Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 finale.
Eregion has fallen. TheSeason 2finale ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerconcludes the epic battle that started in the previous episode, with disastrous consequences for the Elves, the end of Adar’s (Sam Hazeldine) road, and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) taking over the forces of Mordor and its legions of Orcs. The Elves lose Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards),Eregion is razed, and the Nine Rings of Men are lost.The Sack of Eregion in the series is very different from how it happens inJ.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium, where the whole context is a little more elaborate.
The Sack of Eregion Is Even Bloodier in the Books
With all the changes made to theestablished legendarium loreThe Rings of Powerhas made, it was impossible to accurately translate the Sack of Eregion onto screens. There is no Adar in the books, for example, andSauron is already established in Mordor, leading his forces himself. He had already forged the One Ring, too, and, although not mentioned, it’s likely that he was wearing it then, too.He deceived Celebrimborsome 400 yearsearlier, when the two of them forged theseven Dwarven Ringsand the nine Rings of Men together.
When Sauron forges the One Ring,he learns through its power that Celebrimbor forged thethree Elven Ringsin secret. At the same time, the Elves feel the power of the One, realizing they have been deceived.To claim the Three and the other Rings of Power, Sauron attacks Eregionand occupies the lands of Eriador. Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) doesn’t take part in the battle, but sends Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and a host of Elves to aid Eregion. Sauron’s forces are so numerous, though, that they prevent Elrond from ever reaching Eregion, driving him north, instead. The only forces defending Eregion areled by Celeborn, Galadriel’s (Morfydd Clark) lost husband inThe Rings of Power, but they are soon forced to retreat north, too.
The battle is an overwhelming victory for Sauron. His forces violently destroy Eregion, and, after torturing and killing Celebrimbor, he learns that the Elven Rings are not in Eregion, but safe in Lindon. Furious, Sauron then uses the Elven smith’s body as his banner in battle. Like in the series,it’s theDwarves of Khazad-dûmwho protect the Elves' retreat, but it doesn’t last long. Having gotten what they wanted,Sauron’s forces move away from Eregion and wreak havoc on Eriador, occupying those lands for a long time until Gil-galad is able to mount an attack with thesupport of Númenor. Only then is Sauron driven back to Mordor.
This ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Episode 7 Sequence Was a “Nightmare” To Film
“You know going into it, it is going to pose its own challenges.”
‘The Rings of Power’s Changes Are Justified by the Difference in Continuity
As different asThe Rings of Power’s depiction of the Sack of Eregion is from the books, one can hardly say that it doesn’t work. From the start, the series has been committed to filling the gaps left in Tolkien’s writings, and, although it hasindeed changedsome key aspects of the original material,its own writing has enriched the lore with some interesting additions, and those are what makes the battle not only epic in scale, but also dramatic in its story.
Adar is by far the best addition to Tolkien lore.The Father of the Uruks isobsessed with finding Sauron, fully aware that he and the Orcs will never be truly be free as long as there is a Dark Lord to subdue them. His lieutenant,the Orc Glüg(Robert Strange), fears that Adar has lost sight of the freedom he set out to attain. If Orcs are going to die on the battlefield fighting Elves anyway,they might as well take it all the way and side with Sauron; at least then they might eventually control all of Middle-earth. The Orcs’ betrayal of Adar is nearly as sad as Celebrimbor’s death, mirroring the initial scene of Season 2, when Adar turns themagainst Sauron(then played byJack Lowden) in Forodwaith in the early Second Age.
The Aftermath of Eregion Changes Middle-earth Forever
Both in the books andThe Rings of Power, Elrond and his host are forced by the Orcs to retreat north. They end up in the same place, too, a natural secluded sanctuary encrusted on the western side of the Misty Mountains. That’s the Valley of Imladris, commonly known as Rivendell. In the books,Elrond makes Rivendell his seat of power, replacing Eregion as the other Elven stronghold in Eriador besides Lindon.Galadriel and Celeborn move across the Misty Mountain to establish Lothlórienafter the fall of Celebrimbor’s realm, where they resided for most of the Second Age before that.
Meanwhile, Sauron consolidates his power over Middle-earth. InThe Rings of Power, Sauron obtains Morgoth’s crown and thenine Rings of Men, while, in the books,he obtains the seven Dwarven Rings and the nine Rings of Men. Now,only the Elves and Númenor stand in his way, the latter being the only force Sauron truly fears. In the following years, he gives the ringsto their bearers, thus putting in motion his plan to dominate the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.
Season 2 ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris available to stream on Prime Video.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Epic drama set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.
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