Episode 8 of Rings of Power, the most expensive TV show ever made, begins with The Stranger waiting for the rain to stop before coming out with an apple in his hand. Led by our Eminem doppelgänger, this strange trio of elves claims to serve him, bow their heads and call him Sauron.
“The Lord of the Rings” Back Story.
Knowing that Halbrand is actually Sauron, it’s another red herring. Make a conscious decision to save the Stranger. This is pretty commendable given their code of leaving people dead on the streets. Unfortunately, it’s another trap, but just before Nori is injured, a stranger comes out and creates a powerful gust of wind that knocks Nori out.
After diverting a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, namely that of Saruman and Gandalf fighting the Staff, The Stranger is knocked down.
Their leader told him that Nori started spewing fire around the tree while he was talking to the stranger, knowing he was coming to his aid.
And just before Hafut is completely destroyed, the stranger extinguishes all the fires and begins spitting out Gandalf-esque lines. Gandalf, as prophesied, whispers that it is “istar”, which means wizard.
The Stranger uses his magic to skeletalize the trio and make them appear to be gone forever. It’s debatable whether they’ll return in another form, like some sort of Wraith of the Ring.
But not all is well with Harfoots. Sadok, mortally wounded, decides to sit and watch the sunrise and die in the process. Elrond meanwhile resigned and failed, speaking to Celebrimbor and telling him that he must leave these shores. Speaking of demons, Halbrand appears with the former Galadriel in need of a cure.
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Outside, Elrond apologizes for his failure while Galadriel talks about her foolish decision to jump down and swim hundreds of miles in the ocean. Praying that it was her right decision, she has now decided to do the same.
A fully healed Halbrand arrives at Celebrimbor’s workshop, raves about his tools and takes an interest in his gems. and tells him that he must see for himself.
So she goes into the room next to her and pulls the cloth from the Palantir. Meanwhile, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Gil-Galad, and Galadriel are discussing the creation of a new kind of power, which Halbrand originally proposed and persuaded Celebrimbor to pursue. Reject the idea and tell him to leave.
In Halbrand’s words, “power over the flesh” is what holds him back. Galadriel picks this up, but Celebrimbor shrugs it off as if it’s nothing. Galadriel is dubious, believing that Halbrand has more to offer than he was told.
“The Rings Of Power”, Ending Explained
Galadriel finally confronts Halbrand outside after examining the archives and discovering that the King of Southland is missing. Or rather, she was looking for information in the archives half a season ago, so she thought she’d actually check it out, right?
Regardless, Halbrand admits to having had many names in the past. That’s right, because he is Sauron.”Only I can see your light. Galadriel refuses.
As the vision ends, Galadriel wakes up and finds himself in front of Elrond. Realizing that Halbrand has tricked them all, she rushes to Celebrimbor’s workshop and suggests that they make three rings so things will work out.
At sea, Miriel tries to make sense of her surroundings while battling blindness. When they return to Numenor, the harbor is full of ships. Hey, I wish I had this much during the attack on Middle-earth.
After Saddock’s death, the Hafuuts decided to continue their migration, advocating that “no one walks alone”. Unless of course, you get hurt, in which case please refrain! Anyway, Nori leaves her Harfoots and leaves with the stranger. At the end of the episode, the Three Rings form while Halbrand aka Sauron enters Mordor.
Final Review
Rings of Power is an average fantasy show at best, but considering the sheer amount of money poured into this show, not to mention a disastrous pre-release marketing campaign, it’s probably Amazon’s biggest blunder. Because in our eyes we want this show to be bigger than Stranger Things. And a lot of people would rather see another season of Stranger Things than Ring of Power. One of the biggest disappointments of the year was an indifferent end to one.