We’re still pretty far away from the launch of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show, but we’ve been thinking about what the show will probably focus on.
We already know several things about the show. Firstly, it’s costing Amazon an inordinate amount of money. So far, the series is reported to have cost Amazon around $1 billion. Making it the most expensive TV series of all time.
We also know that the showrunners returned to New Zealand to film, stating that nowhere else could better capture the “primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle Earth”.
Amazon also confirmed it would set the show during the Age of Númenor, which is more commonly referred to as the Second Age. This covers around 3,400 years of history prior to the films.
Unsurprisingly, this covers a lot of content. Amazon could really take the The Lord of the Rings TV show in any direction it wants. There's a vast wealth of lore to play with, so let’s break it down.
The beginning of the Second Age
What better way to kick things off than with the beginning of the Second Age? The first year of the Second Age saw the foundation built for Mithlond, an Elvish Port city built in the Elven realm of Lindon. Mithlond plays an important role in the film trilogy, as it is the port that Frodo, Sam and Bilbo departed from at the end of the series.
To see Mithlond during its inception would be a great starting point for the series and would mean the TV series would go full circle with the film trilogy. Every good story contains a link between the beginning and end, like The Hobbit to Fellowship. It would also give fans a chance to see the world evolve over time.
It would make sense for the second season to feature Mithlond as it was used as a port by travelling armies taking part in the war against Sauron. So it’s likely the city could act as a meeting hub for numerous characters across the course of the series.
Sauron Rises Again
500 years into the Second Age, that pesky Sauron rose again and started building a presence in Mordor - I wonder what came of that huh? It’s during the Second Age that Sauron built huge armies of Orcs and Trolls. It was Sauron’s quest for power during the Second Age that led him to try and corrupt the elves. Knowing how powerful elves were, Sauron tempted those who listened to him with the Rings of Power.
When Sauron forged the Rings of Power, he also created the One Ring in secret; the ring that would allow him to control the elves who followed him. It’s likely the TV show will explore this arc, as it was one of the primary plot devices in the films. There were sixteen rings all together, some of which were lost, destroyed or stolen back by Sauron. Seeing how the elves tried to hide the rings would make for a great plot device.
War of the Elves and Sauron
The elves weren’t best pleased with Sauron’s plans to deceive them. In SA 1693, the elves declared war on Sauron. The war lasted around eight years and saw Sauron defeated. However, the war left two important cities destroyed, Eregion and Eriador.
If the films are anything to go by, Amazon’s take on Lord of the Ring’s will likely feature a fair few grand battles. The War of the Elves and Sauron is a significant moment during the Second Age to focus on, as it sets everything in place for the film trilogy.
Númenor
We’re cheating a little here, as Númenor was already teased in the show’s official synopsis earlier this year. However, Númenor plays an important role throughout the second age, so it’s difficult to predict how we might see it. One of the largest human kingdoms, Númenor is an island nation in the great sea.
We know it’s pretty likely Sauron is going to play an important role in The Lord of the Rings narrative. In the year 3265, Sauron is taken prisoner at Númenor, and starts corrupting the humans who are obsessed with immortality. This corruption led the Númenóreans on a warpath, as they built vast armies and attempted to claim the right to immortality by force.
This could form a big bulk of the TV show’s plot points, as the rise and fall of Númenor has wide-reaching effects on the rest of Middle-Earth.
We’re probably still some time away from The Lord of the Rings releasing, but there’s so much story and lore to play with here that it could really be about anything. We do know the show will absolutely feature Sauron and Númenor, which is all very exciting.
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