Rings of Power review: Fans in for 'slow burn' as series makes waves with season 2

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is back for a second outing on Amazon Prime Video, two years after the series made its debut . Set thousands of years before the events of the J R R Tolkien novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , it covers the main events of Middle-earth's Second Age.

I was determined to enjoy the series when it was first released but I, along with many others it would seem, couldn't look past the fact it was agonizingly slow-paced. I was hoping season two would be a step up as the trailer teased some epic battles, but I was once again frustrated when I found myself reaching episode six before thinking: "Ok, now we are getting somewhere."

There are some sparks of excitement in the new eight-episode season , but they extinguish almost instantly only to revert to another unnecessary subplot. It means the characters and storylines everyone would love to explore further only get a fraction of the screen time we would like.

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It is no secret that the new episodes feature some highly-anticipated revelations such as the introduction of the friendly wizard Tom Bombadil (played by Rory Kinnear) and Sauron's (Charlie Vickers) evolution as he becomes Annatar. Tom Bombadil's journey, in particular, featured some insightful yet short-lived snippets that left me sighing with disappointment as I yearned to find out more.

It is absolutely not all doom and gloom for the show , however, as Sauron's arc certainly makes all the 'waffle' worthwhile. Charlie Vickers does a tremendous job transitioning from Halbrand to the beautiful, captivating yet dangerously manipulative Annatar.

Whilst on the subject of stellar performances, there is credit due for Celebrimbor star Charles Edwards, whose heartbreaking journey is one of the season's highlights.

Fans of Tolkien's world already knew Celebrimbor was a ticking time bomb due to his connection with the Dark Lord, but Charles was still able to bring out pain, frustration and heartache in me I couldn't have anticipated.

The star said in an interview with Gizmodo.com he found himself in a "delicious" position knowing what was in store, and he was able to "relish his innocence and vulnerability", which certainly resonated in his performance.

The most positive thing to come out of the second season is the satisfying answering of some long-standing questions, but this area I will not touch on in detail to avoid giving away any major spoilers.

Although it takes a long time to get there, fans can rest assured they will not be kept up at night wondering why, for another season, so many mysteries remain. A third outing has not yet been given the green light but the TV show's creators have teased they are working on a plot for future episodes.

Dare I say it, although I am fully prepared for more 'waffle', I will be tuning in. The sad thing is, this series has the potential to be something epic if only there were half as many subplots and characters. The Rings of Power season 2 premiere begins on Amazon Prime Video on August 29