Prime Video’s The Rings of Power is back with its second season. The hit fantasy drama is primarily based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings novel series. This makes one wonder where the events of the series fit into the overall timeline of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth universe.
Considering that there are already two film trilogies set in the same world – The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – the timeline of The Rings of Power only gets more confusing. Well, we are here to help you out.
The Rings of Power Timeline: The Show Takes Place During the Second Age of Middle-earth
The Rings of Power takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth, a period that lasts over 3,400 years. This age comes after the First Age, which lasted about 6,000 years, and before the Third Age, where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit happen. The Second Age is an important time in Tolkien’s world, marked by the rise of Sauron, the creation of the Rings of Power, and events that set the stage for the Third Age.
The show tells the story of how the Rings of Power were made, which happened around the year SA 1500. However, the series has condensed the timeline, which means it combines events and characters that, in Tolkien’s original works, happened far apart in time. For example, characters like Elendil and Isildur, who are important much later in the Second Age, appear early in the show.
This makes it possible for both immortal characters, like the elves Galadriel and Elrond, and mortal characters, like Isildur, to be part of the same story without long time gaps. The creators of the show decided to condense the timeline to make it easier for viewers to follow and connect with the characters. If they had stuck strictly to Tolkien’s timeline, only the elf characters, who live very long lives, could be in every episode.
By adjusting the timeline, the makers aimed to keep the essence of the Second Age while making the story more engaging. The series also shifts some events out of their original order. Season 1 covers Sauron’s actions from about SA 50 to SA 1500, with hints at future events like the downfall of Númenor, which originally happened much later, around SA 3261 and SA 3319.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 airs new episodes on Prime Video on Thursdays.
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