were also nowhere to be seen in the official trailer.
Thanks to the latest behind-the-scenes video, we know they’ll be there. The three characters are seen at various points in the edited footage.
2. Gil-galad goes to war
Season 2 of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings prequel series is shaping up to be a darker, creepier, and more action-packed chapter than its predecessor. As for the latter of those three, there will be more large-scale battle sequences—and few will be as spectacularly grimdark as The Siege of Eregion, which I’ve long predicted would be the tentpole battle of season 2.
As part of that bloody and brutal conflict, it looks like we’ll see High King Gil-galad take up arms and enter the battlefield. We’ve had a hunch he’d be making an appearance this season – actor Benjamin Walker teased him picking up his legendary spear Aeglos in a November 2022 chat with Nerdish. Based on the two brief glimpses we get of Walker in elf armor in this featurette, it appears that will be the case.
3. March of the Ents
The Rings of Power The official season 2 trailer confirmed that we will see an Ent – The Lord of the Rings‘ sentient, tree-like creatures – in one of Prime Video’s best shows next outing. But we’re likely to encounter more than just a lone Ent, with Theo actor Tyroe Muhafadin hinting that we’ll see multiple Ents in the show’s latest episode.
4. Queen Regent Miriel, the Sea Worm and the Trial Run
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Season 2’s Númenor storyline involves a giant sea monster that we’ve seen briefly in both trailers. Some fans and commentators have suggested that this is merely a younger version of the Watcher in the Water, whom Frodo and company battle outside the Mines of Moria in The Company of the Ring.
That theory is wrong, though. As I said in my official Season 2 trailer, the water beast is actually a sea worm – and thanks to this new behind-the-scenes video, we not only get confirmation that it’s a is a sea worm, we also know what role he will play in the coming season.
Essentially, it is used in what is known as a Númenórean Sea Trial. Those who are alleged to be guilty of some form of crime and/or sin must wade into the lake where the Sea Worm lives to face it. If they are innocent of the charge brought against them, it will not kill and/or eat them.
Given what we know about this season’s Númenor-based subplot – that Ar-Pharazôn will attempt to usurp Queen Regent Míriel, who currently sits on the Númenórean throne – I suspect that Míriel will have to prove her innocence after Ar-Pharazôn accuses her of some form of wrongdoing. We’ll see soon enough if I’m right.
5. Orchestrating a little individuality
One of my biggest gripes with season 1 is that there was a distinct lack of individuality within the ranks of Adar’s orc army. Considering that there were a few orcs and Uruk-hai who displayed distinct personalities in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings And The Hobbit film trilogies, that was a bit of a disappointment.
But it looks like Season 2 will right that wrong. We know there will be at least one named orc – Glûg, who will be played by Robert Strange and appears to be Adar’s lieutenant-in-chief. Let’s hope there are more unique orcs playing a role, big or small, this season.
6. Adar’s merciless trump card
First revealed by rich magazine and later teased in the main trailer for Season 2, a new breed of trolls – the Hill Troll – will make their debut in The Rings of Power. The towering, monstrous figure we encountered in both cases is named Damrod, who is also known as the ‘Eater of Dragon Bones’. Sounds ominous.
Anyway, it seems that Adar is recruiting Damrod for his attack on the city of Eregion, but Damrod – like the Mumakil in The Return of the KingThe Siege of Gondor/Battle of the Fields of Pelennor – will be used at a later stage in this conflict, especially if the tide turns against Adar’s forces.
Damrod, then, looks set to become Adar’s fearsome and merciless asset to the group. Tat has said that he will have little respect for soldiers on either side of the battle, meaning that he is just as likely to kill his orc comrades as he is to slaughter elves. This will not please Adar’s orc warriors and could lead to an orc uprising against their ‘Allfather’ if they feel that his decision to send Damrod into battle resulted in the unnecessary deaths of their orc brethren.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power debuts exclusively on Prime Video on August 29.