Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 was officially given a historic rating when compared to other on-screen projects set in the Lord of the Rings universe.
Since the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, every Middle-earth release has been rather tame compared to other projects in the high fantasy genre such as Game of Thrones or The Witcher.
The Lord of the Rings (including The Rings of Power Season 1) still has plenty of mature themes and darker elements, but, historically, it has not ventured out far enough to be given a rating that suggests it is for adults only. However, that is all about to change.
The Rings of Power Season 2's Mature Rating
Amazon Prime Video's streaming platform confirmed that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will break a record within the Lord of the Rings franchise, as it was officially rated 18+ in some countries such as Canada.
The actual reasons for Season 2 being rated 18+ were not given, but it is worth noting that it is rated much higher than Season 1, which was given a 13+.
It is important to note that, in the United States, Prime Video still says that The Rings of Power Season 2 is rated TV-14 (the same as Season 1), which will almost definitely not change.
As mentioned, this 18+ rating in Canada is historic because no previous Lord of the Rings project has ever been rated higher than 16+.
For reference, from Peter Jackson's first trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring is surprisingly rated 7+ in Canada on Prime Video. The Two Towers comes in quite a bit higher at 16+ (likely due to the Battle of Helm's Deep), and then The Return of the King rounds things out at 13+ (the same as The Rings of Power Season 1).
The Hobbit trilogy also never received anything higher than 16+, with An Unexpected Journey being rated 13+, and the other two films (The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies) 16+.
Why Is The Rings of Power Season 2 Rated 18+?
It may be a bit surprising to fans that The Rings of Power Season 2 is rated 18+ in some countries, especially since, in those same countries, Season 1 was only 13+.
As the story of the forging of the rings continues to play out, viewers can definitely expect to see a lot of mature moments on screen, but it is important to remember that Season 1 included some of those as well.
Some may think that the rating could indicate that nudity and/or sexual content may be brought into play, but, considering it is still rated TV-14 in the United States, and since that has never been included in The Lord of the Rings in the past, it is safe to say that that is not the reason.
Instead, the most likely explanation is that The Rings of Power Season 2 will not hold back when it comes to Sauron torturing Celebrimbor. Without getting into specific spoilers from the source material as to why and how he is pushed to the limit, Celebrimbor is tortured for two years at the hands of Sauron.
Many fans debated how far the show would go when this would inevitably be brought to the screen in The Rings of Power, but the 18+ rating seemingly gives a pretty good indication that it will be brutal (as it was in the books).
It is also worth noting that at least one major battle was teased for Season 2, so the violence that will occur in it also likely played a hand in cementing the 18+ rating.
One more addition to Season 2 that likely affected the rating is Shelob, who is the giant spider seen in The Return of the King. It is unclear how much she will appear, and in what capacity, but the suspense and horror elements those scenes could include may have also pushed the rating up to its historic place.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, and Season 2 will begin with a three-episode premiere on Thursday, August 29 on the platform.
Read more about The Rings of Power:
Rings of Power Season 2 Release Date Schedule of Episodes Announced
The Rings of Power Season 2 Trailer Gets Dislike-Bombed for 1 Unfortunate Reason
Rings of Power Season 2 Needs to Fix These 5 Issues From the First Season
Is Rings of Power Season 2 the Only Lord of the Rings Project In Development?
