Prepare yourself for the return of the "ring".Amazon today announced the release date of the upcoming "Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power" Season 2, a teaser trailer and story description (May 14) inaugural pre-presentation for advertisers

The "Ring of Power" Season 2 trailer will bring Sauron's story to all the dangers of Middle-Earth. Preview the devastating rise. Season 2 premiered on Prime Video on Thursday 8/29 and will air weekly.

The trailer reads, "The ancient and powerful evil is back!"From there, the elves Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) wield their swords in a tense face-to-face encounter with an unknown attacker. Then Galadriel realizes that Sauron "has been here among us all the time" — hidden under the guise of Halbrand (Charlie Vickers). Now the Dark Lord, at all costs, is seeking to regain his identity and force. 

The official description of Prime Video is:

"In Season 2 of The Rings of Power, Sauron is back. Driven out by Galadriel and without troops or allies, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of a ring of power that will allow him to unite all the people of Middle-Earth into his sinister will. Based on Season One's epic scope and ambition, the new season challenges each to plunge even the most beloved and vulnerable characters into the rising tide of darkness and find their place in a world increasingly on the brink of disaster. Elves and Dwarves, orcs and men, Wizards and Harfoots...Friendship is strained and the kingdom begins to destroy, and the forces of good, most of all...Struggle braver than ever to hold what is important to them to each other."

Amazon is the only company in the U.S.R.R.The right to adapt some of Tolkien's works alone has paid 250 million dollars and has spent millions on production. "The Rings of Power" is set in the 2nd era, thousands of years ago in one of Peter Jackson's film trilogy.

"The Ring of Power" debuted on May 9. In 2022/1/1, Season 1 was watched by more than 1 billion viewers worldwide by the end of the year, making it Prime Video's most-watched series to date.

The news of this Season 2 comes a few days after details were revealed about the upcoming "Lord of the Rings movie" The Hunt for Gollum." 

Given how much Amazon has spent on "Rings of Power," they probably want a more positive response than my view.

Season 1 produced a reaction from lukewarm to complete disgust. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has 83% of critics and 38% of critics. As noted in the reviews at the time, the show built the world well. But it struggled to build characters. "The Ring of Power" clearly wanted to make Hafoot as likeable as the Hobbit, but Nori Brandifoot (Marquela Cavener) was neither Frodo nor Sam. And her connection to the rest of the story seemed tenuous. Ditto for the forbidden romance between the Elven soldier Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) and the human healer (Nazanin Boniadi). 

Let's hope season2 maintains its excellent production value while increasing emotional stakes. Chances are good as Sauron emerges from hiding and seeking the ultimate power.