The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Ending Explained!
This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power through the Season 2 finale.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Ending Explained
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 has come to an end, and with it comes major implications for the rest of the series. We see story threads finally coming together to combine a tighter narrative for Season 3, several tragic deaths, and plenty of reveals that seemed outside of the realm of possibility. There’s a lot to go through, so let’s hop right in!
That’s two storylines wrapped up, as we will no longer be splitting our time with Adar’s camps or Celebrimbor’s goings-on in the now-razed Eregion.
Many miles from the elven smiths’ city are two more plotlines merging as one as Kemen (Leon Wadham) shows his traitorous face in Pelargir, finally learning that Isildur (Maxim Baldry) has been alive all this time. Pelargir is no longer a port for the surviving Southlanders, but a military outpost for Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle) and his twisted plans for Numenor.
After Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) survived the trial of the Valar, the false King was forced into one final hail Mary: forging a letter between Miriel and Sauron, deeming all of the Faithful as traitors. Elendil (Lloyd Owen) must flee Numenor, but not before Miriel gives him the most important weapon in The Lord of the Rings canon: Narsil. Though Elendil is gone and Miriel is in chains, expect young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and Isildur to lead a resistance against Pharazon in Season 3 even with the latter’s departure to Numenor.
While we’re sort of in a “We Didn’t Start the Fire”-esque explanation of the ending, don’t worry — only two more major points to hit and then we can get into what everything means.
Though it happens in the beginning of the episode rather than the end, it’s important to note that the balrog is free in Khazad-dum. Currently it seems that the only thing stopping the creature from wreaking havoc on the mountain is King Durin’s (Peter Mullan) sacrifice.
After seeing what he had unleashed by breaking through the wall, King Durin III takes his ax, gives his son his ring, and dives at the creature, apparently killing himself and sealing the cavern once more. The balrog is somehow not the Dwarves’ only problem, though. While under the influence of the ring, the king made lofty promises to other factions of Dwarves that Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) will now be expected to honor despite his knowledge of the rings’ corruption.
Meanwhile, his place as now-king is likely to be challenged, with Disa (Sophia Nomvete) making note of a brother trying to stake claim to the throne in Durin’s stead. At the time of writing, I am unaware of a brother of Durin IV, so who that may be remains to be seen.
Now, finally, there is the great Wizard showdown of Season 2, which isn’t much of a showdown at all. The Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) pretends to be a friend of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), insisting that he’d never harm Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) and that he only wants to defeat Sauron to bring peace to Middle-earth. The Stranger sees through it and refuses to join the Dark Wizard, who then destroys the Stoors’ encampment and kills many under falling rock.
This moment forces the Stoors to move on from their long-held home after burying their lost, resulting in plenty of devastation across the camp. But, as Poppy puts it, “sometimes things are lost forever” and all you can do is build something new. As the Stoors sadly trudge away to find their new home, each thanks the Stranger for doing what he could to protect them, calling him “Grand Elf” because they’ve just never met an elf before. And yes, that’s leading to exactly what you think it is.
(Also Read: Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power 2 Finale: Daniel Weyman Revealed As Gandalf)