‘Rings of Power’ Season 1 Recap FSalinks

It’s been nearly two years since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power aired its first season, and we can’t believe that Season 2 is right around the corner. With plenty of revelations to go around, The Rings of Power ended its first season with many wondering where the high-fantasy series might go next. Whether you prefer to follow Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), or someone else entirely, this Lord of the Rings prequel series will likely keep you on your toes heading into the second season. In case you forgot, here’s where we left everyone at the end of Season 1.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 1 Ends With a Major Revelation

If you didn’t know it already, the most important moment from the Season 1 finale, “Alloyed,” revealed that Galadriel’s supposedly human companion throughout the first season, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), was actually the Dark Lord Sauron all along. Yes, the most obvious suspect was, well, the most obvious reveal, and as the Dark Lord unveils himself before “the greatest of Elven women,” he offers her a chance to rule over Arda with him. In the hopes of reclaiming his power and his throne over the Southlands (now called Mordor), Halbrand has already convinced Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to use Elrond’s mithril in forging the titular Rings of Power, three of which are made in the final episode. Though Galadriel rejects Sauron’s offer, the villain gets away and travels back to Mordor, where he hopes to reclaim his power. Meanwhile, Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor are left with the three Elven rings, which will likely prove vital in defeating the Dark Lord at the end of the Second Age.

Of course, before Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron even make it to Celebrimbor’s home in Eregion, they first encounter a Dark Elf named Adar (Joseph Mawle), who has led a band of Orcs in driving out the human inhabitants of the Southlands. Eventually, Adar’s forces are responsible for the eruption of the mountain Orodruin (aka Mount Doom), casing the entire land of Mordor in thick darkness and killing an unknown number of people. We know from Adar’s conversation with Sauron (disguised as Halbrand) that the two will likely not see eye-to-eye on how to rule the Orcs of the recently conquered Mordor, but how that will play out remains to be seen. Named Lord of Mordor before the season ends, Adar rules over the former Southlands, and commands a loyal army that could possibly rival Sauron’s current power.

What Happens to the Númenóreans?

After Galadriel fails to persuade the Númenóreans to follow her to the Southlands, restore Halbrand as king (at the time, she believes him to be the rightful heir), and defeat Adar’s forces, the Queen-regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) eventually relents after receiving what she believes to be a sign from the Valar. Despite King Tar-Palantir’s (Ken Blackburn) pleas, Míriel and Elendil ship off to the main land and aid Galadriel and Halbrand in the battle against the Orc forces. Although he was previously banished from the Sea Guard, Elendil’s own son, Isildur (Maxim Baldry), finds work on the ship after saving many Númenóreans, eventually joining the battle in the Southlands. Unfortunately, when Orodruin erupts, Isildur is presumed dead by his father after first saving Míriel during the carnage.

While all Lord of the Rings fans know that Isildur is not dead, Elendil believes him to be. Despite his personal tragedy, Elendil (which means “Elf-friend”) reconfirms his own commitment to the Faithful, the band of Númenóreans who still remain true to the Valar: “Come what may.” But for Míriel, that’s easier said than done. Tar-Palantir’s warning to his daughter, that she would only see darkness if she went to Middle-earth, turns out to be true after all, when she is blinded by the ash and soot from the eruption. Unable to see, she orders Elendil to take everyone back to Númenór, only to learn upon returning home that Tar-Palantir has died.

Where Do We Leave Off With the Dwarves?

But what of the Dwarves, you might be asking? Well, fair enough. Earlier in the first season, Durin IV confides in Elrond concerning the mythical ore he discovered in the mines of Moria/Khazad-dûm, which the Elf aptly names mithril. Now, as revealed by the High-King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), the Elves’ power in Middle-earth has begun to fade, and the Elf lord believes that mithril — which has its origin in an ancient battle between an Elf warrior and a Balrog — might be a power source able to save their people. But although Elrond is able to convince Durin IV to help him mine the ore and save the Elves, they are unable to likewise convince his father, King Durin III (Peter Mullan), forcing them to continue their operation in secret.

Unfortunately, Durin IV and Elrond are caught, prompting King Durin III to banish the Elf, all but disown his son, and take the mine for his own. (Unbeknownst to the Dwarves, a dormant Balrog lies well beneath the mines within the heart of the mountain, waiting to reveal itself.) For now, it seems that the alliance between Elves and Dwarves, which Gil-galad hoped to broker through Elrond and Durin IV, is at a standstill, and King Durin III shows no signs of aiding his slowly dying(?) neighbors.

The Stranger and Nori Head East on the Middle-earth Map

On the other side of the Middle-earth map, a young Harfoot named Nori Brandybuck and her best friend Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) discover a mysterious Stranger together while traveling with their clan of not-quite-Hobbits. Unsurprisingly, Nori and Poppy get into plenty of trouble because of the mysterious man, who fell from the sky and spoke a strange language, but none as big as in the penultimate episode, “The Eye,” when the Stranger attempts to restore the burned up orchard that was ruined by the effects of Orodruin’s eruption. Though the Stranger does succeed, he frightens Nori and her kin, prompting the wandering Harfoots to banish him (it’s not like this was the first offense, anyhow).

Later, a trio of mystics arrives to encounter the Stranger, believing him to be none other than Sauron himself. Of course, we know that isn’t true, and after Nori encourages him to fight back against these witches, the Stranger manages to banish them to the unseen world. By speaking in a magic tongue, he also regains some of his memories, particularly noting that he is one of the Istari (the same race of Wizards that Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast come from) and that he’s meant to travel eastward to Rhûn. After some encouragement of her own from her family and a heartfelt goodbye with Poppy, Nori decides to join the Stranger on his travels.

‘The Rings of Power’ Teases Some Tolkien Favorites for Season 2

While most of the aforementioned characters (save for those pesky Harfoots) were pulled into The Rings of Power directly from J.R.R. Tolkien‘s original legendarium, not every main cast member in the Amazon Original was crafted from Tolkien’s imagination. Two of these include the Elf warrior Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and the human healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). Echoing the romance between Aragorn and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings, and the age-old tale of Beren and Lúthien from The Silmarillion, Arondir and Bronwyn are romantically intertwined in a world that refuses to accept them. Arondir was the first to investigate the Orc infestation in the Southlands, but he is too late to stop the tragedy that was the massacre of its people. Thankfully, he is still able to get Bronwyn and her son Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) out in time.

While we don’t see much of Arondir and Bronwyn in the final few episodes, when last we leave them, they are reunited after the eruption of Mount Doom, with Galadriel personally returning Theo to his mother after revealing to the young boy that she too once lost someone dear to her: her husband Celeborn. Now, Celeborn is a character from Tolkien’s high-fantasy world, and one who doesn’t die the way Galadriel described, and certainly not during the Second Age. While the mystery of Celeborn’s disappearance is one that we in the audience can ponder, it’s one that Galadriel has moved past, believing her husband to be dead and gone. The Lord of the Rings features Celeborn as a character, and their daughter, Celebrían, will one day marry Elrond, so we know that part of the story is not yet done.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Will Further Expand ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Universe

With so much going on in Season 1 of The Rings of Power, there’s little doubt that Season 2 will be just as action-packed. From what we’ve seen of the second season so far, it looks like showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay aim to expand even more on Tolkien’s mythology, and pull out some familiar favorites along the way. Hopefully, Season 2 will be an improvement on the first, and won’t rely too much on winks to the audience to keep us interested. But with Sauron’s return to Eregion, now disguised as an Elf-shaped “Lord of Gifts,” it seems like the threat to Middle-earth is as severe as ever. Plus, fan-favorite Fellowship of the Ring character Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) is set to appear, which will be a treat all on its own.

There’s no question that the first season of The Rings of Power was fairly divisive among Tolkien fans. Some loved the way the show took creative liberties to explain inconsistencies and long-pondered questions from the lore, while others had hoped for something that felt more, well, Tolkien-ish. There’s certainly something to be said about both points of view, but the fact that Season 2 looks to be diving even deeper into the legendarium is certainly an encouragement.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video for Season 2 on August 29.

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