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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Spoilers for the Season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The death most directly tied to the title is Celebrimbor’s: Sauron kills him after failing to learn where the nine rings for men are. Actor Charlie Vickers reads Sauron’s tear afterward as a moment of defeat and lost control—not a sign of remorse. The finale also kills Adar and King Durin III, but each death carries a different story and emotional purpose.
Why does Sauron cry after killing Celebrimbor?
Celebrimbor refuses to reveal where the nine rings for men are. Sauron tortures him and then kills him, but he still does not get the information: the rings remain with Galadriel.
In TV Insider’s October 3, 2024 coverage, Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, describes the moment as one in which Sauron “has been defeated in that moment.” Vickers’s interpretation is that the tear accompanies frustration and a loss of control: Sauron has destroyed a valuable partner and failed to get what he wanted from him.
That is Vickers’s reading of the character and performance in the series, not an explicit explanation established by Tolkien. The scene’s emotional force lies in the collision of Sauron’s failure to obtain the rings’ location and the loss of someone he had tried to use.
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Who dies in the Season 2 finale?
| Character | What happens | What the scene emphasizes |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrimbor | Sauron kills him after torturing him for the location of the nine rings for men. | Sauron’s failed attempt to get the information, and his loss of a useful partner, as interpreted by Vickers in TV Insider’s October 3, 2024 coverage. |
| Adar | After turning toward Galadriel and returning Nenya, he is killed by his orcs. | His last-minute effort to protect his children and do what he believes is right. Director Charlotte Brändström discussed this irony in TheWrap’s October 3, 2024 interview. |
| King Durin III | He dies in the confrontation with the Balrog. | The father-and-son exchange with Durin IV beforehand; Brändström said she knew what was coming. TheWrap’s October 3, 2024 interview discusses the moment. |
Why does Adar’s death feel different?
Adar’s final choice is a turn toward Galadriel: he returns Nenya and tries to save his children. His own orcs kill him just as he attempts to do what he considers right.
Brändström explained the scene’s irony in TheWrap’s October 3, 2024 interview: “It was important that he’s finally on her side and gives her the ring back and loses his face again. He’s ready to save his children, to do the right thing and the good thing and then he gets killed. It’s the irony of life.” The emphasis is on the tragic timing of Adar’s change of course, rather than on Sauron’s frustration over lost information.
What is the significance of King Durin III’s death?
Durin III dies in the confrontation with the Balrog. Brändström described the preceding exchange between Durin and his son as a father-and-son moment and said she knew what was coming. That context gives his death a personal weight distinct from Celebrimbor’s failed resistance or Adar’s attempt to protect his children.
How does the Gandalf reveal fit into the finale?
The finale also reveals that the Stranger is Gandalf. In an October 3, 2024 Los Angeles Times interview, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne describe arriving at the identity through the writing and story process, drawing on Tolkien’s account of Middle-earth history as they explained why the reveal fit their adaptation.
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That is the showrunners’ rationale for the series’ choice; it should not be treated as proof of a definitive statement about Tolkien’s intentions. The reveal is a separate adaptation decision, not an explanation for any of the deaths.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the finale’s deaths have in common—and what they do not
Each death turns on a different immediate choice or loss. Celebrimbor is killed after refusing to give Sauron the rings’ location; Adar is killed by his own orcs while trying to save his children; Durin III dies in the confrontation with the Balrog after a final exchange with his son. Vickers’s comments explain Sauron’s reaction to Celebrimbor’s death, while Brändström’s comments illuminate the intended irony in Adar’s and the emotional context around Durin.
Brändström also described the season’s broader direction to TheWrap: “since we know who Sauron is now — we needed to get into the character moments, we needed to make it darker, we needed to make it more dramatic,” and she wanted it “to be a bit grimmer and grittier.” Those remarks frame the finale’s tone, but the individual deaths retain their distinct meanings.
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