WARNING: The following contains speculation about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, premiering Sept. 2 on Prime Video.
All good stories must have some kind of conflict, and in The Lord of the Rings, most of the conflict is open warfare. Just in the last few years of the Third Age (the setting of the film trilogy), there were several large battles fought both on and off-screen. Continuing that theme, The Rings of Power, which is set during the Second Age, will also feature large-scale battles and legendary heroics to boot.
Fans did get some mysterious marketing images for The Rings of Power, but like it’s done all along, Amazon kept details at a premium. Then came the Super Bowl’s teaser trailer. Understandably, a lot of fans were displeased with the mistake-filled first look, but it would be rash to pass judgment over a minute-long teaser. The thing is, even after the trailer’s release, there’s not a whole lot of information to go on, and thus, speculation is still scarce. One moment worth some attention is the battle that appeared at the back end of the teaser.
According to Vanity Fair’s detailed first look, The Rings of Power will open in a time of relative peace. During that time, a maverick Galadriel will feel the impending darkness while hunting down Morgoth’s evil remnant. Besides speculation and general facts about the events in Middle-earth’s Second Age, those are the only solid storylines that have been revealed. What Galadriel will find or how long it will take is anyone’s guess. However, the brief glimpse of a brutal battle during the teaser does prove that, despite relative peace, there will be a large-scale battle in the series’ first season.
It’s worth considering, though, which war it will be a part of. There were two major conflicts during the Second Age: the War of the Elves and Sauron, and the War of the Last Alliance. Given the series’ Second Age timeline, a quick observation might lead fans to assume that the teaser showed one of those wars. Yet a more detailed assessment proves that this battle couldn’t be from either one.
The War of the Last Alliance will be the series’ endgame, so there’s no reason for them to show it so soon. The War of the Elves and Sauron, on the other hand, would be a more likely bet, but it’s also not possible. While that conflict does happen in the middle of the Second Age, Celebrimbor (who’s confirmed as a main character) dies during that war, and he has to make the Rings of Power with Sauron before that can happen. Additionally, with Galadriel actively hunting down Morgoth’s allies, there’s no way that Sauron will be to the point of war-mongering yet. He still has to pull the whole disguised-as-Annatar bit first.
With all of that in mind, it’s very likely that the Rings of Power teaser actually shows a flashback to one of the many battles in the First Age. That would make perfect sense for a few reasons. First, Episode 1 of the series is called “Shadow of the Past.” So it makes sense that the series would start with a dramatic introduction summarizing the fall of Morgoth, just like The Lord of the Rings did with Sauron. On top of that, Galadriel’s maverick-like attitude will reportedly stem from the death of her brothers, Finrod, Angrod and Aegnor. In fact, the Fellowship of Fans Twitter account has reported that the Elvish warrior in the teaser is none other than Finrod. Although him dying in combat would be a departure from Tolkien canon, it would be a major motivation for Galadriel’s revenge, and seeing it happen would only heighten the stakes for her and the fans.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres Friday, Sept. 2, on Prime Video.
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