I know I’ll be watching Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3, as it’s just been renewed, and I think I also know how it might start. The Rings of Power season 2 ended during Sauron’s war against the Elves, with Sauron having just sacked Eregion. This event was a mere footnote to fantasy pioneer J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1954 The Lord of the Rings novel, listed in the appendices. However, The Rings of Power season 3 will dive deeper into this war.
The Rings of Power season 3 “takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron,” which was described in slightly more detail in The Silmarillion, but much more fleshed out in Unfinished Tales (via The Hollywood Reporter). The time jump between seasons 2 and 3 will last “several years.” I don’t know what the show plans to skip, but I’m guessing the six years during which Sauron gradually overran Eriador. Judging on how seasons 1 and 2 both started with a flashback, I think season 3 will also start with a flashback, and I think I know which one.
Elrond Would Make Sense As The Subject Of The Rings Of Power Season 3’s Flashback
I believe The Rings of Power season 3 will open with Elrond flashing back to his childhood the way Galadriel flashed back to her childhood in the opening of season 1. This is amazing for many reasons. First off, Elrond is one of the best characters in The Lord of the Rings, and The Rings of Power has an unprecedented opportunity to tell his story the way the movies couldn’t. Peter Jackson’s incredible movies covered the Third Age. The Rings of Power can show Elrond’s Second Age development, so I welcome a season 3 Elrond focus.
Rings of Power showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne actually commented on opening seasons of their show with flashbacks in a Reddit Q&A. Speaking in the fall of 2024, McKay said “at this time, as we’re thinking about the story, we have a flashback that would start season three,” confirming that “we actually like the idea that each season might start with a different slice of Middle-earth focused on a different character than it was last time.” Rings of Power’s Sauron and Galadriel already had their time in the flashback limelight. Now, it’s Elrond’s turn.
What Elrond’s The Rings Of Power Season 3 Flashback Could Be About
Opening The Rings of Power season 3 with an Elrond flashback could show some of the most tragic and beautiful parts of The Silmarillion, which is what the series should be doing. It technically only has full rights to LotR and The Hobbit, but in setting out to tell the story of Lord of the Rings’ Second Age, we all know it is committed to televising The Silmarillion. Honestly, it has surpassed expectations in that department. The Tolkien Estate isn’t known for its leniency, but the show won one-off rights to parts of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales as required.
Season openers combine the plot devices of immortality and flashbacks to show fan-favorite lore.
That’s why more flashbacks can only be good news, allowing lifelong LotR fans the chance to see high-budget adaptations of some of the books that changed their lives for the first time. In the Q&A, Payne confirmed what was obvious on screen. Season openers combine the plot devices of immortality and flashbacks to show fan-favorite lore. To this end, the show is going through its biggest Tolkien characters, making Elrond next in line. An Elrond flashback could show fan-favorite First Age Elves Maedhros and Maglor kidnapping Elrond in the Third Kinslaying.
A Flashback To Elrond’s Childhood Would Be A Perfect Foil For His Present-Day Self In Rivendell
The Rings of Power explores Sauron’s identity and rise to power, but season 3 will likely parallel this with Elrond’s own successful arc, making a glimpse of his miserable childhood the perfect way to start the season. Character development is key to modern storytelling, so the more contrast the show can highlight between Elrond’s past and present, the better. Indeed, the showrunners confirmed to Rings and Realms that “We’re going to take him on a journey, we’re going to break him because that’s the story of Elrond.” Starting the show as a diplomat, Elrond ended season 2 as a warrior.
Season 3 will likely end with him as a leader. The time jump between seasons 2 and 3 should cover Sauron’s rise, but also its resistance, and can open with the one bright light in this darkness. During this time, Elrond established Rivendell, which is where season 2 left him. Finally, he may be starting to look like the Lord of Rivendell of the movies. Opening season 3 with a flashback to Elrond’s difficult past could immediately cut to his rather more impressive present-day in Rivendell, creating a moving, powerful display of how far Elrond has come already.
Power is loneliness for Elrond, ever stripping him of his family, so his rise to power in season 3 will break him and isolate him.
The showrunners’ breaking of Elrond will likely include his defense of Rivendell from ongoing attacks by Sauron during his war and possibly the gain and loss of his wife. But, importantly, the showrunners note that tragedy is Elrond’s whole story. Power is loneliness for Elrond, ever stripping him of his family, so his rise to power in season 3 will break him and isolate him even while it saves Middle-earth and inspires viewers. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power should use its season 3 opening flashback to set the scene of this story before diving into it.
