In episode 2, Sauron hangs around at the door and characters shout lore at you instead of talking like people.
Akhil Arora, a Film Critics Guild member and a Rotten Tomatoes-certified TV critic, who has watched all eight episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. He has been reviewing movies and TV series since 2015 and has written for NDTV and SlashFilm.
Following a thoroughly unimpressive season premiere, The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 had its work cut out for it. For what it’s worth, episode 2 is better than episode 1 though it’s clearing a low bar. Three of the conversation scenes largely work—the one between Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) is my favourite, while the one between Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is the most intriguing. But, on the whole, there isn’t enough here to engage you for a full hour. It’s still quite humdrum and a waste of its runtime. The blame lies in how people talk. So much of the dialogue is just lore. Characters don’t talk to each other about what they are feeling. Rather, they talk about the future and potential occurrences. It’s as if you’re hearing the show’s writers tease what’s to come.
The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 also suffers from a lack of momentum. None of the storylines progresses in a meaningful manner. Dwarves lose the sunlight and worry about what to do. Elves go around in circles wondering how to deal with Adar and Sauron. The wizard Stranger’s (Daniel Weyman) journey hits the beats we’ve seen. And, finally, Sauron simply hangs around at the entrance to Eregion for a large chunk of episode 2. When he does come to the fore towards the end, we sort of already know what’s about to happen. Sauron’s transformation from Halbrand to Annatar is first hinted at by a minor character in a random scene elsewhere. Why do this? How is episode 2 better off by foreshadowing—or rather, spoiling—its own events?
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I don’t know what The Rings of Power creators, head writers and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have in mind. But it seems to me that they were so busy looking at the bigger picture they forgot that individual episodes must deliver on their own. Without that, you don’t have a TV show. You have an encyclopaedia.
The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2—directed by Charlotte Brändström and Louise Hooper, and written by Jason Cahill—opens in Khazad-dûm, where Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete) are out shopping. Durin feels he has let her down. She married a prince and now she’s bound to an outcast. Disa notes that she’s bound to the dwarf she loves. She then wonders if he’s tried to talk to his King father. Durin thinks he’ll never agree to see him. If you’ll recall, his father disowned him for his season 1 actions when he and Elrond secretly mined for mithril. Just then, Disa senses the ground move. Is this tied to the eruption at Mount Doom? The opening shot of the map would suggest so. Because of the quake, Khazad-dûm is plunged into darkness.
After the opening credits, The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 takes us to Lindon where Galadriel is at her brother’s grave. She’s soon visited by Celebrimbor who says he’s had an unexpected visitor. Wait, isn’t he in Eregion? Turns out, this is a nightmare as the day turns to night and weeds snake from the ground to wrap themselves around Celebrimbor. As the weeds grab and impale Celebrimbor to a tree, he utters in Sindarin, “Three rings for the elven-kings under the sky; seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone; nine for mortal men doomed to die.” Even in a nightmare, The Rings of Power is busy giving us more lore. This show, I tell you. Cut to reality with the hint that Galadriel’s new ring is causing her to have visions.
The High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) is planning an attack on Adar and his orcs. He wonders what they know about Sauron’s whereabouts. Per elf scouts, he was last seen going into Mordor. The High King seeks Galadriel’s advice on battle strategies and then tells everyone to see to the preparations. As they depart, he holds Galadriel back in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. He can tell her thoughts are somewhere else. Galadriel feels Sauron may not have remained in Mordor. He’s interested in ruling all the peoples of Middle-earth by “bending their minds and wills.” To do that, he needs not armies but rings, Galadriel notes. And he cannot craft them without the help of Celebrimbor.
Eregion is safe, Gil-galad says in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. After all, it’s protected by two rivers and a 10-foot wall of dwarven stone. Well, those won’t be of any use since Celebrimbor doesn’t know Halbrand is Sauron. Galadriel isn’t assured either. She tells the High King of the visions of the unseen world she’s started having since putting on the ring. It seems she’s not alone. Gil-galad has also had visions—of mountains crumbling (we just saw this in Khazad-dûm), waters running dry, and black clouds gathering over white towers. Galadriel wants to go to Eregion but the High King notes that she cannot face Sauron again. He believes Sauron can sculpt Galadriel’s thoughts since he had once gained her trust. Galadriel agrees that he knows her mind, but she also knows his. She believes she can face him, and she alone can slay him. But the High King flat-out refuses. What if she wasn’t alone?
Speaking of Eregion, Celebrimbor’s assistant Mirdania (Amelia Kenworthy) tells Halbrand that he won’t be granted entry. He’s asked to leave but Halbrand says he will just wait here just in case Celebrimbor changes his mind. Mirdania returns to the forge to inform her lord that Halbrand refuses to leave. She even notes that he seems to be injured. But Celebrimbor sticks to Galadriel’s instructions and says to let Halbrand be. He expects to get a message from Lindon any day. I don’t think he’ll be getting any messages as The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 shows Lindon’s messengers having been intercepted and cut down.
In the deserts of Rhûn, the masked stranger who was following the Stranger in episode 1—yes, I understand your confusion—goes to meet an old man with a long beard (Ciarán Hinds). He’s listed as the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 credits. Using the blood of one of his acolytes, he turns a jar of butterflies back into the corporeal form. If you recall, or as episode 2’s “Previously on” segment showed, the Stranger turned the three women following him into butterflies and dispatched them into the unseen world in the season 1 finale. One of them—credited as the Dweller (Bridie Sisson)—is back in her body now.
Interestingly, the Dark Wizard first asks her about Sauron, not the fellow wizard. She says his shadow is deepening and then claims he has taken a new form to deceive his enemies. Strange, we are yet to see that. Then, the Wizard enquires about the Istar, a Quenyan term for “wise one” or “wizard”. He’s heard whispers of an old man in rags travelling east with two halflings. The Dweller says he’s lost and vulnerable. But the Dark Wizard notes that he won’t be that way for long and hence they must reach him before he learns to harness his powers. Just then, the masked stranger from earlier enters in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. His name is Brânk (Zates Atour). He claims he can capture the Istar if the Dark Wizard heals the curse upon his flesh. The Dark Wizard questions his capabilities, given he’s a mere mortal. Brânk will get him to surrender as he’s prepared to kill Nori and Poppy.
Speaking of the Harfoots, they are trying to assign a name to the Stranger in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. But he rejects all their choices. He thinks a name cannot be given—it is yours already. “When you hear it spoken, you feel your heart glow,” he adds. Aw, that’s cute. How about Gandalf? Do you like it? I hear all The Rings of Power fans are sure you’re him. Nori is sure that he’ll hear his name one day. Whatever it may be.
Poppy interjects to say that they can cut their journey by half if they turn northeast. Turns out, it’s a vast desert expanse with no shade. The heat is already getting to them, so this is a bad idea. As they sit to rest for a bit in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, Poppy wonders why the Stranger can’t just magic some water into being. Nori notes he needs a gand. You know, like a stick. He asks them to be silent because he’s heard something. Brânk and his troupe show up on horses, forcing them to hide. They do a good job and aren’t spotted. I mean, they are Harfoots, they are built for this. When they leave, Poppy wonders who they are. The Stranger notes they are watching their trail so they would be wise to find another. Guess they must head into the desert.
Over in Khazad-dûm in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, the dwarves, trapped in the darkness, are losing their crops. Disa goes to see King Durin III (Peter Mullan) where Narvi (Kevin Eldon), the chief digger and delve-master, confirms our suspicions. The waking of the volcano caused an earthquake and collapsed their sunshafts. The King wants Narvi to dig themselves out of this mess, but Disa notes how he’s had trouble finding a stone-singer who can identify a safe path to dig. Disa feels she and her two fellow singers can do it. They give it a go but only end up collapsing the one remaining sunshaft, it seems.
The King notes how stone-singers like Disa have helped them for nine centuries. They had never failed until today. The King asks Narvi to dig carefully. As Disa is about to leave in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, he tries to get her to talk about her husband. It’s clear that the King isn’t ready to apologise. He’s as proud as his son. Disa notes how stubborn they both are. The King calls it strength. Okay, then. Very funny. “No wonder we can’t hear the mountain,” Disa says, “as its king is deaf to the sorrow of his own son.” Oof, that must hit deep. If the King wants to show true strength, he should summon his son, Disa tells him. Durin will answer.
Speaking of Durin IV, he’s helping dig with the others in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. But he’s not used to this kind of work and has developed blisters on his hand. The others mock him for having “palace hands” as he’s only been used to polishing jewels all his life. They are picking on him for they blame him and his King father for being in this mess. Hey, that’s what you get for ruling—the buck stops with you. Back home, Disa rails at him again for not trying to speak with his father. Durin believes they would have had food for 500 years if the King had listened to him and not thrown Elrond out. He’s talking about the mithril mining. Disa says she doesn’t care about food. She’s afraid as they can’t hear the mountains. This is new for the dwarves. Durin tries to reassure her.
Cut to Lindon in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, as Galadriel goes to see Elrond. She notes that their letters to Celebrimbor have gone unanswered and she fears Sauron may be in Eregion. She wants to take a small party to Eregion and she wants Elrond to join them. He’s not interested in following her. Of course, he isn’t—has Galadriel forgotten the events of episode 1? Galadriel then admits that the High King won’t send her without Elrond. She’s been deceived by Sauron before, after all. Galadriel is clearly desperate to do this but on what hunch? Just because they haven’t heard back, and her ring is giving her visions? What if it’s by Sauron’s design? Anyway, Elrond isn’t moved by it. He feels they have become Sauron’s collaborators in choosing to wear the rings.
An unsettled Elrond then goes to see Cirdan in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. When he voices his concerns, he essentially asks him to separate the art from the artist. The rings are great even if their makers aren’t. Elrond feels it’s impossible. He wishes he could know Cirdan’s peace, which sends this vulnerable moment careening off into impersonal territory. Sigh. Elrond is clearly having a tough time accepting that the Elves have put on the rings, despite his best attempts. But the scene lacks the authenticity and the life it needs.
And the dialogue is too expository. “We do not yet fully understand these rings. Look at the power they exert over every form of life. In Sauron’s hands, they could work an evil beyond reckoning, dominating the minds and wills of all. This is why they must remain in the hands of Elves,” Cirdan says in response to Elrond’s worry in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. Who talks like this? These sentences killed any emotion that was present in the scene. Cirdan then adds that Elrond shouldn’t let his fear blind him from the good these rings can do. Moreover, the rings are worn by his most trusted friends. His job shouldn’t be to abandon them but to guide them. Will it be enough to convince Elrond?
The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 heads back to Rhûn. Nori and Poppy are struggling in the heat and the Stranger, who is dragging their weight, collapses. Thankfully, they come across a well, draw water from it and give it to the Stranger who has fainted. But in using the well, Poppy inadvertently rings a bell which attracts Brânk and his masked gang. At about the same time, the Stranger gets up and spots a staff that he feels is like the one he saw in his dream. As the masked men charge at them, the Stranger uses his new stick to fashion a dust storm. But once again, he struggles to control it, the staff breaks into little pieces, and Nori and Poppy are blown off in the storm. Might have saved the day but also lost his friends. Good job?
Over in Eregion in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2, Celebrimbor shows off to Mirdania how the mithril is only visible under the moonlight. As they stand on the balcony, he wonders aloud if Halbrand is still hanging around. Mirdania notes the night is cold and maybe she should offer him a shawl. Celebrimbor relents and goes to see Halbrand. He tells him he doesn’t care why he has come and if that he doesn’t leave, he will be removed by force.
Sauron, always the master manipulator, claims that Galadriel said he would say that. He plays on the fact that Celebrimbor hasn’t heard from Lindon and concocts new lies in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. When Halbrand brings up the three rings, Celebrimbor is intrigued like a little child. Halbrand further drives the knife in, noting how Celebrimbor toiled hard to make the rings and yet he hasn’t been told anything about what they have done for the elves. He then begins to turn around and leave, as he’s not wanted in Eregion. Halbrand’s reverse psychology works and Celebrimbor invites him in.
Inside, Halbrand tells Celebrimbor that the rings have worked wonders. The elf beams and revels in what he has achieved. While he’s celebrating, Halbrand moves into the next phase of his plan in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. He says he doesn’t want any secrets between them. Halbrand’s acting is wonderful in how he allows himself to appear vulnerable to gain the elf’s trust. Celebrimbor assures Halbrand that he can speak with an open heart. Halbrand then lays it out plain—he came to Eregion to make rings for men. But Celebrimbor is instantly hesitant. He believes men are far covetous and capable of being corrupted, unlike elves. And even if he wanted to, where would the mithril come from? Halbrand’s current affairs knowledge helps him once more. He knows the dwarves are facing a dilemma of their own.
With that, Halbrand moves into step two. Halbrand admits he’s been lying about his identity. That’s why he was cast out after Galadriel discovered the truth. He’s not a King, a Southlander, or even a mortal, he tells Celebrimbor in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. Except he covers up a lie with another lie. He claims he’s an envoy sent by the forces beyond evil to “bring guidance to the ears of the wise.” Soon, every realm in Middle-earth will fall, he adds. The darkness is growing stronger, and the rings of power are their last hope of restoring the light. Celebrimbor scoffs. Does he really expect him to believe that he’s a messenger sent by the Valar?
As the thunder outside grows louder and shakes open a window, Celebrimbor gets up to close it in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2. He turns around and discovers “Halbrand” is not in his chair. The lights go out across the forge and the room is plunged into darkness. Then, the forge suddenly grows brightly, and Sauron’s voice emerges. He claims he’s walked across Middle-earth to find an artist who has the craft to save it all. He’s clearly nursing Celebrimbor’s ego. He can help unlock Celebrimbor’s grandest abilities so that he won’t be seen as “the mere scion” of Fëanor, Celebrimbor’s grandfather who was also a known smith.
Instead, he’ll be revered as the “lord of the rings,” Sauron adds as he steps out of the fire in a new form: an elf with long golden hair. (This plays on the fact and viewer’s knowledge that Sauron will ultimately be the actual lord of the rings. Celebrimbor will simply be remembered as their maker.) The theatricality is enough to convince Celebrimbor that “Halbrand” is who he claims he is. You can see it in his face—he is wowed beyond belief, and he even takes a knee. What should he call him? Halbrand rebrands himself as Annatar, the lord of gifts, in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2.
That’s not the end of the episode. (It would’ve been a good end, mind you.) Over in Lindon, Galadriel is summoned by the High King and given new orders. She is to depart for Eregion at first light. But she’s not leading the party, Elrond is. Guess he decided to listen to Cirdan. The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 ends in Khazad-dûm where Durin IV gets an invite from Celebrimbor to come to Eregion. It doesn’t say why. Let me guess—between Sauron needing more mithril and Galadriel’s vision earlier in the episode, he wants to make rings of power for the dwarves. More rings! More power!
The Rings of Power season 2 episode 2 is out now on Prime Video.
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