This Subtle Moment in Rings of Power Finale Really Undermines Tolkien Lore
Even after the season finale, debates on whether The Rings of Power do justice to the canon go on.
In The Silmarillion, Tolkien made it clear that Sauron has never touched or sullied the three elven rings, even though it was noted that those were made with the knowledge obtained from the dark wizard. Did The Rings of Power manage to be true to this? Not really, according to some viewers.
Fans on Reddit noted that the show basically undermines the lore by showing Halbrand — who is later revealed to be Sauron — holding the very metal the three elven rings were made from. Technically, Halbrand never touched the final result, but the fact that he interacted with mithril that went into the making of the rings makes his non-involvement questionable.
"It was significant that [S]auron never touched the Elven rings. But it's not like showrunners know or care about the lore," a Redditor argued.
However, other people argued that it feels like a stretch given that Sauron never placed a finger on the three rings that were forged in the end of the episode. The fact that he held a piece of mithril does not necessarily mean that he "sullied" the elven rings, according to some fans.
"It's a bit of a reach saying 'never touched' as opposed to 'helped to forge'", Redditor Soggy-Assumption-713 admitted.
Halbrand was revealed to be Sauron in the middle of the eighth episode of The Rings of Power, and then he immediately fled the elven lands and headed straight to Mordor after unsuccessfully trying to lure Galadriel on his side. However, Galadriel never told anyone that Halbrand was in fact the dark wizard in disguise, even though it was her idea to forge three rings for the sake of "balance".
Just where the story turns in season 2 remains to be known. Shooting for the second season is currently underway, with the premiere date to be announced by Amazon later.
The first season of The Rings of Power is available on Prime Video for streaming.