Lord Of The Rings: Rings Of Power Comic-Con Trailer Breakdown


We've been given yet another trailer for Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Prime Video's upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show and this one is longer and more packed with details and clues than either of the teasers that came before it--which is certainly saying something, because those earlier teasers weren't exactly withholding in the big moments they shared.

This time around, we get an even better look at the machinations of Sauron in the Second Age--though we can't be certain if we're seeing him or some of his cohorts in the flesh in these clips. We also get some better looks at a handful of the newly created characters that are original to the show, like Theo, a young boy who may have a big destiny ahead of him, and Arondir, an elf who seems to get in trouble with Orcs on the regular.

Familiar faces are around, too--Rings of Power will heavily feature Galadriel and Elrond, and we get to see them plenty here, with Galadriel's harrowing visions of death and destruction at the hands of Sauron in the spotlight in multiple scenes.

Check out these tails we were able to pluck out of the trailer, along with our best guesses about what they might mean in the bigger context of the show.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power hits Prime Video on September 2.


1. "We thought the war, at last, was ended."


Galadriel is talking about the War of Wrath here, which was where the Host of the Valar fought against Morgoth. The struggle lasted more than 40 years and effectively ended the first age of Middle-earth.


2. "Today, our days of peace begin."


Elrond and Galadriel are obviously pretty happy to have come through the fight, and Galadriel is getting some sort of crown of commendation. She's surrounded by heavily armored knights so it may have something to do with her military rank.


3. Why can't we be friends?


Elves and Dwarves were not always as tensely combative with one another as we see in the friendly rivalry between Gimli and Legolas in the Peter Jackson trilogy. Once upon a time, they were friends and allies, and we see Elrond, Gil-galad, and Durin IV (among others) breaking bread here.


4. Children? Elf children??


We're not sure who these kids are--or what they are, but it would be absolutely bizarre for them to be Elves, considering the life cycles of Elves are extremely long and can be drawn out for tens of thousands of years. There's a chance these are human kids, but their stark white clothing is giving us pause.


5. Setting sail


It looks like there are some elves setting sail here, which could potentially be setting sail to or from Middle-earth. But based on the timeline in play here, we're going to guess that this is a group of Elves heading toward Middle-earth after Melkor and Ungoliant laid siege to the two trees of Valinor.


6. Sadoc Burrows


Our first up close and personal look at Sir Lenny Henry's Sadoc Burrows in action, and he's warning about the skies being strange--which is obviously true, because the next thing we see is…


7. The comet


We've seen it several times in several trailers but the mysterious comet crash landing in Middle-earth is going to play a major part in this story.


8. A Palantir


Galadriel and Miriel have some business with a Palantir, a seeing stone, which is forecasting some terrible visions of the future. During the Hall H panel at Comic-Con, a clip was shown of Galadriel being taken to Numenor in chains, which could precede this meeting--though the two of them seem much friendlier than we'd expect if Galadriel were indeed a Numenorian prisoner.


9. War, darkness, and the fall of men


The Palantir show Galadriel visions of terrible destruction, which we've seen briefly in other clips prior to this one--but given the context of this scene and the fact that the conversation seems to be happening between Galadriel and Miriel, it's pretty likely that what we're seeing is the destruction of Numenor when Pharazon's manipulations (aided and pressured by Sauron's influences) kickstarts a chain of events that ultimately lead to Numenor being literally struck down by god.


10. Galadriel in mourning


It's possible that this blonde Elf man we see Galadriel mourning in a brief clip here is actually Finrod, her brother, who was captured and killed by Sauron after he attempted to disguise himself as an Orc.


11. Morgoth?


This strange blonde man appears a handful of times in the trailer and we're not entirely sure who he is--but we've got a good guess. It could be Morgoth, AKA Melkor, known as the First Enemy. A rebel Valar who was a primordial evil source most active in the First Age who would go on to inspire and lead Sauron himself. Alternatively, given the timeline here and some wiggle room with events and chronology, this could be our first look at Sauron in the flesh.


12. "Beyond darkness, tempting shadow."


The voice over here is in reference to the downfall of Moria, after the Dwarves dig too deep and too aggressively and inadvertently awaken the Balrog who we catch a glimpse of at the end of the trailer. Tempting shadow, indeed.


13. To bury us beneath the mountain


Durin IV is likely talking to his father, Durin III, here. He's got some legitimate concerns about his kingdom


14. Sauron cometh


This chunk of the trailer is dedicated to the looming threat of Sauron's rise--we see all sorts of spooky imagery, including an ominous castle, a storm, and eventually, even an old man who demands to know if Theo (Browyn's son) has heard of Sauron. We also get some quick shots of spooky, icy runes and dark magic in here. We're still not entirely sure if we're going to see Sauron in the flesh this first season or if we'll just be treated to Morgoth in flashbacks, but it's obvious that his presence is going to be felt everywhere.


15. Orcs!


Theo isn't out of the woods yet--he gets a very Jurassic Park feeling moment with an Orc who seems to be after him. Unlucky.


16. Gurthang?


We're not totally certain what this magical sword that manifests out of shadow might be--or what its relationship to Theo will ultimately end up being but it might be Gurthang, a reforged version of Angelachel, a sword forged by the Dark Elf Eol. Gurthang comes up in the Silmarillion as the prophesied weapon that will kill Morgoth. This is all just a guess, though--the weapon we're seeing here could be totally new.


17. "Find the light."


It seems like this line of dialogue is coming from Bronwyn to Theo, which could further imply some big heroic things coming in Theo's future. Both characters were invented for the show so it's difficult to guess where they might be going.


18. The shadow


Those big scary gauntlets sure look familiar--like they're deliberately evoking the shape and style of the Ring Wraiths, maybe? And the Orcs here are bowing their heads in reverence, so maybe this is our first actual look at Sauron in person.


19. Halbrand


Another new character for the show, this is a great shot of Halbrand--wearing armor or heading into some sort of crowd or event. We can't be sure what the context is, we don't know a ton about him yet.


20. Miriel, holding…something.


Miriel, the queen regent of Numenor is carrying something here and it looks suspiciously like a swaddled infant--though we're not quite sure what that could mean or imply. It could also be an object draped in some kind of shroud.


21. Sea monster!


Orcs and the Balrog aren't the only creatures skulking around Middle-earth. Here we see Galadriel swimming away from some truly monstrous fins.


22. Tensions are rising


"There can be no trust between hammer and rock," Durin says in voice over as we see quick glimpses of soldiers gearing up for battle. The peace of the Second age is obviously hanging in the balance and tensions between various races and communities are skyrocketing--enough, perhaps, that the temptation of powerful rings might seem like a quick and easy way to help assuage the fears of worried people on the brink of war.


23. "You have been told many lies about Middle-earth."


Our spooky blonde friend is back--Sauron? Morgoth? Someone else? We don't know. But he has a message to share about the "lies" surrounding Middle-earth. As he speaks, he sends a golden leaf to burn.


24. Balrog!


Then, a moment later, we get our first look at the Balrog.


Filed under: Video Games

Top

No Comments »

Leave a Reply




Back to Top