“The Lord of the Rings” series: Five things the trailers reveal

“The Lord of the Rings” series
Five things the trailers reveal

Amazon’s big fantasy event “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is just around the corner. In just over a week, on September 2nd, the most expensive series of all time will start on Prime Video. Relatively little is known about the plot of “The Rings of Power” – but several official trailers and some Twitter videos provide a number of clues that allow conclusions to be drawn about the history of the series.

First for a rough orientation: Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series takes place in the so-called Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson’s legendary film trilogy. The focus of the ensemble cast is a female protagonist, the elf Galadriel (Morfydd Clark, 33). The Welsh actress takes on the character from two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (53), who played the immortal elf in the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy from the early 2000s.

In addition, an official synopsis for the Amazon series already reveals that the forging of the so-called rings of power will also feature, as well as the strengthening of the villain Sauron, who was only seen as a massive, disembodied eye in Peter Jackson’s films. However, by the time of The Rings of Power, Sauron still has a body.

But what do the trailers reveal about the mysterious plot of the upcoming series?

Galadriel seeks mates – and continues her brother’s fight

The latest trailer for the series, which was only released yesterday, begins with Galadriel’s sentence: “My brother gave his life in pursuit of our enemy. His mission is mine now”. Viewers see Galadriel’s brother – believed to be the Elf Finrod – on his deathbed. In a previously released “Featurette” video titled “Tales from the Legendarium,” actress Clark talks about the character she plays: “Galadriel has searched for this elusive, undiscovered but very real evil in Middle-earth for over a thousand years”.

The elf, who acts in formidable armor in Amazon’s series and is said to resemble a warlike Amazon in places, wants to protect the peoples of Middle-earth from a new evil, the villain Sauron. In the featurette video just mentioned, co-showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay reveal: “We knew from the start that [Galadriel] couldn’t do that alone. Every good quest needs companions” – which of course alludes to the title of Peter Jackson’s first “The Lord of the Rings” film “The Fellowship of the Ring” from 2001. Here Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf and others form the nine-strong community of the rings.

So Galadriel says in the latest, final “Lord of the Rings” trailer: “Help me. Our encounter was no coincidence”, while some of the main characters of the series – like Elrond (Robert Aramayo, 29), Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) and Durin IV (Owain Arthur, 39) – looking at the camera. Therefore, sooner or later, a community will probably form against Sauron in Amazon’s five-season series, with Galadriel at the center.

Viewers get to know what would become Mordor before it was devastated

A short promo video published on Twitter establishes the so-called “Southlands”, which later became Mordor. In the Second Age, in which Amazon’s series is set, the Dark Lord Sauron has not yet seized the Southlands as his dominion. The land is still green, but the people who live there formerly aligned themselves with Sauron’s former ruler, Melkor, fought under him – and were defeated.

Because of this inglorious past, elves monitor the poor southerners. They want to make sure that the residents of the area “do not rejoin the dark side,” as “The Rings of Power” actor Ismael Cruz Córdova (35) puts it in the said Twitter video. In the later Mordor one of the central storylines from season one will also play: The Elf Arondir, embodied by Córdova, has a forbidden love affair with the human healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi, 42).

The island kingdom of Númenor offers excitement à la “Game of Thrones”

Another central location of the new “Lord of the Rings” series is the island kingdom of Númenor, which has often been seen in the trailers and promo videos. Also in the latest trailer, the blonde elf Galadriel visits the state. A Twitter video posted by Amazon introduces the place as a “civilization at the height of its power.”. Númenor is also a “civilization of seafarers”.

The island lies in the sea between the Immortal Lands of the Elves to the west and the continent of Middle-earth to the east. Like its geographic location, the people of Númenor are torn within. Some stick to “old Elvish magic and Elvish traditions,” as actress Ema Horvath (28) reveals in the video. The other half of the population wants to break away from the elves and go their own independent way. At the time of the action of “The Rings of Power,” Númenor is at a “tipping point,” as the video puts it. Viewers can probably expect political intrigues and power struggles in the style of the HBO hit series “Game of Thrones”.

The elf Elrond and the dwarf Durin IV share a special friendship

Another preview video on Twitter focuses on the Elf Elrond. He is embodied by Robert Aramayo, who also appeared as a young Ned Stark in “Game of Thrones”. Like Galadriel, the immortal Elrond also appears in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” films, set thousands of years later – here embodied by Hugo Weaving (62).

There is a special connection between Elrond and the dwarf Durin IV (Owain Arthur) in “The Rings of Power”. The Elf says in the Twitter video: “I swore an oath to Durin never to reveal the secrets of his people”. However, the relationship between the two is also “very complicated”, as Aramayo puts it in the preview video.

In what form does the villain Sauron appear in The Rings of Power?

As already mentioned at the beginning, everything in Amazon’s series will ultimately come down to a fight against Sauron. In the Second Age of Middle-earth, however, the Dark Lord is a shapeshifter – and known by the name Annatar. He can change his outer form at will and thus deceive other characters.

An actor for Sauron has not yet been officially confirmed. In this regard, Amazon is extremely cautious before the start of series production. Just a short Twitter video aptly titled “No one is safe” tune in to evil in Middle-earth. The name Sauron is also mentioned in the clip.

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