The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Season 2 Episodes 1, 2 & 3

What’s it about?

Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the series follows an ensemble of characters, including elves, dwarves, mankind and harfoots, who all live during the Second Age of Middle Earth. Meant to be a time of peace, the characters are met with the re-emergence of evil as the Dark Lord Sauron rises to power and the rings of power are forged.

The facts

• Developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay
• English as well as fictional languages Elvish and Black Speech
• Runtime: Three episodes have been released which are approximately 76 minutes long. Another five episodes will follow.
• The Rings of Power are mentioned in the Lord of the Rings appendices, but characters and some storylines are brand new to the Tolkien world.

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Prime Video. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Violence and scary scenes

Violence is shown during battles, which includes sword fights, archery and hand-to-hand combat and often against scary-looking creatures, such as orcs, Wargs and trolls. Injuries are shown and sometimes are bloody but not graphic. The orcs often ooze black blood from their mouths or spurts from their wounds after they have been stabbed or sliced. Some of the strongest scenes include:

• In a flash back a character is stabbed in the head with a crown and then repeatedly stabbed by a group of orcs until he dies.
• A pile of blood slowly morphs into a black worm-like monster and then into a human. It devours rats, bugs and finally a person in order to get into a human form.
• In a flash back a huge water worm creature with fangs attacks a boat and smashes it to pieces
• A character is beaten repeatedly with weapons in an attempt to make him talk.
• A character is attacked by a Warg (wolf-like creature). His screams are heard off screen
• A character wakes up trapped in a web. Large spiders attack him and his horse.

This type of violence and scary images are likely to be shown throughout the rest of the season.

Update: Episode 4 Season Two

While both seasons have featured magic, this one seems to embrace supernatural elements even more than The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. In the latest episode, "Eldest," a group of Elves battles in a dark, sinister forest against skeletal, ghost-like creatures emerging from caves. These creatures attempt to drag the Elves away with chains. This could be quite scary for younger viewers.

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau? - Blog
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 - Content Breakdown