The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Season 2 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, the Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and forge the legendary Rings of Power, threatening to bind all peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Season 2 plunges its most beloved characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find his or her place in a world on the brink of calamity.

Season Review

Season 2 continues the previous season’s pattern of prioritizing modern identity themes over fidelity to the source material. Casting decisions introduce non-canonical race-swapped characters in key roles and the narrative focuses on a critique of traditional fantasy structures. The core moral framework established by J.R.R. Tolkien is significantly undermined. The show explores the villain Sauron through a central dynamic that carries a strong, intentionally toxic, alternative sexual subtext. Elven and Númenórean cultures are stripped of their established spiritual foundations and presented through a lens of moral ambiguity. The main female protagonist is slightly adjusted from her earlier, more extreme 'Mary Sue' portrayal but maintains her non-canonical 'Girl Boss' status as a preeminent warrior and political force. The most significant shift is the push toward moral relativism by depicting traditionally evil races like the Orcs as sympathetic victims of civilizational persecution by the 'good' kingdoms.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics9/10

The production relies heavily on the non-canonical casting of characters based on immutable characteristics. The design for the series is fundamentally an effort to address the fantasy genre's perceived 'overwhelming whiteness.' Non-white actors are placed into roles traditionally understood to be white within the source material, a practice critics note as 'race-swapping.' The narrative structure itself exists to validate this form of demographic 'diversity and inclusion' (DEI) messaging.

Oikophobia8/10

The season promotes the 'Noble Savage' trope through the treatment of the Orcs, depicting them as a marginalized people who simply want a safe place to raise their families. The Orcs are framed as victims of persecution, which blurs the moral lines of good and evil and suggests that the 'civilized' Elves and Men are the oppressive antagonists. This deconstructs the moral clarity and traditional heritage of the source material's 'home' cultures.

Feminism7/10

The core female protagonist, Galadriel, continues to function as an all-powerful warrior-commander who drives the plot and instructs male characters. Her character remains a 'Girl Boss' archetype, despite some slight moderation to her 'Mary Sue' elements from the previous season. Other major female characters are presented in historically masculine positions of power, such as the Queen-Regent Míriel, and Elven women are shown among the front-line warriors, violating the canonical gender-role distinction in the source text.

LGBTQ+8/10

The pivotal relationship between Celebrimbor and Sauron, in his Annatar guise, is intentionally framed and widely interpreted as a toxic, manipulative queer-coded relationship that drives the central plot of the Rings' creation. This non-canonical dynamic centers an alternative sexual ideology at the heart of the story, with a showrunner having previously confirmed the show would feature LGBTQ+ characters and themes.

Anti-Theism9/10

The show is criticized for its pervasive moral relativism, where the distinction between good and evil is vague and subjective. The Númenóreans, who are explicitly monotheistic in the source material, are presented as polytheistic, constantly referring to 'the gods.' This deviation replaces the foundationally Catholic-inspired transcendent moral order with a pagan, power-dynamic-focused spiritual vacuum.