Middle Earth rises once again with the airing of the show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The Amazon Prime exclusive is a prequel to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, and has been growing significantly in popularity. Episodes aired until Oct. 14, concluding the eight episode season. 

The original films take place during a time called The Third Age, while The Rings of Power takes place in the Second Age. Sauron later comes in to manipulate the elves into making the Rings of Power. The hope is that fans get to have insight into the buildup of Sauron rising to power from a follower of Morgoth to the biggest and baddest evil Middle-Earth has seen. 

The show has seen positive feedback overall so far, scoring an 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. At Riordan, faculty and students have also taken the time to watch the show. 

Colleen O’Rourke, STEM program and science teacher was initially skeptical of the show and its outcome, but said, “so far I have been very impressed with the show, it has definitely exceeded my expectations. The characters are very well written and acted, the visuals are jaw-dropping, and it has just the right balance of grounded humor , quick action, and high mystery to keep me engaged.” 

Mario Giron ’23, also watched the show and commented, “The show is a pretty good watch, and while I had low expectations coming in I’m pretty surprised with everything it has to offer and more.” 

The Rings of Power has been  quite the success thus far, with the second season having been confirmed. Regardless of initial input from viewers, it is still very early to determine the success or failure of director J.A Bayona and the return of Middle Earth.