What is the Second Age of Middle-earth? Rings of Power timeline explained

Now included in that timeline is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime Video’s hit show based on Tolkien’s work, which takes place in the Second Age.

Set thousands of years before Frodo Baggins sets out from The Shire, and just as long from Bilbo Baggins’s similar journey, The Rings of Power occupies a currently unseen on-screen part of Middle-earth.

When chatting about the formation of the series with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Patrick McKay said: "We were not interested in doing a show about the younger version of the same world you knew, where it’s a little bit of a prequel.

"We wanted to go way, way, way back and find a story that could exist on its own two feet. This was one that we felt hadn’t been told on the level and the scale and with the depth that we felt it deserved."

While season 1 took us from cross-country journeys with proto-Hobbits, called Harfoots, to the great Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, and even deep down into the mines of Khazad-dûm, season 2 will continue this extraordinary journey with even greater depth and scale.

Where does The Rings of Power fit in the Lord of the Rings timeline?

The Rings of Power is set in what is known as the Second Age of Middle-earth, or the Age of Númenor.

Lasting 3,441 years, this age runs from the creation of the two great Elven and human kingdoms, all the way up until the first defeat of Sauron.

Most movie fans will recognise where the Second Age ends, as the events of Sauron’s downfall are closely described in the opening monologue of The Fellowship of the Ring by Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel.

Yet looking back, so much happens in this chronicled period that even three of Peter Jackson’s films couldn’t cover it.

Starting with the Elves, this period saw the founding of the Elven capital Lindon.

Ruled over by High King Gil-galad, played by Benjamin Walker, this region included the Grey Havens – the port city where Frodo and Bilbo Baggins would eventually leave Middle-earth from.

During this time, many Elves broke away and created the realm of Eregion, which played a central role in season 1, and looks to be the main area of focus in season 2, given Celebrimbor's (Charles Edwards) importance to the story.

During the endgame of The Rings of Power season 1, Sauron, in his disguise as Halbrand, begins his slow manipulation of the Elven smith, which will ultimately lead to the creation of the titular Rings of Power, and Sauron forging his own One Ring.

We know that Sauron will be reunited with Celebrimbor in season 2, continuing that manipulation, this time in the guise of Annatar - a self-proclaimed emissary of the Valar.

Lord Elrond, who is best known for being played by Hugo Weaving in Peter Jackson’s trilogy but now appears as Robert Aramayo, also split from Lindon in this age to create the well-known haven of Rivendell.

Alongside the Elves, the Dwarves made their move to the mines of Khazad-dûm.

This name might be unfamiliar to the less lore-obsessed Lord of the Rings fans – however, nobody could forget the name Moria, by which the mines eventually become known.

We meet the Mines of Moria again thousands of years later when the Fellowship come across cave trolls, goblins and the monster that almost brings down Gandalf.

In The Rings of Power, we get the chance to see the caves of Khazad-dûm when they are still thriving and prosperous under Prince Durin, but as the show already teased in the first season, there is a growing darkness both in the caverns of Khazad-dûm, as well as underneath.

Season 1 also explored the history of men in the Second Age, in both the Southlands region, and the island kingdom of Númenor.

The Southlands is a bleak, desolate stretch of land, home to the ancestors of Men who sided with the Dark Lord Morgoth in the First Age. The show teases us with revelations about the history of the area, and some of the characters in the region still deserve exploration, it’s the fate of the land itself that stands out.

In a change from the books, Mordor is spawned out of the Southlands thanks to a cunning plan by orc leader Adar, who awakens a dormant volcano (Mount Doom). We can’t wait to see more of Mordor in the second season.

The other realm of men, Númenor, was formed, and will fall entirely in this Second Age - although at the current point in the show it’s thriving, the cracks are there to see.

When this nation falls, those who escape will venture to Middle-earth to find refuge and exile, and it is from that bloodline of kings that Aragorn will come… most likely pushing open double doors.

In addition to the already visited places of season 1, season 2 will take us to the land of Rhûn to the East, as a part of The Stranger and Nori’s story. Here, they’ll encounter an Istar (Ciaran Hinds), as well as the enigmatic Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear).

While the Second Age is being massively truncated for the show to function, season 1 showed it’s possible to do this without affecting the gravity of the story, and season 2 promises much of the same.

While we don’t know what the final endgame of The Rings of Power is, we can surmise it will be the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to close out the Second Age and usher in the Third, otherwise known as the prologue scene of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Before we get there, though, there’s still plenty of story to get through in this Second Age.

Read more on The Rings of Power:

• How to watch The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies in order
• Meet the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
• What is Valinor in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
• What are Harfoots? The Rings of Power Hobbits and history explained
• Who is Morgoth in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
• Who is The Stranger in The Rings of Power? Daniel Weyman role theories
• Who is Galadriel’s brother? Meet Finrod actor Will Fletcher
• Who is Galadriel actress Morfydd Clark in The Rings of Power?
• Who is Elrond actor Robert Aramayo in The Rings of Power?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premieres on Thursday 29th August 2024 on Prime Video. Sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.

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