The Rings Of Power Season 2 Rating Is A Big First For The Lord Of The Rings Franchise

There's no question that Amazon Studios' Middle-earth creation "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has gone where no Tolkien adaptation has gone before. From its Second Age setting to depicting the island of Númenor to tackling the creation of the show's titular jewelry, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay aren't afraid to take chances. One of the most recent of those ground-breaking elements is the fact that season 2 has received a historically high rating for a project set in Middle-earth. According to TheDirect, the upcoming season is officially rated 18+ in some countries around the world — with America's close northern neighbor Canada being one of them. In comparison, season 1 was given the relatively tame rating of 13+.

How big of a deal is this for Middle-earth cinema? Let's look at some comparisons. The highest rating that each of Peter Jackson's film trilogies received was 16+, while "The Fellowship of the Ring" came in at an ultra-family-friendly 7+.

It's worth noting that, in the U.S., where the rating system is different, the show will retain the same rating as Season 1: TV-14. In essence, this strongly cautions parents and indicates that there could be some degree of violence, language, or sexual content considered inappropriate for children under the age of 14. While that gives us some idea, it doesn't help knowing that television shows are self-evaluated by networks and program producers. (In contrast, movies are rated by the Classification and Rating Administration or CARA.)

When it comes to the reason for the unexpectedly high rating, specifics haven't been given. But it's easy to surmise the reason. A TV-14 rating is due to some combination of inappropriate violence, sexual content, or strong language. Sexual content in a Tolkien adaptation would be a shocker. Aragorn and Arwen's passionate, full-clothed embrace at the end of "The Return of the King" is about as far as it goes, and that one isn't even worth the 7+ rating. Sure, "The Rings of Power" has sexual tension, but it doesn't mean things will go much further.

As far as language is concerned, Tolkien may have been a philologist, but there is minimal cursing in his writings. We say "minimal" because an Orc captain in "The Two Towers" does use "d***" at one point, but it's coming from a villain and fits the context. Really, if there is any strong language here, it will probably be in another language and hardly worth notice in a rating context.

That leaves us with violence — something that Tolkien's fantasy world delivers in spades. Season 1 already had plenty of brutal violence and even a gruesome struggle between Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and an Orc that involved slowly stabbing an eyeball. Season 2 looks like it's going to up the ante, too, as Sauron's bloody plan gains momentum. Even the source material feeds the fires here, as Tolkien's Second Age material is fraught with violent imagery and depictions, culminating at this point in the story with Celebrimbor's fate — but we'll leave that for the show to tell. While it's unknown what the official reason is for the rating, it's a pretty safe bet that violence is at the heart of the issue.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" premieres Thursday, August 29, 2024, on Prime Video.