In Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the story picks up where Season 1 left off. Nori and the Stranger journey to the Eastern land of Rhûn, while Isildur is presumed dead in Middle-earth. The Númenoreans, including Elendil and the recently blinded Queen Míriel, return to Númenor. Arondir aids the displaced Southlanders, and Prince Durin faces conflict with his father, King Durin III. Meanwhile, Galadriel grapples with the revelation that her friend Halbrand is actually Sauron. The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2: Episodes 1-3) Review So far, this season is a Frankenstein’s Monster of plot contrivances stuck together by Knievel chasm-leaps of logic. As middling performers espouse a 7th grader’s attempt at Tolkien pros, and unlikeable characters perform uncharacteristic actions, The Lord of The Rings has been gloss-filtered into a sepia-toned billion-dollar soap opera. WOKE ELEMENTS Orcs Are Victims Perhaps nothing so clearly illustrates the showrunners’ complete lack of understanding of the source material, so much as this debacle’s portrayal of orcs. No longer are they evil monsters created for no other purpose than the destruction of everything good. Now, they are unwitting victims who want nothing more than to raise their families in peace, far away from the men and elves who would persecute and murder them for no other reason than the way that they look. Modern filmmakers’ constant desire to blur the lines between good and evil and right and wrong is what makes this woke. Orc mother and father lovingly cradling their baby More Victims Last season’s girl bosses are this season’s persecuted victims of toxic masculinity. Low T In addition to the evil machinations of only male characters, one of the main and most overly dramatic subplots so far has been that of the estrangement between King and Prince Durin. A strong, independent female dwarf constantly reminds them that they are nothing more than stubborn and foolish men who need to hug… which they do after having a good cry. DEI Nothing has changed here. Every nation is still a multicultural hub. The post The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power (season 2) first appeared on Worth it or Woke.