Lord Of The Rings: The Most Shocking Rings Of Power Deaths (So Far), Ranked

Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is no stranger to loss. Even as Season 1 spent most of its time introducing a menagerie of characters and Season 2 beefed up that cast list even further, the show has steadily killed off many of its own as it marched through its first 16 episodes. Some of these were expected losses; for instance, we already knew the Southlander Bronwyn would be absent when news broke before the premiere that actress Nazanin Boniadi wouldn't be returning. Similarly, when the Hill-troll Damrod fell in battle, it wasn't a shock because he was born and bred to fight and die in war.

Some deaths, however, have been more surprising. The Harfoot leader Sadoc is one of these. British comedy icon Lenny Henry's character met his unsuspecting doom in battle with the three mystics from Rhûn in the Season 1 finale. The recast Orc chieftain Adar also died in the Season 2 finale, betrayed by his own Uruks. But while these deaths may have caught some of us off guard, they were relatively predictable. Losing a main character in a finale is common (someone has to go, right?), and Sauron's revenge on Adar was foreshadowed throughout Season 2 and even earlier.

And then there are the truly shocking deaths. When the Elf captain Revion (Simon Merrells) escapes from captivity in the Orc trenches and is downed by an Uruk arrow, for example, it is completely unexpected. There are many other astonishing and unforeseen deaths that fall into this category as well. Here are five of the most shocking deaths in the show to date, starting from solidly surprising and proceeding to the most devastating deaths in the entire show (so far).

Let's kick things off with a death that was as epic as it was unexpected. In the opening moments of the Season 2 finale, King Durin III (Peter Mullan) dies in battle with a Balrog.

Over the course of the season, the Dwarvish monarch had slowly slipped into a ring-induced obsession with treasure, shifting him from a reluctant ally to an active enemy of Middle-earth's heroes. The Balrog had also been lurking around the future Mines of Moria but hadn't made himself fully seen. When the demon emerges, it helps King Durin snap back into form. He ditches his Ring, seizes an axe, asks his son's forgiveness, and then leaps right into the face of his monstrous opponent.

While Durin was old and headed toward a bad ending, the suddenness of his actual demise caught many by surprise. Toss in the epic redemptive nature of his last stand (Boromir, anyone?), and this one ranks as one of the top feel-good surprise deaths (can you call a death feel good?) of the show so far.

When Gandalf confronts the Dark Wizard in Rhûn in the final moments of Season 2, their meeting starts with the other Istar trying to sweet talk his way into The Stranger's affections. This begins with the Dark Wizard's masked minions threatening to kill Nori and Poppy, only for the moody magic-wielder to send the Easterling leader flying into a wall, where he is impaled and dies instantly.

This death is shocking, if only because of how suddenly it takes place.

The Season 2 story had been building up the sick and deformed Rhûnic mercenaries all season. He hints at the past importance of his people and their hopes for future relevance in the eastern regions of Middle-earth. There was even the sense that the show was setting him up to receive one of Sauron's Rings for Mortal Men (we know that at least one of the Nazgûl — named Khamûl — is from the East.) And yet, when this poor fella dies, we still haven't gotten a reveal of who he is — he hasn't even taken off his mask! One minute, he's threatening Harfoots and verbally sparring with Dark Wizards, and the next, hey, presto! He's gone.

Mirdania (Amelia Kenworthy) is the face of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, the elite group of Elven smiths who work with the ill-fated Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to forge Rings of Power and other similar feats of artisanship. While Mirdania is an original creation of the show, she ends up playing an important role as the vocal representative of her fellow artisans in conversations with both Annatar and Celebrimbor.

We knew that Mirdania was likely destined to die, if only because she's in the doomed city of Eregion, which comes under siege as the season progresses and is clearly on track to be sacked and destroyed. Despite this, Mirdania's death comes as a surprise when, in the penultimate episode, Sauron sends her over the walls with a flick of his wrist. The shocked and paralyzed Elven artisan lies in the mud for a moment after the fall, clearly dying, when an Orc speeds up the process by chopping at her with his weapon.

While Mirdania's death is relatively shocking, it ranks above the other two on this list partly because of how truly gruesome it almost ended up. In an interview with SlashFilm, the show's stuntman, Vic Armstrong, pointed out that they originally had the Uruk chop off her shoulder, hold it up, and start drinking the blood in a frenzy of battlefield gore. Like the appendage, the spine-chilling scene was chopped, but the death remains shocking, all the same.

Waldreg is a relatively unimportant character in Middle-earth. Made up for the series, Geoff Morrell's Southerner tavern-keeper turned evil right-hand man gets plenty of screen time in Season 1. He even unleashes Mount Doom with that fancy sword, which, like his character, is also a creation of the show. Once Adar arrives, Waldreg swears loyalty to the Orc captain, and by Season 2, he's busy working as one of his top commanders.

For all intents and purposes, the fact that Waldreg survives Season 1 despite his easily expendable nature gave us the feeling that the show was setting him up for an important role. He could have even ended up with one of the Nine Rings. But then, suddenly and without warning, Waldreg is dead, eaten by a Warg that Sauron set loose. The death comes out of left field and immediately cuts this surprisingly busy character out of the story.

The most shocking, surprising, and tragic death of the show so far has to be Valandil (Alex Tarrant). The Númenórean sailor, soldier, and friend of Isildur (Maxim Baldry) is an upright man and an on-screen champion of the Faithful faction in Númenor. He survives the destructive creation of Mordor and makes it back to Númenor, where, at any other time in his life, he could count on being safe.

However, when Ar-Pharazôn becomes king in Season 2, Valandil finds himself marginalized and persecuted by the King's Men. When they, led by the infamous prince Kemen (Leon Wadham), arrive at a shrine and declare that they're closing it down, a fight breaks out. In the melee, Valandil breaks Kemen's arm, only to have the treacherous son of Pharazôn suddenly run him through with his sword from behind. The cowardly act kills Valandil, leaving the nearby Elendil (Lloyd Owen) devastated.

The death of Valandil after he survived so many close calls is a genuine surprise, and one we don't see coming until the sword is poking through his chest. The cherry on top of the dramatic sequence is the fact that Valandil is the name of Isildur's son in Tolkien's writings. Looks like the show has given us ample reason to see why the hero would give his offspring a name that belongs, in the adaptation at least, to such a close friend.