The first teaser trailer for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has arrived. The nearly two minutes of new footage hint at darker tones and feature plenty of new villains (as Galadriel actress Morfydd Clark hinted last year). There are also a lot of rings.
That isn’t surprising, considering the show’s name. However, Season 1 only saw the creation of three of the Rings of Power. In an act that changed the Tolkien timeline, the writers had Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) forge the Three Elven Rings with Sauron’s (Charlie Vickers) help at the end of Season 1. There are still 17 other Rings of Power that remain to be forged — along with an unknown number of “lesser rings” of power, as we’ll see in a minute.
These appear in full force throughout the new teaser. We see rings held by Dwarves, worn by Elves, and dumped into fires by the handful. The question is, what are all of these pieces of hand-worn hardware, and how might they influence Season 2’s storyline? Let’s dig in, shall we?
The Three Elven Rings find new owners
While the Three Elven Rings are forged in the final moments of Season 1, they aren’t given owners. Instead, we see them sitting on a rock in Celebrimbor’s forge. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Celebrimbor, and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) are present, but there’s no indication that they will be the initial three owners of the rings (even though, in the lore, they all wear at least one of the Three at some point).
In the new trailer, we get another above shot of the Three, this time on their wearers’ fingers. One of these individuals is clearly Galadriel, as you can see her hair and part of her face. The identity of another Elf is also obviously Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), as indicated by the Elven High King’s uniquely over-the-top golden-colored ensemble. The third wearer is mostly off-screen, but a simple green sleeve is visible. While unclear, this is likely Celebrimbor. However, it could also be Elrond or the Elven lord and shipwright Círdan, who is supposed to appear in Season 2.
Regardless, it’s clear that the Elven rings will be owned and active in the upcoming season. Clark also teased more ring power at an FYC event in early 2023 when she told Deadline “[Galadriel is] about to have a life-changing thing happen to her. She’s about to become acquainted with Nenya, her ring. It’s really exciting to see how the magic creeps in.” While Galadriel maintains consistent ownership of her ring throughout the source material, the Elves play hot potato with the other two Rings, and it’s more than likely we’ll see them bouncing between owners as the Season and the show progress.
Did we just see our first dwarven ring?
While Season 1 focuses on the “big three” Elven rings, we know there are 17 more Rings of Power coming down the pike. The One Ring will eventually rule them all, but we also are waiting to see how the other 16 (nine for Mortal Men and seven for the Dwarf-lords) enter the adaptation.
The teaser may have finally shown us the first of these, or at least one of the Seven dwarf-rings, anyway. In one shot, we see the dwarven King Durin III (Peter Mullan) pick up a golden ring with a glowing blue stone. Assuming this is indeed one of the Rings of Power, it is likely the first of the Seven Rings given to the Dwarves of Middle-earth. Eventually called the Ring of Thrór, the appendices of “The Return of the King” describe this ring as such: “It was believed by the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk to be the first of the Seven that was forged; and they say that it was given to the King of Khazad-dûm, Durin III, by the Elven-smiths themselves and not by Sauron, though doubtless his evil power was on it, since he had aided in the forging of all the Seven.”
While there are six other rings that eventually find their way onto Dwarven appendages, this is the one with the most history. It deeply influences the fate, fortune, and overall trajectory of the line of Durin and the people of Khazad-dûm that they lead. In fact, it is still affecting Dwarvish fortunes thousands of years later when Bilbo sets out on his quest to reclaim the treasure of the Lonely Mountain. (Here’s more about the backstory of the Dwarves and their rings.)
What rings does Celebrimbor destroy?
In the final moments of the trailer, we get a quick glimpse of Celebrimbor dumping a handful of rings into a flame. There is a chain on one side and a low roof overhead, giving the appearance of a furnace in a forge. Unlike the forge scenes in Season 1, though, the otherwise immaculate Celebrimbor looks dirty, beaten up, and wild-eyed. His hands are covered in grime and blood, indicating that something has gone terribly wrong.
This is likely a scene that takes place when Sauron attacks Celebrimbor’s kingdom of Eregion in an attempt to take the Rings of Power by force. But that doesn’t explain why the Elf-lord is shown dumping so many precious pieces of jewelry into the fire.
For a potential explanation, we turn to “The Fellowship of the Ring” book, where Gandalf tells Frodo, “In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made.” The Wizard elaborates that these varied in potency, saying, “The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles—yet to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous.” This categorization of “great” and lesser” rings means Celebrimbor could be disposing of a handful of the lesser in that scene to keep them out of Sauron’s hands.
When it comes to the Great Rings, though, the book “Unfinished Tales” tells us, “They should have destroyed all the Rings of Power at this time, ‘but they failed to find the strength’.” Perhaps Celebrimbor destroys some of his magical creations in Season 2, but we all know that the top 20 Rings of Power are going to survive the chaos, one way or another.
