This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power through the Season 2 finale.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 has come to an end, and with it comes major implications for the rest of the series. We see story threads finally coming together to combine a tighter narrative for Season 3, several tragic deaths, and plenty of reveals that seemed outside of the realm of possibility. There’s a lot to go through, so let’s hop right in!
The Rings of Power Season 2 Ending Explained
Now that all but the One Ring has been forged, the beginning of the end of the Second Age is in full swing. After an enraged for refusing to tell him where the rings of men are, the dark lord ultimately finds them anyway in his battle with Galadriel (Morffyd Clark).
Sauron manages to get close to her not by finding her in the crumbling walls of Eregion, but outside of them after she exchanges her safety for the freedom of the Elves she is helping escape the city. The orcs she gives herself up to take her to Adar (Sam Hazeldine) who is wearing her ring, Nenya, which has reverted him back to his elven form. — this time out of earnestness rather than the deception that took place earlier in the season — agreeing 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 to threaten the safety of Middle-earth’s peoples or creatures again. He seals his promise with an act of good faith, handing Galadriel her ring back and shifting back to his orc form.
The moment is too good to be true, as Nenya rid Adar of his hatred and gave him clarity too late. After he unleashed the troll on his children and the Elves alike earlier in the season, the Uruk finally turn on their master and side once again with Sauron, and Adar is slaughtered in what might be the most graphic death in The Lord of the Rings franchise to date.
That’s two storylines wrapped up, as we will no longer be splitting our time with Adar’s camps or Celebrimbor’s goings-on in the now-razed Eregion.
Many miles from the elven smiths’ city are two more plotlines merging as one as Kemen (Leon Wadham) shows his traitorous face in Pelargir, finally learning that Isildur (Maxim Baldry) has been alive all this time. Pelargir is no longer a port for the surviving Southlanders, but a military outpost for Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle) and his twisted plans for Numenor.
, the false King was forced into one final hail Mary: forging a letter between Miriel and Sauron, deeming all of the Faithful as traitors. Elendil (Lloyd Owen) must flee Numenor, but not before Miriel gives him the most important weapon in The Lord of the Rings canon: Narsil. Though 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 with the latter’s departure to Numenor.
While we’re sort of in a “We Didn’t Start the Fire”-esque explanation of the ending, don’t worry — only two more major points to hit and then we can get into what everything means.
Though it happens in 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 that the only thing stopping the creature from wreaking havoc on the mountain is King Durin’s (Peter Mullan) sacrifice. After seeing what he had unleashed by breaking through the wall, King Durin III takes his ax, gives his son his ring, and dives at the creature, apparently killing himself and sealing the cavern once more. The balrog is somehow not the Dwarves’ only problem, though. While under the influence of the ring, the king made lofty promises to other factions of Dwarves that Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) will now be expected to honor despite his knowledge of the rings’ corruption. Meanwhile, his place as now-king is likely to be challenged, with Disa (Sophia Nomvete) making note of a brother trying to stake claim to the throne in Durin’s stead. At the time of writing, I am unaware of a brother of Durin IV, so who that may be remains to be seen.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Finale Gallery
Now, finally, there is the great Wizard showdown of Season 2, 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’d 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’ encampment and kills many under falling rock.
This moment forces the Stoors to move on from their long-held home after burying their lost, resulting in plenty of devastation across 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 trudge away to find their new home, each thanks the Stranger for doing what he could to protect them, calling him “Grand Elf” because they’ve just never met an elf before. And yes, that’s leading to exactly what you think it is.
Grand Elf… Gandalf
No more questions, that is unequivocally Gandalf the Grey. We all speculated the Stranger was Gandalf after Season 1’s finale quote of “when in doubt, always follow your nose” of course, but the assumption was that he was . Whatever the loophole was that allowed Prime Video to use the character, there’s something so exciting about going on an adventure with young Gandalf as he discovers his powers and his place in Middle-earth. We know where he ends up in his journey after they (think they) defeat Sauron at the end of the Second Age, but everything leading up to what we assume will be the Season 5/series finale is unwritten. Thrilling!
Farewell, Adar
While The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was in desperate need of storyline consolidation, I’m actually quite devastated to lose Adar. Even before the curious bargain he struck with Galadriel in his final moments, I had always considered him to be the most interesting character in the show – rooted in deep darkness, but a darkness he maintained solely to protect his children from the likes of Morgoth and Sauron. He had such depth to him, and it’s a real pity we won’t see his story continue. The Uruk at least receive their comeuppance for their betrayal immediately, as Sauron kills Glug (Robert Strange) after the Uruk are unable to hold the line after the Dwarves’ arrival at Eregion just hours after they all stab Adar to death.
The Bromance Lives!
In a season full of devastation, Elrond (Robert Aramayo) on his knees as Elves and orcs fall around him mumbling “Durin will come” over and over again somehow takes the cake as the most heart-wrenching scene. I was certain Elrond and Durin’s friendship was toast. , I was still 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 the moment they are able and Rings of Power’s beloved bromance is maintained.
Narsil — The Sword that was Broken — Has Entered the Canon
The sword that will be used to lop the One Ring off of Sauron’s grubby little hand one day has officially entered the chat. The weapon is that of legend, shattering to pieces during the War of the Last Alliance to be picked up by Isildur to do the aforementioned hand-chopping and eventually be reforged into Anduril to be wielded by Aragorn. The sword, originally forged by the Dwarven-smith Telchar, has now entered the hands of its first owner: Elendil.
Will the Balrog Be a Threat in Rings of Power Season 3?
Though the Second Age does not see the fall of Khazad-dum, we know that the tragedy is to come in the Third. Durin III’s sacrifice is not meaningless, though. By resealing the Balrog in for now, the Dwarves have the opportunity to continue to fight against Sauron who, we know, grows to despise them due to their interference in Eregion.
While knowing that the Dwarves became aware of the Balrog’s presence prior to ultimately digging too deep is noteworthy, my current assumption is that the creature will not play too big of a part in the rest of the series given Khazad-dum’s timeline.
The Elves Choose War
While Season 2 ends on a bit of a down note, due to the failure to destroy the One Ring, it’s worth noting that the Second Age ends on a happy note (similarly to the First). But, we still have at least three more seasons to get there should the Rings of Power stick to its current plan (which, given current viewership, it most certainly will).
The Elves have suffered a tremendous blow at the end of Season 2. Galadriel barely made it out 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 take the fight to Sauron.
This, much like the consolidation of storyline, is very exciting for the future of the series. Two seasons is more than enough infighting between one faction, and the rift between Elrond and Galadriel was just on the brink of becoming tiresome before the show brought the friends back together. Having Elrond give up his grudge against the rings in order to save his friend was a nice touch, helping the future leader realize that the Elven rings will be a great asset to them. At least, of course, until the One Ring is forged…