The Rings of Power season 2 helps Prime Video grow significantly

The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come and gone, and while the show has taken some lumps from critics (okay, from us), it's found its fans. According to a new report from Nielsen, the most reliable arbiter of ratings in the business, Prime Video's share of TV usage in September went up by 12% from August, more than any other service. Sure, at 3.6% of TV usage, Prime Video is still behind Netflix (7.9%) and YouTube (10.6%) but it's ahead of Disney+ (2.5%) and Hulu (2.4%).

Prime Video's September growth was driven mostly by The Rings of Power season 2, as well as Thursday Night Football. The Rings of Power was watched for an impressive 4.3 billion minutes in September, making it the third most-watched streaming title that month.

So obviously The Rings of Power is pulling its weight. Cast and crew members all seem bullish on a third season, but we have yet to hear anything officially. Hopefully soon.

Markella Kavenagh (Nori) on finding out she's working with Gandalf

A third season will surely follow up on the adventures of the wizard formerly known as the Stranger, who in the season 2 finale was revealed to be Gandalf, quite possibly the most famous character in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Markella Kavenagh, who played the Stranger's traveling companion Nori the harfoot, told CBR that learning about his real identity was "surreal":

"I’ve had my suspicions for a very long time, like since the first rehearsal, when I asked about it, and they just very much went and sidetracked (me). But, I found out really, really late in the process of filming Season 2. I think they really wanted to keep it as under wraps as possible."

Of course, learning the Stranger's identity didn't really change the way she and Gandalf actor Daniel Weyman approached the characters, because at this point in the history of Middle-earth Gandalf hasn't forged his reputation and there's no reason for anybody to know how significant he'll become. “So, we just focused on our dynamic and the friendship and bringing that story to life. So that was the most important part for us,” Kavenagh said.

Nori and Gandalf at the end of The Rings of Power season 2, which is a bummer I thought their dynamic was one of the more watchable and interesting ones on the show. If the show does return for a third season, and I'm going to predict it will barring some unforeseen catastrophe, I wonder if the two will find their ways back to each other.

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