close
close
  • Wed. Oct 23rd, 2024
    • '
    The end of the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is explained and how it kicks off the third season
    News

    The end of the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is explained and how it kicks off the third season

    author
    8 minutes, 56 seconds Read

    This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power through the Season 2 finale.

    The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come to an end, bringing with it major implications for the rest of the series. We see the storylines finally come together to bring together a tighter narrative for Season 3, multiple tragic deaths, and many revelations that seemed outside the realm of possibility. There's a lot to go through, so let's get started!

    End of The Rings of Power Season 2 Explained

    Now that everything but the One Ring has been forged, the beginning of the end of the Second Age is well underway. After an angry one Sauron (Charlie Vickers) kills a defiant Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) Because he refuses to tell him where the men's rings are, the Dark Lord eventually finds them anyway in his battle with Galadriel (Morffyd Clark).

    Sauron manages to get close to her, not by finding her within the crumbling walls of Eregion, but outside of them, having traded her safety for the freedom of the elves, she helps escape the city. She gives herself up to the orcs to take her to Adar (Sam Hazeldine), who is wearing her ring Nenya, who has transformed him back into his elf form. At that moment the two make a pact – this time out of sincerity rather than the deception that took place earlier in the season – and agreed to come together to stop Sauron from spreading his darkness across Middle-earth. The elves and the orcs will unite, and when the war is over, Adar and his children will return to Mordor, never again to threaten the safety of the peoples or creatures of Middle-earth. He seals his promise with an act of good faith by giving Galadriel back her ring and returning to his orc form.

    The moment is too good to be true, because Nenya freed Adar from his hatred too late and gave him clarity. After unleashing the troll on both his children and the elves at the beginning of the season, the Uruk finally turn against their master again and side with Sauron once again. Adar will be slaughtered in what may be the most graphic death in the Lord of the Rings series.

    This brings together two storylines, as we will no longer spend our time with Adar's camps or Celebrimbor's events in the now-destroyed Eregion.

    Many miles from the elven forge city, two more storylines merge into one when Kemen (Leon Wadham) shows his treacherous face in Pelargir and finally learns that Isildur (Maxim Baldry) was alive all along. Pelargir is no longer a port for the surviving southerners, but a military outpost for Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle) and his twisted plans for Numenor.

    After Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) survives the trial of the ValarThe false king was forced to give a final greeting to Mary: he forged a letter between Miriel and Sauron in which he viewed all believers as traitors. Elendil (Lloyd Owen) must escape Numenor, but not before Miriel gives him the most important weapon in The Lord of the Rings canon: Narsil. Although Elendil is gone and Miriel is in chains, expect young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and Isildur to lead a resistance against Pharazon in Season 3, even as he heads to Numenor.

    While we're in a sort of “we didn't start the fire” explanation of the ending, don't worry – there are just two important points left to make, and then we can get into the meaning of it all.

    Although it happens at the beginning of the episode rather than the end, it's important to note that the Balrog is free in Khazad-dum. Currently, it seems the only thing stopping the creature from wreaking havoc on the mountain is the sacrifice of King Durin (Peter Mullan). After King Durin III. Having seen what he has released by breaching the wall, he takes his axe, gives the ring to his son and rushes at the creature, apparently killing himself and sealing the cave once again. However, somehow the Balrog isn't the dwarves' only problem. While the king was under the influence of the ring, he made high promises to other factions of the dwarves, which Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) is now expected to keep, even though he knows about the corruption of the rings. Meanwhile, his place as the current king may be in question as Disa (Sophia Nomvete) notices that a brother is trying to claim the throne in Durin's place. At the time of writing, I am not aware of any brother of Durin IV, so it remains to be seen who that might be.

    Now it's finally time for the big wizard showdown of season two, which isn't much of a showdown at all. The Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) pretends to be a friend of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), insisting that he would never harm Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) and that he only wants to defeat Sauron, to bring peace to Middle Earth. The stranger sees through it and refuses to join the Dark Wizard, who then destroys the Stoors' camp and kills many under falling stones.

    This moment forces the Stoors to abandon their long-time home after burying their lost, causing great devastation throughout the camp. But, as Poppy puts it, “Sometimes things are lost forever” and all you can do is build something new. As the Stoors sadly set out to find their new home, everyone thanks the stranger for doing what he could to protect them, calling him “Great Elf” because they have never met an elf before . And yes, that leads to exactly what you think.

    Hello, Gandalf

    No more questions, it's definitely Gandalf the Grey. We all suspected the stranger was Gandalf, after the season one closing quote: “Of course, when in doubt, always follow your nose,” but the assumption was that it was him It is taboo due to legal issues, as it does not appear in Tolkien's writings until the Third Age. Whatever the loophole was that allowed Prime Video to use the character, there's something so exciting about embarking on an adventure with young Gandalf as he discovers his powers and his place in Middle-earth. We know where his journey ends after they (think they) defeat Sauron at the end of the Second Age, but everything leading up to what we assume is the Season 5/Series finale is unwritten. Exciting!

    undefined

    Farewell, Adar

    While The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power desperately needed some plot consolidation, I'm actually pretty devastated to lose Adar. Even before the strange bargain he made with Galadriel in his final moments, I had always thought he was the most interesting character in the series – rooted in deep darkness, but a darkness he maintained solely to protect his children from the likes of Morgoth and… others to protect Sauron. He had such depth and it's a real shame his story doesn't continue. The Uruk at least receive their comeuppance for their betrayal immediately when Sauron kills Glug (Robert Strange) after the Uruk are unable to cross the line following the dwarves' arrival in Eregion, just hours after they stabbed all of the Adar hold.

    The bromance is alive!

    In a season of devastation, Elrond (Robert Aramayo) lies on his knees as elves and orcs fall around him, murmuring “Durin will come” over and over again, and somehow it's the most heartbreaking scene of all. I was sure that the friendship between Elrond and Durin was great. Even after Aramayo told us in our last interview to keep hopingthat was me Despite it sure, their relationship was cooked. Turns out I should have had faith. Durin cannot come in person, but the dwarven army sprints to Eregion's aid as soon as they are able, and the beloved bromance of Rings of Power remains intact.

    undefined

    Narsil – The Broken Sword – has entered the canon

    The sword that will one day sever the One Ring from Sauron's grubby little hand is officially in the chat. The weapon is a legend that shattered into pieces during the War of the Last Alliance, was picked up by Isildur to perform the aforementioned hand hacking, and was ultimately reforged into Anduril to be wielded by Aragorn. The sword, originally forged by the dwarven blacksmith Telchar, has now found its way into the hands of its first owner: Elendil.

    Will the Balrog pose a threat in Rings of Power Season 3?

    Even if Khazad-dum does not fall in the Second Age, we know that tragedy is imminent in the Third Age. The Sacrifice of Durin III however, is not meaningless. By imprisoning the Balrog again for the time being, the dwarves have the opportunity to continue fighting against Sauron, who, as we know, increasingly despises them due to their interference in Eregion.

    While it's notable that the dwarves became aware of the Balrog's presence before ultimately digging too deep, my current guess is that given Khazad-dum's timeline, the creature won't play much of a role in the rest of the series.

    The elves decide on war

    Even if season 2 ends a bit darkly, and we ultimately know that Sauron will return Since the One Ring failed to be destroyed, it is worth noting that the Second Age (much like the First) ends happily. But we still have at least three more seasons to go if Rings of Power sticks to its current schedule (which it most certainly will, given current viewership).

    The elves suffered a major blow at the end of season two. Galadriel barely escaped with her life, Celebrimbor is dead and Eregion has fallen. And so they are faced with a choice: go to war or turn inward and protect their people. For the first time in Rings of Power we see the elves united in their decision: they will fight Sauron.

    This, as well as the consolidation of the plot, is very exciting for the future of the series. Two seasons is more than enough power struggles between one faction, and the rift between Elrond and Galadriel was on the verge of becoming tiring before the series brought the friends back together. Elrond giving up his grudge against the rings to save his friend was a nice touch and helped the future leader realize that the elven rings will be a great asset to him. At least, of course, until the One Ring is forged…

    Similar Posts

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *