Rings of Power season 1 recap: What happened in first season?
Catch up on the events of the first season while as the epic series returns.
After a sprawling and ambitious debut, Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has returned for its second season, continuing the story of Sauron’s rise in Middle-earth before his eventual fall.
Set in the Second Age (thousands of years before the War of the Ring and Bilbo and Frodo’s adventures), The Rings of Power focuses on Sauron’s ascent to power, exploring figures and events that shaped the history of Middle-earth.
Weaving together a story of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Númenóreans, Istari and Orcs, the first season featured an expansive narrative filled with mystery, action, and awe, all against a familiar Tolkienian backdrop.
With The Rings of Power season 2’s arrival, the story has already started to unravel new mysteries, exploring fresh parts of Middle-earth and will introduce long-awaited characters – such as Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) – to the tale.
But, amid the excitement of a new season approaching, it feels like it’s been an eternity since the show made its debut. Who was Sauron? Who was the Stranger? And what was the significance of the mithril?
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If you need a refresher ahead of Rings of Power’s return, here’s a full recap of the first season. Alternatively, check out our review of season 2!
Rings of Power season 1 recap: What happened in first season?
Galadriel, Halbrand and the Númenoreans
The first season begins with Galadriel, a renowned Elven warrior, on a quest for vengeance.
During the Elves’ battle against the malevolent Morgoth, her brother Finrod was killed by the elusive and powerful Sauron, and Galadriel remains convinced that Sauron still poses a threat to Middle-earth despite Morgoth’s defeat. Driven both by a desire to avenge her brother, but also to snuff out the threat she (correctly) believes that Sauron continues to pose to Middle-earth, Galadriel leads an expedition to find Sauron.
However, her mission to hunt down Sauron reaches a dead end. With no further leads, the Elven King Gil-galad orders her to return to the Elven homeland of Valinor.
However, Galadriel is far from ready to give up her quest. In a moment of defiance, she leaps from the ship bound for Valinor, choosing to swim back to Middle-earth. Her life is saved by a ragged mortal man named Halbrand, and together, on his raft, they are carried by the currents to the island kingdom of Númenor, ruled by Queen Míriel.
In Númenor, Galadriel continues her search for Sauron, discovering that the Southlands in the southeast of Middle-earth may be central to his plans. She convinces Queen Míriel to send an army to aid the Southlands, where a great battle looms. The Númenórean forces, led by General Elendil and his son Isildur, set sail for Middle-earth.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Galadriel and Halbrand shifts and twists. Galadriel is drawn to the mystery of Halbrand’s background and his charisma. Similarly, Halbrand is enamoured by Galadriel’s sense of purpose. This friction – with the potential to turn romantic – both pulls them closer and pushes them apart as each discovers the complexities within the other.
They too sail across to Middle-earth with the Númenorean forces to defend the Southlands.
Bronwyn, Theo and Arondir
The Southlands and its inhabitants are central to the story of the first season of Rings of Power, not least because they serve as the magnet that draws the disparate plot lines together as the story evolves.
The region’s inhabitants were once aligned with Morgoth, and after his defeat, a detachment of Elves, including Arondir, was stationed there to monitor the population. But while the other Elves grow complacent, the watchful Arondir notices signs of a resurgence of evil. While investigating, Arondir is captured by Orcs, now led by a figure named Adar, and forced to work on an expansive underground tunnel system.
The Orcs use these tunnels to launch attacks across the Southlands, including on Bronwyn’s village, where she lives with her son Theo. Bronwyn rallies the villagers to abandon their homes and take refuge in a nearby abandoned fort. As they flee, Theo discovers a broken hilt of an ancient sword and takes it with him.
The season’s central battle unfolds as Adar’s forces besiege the fort. The Southlanders manage to hold out until Galadriel, Halbrand and the Númenóreans arrive, defeating Adar’s army.
However, Adar’s true objective is achieved: the hilt Theo found is a key, which, when activated, unleashes a chain of events that culminates in the eruption of a dormant volcano.
The ensuing eruption transforms the Southlands into a volcanic wasteland of darkness, ash and fire: it becomes Mordor, Sauron’s great stronghold, with Mount Doom at its heart.
All the key players survive the eruption, though Isildur is left missing, presumed dead. Bronwyn’s folk leave to establish new lands (presumably what will become Gondor), while the remaining Númenóreans return home, albeit with a vow to return to help continue the fight against Sauron in Middle-earth.
While Bronwyn survived the eruption, the first episodes of season 2 reveal that she actually died off-screen. During episode 2, Arondir reveals: "I failed to stop Adar, I failed to protect her. I thought she was getting better. There is a foulness in Orc arrows not easily forgotten by human flesh."
This is down to actress Nazanin Boniadi exiting the show due to personal reasons.
In the aftermath of the eruption, Galadriel brings the gravely injured Halbrand to the Elven city of Lindon, where she realises, to her horror, that he is the enemy she’s been hunting for so long: Sauron, in the guise of a man.
Galadriel rejects Sauron’s proposal to join him as his queen, and he escapes from Lindon to Mordor, while she plots her next steps to defeat him, reeling from the betrayal, but vindicated.
Elrond, Prince Durin and the Mithril
Rings of Power’s first season showed that Middle-earth’s greatest bromance, that of Legolas and Gimli, was preceded by an equally unconventional relationship: Elrond and Durin IV.
However, as the season begins, the friendship between Elrond and the Dwarven prince of Khazad-dûm has been fractured by time. The two haven’t seen each other for 20 years: the blink of an eye to the eternal Elrond, but a long and eventful eternity to Durin.
Knowing that the Elves need the Dwarves’ help to construct a great forge, Elrond seeks to mend the damaged friendship, requiring humility and patience (and, the assistance of Durin’s wife Disa). However, it’s Durin’s father, King Durin III, who ultimately needs convincing to help the Elves.
Unbeknown to the Elves, King Durin’s Dwarves have discovered a precious resource deep within the mines of Moria: mithril. This rare ore is a substance that has the power to restore the Elves’ fading magical light, and therefore preserve Elven influence over Middle-earth.
So, King Gil-Galad tasks Elrond with manipulating the Dwarves to access the precious material. Though King Durin refuses to bend to Elrond’s requests, Prince Durin does share a small thumb-sized piece of mithril with Elrond, who takes it back to Lindon for study, giving it to Celebrimbor.
Celebrimbor
The Elven smith Celebrimbor becomes a key figure as the season nears its end.
Tasked with forging a crown for Gil-galad from the mithril, he instead, with guidance from Halbrand and encouragement from Galadriel, creates three rings. These rings are intended to preserve the power of the mithril and are worn by Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor himself.
The Harfoots and The Stranger
The Harfoots, an ancestral branch of The Shire’s Hobbits (in a time long before The Shire ever existed) are a nomadic people subsisting through foraging and moving from one lush place to another: it’s a peaceful and simple, albeit tough, existence.
Their peace is punctured when a blazing ball of fire streaks through the nearby night sky, crashing to the ground to create a circle of flame.
Nori, a curious young Harfoot, investigates the crash site and discovers a disorientated man at the centre of the fire. This Stranger, as he becomes known, possesses mysterious and powerful abilities, and Nori takes it upon herself to care for him, hiding him from the rest of the Harfoots.
As the Stranger slowly regains his unfathomable magical powers he leaves the Harfoots, only for Nori to realise he’s being tracked down by mysterious agents of evil. Speeding to warn him, Nori catches up with the Stranger as he’s under attack by this mysterious white-robed trio, leading to a dangerous battle where he gains control over his magic to defeat them.
But, the Stranger and the Harfoots can’t co-exist: he attracts a danger they aren’t equipped to deal with. Feeling a pull to the east, the Stranger prepares to leave, and Nori, eager for adventure, joins him.
Together, they head to the eastern lands of Rhûn, as he tells her to “always follow your nose”.
His connections to Hobbits, his links to fire, his power over magic, and many other small details, all point to the idea that the Stranger isn’t so unknown after, but may actually be... Gandalf.
The board is set for Rings of Power season 2
With the titular Rings of Power now forged and Sauron unmasked, the second season of the fantasy series is poised to establish further sweeping action and drama across Middle-earth and the prospect of many more mysteries.
How will Sauron manipulate the creation of the One Ring? Will Galadriel continue her hunt for him, or reconsolidate with the Elves? What will the Stranger find in Rhûn?
Expect more battles and more twists as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.
Read more on The Rings of Power:
- Rings of Power bosses tease 'most ambitious battle in TV history' in season 2
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies in order
- What is the Second Age of Middle-earth? Rings of Power timeline explained
The Rings of Power season 2 will launch on Prime Video on 29th August – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.
If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
