Halfway through the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the dangers in the Second Age of Middle-earth have never been greater.
Sauron (Charlie Vickers), now disguised as the Lord of Gifts, Annatar, is set to use his new role to further his plans. He has already influenced Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and is ready to move forward with his scheme. A new preview of episode 5, released by Prime Video, hints at what’s coming next.
Earlier in the season, Sauron appeared as Annatar and quickly won over Celebrimbor. Together, they planned to create powerful rings for the Dwarven lords.
It’s All Mind Games For the Great Deceiver in ‘The Rings of Power’
The new teaser for Thursday’s episode shows Annatar suggesting they also make rings for men. Celebrimbor, at first, resists this idea. The teaser also shifts to Númenor, where Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) now rules as king, having replaced his cousin, Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson).
Míriel, now imprisoned, starts setting the stage for Elendil (Llyod Owen) to become the king of Gondor after a disaster hits the star-shaped island. Back in Middle-earth, Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) advises his father against looking for mithril in Khazad-dûm, fearing it will awaken an ancient evil.
In The Rings of Power, Sauron’s schemes are all about mind games. Fans of Peter Jackson’s films and J.R.R. Tolkien’s books know that Annatar will eventually succeed in creating rings for men.
These rings will corrupt them, turning them into the Ringwraiths, or Nazgûl. Sauron manipulates minds, including Celebrimbor’s, as showrunner Patrick McKay explains:
“[T]he story in Eregion between Sauron and Celebrimbor is going to be a psychological thriller, where you’re watching Sauron pick apart the sanity of one of the greatest minds in all Elvendom with Celebrimbor, the great Elven smith.
We talk about a sort of gaslighting, as he’s slowly manipulating and tormenting Celebrimbor to the point of losing his mind. So the story goes into dark places psychologically as well as the actual stakes and fate of Middle-earth.”
The first four episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are available for streaming on Prime Video now. Keep up with Otakukart for more updates on Season 2.
