The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas confirmed the first few details of its third season, and it sounds like it will be a departure from previous seasons in one quite faithful way.The Rings of Powerseason 1burst onto screens to a mixed reception, in no small part down to its gung-ho approach to its source material. Amazon Prime Video’s flagship fantasy show is based on the work of British fantasy pioneer J. R. R Tolkien, and season 3 may be about to honor that more than ever.
Rings of Powerhas full rights toThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbitnovelsbut is focused onLord of the Rings’Second Age. This requires touching on other texts, likeThe SilmarillionandUnfinished Tales. While it seemed that this may be hampering the series' faithfulness at first,the show works well within the information that is included in the appendices and has only gotten better reviews as it confirms more connections. In line with this increasing faithfulness, the show will start season 3 following a time jump that respects the source.
The Rings Of Power Season 3 Will Use A Time Skip To Show How Long Sauron’s War Lasts
Sauron’s War Lasted Years In Lord Of The Rings
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, there will be a time jump of several years betweenThe Rings of Powerseason 2and 3, and knowing the lore, this means thatthe show is committed to representing Sauron’s war faithfully. The War of the Elves and Sauron is outlined briefly in the appendices to Tolkien’s magnum opus,The Lord of the Rings, published in three parts between 1954 and 1955. It is also described inThe Silmarillion, published posthumously in 1977. ButUnfinished Talesdetails the years that passed as Sauron overran Eriador in his Second Age rise to power.
Before time
33,537
10,061
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen
4,902
War of Wrath ended
3,441
3,021
Fo.A 1 - unknown
Unknown
Adding a time jump will allowRings of Powerseason 3to embrace the full breadth of Tolkien’s canon, respecting it all from the timeline inLord of the Rings’Appendix B to the detail inUnfinished Tales. Season 2 ends with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) having Eregion sacked and claiming the nine Rings of Men, while the Elf contingent escapes to a suspiciously green and familiar-feeling sanctuary. Season 3 will fast-forward several years to the height of the war. Most likely, this will include Sauron’s march west, ravaging Eriador. Without the time jump, the show may have had to compress the canonical timeline.
The Rings Of Power Seasons 1 & 2 Compressed A Lot Of Tolkien’s Second Age Timeline
The Show Has Used Time Compression To Navigate A Sprawling Story
The Rings of Powerhas compressed a lot ofThe Lord of the Rings’timelineso far to fit Tolkien’s vast and sprawling story of the Second Age into its five seasons in a suitable way. It could have placed the Númenor arc in its actual sequential order, rather than scrambling it completely, but this made sense from a commercial perspective. While Sauron’s war ended in 1701,Pharazôn didn’t claim the scepter in Númenor until 3255. If the show had depicted this faithfully, it would have needed a whole new cast for its Númenor arc.
Sauron began construction on Barad-dûr
1000
Sauron befriended the Elves of Eregion as Annatar
1200
Rings of Power were forged
1500
The three great Elven-rings were forged
1590
The One Ring was forged, Barad-dûr was completed, Sauron openly proclaimed himself
1600
Sauron began to prepare to invade Eriador
1605
The War of the Elves and Sauron began
1693
Sauron invaded Eriador
1695
Sauron sacked Eregion and killed Celebrimbor, Rivendell was founded, the Dwarves assailed Sauron, Khazad-dûm closed
1697
1699
Númenóreans defeated Sauron
1700
Sauron was driven from Eriador and fled to Mordor, first White Council held
1701
Ar-Pharazôn seized the scepter
3255
Sauron became Pharazôn’s prisoner in Númenor
3262
Númenor fell
3319
Elendil and his sons founded Gondor and Arnor, Sauron returned to Mordor
3320
Deciding to portrayLord of the Rings’famous Fall of Númenorstory alongside Sauron’s forging of the Rings meant that viewers could connect with the show’s full cast right from the beginning, giving it the serialized feel that the movies had. The vast centuries between Sauron’s Eregion deception and his Númenor deception would have made the show feel split in two, or episodic. Arguably, this would have been the better approach, but it is hard to say. At the very least, season 3 looks set to honor the whole scale of the War of the Elves and Sauron.
Why The Rings Of Power Season 3 Is Right To Skip Straight Into Sauron’s War Against The Elves
The Time Jump Will Allow Season 3 To Flourish
Just like it may have been hard for viewers to care about characters if they were only introduced halfway through the show’s five seasons,it may be hard for the show to actually televise five or six years' worth of warin Eriador.Especially since there is minimal detail to base it off, even inUnfinished Tales. The show would have had to use some kind of montage to show time passing, which may have seemed even more jarring than a time jump between seasons. It would also entail the waste of the show’s precious eight episodes per season.
Sauron’s War In The Rings Of Power Season 3 Can Explain A Key Part Of 2024’s The Lord Of The Rings Movie
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power could explain something missed by Warner Bros.' LotR movies, including The War of the Rohirrim.
Rings of Poweris committed to showing Peter Jackson’sFellowship of the Ringmovie prologue in its five seasons, ending with Sauron’s defeat during the War of the Last Alliance (The Hollywood Reporter). Eight episodes per season is only just enough to tell this story, which basically covers the Second Age in full, or at least, its notable events. The season 3 time jump will take viewers forward in time from the end of season 2, saving time and also allowing for a dramatic opening that suddenly shocks viewers with how dark Sauron’s rise to power has been.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powernormally finds an angle to justify its decisions.
The show played fast and loose with Tolkien’s timeline since day one, but this may be the most faithful way it has dealt with difficult pacing yet. The show also introduces two ofLord of the Rings’five Istariin the Second Age, which is only referred to in one apocryphal text that constituted a contemplation on Tolkien’s part, rather than a decision. The main book —Lord of the Rings— says they arrived around the year 1000 of the Third Age. ButThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powernormally finds an angle to justify its decisions.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
