Elrond<\/a> (Robert Aramayo) failed to bring about an alliance between the Elves and Dwarves in a bid to save the former with Mithril, while the Elf Galadriel<\/a> (Morfydd Clark) and her wounded human ally Halbrand<\/a> (Charlie Vickers) sought out the help of the Elves after the destruction of the Southlands.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Queen Regent M\u00edriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Captain Elendil<\/a> (Lloyd Owen) set sail for their home of N\u00famenor after the catastrophic events in the Southlands and the losses and wounds sustained there.<\/p>\n Finally, The Stranger<\/a> (Daniel Weyman) parted ways with the Harfoots<\/a>, but as a malevolent trio followed him, Nori Brandyfoot<\/a> (Markella Kavenagh) and three allies set out to warn him of the dangers he faced.<\/p>\n So, what happened in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 8?<\/p> Sauron<\/a> was at last confirmed to be Halbrand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The episode saw Galadriel arrive with an ailing Halbrand at the Elven-Smiths\u2019 city of Eregion and asked for their help in healing him.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Elrond (Robert Aramayo) spoke with High King Gil-galad (Ben Walker) and Lord Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) as it was clear that the Dwarves will give no more Mithril to them, but they resolve to use what they can in some way.<\/p>\n The Elven-Smiths struggled to manipulate or make any use of the small amount of Mithril they had until a recovering Halbrand recommended combining it with other elements like Elven gold and silver to strengthen it.<\/p>\n Celebrimbor then spoke of this plan with the High King, Galadriel and Elrond and suggested combining these materials to form an object \u2013 a crown. It was agreed.<\/p>\n In the aftermath, Celebrimbor noted to Galadriel that this object could craft a power, not of the flesh, but in the unseen world and over Middle-earth. These words reminded Galadriel of what Adar<\/a> (Joseph Mawle) had said to her in the sixth episode of Sauron\u2019s plans, and she became suspicious that Celebrimbor had heard this from Halbrand but he did not recall.<\/p>\n Asking the scholars, Galadriel wanted records of the lineage of the Kings of the Southlands.<\/p>\n By the river, an excited Halbrand visited Galadriel to discuss the latest developments, but she called him out on his lies \u2013 the line of the Kings of the Southlands was broken and had died out and Halbrand is not who he said he was.<\/p>\n It was then that Halbrand confirmed what Galadriel has feared \u2013 he has had many names, but one of those is Sauron.<\/p>\n A confrontation saw Galadriel awaken in Valinor with her dead brother Finrod<\/a> (Will Fletcher) who claimed that Sauron had saved him and wanted to save Middle-earth. However, Galadriel saw through this illusion and called out Sauron\u2019s lies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Transporting her to their first meeting on a shipwreck in the Sundering Seas, Sauron showed her that together they can save Middle-earth as its master and his queen. Sauron also refers to how Galadriel convinced him that redemption for his past actions was possible, having told him that dark deeds could be forgotten and redeemed.<\/p>\n Galadriel asked if he really meant to save Middle-earth or rule it, and when he could not tell the difference, she refused to join him and planned to kill him but was thrown into the water.<\/p>\n However, Galadriel soon awoke in the river itself and was pulled to safety by Elrond, and it became clear that Sauron had escaped.<\/p>\n Towards the end of the episode, a hooded Sauron was shown climbing over a mountain and into the land of Mordor.<\/p>\n Speaking with RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay revealed that Halbrand was always intended to be Sauron.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Payne explained: \u201cThat character was always Sauron from the very beginning. [It was] one of the initial sparks and ideas and in our, I think opinion, right or wrong, is that Galadriel talks about Sauron in the books in a way that indicates that she knew him maybe really well.<\/p>\n \u201cFor instance, \u2018I know the Dark Lord, I perceived the Dark Lord and know his mind, at least all of his mind, that concerns the Elves, and ever does he grope after me, and seek to know my mind as well. But still, the door is shut.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m paraphrasing a little bit, but that\u2019s effectively the quote. And the idea of \u2018Still, the door is shut,\u2019 that this has been a thing where he\u2019s been reaching after her for a long time and there\u2019s been this sense of back and forth between them. We found that in the writers\u2019 room endlessly fascinating, and we said, \u2018Like, there\u2019s an entire history between them.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not just some eye in the sky who\u2019s looking at her from afar; there\u2019s a relationship. And so we said, \u2018How could you have a relationship between the Dark Lord and Galadriel, you know, in a way that was good, really let them get to an interesting place?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo, if she knew it was him from the beginning, she would obviously reject him out of hand. But what if she had this history? Because we know from the Legendarium that he was responsible for her brother\u2019s death, and what would that mean to her? We also know that he has this desire to heal the world, and she has this sort of heroic desire to fix the world also, and so if you could put them in parallel to each other without exactly her knowing where he was, there was an opportunity there.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, the writers liked the idea of Sauron believing himself to be committing heroic deeds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n McKay added: \u201cAnd two other things to add to that: there was this whole idea from Tolkien\u2019s letters and other writings where he talks about how Sauron wasn\u2019t evil in the beginning \u2013 that\u2019s Elrond [saying that] run in the book.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Nothing is evil in the beginning, even Sauron was not so.\u2019 Immediately, we\u2019re thinking about Breaking Bad, nd we\u2019re thinking about Tony Soprano. These characters who are these enormous, larger-than-life modern villains, but have this other side and kind of go back and forth. Do I hate them? Do I love them? Are they seducing me? And I shouldn\u2019t trust them, and we thought that was really rich terrain.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then there\u2019s the Tolkien idea of chance meetings. That is a thing throughout his books and that he\u2019s obsessed with over and over again. The chance meetings are preordained in Middle-earth and that idea of like, \u2018My God, what if Sauron is in a place where he\u2019s sort of repentant and lost and Galadriel is in a place where she\u2019s desperate and obsessed with a meeting? What might happen?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWell, first of all, maybe they\u2019d be friends. Maybe they get along and the idea of a non-romantic, you know, cosmic connection\u2026 That seemed so pregnant with possibilities and I mean, obviously, that was by far the hardest thing that we worked on, and all the writers worked on.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have this idea that if you can watch it again, every single thing he says is not a lie, no matter who he is. And the fact that maybe along the way, people might go like, \u2018Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.\u2019 We\u2019re like, \u2018Great.\u2019 This isn\u2019t like a rug pull, we\u2019re not trying to like shock people. We want to, hopefully, reward close viewing and suspicions of him early. That\u2019s a whole valid version of the show, we felt.\u201d<\/p>\n After relaying what has occurred to Celebrimbor and Elrond, the trio agree to make objects from the Mithril, and Elven gold and silver from Valinor, using Galadriel\u2019s dagger which once belonged to her brother Finrod. They agree that three objects need to be made as one object can be corrupted and two can be divided.<\/p>\n Together with precious Elven jewels from Valinor, there was then crafted the three Elven Rings of Power.<\/p>\n In the works of Tolkien, the Three Rings \u201cfor the Elven Kings under the sky\u201d are the first of the Rings of Power to be created.<\/p>\n The one with the red Ruby stone represents the element of Fire and is dubbed \u2018Narya\u2019. In Tolkien\u2019s works, it is initially carried by High King Gil-galad before being transferred to an Elf named C\u00edrdan and then to the wizard Gandalf.<\/p>\n The ring with the blue Sapphire stone represents the element of Water and is dubbed \u2018Vilya\u2019. In Tolkien\u2019s works, it is initially carried by High King Gil-galad before being possessed by Elrond.<\/p>\n Finally, the ring with the white\/clear Adamant stone represents the element of Air and is dubbed \u2018Nenya\u2019. This ring has only ever solely belonged to Galadriel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We can expect further rings to be introduced in future seasons, as confirmed by the showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay.<\/p>\n Co-showrunner McKay explained: \u201cThe show\u2019s title suggests that these [rings] are important, and I think we like the idea of each set of rings potentially having its own story, in each of those worlds. This whole season, to a certain extent, is about why would they fall for this? Why would they? Well, actually, with the Elven rings, there\u2019s this thing where the Elven rings are actually good, but they\u2019re sort of touched with evil in this complex way.\u201d<\/p>\n Payne added: \u201cThere\u2019s a backdoor to evil because once Sauron makes his One Ring, it controls them all, even though he never touched the three Elven rings, so they\u2019re not explicitly evil. It\u2019s sort of the Y2K virus where it\u2019s this like \u2018backdoor\u2019 that is kind of built into them. And once this ring is destroyed, their rings lose their potency in the Third Age, so it\u2019s a complex interconnection.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He said: \u201c\u2018Why would Elves need rings? Why would they want rings? Why would this guy have an offer that would be tempting for them?\u2019 is very much what the entire first season is building to. The first conversation about the show was the idea of Galadriel on one journey, looking for a military solution to the darkness in Middle-earth, and Elrond on another journey going to Moria and trying to make an alliance that would be a solution to Middle-earth.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, in the end, they would both fail and come together and someone would be there to say, \u2018I know a third way\u2019. And so the first season is about the Elven rings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second season is very much about more rings, and the song at the end, by Fiona Apple \u2013 which is like crazy dream come true \u2013 [explains] there\u2019s Three, then there\u2019s Seven. Why would the Dwarves be desperate for rings? And how do they get seduced? And how do they get fooled? And then Men is an even more complex story.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are Nine leaders of Men who want power, and so each of those rings and the forging of them is not just like, \u2018Now the magic thing got made\u2019, but a story to be told. And I think there are other stories to be told as well, but certainly, we\u2019ve kicked it off and next season is gonna go deeper into it.\u201d<\/p>\n The showrunners also confirmed that the second season will introduce the Elf C\u00edrdan<\/strong>, so we can expect him to be awarded the ring of Narya.<\/p>\n In Tolkien\u2019s works, C\u00edrdan is one of the oldest Elves in Middle-earth and is the Lord of the Grey Havens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n An ailing King Tar-Palant\u00edr (Ken Blackburn) was cared for by attendants and watched over by the chancellor Pharaz\u00f4n<\/a> (Trystan Gravelle) who ordered members of the Builders\u2019 Guild to sit with the monarch and make designs for a monument in his honour.<\/p>\n Elendil\u2019s daughter E\u00e4rien (Ema Horvath) \u2013 who had been against the expedition to Middle-earth \u2013 sat with the King when he began speaking to her as if she were his daughter, Queen Regent M\u00edriel. E\u00e4rien called for help as the King\u2019s health situation worsened. The King warned her of the importance for N\u00famenor to return to its faithful ways of Elven kinship and reverence for Valinor if they hoped to survive, before he directed her to the upstairs of the tower but warned her not to look too long there. E\u00e4rien then ascended the stairs and into the room with the Palant\u00edr<\/a>. What will E\u00e4rien see there and will she alert Pharaz\u00f4n with whom she appears to have political faith?<\/p>\n Meanwhile, on the ship back to N\u00famenor from Middle-earth, Elendil (Lloyd Owen) went down from the deck with Valandil (Alex Tarrant) and found Queen Regent M\u00edriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) practising her walk while she deals with now being blind. The pair reflected on what has occurred and had been lost, with Elendil still mourning his son Isildur<\/a> (Maxim Baldry) who he believes is dead.<\/p>\n However, fans of Tolkien\u2019s legendarium will be more than aware of the importance of Isildur going ahead so, rest assured, father and son will be reunited down the line.<\/p>\n The ship then pulled into the harbour of N\u00famenor, but Elendil was shocked by the sight of black flags indicating the death of the King, as a confused M\u00edriel asks what has happened.<\/p>\n The future of N\u00famenor will now likely be a major component of the second season of The Rings of Power as Elendil and M\u00edriel will represent the Faithful side of the island kingdom\u2019s culture and who wish to unite with Elvish traditions and spirituality, while the pragmatic Pharaz\u00f4n is not so inclined and has great support.<\/p>\nRings of Power ending explained: Who is Sauron?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What are the Three Rings?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What happened in N\u00famenor?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What happened with The Stranger, The Dweller and the Harfoots?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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