- Warning: Spoilers ahead for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" season one.
- Amazon has already started filming season two.
"The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power" season one has come to a close with its eighth episode, and it finally confirms the identity of the Dark Lord himself, Sauron.
Not only that but the show also offers more information about who the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is, and even sees Celerimbor (Charles Edwards) create the first three Rings of Power.
Amazon has already started filming season two in the UK, after choosing to shift production from New Zealand. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a while until the show's sophomore season, as it's not expected to return until 2024.
But the showrunners have already teased what to expect from "Rings of Power" season two, and it's going to focus on Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) now that he's been unmasked as Sauron himself.
What will season two be about?
Yes, the season one finale confirms that the king of the Southlands isn't who he says he is after Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) finds documents confirming that the real king's line of succession died out a thousand years ago.
Although the villain tries to tempt her into becoming his queen, Galadriel rebuffs him, and he disappears to Mordor by the end of the episode. But Vickers' villain will be in the spotlight even more next time because creator J.D. Payne recently told The Hollywood Reporter that the show will take the same approach with Sauron as it did with Galadriel.
Payne said: "Season one opens with: Who is Galadriel? Where did she come from? What did she suffer? Why is she driven? We're doing the same thing with Sauron in season two. We'll fill in all the missing pieces."
Payne's creative partner, Patrick McKay, added that they're treating Sauron as an antihero going forward because otherwise, he would've "overshadowed" the rest of the storyline.
"Sauron can now just be Sauron. Like Tony Soprano or Walter White. He's evil but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he'd overshadow everything else. So the first season is like 'Batman Begins,' and 'The Dark Knight' is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open."
Vickers also touched on what Sauron's up to in season two when speaking to Variety, noting that Sauron is only going to get more powerful.
He said: "Going back into Mordor is the first stage of that plan. I'm not going to spoil it, but it doesn't take long to find out in the second season. We find out pretty quickly."
Now that the finale has unmasked Sauron and introduced some of those titular rings, it's clear that future episodes are going to involve the villain giving rings to men and the dwarves, as well as creating one ring to rule them all, of course.
A new character in season two
THR also confirmed that a key character will appear in season two to stand against the creation of the rings, an elf called Círdan.
Círdan is actually one of the oldest elves in Middle-earth, and directly opposed the creation of the rings. However his advice is ignored, and he's eventually given Naraya, the ring of fire. That's the one seen in the finale with the red jewel attached to it. However Círdan hasn't been cast yet, or if he has, Amazon hasn't announced it.
While things are going to get darker further down the line as Sauron amasses more power, Payne previously told THR that this is what makes these stories so great in the first place.
"That's the secret sauce of Tolkien right there. The grimmer things get, the more those pops of light have a contrast to bounce off of," said the cocreator.
He added: "That's what's beautiful about Tolkien. Even in points of complete despair, you can have two halflings look at each other and say, 'I'm glad you're here with me.'"
So, expect darkness and beauty when "The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power" returns to Amazon Prime Video.