Spoilers for the season-two finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The finale leaves Sauron alive, but Celebrimbor dies without telling him where the Nine rings for Men are. Galadriel rejects Sauron and survives their confrontation, the Stranger is revealed as Gandalf, and Elrond leads the surviving elves toward a protected refuge that may be Rivendell—but is not named on screen.
What happens to Celebrimbor and the Nine rings?
Eregion is devastated, and Celebrimbor’s story ends in Sauron’s ruined workshop. Sauron tortures him to learn where he hid the Nine rings intended for Men. Celebrimbor refuses to tell him. Sauron kills him, so the rings’ location remains out of Sauron’s grasp at the season’s end. TV Insider’s October 3, 2024 finale interview describes Sauron shooting Celebrimbor with arrows before impaling him.
After the killing, Sauron cries. That reaction is open to interpretation rather than a plainly stated explanation of his feelings. Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, reads it as a loss of control, frustration and the loss of a valued partner. He said, “He loses control, which is not Sauron.” Vickers’s interpretation adds emotional texture to the moment, but it does not change the outcome: Celebrimbor is dead, and Sauron does not recover the Nine’s location.
Does Galadriel join Sauron?
No. Sauron pursues Galadriel and the rings, briefly taking the form of Halbrand during their confrontation. He still believes she might accept his offer to rule beside him, but Galadriel refuses: “The door is shut.” She chooses to fall rather than let Sauron take Nenya.
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Sauron wounds Galadriel with his crown, but she survives. Elrond uses Nenya to heal her. Vickers has described Sauron’s offer as genuine in his own way; he has also said Sauron imagines Galadriel as an ornament to his power. That is the actor’s account of the character’s motives, not a reason to mistake the offer for an equal partnership or Galadriel’s refusal for anything but a rejection.
Who is the Stranger?
The Stranger is Gandalf. The reveal resolves one of the season’s central identity questions. TV Insider reported that cast members had anticipated the answer, while Markella Kavenagh said she received official confirmation shortly before filming the finale.
Is the elves’ new refuge Rivendell?
The finale sends surviving elves with Elrond to a new land described as protected from Sauron. Rivendell is a plausible identification, but the show’s ending does not confirm the name. Asked about it, actor Benjamin Walker replied, “We can neither confirm nor deny, but that’s very astute of you to glean that.” It is safest to call the destination an unnamed refuge that may be Rivendell.
Where does the finale leave Sauron?
Sauron remains alive, powerful and at large. The season closes with him still pursuing his designs, but without the location of the Nine. Celebrimbor’s refusal preserves that unresolved obstacle even as the destruction of Eregion and the loss of its maker mark a major victory for Sauron.
How the series connects to Tolkien’s wider world
Amazon describes the series as taking place thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The cast has discussed reading Tolkien beyond those familiar stories while developing their performances. Charles Edwards cited Unfinished Tales when talking about Celebrimbor’s ambition and jealousy; Vickers said Tolkien’s letters informed his reading of Sauron’s desire to heal and rehabilitate Middle-earth. These comments explain the actors’ approaches, not a guarantee that every television plot point appears in those books.
For a further discussion of the finale, The Ringer’s October 3, 2024 listing describes a deep-dive episode with Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson and an interview with showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Its chapter markers include Celebrimbor and Sauron, Adar, Galadriel and Sauron, and the Harfoots.
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