The Forging Of The Rings Of Power On The Rings Of Power Contradicts The Source Material In A Big Way
Contains spoilers for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 1, Episode 8
Season 1 of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is officially over. The final episode of Amazon's fantasy-adventure series, "Alloyed," was full of surprises, the most significant being the reveal of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) after eight hours of television.
Elsewhere, the episode laid the foundations for one of the most important events in the history of Middle-earth: the forging of the One Ring to rule them all. "Alloyed" dramatizes the creation of the three Elven rings — Vilya, Narya, and Nenya — and indicates that business will pick up in Season 2. That said, the creation of the rings poses more questions about the series' loyalty to the source material.
As we've seen already, "The Rings of Power" has been prone to taking liberties with J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" lore. For example, Episode 5 of "The Rings of Power" tells an origin story that Tolkien never envisioned. Similarly, the series has seemingly reimagined the events that led to the creation of the Elven rings.
Where are the other 16 Rings of Power?
The forging of the Elven rings on "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" contradicts J.R.R. Tolkien's source material in a big way. Originally, Sauron helped Celebrimbor (played by Charles Edwards on the series) make 16 rings — nine for Mortal Men and seven for the Dwarf-lords — before the Elves got their fingers on their own fancy supernatural jewelry.
However, it doesn't seem that history is playing out this way on "The Rings of Power." By the end of the first season, it's unknown where the other 16 rings are. Have they even been made at all yet, or will their creation follow in the wake of their Elven counterparts?
"The Rings of Power" has condensed the events of the source material for the sake of progressing the story at a reasonable pace for viewers. The good news, though, is that Sauron will now forge his ring and start his reign of terror. That's bad news for the people of Middle-earth, but it should make for entertaining television.