The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 has finally premiered its first few episodes on Prime Video, bringing audiences back to the fantastical world of Middle-earth after an agonizing two-year hiatus. The series acts as a prequel to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, taking details and storylines from the author’s appendices and The Silmarillion. After the dark lord, Sauron, revealed himself at the end of the previous season, Season 2 delves deeper into the crafting of the Rings of Power, setting up the events of The Lord of the Rings as Middle-earth teeters on the edge of utter darkness.

The second season of The Rings of Power comes only weeks after the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon, the acclaimed prequel series to HBO’s Game of Thrones. This series is based on the final chapters of George R.R. Martin’s novella, Fire & Blood, which tells the story of House Targaryen before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire. In what appears to be the summer of fantasy prequels, both The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon have captivated audiences with drastically different stories. However, there is one aspect in which the Game of Thrones prequel can never surpass Prime Video’s The Rings of Power.

The Rings Of Power Fleshes Out A World Of High Fantasy

The Lord of the Rings Franchise

Title
Year
IMDb
Streaming

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
8.9
Max/ Prime Video

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
8.8

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
9.0

The Hobbit Trilogy
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
7.8

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
7.8

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
7.4

Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2022-Present
6.9
Prime Video

Upcoming
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim
2024
Upcoming

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2026
Upcoming

The Rings of Power takes place millennia before The Lord of the Rings and is intent on fleshing out the purely fantastical world of Middle-earth. The series doesn’t shy away from elements of High Fantasy, instead leaning into the epic nature of Tolkien’s fictional world and separating it from the one viewers know today. The Rings of Power‘s first season got the ball rolling, but Season 2 has only grown in its depiction of fantasy elements, straying away from any semblance of realism that might bog down its themes. While House of the Dragon and its parent series, Game of Thrones, are set in a world that is not too different from our own, The Rings of Power is fantasy at its finest.

In expanding on J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium, The Rings of Power includes countless elements of High Fantasy. Most prominent are the different races that inhabit Middle-earth, including Men, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Hobbits, Ents, and plenty more. The series also includes magic and prophecy, as characters peer into a future through heavily stylized dreams. It is necessary to lean into High Fantasy when making any adaptation of Tolkien’s world, as the writer crafted an entire mythology around his story, featuring godlike beings and a creation account for his world. The Rings of Power draws from this mythology even more than Peter Jackson’s films did, delving even deeper into the fantasy genre. As such, The Rings of Power has become the perfect series for fans of High Fantasy, who so often find their favorite genre watered down in realism.

House Of The Dragon Prefers To Focus On Cunning Politics

The Game of Thrones Franchise

Title
Year
Source Material
IMDb
Streaming

Game of Thrones
2011-2019
A Song of Ice and Fire
9.2
Max

House of the Dragon
2022-Present
Fire & Blood
8.4
Max

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
2025
Tales of Dunk and Egg
Upcoming

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is a far cry from The Rings of Power when it comes to unabashed adherence to the High Fantasy subgenre. The series takes place in Westeros, a nation in a world not too different from our own, classifying itself as Low Fantasy. Rather than fleshing out fantasy creatures, magic, and mythology, House of the Dragon is more interested in the political machinations of royal families, deeds of great knights, and folklore. Because they don’t delve too deeply into fantastical worlds and creatures, House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones appeal to broader audiences, including those who don’t typically enjoy fantasy stories.

The Game of Thrones franchise isn’t without its fantastical elements, however. Daemon Targaryen’s vision in the season two finale, for example, shows that there is a deeper world of magic and fantasy than some might have guessed. George R.R. Martin’s stories take place in a world that was once filled with magic and fantasy creatures but has since faded into a more realistic medieval realm. Every so often, the series startles viewers with remnants of this bygone era, such as the Three-Eyed Raven or the White Walkers. However, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon prefer to stray closer to Low Fantasy than High, and will therefore always be missing a key element that makes Lord of the Rings stand out.

The Rings Of Power And House Of The Dragon Fulfill Different Aspects Of The Fantasy Genre

While The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon are both very different, their contrasting elements perfectly balance one another out. Audiences who prefer to lose themselves in worlds of High Fantasy with wizards, Elves, and all manner of bizarre stories can find exactly what they are looking for in future seasons of The Rings of Power. Meanwhile, audiences who prefer more realistic themes set in a world not too dissimilar from their own can find enjoyment in House of the Dragon. In both franchises, there is something to make every kind of fantasy fan happy,

Both The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon are fantasy stories, but one will always be a deeper fantasy than the other. This doesn’t necessarily make one better than the other, but it does indicate that viewers who love the twists and turns of High Fantasy might want to check out The Rings of Power before House of the Dragon.