As with every popular adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings will always come under scrutiny. Fans did this for the Peter Jackson trilogy, as well as The Hobbit prequels. The magnifying glass has only gotten bigger thanks to Prime Video.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is already two seasons deep. It is a very polarizing property in how it has been tweaking the lore and the timeline. With that in mind, here is a ranking of the 10 most controversial episodes that broke canon to tell a condensed story for TV.

10

The Rings of Power Gave Morgoth a New General

Season 1, Episode 3, “Adar”

“Adar” revealed someone usurped Sauron’s spot once Morgoth was destroyed. The orcs kidnapped Arondir (a new Elf created for the show) and was taken to meet Adar. The latter was a leader who wanted to create a world for his “children” to be accepted. Tolkien lore never humanized the orcs like this.

Rings of Power Details

The orcs (as well as the Uruk-hai) were always seen as vile monsters who wanted to conquer Middle-earth for dominion. But, per Adar’s words, he was their salvation as they sought refuge and a place to live in peace. It made Sauron even crueler in a domestic dispute arc that reminded fans he’d never see these creatures as anything more than slaves.

9

The Rings of Power Added Two Shocking Romances

Season 2, Episode 7, “Doomed to Die”

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The Tolkien books had Elrond marrying Galadriel and Celeborn’s daughter, Celebrían. Elrond and Galadriel were merely colleagues. However, Rings of Power Season 1 suggested there was a romance brewing as Elrond seemed to pine for her. In “Doomed to Die”, Elrond kissed Galadriel when she was taken prisoner by Adar. It was part of a scheme to slip her equipment to break her chains.

Elrond and Galadriel’s kiss set the internet on fire, as there could be no arc with Elrond someday marrying Galadriel’s daughter without coming off as creepy. In addition, Sauron romanced Mirdania (Celebrimbor’s assistant) and used her death to take over the forge. The books didn’t have her, or Sauron (as Annatar) using a crush in a power play, or deploying his blood as a mithril substitute to make the rings. Sauron showed a more cerebral, adaptable edge in this episode.

8

The Rings of Power Gave Galadriel’s Kin a Darker Destiny

Season 1, Episode 1, “A Shadow of the Past”

“A Shadow of the Past” opened the show and had Galadriel confirming her brother, Finrod, died fighting Morgoth’s forces. Finrod had a mark on his body that spurred Galadriel to go after Adar. To make matters worse, her husband, Celeborn, never came back from battle, so he was assumed dead.

In source material, Celeborn didn’t go missing and Finrod’s team was caught infiltrating Sauron’s lair. They all died there, with Finrod perishing fighting a wolf. Finrod’s body didn’t become a clue for Galadriel. He did reincarnate in Valinor, however, giving him a more endearing ending versus the cold depiction in the show. Furthermore, a new arc is added: Galadriel refusing to go to Valinor, which is done so she can end up meeting Halbrand at sea.

7

The Rings of Power Unveiled a New Friendship and a Mithril Retcon

Season 1, Episode 2, “Adrift”

“Adrift” had Elrond leaving Eregion to go to the mines of Khazad-dûm. His leader, Gil-galad, wanted him to seek the Dwarves’ help to fortify an alliance. Elrond and his friend, Prince Durin IV, played a rock-breaking game called Sigin-tarâg. The prince was angry Elrond wasn’t there for key moments in his family’s life, however, including his children being born. This competition showed how frustrated Durin was over Elrond popping up when he needed help.

In the books, Elrond and Durin weren’t close. The show created conflict and had King Durin III not wanting his son to work with Elrond, as they decided to hoard mithril. This episode tweaked mithril as an ore found on Middle-earth to an ore specifically found in these mines. It was the byproduct of a battle between an Elf and a Balrog over a Silmaril that got caught in a tree. Lightning hit the tree, which sent the mithril into the caves, which is a huge deviation to give the Dwarves’ empire more importance.

6

The Rings of Power Subverted Númenor’s Pillars

Season 1, Episode 4, “The Great Wave”

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In the Tolkien stories, the Palantir was a crystal ball made by the Elves of Valinor. It held great power, allowing them to communicate with others who had crystal balls. They could peer back in time and make educated guesses about the future. “The Great Wave” changed things massively. Queen Tar-Miriel of Númenor used a secret Palantir that her late father had.

She saw her kingdom being destroyed by a tidal wave. The show created this to spur her to use her army and go to the Southlands to fight Adar’s forces. This opened up the arc for her cousin, Ar-Pharazôn, to start plans for his own coup. This episode also brought up Pharazôn’s hatred for Elves. In the books, this would only occur once Pharazôn seized power and got corrupted when he imprisoned Sauron.

5

The Rings of Power Gave Galadriel a New Mission

Season 1, Episode 5, “Partings”

“Partings” had Galadriel working with Miriel and Númenor’s legion. Along with Elendil, they took a batallion to join the Southlands war, even as some of the Númenor citizens complained. They didn’t want to be drawn into unnecessary bloodshed.

This didn’t happen in the books. This entire Southlands war is fabricated for the show against Adar’s forces. But most of all, Galadriel never allied with Númenor like this. She wasn’t a prisoner at all, not alone, nor with Halbrand. It’s a tweak to give her and the queen empowering moments together.

4

The Rings of Power Gave Mordor and Miriel a New Twist

Season 1, Episode 7, “The Eye”

“The Eye” gave Mordor a new origin. In the source material, it just existed as a dark region where Sauron’s power was increased, and where he could forge his One Ring. This finale, however, had his minions opening up a dam using a sword, causing Mount Doom to explode. The destruction of the Southlands to shape a territory that he could call the lair of Mordor.

This also led to a new change for Miriel: she became blind as the ash and soot from the volcano hit her. The show did this to play on the idea of the Palantir and her thirst to see tomorrow being a Catch-22. It drew more sympathy towards her, and pushed dissidents back home to view her as an unfit queen.

3

The Rings of Power Changed Retconned the Rings

Season 1, Episode 8, “Alloyed”

In lore, the Dark Lord Sauron hid out as Annatar at Celebrimbor’s forge. The show adjusted things by confirming Halbrand was Sauron, firstly. That identity never existed in the books. Secondly, Halbrand then became Annatar, infiltrated, and made the three rings for the Elves in the show. He had place his corrupting essence into the mithril, as well as some parts of Finrod’s dagger.

In the books, Halbrand made rings for Men and Dwarves first, and the dagger wasn’t included. Galadriel’s ring alone had mithril in the source material. To top it off, Celebrimbor was the one who made the Elven rings on his own. The ring alloys and composition aside, the timeline was shifted. This gave the show leeway to build towards Sauron battling Galadriel and steal the rings that Celebrimbor eventually made for Men.

2

The Rings of Power Changed Key Players

Season 2, Episode 8, “Shadow and Flame”

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In Tolkien’s lore, the “Gandalf” name wasn’t a deep mystery, nor was it connected to the Harfoots. The Rings of Power Season 2 finale had the Istar finding his staff and going to Rory Kinnear’s Tom Bombadil. He took influence from the nickname the Harfoots have for him: “Grand Elf.” He somehow assumed his real name is “Gandalf,” to which Tom obliged. The books never had any of this. Secondly, in the source material, Tom was a magical being who helped shelter Frodo’s team for a bit.

Gandalf suggested he was a friend who wouldn’t be corrupted by the One Ring, but he was too lackadaisical to join their mission. After The Return of the King, Gandalf would check in with his friend again. “Shadow and Flame” tweaked this, by having Tom becoming Gandalf’s mentor to fight the Dark Wizard centuries earlier. This gave Tom more purpose and agency for The Rings of Power Season 3. Another change brought the Balrog up to the Second Age to kill King Durin III, when lore had it killing King Durin IV thousands of years later in the Mines of Moria.

1

The Rings of Power Created a Game-Changing Civil War

Season 2, Episode 1, “Elven Kings Under the Sky”

This premiere set the tone for more major changes. It had Adar and his orcs betraying Sauron and murdering him once Morgoth fell in a scary flashback. Sauron would survive, take form as Halbrand, and later, plot to shape-shift into Annatar and make the other rings at Celebrimbor’s forge. This never happened in the books. Adar didn’t exist in the Tolkien stories and Sauron didn’t have orcs wanting him dead.

They were all loyal, thinking he was Morgoth’s rightful heir. This successor drama was just done to add tension, and make Sauron bitter and cruel, hence why he would kill Adar later and force the orcs back under his thumb in the finale. On top of that, this show had a power-hungry Cirdan betraying Elrond and taking the three Elven rings to Gil-galad. In the books, Cirdan was more measured and wary of the rings. All of these alterations would reshape Middle-earth for longtime readers.

Both seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are streaming on Prime Video.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Release Date

September 1, 2022

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Showrunner

John D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Louise Hooper, Charlotte Brändström, Wayne Yip

Directors

J.A. Bayona, Sanaa Hamri

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