The second season of “The Rings of Power” is coming to Prime Video very soon, but since it is only just two full years Since our last trip back to the Second Age of Middle-earth, there’s a good chance you may not remember all the important details.
You may remember Galadriel hunting Sauron, or the Stranger wandering the world in the company of some Harfoots, but if you need a refresher on your Rings of Power, you’ve come to the right place.
Below we’ve rounded up some of the most important developments from the first season of one of the best fantasy series on Prime Video. Here’s what you need to know about The Rings of Power before the series returns for season two.
This article contains major spoilers for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 1.
Half rim no longer
Admittedly, if you’ve seen any of the trailers, you may not need a reminder of who Charlie Vickers’ character is Really but since he will play an even bigger role in the coming story, here is a brief overview of who this traitor really was.
The face you see here is none other than Sauron himself. The would-be Dark Lord took the form of Halbrand, King of the Southrons. Later in the season, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) learned from ancient records that the royal line of the Southrons ended 1,000 years ago.
When she confronted her boyfriend, she found that he Strictly speaking Sauron in disguise. Halbrand tried to convince her that they could rule together, but she did not believe him, and after failing to drown her, Sauron fled Lindon and returned to Mordor, looming menacingly over the land. Looking at the trailers, his next moves will be pretty explosive.
This revelation is sure to have major consequences for Galadriel herself. She wanted to kill the Dark Lord, who she feared had returned… and instead managed to bring him right to the doorstep of the Elves. Worse still, she concealed his true identity… even though Elrond Also knows Halbrand’s truth.
The first rings are forged
Much of the first season took place in the “Southlands,” but this picturesque region has since disappeared from the face of the earth.
After this epic battle at Tirharad, the Southrons believed they had repelled Adar’s Orc armies with the help of the Númenóreans. Galadriel and Halbrand interrogated Adar and learned that he believed he had killed Sauron and was trying to create a homeland for his Orcs.
To accomplish this, he finally put his plan into action. A loyalist named Waldreg fled the scene and opened a dam that sent floods of water pouring across the land and into the bowels of Orodruin, also known as Mount Doom.
This led to a devastating volcanic eruption that transformed the lush countryside into an ash-covered, desolate landscape that Adar calls Mordor. Those who survived the battle were forever changed: Isildur is presumed dead, Queen Míriel goes blind trying to save some survivors, and Galadriel sets out to save her then-friend’s life using elven medicine.
The first rings are forged
There is no “The Rings of Power” without the Rings of Power, magical artifacts forged by Celebrimbor and his fellow blacksmiths in Eregion.
After the outbreak, Galadriel took Halbrand to Eregion for treatment. There he developed a great interest in the work of the Elven-smiths and sought to use the Mithril that Elrond had procured with Durin IV’s help to save the Elves, who are in danger as the darkness returns to the realm.
At his suggestion, Celebrimbor forged two small objects from a mithril alloy and combined them with some precious jewels that Feanor had made. But after Galadriel learned of Halbrand’s true nature (and he fled Eregion), she sought out Celebrimbor and urged him to three Rings because she believed their powers would balance each other out.
The three Elven Rings were then forged in an elaborate assembly, and the trio decided that only Elves could wield such power. Of course, anyone who knows the history of Middle Earth knows that many more were forged, including Sauron’s own One Ring. It is safe to assume that Sauron will soon continue to seduce the great smith into making more rings.
Trouble in Khazad-dum
Prince Durin IV found himself in a precarious position in Khazad-dûm. Mithril mining proved to be a dangerous undertaking; one of the mines collapsed and King Durin III ordered all mithril mining to cease until further notice, no matter how helpful it might be to the Elves.
When it became clear that Durin III would not be persuaded on the subject, Elrond and Durin IV began secretly mining mithril. King Durin eventually found out, had Elrond banished, stripped his son of his royal status, and had their illegal mine sealed.
The stranger, unmasked
“Who is the stranger?” has long been one of the biggest questions we all wanted to answer since he fell from the sky. Who Is Daniel Weymans huge character?
Well, it has been suggested that he may well be the dreaded new incarnation of Sauron, but after his travels with his Harfoot friends – and the fact that Halbrand laid claim to the title – we know that this is not the case.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed for certain in the series, it seems pretty much certain that he is in fact Gandalf. He is a powerful wizard who has a fondness for halflings and plays a role in the ensuing conflict. In the series, he also casually reminds Nori to “always follow her nose”… which is almost an exact copy of what Gandalf would later tell Merry during her journey through Merry.
While there is a possibility that this is another distraction, it is certain appears as if the show was practically telling us that this is the same man who would later have adventures with Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
On the way to Rhûn
We’ve already mentioned that The Stranger and Co. had run into trouble at the Greenwood. The “trouble” was actually a group of cultists known as the Mystics. These three mysterious women were looking for him because they believed he was Sauron, and they wanted to give him back his memories and powers.
They also explained that the constellations he keeps seeing are only found far to the east, in the lands of Rhûn. Just before he drove them away with his magic, one of the mystics referred to him as one of the Istari.
At the end of the episode, the Stranger decided to go to where the cultists came from to see if he could understand his visions or get a better handle on his powers.
Possessed of a particularly adventurous spirit, Nori the Harfoot decided to accompany him east, to a region not seen in any other adaptation of Tolkien’s works.
Numerous problems in Númenor
And if you know the detailed lore, you know that Númenor is doomed. And even if you don’t, you know that Queen Míriel saw the island swallowed by a great wave.
Unfortunately, this is not the only Problem facing the kingdom. The loss of many soldiers (including Isildur, as far as his father Elendil is concerned) in the Southlands will surely anger many Númenoreans, especially considering that she offered to send the expeditionary force to help the Elves (who are currently not very popular with the citizens of the kingdom).
Míriel promised to return and help with revenge on the Orcs, but she has another A problem awaits her at home. Her ailing father, King Tar-Palantir, has died and it seems as if Chancellor Pharazôn wants to claim the throne for himself.
