This review contains full spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale.
There are some moments of the season 2 finale of that are absolutely outstanding, nailing the mix of spectacle and character drama that the series has been striving for. Unfortunately the episode is also emblematic of the season as a whole, working so hard to foreshadow that it fails to make the most of scenes that should be savored in the present.
In Khazad-dûm, Durin III (Peter Mullan) has cut through the miners trying to stop him from delving for more mithril, leading Durin IV (Owain Arthur) to give his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) a big (maybe farewell) kiss and confront his father. But the dwarven king calls his son’s bluff, knowing he can’t bear to actually attack him.
This is a genuinely beautiful final scene, with Durin IV explaining his admiration for his father’s strength while the king’s dismissal of his pleading shows just how much the ring has hardened his pride. After taking a battering ram to the mountain and revealing an enormous cache of mithril, he admires his handiwork, declaring it “the dynasty of Durin.” Of course this digging will in fact be his legacy – it’s just that he’s bringing ruin to his people rather than the riches he wants. The king even tries one more time to tempt his son with the power of a ring, promising the potential to be true lords of the mountain rather than just its stewards.
The moment of triumph is short lived, interrupted by the Balrog emerging from the cavern in all its glory and quickly knocking Durin IV aside. Even though the scene borrows so much from Gandalf’s heroic sacrifice in , it’s still an incredibly powerful, VFX-enhanced crystallization of the conflict between father and son over the course of two seasons. Durin III explaining how he watched his son’s grow to be his equal over the years is a touching moment, the words the next king of Khazad-dûm so desperately needs to hear. His father shows his strength one last time, facing the Balrog and allowing Durin IV to escape with the help of his friends. The shot of his ax shattering against the Balrog’s blade looks absolutely stunning.
The death of Durin III is apparently going to cause many more problems for Khazad-dûm. Durin III’s previously unmentioned brother has designs on the throne and the dwarf lords still want their rings. The dwarven plots have been among the most consistently excellent of the series, and I look forward to more intrigue and family drama next season.
In Rhûn, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) has predictably abandoned the quest for his staff to go help his Harfoot friends. Apparently their plan to fight the Dark Wizard’s forces went so poorly nobody bothered to put the battle on screen. By the time the Stranger shows up, the masked riders have already captured Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards).
The finale works so hard to foreshadow that it fails to make the most of scenes that should be savored in the present.
The Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) greets the Stranger by calling him “old friend,” the same way Saruman addressed Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring. I’m not sure if that means the Dark Wizard actually is Saruman, but he’s certainly cribbing from his playbook by trying to get his fellow wizard to team up with him for a slice of Sauron’s power. The Dark Wizard claims that his misdeeds are nothing compared to the evil Sauron will bring to Middle-earth, and says he expects the Stranger will eventually come around to his way of thinking. But then he proves that he doesn’t understand his so-called old friend at all by bringing a mountain down on the poor Stoors.
The worst part of the scene is the Dark Wizard’s underling explaining “my people were once kings,” because it almost assuredly means that these unimpressive minions will wind up among the ranks of the Nazgul. In the battle that follows, we see the stars that the Stranger has been looking for in order find his staff and his name, which is, of course, Gandalf. This has been pretty clear since season 1, and it’s annoying the show wasted so much time pretending that wasn’t the case. The arc at least does a decent job showing how the wizard developed a respect for halflings, and illuminating how that will eventually bring him to Bilbo’s doorstep. But the line “don’t be a stranger now” right before the Stranger is repeatedly called “Grand Elf,” which he’ll fuse into his new name, is just far too cutesy and meta.
The Harfoots say their goodbyes, presumably leading the Stoors to reunite with their people and keep up their search for the promised land of the Shire. The Stranger goes back to training with Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) because the choice between power and friendship was obviously a test and the Stranger passed. The last shot of the Dark Wizard brooding is meant to be ominous, but just solidifies the degree to which he’s been entirely irrelevant to The Rings of Power.
The Harfoots continue to provide great emotional depth, with Poppy’s monologue about loss playing over scenes of the devastation that has been wrought across Middle-earth. “Some things can’t be fixed. Some things lost are lost forever, no matter how hard we fight.” It’s a eulogy not just for the Stoors’ home but for Eregion and the peace between elves and orcs that might have been. It’s unclear what part the halflings might still have to play in this show, but hopefully they’ll find themselves in more consequential plots down the line.
The time in Númenor is thankfully short, even if it continues to be frustrating. It’s unclear why anyone is still following Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), who responds to the miraculous survival of Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) by further cracking down on her religion. The White Tree of Númenor weeps again as the Faithful are rounded up, with Elendil (Lloyd Owen) fulfilling the vision he saw in the palantir by fleeing. He takes with him Narsil, the sword that will eventually cut the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. This will of course be very important later on, but it’s hard not to feel the time would have been better spent in Eregion or Khazad-dûm.
Pharazôn’s found a good use for his whiny son Kemen (Leon Wadham: Shipping him to Pelargir to turn the Númenor colony into a military base. Who’s going to be crewing the armada he’s building though, given that he’s forced most of his navy to quit because they were loyal to Míriel? The show has spent so much time in Númenor, and yet its power structures still make little sense.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Finale Gallery
The structure of Pelargir makes even less sense. Apparently Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) has inherited status from his mom’s role as a leader of the community despite being a brooding teen who helped turn the Southlands into Mordor. The Wild Men have become decidedly less wild and decided to settle in Pelargir, with Estrid’s (Nia Towle) fiance Hagen (Gabriel Akuwudike) now serving as the leader to half the colony. Kemen’s sneering indifference when being introduced to both of them is great because it echoes my feeling that this is all arbitrary and irrelevant to the larger plot.
Estrid decides she doesn’t want Hagen’s kindness, preferring the smolder of Isildur (Maxim Baldry), who promptly ditches her to go back to Númenor. Isildur doesn’t even consider not going home given the mess Kemen is describing and his obvious hostility. He’s supposed to have grown from his trials this season, but he remains one of the show’s blandest characters. Still, the worst part of this segment is Kemen’s line about how gathering wood should be easy for the colony because “after all they’re only trees.” He might as well have turned to the camera and winked, given that this line makes no sense in character and it’s only said to remind the audience that the ents won’t be happy with this new mission.
Charles Edwards absolutely owns his scenes in the finale.
In Eregion, the vision Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) had of the dark fate of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) has finally been fulfilled. The greatest of elven smiths has been shot through with arrows by Sauron (Charlie Vickers) in a bid to learn what he did with the nine rings of men. Edwards absolutely owns this scene, the culmination of the Shakespearean tragedy that’s been playing out all season. In Celebrimbor’s dying monologue, he prophesizes that the Rings of Power will eventually destroy Sauron too. Celebrimbor could have probably added to the line “your only craft is treachery” by pointing out that he is the true creator of the wonders of the age, but he cuts deeply into his captor by calling him a shadow of Morgoth and giving him the title the Lord of the Rings. That causes Sauron to finally kill Celebrimbor, which would have been a misstep if not for the fact that Adar’s (Sam Hazeldine) increasingly disillusioned lieutenant Glûg (Robert Strange) plays right into his schemes.
Galadriel doesn’t get far in her attempts to save the survivors of the battle, quickly getting captured by Adar’s forces. There’s a final powerful scene between her and the father of the orcs, who appears in his original beautiful elven form thanks to the healing powers of her ring. He makes the team-up offer he should have proposed from the beginning, taking off the ring and offering Galadriel forgiveness and the chance to create a real peace in Middle-earth while the scars creep back across his face.
But of course it’s way too late for that. Sauron has laid a trap for Adar’s empathy, his grief for the seemingly mortally wounded Glûg making him blind to his treachery. The orcs mirror the brutal slaughter they inflicted on Sauron in episode 1 and Sauron finally gets Morgoth’s crown, sending his new army to finish razing Eregion. Sauron admits he doesn’t have all the answers, but he’s been very good at taking advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves.
The reunion between Galadriel and Sauron is thrilling, a battle where the dark lord is calm and precise as he answers the elven general’s fury. When Galadriel seems to get the upper hand, he starts playing with her mind, appearing in the guise of Halbrand and taking her own form to reflect back her struggles with darkness. Even Celebrimbor gets a turn to attack Galadriel for her role in his downfall.
Their chemistry turns the fight into a dance set to soaring music, with Sauron sharing his dream of making Galadriel a glorious queen – adding extra meaning to the vision she’ll have of herself in The Fellowship of the Ring when presented with the chance to wield the One Ring. Sauron gets his nine after stabbing Galadriel with Morgoth’s crown, but she’d rather throw herself off a cliff than give him her ring.
The finale ends on a nice, inspiring moment that closes out a season that largely went very poorly for the heroes.
In Eregion, the elves beg the orcs to spare the full record of Celebrimbor’s work, saying they’d rather die than see the knowledge burn. It’s not a bargain the orcs accept and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) looks upon his utter defeat in horror as the dwarves finally arrive to at least cover their retreat. Glûg reports to Sauron that the tides have turned and is summarily killed. Sauron’s not interested in how many Uruks will die – they’ve traded a father who treated their lives too cheaply and didn’t listen to them enough for a Dark Lord who doesn’t care at all. Given how much time has been spent trying to give the orcs added dimensions, it’s sad to see them fall into becoming bloodthirsty minions.
Much like the weapons of the Nazgul, the crown of Morgoth cuts the spirit as well as the body. Elrond finally defies his moral code to don a ring and help heal Galadriel, quickly coming to believe in their power to help the elves fight the darkness. The survivors, which somehow include Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) – who seems fine despite being stabbed by Adar – take refuge in the land that will presumably become Lothlórien. As the dawn breaks, they vow to continue the fight. It’s a nice, inspiring moment to close out a season that largely went very poorly for the heroes.
Verdict
The season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings strong resolution to its main plots with multiple dramatic deaths and battles. Unfortunately, it also continues to show the problems that plagued the season as a whole, with storylines that barely went anywhere – and if they did go somewhere, took too long to get there. But overall, it’s a good sendoff, demonstrating the heavy weight of darkness spreading across Middle-earth and the resolve of the heroes who will continue to fight Sauron.