Rings Of Power Broke Silence With A Cryptic Twitter Post - Here's What It Could Mean
"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" steadily dropped out of the conversation ever since Season 1 wrapped up in October 2022, leaving fans wondering who the Stranger is, what will happen in Númenor, and of course, when the other Rings of Power will show up. Since then, there have been a few casting announcements with a big batch of new names joining the show, including Tanya Moodies and Ciarán Hinds. As the months have dragged on, though, the buzz has died down. Fans have contented themselves with outlying announcements, like the news that Season 3 of "The Rings of Power" is already greenlit, and the occasional rumor (although apparently, Amazon Studios has even been messing with those).
The oddest thing has been how quiet the show's social channels have been. Heading into March 2024, the latest post on X, formerly known as Twitter, was a repost from the previous August. Its Instagram feed had been quiet since July. Then, @LOTRonPrime and other official channels suddenly broke the silence on March 25.
Why that day? Because March 25 is Tolkien Reading Day. That date also coincides with the day in Middle-earth when Gollum and the One Ring tumble into the fires of Mount Doom, and, consequentially, it is also the date of the New Gondrian New Year. In the words of Gandalf in "The Return of the King" book, "In Gondor the New Year will always now begin upon the twenty-fifth of March when Sauron fell."
The X post read, "Tolkien's words continue to inspire. #TolkienReadingDay" and included three images with quotes from Tolkien. It was a fun nod to the fandom, but on closer look, the passages selected also seem to hint at what's to come in Season 2.
The Three Rings for the Elven-Kings
The first quote comes from "The Fellowship of the Ring" book and reads, "The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them ... Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing." This is a truncated line taken from the Council of Elrond when the Elf by that name explains the purpose of the Three Elven Rings of Power. The section highlights that the Rings aren't weapons of war or conquest. They were made as tools of preservation, and if Sauron were to recover them, he would undo all of the good work that their owners had accomplished.
This is a concept that is already thoroughly integrated into Season 1. In that season, the Elves are already looking for a way to protect what they have. While much of that storyline is made up for the show (like the whole "bathing in Silmaril-infused mithril" concept), it does reflect the Tolkienian concept of the Elves seeking to preserve and protect. The Three Rings, which are forged in the fading minutes of Season 1, will make that possible moving forward.
The "nor did he ever touch them" part of the quote is interesting. In Tolkien's writings, Sauron is not present when the Three Rings are forged. "The Silmarillion" explicitly states, "Therefore the Three remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them." And yet, on the show, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is Sauron in disguise, and he's very present and hands-on when the rings are forged. It's a detail that may cause issues down the road. Quoting it was an interesting move by the studio. Hopefully, the creators will clarify things before long.
The Dwarven Rings and their stubborn masters
The second quote comes from the appendices of "The Return of the King." It reads, "For the Dwarves had proved untameable by this means. The only power over them that the Rings wielded was to inflame their hearts with a greed of gold and precious things." In "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," the Dwarven race has fallen on hard times. In comparison, during the Second Age (when "The Rings of Power" takes place), they are still a strong, prosperous people.
However, that is also the age when Sauron arrives, distributing shiny magical Rings of Power to some of the Dwarven lords. Another point in the appendices explains, "[The Dwarves] were made from their beginning of a kind to resist most steadfastly any domination." It adds that when it came to spiritual domination via magic Rings, "they could not be reduced to shadows enslaved to another will; and for the same reason their lives were not affected by any Ring, to live either longer or shorter because of it." The section ends with the nasty stinger, "All the more did Sauron hate the possessors and desire to dispossess them."
Season 1 of the Amazon Prime series sets the Dwarves up as an isolated people starting to forge a new alliance with the Elves of nearby Eregion. However, a Balrog is already lurking beneath their feet on "The Rings of Power" (even if that doesn't make canonical sense) and Sauron is poised to start distributing Rings. Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete) also showed some flashes of potential corruption toward the end of Season 1. Could the new quote hint at an insatiable yet indomitable time ahead for the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm as a malicious and unmasked Dark Lord spurs them on?
Hinting at the ending of Eregion
The third and final quote also comes from "The Fellowship of the Ring." It comes from the Council of Elrond, just like the first one. However, the subject matter is a bit different. It says, "Many eyes were turned to Elrond in fear and wonder as he told of the Elven-smiths of Eregion and their friendship with Moria, and their eagerness for knowledge, by which Sauron ensnared them."
This is, by far, the gloomiest and most uncomfortable quote of the three. This is the part in "The Lord of the Rings" when Elrond summarizes the history of the Second Age and the Rings of Power. It adds, "For in that time [Sauron] was not yet evil to behold, and they received his aid and grew mighty in craft, whereas he learned all their secrets, and betrayed them." From there, we get the setup for the next stage in the "Rings of Power" story when the book says that Sauron forged the One Ring to rule them all, adding, "But Celebrimbor was aware of him, and hid the Three which he had made; and there was war, and the land was laid waste, and the gate of Moria was shut."
The book goes on to reference the rise and fall of Númenor, the history of Elendil and his family, and the War of the Last Alliance — all of which are coming on the show. As far as the horrible fate of Eregion, though, that part of the narrative is coming quicker than the others, and the fact that "The Rings of Power's" social channels are specifically choosing this text to share hints at the fact that Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and his people's deadly fate may be upon them.