The Deep Breath Before the Plunge
Getting ready for the release of Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Like Pippin and Gandalf (Pippin and Beregond in the book) we are all waiting with bated breaths for Something to happen. But thankfully, unlike them, what we’re anticipating is a lot less terrifying than the great assault of Mordor upon Minas Tirith. Something equally exciting, but far more enjoyable. That’s right, my friends, on August 29 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally comes out. It feels like a long time coming. But all the indications are that Season 2 will be well-worth the wait. All the same, I’m very glad the wait is over. I am looking forward so much to revisiting this particular subcreation of Tolkien’s world, which if you’ve followed my work for any length of time was absolutely crucial in reawakening my own love of Tolkien, and in giving me a greater appreciation for all the “other minds and hands” who have brought his world to life. It’s been an adventure, and this season will be the next step.
But as the Stranger told Nori in the finale of Season 1, “Adventures must be shared.” And I am very glad that I am able to share it with all of you, my dear readers. Whether you are a subscriber and get this in your email, or access this as a link because you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Threads, or all of the above, thank you for participating and in adventuring with me. And this goes for everyone, whether you’ve been with me since February 2023 or whether you’ve seen my content in more recent months and decided to hop on the bandwagon. When back in February, on the one-year anniversary of the blog, I summarized my progress there, I had 205 followers on Instagram, 46 subscribers to the blog, 91 followers on Facebook, and 51 on Threads. And look at us now. 260 (last I checked) followers on Instagram, 63 subscribers to the blog (and that’s not counting the folks who follow me on Substack Notes), 185 followers and 145 likes on Facebook, and 222 followers on Threads. I’m still very small fry, nowhere near big enough to attract notice from Amazon for their big events at the premieres and at San Diego Comic-Con (and not even enough to attract trolls, which would be unpleasant). But growth is real. And part of mine is being grateful for the small advances, and to have faith that they will grow into big ones. So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
With that in mind, how exactly will I proceed on this current adventure and in sharing it with you all? This is actually something of a challenge, especially for the premiere. I don’t mind Amazon releasing the premiere at 3 am Eastern, I’m already an early riser. But the problem is that Amazon is making the premiere three episodes. I think I’ll be able to catch them all in the morning before I start my day, but I don’t know; I might have to start with one or two, and finish the rest in the evening. And I’m sure there are other people who will have to wait all day before they can settle down and watch the premiere. With all that in mind, here’s how I think I’ll handle talking about the episodes, both the premiere ones and the rest of the season:
On Friday morning, I'll make a post about the episode on social media, nothing too long, just enough to get my thoughts out.
And then, if I can justify it (so if I can expand my initial social media post to at least 500 words), I'll write an essay and publish that on Sunday or Monday.
And of course there will be an omnibus essay once the whole series is out; whether it covers just Season 2, or how Season 1 and 2 work together to tell a story, I don’t know yet.
I think this is a fair approach. It’ll allow me time to think about the episodes; hopefully it will allow most of my followers time to catch up with them; and for the more official essay on Sunday, that should be time to allow me to collect my thoughts and actually put out the quality work that you all follow me for.
A few other items of housekeeping:
After experiencing the terror of “The Last Ballad of Damrod” and the charm of “Old Tom Bombadil”, we finally got to experience the full soundtrack for Season 2 when it released on August 23. And, just like he did for Season 1, Bear McCreary and the talented artists with whom he worked (including some of our cast like Sophia Nomvete, Rory Kinnear, Daniel Weyman and Benjamin Walker) have created a masterpiece. Available wherever you listen to your music.
We also had the World Premiere in London this past Tuesday. In the immediate aftermath, and just beforehand, we had a new raft of interviews with various members of the cast and crew. Not as many as came out in the aftermath of SDCC (and even more went live after I had published my compilation), but still, enough. So, once again, here’s a compilation of all the ones I could get my hands on at this time:
From Comicbook.com:
On Demand Entertainment had a bunch of 2-3 minute interviews with those who were present, so here’s Morfydd’s:
From SHOWSHA:
From Virgin Radio UK:
From Black Girl Nerds:
From Nerds of Color:
And from Zainab Jinwa, who hosted the World Premiere:
A few text ones as well:
There’s also Morfydd Clark, our Galadriel, to consider. Rings of Power isn’t her only recent project. Starve Acre, her much-anticipated folk horror movie with Matt Smith, recently hit several streaming platforms and will be having a British release on September 6 (I watched it recently, and I had some brief thoughts on it and Morfydd’s performance that I shared on social media). In addition, from September to November she will be starring in two plays going back-to-back, Roots and Look Back in Anger, at the Almeida Theatre in London; no wonder London is the first premiere she’s been able to attend. With all those projects in mind, she was still able to give interviews and be photographed for the following magazines:
NME:
And Wonderland Magazine:
Well, that’s everything. A lot, I know. And that’s not even talking about the first trailer for Warner Bros’ upcoming anime The War of the Rohirrim, which in an appallingly bad business decision was released just the day before Bear’s soundtrack; I have thoughts on it, but I don’t want to overstretch myself so I’m staying laser-focused on the adaptation that is coming out sooner. In three days, remember? I cannot wait. To experience it for myself, to write about it, to theorize about it, and to share my joy with the rest of you. Once again, I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for joining me on this journey. I will see you all around 😊
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Thanks for including all the links! Well done here