Rings of Power Finale Recap: A Major Death, and a Reveal, Set the Stage for (Possible) Season 3 — Grade It!
The Rings of Power‘s Season 2 finale had it all: action, horror, monsters, huge character deaths. Has Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings prequel — which has yet to be officially renewed — finally grown into the show we knew it could be?
Wasting no time, the finale catches up with Prince Durin IV, who hurries through the bowels of Khazad-d?m to confront his father and, hopefully, separate him from his ring. The younger Durin pleads with his father and king, fondly recalling moments and memories they share, but he still cannot reach him. King Durin continues to chip away at the rock.
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A great grumble, swiftly followed by a familiar (to us) orange glow, cuts short their heart-to-heart. The “nameless evil” Durin warned his father about has arrived, and we all know what it is: A Balrog has emerged from the mountain’s depths. As the beast scrapes and scrambles its way up the subterranean slope toward the king, the prince rushes to help and is immediately reminded just how outmatched he is.
King Durin removes the ring and — at last acknowledging his son’s strength — turns to meet the monster. Axe held high, furry mouth stretched into a mighty shout, King Durin leaps at the Balrog. Disa arrives last-minute to pull the prince away from the battle as the king meets the Balrog’s blade. Whew! Ten minutes into the episode and we’ve already got a major character death. If you couldn’t already tell, we are in for it, folks.
The Stranger at last encounters the Dark Wizard, who has his servants bring out a freshly kidnapped Nori and Poppy and assures the Stranger they won’t be harmed. Rather predictably, the Dark Wizard asks the Stranger to join him so they can stop Sauron and assume control of Middle-Earth together. When the Stranger refuses, his fellow wizard sends rock and rubble raining down upon Nori, Poppy and the other halflings. (Funny — though he detests the “Dark” descriptor, the Dark Wizard does little to challenge his reputation as an unsavory sorcerer.) Anyway, the Stranger and the halflings are safe. Displaced (again), but safe.
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At Númenor’s outpost in Middle-Earth, Isildur and Estrid confess their feelings for each other as Kemen arrives and reveals Pharaz?n’s rise to power, which sparks anger in Isildur and righteousness in the newly powerful Kemen. Though outraged, Isildur, Theo, and Estrid are forced to watch as Kemen converts the outpost into a sort of military base.
As the siege of Eregion nears its end, Galadriel leads the surviving elves to safety and Sauron uses a dying Celebrimbor for target practice. The bloodied elfsmith refuses to reveal the location of the nine rings, instead opting to taunt Sauron. The Dark Lord loses his temper and skewers Celebrimbor with a spear. In the forest just outside the city, Galadriel confronts Adar, who is enjoying a glow-up courtesy of his new elven ring and tells her he’ll pull his army out of Eregion after they kill Sauron.
Adar is never able to fulfill this promise, though, because Sauron arrives with the orcs and has him brutally executed. This prompts a furious battle between Galadriel and Sauron. The Dark Lord’s assault is relentless; flitting between illusions, he becomes Halbrand, Galadriel, and finally Celebrimbor before the stones upon which they’re fighting collapse and they both tumble closer to the city. Sauron mostly maintains the upper hand, eventually stabbing Galadriel with his spiky crown and taking the Nine Rings from her. He demands she hand over her ring, but she trust-falls off a cliff instead.
Below, the orcs prepare to kill Elrond, Gil-galad, Arondir and the surviving elves, but the dwarves, led by Narvi, arrive and make swift work of Sauron’s forces. With Eregion secure, Gil-galad and Elrond find her and use the elven rings to heal her.
In Númenor, Pharaz?n claims that Miriel’s triumph at her sea trial was the product of a conspiracy with Sauron, a ludicrous notion that nonetheless throws the city and its people into chaos. Elendil escapes Númenor with E?rien’s help, but not before Miriel, electing to stay behind, gifts him the sword Narsil. Tolkien readers will immediately recognize the blade: this is the sword Isildur will eventually use to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s hand on the slopes of Mount Doom. Miriel turns herself in, ceding control of Númenor to Pharaz?n.
The season closes on both a hopeful and a bleak note: While the dwarves prepare for the ramifications of King Durin’s death and the elves recover, the Stranger parts ways with Nori, finds his staff, and learns his name: Gandalf. This isn’t a shocker at all, but it’s nice to finally have confirmation.
That’s it for Rings of Power Season 2, folks! What did you think of the finale? Let us know!
Want scoop on Rings of Power Season 3, or for any other TV show ? Email [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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