Warning: This story contains spoilers from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodes 1 and 2 – so if you’re not up to date on these, don’t read on!
AfterGaladriel leaves for the Grey Havens in The Rings of Power premiere, her dear friend Elrond is given a new task. He’s chosen by King Gil-galad to work with the legendary Elven smith Celebrimbor on his mysterious new project, which he says will allow him to create something of "real power".
Celebrimbor explains how he aspires to create something great, as his ancestor Fëanor did with his hammer. In a conversation in Eregion, the smith explains his plans to build a tower that can hold a forge capable of using extreme temperatures. He plans to create it by spring to allow him to craft something that will "transform Middle-earth". To achieve this mammoth task, Elrond suggests they’re going to need some help and sets off to Khazad-dûm to try and convince Prince Durin IV to offer the support of the Dwarves.
However, some viewers will likely be wondering what exactly Celebrimbor is planning on making in this forge. Well, the answer likely lies in Tolkien lore. Just a warning here, we’ll be getting into some details from J.R.R. Tolkien's novels from now on, so if you want to avoid these read no further.
Celebrimbor is the Elven smith behind the creation of the One Ring, as well as all of the other rings of power that were given to the races of Middle-earth – as Galadriel reads in the opening of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies: "Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne."
Given the title of Amazon's show, it seems pretty likely the rings of power are coming sooner rather than later.
Of course, as readers of Tolkien’s novels – and watchers of Jackson’s trilogy – will know, Sauron corrupts this process. During the creation of the rings, he disguises himself as Annatar and convinces the Elven blacksmiths to make the One Ring, which will allow him to control all of the other rings.
As revealed in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, Celebrimbor is the one who discovers his plan and tries to trick Sauron by forging three more rings in secret. These are Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, which are the rings of Fire, Water, and Air, respectively. However, things don’t go to plan as Sauron captures the smith and tortures the information out of him before Celebrimbor meets a grisly fate.
It’s unclear how much of this story will be depicted in The Rings of Power, but given the showrunners have plans for five seasons already, there will be plenty of time to get there. To make sure you don’t miss a moment, check out our release schedule for when new episodes drop on Prime Video.
