The invasion of Eregion by Adar’s Orc army results in catastrophic death and destruction as war bleeds the Middle-Earth once again—this time through Sauron’s machinations. Previously, Sauron was able to manipulate Celebrimbor to remain fixated on his pursuit of creating the nine rings of Men and used his blood disguised as Mithril ore to introduce corruption in the rings. Adar proposed to a captive Galadriel to use the combined influence of Morgoth’s crown and her ring, Nenya, to kill Sauron once and for all. Galadriel was able to ascertain that it was Sauron’s ploy that compelled Adar to begin his invasion of Eregion—but as she tries to warn Adar about it, she fails. Celebrimbor reaches Lindor to convince King Gil-galad to send aid to Eregion, while Khazad-dûm faces an unprecedented crisis as King Durin’s greed reaches its worst state as his spirit gets influenced by his Dwarven ring. With a disastrous war raging in Eregion, the final phase of Sauron’s scheme gradually nears its end, and the action-packed penultimate episode gives us a taste of what is to be expected from Rings of Power season 2 finale.
Spoilers Ahead
A Mouse Breaks the Trap
While Eregion is thrown into utter chaos and turmoil as an army of Orcs directs their artillery at the kingdom, Celebrimbor remains pitifully ignorant about the situation outside while forging the nine rings of Men in the forge of his private chamber. Sauron’s powers continue to manipulate his mind, and taking the place of the Lord of Eregion, Sauron himself decides to dictate war strategies, mentioning to the master craftsman’s Elven associates that Celebrimbor is so lost in his work that he has no time to attend to the present crisis. Orcs manage to overcome the distance to the walls of Eregion by partly destroying the nearby hill, resulting in the creation of a makeshift bridge, which they cross over to attempt breaching the walls of Eregion.
A suspicion about what really was going on was lying dormant in Celebrimbor’s mind, which suddenly started fluttering its wings as he noticed a strange pattern. A field mouse continued to move across his private chambers until Celebrimbor noticed that its movements seemed to be repeating in a loop. Soon enough, Celebrimbor took notice of other visual signifiers that indicated that he was, in fact, stuck in time, stuck in a false reality—and finally, as Sauron arrived to rush him to complete the rings of men, Celebrimbor confronted him directly. During a heated altercation, an enraged Celebrimbor hurled Feanor’s hammer directed at Sauron, which broke the illusion at last—and Celebrimbor was faced with the horrifying reality of his kingdom in ruins. Sauron finally acknowledges his true identity, prompting Celebrimbor to try and warn his apprentices and Elven soldiers, about the truth. However, with the lies Sauron was feeding them about Celebrimbor, the Elves consider him to have lost his mental faculties and refuse to adhere to his warnings. Sauron incites their suspicion about Celebrimbor further by instigating Mirdania’s death through Celebrimbor’s influence as she falls into the Orc seize, and in no time, the master craftsman is put into shackles by his own people and forced to do Sauron’s bidding—to complete the formation of the nine rings.
Erondil Approaches Prince Durin
Knowing the numbers of Orcs in Adar’s army to be too great compared to the Elven army of Lindor, Elrond goes to Khazad-dûm to meet his old pal, Prince Durin, who is already facing his own struggles as he and his wife, Disa, are standing against his father’s attempt to empty the Dwarven mines. Ignoring the commands of the king, Narvi and other enforcer Dwarves decide to side with Prince Durin and Disa, as they too have realized that the king’s greed will bring doom to their kind unless he is stopped in time. Durin, along with his associates, is preparing for an uprising against his father when Elrond, who was formerly banished from Khazad-dûm, arrives in front of him seeking aid for the war of Eregion. With the Dwarven army by their side, the Elves of Lindor will have a fighting chance against Adar, and Elrond pleads with his friend to share his strength.
As Elrond leaves, Prince Durin gives a rousing speech to motivate the Dwarven legion against Sauron’s ploy and raise their spirits to lead them to the war of Eregion. However, just as Durin prepares to leave Khazad-dûm, a bloodied Narvi arrives to share the terrible news that King Durin has gone completely unhinged and has taken matters into his own hands as he is taking down any resistance against him that seeks to stop his desperate attempt to mine more resources. Prince Durin remains conflicted, caught between his allegiance for his kingdom and for his friend, and Narvi warns him that leaving Khazad-dûm at this perilous moment might result in the annihilation of the Dwarven kingdom itself.
Did Sauron Gain the Rings of Men?
Elrond rallies King Gil-galad and the Elven forces to Eregion, in a classic sequence reminiscent of Rohan sending aid for Gondor as they prepare to take the battle to Adar’s forces; however, seeing Galadriel captive, Elrond is forced to stop and discuss a negotiation with Adar, who proposes joining hands to end Sauron. Elrond refuses, even with Galadriel’s life at stake, but sneakily manages to hand her a means to unshackle herself in the guise of a farewell kiss. Elrond and the Elven army engage in a fierce battle with the Orcs as he awaits Durin’s aid. Galadriel frees herself and tries to sneak past the Orc forces, when she is finally recognized by a bunch, but before her cover gets blown, the Silvan elf Arondir kills them in quick succession. Arondir, who was following the Orc trail to Eregion, is adamant to put down Adar as a form of revenge for Bronwyn’s death, but Galadriel warns him against taking any hasty step that might add to the rising death tally of Elves.
As Celebrimbor is forced to work on his rings, Sauron reveals he doesn’t take any pleasure in treating him like he himself was treated by Morgoth, whose destructive approach clashed with Sauron’s approach of controlling everything instead. Celebrimbor remarks that still he finds himself in a similar position as the tormentor, prompting Sauron to state that Celebrimbor’s fate is his result of his own undoing; he didn’t have any part in this. The matersmith realizes the depth of Sauron’s deception, as he can deceive himself into believing something he is not.
In Sauron’s absence, Celebrimbor tries to destroy the completed rings of Men in fire but fails to do so, and to escape with the rings, pays a heavy penance by cutting off his thumb to free himself from the shackles. The Elven army denounces Celebrimbor until Galadriel arrives and reveals Sauron’s treachery to them, as she too had been tricked by the great deceiver. Returning to their senses, the Elves agree to help Celebrimbor to apprehend Sauron, and Celebrimbor entrusts Galadriel with the nine rings of men.
Battle rages on, and both sides take heavy losses, prompting the Orc commander to plead with Adar to take their lives into consideration. Adar would rather see his ‘children’ killed than enslaved by Sauron, and he proceeds to release Damrod the Troll as a last ditch attempt to destroy the walls of Eregion. Despite facing great difficulties, Elrond and Gil-galad manage to put an end to Damrod in time, and as the sun shines in the east, Elrond feels his hope will manifest with Prince Durin and the Dwarven army’s appearance. Alas, Durin is entangled in his personal mess and is not able to send an aid as Adar and his army rally for a final showdown.
Arondir lunges at Adar to take his revenge but ends up getting killed by him instead. Elrond gets incapacitated by Adar, as Nenya, Galadriel’s ring of power, gets taken by the Orc Lord’s father. Celebrimbor and his Elven commanders surround Sauron in Celebrimbor’s private chambers, only for the commanders to get controlled by Sauron and end up killing each other. Sauron will obtain the rings, no matter the cost, and in the season finale, he will have a much-awaited confrontation with Galadriel, who now possesses them.
