The Rings of Power Season 2 Ending Explained: What’s Next in the Battle for Middle-earth

This Lord of the Rings article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power wraps up its second season in truly epic fashion, with an hour that features everything from the conclusion of the battle for the Elven stronghold of Eregion, to a long-awaited face-off between Sauron and Galadriel, multiple character deaths, and an answer to one of the series’ biggest mysteries: who is the Stranger?

Much of the season 2 finale is about forging several of The Rings of Power’s most recognizable main characters into the figures of legend they will one day become. While each experiences some of the darkest moments we’ve seen in the series to date, the finale ultimately ends on a hopeful note, reminding viewers of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s eternal thematic truths: only light can banish darkness, and it is in choosing to be that light—for the world, and one another—that we become strong enough to stand against that which threatens us. 

Here’s a rundown of the big reveals from the season 2 finale and what they might mean for where The Rings of Power season 3, with a few key tidbits from the show’s cast.

Celebrimbor’s Death Is the Series’ Grimmest Yet 

As soon as Celebrimbor decides to return to the forge in Eregion and face Sauron, ostensibly buying Galadriel time to get the nine rings meant for men out of the city, most of us probably assumed the elven smith was not long for this world. But though his death may have been one of the most expected elements of this finale, few likely predicted how grim his final moments would turn out to be. 

Celebrimbor is bound and bloody, having clearly been beaten and tortured by the Dark Lord. A half dozen arrows stick out of his body at sickening angles, while Sauron casually shoots more bolts into his chest, taunting him about the approaching orc horde that will likely delight in ripping his body to shreds. Celebrimbor is nonplussed, confidently telling Sauron that the rings are beyond his reach, much as he himself will be soon. 

“I think there’s a sadness,” Charlie Vickers who plays Sauron says when we ask him about the Dark Lord’s decision to torture Celebrimbor. “There’s an element of rage and sadness, really. He’s lost a creative partner and someone that inspired him. A lot of Sauron is evil, but he was also a pupil of  Aulë, he loved making things. He was a smith and Celebrimbor is one of the greatest smiths to ever live. So I think he really admired him, But in that moment, Sauron wants to find out where the Nine are, and Celebrimbor won’t tell him.”

Despite having spent some indeterminate amount of time torturing Celebrimbor, Sauron snaps and stabs him with a spear, hoisting up his body and pinning it to a pole within the forge. Whether Sauron’s violence is sparked by his captive’s obstinance, his own temper, or Celebrimbor’s awkward christening of him as the Lord of the Rings is unclear, but the result is the same. Celebrimbor is dead, and a great light of the age has gone out. And, for a moment, Sauron, genuinely seems upset about this fact. 

“It’s quite un-Sauron-like, as weird as it sounds,” Vickers says. “He’s letting his emotions overcome him and doing something that’s out of control, because he’s all about control. And I think that anger and sadness comes from that, as well as losing a partner in creation.”

Durin’s Bane Is Unleashed

Firmly under the influence of a ring of power, King Durin III refuses to heed his son’s warnings and hacks his way further into the mountain, eager to claim the wealth in its depths. Unfortunately, gems and mithril aren’t the only things in the deep, and the dark force the show has teased for weeks is now fully awake: a Balrog. The same creature that will battle Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring surges forth, and while the ensuing battle is incredibly brief, it’s still pretty amazing to look at. And changes the fate of the dwarves forever.

The appearance of the Balrog seems to shake something loose in King Durin, who finally heeds his son’s pleas and removes his ring, regaining his senses for long enough to share a poignant moment with his son before picking up his axe and leaping to face the monster. The impact of his axe against the creature’s flaming whip brings down the tunnel around them, burying them both in the rubble and ushering in the reign of King Durin IV.

Ar-Pharazôn Seizes Power in Numenor

Chaos reigns in the wake of Míriel’s trial by abyss. Ar-Pharazôn, who was clearly expecting the former queen to die at the hand (tentacle?) of the kraken, decides to just throw caution to the wind and seize power directly. He unilaterally declares all members of the Faithful traitors, accuses Míriel of working with Sauron to survive her test, and orders mass arrests, calling for all loyal Numenoreans to essentially turn on their neighbors. Squads of soldiers immediately fan throughout the city, breaking into homes and arresting all those suspected of being or harboring Faithful, and dragging people through the streets. 

Earien, while seemingly fine with watching her fellow Numeanoreans get abused for their beliefs, draws the line at the prospect of losing her father, and races to warn Elendil of his impending arrest. (This probably would have all been a bit more impactful had this season spent any time on the Faithful as a faction within Numenorean society, but here we are!) She even goes so far as to lie to some of Ar-Pharazôn’s soldiers to cover for him, though we don’t see their father-daughter goodbye or much of Elendil’s response to her decision to help him. 

Meanwhile, Ar-Pharazôn is now fully obsessed and addicted to looking into the palantir, which can’t be good for the fate of Numenor. We know from Tolkien’s writings that Ar-Pharazôn was corrupted by Sauron and the show’s palantir would be a good a way for the Dark Lord to manipulate the King of Men. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Sauron returned to the island kingdom in season 3…

Elendil Gains a Destiny and a Sword Called Narsil

Elendil, being who he is, immediately heads to Miriel’s side, ready to help her escape the city. (He even name drops his as-yet-unseen other son Anárion in the process, who will one day rule Gondor jointly with his brother, Isildur.) But Míriel, being who she is, refuses to go, insisting that her place is in Numenor with her people. She does give Elendil a parting gift: The sword Narsil. 

Known as the White Flame, this is the infamous blade that will be shattered by Sauron, used to cut the One Ring from the Dark Lord’s hand, and is ultimately reforged in The Return of the King. It is, quite literally, a sword of destiny, and in giving it to Elendil, Miriel has charged her would-be lover with the mission to find his own. Our last glimpse of the future High King sees him riding, alone into the woods, presumably to reclaim his ​​title as Lord of Andúnië, which might allow him to build support enough to challenge Ar-Pharazôn.

Adar Is Killed, While Galadriel and Sauron Have a Long-Awaited Face-Off

As anyone who watched any of the trailers for The Rings of Power season 2 probably already guessed, the finale is the episode that features the Galadriel and Sauron face-off that’s been teased since well before this run of episodes premiered. After Adar is tricked and stabbed by his beloved orc “children”—who have been tempted to Sauron’s side after their “Lord-father” wasn’t concerned enough about the high orc body count during the siege of Eregion—the Dark Lord himself shows up to gloat. Predictable, since Adar was responsible for his first death so long ago, and we all know Sauron is nothing if not petty. 

The bonus of discovering Galadriel there too—conveniently carrying the nine rings Celebrimbor slipped her in the hopes of keeping them out of Sauron’s grasp—can probably be read as either fate or pure luck. After all, much of season 2 has felt like it’s been building to this moment when these two characters would see one another again. 

“I love the sword fight between Sauron and Galadriel,” Rings of Power director Charlotte Brandstrom says. “I find it sort of marks the end of the battle [for Eregion]. It’s very dramatic, both in performance and in [the way it uses] space. There’s a lot happening, and so much of it is [conveyed by] how they look at each other.”

Despite his near-god status, Galadriel and Sauron are evenly matched, though that might just be because the Dark Lord appears to be, on some level, enjoying watching her struggle against him. 

“As with Celebrimbor, I think he’s toying with her,” Vickers says. “Sauron has this hubris and arrogance, and he’s showing her his power and what he’s capable of.”

That “toying” takes the form of shape-shifting, in which Sauron appears in multiple forms to mock or tempt her throughout their battle—as Halbrand, Celebrimbor, and even Galadriel herself. 

“I think he uses Halbrand as a reminder to her of her own weakness and how she should have joined him,” Vickers says. “And then he appears as her, and Morfydd [Clark, who plays Galadriel] gets to do some cool evil acting, which was quite fun to watch.” 

Even though Sauron ultimately triumphs by dramatically stabbing Galadriel with his infamous crown, the elf still manages to outsmart him, flinging herself from the cliff face before he can claim Nenya, her ring of power, for his own. But although viewers always knew that Galadriel would survive—plot armor, on occasion, can be a wonderful thing—according to Vickers, Sauron probably did too.

“When he stabs her, I think there has to be a part of him that realizes he’s not going to kill her,” he says. “And when she jumps off the cliff, he knows she’s going to live. ”

Elrond and Gil-galad Heal Galadriel

Despite Elrond’s season-long distrust of the rings and professed reticence to use them even in the name of good, when the chips are down, he turns to their otherworldly power for aid. And apparently, all it took was seeing Galadriel stabbed by Sauron’s crown and dying in front of him. Which, according to the man who plays him, was an obvious choice for Elrond.

“He loves her,” Robert Aramayo says. “She’s his hero. I’ve always thought that about Galadriel—she represents so much of what it is to be an elf. Elrond has such a complicated relationship with his own [people], and with who he is. There’s a natural ambiguity in his past and she’s this symbol of Elven wisdom and strength. He admires her so much. And they push each other and there’s a tension between them and he fights back, but all the while he’s thinking—even when they’re at odds with each other—’What would she do?’ and then he does that.”

It’s implied that he and Gil-galad use the combined power of Nenya and Vilya to heal Galadriel the same way that Elrond will one day himself heal Frodo following the events of The Lord of the Rings. Proving, perhaps once and for all, that he was always meant to wield a ring of power, whether he wanted to or not.

The Stranger Really Is Gandalf and He Gets His Staff!

After two full seasons of speculation, The Rings of Power finally confirms what viewers have long suspected: The Stranger, an unnamed Istar with a grey cloak, an affinity for fire, and a fondness for hobbit-like smallfolk, is indeed Gandalf. 

Your mileage will undoubtedly vary about whether or not the decision to keep his identity a secret for so long added much to the plot, particularly given that the show became increasingly unsubtle about it as season 2 progressed. (How many people have managed to quote some famous line of Gandalf’s to the Stranger at some point this season?) But it’s nice to finally have the obvious truth stated plainly, even if the idea that the name “Gandalf” comes from the Stoors insistence on calling him “Grand-Elf” is perhaps a less impressive origin than many of us might have hoped for. Fingers crossed the end of this drawn-out mystery means that Gandalf’s arc will become more fully integrated into the rest of the series with season 3.

This hour also sees Gandalf find his wizard’s staff. That he discovers it in the ruins of the Stoors’ village in Ruhn is another intriguing piece that ties his character to those who will one day become the Hobbits of the Shire.

What’s Up with the Dark Wizard? 

This hour also sees The Stranger we now know to be Gandalf face off against another mysteriously unnamed character: The Dark Wizard of Ruhn. The Rings of Power has been similarly cagey about this character’s identity all season and continues to be so here, as though the show things we’ll all just expire if we don’t have someone with a secret identity to speculate about next season. But the episode does give us one crucial hint. 

The Dark Wizard not only clearly knows Gandalf, but he also formally identifies himself as one of the Maiar, a group of five spirits sent to aid the people of Middle-earth against Sauron. These include the beings who would one day become known as Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, and Radagast the Brown, along with two Blue Wizards whose fate in Tolkien’s histories is…let’s just call it murky at best. But which one is he? 

Since we know the Dark Wizard isn’t Gandalf, and he certainly seems too violent to be the animal and nature-loving Radagast, that leaves us with three options. And while it’s fun to imagine Ciaran Hinds chewing up the scenery as Saruman, this particular character seems much more overtly villainous and morally flexible than the White Wizard was reported to be during this time period. (After all, he and Gandalf did work together for years and he was a member of the original White Council.)

That leaves the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, who honestly make the most sense from a narrative perspective, given that Tolkien himself wasn’t all that forthcoming about what they did during their time on Middle-earth or what happened to either of them. They are said to have both traveled to Rhun to convince men who had been loyal to Morgoth not to join Sauron’s cause and established cults of their own, both of which are actions that fit this particular character. (He has a cult and isn’t a fan of Sauron, to be sure.) But there were two Blue Wizards…so even if Hinds’s character is one of them, what happened to the other?

The Founding of Rivendell

Although the dwarves arrive in time to save Elrond and the rest of the elves, Eregion is, for all intents and purposes, lost. The city has been essentially leveled, many of its citizens are dead, and orcs burned Celebrimbor’s extensive library, destroying centuries of Elvish history and wider knowledge. It is a catastrophe that has put all of Middle-earth within Sauron’s reach. But the fight, for the elves, is not over just yet.

Elrond, along with Gil-galad, Arondir, and an unconscious Galadriel, lead the survivors to a valley with a shining river, a place he describes as “a sanctuary, protected by elven rings.” Though this new location is not given a formal name, it seems clear that this is the founding of Rivendell, which will ultimately become Elrond’s stronghold and cement his position as one of his people’s greatest leaders.

“I think he’s ready to lead because he probably feels he has to,” Aramayo says when asked about whether Elrond even wants to become a leader in this way. “He put himself on the front line here because it’s the only option left to him, so he has to do it. That’s at the root of it, and it’s why I like Elrond so much.  But I definitely don’t think it’s something he desires, no….which is interesting, isn’t it, when you think about how he’s going to become Lord Elrond of Rivendell and all that.”

Much of season 2 has followed Elrond’s emotional journey as he balances his moral convictions with the needs of his people and the fate of Middle-earth at large, an arc which all comes to a brutal head during the siege of Eregion, thanks to the horrors he witnesses during the fighting. 

“It’s tricky, because duty is always something that’s really important to him. There’s what he wants to do, which is probably stay in a tree reading and writing, or experiencing the different peoples of Middle-earth. And then there’s what he will do—and we obviously know lore-wise where it’s heading. I think he’s the type of elf that adapts to whatever is needed from him in the real world. I think that’s why he admires Galadriel so much, what she’s capable of, her power. Not only power as herself, but power in the world. He’s more comfortable in the position of the herald—helping, advising, actioning the will of the others. But now he’s here.”

What’s Next for Sauron?

Though the dwarves arrive in time to prevent a wholesale slaughter of all the elves in Eregion, Sauron’s plan to craft rings capable of controlling the world has largely gone pretty well this season. But what’s next for a Dark Lord who (seemingly) has everything? Some big moments, according to the man who plays him.

“There are some really key things in this time period, in the Second Age, that I’m super excited about,” Vickers says. “I’m really excited to see him go to Numenor and the downfall of Numenor that follows. I don’t know how J.D. and Patrick [Payne and McKay, Rings of Power showrunners] are structuring the remaining seasons, but his path is set out for him.”

While Sauron clearly doesn’t have as much control over the elven rings as he might like—and he fails at convincing Galadriel to part with hers—the seven dwarf rings are clearly doing their work at corrupting the minds of their bearers. (King Durin’s nonstop greed throughout the back half of this season is proof enough of that.) And thanks to Galadriel somehow deciding not to flee the scene of the battle with her secret cargo of magical jewelry, he also has possession of the nine rings destined for men. That leaves….one rather significant piece of jewelry left.

“At some point he has to make the One Ring. That’s a big deal,” Vickers laughs. “There’s the One Ring, there’s the downfall of Numenor, and then there’s the big battle where he gets the ring chopped off his finger. If there are three seasons still to go of this show, that’s three big events, so maybe we get to see all of them.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video.