Everything you need to remember about ‘The Rings of Power’ season 1 before season 2 premieres

The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 on Prime Video is almost here, knocking on our hobbit hole doors to take us on an adventure set in the Second Age of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. But before we embark upon the new season, we’ve got to brush up on our season 1 lore!

The Rings of Power season 1 was all about Galadriel’s quest for revenge on Sauron, who she believed was rising to replace his ex-boss, the Dark Lord Morgoth. In a nice nod to Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings trilogy, the first episode begins with a voiceover by Galadriel, as she takes us through a brief history of the elves and Melkor, the Vala (angel) who defied Eru Ilúvatar (God) and became Morgoth. We get a glimpse of the Two Trees of Valinor and how the Dark Lord along with Ungoliant destroyed their light, and then stole the Silmarils.

From the oath of Fëanor and the flight of the Noldor from Valinor to Middle-earth to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered Tears) that destroyed the Noldor, and finally the War of Wrath—in which the host of the Valar arrived in Beleriand and fought their final battle against Morgoth to free Middle-earth from his clutches—we got a glimpse of it all in Galadriel’s story. Her last memory recounted was that of her brother of Finrod who died in pursuit of Morgoth’s servant Sauron, who was trying to be the next Dark Lord. And she had vowed to seek him out, a quest she took over from her deceased brother.

The Rings of Power season 1 then traces what Galadriel and a bunch of other elves, dwarfs, men, and Sauron himself are up to. There are also the Harfoots, hobbit ancestors, who come across an entity that is not of this world but is going to play an important part in the events that will transpire.

A recap of The Rings of Power season 1 before season 2 arrives

Galadriel

When we meet Galadriel, she is the Commander of the Northern Armies of the High King Gil-galad, and is leading an expedition in the frozen Northern Waste of Forodwaith. There they stumble upon a fortress where Sauron had been, and find a sigil that they cannot figure out the meaning of. After mutiny from her army, Galadriel grudgingly returns to Lindon, where the High King grants her and her team passage on a ship set for Valinor. But Galadriel, still not over her vengeance, decides to jump off, and meets Halbrand a Southlander, on a wrecked raft.

They are picked up by a ship of Númenor, the island kingdom of the High Men of Westernesse, and its captain, Elendil, brings Galadriel and Halbrand to their queen regent, Míriel. After deciphering Sauron’s sigil, which led to the Southlands, and finding out that Halbrand is the king of the Southlands in exile, Galadriel convinces Míriel to bring a small army to Middle-earth and fight to save the Southlanders from Sauron and his orc army. 

In the Southlands, they win the war and capture Adar, who tells Galadriel that he killed Sauron. However, a volcanic eruption of Orodruin is triggered, covering the entire Southlands in a cloud of ash and perpetual darkness. Galadriel is lost with Theo in the ashes, but they eventually find their way back to the Númenorean camp, where she finds out that Halbrand is severely injured and requires Elvish medicine to heal. She rides with him to Eregion, where Halbrand recovers and becomes involved with the elven smith, Lord Celebrimbor, helping him forge rings that can save the elves from fading.

Growing suspicious, Galadriel seeks information and finds out that Halbrand is not a Southlander king but Sauron. He offers to make her his queen, which she denies, and he leaves her drowning in water. After Elrond finds her, she asks Celebrimbor to make three rings, and gives up her brother Finrod’s dagger for gold and silver required to make the rings, even as Elrond suspects what has happened. The three elven rings of power are forged.

Halbrand/Sauron

After pretending to be Halbrand for the entire season, in the season finale, “Alloyed,” Halbrand confirms Galadriel’s suspicions that he is Sauron. He runs away from Eregion after having flattered and helped Celebrimbor figure out how to use a mithril alloy to make the rings of power and propositioning Galadriel to be his queen so together they could heal Middle-earth but also have dominion over it. After she refuses him, at the end of the season, we see him in a black cloak looking at Mordor and smiling as he hatches his plans.

Elrond

Elrond is a herald in High King Gil-galad’s court who advises his friend, Galadriel to give up her quest to find Sauron and go to Valinor. Elrond is appointed by Gil-galad to assist Celebrimbor, the Lord of Eregion, on his project to build something special. For this, Elrond suggests partnering with the dwarves of Khazad-dûm. He even reconnects, after much apologies, with his old friend, Prince Durin, who tells him about finding a rare precious metal mithril in the mines. 

Elrond is told by Gil-galad that mithril is how they save the elves from fading, and Elrond manages to convince Durin to help. However, King Durin III catches them mining mithril, and bans him from Khazad-dûm. When it looks like all hope is lost, Galadriel arrives with Halbrand to Eregion, and using his help, and the small piece of mithril ore that Durin had given Elrond as a token of their friendship, Celebrimbor begins working on the rings. However, when Elrond discovers Galadriel drowning in a stream, and notices her suspicious behaviour when asked about Halbrand, he gets suspicious.

Elrond finds out that Halbrand is not the kind of the Southlands from the same lineage scroll that Galadriel consulted, and he rushes to stop Celebrimbor from making the rings. But he is too late.

Gil-galad

The High King of the Noldor elves, Gil-galad discovers that the light of the Eldar is fading, and if nothing is done about it, then the elves will have to leave the shores of Middle-earth and sail back to Valinor. He hopes that by ending the war, and sending Galadriel away, they can stop the fading, but it only accelerates. He tricks Elrond with half-knowledge to gain access to mithril mined by the dwarves, hoping that Celebrimbor can use it forge something that can stop the fading. 

Celebrimbor 

Celebrimbor is the greatest of the elven smiths since his ancestor, Fëanor, who wrought the Silmarils. He is also the lord of Eregion, the city of built by the elven smiths. He hopes to accomplish something that could be as great, if not greater than the glory of his forefather, Feanor. Initially, he is unable to find a way to combine mithril with any other metal, but after a little flattery and nudge from Halbrand in the right direction, he is able to accomplish it and forge three elven rings of power.

Prince Durin and Princess Disa

In Khazad-dûm, Prince Durin and his wife Disa live a mostly happy existence with their two children. However, Durin wants to mine mithril but his father, King Durin III, refuses to give permission since it is a precarious operation that can be dangerous. After being angry at his friend Elrond for missing his wedding and not meeting him for 20 years, Durin warms up to Elrond and even tells him about mithril. Durin accepts the invitation of High King Gil-galad to come to Lindon, where he learns that the elves are fading and need mithril to survive. He agrees to help Elrond mine it.

However, they’re caught by King Durin III who stops the operation, banishes Elrond from Khazad-dûm, and after his son speaks against him, snatches away his prince title. Unbeknownst to the dwarves, a Balrog has awakened deep within the caverns of Khazad-dûm due to the mithril mining.

Queen Regent Míriel

Númenor is the island that was raised by the Valar from the sea as a gift for the men who fought Morgoth with the elves. When Elendil brings Galadriel and Halbrand to the island, it has been a long time since Númenor severed ties with the elves, who used to be a frequent sight on the island before. It is being ruled by Queen Regent Míriel with Chancellor Pharazôn by her side. The King, Tar-Palantir, we find out is unwell and bedridden.

While the old king was a Faithful (loyal to elves), Míriel treads the line carefully. She has access to the Palantír, the Seeing Stone, that has been showing her the same vision for a while now—the sea coming to Númenor as its doom. When she decides to send Galadriel away to Middle-earth, the leaves of the white Nimloth tree in the palace courtyard begin to fall. Worried that this is the wrath of the Valar, Míriel and she recalls the elf, deciding to herself head an army to the Southlands to stop Sauron and his orcs.

However, Míriel is warned by her father during an episode that “darkness” awaits her in Middle-earth. And truly enough, after the explosion of Orodruin, as Míriel tries to rescue some people from a burning cottage, she loses her eyesight. She leaves Middle-earth for Númenor, vowing to return for revenge. However, upon arrival, she finds out that her father, the king, has died.

Elendil, Isildur, and Eärien

Elendil, a naval captain of Númenor, is a Faithful; his name means elf-friend. After delivering Galadriel to the queen regent, Elendil gets promoted and asked to keep an eye on the elf. When Númenor decides to go to war, Elendil is chosen to lead their army. He has two sons and a daughter. While one of his Anárion is not shown but mentioned to be on the west of the island, his second son Isildur, is about to appear for his sea trials, even though he has no interest in serving. Isildur is confused and wants to sail to Middle-earth, and manages to land a spot as a stable sweep on the ships leaving for Middle-earth.

Eärien, Elendil’s daughter, is selected as an apprentice to the Builder’s Guild. And in the process she discovers the palantir in the king’s hidden chambers where she has a vision of her own. She also goes on a date with Kemen, the son of the Chancellor, and hates that her father and brother will be going to Middle-earth because of the elf. In fact, she supports Pharazôn’s vision of having an elf-free Númenor. 

Chancellor Pharazôn

Pharazôn starts off as being a loyal to Míriel, but we later on discover that he has ambitions of power himself, and is simply waiting for the opportune moment. He wants access to Middle-earth so he can use it for its resources and riches.

Arondir, Theo, and the Southlanders

Arondir is a Silvan elf (woodland elf) who is part of a garrison of elves stationed in Tirharad in the Southlands to watch over the men whose ancestors had pledged to serve Morgoth. When High King Gil-galad declares the end of war, the garrison is called home, but Arondir finds it hard to leave Bronwyn, the town healer, who he is in love with. The two discover something is amiss in the nearby village, and Arondir gets caught by orcs and thrown into slave labour.

In the trenches, where some of his other elven mates are also enslaved, he meets Adar, the father of the orcs, who lets him go to warn the Southlanders that he and his orcs are coming for their lands. Arondir, stands with the Southlanders until help arrives from Númenor.

Meanwhile, Theo steals a black sword hilt from Waldreg, which belongs to Morgoth and is the thing the orcs are seeking. He joins the fight but his mother Bronwyn is badly injured, so to protect her, he hands over the sword hilt to to Adar, who orders Waldreg to use it to put the plan to turn the Southlands into Mordor in motion. 

Adar and the Uruk

Adar is the elven word for ‘father’, and he is an elf who, must’ve been one of the first elves to be corrupted by Morgoth. He cares for the orcs, whom he calls Uruks, as his own children, and wants to create a safe land for them to live in, and not be servants that are wasted as collaterals of war by Sauron. He tells Galadriel that he has killed Sauron, and he seems to believe it. He doesn’t recognise Halbrand as Sauron, which could imply that this is a new look for the Dark Lord.

He uses the black sword hilt and the Southlander Waldreg to enact his plan to break the damn that holds back the water, which them flows into Orodruin, causing the volcano to erupt and create Mordor, the land of perpetual shadow where his orcs can roam freely during the day too.

The Harfoots and The Stranger

The Harfoots are hobbit ancestors though a nomadic tribe not yet living in holes in the ground. One of them, a curious Harfoot called Nori watches a meteor fall from the sky, and finds a strange man in it. She decides to help him because she feels there’s a reason he came to them, with her best friend Poppy being a reluctant ally. The Stranger has powers he doesn’t fully understand, and scares the Harfoots on several occasions, but also helps them. He is being pursued by evil magic-wielding witches, who claim that he is Sauron. But thanks to Nori repeatedly assuring him that he is good and here to help, The Stranger uses his powers to send them into the Unseen World, but not before one of them kills Sadoc Burrows who is trying to help.

The Stranger gets some of his memories back and finds out that he needs to go to Rhûn, where the star constellation he is seeking can be found. Nori decides to join him and help him, and bids farewell to her family and Poppy who understand that his is something she needs to do. 

Now you’re all caught up! With lots of new characters being added to season 2, it sure looks like The Rings of Power will return in full force for an epic showdown between Sauron and the elves!