With the wide range of characters typical of high fantasy, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has lots of characters to manage, but there is one that may not make it to season 3. If lore is anything to go by, many characters may meet untimely deaths in season 2. Covering the Second Age of Middle-earth, as described by author J.R.R. Tolkien in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, the show will follow a roughly pre-determined plot. There will presumably be some diversions from lore, judging from season 1.

Amazon Prime Video’s deal includes the rights to adapt material from The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, plus The Hobbit, and cannot stray too far from the major narrative points of the story. This is particularly relevant for one character, whose death was included in green-lit source material but was arguably not a point in The Lord of the Rings timeline, with huge ramifications. So, while the show can include certain deaths, the need to do so for every character isn’t guaranteed. However, recent comments from showrunners point to a foregone conclusion for one particular character.

Sauron’s War Against The Elves In The Rings Of Power Season 2 All But Confirms Celebrimbor’s Death

Showrunners Suggested That Sauron Will Go To War Against The Elves

Showrunners teased The War of the Elves and Sauron for season 2, which may spell the end for Celebrimbor. As The Rings of Power season 1 finale explained, Halbrand is Sauron, and he’ll be “maneuvering out in the open” in season 2 according to showrunner Patrick Mckay (via The Hollywood Reporter). Speaking to Total Film in a print feature, showrunners confirmed that “Sauron’s agenda” will set “everything in motion” in season 2, causing “Adar…and his army of Orcs” to “come crashing together” with “armies of Elves.” In lore, this battle marked the end for Celebrimbor.

How Sauron’s Rings of Power plan will come together is unknown, considering that he and Adar weren’t exactly allies at the end of season 1. But season 2 “will see the creation of lots more rings” which will connect the minds of the wearers (via an Empire print exclusive). In canon, a disguised Sauron forged these with Celebrimbor in Eregion before forging the One Ring in Mordor. Wearing the One Ring revealed Sauron’s identity to Celebrimbor and the Elves, who then turned against him. Sauron led an army to Eregion, demanding the rings, and killed Celebrimbor upon his resistance.

What Happens To Celebrimbor In Tolkien’s Lore

Celebrimbor Was Brutally Killed In The Books

The show will include certain Celebrimbor storylines from the books, such as his forging of the show’s titular Rings of Power, following his forging of the three Elven rings at the end of season 1. If the show argues that it must accurately adapt Sauron’s war against the Elves and Celebrimbor’s death as key narrative points, they may have an in to be able to adapt the specifics on this that were mentioned in Unfinished Tales. Here, Tolkien described how Sauron captured Celebrimbor’s forge, the House of the Mírdain, though he didn’t publish this description while alive.

Sauron killed Celebrimbor as he wouldn’t give up the three Elven rings.

In Unfinished Tales, “Celebrimbor, desperate, himself withstood Sauron on the steps of the great door of the Mírdain; but he was grappled and taken captive… Then… put to torment” by Sauron to discover the locations of the rings. Sauron killed Celebrimbor as he wouldn’t give up the three Elven rings. The appendices to The Lord of the Rings refer to the “Death of Celebrimbor” and in The Silmarillion, he was “slain“, while gory detail in Unfinished Tales confirmed that Sauron “turned… to battle… bearing as a banner Celebrimbor’s body hung upon a pole, shot through with Orc-arrows.”

Why The Rings Of Power Could Delay Celebrimbor’s Death

Celebrimbor Will Be Important In Season 2

Celebrimbor will “arguably become the principal protagonist” of The Rings of Power season 2, so it may be hard for the show to kill him off in this season, if ever (via a Total Film print exclusive). Celebrimbor the smith stepping into the limelight in season 2 makes sense, since this season will deliver on the show’s title by portraying the forging of more rings. If Celebrimbor will replace Galadriel as The Rings of Power’s focus in season 2, the show may break canon and keep Celebrimbor alive to maintain audience engagement.

Alternatively, the show could kill Celebrimbor, but not in season 2. In the books, Sauron used a fair form to deceive Celebrimbor into making the Rings of Power before making the One Ring, then building Barad-dûr, launching his war against the Elves, and killing Celebrimbor. The Rings of Power season 1 altered the timeline of the source material to fit its adaptation, and if season 2 does as well, Celebrimbor may not die until later. However, with Sauron’s war against the Elves confirmed and a brutalized-looking Celebrimbor in the trailer, Celebrimbor’s death would work for season 2.The show could use the shock tactics adopted by Game of Thrones in its killing of main character Ned Stark. This unconventional approach set the brutal tone for Game of Thrones and promised a savage political game instead of a pathos-driven character study. This was refreshing and paid dividends for the show. While the tone of Tolkien’s Second Age was more medieval romance than political game, this recent cultural reference could help carry The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power through the gory murder of its season 2 protagonist, currying audience favor and providing a helpful case study.