Well, here we are. We made it to the finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, and isn’t it amazing what a show can do when given the chance to actually tell its story? Not that this was ever a concern for me personally, as I’ve been invested in the series since the get-go, and despite some concerns about the pacing of the season overall — some of which I’ll get into below — I have been continually impressed with the way the sophomore season has managed to up the ante and deliver some truly impressive character work besides, character work made all the more impressive by the sheer size of the ensemble. Though not every episode had the time to devote to every plot line, Episode 8 manages to stick the landing by giving every character arc a degree of closure while also remaining rife with potential stories for the eventual Season 3. We got answers to long-simmering mysteries, we got a long-overdue confrontation, and we even got some kissing in this jam-packed finale, so let’s dive in!

 

King Durin Finally Removes the Ring in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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The episode begins in Khazad-dûm, where Durin (Owain Arthur) and Narvi (Kevin Eldon) find Disa (Sophia Nomvete) with one of the Dwarves that King Durin (Peter Mullan) injured in his ring-induced rage. Enough is enough for the younger Durin, and after a romantic farewell kiss with his wife (I’ll say it again, Durin and Disa are big-time couple goals), he storms down the mine to confront his father at last. He finds the King alone in the mine, breaking stone with a battering ram-like instrument with a strike so powerful it reverberates through the mine, venturing so far down it awakes a certain creature made of flame and rock that we all know and love. But before the Balrog can come out and protest at being woken up from its nap, Durin tries to get through to his father one last time, imploring him to take off the ring, or else risk losing his hand. King Durin calls his bluff, and breaks through the wall after all, despite the sweet memory Durin shared with him to beg him to do otherwise.

Durin follows his father through the newly uncovered tunnel, and to the king’s credit, he has uncovered a pocket rich in ore, so this wasn’t a complete wild goose chase. But their moment of peace is short-lived, as the Balrog is awake at last, and really pissed at being woken up. The creature tries to drag King Durin down but doesn’t quite manage it, and as it rallies, King Durin rises, takes the ring off at last, and turns to fight the Balrog. Only Disa and Narvi’s arrival stops Durin from charging after his father, and the clash between king and Balrog seals the entry to the pocket, leaving the three Dwarves and the ring on the other side of the wall. RIP King Durin, the first of many we’re going to say farewell to this week.

The Stranger and the Dark Wizard Meet in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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Meanwhile, out in Rhûn, The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) arrives at the Stoor village, having opted to pull a Luke Skywalker and save his friends rather than pursue his wizardly path. He finds the village seemingly empty except for one person: the Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds), who is happy to see his “old friend” and fellow istar at long last. The Stranger has no idea what he’s talking about, but the Dark Wizard tells him it was the Stranger’s idea for the two of them to head to Middle-earth to fight and defeat Sauron. He promises the Stranger all the answers he came to Rhûn to find, if only he’ll join him, but the Stranger tells him he didn’t come to Rhûn alone. Turns out, he didn’t need to explain, as the Dark Wizard reveals he knows Nori (Markella Kavanaugh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) by name and oh, would you look at that, one of his scouts has them with a knife to their throats, just like in the Strangers’ vision.

Apparently, this knife-at-the-throat development was not part of the Dark Wizard’s plan, but rather the scouts, as they are now holding the Harfoots hostage in exchange for whatever it is the Dark Wizard promised them. He kills one of them fairly quickly, causing the others to flee, and leaving the Harfoots free and unharmed. With the scouts gone, the Stoors all head out of their homes to join them in the courtyard, and Gundabale (Tanya Moodie) is surprised to find the Dark Wizard there, though her surprise is no match for his indignation at her using a name he does not acknowledge, one he says was given to him by Men long ago. As for what his actual name is — I still think it’s Saruman, personally — we won’t find out just yet.

The Harfoots and Stoors are less than impressed by his murderous ways, even if the person he murdered was the one who tried to hurt them in the first place. He tells them this is the wrong sort of attitude for defeating Sauron, and the Stranger presses him on this point, asking if defeat was all he had in mind. As it turns out, his ambition runs a little higher than mere defeat, and he tells the Stranger that together the two of them can defeat Sauron and take his place — the Stranger’s plot in Season 2 really is just The Empire Strikes Back, isn’t it — but the Stranger refuses, preferring no answers at all to the alternative. The Dark Wizard takes this extremely poorly and caves in a portion of the upper wall of the Stoor village, telling the Stranger that he hopes the loss of those he cares about will put Sauron’s destructive powers into perspective. A few Stoors are crushed by the falling rocks, but the Stranger manages to stop their fall before too many are killed, and the rest of the village manages to evacuate.

Elendil Takes a Step Towards Destiny in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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Over in Númenor, the Faithful have gathered in the palace under Eärien’s (Ema Horvath) watch, where they’re quickly joined by Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), who informs them that he’s learned Miriel (Cythia Addai-Robinson) was able to survive her trial by sea because she has secretly allied herself with Sauron. His proof? Because he said so. I know that being faithful does require a certain degree of, well, faith, but I do need the Faithful here to just ask a couple of questions before blindly accepting whatever Pharazôn says. This declaration is also enough to have all the Faithful branded traitors, and soldiers take to the streets at once to round them all up. If you think this gross violation of human rights is enough to make Eärien realize she’s allied herself with the wrong people, you would be extremely mistaken. She does, however, sneak out to warn her father Elendil (Lloyd Owen) that they’re coming for him, and he heeds her warning and hides, even if he can barely bring himself to look at her.

Elendil doesn’t linger long, instead heading for Miriel’s rooms at the palace — no not like that, but oh, how I wish it were — to urge her to leave the city with him and head for the west, where the Faithful still reside, including his other son, Anárion. Miriel tells Elendil he’ll have to leave the city without her as she’s decided to stay behind. Her place, she tells him, is in the city, and he maintains his place is with her — I cannot handle this, I’m not strong enough. Rather than respond to that, though I doubt it’s because she didn’t want to, Miriel tells him to take the sword she has in her rooms — a blade called Narsil, which is absolutely a name even fans of the Lord of the Rings movies will recognize — to reclaim his title, and therefore his destiny.

Celebrimbor Makes a Dire Foretelling in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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If things are bad in Númenor, then they’re much worse in Eregion, which is barely visible through the smoke and soot. The Orcs have fully breached the city, and the remaining Elves are falling one by one. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) manages to lead a group of them out of the city, where they run into a small cluster of Orcs. She says she will turn herself in, in exchange for everyone else’s freedom, and shows the Orc nine compelling reasons to listen to her. While she uses the Nine rings to barter for her freedom, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is paying the price for sending the rings away in the first place, as up in his tower, Sauron (Charlie Vickers), still in his Annatar guise, is using him for archery target practice.

As the Orcs draw closer to the tower, Sauron asks Celebrimbor again where the Nine are, promising to kill him quickly if he tells him. The Elven smith still reveals nothing, instead simply lamenting how Sauron has ruined his city, but Sauron maintains he did all this for Celebrimbor’s sake — and Edwards’ look of utter disbelief, even as Celebrimbor is at death’s door, is a brief moment of comedy in the bleakness. The rings Celebrimbor forged, Sauron says, are a gift he merely wants to share with the world, and I think he actually believes what he’s saying. Sauron then delivers his next threat, to keep Celebrimbor alive unnaturally until the Orcs can get to him, and presumably after that as well, but Celebrimbor warns that that particular skill is going to come back and bite him one day. He tells Sauron that the Rings of Power will be the source of his downfall one day, and this is enough to finally anger him enough that he impales Celebrimbor against the wall, where the smith dies after finally calling Sauron by his true name, giving him the title the Lord of the Rings.

Pelargir Gets a Rude Awakening in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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The episode continues to hop around and heads to Pelargir next, which we haven’t checked in on in quite some time. Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) finds Isildur (Maxim Baldry) in his workshop, brooding over the knife Estrid (Nia Towle) stabbed him with. Ah, to be young and in love. With Isildur packing to go, Theo takes the chance to ask him how he lives with the pain and guilt of his mother’s death, the same feelings Theo is living with now. Isildur tells him that his trip to Middle-earth put things into perspective for him. Voices outside attract their attention, as boats have arrived presumably bearing supplies. Isildur asks Theo if he’s sure he wouldn’t like to come back to Númenor with him, and Theo says he’s sure. I’m sorry to see this duo break up, even though I know Isildur has to go on to greater, more tragic things and can’t stay and be a “low man” forever.

Isildur doesn’t stay alone for long, as Estrid joins him shortly after to return some things Theo left her. She tells him that she and her betrothed Haegan (Gabriel Akuwudike) are building a home in the Pelargir settlement, but that all his talk of them being in love forever freaked her out. Seeing his chance and taking it at last, Isildur and Estrid finally kiss, and it must have been one hell of a kiss because he immediately asks her to come back to Númenor with him. Unfortunately for everyone, the ships outside didn’t come bearing supplies, but instead Kemen (Leon Wadham), the only character who manages to surpass Pharazôn in being the literal worst, and yes, I do include Sauron on that list. Kemen disregards both Theo and Haegan’s attempts to explain how things work in the settlement, instead giving instructions to his men on building a watchtower with no regard for existing infrastructure.

The one thing that does manage to throw him off balance is Isildur’s arrival. The panic is clear on his face, as if Isildur makes it back to Númenor alive, then most of Eärien’s reasoning for siding with Pharazôn disappears, and so does any reason for her to spend any time in proximity to Kemen. Isildur asks Kemen to make space on the boats for Estrid, something that comes as news to poor Haegan, but Kemen says they won’t take any low men back to Númenor with them. Isildur tries to pull rank, but Kemen pulls it out from under him, telling him Pharazôn is king, while Elendil has been branded a traitor. Isildur lashes out at Kemen, but pulls back only when he threatens to have his horse Berek killed. Kemen then declares himself the commander of Pelargir, which is now a fortress for Númenorian soldiers, and says the current residents may only remain in exchange for delivering timber regularly. So much for the promise to the Ents. I’d be interested to see how long Kemen’s command lasts, as I doubt even his soldiers like him much, and it can’t be that hard to overthrow him once they get sick of him. Another plot point to revisit in Season 3.

Sauron and Galadriel Come Face to Face in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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Back near Eregion, Galadriel is led back to Adar (Sam Hazeldine), where she tells him that she accepts the terms of his deal, and will help him destroy Sauron as long as he calls off the Orcs. Adar asks how she plans to do that without her ring, and reveals that he not only has it, but has put it on. The effect is startling, as it heals the wounds Adar has carried for over a thousand years, making him appear more Elf-like as he once did. However, the transformation back to his old self seems to be more out of curiosity than anything else, and he quickly returns the ring, promising to recall the Orcs if Galadriel helps him defeat Sauron, even forgiving her for all the Orcs she killed in the past. As the two reach their agreement, a few more Orcs arrive in the clearing, bearing with them an Orc that Sauron spoke to back in Eregion. They claim Sauron attempted to turn the Orc against Adar, mortally wounding him when he refused. All this, however, turns out to be a ruse, as the assembled Orcs surround their father, blades drawn, and give him the Julius Caesar treatment.

With Morgoth’s crown now in his possession, Sauron orders the Orcs to destroy Eregion and kill all Elves but the leaders, and it’s only this order that spares Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova). And now at long last, it’s finally time for Sauron and Galadriel to come face to face. Galadriel attacks while Sauron deflects, and asks her to hand over not only the Nine but her own ring as well. Understandably, given everything, Galadriel is no longer interested in hearing whatever Sauron has to offer. Clark and Vickers have such spectacular chemistry that for all that I understand why the two characters stayed apart for most of the season, I cannot help but feel that this is my biggest issue with Season 2 overall.

Much is made of the fact that Sauron likely has some undue influence over Galadriel, having been in her mind before, and it’s a concern Galadriel shares with those around her. With that in mind, I cannot help but wish that more had been made out of it. I made a joke early on in the season, wondering if Galadriel and Sauron would share some sort of mind-to-mind connection à la Reylo, and now that that turned out to be just a joke after all, it also feels like a huge missed opportunity. Had Sauron appeared in Galadriel’s mind throughout the season, ever the unreliable narrator, then that would add another layer of tension to this scene, as Galadriel tries to separate the man in these visions from the man before her now. And beyond whatever that would contribute to the plot, it would also be an occasion for Vickers and Clark to play off each other a little more, because it is just electric when they do.

That said, their long-awaited duel is fantastic, and absolutely a highlight of the season. The choreography, the camera work, and the emotionally-charged barbs they fling at one another are all top-tier. Sauron changes his face several times during the fight, appearing as Halbrand, as Celebrimbor, and even as Galadriel herself — and both Clark and Edwards do a phenomenal job of imitating Vickers’ face and physicality without ever crossing the line into parody. Though Galadriel gains the upper hand a couple of times, the fight comes to an end when, rather than placing a crown on her head, Sauron stabs Galadriel in the chest with Morgoth’s crown. As she falls, he gets his hands on the Nine, and finally using their mental connection, orders her to hand her own ring over as well. Rather than comply, Galadriel throws herself off the cliff they’re standing on.

Just as things are looking dire for our trio of Elves back in Eregion, help comes in the form of a squadron of Dwarves. Elrond is initially excited to see Durin, but one of the other Dwarves informs him that Durin is not there, as he is in mourning. So at least Elrond has some explanation for why his friend didn’t arrive as expected the day before. As the tide of the fight turns, Arondir looks up in time to see Galadriel fall, so at least she won’t be alone for long. Sure enough, they find her lying at the base of the cliff, with her wounds so severe, her soul is being drawn towards the shadow. Using the power of his ring, Gil-galad tries to stave off the worst of the damage, but it continues to spread until Elrond dons Nenya himself and steps in to help.

Back in the Stoor village, the survivors try to pick up the pieces of their lives, knowing they can’t stay behind in the village now that it’s ruined. Nori wants to fix it, but Poppy tells her that she learned after her family died that some things just can’t be fixed, and that it’s all a question of what to do next. As she speaks, we see the Dwarves in mourning, the surviving Elves fleeing Eregion, led by Elrond, Miriel brought before Pharazôn in chains, while Elendil makes his escape from the city — his vision from the palantir realized — with Narsil at his side. Sauron, meanwhile, is left behind in the ruins of Eregion, no doubt already planning his next move. The road may be winding, but never let it be said that he is a poor navigator.

We Finally Learn the Stranger’s Name in the ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale

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As for the Stranger, the Stoors bid him farewell, addressing him as “Grand Elf” — and raise your hand if you saw where this was going — before he and Nori must also say goodbye to each other as their paths diverge at last; Nori is preparing to lead the Stoors on their first ever migration, while the Stranger has his own path to follow. Their parting was inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any easier to see it come to pass, and the two share a sweet moment before Nori follows the rest of the Stoors out. Left behind in the wreckage, the Stranger looks ready to leave as well until a fallen branch catches his attention. But it’s not just any branch. He’s finally found his staff.

With the staff in tow, he heads back to Tom Bombadil’s (Rory Kinnear), realizing that the whole exercise was a test of his priorities — friendship over power — and the consequence was his wizard staff finding him at the end. Tom tells him that Wizard’s names also find them, and sure enough, the Stranger is a stranger no more, introducing himself to Tom as… Gandalf. We’re hardly surprised to hear he was Gandalf all along, given that it’s what fans had long suspected, but it’s nice to have the suspicions confirmed all the same. With that settled, he joins Tom by the fire, ready for his training to begin, while the Dark Wizard, who is still nameless, presumably broods at being back to square one with no friends.

Back in Khazad-dûm, Narvi tells Durin that Eregion has fallen, but that Elrond is leading the survivors somewhere safe. Durin wants to tell Elrond that the Dwarves will aid them if needed, but Disa tells them that they have problems of their own, namely the question of succession. Some of the lords claim that Prince Durin was not the King’s preferred heir, but rather the King’s other son — either in their own self-interest, or because it seemed that’s where things stood prior to the fight with the Balrog. Either way, there’s trouble ahead for Khazad-dûm. Between this, Durin’s promise to Disa never to wear a ring, and the late King’s comments that in order to understand the mountain, Durin will have to wear a ring, I’d be surprised if we don’t see him struggle with this very thing in Season 3.

Galadriel, now healed, wakes up in the safe place Elrond has led them to, a valley north of Khazad-dûm that will one day be known as Rivendell, but for now, it’s just a sanctuary protected by the three rings, where they can regroup and find out their next steps. Gil-galad tells Galadriel, Elrond and Arondir, that the Elves must now decide whether to engage with Sauron or to prepare their defenses instead. Galadriel suggests they look to Celebrimbor’s advice, and remember that darkness is beaten by light, not by strength, which is a beautiful sentiment, but also doesn’t really answer Gil-galad’s question one way or another. It seems all the Elves need right now is to be reminded they’re in this together, anyway, and that they certainly get from the Elves in charge.

And with that, the second season of Rings of Power has come to an end. Though I felt at times it skewed too Lindon, and then Eregion-heavy, in retrospect, the fall of Eregion needed as much focus as it got in order to properly set the pieces up for future seasons, which will hopefully be more evenly distributed across plotlines. Though I did enjoy the first season, and acknowledge that this one is very different in tone, the second season is also proof, to me, of the advantages of letting a story really find its feet and be given time to develop. Yes, we already know the endpoint of this saga. We already know how Sauron is defeated, but it’s a testament to how compelling the character work in the series is that it can still have an audience this invested, even when the end of the story is a foregone conclusion. Now, if only Season 3 will let Miriel and Elendil kiss, I promise you’ll never hear me complain again.

The Rings of Power Season 2 is streaming now on Prime Video.