Ring-bearers

If you, Magic: The Gathering neophyte or otherwise, sat down and cracked open a bunch of the card game’s grand new Lord of the Rings crossover, Tales of Middle-earth, this past weekend and thought you were done? Good news/bad news: there’s even more very cool cards coming soon.What Role Would You Play From The Original Lord of The Rings Movies? | Rings of Power CastToday Wizards of the Coast revealed that the first “Secret Lair” drop—limited time collections of special variants of cards, whether through crossover…

Image: Magic The GatheringNext month Magic: The Gathering heads to Middle-earth for an all-new set based on the world of The Lord of Rings. While we’d previously gotten hits at some of the new artwork coming in the set, lead art director Ovidio Cartagena has now lifted the lid on even more of Tales From Middle-earth’s glorious new art.Created in collaboration with Middle-earth Enterprises, the new artwork for Tales From Middle-earth was commissioned over the course of three years while the set was in development.Some…

Before this month, it had been years since Lego had made any sets based off the Lord of the Rings movies. But the iconic brick maker came to us at the turn of the tide with the latest adult collectors set—a recreation of Rivendell from The Fellowship of the Ring as epic as an extended edition trilogy marathon, and just as satisfying.Lego provided io9 with access to a copy of the new set, and after a few days of furious building—and cursing of 1x1 tile pieces—we’ve got our extensive impressions ofwhat it’s like building…

Image: AmazonThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has ended its first season, and with it lifted the lid on mysteries that have hounded viewers for the past seven episodes before it. But it also revealed another secret, binding them all in darkness: that what we’ve watched was less of an actual season of television and more like a really long pilot.That’s not to say there haven’t been highlights in Rings of Power’s debut. It and its characters have often stalled on repeating the Tolkienesque themes of hope in the…

Image: AmazonRings of Power has spent its entire season reminding us that it, at its core in manners similar to Lord of the Rings as a whole, is a story of enduring hope in the face of seemingly unyielding darkness. This week is much the same, but it also takes a lot of time to allow its heroes to wallow in the fact that seemingly unyielding darkness really, really sucks.“The Eye” is almost entirely about the fallout of last week’s climax in the battle for the Southlands, which saw the land literally and metaphorically…

Image: AmazonRemember how last week I said it felt like we’d reached something of an emotional turning point in The Rings of Power, and that, in true Lord of the Rings style, our heroes had been challenged at their direst and were due for some much needed hope? Well... about that.Last week’s episode of Rings of Power was about forging our heroes in the crucible of trauma and challenge to emerge stronger out the other side. This week’s ominously titled “Udûn”—which, well, if you’re up on your Sindarin means hell, and is…

Image: AmazonIf last week’s Hail Mary love-in between Miriel and Galadriel made you think The Rings of Power was done telling you good things happen when people trust in each other and work together, well, I’ve got good and bad news for you: that’s it, that’s the show.That might be a bit glib, but “Partings” arguably delivers some of the darkest conflicts yet in The Rings of Power, juking just when you thought it was about to really start moving. On the surface, everything we get this episode is indeed building off last…

Image: Prime VideoLast week’s Rings of Power showed just how much strife can come from old prejudices and mistrust. This week’s shows just how toxic keeping secrets from those who should be allies can be—and sets the stage for the series to really get going as its myriad heroes realize it’s better to stand together in honesty.“The Great Wave” feels almost akin to a two-parter in conversation with last week’s “Adar”—if that episode was all about reminding us of the distrust put between the peoples of Middle-earth since the…

Image: AmazonThe Lord of the Rings is a story about disparate societies coming together in the name of good—and casting aside generations of mistrust and prejudice to do so. Hobbits being unlikely heroes, Dwarves standing side-by-side with Elves, Rohan riding to Gondor’s aid, it’s an idea key to the fabric of the narrative, and so it makes sense that Rings of Power is making it key to its own story too.“Adar,” the third episode of The Rings of Power, feels very much in step with its premiere last week in that it shares a…

Here’s the long and short of it, or Ent and Hobbit of it if you’re already packing your bags to be whisked off to Middle-earth again: The Rings of Power is The Lord of the Rings through and through. It looks incredible, it bursts with hope, and, above all, it’s very long and takes a bit of time getting going.This is said with all the love and affection the world has had for Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings films—and their slightly-less beloved successors in the Hobbit trilogy—themselves known, especially in…