‘Rings of Power’ rips away Eregion, but hints at a new elven city

Care to join me in mourning the end of a fantastic second season of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power? Sure, we’re happy this was a great season, but we’re sad that many fan-favorite characters like Adar and Celebrimbor, and locations like Eregion, won’t be with us in season 3.

Who founded Eregion and where is it?

Located in the region of Middle-earth known as Eriador, Eregion was the most beautiful realm of the Noldor Elves outside of Lindon during the Second Age. It was sometimes also known as Hollin. Eregion was located west of the Misty Mountains with the western gate of the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm to its east. In the south, it was bordered by the river Glanduin, and in the west, by two rivers, Gwathló and Bruinen. If the latter river’s name sounds familiar, it’s because Bruinen also flowed through the valley of Rivendell, which was later founded north of Eregion.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a few accounts about Eregion’s founding in the Second Age. One account credited Galadriel and her husband Celeborn (who is still MIA in TROP) for the city’s founding while another stated that it was Celebrimbor, who was joined by many other elven smiths when he moved out of Lindon to establish a city where arts and crafts would thrive. The capital of Eregion was Ost-in-Edhil (the towers we see in several shots of The Rings of Power), and it was home to a brotherhood of elven craftspeople, known as the Gwaith-i-Mírdain or “People of the Jewel Smiths.” The elves we see working with Celebrimbor in his forge, and the character Mírdania (whose name naturally means ‘jewel smith’) were members of this brotherhood.

What happened to Eregion on The Rings of Power?

The fate of Eregion was sealed the day Lord Celebrimbor allowed Halbrand in, despite clear instructions from Galadriel that he was not to be trusted. We knew that Halbrand had already been to Mordor and made a deal with Adar to spy on the “evil sorcerer” helping the elves fight against the orcs. And, of course, he would’ve anticipated that Adar would send scouts after him to check what he was up to and eventually figure out that Halbrand is, in fact, Sauron. Once Adar knew, the Uruk attacked Eregion to defeat Sauron because he wanted to protect his children from being enslaved by a new Dark Lord.

The Lord of Eregion was a descendant of Fëanor and was desperate to craft his legacy. But much like his ancestor, tragedy struck him too, and his creations were tainted by the machinations of a gaslighting Dark Lord, leading to much death and destruction, especially in his beautiful city, Eregion.

In The Fellowship of The Ring, we see the Fellowship walk past the actual ruins of Eregion before they get to the Doors of Durin to enter Moria (Khazad-dûm). Now that we have seen Eregion in its glory days, the ruins look even more haunting.

The siege of Eregion

The siege of Eregion begins at the end of season 2, episode 6 when Adar confirms that Halbrand is Sauron and that Elrond would be riding with High King Gil-galad’s army and Galadriel’s ring of power, Nenya, to defend the city. In the final moments of episode 6, as Adar commands his orcs to attack Eregion from across the river, Sauron casts an illusion that makes Celebrimbor think everything is fine, even as his city is breaking and on fire. Eventually, Celebrimbor breaks through Sauron’s deception, but it is too late. 

Eregion doesn’t exactly have an army of its own, certainly not one strong enough to withstand an attack of this magnitude. At this point, with their Lord confined to his chambers working on the rings, Annatar takes charge of the defenses and pulls a Denethor (he was extremely unhelpful). Unaware that reinforcements were on their way, the elves of Eregion lost most of their hope. They still had two last defenses—the river that the orcs wouldn’t be able to cross with their huge weapons, and the thick low wall that ran along the city perimeter, likely built by the dwarves of Khazad-dûm after their friendship began.

However, at the beginning of episode 7, Adar orders his orcs to bombard the nearby mountains with massive rocks, causing major landslides that would dam the river and make it easier for the orcs to cross over to Eregion. The tactic manages to surprise Sauron, too. Even with the arrival of High King Gil-galad’s army, the legions upon legions of orcs—and a troll (RIP Damrod!)—continued to wreak havoc as they brought down the wall and tore down the once marvelous city. 

In episode 8, things get even worse. After Celebrimbor’s death and Glûg’s betrayal of Adar, Sauron instructs the orcs to raze Eregion to the ground and round up the leaders of the defending armies. We see Gil-galad and Elrond captured, but the most heartbreaking scene arrives when the orcs are piling all the literature and scrolls they have found in the city to set them on fire. Elrond begs them to stop as it is the record of all Celebrimbor’s works over the years, but the orcs laugh and burn it anyway. The devastation on Elrond’s face is piercing!

The orcs also pull down and break the giant statue of Fëanor admiring a Silmaril in the main courtyard.

Eregion may be gone, but a new elven refuge rises from its ashes

And with that, Eregion is done and dusted. In one of the finale’s montages, we see the remaining elves fleeing the ruin that was once a beautiful city. In season 2’s final moments, we see Gil-galad, Galadriel, Arondir, and Elrond standing atop a hill overlooking a valley, as the survivors of the battle are gathered around them, and the king promises that they will keep fighting; even though Eregion has fallen, it is not over, and the resistance against Sauron will continue. When Galadriel asks Elrond where they are, he tells her it is a sanctuary protected by the power of the elven rings. Keen-eyed fans guessed it—it is the valley where Elrond will build the refuge of Imladris, which we know as Rivendell. 

The founding of Rivendell after the destruction of Eregion is reminiscent of the saying that Adar, Arondir, and Bronwyn have all mentioned throughout the show—”New life, in defiance of death.” This also means in The Rings of Power season 3, which we expect to be announced later this month, we might see the early days of Rivendell and Lothlórien! And you know what that means? Celeborn is coming!