The Rings of Power episode 8 is coming soon with full spoilers.
The Rings of Power has landed its foot in the last few weeks, following several disappointing, slow-paced episodes. In fact, season 1 of the high fantasy Prime Video series might have reached early, leaving its eighth and final episode feeling like a damp squib.
Delightfully, The Rings of Power episode 8 is nothing but. It''s season 1 finale that''s as engaging, rewarding, if not more, than its predecessors, and has a lot of interesting tales and historical tweaks into its runtime. Some of these sources material deviations are likely to frustrate diehard Lord of the Rings fans. However, the final entry in the Prime Video show will be a thrilling, surprising, and devilishly fantastic.
A dark lord misdirect
Before the title credits roll, episode 8 opens with a Stranger-starring character.
The writer''s room has made an unusual decision, but the opening game illustrates how the season 1 finale feels like a novel among its presenters. It also begins the episode''s dalliance with several misdirects about who Sauron is.
A Stranger encounters some Hobbit-like creatures during a storm, which makes off with Nori, who has lured The Stranger to a meet and greet with her fellow Mystics.
Why have they ever been looking for him? Long story short, they believe he''s Sauron, and now, exactly.
We meet Galadriel and an ailing Halbrand, who have travelled for six days to seek medical help at Eregion. Halbrand is sent off to have his wounds healed, while Galadriel emotionally reunites with Elrond. Remember this for later, dear reader, as it''s important.
As day passes, we get more time jumps between scenes and a surprisingly quick recovery Halbrand, who is looking for Galadriel, stumbles upon Celebrimbor''s forge and the elven smith himself. Halbrand discovers the elves'' unsuccessful quest to mine mithril from Khazad-dum. Without large quantities of the miracle ore, they are doomed to die like every other race.
Halbrand has a striking suggestion, and it''s a strategy that shifts the balance from The Stranger being Sauron to him. Since the show''s two-episode premiere, fans have speculated Halbrand isn''t who he claims to be, and what transpires next only adds further fire to the fire.
It''s a crowd-pleasing moment, but one that''s quickly replaced by a situation that''s tinged with sadness.
Halbrand, a skilled blacksmith, proposes Celebrimbor merge mithril. Sure, it''ll dilute its power, but it''ll produce an alloy that might just save the elves from suffering from disease. It''s odd that an elven smith of Celebrimbor''s expertise would not have thought of this before, given that it has catapulted Halbrand back to the top of the ''Who is Sauron?'' list.
Unfortunately, High King Gil-galad isn''t enthused by Halbrand''s idea. Despite Celebrimbor with Elrond and Galadriel''s support, they can combine the mithril with other materials to create a crown that Gil-galad can wear, the elven king rejects the offer.
One person is suspicious of Halbrand, an outsider who''s suddenly shown up and given Celebrimbor an idea that''s too good to be true. Secondly, the elven smiths don''t have time to experiment with constructing a mithril-imbued crown. Lindon''s large tree is dying off at a frantic rate; its decay is caused by Mount Doom''s eruption in episode 6. If more mithril can''t be mined immediately, the
I am no man
Meanwhile, The Mystics try to convince The Stranger that he is Sauron. That''s based on his huge abilities, not to mention he fell from the sky in a meteor. Oh, and the fact that The Nomad has a shield with the same star constellation seen on The Stranger''s note. It''s ominous, right?
As the group continues to use The Stranger up, he begins to tap into his otherworldly powers, which appears to spark them. So The Dweller knocks him out and ties him up so he can''t use his abilities. Go figure.
We may lose hope for our superpowered friend. That is until Nori and his company come out. Marigold and Poppy lure two of The Mystics away, persuading Nori and Sadoc to meet The Stranger to rescue him.
The Dweller has made a comeback, putting Sadoc on the verge of becoming a trap as the Stranger arrives and doing his best to protect the Harfoots. However, The Dweller has quickly become overpowered.
It''s a well-known sequence of events that makes it seem like no of our heroes is getting out alive. However, after Marigold and Poppy drop her staff by lobbing pears at her yes, Nori fails to convince The Stranger to utilize it. He agrees, saying, "He won''t hurt Nori again like he did in episode 5. Movingly, Nori tells him he''ll be hurting him and he''s a good guy, giving The Stranger the ability to stand
The Stranger, crammed the staff, uses his power to halt the Dweller''s use. Not only does Nori''s empowering words convince the so-called Sauron to stop but he embodies Eowyn''s "I am no man" speech from The Return of the King. "I''m good," The Stranger says, as he takes the power to reveal The Mystics'' true wraith-like form and destroys them.
The Stranger encounter is a crowd-pleasing moment, but the experience is quickly replaced with a story filled with sadness. Sadoc''s bleeding heavily from his wound and, despite Marigold''s efforts to convince him to return with them to get treated, he declines, choosing instead to watch one last sunrise. Nori, Poppy, and Marigold join him as the Stranger watch on before Sadoc emotionally takes his last breath.
Nori and The Stranger have agreed that another parting of the ways is inevitable. He must travel to the land of Rhun to search for the constellation, while Nori admits she had enough adventures to last a lifetime.
Nori replies to The Stranger the way it used to describe him and the other Harfoots in the past, confirming a long-standing fan theory: he''s a wizard! Huzzah! Unfortunately, we don''t know which one he is. Boo and his.
Nori, her family, Poppy, and the Harfoot community have all expressed their condolences after seemingly saying goodbye for the last time to The Stranger. A brief reunion with Nori gets her a backpack full of provisions. She demands for what''s going on, only to be told she should go with The Stranger. With a few moving but slightly drawn-out goodbyes, Nori, her family, and Poppy, before she gets to the service with Rhun.
The king is dead, long live the queen
Pharazon spends an hour apiece with the king to sketch his personality over in Numenor, and with King Palantir on his deathbed. The best portrait will be used to sculpt a monument to Palantir once he passes.
Palantir declares that Numenor must unify and begin to follow the Valar again after Earien''s departure for much of season 1, but this is not the case. Given Earien''s proximity to Galadriel''s naive daughter, Elendil chooses to play a bigger and deadly role in Season 2.
Elendil is still on his way back home with Miriel and the rest of the Numenoreans following episode 6''s tentpole battle. The first shows how close Elendil and Miriel are becoming, and Elendil reaffirms his commitment to being faithful to the elves (and the Valar) despite apparently losing Isildur.
The second is more sombre. As the Numenorean ship approaches the island kingdom''s main harbor, black flags are seen flying half-mast across the marina. Palantir has died, much to Pharazon''s displeasure. Perhaps, though, Pharazon might make a play for Numenor''s throne, especially if he learns of Miriel''s blindness? The season 2 plot is thickening.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky
Two of Season 1''s most impressive revelations are uncovered back in Eregion.
Galadriel, who is accustomed to Halbrand''s true intentions after all, explains why she should enlist Celebrimbor''s two of the titular rings instead of a crown. Later, she''ll be presented with a scroll detailing the Southlands'' royal lineage and what she learns. In fact, there has been no Southlands monarch for a millennia.
Halbrand faces a furious Galadriel, but he claims that she never realized the truth. Halbrand hasn''t said anything until now, but a series of misdirects. The pair engage in a fascinatingly suspenseful war of words, culminating in the long-overdue answer to a question we''ve had since The Rings of Power''s first trailer was released.
Is. Sauron. Halbrand.
We''ve waited eight episodes to discover which character Sauron has been masquerading as, even though the show''s cast already knew his identity. Props to showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, as well as their fellow writers, for not making us wait until season 2 to discover who Sauron is. Oh, and with many "I knew it!" remarks from everyone who always believed he was.
Galadriel takes to the slew of Halbrand''s throat with Finrod''s dagger. It''s an understandable attitude to have. She''s spent centuries hunting for Finrod''s eponymous antagonist, seeking revenge for Finrod''s death, and hoping to destroy Sauron''s identity. How could she have walked him to where he''s needed at every turn?
Halbrand is unable to "heal" Finrod''s, but he attempts to persuade her to accept his own, narrator''s, from leaving her in prison with his beautiful proposal. Infuriated, Halbrand reveals Galadriel to live in the memory of her drowning in the Sundering Seas from episode 2.
Elrond gets a chance to get Galadriel back on track when she was questioned about Halbrand, instead of race to Celebrimbor''s forge, trying to prevent him from making anything with Halbrand''s help.
Here''s hoping Earien''s apparent palantir gets a bigger and more difficult season 2 arc for her.
Halbrand isn''t yet seen. Even so, Galadriel sways Celebrimbor and Elrond, who catches up with her to make three rings instead of two. As she notes, "one ring will corrupt and two will divide," and "three will balance." However, Finrod''s dagger, which includes Valinor gold and steel, is still required to provide a valuable metal to stabilize the mithril. After all, Galadriel is reluctant to join with her dead brother.
A somewhat underwhelming but equally smile-inducing forging scene ensued, culminating in footage of Elrond discovering the Southlands scroll and that Galadriel is lying to him again and, at the last minute, the first Rings of Power have been established. We''ll be getting acquainted with again soon enough.
What happened to Halbrand and Sauron, but where did Mordor, who is a gruesome senior, do what he could to make the newly-opened hellscape his permanent home and workshop for evil deeds? Adar and his company should be cautious.
Our verdict
The Rings of Power''s season 1 finale is a joyous episode that satisfies some of the show''s most pressing questions. It does not respond to every major fan request, and there are a couple of plot-based disagreements to be made. The Rings of Power episode 8 is a great success.
Some of episode 8''s most revelatory content will be frustrated (or even angered) by and controversies, such as The Stranger''s wizard unveiling, how and when the elven rings are forged, and Sauron''s reveal. Even though most viewers will get a welcome kick out, the most disturbing content in episode 7, and its sequel, to ensure the series'' second season will be as keenly anticipated.
The Rings of Power episode 8 is a fantastic show of television. It''s a compelling series that finds a good balance between clarifying some major fan theories, and putting up Middle-earth''s chess board and pieces for a potentially barnstorming next season. Now, how long should we wait for Season 2 of The Rings of Power?
The Rings of Power''s first season is now available on Prime Video.