‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Recap: What To Remember Before Prime Video’s Epic Fantasy Series Returns

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is one of streaming’s most eventful fantasy series, exploring parts of Middle-earth that fans haven’t seen before with an action-packed account of the Second Age. Now that Season 3 promises to pick up after a five-year time jump, refreshing your memory on the story will prove crucial for The Rings of Power‘s imminent return. Below, we recap the biggest twists, major events, and key characters that are all poised to set up the show’s darkest installment yet.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Explores the Lands of Rhûn

The Rings of Power Season 2 begins with the mysterious wizard known as the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and his Harfoot companions, Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards), traveling to Rhûn to discover the truth about his identity. With the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) and his people in pursuit, the Stranger is forced to use his unpredictable magic, which separates the trio. Nori and Poppy encounter the Stoors, another Hobbit-like group, but their leader, Gundabale (Tanya Moodie), isn’t exactly friendly. However, they discover their people share a history, as a caravan of Stoors once left in search of an idealized place to live and became the nomadic Harfoots.

While looking for his friends, the Stranger encounters Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), who becomes his eccentric mentor and later predicts the Stranger will have to stop both the Dark Wizard and Sauron (Charlie Vickers). When Tom Bombadil asks the Stranger to choose between his destiny and his friends, the Stranger picks the latter and confronts the Dark Wizard, who destroys the Stoors’ village in the conflict. In the aftermath, the Stranger finds the staff from his dreams, proving he passed the test by choosing friendship over power. Nori and Poppy decide to help the Stoors, who start calling the Stranger “Grand Elf” — which eventually becomes the name Gandalf, revealing his identity.

Númenor Faces Unrest in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2

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In the wake of King Tar-Palantir’s (Ken Blackburn) death, Númenor is facing a crisis. Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is Queen Regent, but Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) is plotting to replace her, and even Elendil’s (Lloyd Owen) daughter, Eärien (Ema Horvath), is among his allies. During Míriel’s coronation, Eärien reveals the existence of the palantír Míriel has been consulting, and Pharazôn seizes power. Believing Elendil’s recent vision in the palantír hints at inevitable destruction, Míriel orders Elendil not to fight back.

However, Pharazôn targets the Faithful, and his son, Kemen (Leon Wadham), kills Valandil (Alex Tarrant) in a temple and places the blame on Elendil’s shoulders. Elendil is put on trial, which forces him to face the Sea Worm. However, Míriel takes his place, and though her survival proves her innocence, Pharazôn accuses her of allying with Sauron, seizing control of the throne. Míriel tells Elendil to leave without her and protect the sword Narsil, and Elendil flees the city, just as he had seen in the palantír.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Continues To Explore the Struggle of Men

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Elsewhere, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) has survived Mount Doom’s eruption in Season 1, unbeknownst to his family, and has been captured by the spider Shelob. His horse, Beric, saves him, and they encounter Estrid (Nia Towle), who is looking for her betrothed. She leads Isildur to Pelargir, an old outpost where the Low Men are staying. The two only survive the journey thanks to Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), who is still grieving Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), the human woman he loved who died between seasons.

When Bronwyn’s son, Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin), is taken while confronting Wild Men, Arondir realizes Estrid is a part of that same group. Their pursuit of Theo leads them to a pair of Ents. Angered by the Uruk’s destruction of the forest, the Ents initially want to attack, but Arondir promises to help and frees the prisoners, which include Theo and Hagen (Gabriel Akuwudike), Estrid’s betrothed, complicating her and Isildur’s romance. Later, Kemen brings the Númenoreans back to Pelargir. While he allows Isildur to return, he refuses to let him take possession of Estrid. Even worse, he forces the Low Men to harvest timber from the trees, endangering Pelargir’s peace with the Ents.

Sauron Makes Progress With the Rings of Power in Season 2

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One of Season 2’s main storylines follows Sauron and the creation of the infamous rings of power. Though he suffers a brief setback in Season 1 when Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) learns the truth about him, he continues his plan in Season 2 by manipulating Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) into creating more rings. When Celebrimbor turns away Sauron’s Halbrand guise because of Galadriel’s warnings, Sauron transforms himself into the Elf Annatar, a messenger from the Valar. With this identity, Sauron convinces Celebrimbor to make seven rings for the Dwarves and nine for Men, despite Celebrimbor’s reluctance. Slowly, Sauron gains more power within Eregion, hiding the imminent attack from the Elves. When Celebrimbor ultimately sees through Sauron’s illusions, his people don’t believe his insistence that Sauron isn’t who he claims to be.

On the Elves’ side of the story, High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) loses trust in Galadriel after she was taken in by Sauron, while Elrond (Robert Aramayo) opposes using the rings. He seeks out Círdan (Ben Daniels) the Shipwright for help, but Círdan supports using the rings to restore the Elves’ fading and ultimately ends up wearing one alongside Galadriel and Gil-galad. Galadriel’s ring gives her foreboding visions, and she decides to visit Celebrimbor and verify his well-being. Gil-galad insists Elrond lead the quest to Eregion, but the path is impeded. Elrond defies the advice of Galadriel’s ring and takes them through the Barrow-downs, where the Barrow-wights attack. Though they barely make it out alive, the Elves then discover an army outside Eregion, led by Adar (Sam Hazeldine). Galadriel willingly surrenders herself to Adar as his prisoner so Elrond can warn Gil-galad about Adar’s invasion.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Introduces a New Threat to the Dwarves

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Season 1 leaves Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his father, King Durin III (Peter Mullan), at odds, and Season 2 explores the building rift between them as Durin’s wife, Disa (Sophia Nomvete), tries to make peace. An earthquake destroys Khazad-dûm’s lighting system, making food scarce, and the Dwarves struggle to find a safe place to continue digging into the mountain. When Celebrimbor gifts King Durin a ring of power, it seemingly solves this problem, despite Durin’s protests, but the king grows obsessed and greedy.

Disa’s discovery of a mysterious threat in the caves beneath Khazad-dûm pushes Durin to a breaking point, and he publicly rebels against his father to stop the miners. However, when Elrond asks for help in the upcoming battle, Durin leaves his post to rally the army, and King Durin digs toward the danger, uncovering the Balrog. Durin’s protests finally get through to his father, who leaves behind his ring and sacrifices himself to protect his son. This leaves Khazad-dûm in chaos, especially as Durin’s brother gains support to oppose him in becoming the new king.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Builds to an Epic Battle at Eregion

Via flashback, The Rings of Power establishes the power struggle between Sauron and Adar. When the two ultimately clash, Adar tries to kill Sauron and believes he has succeeded. Sauron changes his form, leading to his Season 1 arc, but in Season 2, Adar serves as a major threat to Sauron’s plans. When Adar leads his Uruks to Eregion and takes Galadriel prisoner, he argues that Sauron is a mutual enemy, and they could destroy him by combining Morgoth’s crown and Galadriel’s ring. Neither Galadriel nor Elrond falls for Adar’s words, but Elrond does give Galadriel the means to escape before going to battle. Galadriel teams up with Arondir, who has been following Adar’s forces, and convinces him to fight with the Elves. Meanwhile, Celebrimbor briefly escapes Sauron, passing several rings of power to Galadriel before sacrificing himself in a confrontation with the Dark Lord.

Unfortunately, the Elves’ plan is impacted when the Dwarves fail to arrive at Eregion. Although Adar attacks Elrond for Galadriel’s ring, he returns it to her in exchange for her help against Sauron. During the battle, Adar’s obsession turns the Uruk against him, and they ally with Sauron instead before killing Adar. Galadriel and Sauron face off, and Galadriel is wounded by Morgoth’s crown but successfully escapes with her ring. The Dwarves ultimately arrive and put an end to the battle as the Elves evacuate the destroyed city. Gil-galad, Arondir, and Elrond find Galadriel and, at Elrond’s suggestion, use the ring to heal her. In Season 2’s final moments, the Elves flee to a protected sanctuary that will eventually become Rivendell. With Sauron now leading his own army, the Elves resolve to fight him, setting up the war that will engulf Middle-earth by the time The Rings of Power returns.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video, with Season 3 premiering on November 11.

Release Date

September 1, 2022

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Showrunner

John D. Payne, Patrick McKay

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