[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episodes 1-3.]
The Ents are coming to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, and those mythical creatures aren’t the only big swings of the new episodes.
Bringing these walking, talking trees to life (voiced by Jim Broadbent and Olivia Williams) was no easy task, co-showrunner Patrick McKay and executive producer Lindsey Weber tell TV Insider in the video interview above.
It took a year for the special effects team to complete its magic on the giant and endearing creatures, which star Ismael Cruz Córdova says above have a different look than the Ents seen in Peter Jackson‘s films — characters the actor adored and can’t believe he gets to share scenes with new in this new JRR Tolkien adaptation.
“If I had nothing else to do in this season, I would’ve been OK with just doing that one,” Córdova reveals. “I’m so grateful that I get to introduce the Ents in this season.”
The Ents make their debut midway through Season 2, in the same episode as Rory Kinnear‘s Tom Bombadil — a Tolkien character never before seen onscreen. He sings in the episode, which McKay notes is the season’s other big swing that they felt the pressure to pull off.
Tom will be seen with Daniel Weyman‘s Stranger, who was last seen in a Rûhn dust storm that blew harfoots Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) into the air in the Season 2 premiere’s three-episode drop (streaming now on Prime Video, with eight episodes total this season). The rest of their journey to figure out the mystery of the Stranger’s identity will require bravery from all three of them. The actors share how these friends press on in the face of danger this season in the video interview as well.
Benjamin Walker‘s King Gil-galad is also taking big swings in the second half of the season — swings of his famous spear, Aglos, to be specific. The Elf king is seen fighting off Orcs during the Siege of Eregion in the most recent trailer. The regal figure didn’t get in on any of the action in Season 1, but that all changes this time around. Learn what Walker wanted to bring out in Gil-galad’s style of combat above.
As for the Orcs, there are moments this season when they’re oddly gentle, but not for long. McKay and Weber confirm that their arc in this series is meant to show how they became the vicious creatures enslaved by Sauron that we know them to be in the Third Age of Middle-earth.
Additionally, Córdova, the breakout star of Season 1, explains how he’s upping the ante with his thrilling stunts in this installment. If stunts are your favorite thing, there’s no one on TV currently performing more exciting ones.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Thursdays, Prime Video