What to watch before The Rings of Power: Season 3

No. 01 · 2022 · Series · 9h 25m · optional

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1)

Beginning in a time of relative peace, we follow an ensemble cast of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Why it matters: The Second Age, thousands of years earlier; optional.

Starring

Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, and Owain Arthur

Creator

Patrick McKay and John D. Payne

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 84%

No. 02 · 2024 · Series · 9h 6m · optional

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2)

Beginning in a time of relative peace, we follow an ensemble cast of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Why it matters: The forging of the Rings continues; optional.

Starring

Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, and Owain Arthur

Creator

Patrick McKay and John D. Payne

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 85%

No. 01 · 2022 · Series · optional

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1) recap

In the Second Age, Galadriel hunts the vanished Sauron while the Elves believe him gone. Elrond seeks help from his dwarf friend Prince Durin IV for Celebrimbor's great forge in Eregion, and learns the Elves are fading and need mithril to survive. Galadriel is shipwrecked with Halbrand, a man who claims to be the lost king of the Southlands, and they reach Numenor, where Queen Regent Miriel agrees to sail with an army. In the Southlands, the Elf Arondir and the healer Bronwyn face orcs led by Adar, who uses a hilt-shaped key to flood a dam and turn the region into Mordor with the eruption of Mount Doom. Miriel is blinded in the battle. A strange man falls from the sky and is befriended by the harfoot Nori, while three cultists hunt him as Sauron.

How The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1) ends

The Stranger is not Sauron; he is a wizard, and he leaves with Nori for Rhun. Galadriel works out that Halbrand is Sauron, after he has helped Celebrimbor design rings. He tempts her to rule with him, she refuses, and he walks off to Mordor. Galadriel and Celebrimbor forge three Elven rings from mithril. The season ends with the Elves holding rings that Sauron helped shape, which season 2 builds on.

No. 02 · 2024 · Series · optional

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2) recap

Sauron rebuilds himself and, calling himself Annatar, a messenger of the Valar, returns to Eregion and wins over Celebrimbor to forge more rings. Galadriel and Elrond ride for Eregion; she gives her ring Nenya to Elrond and is captured by Adar. Durin III takes one of the seven Dwarf rings and grows greedy, mining ever deeper for mithril while his son resists him. In Numenor, the Faithful, led by Elendil, are persecuted, Pharazon takes power, and Miriel survives trial by the Sea Worm. Isildur survives in Middle-earth with Estrid and Arondir. The Stranger travels with Nori and Poppy, meets Tom Bombadil and faces a Dark Wizard. Sauron has Celebrimbor make nine rings for Men, laced with his own blood, and Adar's orcs besiege Eregion.

How The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2) ends

Eregion falls. Sauron kills Celebrimbor and takes the nine rings from Galadriel, and Adar is killed by his own orcs. Durin III dies fighting the Balrog and Durin IV becomes king, sending his army to help the Elves escape. The Stranger finds his staff and his name, Gandalf, and Pharazon learns Halbrand's identity and arrests the Faithful while Elendil escapes. Season 3 premieres November 11, 2026, with the war between the Elves and Sauron.