Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power aired almost two years ago, and here we are, excited as can be, about to welcome Season 2. After an explosive first season, fans of the high fantasy series The Rings of Power are understandably curious about the show's potential future. This Lord of the Rings prequel series is sure to keep viewers engaged until season two, with Morfydd Clark as Galadriel and Lloyd Owen as Elendil, Robert Aramayo as Elrond and Owain Arthur as Durin IV, Markella Kavenagh as Nori, Daniel Weyman as the Stranger, or any combination of these and other characters. Just in case you lost track, this is where Season 1 left off.

Halbrand's true identity revealed as Sauron

The most pivotal scene from the first season finale, "Alloyed," showed that Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers, who had been Galadriel's seemingly human companion throughout the first season, was actually the Dark Lord Sauron the whole time. As the Dark Lord reveals himself to "the greatest of Elven women," he offers her the chance to rule over Arda alongside him, thereby making her the most prominent suspect and revelation. The last episode sees the crafting of three Rings of Power, which Halbrand had previously persuaded Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to use Elrond's mithril to create, all in an effort to reassert his authority and rule over the Southlands (now known as Mordor). After Galadriel turns down Sauron's offer, the evil flees to Mordor in search of power. The three Elven rings, which will most certainly be crucial in vanquishing the Dark Lord at the Second Age's close, are now in the possession of Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor.

Joseph Mawle portrays Adar, a Dark Elf who has led an army of Orcs to drive the humans out of the Southlands. Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron must first face Adar before they can reach Celebrimbor's house in Eregion. In the end, it is Adar's armies that cause Mount Doom, also known as Orodruin, to erupt, engulfing all of Mordor in a blanket of darkness and claiming the lives of countless souls. What happens next is anyone's guess, but Adar's chat with Sauron (posing as Halbrand) gave us a hint that they won't agree on how to govern the Orcs of the newly-conquered Mordor. Before the season ends, Sauron appoints Adar as the Lord of Mordor. He governs the regions that were once known as the Southlands and leads a faithful army that has the potential to challenge Sauron's present dominance.

The Númenóreans' involvement in the Southlands

Following Galadriel's unsuccessful attempts to convince the Númenóreans to accompany her to the Southlands, reinstate Halbrand as king whom she believed to be the rightful heir, and vanquish Adar's armies, Queen-regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) ultimately gives in after receiving what she interprets as a message from the Valar. Even though King Tar-Palantir (Ken Blackburn) begs them not to, Míriel and Elendil go to the main land to help Galadriel and Halbrand fight the Orcs. Despite having been expelled from the Sea Guard in the past, Isildur, Elendil's son played by Maxim Baldry, gets a job on the ship after rescuing numerous Númenóreans and ultimately becomes involved in the fight in the Southlands. Regrettably, after rescuing Míriel from the chaos caused by Orodruin's eruption, Isildur is assumed dead by his father.

Even though everyone who has read The Lord of the Rings knows that Isildur is not dead, Elendil is convinced otherwise. Amidst his own personal tragedy, Elendil (whose name means "Elf-friend") reiterates his dedication to the Faithful, a group of Númenóreans who have remained loyal to the Valar: "Come what may." However, that is easier said than done for Míriel. When the ash and soot from the eruption blind Tar-Palantir's daughter, it becomes clear that his warning about Middle-earth being a place of darkness was really accurate. She tells Elendil to return everyone to Númenór because she can't see, but she finds out that Tar-Palantir has died when she gets home.

You may be wondering, though, what about the dwarves? Okay, I get it. Durin IV tells Elrond about the legendary ore he found in the Moria/Khazad-dûm mines earlier in the first season; Elrond appropriately calls it Mithril. The Elf lord thinks that mithril, which originated in an old fight between an Elf warrior and a Balrog, would be a power source that could rescue his people, as stated by High-King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker). The Elves' influence in Middle-earth has started to wane. Despite Elrond's successful persuasion of Durin IV to assist in mining the ore and rescuing the elves, their operation remains clandestine due to their inability to convince his father, King Durin III (Peter Mullan).

King Durin III's rejection of Elrond's alliance

After apprehending Durin IV and Elrond, King Durin III banishes the elf, practically disowns his son, and claims the mine as his own. The Dwarves were unaware that a sleeping Balrog, ready to erupt, lay deep beneath the mountain and the mines. It appears that Gil-galad's efforts to have Elrond and Durin IV broker an alliance between the dwarves and the elves have failed thus far, and King Durin III is not doing much to help his neighbours, who are apparently dying.

As they journey with their clan of not-quite-Hobbits, a little Harfoot girl named Nori Brandybuck and her best friend Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) encounter an enigmatic Stranger. The Stranger's attempts to restore the burned-up orchard devastated by Orodruin's eruption in the penultimate episode, "The Eye," cause Nori and Poppy to encounter numerous challenges, as expected, due to the enigmatic man who descended from the sky and spoke a strange language. Despite his success, the Stranger terrifies Nori and her relatives, leading the nomadic Harfoots to exile him; after all, this isn't his first transgression.

At a later time, three mystics who think the Stranger is Sauron himself show up to meet with him. We all know this is untrue, and the Stranger successfully banishes the witches to the unseen world when Nori urges him to confront them. When he delivers a magical speech, he recalls certain details, such as his identity as a wizard from the Istari race, the same race as Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, and his destiny to journey eastward to Rhûn. Nori decides to accompany the Stranger on his journey after receiving personal encouragement from her family and saying a sincere goodbye to Poppy.

Arondir and Bronwyn's forbidden romance

J.R.R. Tolkien did not create every major character in The Rings of Power, but most of them (apart from the annoying Harfoots) came directly from Tolkien's original legendarium. Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) is an elf fighter, and Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) is a human healer. Following in the footsteps of Aragorn and Arwen's romance in The Lord of the Rings and the timeless story of Beren and Lúthien in The Silmarillion, Arondir and Bronwyn find themselves passionately involved in a world that rejects them. The first to look into the Orc invasion in the Southlands was Arondir, but he arrived too late to prevent the tragic slaughter of its inhabitants. Fortunately, he narrowly saves the lives of Bronwyn and her son Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin).

Although Arondir and Bronwyn don't spend much time together in the last episodes, we last saw them reunited after Mount Doom's eruption. Galadriel personally returned Theo to his mother after telling him that she, too, had lost someone dear: her husband Celeborn. Celeborn, however, is a fictional character from Tolkien's high fantasy realm, and he does not perish in the Second Age in the manner that Galadriel portrayed him. Galadriel now believes her husband is dead and gone, so she has moved on from the mystery of Celeborn's absence, which we, the audience, can speculate on. Celeborn is a character in The Lord of the Rings, and we know that there is yet more to come because their daughter, Celebrían, will marry Elrond.

Expectations for Season 2 of The Rings of Power

After the events of Season 1 of The Rings of Power, it's safe to assume that Season 2 will continue the thrilling storyline. Looking at the trailers for season two, it appears that showrunners Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne want to further develop Tolkien's mythology while also bringing back certain fan favourites. Season 2 should be better than Season 1, and hopefully it won't rely too much on audience winks to hold our attention. But now that Sauron has returned to Eregion, posing as an Elf-shaped "Lord of Gifts," the danger to Middle-earth appears to be just as severe as before. Another exciting development is the impending appearance of Tom Bombadil, the beloved character from Fellowship of the Rings, played by the legendary Rory Kinnear.

Season one of The Rings of Power undoubtedly caused some controversy among lovers of the Tolkien works. While some fans were pleased by the show's imaginative approaches to resolving mythology contradictions and mysteries, others wished for a more authentic Tolkien experience. Season 2's apparent intention to go even farther into the legendarium is encouraging, while both perspectives have merit.

August 29 marks the return of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for Season 2.

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