What Happened on The Rings of Power? Here’s Our Recap of Season 2, Episode 8.

The following story contains spoilers for season 2, episode 8 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “Shadow and Flame.”

THE RINGS OF Power: Can’t live with them, and definitely can’t live without them.

“Shadow and Flame,” the eighth and final episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, is a finale centered around the systemic control the Rings of Power now command over a vulnerable Middle-earth. Many die and live by the Rings. Bodies are dropping in Rings of Power and it’s not just nameless orcs anymore.

Save for the One Ring yet to be forged, the Rings of Power are now loose on the land. Already, the place is on fire. Eregion burns, Númenor is in political chaos, and there’s something terrible beneath Khazad-dûm. The Rings of Power have the capacity to control and corrupt, but they also heal and protect. As Tolkien intended in his works, the Rings of Power illuminate the tension between power and morality. Is one’s humanity expended by the pursuit and attainment of power? Or is power the reward for sacrificing humanity?

There is still hope—for men, dwarves, and certainly elves—in The Rings of Power, as suggested by its optimistic parting shot to close off this season. But a whole lot of blood was spilled to get us here, and there’s bound to be more sacrifices ahead.

Appropriately, series showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are the writers of “Shadow and Flame,” along with series vet Charlotte Brandstrom in the director’s chair. Together, the team is locked in to deliver a fine finale that should hold us over until The Rings of Power returns for season 3, whenever that may be.

As the wise Gandalf once told Frodo: All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. So let’s not waste any more and dive into all that went down—and who went down–in The Rings of Power‘s season 2 finale.

Sanctuaries

“I am their master.” The arrogance of Sauron! In the rubble that is Celebrimbor’s (Charles Edwards) forge, the dying smith warns Sauron (Charlie Vickers) that the rings possess greater power than either of them know. Even Sauron’s fate shall be decided by them, one day. “The Rings of Power shall destroy you,” Celebrimbor tells him through his last breaths, possessing clarity one can only have at the brink of death. “One alone shall prove your utter ruin!” A single tear runs down Sauron’s cheek – tacit acknowledgement Celebrimbor is right. But the day he speaks of is not today.

Sauron’s story intersects with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), who is taken to Adar (Sam Hazeldine) who has quite the positive side effect from Galadriel’s ring Nenya. Restored to his old self, Adar has arrived at a zen-like revelation and offers Galadriel genuine peace between elves, orcs, and through all Middle-earth. But just as Galadriel warned him, Sauron has seized control of the Uruk and swayed them away from Adar, resulting in the massacre of their old Lord-Father. To think, all Sauron had to do was ask for an orc’s name for them to pledge their allegiance. And his first orders: “Raze Eregion.”

As the orcs ravage Eregion, The Rings of Power at last brings Galadriel and Sauron back together, allowing the two to engage in maybe one of the better sword fights on TV in recent memory. While Sauron gets the upper hand in obtaining the nine rings for men, he fails in obtaining Nenya from Galadriel, who barely escapes by the skin of her teeth.

Later, Galadriel awakes beside Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker). They are quickly joined by Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). Surrounded by abundant greenery and seemingly endless warm sunshine, Gil-galad describes their new location as “a sanctuary”—one protected by the Three Rings. Though the elves are now few in number and are in no shape to keep fighting, for now, they are safe and alive. During a brief but stirring monologue from Galadriel about the virtues of light being the true counterbalance to infinite darkness, it becomes mighty clear that the elves have now officially established Rivendell.

While Lindon, the other home of the elves we’ve seen since Season 1, has not fallen in the same way Eregion has, Rivendell’s establishment is one of the biggest indications that the Second Age is at an end and the Third Age draws nearer.

Bal-Rock the House

The dwarves cannot ignore the rumbling below Moria anymore.

In a final meeting between estranged father King Durin (Peter Mullan) and son Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), the Durins argue over the elder’s slavish devotion to his ring. The ring allows King Durin to see the vast deposits of Mithril which can make the dwarves rich beyond their wildest dreams. But the prince knows better than to exploit their mountain home—which they revere as almost a living creature, remember – for their personal gain.

Nature seems to side with Prince Durin IV, as the monstrous Balrog (which will come to be known as Durin’s Bane, for reasons that are very clear) awakens to drag the king to a fiery doom. Confronted with his imminent death, King Durin finally gives up his ring and quietly acknowledges how far gone he’s become. His parting words to his son are “King Durin,” which will surely complicate the matter of succession.

With the matter of Durin III’s mania resolved (for now), the new king dispatches the dwarves to aid the elves in Eregion. It’s too little, too late to stop the orcs and save Eregion, but it’s enough to help the elves escape to their new sanctuary of Rivendell. Last week I speculated that Elrond might have felt betrayed by the dwarves’ absence in their hour of need, which could inspire lingering resentment between the two races. While the hour has all but passed, the bridge between the races may not be gone yet, as a dwarf informs Elrond that “the Prince is in mourning.” A sympathetic look on Elrond’s face suggests all may be forgiven, but that’s a matter Season 3 will have to resolve.

While the (new) King Durin wants to remain loyal to the elves, he is reminded the dwarves have their own issues at the moment. The Balrog is still dangerously close to all of Khazad-dûm, his brother is angling himself for the crown, and the Lords of the Blue Mountains are “demanding to collect” on their tributes to King Durin III. All the while, Durin’s ring is just waiting for a new bearer. Remember: Durin IV promised Disa he wouldn’t wear the ring. But when push comes to shove, what will matter most: The safety and security of dwarf-kind, or his marriage to his true love? Heavy is the dwarf head that wears the crown.

On the Matters of Men

Númenor is in chaos. To combat the renewed support for Míriel (Cynthai Addai-Robinson), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) imposes anti-“Faithful” rule on the basis of Míriel’s supposed allegiance with Sauron, from when he was Halbrand. (Remember: Two weeks ago, Pharazôn consulted with Palantir after Míriel’s trial and saw cryptic visions of Halbrand and Sauron.) To maintain his hold over Númenor, Pharazôn declares all who are “Faithful” now “traitors of Westernesse.”

The ruling is swift and violent, and Númenor is no longer the sophisticated metropolis it was before. While Elendil (Lloyd Owen) tries to get himself and Míriel out, Míriel insists on staying behind. As a parting gift, she gives him a very familiar sword: Narsil, the White Flame, the sword that will one day shatter and cut off the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. As Elendil leaves, Míriel’s vision from earlier in the season comes true.

With Bronwyn long out of the show, The Rings of Power feels like it’s trying to find something for aimless Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) to do. He still carries that evil sword hilt hoisted on his shoulder, but he’s kind of bumming around waiting for a new subplot to kick in. That opportunity may be now, when conniving Kemen (Leon Wadham) arrives from Númenor and orders that Pelargir must fell its trees, for Númenor’s timber, if they wish to have food and supplies for the coming winter. But these people know better. The trees are alive in Pelargir. This does not bode well for Númenor, for Pelargir, or really any man lest they want to suffer the anger of the Ents.

Finally, there’s Isildur. Without Bronwyn and Arondir to provide a juicy romantic subplot, the job now falls on the destined king to suffer the pangs of yearning. His unrequited romance in Estrid (Nia Towle) is actually requited after all. But because Kemen totally sucks, Arondir is sent back home to Númenor whilst Estrid watches from far, stuck with her husband in their loveless marriage.

Wizards of the Coast

The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) only wants to know two things: His name, and where he comes from. In search of his staff as instructed by ol’ Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), The Stranger meets an ominous figure: The Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds). Drenched in evening darkness, the Dark Wizard low-key threatens The Stranger to come with him for the sake of his Harfoot friends Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards). Oh, and all the other Stoors are there, too, brought into the scene by the masked nomads.

Unfortunately for the edgelords in the audience, the nomads don’t live up to the fearsomeness of their cool exteriors. After a single retaliation by the Dark Wizard, the nomads run off with their tails between their legs. Over a revealing conversation between the Dark Wizard, The Stranger, and the Stoors, we get glaring hints The Dark Wizard is Saruman, the leader of the Istar who will come to Sauron’s side in the Third Age. The Dark Wizard’s intimidating vibe, amoral outlook, and general ruthlessness suggest it won’t take a lot of convincing for him to join the Dark Lord. And anyway, Tom Bombadil already foresaw this, as he told The Stranger.

Speaking of The Stranger: In protecting the Stoors and Harfoots from the Dark Wizard, who totally wrecks their desert home, the Stoors give him the name “Grand-Elf.” (They’ve never actually seen an elf, reasons Nori.) With their home in ruin, the Stoors seek a new home elsewhere in Rhûn. Because the Stoors have never migrated before, the experienced Nori realizes this is where her and The Stranger’s paths split. She bids a strangely distant farewell to “Grandelf” (turn on Prime Video’s subtitles to see this specific spelling), as Nori joins the Stoors and allows the Grandelf to continue on his path of self-discovery. It so happens that a fallen part of the Stoors’ beloved tree makes a pretty good walking stick and staff for “Grandelf.”

Returning to Tom Bombadil (he’s back!), the enigmatic Bombadil reminds him that a “wizard does not find his staff” but that “it finds him.” Just as names do. The Stranger formally adopts “Gandal,” and the two sing a duet, a new single in the Bombadil discography written by series composer Bear McCreary.

Second Breakfast

• Stunning visual effects work with Durin’s Bane. We know The Rings of Power is an expensive show, but every shot with the Balrog feels like it oozes money.
• Bizarre how physically distant Nori and Gandalf are when they say goodbye. After all they went through, they don’t hug?
• Speaking of: I nearly thought everything Gandalf experienced in this episode was an elaborate hallucination. The Dark Wizard came out of nowhere, and Gandalf’s later statement to Tom Bombadil that it was all a “test” almost hinted to me that Gandalf had an entire fever dream to himself.
• It’s slim competition these days for “Best Fight Scenes” on TV, and The Acolyte has more elaborately designed choreography. But Galadriel/Sauron is really a banger, with its clever use of props, staging, camerawork, and emotional storytelling, evident through Sauron’s sick shapeshifting to psyche out Galadriel.
• For legal reasons, The Rings of Power‘s version of Narsil cannot look exactly like the prop used by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson’s movies. Still, they look mighty similar with shared design principles. I still prefer the Jackson design, but that’s just my nostalgia talking.
• Here at least, on the shores of the sea, comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. I’ve had a blast recapping The Rings of Power for you all, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it too. I admit that a lot of my forward-looking speculation each week has turned up “wrong” more often than they were “right,” but it’s a good thing when a TV show keeps you guessing. Until next time, farewell! Do not weep, for not all tears are evil.