A huge Lord of the Rings battle is adapted over 3 episodes in The Rings of Power season 2, and the showrunners say it took a year of planning

Aug. 27, 2024

Exclusive: The Rings of Power co-showrunner Patrick McKay teases the multi-episode scale of the Siege of Eregion

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The Rings of Power season 2will adapt a huge battle from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings as the Siege of Eregion takes center stage. Spanning three episodes and a huge scale, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne say their version took a year of planning to bring to the screen.

“The Siege of Eregion is the big climax at the end of season 2,” co-showrunner Patrick McKay teases to GamesRadar+. “It starts in episode 6, goes through 7 and goes deep into 8, and each sequence is a different phase of this battle. Siege battles take place historically, not over a night or a day, but over months, and we wanted you to feel the weight of that, we wanted you to feel the layers of each of that.”

However, while the scale of the battle will be huge –including over a thousand actors in orc make-up– McKay says it’s all completely character-driven. “It’s not just action for action’s sake,” he continues. “It’s not three episodes of wall-to-wall action. It is a battle that spans three episodes and within that, there’s an enormous amount of emotion. There are some amazing performances. All of our storylines and characters are sort of coming together.”

Elrond (played by Robert Aramayo) is key to the Siege, having been sent by Gil-galad to liberate the city, and will be a huge focal point in the later episodes. “Elrond goes this season from being a politician to being a warrior and a general, and if you know anything about the lore, the results are ultimately going to be tragic,” McKay teases.

“Rob’s performance is absolutely spectacular and stirring, we’re really excited for people to see. So it is epic in scope and required a year of planning and preparation and many weeks of shooting. But hopefully it’s quite emotional and even intimate at times when you actually strap in and watch.”

While the siege will mostly concern the fallout of Sauron’s manipulation of Celebrimbor in Eregion, other stars of the fantasy show are keen to tease how huge the conclusion will be. Prince Durin star Owain Arthur tells us that it’s “epic”, while his co-star Sophie Nomvete, who plays Disa, says from what she’s seen it will be “haunting”.

Meanwhile, Isildur star Maxim Baldry teases the momentum that drives the show’s sophomore season. “Season 1 was very expositional, we had to set up a lot of characters, we had to set up a lot of worlds,” he adds. “In season 2, we are right in the thick of it. We’re in the middle of it and it’s just driving, there’s a force for a lot of the episodes. There’s a battle over three episodes, it’s just expansive, it’s energetic, and there’s just anxiety, and it pulls you on this journey.”

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The Rings of Power season 2 begins with a three-episode premiere on August 29, read ourThe Rings of Power season 2 release scheduleto not miss an episode.

For more, check out our guide to thebest shows on Amazon Prime Video, how to watch theLord of the Rings movies in orderand our breakdown of theLord of the Rings timeline.

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I’ve also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

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