‘A great place to jump in’: ‘Rings of Power’ co-creator weighs in on season 2

Don’t be overwhelmed by the richness of the Tolkien lore going into The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In an interview with The Mary Sue, co-creator Patrick McKay and executive producer Lindsey Weber argue that you don’t need much experience to join the Rings of Power party on Amazon.

“If you haven’t jumped in the pool yet,” McKay says, “and if you’re new to the show or if you’re new even to Lord of the Rings, season 2 is a great place to jump in. You can watch a two minute recap [of The Rings of Power season 1] and quickly get up to speed, because season 2 starts with a bang and then just keeps on going. There’s twists and turns and creatures and action scenes and, death defying escapes and psychological thriller aspects in every single episode. It’s a great place to jump on board.”

Now I, Leah Marilla Thomas, won’t tell you to not watch the first season of The Rings of Power. I personally wouldn’t go so far as to recommend you skip right to season 2. But I get what McKay is saying and appreciate his enthusiasm. He’s like an English teacher promising his students that they’ll love Hamlet because of all the stabbing. He’s not wrong. All of the best Lord of the Rings adventures are equal parts hanging out with cherished friends and epic adventure. Sometimes it’s dwarves singing. Other times it’s elves reminiscing. And sometimes it’s all-out war and characters getting themselves out of tricky fantasy situations. The Rings of Power is no exception. If you want to take McKay’s word over mine, that’s fine. I just hope you go back and watch the first season eventually. It’s really lovely, and I’m not afraid to say it!

This may seem out of left field, but I’m reminded of something chief content officer of The Walking Dead Scott Gimple said in a Q&A about the spin-off The Ones Who Live. When asked if audience members who’d quit TWD could enjoy the spinoff, he hit on something that I’ve been trying to convey for a while. “I am of the age that Star Wars is foundational, but you know Star Wars started in the middle of an epic. There was so much history that we just heard about […] that intrigued and got your imagination going, but you didn’t exactly know what they were talking about. Nor was it critical that you did.” We know what Ben Kenobi is talking about when he references the Clone Wars now, but people didn’t in 1977.

The point is that casual fans are welcome! And stop calling yourself casual! Fans are fans. Executive producer Lindsay Weber gave us an elevator pitch for The Rings of Power. It works for anyone who has at least seen The Lord of the Rings. Do you remember the phrase “one ring to rule them all” from the trilogy? That’s all you need to know. “If you’ve ever wondered why Sauron might need rings,” she says, “you’re gonna find out why, and watch them get made and see how it happens this time.” That pitch works whether you start in season 1 or jump to season 2 to see what the fuss is about. See? It’s simple.

Even if you don’t know the Maiar from the Valar, you can jump into this series. I certainly don’t have every one of Tolkien’s letters, appendices, Unfinished Tales and/or The Silmarillion memorized. People hem and haw about having to do “the homework” a lot these days—watching every piece of media in a connected universe, or knowing every piece of lore. But that hasn’t always been a requirement for enjoying geeky stories, especially when it comes to high fantasy! We’re all permitted to choose our own levels of engagement and relax a little. It helps that said high fantasy is, as McKay says, as full of thrilling moments as The Rings of Power. This series has spiders, eagles, ent-wives, barrow-wights, AND Tom Bombadil. Now I sound like the cool English teacher.