This article contains spoilers forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerreally started telling its story in season 2, solving many of season 1’s mysteries. The show is keen on mystery box storytelling, having spent season 1 teasingSauron’s real identity, dropping hints that he may be one of the original characters on display. Having hinted that everyone from the Stranger or Halbrand to Adar or Dilly Brandyfoot was Sauron, the show finally confirmed in the season 1 finale that Halbrand was the right answer. Season 2 opened some mystery boxes of its own and dropped numerous other bombshells.
As an adaptation of high fantasy masterJ.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Agematerial, the show is addressingThe Silmarillionstories, although it only has the rights toThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Ringsnovel and appendices. Luckily, rights haven’t presented an issue, with the Tolkien Estate approving the show’s use of various elements of other works. For lifelong Tolkien fans and newcomers to the legendarium alike,Rings of Powerseason 2 has had some jaw-dropping Second Age moments. These include victorious canon arcs but also reveals of surprising and powerful original material.
10Sauron Poisoned 13 Elves Into The First Orcs
Morgoth Made Adar Into One Of The Moriondor
InThe Rings of Powerseason 2, episode 1, Adar concluded the Moriondor tale he started telling in season 1’s episode 6. In season 1, episode 6,Adar was Galadriel’s prisoner and confirmed that he was a Moriondor- one of the first Uruk, an Elf twisted into an Orc by Morgoth in the First Age. ThisLord of the RingsOrc origin storywas pulled fromThe Silmarillionbut didn’t elaborate on the exact process that Morgoth used or how many Moriondor there were. However, season 2 blew these mysteries apart with its entirely original Moriondor myth.
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The tables had turned for Adar by season 2. No longer the prisoner, he was holding Halbrand captive and told him that he was once bound just as Halbrand was.Adar revealed himself as one of 13 Moriondor-Morgoth bargained with 13 Elves, offering them each something in return for their “new birth.” They were bound and starved on a “dark and nameless peak” before Sauron gave them wine that transformed them. This story doesn’t contradict canon but does create an ocean of implications, the bottom of which fans and fanfiction writers probably won’t reach for years.
9Sauron Is A Black Tentacle Monster
Sauron Is A Black Writhing Mass While He Builds A Body
Surely, one ofRings of Powerseason 2’s biggest reveals must be its explicit detailing ofSauron’s shapeshifting process. Tolkien readers will likely be aware of Sauron’s canonical shapeshifting and regenerating ability, which was well documented inThe Silmarillion. In this collection of stories, Sauron assumed his fair form, Annatar, and also a terrible form of “malice and hatred made visible.” Even more fascinatingly,The Lay of Leithiansaw Sauron shift fluidlybetween different forms, including a vampire, a werewolf, and a mysterious demon form.
All 4 Live-Action Sauron Actors In The Lord Of The Rings & Rings Of Power
The Lord of the Rings movies popularized Sauron as a giant, flaming eye, but four actors have played Sauron in live-action over the years.
Like the Moriondor transformation, Sauron’s shapeshifting was a process thatThe Rings of Powerreveled in clarifying. The choice to adapt enigmatic magic instead of adding more mundane material like dialogue didn’t sit well with everyone, but it did provide thought-provoking, creative, and unforgettable imagery. After Adar killed Sauron in the flashback in season 2, episode 1, Sauron’s spirit spent what seemed like centuries animating his thick, black blood.Sauron’s black ooze form gradually got biggerand more tactile by catching and consuming prey. Finally, after catching and ingesting a human, Sauron was able to take his Halbrand form.
8Morgoth’s Crown Is A Powerful Weapon
Even Sauron Couldn’t Survive Being Stabbed By Morgoth’s Crown
One of the best reveals ofThe Rings of Powerseason 2was that Morgoth’s Crown was not just historical regalia but one of the most powerful weapons in Middle-earth. At first glance,Morgoth’s Crown was a highlight of season 2as a glorious adaptation ofThe Silmarillionartifact tackled by Lúthien and Beren in what may be the legendarium’s best story. Visually, this was a treat of a Tolkien bone to throw to hungry fans, but the crown’s true value shone through as a plot device.
In the opening flashback of season 2, episode 1,Adar betrayed Sauron at his coronation, stabbing him in the back with Morgoth’s spiked crown. One would have thought that as one ofthe 15 Valar, the least Morgoth could have afforded was a uniform without fatal design flaws. But in an intriguing twist of the showrunners' invention, the crown was loaded with enough Morgul magic to destroy the body of even Morgoth’s second-in-command.
7Adar Could Transform Back Into An Elf
Ring Of Power Nenya Could Have Saved Adar
No one expected to see the monstrous Adar with all his disfigurement healed, making this a huge reveal in season 2. An original invention of the show,Adar’s half-Elf, half-Orc appearance was illustrative of Morgoth’s inability to truly create new life. This was thematically relevant, as trying to extend life beyond what was naturally available was Tolkien’s key issue inThe Lord of the Rings. Regardless, Adar’s scarred face suited his sinister nature to a tee.
After taking one ofthe three magical Elven-rings, Nenya, from Elrond, Adar put it on and quickly discovered its power to heal and combat the decays of time. Miraculously,the ring reversed the effects of Morgoth’s Elf-Uruk surgery. If the Elven-rings have the power to undo what Tolkien once described as Morgoth’s most loathsome act, this puts their power duringThe Lord of the Ringsinto perspective. It also makes the level of Sauron and Celebrimbor’s accomplishment in their forging totally clear.
6Bronwyn Is Dead
Bronwyn Didn’t Survive Season 1’s Wounds
Bronwyn was a huge character inThe Rings of Powerseason 1, so the confirmation of her death in season 2 was a massive reveal.Bronwyn’s time in the show was cut shortby her actress, Nazanin Boniadi, exiting the show. Focusing on other projects, Boniadi left Theo without a mother and Arondir without a romance in the show. Some more time to say goodbye to Bronwyn’s important character would have been ideal.
However, the Southlands arc pretty much ended in season 1 anyway. Since Adar successfully turned the Southlands into Mordor near the end of season 1,the Southlanders' real role in the show had already finished playing out by the start of season 2. That’s why Boniadi’s exit wasn’t as tough a blow to the show as it could have been.
5Adar Was A Good Man After All
Adar And Galadriel Could Have Been Friends
Adar was given some of the best character development of the show, and his disturbing moral ambivalence gradually fell away from him. In season 2, episode 6,Adar negotiated semi-honorably, showing perhaps more diplomacy than Galadriel herself. But he was still mean and cynical untilThe Rings of Powerseason 2 finale. By then, Adar had finally heard what the universe was trying to tell him, realizing his error and hypocrisy. Discarding all lies, he opened up to Galadriel and offered genuine equality and partnership.
Adar not only gave up his one chance of a normal life but did what no other character showed themself able to do, making him season 2’s shock hero.
His arc complete, it was symbolic poetry thatAdar turned around to reveal a pure and youthful Elvish face, healed by wearing Galadriel’s ring of power. In giving up the addictive ring to Galadriel, Adar not only gave up his one chance of a normal life but did what no other character showed themself able to do, making him season 2’s shock hero and a genuinely devastating character death. Adar will be missed in season 3.
4Durin III Sacrificed Himself To Bury The Balrog
The Balrog Durin’s Bane Earned His Name
The Balrog was just one brilliantly divisive moment inThe Rings of Powerseason 1, and it was used in season 2, in Durin’s story, to great effect. Durin III is a Tolkien character outlined inThe Lord of the Rings’appendices and seeing him develop with his son, Durin IV, was both endearing and dramatic. Durin III was awarded one ofthe Dwarves' Rings of Powerby Sauron, and it slowly corrupted him over the season.The Dwarves were hardy creaturesand were far more resistant to the rings than Men.
InThe Lord of the Rings,the Balrog in Moria didn’t awaken until the Third Age.
While they never fully submitted to Sauron’s control like the Ringwraiths, Dwarves were perverted into greed. The ring’s hold on Durin interrupted an already floundering relationship with his son. So, whenDurin III catastrophically unearthed the Balrog, and then immediately redeemed himself by attacking it to protect his son, it was a tragic but satisfying payoff. Burying the Balrog also explained how it may come to pass that it would never again be discovered until the Third Age.
3Tom Bombadil Lives in Rhûn And Trained Gandalf
Tom Bombadil Opposed Sauron
Unquestionably one ofthe best Tolkien characters of all time, Tom Bombadil, in general, was one of the biggest reveals ofThe Rings of Powerseason 2. Not only was Tom adapted for the screen for the first time in history, but he was also given a controversial, non-canonical storyline. Tom wasn’t mentioned in Second Age stories in Tolkien’s books. In season 2,Tom was living in Rhûn, which was far from his home inThe Lord of the Rings- the Old Forest. Tom Bombadil didn’t want to leave the Old Forest inThe Lord of the Rings.
The Rings Of Power May Have Answered What Tom Bombadil Really Is
Tolkien left the specifics of Tom Bombadil’s role and true nature a mystery in Lord of the Rings, but Rings of Power has presented its own answer.
Although, he may not have always been that way, as Gandalf suggested in the book. In another original move,Tom Bombadil bumped into the Strangerin season 2, who turned out to be Gandalf. Though he avoided getting involved in war in the book, Bombadil went out of his way to support Gandalf in his opposition to Sauron in the show. Bombadil’s pacifism symbolism was one enjoyable facet of his character. However, he also saved the Hobbits from Barrow-wights and then armed them, proving that the show’s version of the character was justifiable.
2Sauron Can Shapeshift Into Galadriel
Sauron Can Shapeshift Into Anyone, In Theory
Sauron’s regeneration abilities were documented in season 2’s first episode, and he shapeshifted from Halbrand into Annatar in episode 2, but the real reveal came when he shapeshifted into Galadriel in episode 8.Sauron was right to highlight that he and Galadriel had a few things in common, which drove their compelling relationship in seasons 1 and 2. But he was wrong to assume that taunting her with previous conversations would have swayed her to his side, indicating one of his most fatal flaws - a certain lack of empathy and understanding of other hearts.
Sauron’s gender-bending doppelgänger moment was brilliant, mind-boggling, and made sense thematically.
For example, Sauron would have guarded the Cracks of Doom if he thought that anyone could resist and destroy the One Ring.Tolkien’s books didn’t say anything about Sauron shapeshifting into exact imitationsof other people. However, like the vast majority of the show’s original material, this idea did not break canon, it embellished it. Sauron’s gender-bending doppelgänger moment was brilliant, mind-boggling, and made sense thematically. Sauron knowing every corner of Galadriel’s body is somewhere between creepy and inspired, considering their bizarre mutual obsession.
1The Stranger Is Gandalf
The Stranger’s Identity was Finally Revealed
Finally crushing season 2’s biggest mystery box, the last episode finally revealed that the Stranger was Gandalf, as many had guessed a long time ago.The penny dropped beyond all doubt as he vocalized “Grand-Elf,“repeating the Stoors' nickname for him out loud. Not long after, he confirmed to Tom Bombadil that he had realized that his name was Gandalf. The show’s wise move to leave the Stranger’s identity reveal until the season 2 finale allowed the previous episodes to give Celebrimbor the focus he deserved.
Rings of Poweris more than a dark revenge story or a villain origin story that panders to contemporary expectations.
This reveal takes the Stranger’s role in the show from lighthearted fun to powerfully relevant, with the chance to impact Tolkien’s world forever. Gandalf’s presence in the show creates a powerful symmetry to Sauron, confirming thatRings of Poweris more than a dark revenge story or a villain origin story that panders to contemporary expectations.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris a story that pits darkness against light in a fair face-off, exploring the past of beloved characters while creating new characters to love.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
