One of the greatest fantasy stories of all time is finally back for its third outing, and the stakes are already high. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins with Sauron’s rise to power following the destruction of Eregion and the forging of the Rings. Five years have passed since the Dark Lord decimated the Elven stronghold and murdered the Elven smith, Celebrimbor.
Sauron learned everything he could about forging the Rings of Power and managed to corrupt the Seven for Dwarves and Nine for Mortal Men. However, his touch couldn’t defile the Three for Elves, which is why there’s still hope for Middle-earth. Under the protection of the rings, the elves hold back Sauron’s forces, but their resources are running thin.
Episode one opens with a harrowing monologue from Galadriel as she describes a fire spreading across Middle-earth, engulfing every light, flesh, and root in its path. It has been burning for the past five years ever since the darkness called Sauron burned Eregion and forged the Rings of Power. The Dark Lord’s influence is undeniable, corrupting everything it touches from elves to men, but there’s still resistance in the world.
Only a few manage to stand against the constant onslaught from Mordor. No one stands a chance except for the two Elven strongholds, but their forces and options are limited. With more kingdoms of men pledging fealty to Sauron, the elves have few allies to turn to.
Unfortunately, the endless armies of orcs are the least of everyone’s problems. The real evil is Sauron’s ambition, stemming from his need for total domination. His malice and darkness corrupted the Dwarves and the Rings for Mortal Men, but the Dark Lord desires totality. He cannot fathom leaving the three Elven rings unchecked; therefore, he wants to create the One Ring that rules them all.
Sauron’s ambition isn’t wayward; rather, it is well-directed and meticulously planned. He isn’t simply after power for the sake of it. What fuels his ambition is the desire for complete submission and corruption. He may be using brute force, but he’s also a commendable political player. He’s conquering by carefully exploiting people’s weaknesses, but there’s still one goal he has yet to achieve.
The Dark Lord is in search of the ultimate power
Galadriel’s monologue is followed by Mordor’s dread and fire, which burn as a symbol of Sauron’s growing power. Charlie Vickers delivers an even more commanding portrayal of the iconic villain in ominous garb and a menacing aura. In this scene, we can see Sauron has already become a formidable force, and after setting loose his orc army on Middle-earth, he’s consumed by the desire to make the One Ring.
He has his orcs prepare the mold with carvings of the two-line verse written in Black Speech. They pour the molten metal, but the audience knows because of the lack of grandeur that this is not ‘the moment.’ The Ring is forged, but Sauron’s expression gives away a familiar sense of failure he has felt for the past five years in forging the One Ring.
An orc is chosen to wear the ring for testing, and as a sign of defection, the orc burns from the fire produced by the ring. Sauron is disappointed and commands his minions to locate anyone or anything who may have knowledge of Celebrimbor’s craft. He lacks the proper knowledge to forge the One Ring, and that leaves the Dark Lord open to scrutiny even from his own orcs.
One named Marnûkh calls out the irony of Sauron’s situation: he wants Celebrimbor’s secrets, even though it was he who ordered the burning of all his records and later impaled him. Surprisingly, this particular orc doesn’t face Sauron’s wrath for questioning him; instead, Sauron tasks Marnûkh with scouring Middle-earth for anyone who may be aware of Celebrimbor’s crafting secrets.
Celeborn makes his graceful entrance
The scene from Mordor intercuts to a flashback scene to the First Age. We are introduced to the great Elven warrior Celeborn, who has just defeated an orc cavalry deep within the forest. After the fight, the Elves celebrate with dance and music, but Celeborn is uninterested. A few moments later, he spots a fair maiden hiding away in the forest.
It is a young Galadriel, sparring by herself, who calls out the unnecessary celebration while a war rages. Intrigued by Galadriel, Celeborn challenges her to a sword fight, with the loser having to reveal their name. What follows is an ethereal sequence of Galadriel and Celeborn sparring with such elegance that leaves one in awe.
Their challenge ends with Celeborn cutting a piece of Galadriel’s hair, and the two later dance the night away. They fall deeply in love, imagining a bright future as they look at an endless, shimmering horizon. Celeborn asks Galadriel to marry him, and she agrees; however, the dream ends and Galadriel is plunged back into the nightmare of reality.
Her beautiful memory intercuts with a gruesome fight against the orcs in the forest near Rivendell. She fights alongside Arondir and a legion of Elves. However, these skirmishes mean nothing against the bleak reality that most of Middle-earth is fighting alongside Sauron. Even after defeating the orcs, Galadriel and the elves are attacked by men who now follow Sauron.
The first fight sequence of the season not only establishes what’s to come but also introduces some of the key features of season 3. For instance, we see that Arondir is still haunted by the memories of the past, especially the guilt he feels for Theo. The elves are forced to kill men despite fighting for Middle-earth, and the most dreadful thing of them all is the Nazgnagôl.
Sauron’s most ferocious servant gets a blood-pumping introduction in the fight as it single-handedly deals deadly blows to the great Galadriel. She struggles to keep up with the Nazgnagol’s dark powers and is forced to retreat. Sauron’s servant is after her ring, but thankfully the ring’s powers aid her and the survivors’ rescue just in the nick of time.
Sauron’s forces grow
At Mordor, Sauron is still haunted by his lack of knowledge and the fact that Celebrimbor somehow managed to keep his influence at bay to some extent. The Dark Lord still has his former mentor’s corpse hanging from the wall in the throne room, so he can subconsciously gloat over his victory. However, Celebrimbor’s death has been more of a nuisance to him than a celebration.
Sauron sees the lifeless body in front of him, but he still feels Celebrimbor haunting him with demeaning words, especially the fact that Sauron may never find the secret to controlling the Three. A verbal war ensues between the two until an orc interrupts, informing Sauron of the arrival of a delegation from Rhun.
Sauron has been sending out invitations of sorts to kingdoms of men to come and join his cause in exchange for power. He exploits their fears and weaknesses by offering freedom from their current captives; however, in reality, he’s just cleverly forcing them into lifelong submission. What’s more, he does it in the most brutal way possible.
He keeps ordering his orcs to kill those who question him and offers Rings of Power as special gifts to only one. This is also where we learn of the Ringwraiths’ origins, especially the process by which Sauron chooses a successor for his precious rings and becomes his servant, bound to both this world and another.
After killing a few, he offers the Ring to the last man standing, and in this case, it is a man named Khamul the Easterling. Sauron offers him a Ring which heals his leprosy and earns him the name "the fairest of the Nine."
Non-book fans may not have noticed, but that’s how the show low-key introduced one of Sauron’s most devoted followers. Khamul would go on to become Sauron’s second-in-command, the infamous Shadow of the East.
Upon wearing the ring, Khamul undergoes a painful transformation, and according to Sauron, while wearing his Ring, the Nazgnagôl becomes of both this world and another. This is immediately explained by the transition of Khamul’s soul as it is torn between two worlds, but after the pain ends, the Nazgnagôl is restored to his former glory.
Sauron’s new minion is then armed and fitted with the iconic black armor. He then pledges to bring at least a hundred thousand men to Sauron’s cause, but he also informs the Dark Lord of another wizard who challenges Rhûn and the Dark Wizard on every turn. Khamul tells Sauron that Gandalf is very powerful, but the latter reassures him that when the time comes, he’ll deal with Gandalf.
Middle-earth is divided
An injured Galadriel and other elves return to Rivendell, where Elrond tends to the wounded. He’s upset to see Galadriel hurt, who admits they are going to lose the war if they don’t secure allies. She informs him that many men have sworn allegiance to Sauron, including the Nazgnagôl she faced today, whom she identifies as the king of Lossoth.
Galadriel urges Elrond to talk to the High King and ask him to extend a hand towards Númenor, the only remaining powerful nation of the men. However, Elrond refuses, reassuring Galadriel that even if things got worse out there, Sauron can never reach them in their stronghold. But he can’t help her if she’s still stuck in a mind plagued by Sauron.
Galadriel reassures Elrond she hasn’t seen or thought about Sauron in five years. However, when she lies in bed alone, she hears his whispers in the dark. His betrayal and shallow promises to make her a queen. The nightmare of Sauron devouring her jolts her awake in the forest. Arondir is there, urging her to share what haunts her in the dead of night.
Galadriel isn’t open much about her predicaments, but she understands Arondir’s. He feels guilty for leaving Theo, and it also affects him on the battlefield. While she reassures Arondir that what happened wasn’t his fault, she also understands he wants to go to Pelargir.
In Pelargir, the Numenoreans treat the Southlanders as slaves, pushing and punishing them to cut timber for Numenor’s armada. Pharazon’s son, Kemen, is in charge of Pelargir, but his brutality is gut-wrenching. The effects of the torture are clearly visible in Theo’s lifeless yet vengeful eyes; it is evident he has significantly changed since season 2.
He stands listening to Kemen as he is handed a message from Sauron, inviting him to Mordor to accept a ring in exchange for support. Of course, Kemen doesn’t give the invitation much thought and declares the city vile and disgusting before riding off on his horse. However, Theo picks up the letter, but even the slightest movement causes him 12 lashes.
Tension brews in Khazad-dûm
Elrond travels in the dead of night to see an old friend. Durin welcomes Elrond when he opens the gate and hands him weapons. Durin and his wife have been ruling Khazad-dûm for the last five years after Durin III’s death, but it hasn’t been easy for the couple. Not only do they have to hide the fact that Durin is supplying the elves with weapons, but he also has to face the growing concern of his brother contesting his claim to the throne.
Elrond tells Durin that the elves spotted his brother, Thrain, marching towards Khazad-dum with the other Dwarf lords in tow. He warns his dear friend that his brother might be coming to claim the throne, but Durin reassures Elrond that he has everything under control. Durin wishes to join the war, but Elrond warns him against inviting trouble to his doors.
Later, Durin and his family get ready to welcome his brother and the Dwarf lords. Durin doesn’t think much of it, but Disa is wary of Thrain’s arrival. She warns her husband to stay vigilant against whatever his brother is plotting.
After some time, the Dwarf Lord and Durin’s eccentric brother arrive to pay tribute to the new king. However, after the celebrations, the lords question Durin’s choice to hide the Rings despite paying a fair amount to the previous king. They want the Rings, and when things get heated, Thráin steps in to defend his brother. He supports Durin’s claim to the throne and his decision to hide the Rings.
The two brothers later talk about their father when Disa interrupts and tells her husband he’s needed at the armory. After Durin leaves, we learn Thráin and Disa used to be in a relationship, but for some reason, Disa doesn’t trust him. She warns him to be careful and not to fool himself into thinking that no one is watching him.
Turns out, Thrain did come with an agenda, at least that’s what Durin thinks when his brother catches him supplying weapons to elves in the dark. This enrages Durin, and the brothers fight until they land on the feet of the orc Marnûkh, who claims he has valuable information about the Dark Lord.
The scene transitions to Gil-galad at a war camp as he sees Marnukh through his Ring. He’s puzzled as to why the Ring would show him this particular orc, maybe because he has a part to play in the near future. Gil-galad and Cirdan discuss future strategies but are somewhat disappointed to see the number of kingdoms that have sided with Sauron.
In Barad-dûr, Sauron is informed of the arrival of another delegation of men, seeking the Rings in exchange for rebelling against Numenor. It is a small group of Southlanders, including Theo, who have come to Sauron for aid against Numenor’s atrocities. Just like with Rhun, Sauron chillingly announces that Mordor can only offer one ring at this time, and whoever is left standing will receive it.
The episode ends with Theo and the men fighting over the dagger that will eventually claim their lives. As they claw at each other over the dagger, Sauron looks on with a knowing smirk, relishing the lengths men are willing to go to for power — an exploitative flaw and a ploy that works well for Sauron.
The first four episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 are streaming on Prime Video.
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