Elves Or Numenor? Rings Of Power S2 Leak Reveals Show May Be At A Crossroads

Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has taken on the gargantuan task of bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age stories to life. For a little perspective, "The Lord of the Rings" takes place in a matter of months at the end of the three-thousand-year-long Third Age. In comparison, "Rings of Power" smooshes the multi-thousand-year-long Second Age into a single, massive story using Tolkien's unfinished notes, much of which was published posthumously.

In other words, the show is taking on a story much bigger than "The Lord of the Rings." Sure, they have five eight-hour seasons to get the job done, which is much more than even the impressively enormous run-time of the extended editions of Peter Jackson's films. Still, there's no doubt that "Rings of Power" is facing an uphill battle when it comes to fitting all of its storylines into, well, its story — and it seems the pressure to get everything in there may already be building in Season 2.

According to a recent leak from fan site Fellowship of Fans, "Rings of Power" is allegedly having trouble choosing which parts of their multi-faceted story to focus on in Season 2. The rumor claims that anonymous sources "close to the situation" have informed the site's team that there is a battle brewing, not just on screen, but between the editors and the producers of Season 2. The sticking point? Whether they should cut out more content from the storylines of the Númenóreans or the Elves.

According to the rumor (which was posted at length and in great detail on the fan site to avoid the confusion of a smaller social media post), there are two primary parties debating over how to cut down Season 2 footage at the moment. The report reads, "It has been revealed that the editors REMOVED and edited out a lot of important Numenor scenes and moments. The Rings of Power production team and producers did not agree with this and have asked for in the next round of editing for these episodes to now PRIORITISE a lot of the Numenor scenes when they have to cut down the individual episodes in order to meet the general run time requirements."

The fan site adds, "This has revealed a big difference of opinion between the editors and producers about how much Numenor we should see in season 2."

In essence, the debate (if the rumor is true) appears to center on whether the show should continue to prioritize the Elvish storyline or not. The Elves were a big part of Season 1, and the season ended with the forging of the Three Elven Rings. Speaking with Looper shortly after the first season ended, show writer Gennifer Hutchison explained that the emphasis in Season 1 was on the Elves. That's part of why they decided to have the Three Rings forged first — even though, in the story, they come much later.

Heading into Season 2, the question is, do the Elves remain in the spotlight, or do we get a shift to more of a focus on the Men of Númenor (who end up playing a pivotal role in the events of the Second Age)? It's up to the editors, producers, and production team to figure out the answer.

However, it's disappointing to hear that such a basic item as the narrative focus is up in the air this far into the editing process. It isn't surprising, though, considering how many storylines Season 1 introduced all at once. Consistently throughout the first eight episodes, viewers were whisked between plots centered on the Dwarves, the Harfoots, the Elves, the Southlanders, the Númenóreans, and even the Orcs. Heading into Season 2, it makes sense that they would want to reign things in. But the story may already be a little too big to do that effectively.

Fellowship of Fans did clarify that this isn't a feud or fight between the show's creative teams, saying, "From our understanding, we would also like to clarify that this isn't a toxic BTS fight and battle between the two sides but more of a discussion and dispute between skilled professionals at work."

Here's hoping the groups in question can figure out the best path forward and create a second season of the show that draws fans in without overwhelming them with details (something that is far too easy in J.R.R. Tolkien's world) in the process.