Gather round, everyone, for another Middle-earth history lesson

Season 2 episode 6 contains references to powerful items with ties to Sauron and Celebrimbor (Image credit: Prime Video)

The Rings of Power season 2 is fast approaching its explosive crescendo – but, before everything kicks off in episode 7, its predecessor has come bearing gifts in the form of some fascinating Middle-earth lore.

Season 2 episode 6, titled ‘Where Is He?’, continues to ramp up the tension ahead of next week’s brutal Siege of Eregion, aka this season’s tentpole battle sequence. Amid the multiple storylines explored in The Rings of Power‘s latest entry, though, a suspense-filled scene between Galadriel and Adar contains some compelling historical references to Middle-earth’s First Age. Intriguingly, the lore dropped by Adar has ties to Sauron and Celebrimbor, too, whose increasingly fractious and abusive relationship is really going to “some dark places” as season 2 of the hit Amazon show reaches its endgame.

But enough dawdling. As long-time Lord of the Rings fans might have deduced, I am talking about the Silmarils and Morgoth’s crown – the former being mentioned by name by Adar during his chat with Galadriel, and the latter showing up once more after its initial appearance in The Rings of Power season 2’s opening episode.

What are the Silmarils and why are they so important in The Lord of the Rings?

The Silmarils contained the light of Valinor’s Two Trees – one of which, Laurelin, can be seen in this image (Image credit: Amazon Studios)

There’s a lot of background information on the Silmarils, so much so that I could dedicate an entire feature’s worth of writing to them. But, while they’re hugely important items that shaped the very history and topography of Middle-earth, I’ll refrain from going off-track.

So, what are the Silmarils? Created by Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, who’s considered to be the greatest elven-smith to ever live (much to Celebrimbor’s chagrin) during the First Age, the Silmarils are three gems of immense beauty and greatness. Each one contained the light of the Two Trees of Valinor – Telperion and Laurelin – and, after the duo were destroyed by Morgoth and Ungoliant, the Silmarils became even more important to the elves as they contained the last vestiges of the light that the Two Trees emitted. This was all covered, albeit briefly, in The Rings of Power season 1’s premiere.

Unfortunately, the Silmarils wouldn’t remain in the elves’ care forever. Long story short, Morgoth stole them, which kicked off the War of the Jewels (also known as the Wars of Beleriand, the Goblin-wars, and the War of the Great Jewels) between Morgoth’s forces and the Noldor, i.e. the second elven clan that arrived on Arda (The Lord of the Rings‘ version of Earth, basically). The brutal, centuries-long fight ended with the War of Wrath, which led to Morgoth’s defeat, the sinking of Beleriand beneath Arda’s vast ocean, and the end of the First Age.

Okay, but what happened to the Silmarils? Again, there’s a lot of history surrounding them – to get the full picture, I’d recommend reading ‘The Silmarillion’, a book comprising numerous myths and short stories, all of which were penned by legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien, that was assembled and published posthumously by his son Christopher with assistance from Guy Gavriel Key.

If you want the short answer, though: one was placed as a star in the sky by the Valar (essentially, The Lord of the Rings‘ version of supremely powerful angels), another was lost beneath Arda’s waves, and the final one was thrown into a fiery pit.

What is Morgoth’s crown? And why does Adar have it in The Rings of Power season 2?

Morgoth’s crown was first shown in season 2 episode 1’s Sauron-focused flashback sequence (Image credit: Prime Video)

First glimpsed in episode 1 of The Rings of Power three-episode premiere, Morgoth’s crown, which is also known as the Iron Crown, was forged by Morgoth to hold the three Silmarils once he’s stolen them. Although incredibly heavy, Morgoth was never seen without it – well, until the elves Lúthien and Beren, who have been briefly mentioned in one of the best Prime Video shows, cast a sleeping spell on Morgoth, causing the crown to fall from his head and the duo being able to regain on one of the Silmarils.

But I digress. In the source material, Morgoth’s crown is fashioned into a collar for his neck following his defeat and eternal casting out into the Timeless Void via the Door of Night. However, in Amazon’s prequel series, it’s held by Adar, with the fallen elf using it to lead the seemingly fatal attack on Sauron, who was Morgoth’s lieutenant, in season 2’s opening episode.

Until ‘Where Is He?’, we aren’t sure what role Morgoth’s crown will play in season 2 and beyond. However, as Adar reveals to Galadriel (and, by proxy, the audience), he wants to use Morgoth’s crown in conjunction with the three elven rings to destroy Sauron once and for all. In Adar’s view, the elven rings, which are untouched by Sauron and, therefore, weren’t corrupted by his dark magic, plus the Iron Crown contains more than enough, well, power to kill him for good. It’s why Adar is hell-bent on convincing Galadriel to give him Nenya, her Ring of Power, despite her reluctance to do so (I mean, would you give it to a millennia-old Uruk who’s also one of your sworn enemies?).

Now, I know what you’re thinking: isn’t Sauron seen with Morgoth’s crown in The Rings of Power season 2’s official trailer? Yes, so you’re right in assuming that it’ll come into his possession before this season ends. How it does so, though, I won’t say. You’ll just have to keep your eye out for my season 2 ending explainer once this chapter’s eight and final episode arrives on Thursday, October 3.

In the meantime, check out the section below for more coverage – some of it exclusive – on The Rings of Power season 2.