Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Premiere Recap

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 has premiered on Amazon Prime Video , plunging fans back into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. When Season 1 ended, the first major strokes of darkness began to spread across Middle-earth, as Sauron returned in disguise, and began enacting his plan to bend the wills of all its people. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and her friend Elrond (Robert Aramayo) discovered that their comrade Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was actually Sauron in human form - and that the three Rings of Power forged by the Elven-smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) were a possible source of corruption that could spell doom for the Elves.

The Rings of Power Season 2 begins right at that pivotal moment, where Galadriel and Elrond are the only two people to know about Sauron's return and the potential corruption of the rings. Read on to find out what happens next...

The Rings of Power Season 2, Episodes 1 Recap: "Elven Kings Under the Sky"

The Season 2 premiere opens with a flashback to the beginning of the Second Age of Middle-earth, following the defeat of the dark lord Morgoth. Morgoth's top lieutenant, Sauron, rallies the Orc race together in the dark region of Forodwaith for his coronation as the new dark lord, taking the crown for himself. However, the "father" of the orcs, Adar, betrays Sauron, impaling him with the spiked crown and letting the orcs descend upon him, hacking the would-be new king to pieces. Upon his "death," Sauron lets out a burst of energy that leaves Farodwaith sheathed in ice, and the orcs reeling. Saruon's body vanishes, but his dark essence remains in that place; it takes centuries for Sauron to pull his physical form back together by consuming rats and other vermin, achieving loose primordial form as a pile of black ooze. That creature eventually escapes the depths of the mountains and slithers its way out into Middle-earth, until it comes upon a woman traveler and consumes her, allowing Sauron to take on the form "Halbrand." Other travelers passing by offer Halbrand a place with them - including an old man wearing the seal of the former Southlands king. While traveling by ship, Sauron's evil calls to a behemoth of the sea which wrecks the vessel, by sparing the dark lord, creating the perfect cover for when he is discovered by Galadriel and co., during the events of Season 1.

Back in the present, the episode follows the schism created between the Elves in the capital city of Lindon, following the creation of the three Elven rings. Elrond is adamantly against using the rings, as he fears their corruption; High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) compels the truth from Galadriel, who admits that Sauron is Halbrand and that he deceived her and Celebrimbor into creating the rings. However, both the king and Galadriel sense that the rings could be used for good - like curing the rot that threatens to end the Elves' time on Middle-earth. Elrond steals the rings and flees, heading to Grey Havens where he meets its lord Cirdan (Ben Daniels) one of the oldest and wisest Elves. Cirdan heads out to see to dispose of the rings before Gil-galad and Galadriel can catch him, but upon holding the rings his mind is swayed by their influence and he brings them back to Lindon, taking one ring for himself, while Galadriel and Gil-galad take the other two for themselves. Together, the three rings cure the rot, giving the Elves more time on Middle-earth - but Elrond is still not convinced that they've made the right choice.

The side-stories of the premiere episode include Saruon (as Halbrand) returning to fiery Mordor and confronting Adar, selling the false hope that he, the Southlands King, has the information and influence to find Sauron hiding amongst the Elves and flush him out for Adar to kill. Adar keeps Halbrand in a dungeon and torments him, but eventually concedes to the plan. Sauron leaves Mordor, having planted seeds of his evil there, as well. Meanwhile, The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and his Harfoot companion Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) are lost in wastelands on their way to Rhun, and find that Nori's bestie Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) is following them - as are mysterious bandits in gold-skull masks.

The Rings of Power Season 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.