A great deal of excitement and speculation has surrounded Amazon Prime's The Lord of the Rings TV series, dubbed The Rings of Power and now is the time to try it for yourself. The second season is set to premiere on August 29 through Amazon, but until August 28, it can be found streaming on another platform than Amazon Prime Video.
Who can watch it?
Samsung's own news site reports that there is an exclusive offer that marks a first for a Prime Video series. This will be a fairly widespread opportunity, as "Samsung TV and Galaxy owners in the US, Canada. Brazil, the UK, and Germany can discover Season One of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on-demand for free, only on Samsung TV Plus."
They note that never before has Prime Video made a first season available for streaming without a subscription and 300 million screens might be used to enjoy the production. It will also be available globally in select regions through the Samsung TV Plus channel.
What can we expect?
According to the Samsung article, the series "has captured the imagination of audiences worldwide with its rich storytelling and breathtaking visuals... explores the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic adventures of elves, dwarves, and men as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth." It is not necessary to have read any Tolkien to follow the plot and enjoy the stories.
That is not to say that the series has no ties to works that others have loved for decades. Fans of The Lord of the Rings will recognize many faces Far from forming the Fellowship of the Ring, Lord Elrond is a councilor to the High King of the elves. Galadriel is the commander of the northern armies and relentless in her quest to defeat Sauron. Isildur, who will one day cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand and claim it as his own is a young man who is struggling to find his place iin the hosts of Numenorian warriors.
Set alongside this are the tales of series original characters. "Concerning Hobbits" is part of the introduction to The Lord of the Rings and introduces us to the forerunners of the hobbits, but it is in this series that we meet the nomadic Harfoots who went before the inhabitants of the Shire. In the Southlands, a single mother who has befriended an elf faces an enemy that threatens her son's life and endangers her way of life. Lord Halbrand comes from a similar region and holds grudges against the orcs. We know of the dwarves of Khazad-Dum, but Durin comes with a loving wife and exasperating children. Most intriguing of all is The Stranger, who falls from the sky in a blaze of fire and has no idea of who he is.
The stories are extrapolated from the Appendices to Tolkien's saga of the War of the Ring, but it fills in the gaps of the Second Age. The titular rings don't make an appearance until the end of the season and a major setting, Numenor, is the island swallowed by the sea in The Silmaillion. Apart from the Queen Regent having visions of this calamity, the first season shows the man stoking the fires of tension who will someday bring about Numenor's downfall.
This offer is only available through August 28, so now is the time to check it out and find something to enjoy in Tolkien's fictional world.