As we race toward the finale, it looks as if Middle-earth is headed to war.

Welcome back to the continuing adventures of Celebrimbor! After declaring last week that the pitfall king and elven smith is my favorite character of the series, I’ve only doubled down following episode 6. As we head toward the finale, there’s no going back now.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power focused on Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) so much in the first season, only to shuffle her character to the sidelines in season 2. She—and everyone else in Middle-earth, for that matter—is intensely concerned about Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and his schemes, but no one is making moves to find or stop him. Instead, he’s just tricking Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) into doing his evil bidding like a hand puppet. Remember that giant anvil that Sauron raised into the air like he was Wile E. Coyote? Well, it almost crushes my poor Celebrimbor. Rings of Power writers, you have to get him out of here!

The elf made seven rings for the dark lord already, and now Sauron’s begging him for another nine. “I am well. I’m just fatigued,” Celebrimbor says after yelling at his staff. “Until the nine are complete, nothing else matters.”

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Show me more of that sea monster, please!

Pharazôn 2024

Sauron wants to control mankind, no matter how trivial their election plot is this season. Both candidates are secretly consulting with a magic orb that shows them glimpses of the future. Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) is only in charge right now because he outed Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), but the new king of Númenor is getting his fix of the magic orb as well.

With his new power, he sentences Elendil (Lloyd Owen) to trial by combat with a massive sea monster. Elendil continues to support Míriel, so he was branded a traitor last episode. Later, Elendil argues with his daughter Eärien (Ema Horvath). She’s a brand-new character created for this series…who is easily the most annoying presence on the show. When Elendil stands to face the sea monster with a brave expression, Míriel pleads to sacrifice herself in his place. She walks down the steps and sinks into the sea as the beast’s tendrils pull her down. Looking her in the eye, it roars and flings her back ashore unharmed. “Hail Míriel, Queen of the Sea!” Elendil declares.

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My dinner with Adar.

Who Needs Rings When You Have a Crown?

At the orc camp, Galadriel is still resistant to the idea of teaming up with her former foe. It seems that she won’t stop at nothing to defeat Sauron, despite claiming otherwise. “What help could you possibly provide, Orc?” she asks Adar (Sam Hazeldine). Umm…maybe my whole orc army, which is thousands strong? Then Adar reveals that he possesses Morgoth’s crown—a kind of Infinity Gauntlet in Lord of the Rings that held the original three silmarils.

Galadriel warns Adar that attacking Celebrimbor’s city is exactly what Sauron wants. He doesn’t possess an army of his own, so taking Adar’s is his only solution. Adar doesn’t care. He think he can defeat Sauron and claim the city.

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The Stranger needs more strength.

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Magic Is Strange

Back with Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) and the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), teatime has sidelined the confused wizard for nearly three episodes now. He’s worried about Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and her friend, even though Poppy (Megan Richards) and her new Stoor crush are striking up quite a romance in the desert. But if the Stranger wants to continue his quest, he must make a choice. According to Bombadil, he must choose friends or magic.

“You’ll find your true staff only when the vision of your heart is single to the service of the Secret Fire,” he tells the Stranger. Umm…come again? When the Stranger brings up the need to save Nori again, Bombadil reminds him, “There are times when one path becomes two, and you must choose.” It’s “your friend or your destiny.” Harsh.

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Durin is Khazad-dûm’s only hope.

Canary in a Coal Mine

In the caves of Khazad-dûm, King Durin III (Peter Mullan) refuses to take off his ring. He even throws his son back when Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) tries to remove it from his finger. “As long as he’s wearing that ring, he’s deaf to all other voices, even ours,” Disa (Sophia Nomvete) tells him. “Every dwarf in this mountain is in peril.” But Durin III can’t fight as easily as she can. “In his eyes, I still see my father,” he says. “Lost and far away, yes. But he’s still in there.”

Disa sings an atonal call to summon giant cave bats that momentarily protect the mines, but that won’t safeguard them forever. “This is only the beginning,” she says. Somehow the couple must figure out a way to stop King Durin III from bringing the whole mountain down on them and killing them all. Good luck!

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Celebrimbor, wake up!

A Precious Line Read

Let’s get back to Celebrimbor. The elf is drawing pictures of rings when the orcs finally attack, so Sauron attempts to trap him in the tower. “We still have nine rings to forge!” he yells. “Your rings—the rings of power—they will be deemed the most precious creations in all Middle-earth,” Sauron says, with extra emphasis on precious. Only a man as evil as Sauron could say a line so cringe-inducing. Next week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sauron reminded us that Prime Day is approaching.