The Season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power told a grand story that captured viewers’ attention. This episode featured a dramatic battle between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers), revealed the true identity of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), and wrapped up the plot surrounding Khazad-dûm.
As the finale unfolded, the fiery beast that had been sleeping deep within the mines finally awoke. While the series has hinted at this moment, most fans are already aware of the fate that awaits the Dwarven city due to the Fellowship’s experiences in the Mines of Moria many years later.
The Balrog is an important creature in J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories, especially regarding Khazad-dûm’s history. However, the changes made in The Rings of Power create a significant plot hole for the series.
The Rise of Khazad-dûm
In the series, Khazad-dûm is shown at its peak. This is the time when mithril is discovered, promising great wealth for the Dwarves living there.
The series chooses to introduce Khazad-dûm during this golden period rather than stick to the established timeline in Tolkien’s writings. Instead of following the timeline that Tolkien created, The Rings of Power rushed to depict the fall of this great city.
The story escalates too quickly. Durin III (Peter Mullan), influenced by the greed brought on by his ring, begins to dig deeper into the mines. This digging disturbs the monster that resides below, known as Durin’s Bane, ultimately forcing the Dwarves to abandon their home.
While the fast pace of the story may explain some of these changes, it does not provide the Dwarves with enough time to fully exploit their mithril and earn the wealth that they are meant to gain. This lack of time to establish their fortune before facing challenges with the Balrog ultimately harms Khazad-dûm’s reputation.
The Finale: A Fight for Survival
In the Season 2 finale titled “Shadow and Flame,” the plot takes a serious turn. After obtaining one of the Seven Dwarven Rings, Durin III becomes increasingly greedy. He pushes the Dwarves to exploit the mines of Khazad-dûm beyond safe limits.
When he learns about the war between Sauron and the Elves, he sees an opportunity to mine mithril to create unbeatable armor. This armor would supposedly bring immense wealth to Khazad-dûm.
As Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) observes his father’s descent into greed, he fights back to stop Durin III from bringing destruction to their city. Gradually, other Dwarves begin to understand the seriousness of the situation. They join Prince Durin and his wife, Disa (Sophia Nomvete), in opposing the King. However, the tensions escalate in the Season 2 finale.
When Prince Durin nearly leads the army away from Khazad-dûm, the King retaliates by ordering his guards to confront the rebels. He clears a path to the mine they are trying to protect so he can continue digging despite the warnings from his son. In a critical moment, Durin III breaks down the final barrier, revealing a shaft full of mithril. However, this action wakes the Balrog, and it soon launches an attack.
In a moment of bravery, Durin III decides to give up the Rings that have caused so many problems. He sacrifices himself in an attempt to confront the Balrog. During this chaos, a partial cave-in saves Prince Durin. However, this will not keep the Balrog contained for long.
With the creature now fully awake, it poses a severe threat to the Dwarves’ underground home. The danger is too significant to ignore, leading to the near-imminent fall of Khazad-dûm, especially as external threats continue to grow.
Tolkien’s Timeline vs. The Rings of Power
While The Rings of Power is rooted in Tolkien’s original version, there are key differences regarding the timeline of Khazad-dûm. In Tolkien’s writings, the fall of Khazad-dûm occurs after many generations.
The Dwarves’ greed for mithril leads them to dig too deep, awakening the Balrog, but this takes place in the Third Age of Middle-earth. However, The Rings of Power is still in the Second Age during its events.
According to Tolkien, after the discovery of mithril in the Second Age, Khazad-dûm thrived for thousands of years. The ancient Balrog remained undisturbed until 1980 years into the Third Age. The Dwarves experienced prosperity and built a strong reputation during this time.
In Tolkien’s account, the Balrog earned the name Durin’s Bane after killing Durin VI, not Durin III as shown in The Rings of Power. A year later, the next King, Náin I, also dies. The people of Khazad-dûm are forced to flee their ancestral home, even though it had been one of Middle-earth’s richest cities for millennia.
The threat posed by the Balrog is relentless, and after being awakened, it will not lie in wait. This means that The Rings of Power has committed to the fall of Khazad-dûm generations earlier than Tolkien intended.
The Impact of Timeline Changes
The changes to the timeline not only release the Balrog too early but also do not adjust the rest of Khazad-dûm’s history to compensate for this.
In the series, Prince Durin and his father have just discovered mithril. In Season 1, they kept this mineral a closely guarded secret, and few knew of its potential. Only a limited number of items have been crafted from mithril, including the Rings of Power and the Doors of Durin.
Although Durin III dreams of crafting more mithril items and bringing wealth to the city, these dreams remain plans that Prince Durin does not support. In this new timeline, before news of the resource spreads throughout Middle-earth, the Dwarves find themselves in crisis. The rapid release of the Balrog robs Khazad-dûm of its status and importance.
Khazad-dûm is impressive upon its introduction, and perhaps in The Rings of Power, that will be its only claim to fame. However, the city needs mithril to achieve the legendary status seen in Tolkien’s tales. The series has not allowed this to happen, resulting in a loss of the city’s rich history and significance.
Over thousands of years, the Dwarves used mithril to build wealth, as the ore is highly sought after throughout Middle-earth. By moving up the Balrog’s involvement by roughly 10,000 years, Khazad-dûm falls long before it can earn the legendary reputation it is meant to have.
The Rings of Power Season 2 is now available for streaming on Prime Video in the U.S. As the series continues, fans will be eager to see how these changes impact the unfolding story and what they mean for the future of Khazad-dûm and its inhabitants.
The Season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power features an epic battle between Galadriel and Sauron, alongside the awakening of the Balrog in Khazad-dûm. As Durin III succumbs to greed after acquiring one of the Seven Dwarven Rings, he disturbs the Balrog while searching for mithril.
Despite Prince Durin’s efforts to stop his father, the situation escalates, leading to a dangerous confrontation. The series diverges from Tolkien’s timeline, depicting the fall of Khazad-dûm much earlier than intended, which raises questions about the city’s significance and legacy in Middle-earth’s history.
