The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power drops key revelations in an emotional finale. Questions are answered with a touch of narrative duplicity, magical dueling, and an indecent proposal for a bewildered Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). The Dark Lord has been central since the beginning. Pulling every string in a friendly guise. His diabolical plans were eventually set in motion by the actual forging of rings. “Alloyed” warms the unknown elements and forges them together with a newfound purpose.
Spoiler WarningIn the Greenwood, the stranger (Daniel Weyman) is lured by the sinister trio that is chasing him. The Nomad (Edith Poor), Ascetic (Kali Kopae) and Dweller (Bridie Sisson) swear allegiance to… Lord Sauron. The star on his map is the Hermit’s Hat, located in Rhûn. In Eregion, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) admit defeat. The elves must leave Middle-earth to survive. Galadriel arrives with the injured Halbrand (Charlie Vickers). He is treated with elf magic as Galadriel catches up with Elrond.
A healed Halbrand marvels to be in the presence of the great Celebrimbor. He offers a new idea to boost their limited supply of mithril. Combine it with other alloys to unlock more power. In Númenor, Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) instructs Eärien (Ema Horvath) to draw a portrait of the fading king Tar-Palantir (Ken Blackburn). He mistakes her for Queen Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and shows her the seer before he collapses.
In Eregion, King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) gets a new idea presented by Celebrimbor. Forge the alloy into circular objects for “a power that has no bounds.” Gil-galad refuses to put such a power in the hands of one person. He orders the city to be dissolved. Celebrimbor admits the idea was Halbrand’s. He wants to create a power “not of the flesh, but of the flash.” Galadriel heard the same words from Adar (Joseph Mawle). Gil-galad agrees to give the plan three months. Galadriel asks an elf to secretly investigate the King of the Southlands. Halbrand notices her suspicions, which he tries to dispel.
The harfoots try to free the bound stranger. It’s the resident in disguise. Sadoc (Lenny Henry) is stabbed. Poppy (Megan Richards), Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Marigold (Sara Zwaangobani) are about to be burned. The Stranger takes the Dweller’s staff and unleashes a magical fusillade. They were wrong. He is not the Dark Lord, but ‘the other, the Istar’. The Stranger destroys them. The harfoots watch the sunrise with Sadoc as he dies.
Elendil (Lloyd Owen) takes the blind Míriel on deck when their ship reaches Númenor. He will not abandon her after the loss of Isildur (Maxim Baldry). They arrive at a harbor with black sails and banners. Her father has passed away.
Halbrand and Celebrimbor make another discovery
At the forge, Halbrand and Celebrimbor make another discovery after a failed attempt to form mithril. They realize that pressure is not necessary. Halbrand informs Galadriel that they will forge two rings. She throws an old scroll at his feet. There is no king of the Southlands. The frontier was broken a thousand years ago. Halbrand confesses to stealing a dead man’s weapon. His face changes. He has been known by many names over time. Galadriel tries to stab him with her dagger. Sauron easily blocks her hand.
Galadriel wakes up in a field with Finrod (Will Fletcher). She curses Sauron to get out of her head. The scene switches to the raft. Sauron shows her a new reflection in the water. He stands in his fearsome armor with her as his queen. Galadriel breaks the spell. She will never be the bride of evil.
Elrond pulls a drowning Galadriel out of the river. Sauron is gone. Galadriel demands to see Celebrimbor in his workshop. Halbrand is gone. They are never allowed to ‘hang out with him’ again. Galadriel tells them to forge three rings for balance. And that power must be for the elves only. She hands Finrod’s cherished dagger. Celebrimbor needs the best gold and silver.
The Stranger and Nori are in a field together. She tells him that “Istar means sorcerer.” Nori decides to leave her family and help him find his stars. The harfoots and Poppy cry as Nori leaves. She does not look back on a new adventure.
Everyone gathers as the elf smiths melt the dagger. Galadriel cries softly as Elrond adds the mithril. The cannon spins as burning liquid drips into the plaster. Celebrimbor processes the material in a circular shape. Meanwhile, Elrond returns to the river. He finds the scroll that proves there was no king of the Southlands. Elrond rushes back to see Celebrimbor adorning the three rings with jewels. The elves bask in the light. Galadriel sees that Elrond has the part. They share a knowing look as Celebrimbor laughs. That grin is echoed by a black-clad Sauron… as he walks toward the fiery Mount Doom in Mordor.
Sauron disguised as Halbrand was a complete surprise. I’ll have to rewatch the season to pick up every clue. Sauron is a master trickster, but I’m not sure how he got on that raft. Was it purely fate that he saved Galadriel? Then she took advantage of her to reach Celebrimbror and Eregion. He played a spectacular long game to make the first rings. I’m not sure why Galadriel didn’t tell everyone he was Sauron. That is information that you immediately share.
The stranger is Gandalf
The stranger is Gandalf. That was pretty clear from the middle of the season. He develops his fondness for halflings of the harfoots. Nori’s kindness and confidence in his character build a strong foundation. It remains to be seen what happens at the Hemit’s Hat. Do wizards fall from the sky like meteors? Is Saruman the White looming next season?
Isildur is not dead. His character is crucial in the coming events. Eärien has seen the destruction of Númenor. I can’t imagine her keeping that a secret from Pharazôn; who will challenge Míriel’s authority. Elendil remains a critical player and Míriel’s strongest ally. Will Eärien turn against her father to support Pharazôn? Míriel’s promise to return with power to Middle-earth will not be easy.
“Alloyed” got lost in melodramatic territory, but was a satisfying finale. Nori’s harfoot goodbye was long. They didn’t shed any tears when Sadoc died. Charlie Vickers flipped the villain switch and immediately became menacing. Sauron’s manipulation of Galadriel was brilliantly done. Anyone who complained about the pacing should take note. He needed time to gain her trust. I did have a problem with her reaction to his whopper reveal. She was too docile after hundreds of years. I expected an angry reaction after I found the guy who killed her brother, husband and thousands of elves.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power gets the highest marks for production values. Every episode felt epic. The destruction of the Southlands was my visual highlight. Adar claimed to have killed Sauron. It turns into an interesting power play as Sauron saunters back to the orcs. I expect season two to have a solid pace. The characters are set up with defined objectives. Hopefully Sauron will start wearing that cool helmet like a fantasy Darth Vader.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powers first season is available in its entirety on Prime Video.