The Rings of Power Season 2 was received by fans and critics much like Season 1 — confusion from casual viewers and canonical complaints from die-hard Tolkien scholars. Even at that, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been renewed for a third season, and Amazon Studios says it is still committed to a five-season run. The prequel series tells a version of the events in the Second Age of Middle-earth, which is the historical period before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
However, most of Tolkien’s writing about that time comes from other books, while Amazon only acquired the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. That means the show can only use characters and events from the Second Age referenced in The Lord of the Rings, which narrows down the trajectory of Season 3 quite a bit. The streaming series also opted to condense all these plot points down for continuity and dramatic effect. In Tolkien’s writing, the Second Age covers over 3,400 years, while the TV show keeps the pace much faster. With all that in mind, we can make some strong educated guesses about what’s coming next in The Rings of Power, though the show could always deceive us. Here’s a look at what we expect to see in Season 3 but fair warning — there are spoilers ahead!
Sauron’s Orc Army
The Rings of Power Season 2 concluded the story of Adar, the dark elf known as “Lord-father” to the Orcs and Lord of Mordor. Adar was played by Joseph Mawle in Season 1 and Sam Hazeldine in Season 2, with Adar leading the armies of Orcs in their climactic siege on Eregion. Adar believed he was protecting the Orcs from being subjugated by Sauron, but it now appears he was playing right into Sauron’s hands. Adar was killed at the end of Season 2, and Sauron seems primed to take control of the Orcs armies.
Now that fighting has broken out, we should expect to see Sauron taking control of the Orcs and leading them to war. He will likely return to Mordor, which was prepared for him by Adar and the Orcs. The show has depicted the Orcs with some amount of free will, and even showed them helping Adar to destroy Sauron once before. That means we may see Sauron somehow persuading or compelling the Orcs to follow him.
Lothlórien
Now that Galadriel has her own ring, Nenya, the next step will be for her to master it. That means we should see her heading to the forest city Lothlórien, and using her newfound magic to enrich it. We saw Lothlórien in The Fellowship of the Ring — an Elven settlement protected and supported by magic, where Frodo and his companions met Galadriel. This prequel should show us a different version of the settlement, before Galadriel used Nenya to enhance it.
In Tolkien’s writing, Galadriel chose not to use her ring during the Second Age because she feared it would draw Sauron’s attention. She instead used the ring sparingly in the Third Age to preserve, conceal, and enhance Lothlórien. However, considering how many changes this show has already made, it seems likely we’ll see Nenya in action in Season 3. Helping Lothlórien to flourish would be a great way to start. This may also be a great place to put the elf Arondir in Season 3, since he promised the Ents he would protect their forest.
Fall of Númenor
Of all the subplots Rings of Power has been juggling, none has felt more distant from the action than the political intrigue on the island nation of Númenor. However, all that may pay off at last if Season 3 depicts the “Drowning of Númenor.” It may be a bit too soon timeline-wise for this cataclysm, but it’s hard to tell at the pace this show is moving. Either way, there are dark days ahead for this great kingdom.
The pieces are all in place for the Fall of Númenor — both Isildur and Elendil have now left the island, and Ar-Pharazôn has been crowned king. We’ve even seen him consulting the Palantir and becoming corrupted. Meanwhile, we saw the Númenóreans take Sauron prisoner in Season 1, so he doesn’t necessarily need to visit the island again himself. He may be able to contact the king through the Palantir and convince him to seek power and immortality for himself.
This overreach is what spells Númenor’s doom. Rather than facing them directly, Sauron tricks Númenor into angering the gods. The gods then sink the island entirely. It will be interesting to see how the TV show handles something this dramatic, and if the gods are depicted or implied.
Gandalf and the Halflings
Meanwhile, the next steps for Gandalf, Nori Harfoot and Poppy Proudfellow are pretty clear. They have now joined a large group of other Halflings — “Stoors” — seeking a new home, and it seems like one of them has had a vision of The Shire. They will set out to look for this oasis, and along the way Gandalf will have another confrontation with the unnamed “Dark Wizard.” Fan theories about this wizard’s identity are pretty divided, so we should look forward to that reveal as one of Season 3’s big possible surprises.
Corruption of Men and Creation of Ringwraiths
Season 2 saw the creation of seven rings of power for the dwarves and nine rings for men. We already saw the disastrous outcome of using a ring for the dwarf king Durin III, and the season ends with Sauron securing all nine of the rings for men. In Season 3, we will likely see him distribute these rings to his chosen leaders, corrupting them and setting them on the path to become the Nazgûl — a.k.a. Ringwraiths.
We’ve never learned much about these nine individuals, so it will be interesting to see them depicted firsthand. We know that three of the rings will go to powerful men from Númenor, while the other six will go to the kings of other countries in Middle-earth. One of these will become the Witch-king of Angmar, and all nine will find themselves enslaved by Sauron through the power of his ring.
Forging of The One Ring
Season 3 may finally bring some transformation for Sauron, who has appeared mostly as a normal human so far. The Dark Lord is a crafty, manipulative shapeshifter, but that ability will be limited once he forges his final ring and begins to rely on its power. Sauron now has control of Eregion, and the books say that he forged the One Ring himself in secret, using his knowledge of the other rings to put them under his control.
This will finally make Sauron into the shadowy, armored presence we’ve seen in movies and other depictions. The One Ring will allow him to enslave the nine men wearing his rings, and he will attempt the same on the seven dwarf ringbearers as well. The three elves will sense Sauron’s trick just in time to remove their rings and hide them away until the war is over.
War
Finally, it seems safe to say that much of Season 3 will be dedicated to the war between the forces of Sauron and the rest of the world. Sauron has control of all the Orcs, Trolls and other such creatures, as well as some groups of humans. His primary opponents are the elves, the survivors of Númenor and other humans. The dwarves remain a wildcard – resistant to Sauron’s corruption, yet hesitant to join the battles against him as well.
Epic battles are a huge key to Tolkien adaptations, and they will be especially important for a show that is praised so highly for its visual effects. Seeing how these mythical events come to life will keep this series interesting for seasoned readers and newcomers alike. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 and 2 are streaming now on Prime Video. Season 3 is in pre-production, but there’s no word on a possible release date yet.
