We’ve come to Rings Of Power Episode 8 and the final episode of Season 1 of the Rings of Power. We got the reveal of Sauron, saw the Rings of Power being forged, and the identity of the Stranger is heavily implied. This was the final episode of Rings of Power, but personally, it didn’t feel like it. I guess I was expecting more from a show that costs 1 Billion dollars.
Previously in the Rings of Power, we saw that Mount Doom erupted and the Southland has now become Mordor. We saw that Halbrand was wounded and Galadriel took him to the Elven Land for his treatment. Then we saw three mystics finding The Stranger for some reason. Also, Nori and her friends head to save The Stranger.
Rings Of Power Episode 8 Recap
The episode opens on The Stranger as he journeys alone in Eryn Galen, which is Greenwood the Great, much later known as Mirkwood. As he remembers Nori’s words about him being good, he sees a small figure whom he chases after and drops his favorite apple in the process. The figure looks to be Nori, but in a pretty cool transformation is revealed to be one of the mystics. The other two appear, saying “We come to serve you, Lord Sauron” as they bow and the Stranger seems pretty confused.
After the title sequence, we see Galadriel and Halbrand nearing the end of their 6-day non-stop journey to Eregion and Halbrand looks like he is barely hanging on. Meanwhile, Celebrimbor and Elrond note Gil-galad’s pending arrival and Celebrimbor says if only there was a way of doing more with less, noting that the sun itself started as something no bigger than the palm of his hand.
Elrond and Celebrimbor are pretty shocked to find Galadriel, you know in Middle-earth. And we get our first up-close look at Eregion helmets as two soldiers help Halbrand off his horse. It’s kind of hard to make out details but the fin on top kind of makes me think of some designs I’ve seen for Numenor. At the same time, it also seems like it could be a forerunner to the design we see on elven helmets in the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring.
As we see Halbrand being tended to, we get a glimpse of a basin of water, which calls to mind the Mirror of Galadriel – though we’ve seen this and another such basin in Lindon, we don’t know if there is any connection to the Mirror Galadriel will one day possess.
Halbrand Meets Celebrimbor
As Galadriel and Elrond catch up, he says he shouldn’t have sent her on the ship and he should’ve trusted her – a mistake he says he won’t make again. Galadriel says she lept from the ship because she knew she was not yet worthy of it and that her task wasn’t complete. Looking back, it’s kind of crazy that this is only the second episode we’ve seen Galadriel and Elrond together. I’ve long said I think Elrond would’ve been a great choice for the main lead of the series, and I think there’s a lot of potential with these two characters going forward.
We then cut to Celebrimbor, who looks to be packing things up in the forge, when who should walk in but a much improved looking Halbrand. Apparently, Halbrand has heard of the Celebrimbor and says the master he apprenticed to used to speak of the wonders of his craft. Now, if you’re watching this, chances are you’ve seen the episode or at the very least are ok with spoilers for this episode, so in light of what we are going to find out soon enough, we’ll point out that Halbrand’s former master he’s referring to is likely Morgoth – for he is Sauron in disguise.
Now Sauron was originally a servant of the Vala Aule – the smith of the Valar. However, I believe he is talking about Morgoth here because Sauron turned to darkness so early that I doubt Celebrimbor would have gained any renown, or even been around, as a smith when Sauron still served the valar. Halbrand says he’s never seen anything like the gemstones Celebrimbor has set in a box.
The two smiths go on to touch on the topic of the mithril the elves possess and Halbrand recommends combining it with the right alloy to amplify the mithril’s qualities. Celebrimbor calls it an intriguing suggestion and Halbrand responds “Call it a gift”, at which point all my fellow book nerds pretty much were left without any doubt this dude was Sauron. I’ve got a lot of thoughts on this development – some we’ll get to in a bit.
Earien Sees A Palantir
Cut to Numenor where King Tar-Palantir’s health is failing. Pharazon has brought draftsmen and apprentices from across Numenor to capture the king’s visage for a glorious tomb when he dies. A key line here is Pharazon saying that the tomb will grant the king immortality in stone that no man, not even a king, can attain in life. It’s a small moment, but it points us to where his eventual storyline will lead – the first hint of Pharazon’s fear of mortality.
We see Elendil’s daughter Earien writing during her hour block with the king, during which Tar-Palantir wakes and seems disoriented, calling Earien Miriel and saying if the old ways of their people are not soon restored, the island will fall. Tar-Palantir opens the passage to the upstairs room saying he looked into seeing stone for too long and can no longer separate what is from what was and what was from what will be.
Now we know from the books that Denethor is another character who spent much time gazing into a palantir, which for him caused great stress and premature aging. Earien pauses to look at what I believe may be Turin’s Dragon Helm of Dor-Lomin before making her way to the Palantir and we cut away before she pulls off the cover. This really caught my attention because we never go back to Earien in the rest of the episode.
Presumably, she will see the same vision Miriel and Galadriel did of Numenor’s downfall, but it kind of felt like an odd thing to leave hanging. If season 2 doesn’t come for another 2 years, I wonder how many will remember this was one of the storylines.
Gil-galad Shuts The Mithril Project
Back in Eregion, Gil-galad has arrived and Celebrimbor pitches the idea of a mithril crown to solve the elves problem – saying a circular form is ideal so the light will arc back upon itself building to a power that is all but unbounded. Now, while Gil-galad has been a pretty stern character in the show thus far, I did like that he seemed totally turned off by the idea of such a crown being placed on his head.
Celebrimbor reveals that speaking with Halbrand was the key that unlocked the dam and they’re on the cusp of creating a new kind of power – not of the flesh but over flesh – a power of the Unseen world. You’ll recall, these are the same words Adar uses when he describes Sauron’s attempts in the far north to create a new power – and it’s here Galadriel starts to put the pieces together.
Gil-galad shuts it down, ordering everyone to disband Eregion and leave for Lindon to sail West. Galadriel asks Celebrimbor where he heard those words and he seems kind of absentminded in response – saying he thinks it was from a conversation with his smiths. I think his seeming off here is a clue that even at the end of this episode when we seem to have gotten our main answers, there could be more going on here than it seems. And his absentmindedness could point to a theory that this is not Sauron’s first trip to Eregion.
The Mithril Project Back On
Next, we see Elrond catching up to Gil-galad, who has his great spear Aeglos – a spear that we should no doubt see in battle at the very least during the War of the Last Alliance in season 5. Elrond reminds Gil-galad of his words that hope is never meager and it seems the king relents and the forge is back in business. We get a few shots of the forge firing up and some background characters who are likely meant to represent the Gwaith-i-Mirdain – “the people of the jewel-smiths” – the group of elven smiths that Celebrimbor leads in constructing the rings of power.
We see Halbrand and Celebrimbor working together in the forge as Galadriel seems to be starting to wonder if Halbrand maybe isn’t the person she assumed he was. She talks to an elven archivist who must not have the abilities of Ask Jeeves back in Numenor because he seems daunted by the task of looking up south lander bloodlines.
Halbrand meets Galadriel in a courtyard and marvels at being in Eregion working with the jewel-smiths and thanks Galadriel for pushing him to heights no one else could have. He says he’ll see to it that no one ever forgets that and it’s definitely a creepy moment.
Is The Stranger Sauron?
Back with The Stranger, the mystics say he’s had a veil placed on his mind by the ones who cast him down. Now I honestly wasn’t 100% sure if Meteor Man truly had amnesia or if there was just a language barrier between him and the harfoots, it certainly seems like we get confirmation of the former. The mystics believe he’s Sauron, presumably trapped in this mental blockade by the Valar. They reveal the constellation he is searching for is called the Hermit’s Hat and lies in the east – in the lands of Rhun.
As they declare he is Lord Sauron, the Stranger stands up and the wind begins to swirl around him before one of the mystics knocks him out. The four harfoots show up and attempt to free the Stranger from his bonds, but it turns out they’re pulling the switcheroo and we see the freaky eyes shapeshifting once again.
Sadoc get’s wounded with a knife and Nori is about to get the same when the winds begin to swirl once more. Meteor Man does another ground pound and knocks two of the mystics down, while the third uses her staff to protect herself. We get a bit of wizard duel-type fighting before Nori gives the Stranger a pep talk and the mystic’s staff. He interrupts the mystics by saying “from shadow you came, from shadow I bid you return” which some may say is pretty close to Gandalf’s line “go back to the shadow” to the balrog, but I think it’s still a solid line.
The Stranger Is A Wizard
The mystics say – he is not Sauron, he is the Other, the Ishtar. Ishtar as we later see translates to “Wise one” or “wizard”. He raises the staff and we see the mystics in a very Nazgul wraith world-esque shot, possibly meaning they are in the unseen world. I’m sure folks will no doubt wonder who these mystics were and I really can’t say for certain. Perhaps some evil spirits or lesser maiar – those are my best guesses at this point.
For the longest time, I thought they were simply human mages that were cultists loyal to Sauron, but that unseen world presence makes me wonder if they were perhaps some previous experiment of Sauron’s with the unseen world. Perhaps it’s best left a mystery, but I thought for as over-explained as I felt the mithril origins were, this was comparatively under-explained.
Anyway, the Nazgals disintegrate into a ton of moths or butterflies and the staff disintegrates as well. Oh and before we cut away, Sadoc is mortally wounded. He’s going to fall behind but he gets to see one last sunrise and the hobbits are sad. Then Nori seems to say goodbye to The Stranger, but her parents tell her that she meant to be out there and that she should go with him. Nori packs up, says her goodbyes to everyone, and leaves with The Stranger.
The Numenor King Is Dead
Checking in with the Numenoreans, we first focus on the green bough of return on the Numenorean ship. It’s a small detail, but a cool one, as this was a custom of Numenor as a symbol of good fortune. Obviously, as Valandil looks upon it, he’s experienced the opposite, having lost his friend Ontamo and believed to have lost Isildur as well.
Together, Elendil and Miriel talk about the price of being faithful is unknown and may be dear. The Elendil says “We have little choice but to keep serving, and I for one will see to it that we make the end worth the price.” It’s a great moment for this character as he fully embraces being among one of the Faithful and it comes not during a moment of triumph, but when he is at his lowest – having lost his wife, believing to have lost his son, and returning home having suffered a great defeat.
They move to the deck to discover black banners flying across Numenor, signifying that Miriel’s father, King Tar-Palantir is dead. And our final shot in Numenor for season one is Pharazon looking upon the deceased king, not with a sense of ambition or evil, but with tears in his eyes. Perhaps he mourns for the king, but even more, I think he mourns for Men – that they are doomed to grow old and die, which I’m sure will lead to big things with his character in season 2.
Halbrand Is Sauron
So we finally get to know who Sauron is. Its Halbrand, he is Sauron. When Galadriel looks into the Southland king’s family tree she learns that the family tree ended 100 years ago and Halbrand is not who she thinks he is. Halbrand also speaks upfront about his true identity and his claim of making peace by the ruling. Halbrand wants Galadriel to be by his side as his Queen but Galadriel rejects his offer and then Halbrand disappears.
Galadriel runs to Celebrimbor to ask him about his progress and tells him to make three of the thing that he was making. Then at the end of the episode, we get to see the forging of the Rings of Power, the forging of the three Elven Rings.
Also Read: Aegon’s Conquest Explained: The New Game Of Thrones Spinoff
