Lord of the Rings
The Rings of Power Season 1 Recap: What Happened and What Plots Are Open?
We recap all the major storylines of the Amazon series, which returns for its second season on August 29.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ is a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, but Amazon Studios does not own all the rights to the books, so some stories are unpublished. As the title suggests, the production focuses on the forging of these artifacts, the rings that Sauron uses to try to subjugate the peoples of Middle-earth. The story is set in the Second Age, a time of relative peace that is suddenly cut short. Throughout the first season, the events leading up to the war are told.
Commander Galadriel is convinced that Sauron lives. The Dark Lord murdered her brother, and she works tirelessly to find and stop the villain. The paths of the two characters soon cross: when the elf is about to leave Middle-earth forever, she throws herself overboard and is rescued by some human survivors. Halbrand claims to be the heir to the throne of the Southlands and deceives Galadriel, who at first believes his story. At the end of the season, however, it is revealed that his true identity is Sauron. The commander becomes suspicious when the human suggests to Master Celebrimbor that he should experiment with mithril - a type of metal with very special properties - since the light of the elves is dying. He uses their desperation to get the egocentric craftsman to forge the Rings of Power, the artifacts that will allow him to rule Middle-earth.
From Elves to Dwarves, Humans and Harfoots
Mithril is the main conflict between the dwarves. When Elrond visits his friend Durin, heir to the throne of Khazad-dûm, he reveals the existence of this mineral. But it is not easy to obtain. Its extraction in the mine involves dangers that the king is not willing to take, so there is a harsh exchange of words between the monarch and his heir, who is eventually stripped of his rights.
On the other hand, The Stranger, a mysterious figure who has lost his memory, falls from the stars and meets Nori, one of the halflings of a nomadic people known as the Harfoots. The two will forge a friendship and help each other, but not without the occasional disaster. At the end of the first season, Nori and The Stranger embark on a journey to the place where the constellations can be seen.
The other focus of the story is Númenor. Galadriel manages to convince the Queen Regent to return to Middle-earth and fight with the Elves in the Southlands. The battle is bloody and ends in Sauron’s favor. The allied forces defeat Adar, the father of the Uruks, but when all seems lost, a human activates the device that causes Mount Doom to erupt. The elf Arondir and his allies, including Isildur, suffer the consequences firsthand: the Southlands disappear and Mordor is born from the flames.
What will happen to the Rings of Power and the fate of the elves? All this will be revealed in the second season.