Full spoilers for Ring of Power Episode 8 are below.
The cast of The Ring of Power has opened up about how the creation of the titular ring will affect their roles heading into Season 2.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar ahead of Ring of Power episode 8, Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, revealed that the hand of the elven warriors in their forge, and the impact of the events of the Ring of Power season 1 finale, will give her Make a lasting impression. In fact, Galadriel may begin to showcase the features and abilities that Lord of the Rings fans have come to expect from the ethereal beings we see in the Third Age of Middle-earth.
However, before Galadriel becomes the mighty, omniscient elf we see in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy, she has more hurdles to overcome. That is, having a ring called Nenya and the responsibility to protect it, and accepting the pivotal role her brother Finrod’s dagger played in their creation.
“I’m looking forward to exploring the power she gains from having a ring, not feeling powerful myself,” Clark told TechRadar. “It’s very interesting what this duality can be.
“In season 1, we saw part of Galadriel’s spirit, being a genie, just existing. She’s not connected to any part of the genie except for Finrod’s dagger. It’s not healthy, it’s not good for her and she kinda fades away .. she became a memory as much as her brother. So I’m thankful she got rid of that.
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“It was very sad for her to let go, but there was freedom in that moment. She did it to save her people too – she made huge mistakes, but she was still forced to save a lot of people. Now, she’s back to her little one. For the elves, being with them again will eventually lead to her becoming the more mysterious Lothlorien elves we see in the Third Age.”
What about the real creator of the ring, aka Celebrimbor? Elf Blacksmith has been instrumental in JRR Tolkien’s source material and bid budget Prime Video series. So how does he feel after making these three powerful pieces of jewelry? And, considering who Celebrimbor’s ancestors were, will the creation of the elven ring help him fulfill his long-standing desire to overshadow what his ancestors forged?
“I think he’s going to be in a trough after the show,” Charles Edwards, who plays Celebrimbor, told TechRadar. “He made the ring. Now he has to wait and see what they will do. Will they have the desired effect? [to save the elves]? Celebrimbor doesn’t want to leave his studio anyway. He has a lot of other work to do. I think Halbrand piqued his interest and ignited something inside Celebrimbor. As he is a creative person, you follow it and see where it takes you.
“Obviously, it’s not explicitly said that he’s Fano’s grandson. He has Fano’s hammer, but he doesn’t refer to him in a family sense. So there’s a battle between grandfathers trying to improve him. Celebrimbor has Lived Shadow for a long time and was always trying to outsmart him. I think creating the ring would do that, but there’s still a lot of tint to his character in season 2.
Speaking of Halbrand — or rather, Sauron, as we learned about it in episode 8 of the Prime Video show — unintentionally played a role in their creation. Although he was not explicitly involved in their forging, Sauron’s idea was to combine mithril with other metals and then make two pieces instead of one, creating the first titular ring.
For Charlie Vickers, who played Halbrand/Sauron in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, the forging of the iconic jewel — and Sauron’s involvement — finally set the Dark Lord on his way to realizing how he “healed” “Middle-road. Earth.
“Their creations are similar to what we see in Tolkien’s lore,” Vickers said. “They were made under his influence and direction, but not directly by him. They were made independently of his physical contact. So, even if they were susceptible to One Ring, they couldn’t be controlled by One Ring. He A ring was eventually made. As soon as he wore that ring, the elves would immediately know that he created a ring because of his influence on the forging of the ring.”
So, can we expect to see the legendary ring forged in the fires of Mount Doom in Season 2? Vickers didn’t confirm much, but it sounds like it might be a possibility.
“As Sauron walked along the cliff to Mordor, he had a plan,” Vickers teased. “He’s always 5 to 10 moves ahead on the board. Now, we’re going to really see his real character. The showrunners have a very clear plan, some of which I know now. We’re really going to see him become The character who’s always thinking. We’ve seen that, but in season 2, it’s going to be very obvious.”
Ready to read more scoops on Ring of Thrones? Read which dwarf character Edwards would like to see in the show’s second season. Or, find out when Vickers learned he was playing Sauron, or how the villain’s reveal was all but ruined in Episode 2. Finally, find out when the cast of the show found out who the stranger was.
