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War is coming to Middle-earth. The latest and final trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 makes that fact abundantly clear, featuring shots of epic battle scenes involving everything from marching armies and encroaching orc hordes to flaming debris and massive explosions. The scale of it all looks positively massive and certainly bigger than anything the show has attempted to date. (Heck, probably bigger than anything this franchise has attempted since the Battle of Helm’s Deep back in The Two Towers.) But what, exactly, are we watching here?
While the trailer includes footage from several likely different battle sequences, the most obvious event season 2 will depict is the siege of Eregion. For those who don’t remember, the Elven realm is located in the shadow of the Misty Mountains, near the west gates of Khazad-dûm. It’s the location of Celebrimbor’s forge and the place where the bulk of the titular rings of power will be made. Previous trailers have already revealed that Sauron (Charlie Vickers), now taking the form of a beautiful elf called Annatar or the “Lord of Gifts”, influences Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) in the creation of these rings under the guise of helping Middle-earth and its people. But what happens next?
Well, if Celebrimbor’s reaction shot in this trailer is anything to go by, certainly nothing good. The clip hints that the master smith will, if not outright learn that Annatar is Sauron, at least realize that he is being manipulated for ends that are not his own. (It’s probably not an accident that his reflection is starting to look like a ringwraith, is it?) Sure, The Rings of Power has done some fudging of the timeline when it comes to the order in which the rings were made, but it still seems that Celebrimbor’s discovery of Annatar’s true purpose will lead to a fight for control of Eregion itself.
Let’s be clear: the siege of Eregion is one of the most brutal battles in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, and its impact is felt for centuries afterward. This particular battle, which marks the beginning of the War Between the Elves and Sauron, shapes much of Middle-earth as fans of Peter Jackson’s films recognize it, playing a crucial part in everything from the foundation of Rivendell and the expansion of Lothlórien to the creation (and eventual closing) of the Doors of Durin in Khazad-dûm. Canonically speaking, not all of the characters the show is currently featuring make it out of this fight alive, and at least one of the major deaths will almost certainly be an extremely harrowing one. (No matter how the show decides to portray it. Yes, I’m being vague on purpose.)
The Rings of Power certainly seems to be taking the story of Eregion’s fall seriously, showing us not just the scale of the fight itself, but the scope of characters involved. Elrond (Robert Aramayo), who insists that the city must not fall because “it would be a mortal blow for all of Middle-earth”, is seen leading an Elven army, bloodstained and battling through the burning wreckage of buildings. Dwarven prince Durin (Owain Arthur) is shown giving a St Crispin’s Day-style speech—-“At this moment, the great tale of our age is being written!”—presumably to the dwarves he is rousing to help fight alongside his BFF. Even Sauron himself looks set to pick up a sword (and his legendary spiked crown, which is apparently a more effective offensive weapon than many of us likely realized).
All the fighting will lead to some rather strange proverbial bedfellows, as it’s evident that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), desperate to make up for the fact that she unknowingly added Sauron’s evil plan, is going to join forces with the villainous Adar (Sam Hazeldine) in the hopes of bringing him down. The two share a fierce hatred of the Dark Lord, and while it’s unclear how Galadriel feels about Adar’s plans for the future of the orcs in Mordor, it’s clear that this is very much a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation. And there’s a certain logic to it—after all, Adar has successfully killed Sauron before. Or at least he says he has.
Saying yes to a potential Adar alliance is just another example of how much Galadriel is wrestling with her own guilt and fear of corruption in The Rings of Power’s second season. The season 2 trailers to date have been heavily teasing the idea that she’s somehow being influenced by Sauron, either through her Elven ring or their former emotional connection back when he was Halbrand, and the question of whether she can be trusted to lead the fight against him is obvious. Though we only see the two characters share the screen for a moment in this latest clip, the emotional conflict between them is obvious—and something that feels much more personal than Sauron’s plan to enslave the world. Is the fight between them real or some sort of hallucination or vision? Are they just that obsessed with each other?
As The Rings of Power builds toward this cataclysmic confrontation, it feels like anything is possible.
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