In this video, Charlie Vickers (Halbrand / Sauron,) Morfydd Clark (Galadriel,) Charles Edwards (Lord Celebrimbor,) Lloyd Owen (Captain Elendil,) Markella Kavenagh (Nori Brandyfoot,) Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Queen Regent Míriel,) Maxim Baldry (Isildur,) Owain Arthur (Prince Durin IV) and Sophia Nomvete (Princess Disa) join EW to recap everything you need to know from season 1 of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.'
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00:00Kelebrimbor creates beautiful things instead of slaying George.
00:03I do, yes, yes. He doesn't go around, there's not much slaying.
00:06No.
00:06Kelebrimbor.
00:07He does slay in a certain way.
00:08He does.
00:09He does slay.
00:10We're the cast of The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power.
00:13And we are here to tell you all the details of season one to start watching season two.
00:18Right, off you go.
00:20She's going to recap it all in one breath right now.
00:23Warning.
00:24There will be spoilers.
00:25This is previously on The Rings of Power.
00:29Season one.
00:30Where are we?
00:31We're in Middle Earth.
00:32Tolkien's Middle Earth in the second age.
00:34The Lord of the Rings books and movies are in the third age.
00:38There is a first age, but we're not in that age.
00:41Edit this.
00:42This is good.
00:42You can make it get confusing.
00:43We'll make it more confusing.
00:45Right before our show begins, the first age of Middle Earth culminated in a massive battle,
00:51which forever changed the world that we live in.
00:54Many, many elves died.
00:56And the show picks up in season one with many characters believing that the evil is gone forever.
01:03We both play elves.
01:05We do.
01:05And...
01:06I'll just pretend like I'm not here.
01:09Elves are very serious.
01:12They live forever for a start.
01:14You can't beat that.
01:15The elves were a bit more messy before the third age.
01:18They're more reckless.
01:19They're more divided and they're less kind of peaceful and chill.
01:22And at the moment, they're really scared because evil is rising in the form of this guy over here.
01:30Yeah, just hanging out.
01:32Half-Foot's are the ancestors of the hobbits.
01:34The first half-foot's we meet, Nori, Poppy, Largo and Marigold, Sadik.
01:39Everything's seemingly going well in season one in the Half-Foot kind of world.
01:43And then the stranger literally falls from the sky.
01:47Nori then tumbles into this crater.
01:49And that is the catalyst for what happens next.
01:56So Gladryl is an elf.
01:57She's actually one of the older elves of Middle-earth.
02:00Older than the moon.
02:01This is a Gladryl thousands of years before the Gladryl that we all know and love, the Lady of Lothlorien.
02:07She has been on a quest to try and rid Middle-earth of this final kind of speck of evil from her greatest foe, Sauron.
02:17It's personal between Gladryl and Sauron because her brother was one of the elves that was killed.
02:24She has the dagger of her brother still, which is made of gold and silver from the elven realm, which is Valinor.
02:31That's kind of her last physical connection to this world before Sauron kind of ravaged her happiness.
02:40Before Sauron ravaged her.
02:44It's great, very Tolkien.
02:45But Gladryl is on a quest to avenge her brother.
02:47While on this quest, she ends up washed onto a raft where she meets Halbrandt, an unassuming mortal man.
02:55Just a good bloke.
02:57Yeah.
02:57And they find themselves in Numenor.
03:07Numenor.
03:08Numenor.
03:08Thank you with an R.
03:09Yeah, Numenor.
03:09Tap that R.
03:10Numenor.
03:11One of the questions one has asked is, are the Numenorians human?
03:15The short answer is yes.
03:17The longer answer is...
03:19I think humans, but with an asterisk.
03:21We've got a bit of elf in us, right?
03:23In the background.
03:24Humans that live for a very, very long time.
03:27How old are you?
03:27I think I'm meant to be like 80.
03:29Oh, I'm at least 156.
03:33Apparently, the Numenorian doesn't really get old.
03:35It just looks fantastic and then dies.
03:40Numenor is an island.
03:41I happen to be the captain of the ship, Elendil, and I discover Galadriel in the water with a
03:47very rough and ready man called Halbrandt.
03:50And I save them.
03:51Once I pick up Galadriel and Halbrandt, a very rough and ready character.
03:57He hasn't shaved for a long time.
03:58Rough and ready.
03:59There was problems.
04:00There's almost a fight immediately with that guy.
04:02He's like got a real attitude.
04:03It's a big deal to see any elf on our shores.
04:08And certainly Galadriel is not just any old elf.
04:12Well, she's old.
04:13She's been around for many.
04:14Any young elf.
04:15But she's a revered elf.
04:17And she brings forth a proposition to old Queenie.
04:22That's me.
04:23Sauron was once your people's enemy.
04:27As much as mine.
04:29I call on you to finish the task left undone.
04:31During her quest to try and find where this Sauron's hiding, she discovers a sigil.
04:38And luckily finds herself in Numenor, which has this extensive library of all the history of Middle
04:43Earth.
04:44And there she discovers that this isn't a sigil.
04:46It's a map.
04:47And it's a map to show where the evil will rise again.
04:53She says there's a dark force coming towards the Southlands.
04:56She feels that evil is rising again and we need to go and save the people of the Southlands.
05:00Come fight.
05:01Fight with me, essentially.
05:03Fight by my side.
05:04Bring your Numenorean armies and let us stamp out evil together.
05:09And we say, no way.
05:11Well, I don't say no way.
05:12She says, no way.
05:14And I do what I'm told.
05:15We do decide that she needs to leave the island and we send her on a ship.
05:19But just at that moment, the wind blows.
05:23Oh, yeah.
05:24And the leaves come off Nimloth, I think, if I'm not mistaken.
05:27The white tree of Nimloth.
05:28The white tree of Nimloth.
05:29It's a sign.
05:30It's a sign.
05:31We cannot let Galadriel go.
05:32We need to follow her path.
05:34Things are pretty bad in the Southlands.
05:36Orcs have kind of taken over and the orcs are abusing and frightening.
05:43Sorry.
05:44I just got a bit dazzled.
05:46Miel gives a rousing speech because she essentially needs to get the people on her side.
05:52I believe you were there for that speech.
05:54Feeling a bit inspired?
05:56I was a little bit inspired.
05:57Very inspired.
05:58Misty-eyed?
05:59No.
06:00Anyway, I convince the people and off to battle we go.
06:09It's us in our armor and our Numenorean finest on horses.
06:14Cynthia Adaya Robinson loves a horse.
06:17She thinks horses are fantastic and is very comfortable on the road.
06:21They're very smart animals.
06:22We arrive and we attempt to win the day, but we don't exactly get the result.
06:29We're hoping for celebrations happening in Tirharad that we, you know, captured Adar and, you
06:37know, the Numenorean saved the day and then the volcano happens and there's an eruption
06:41and everything boots off.
06:44Yeah.
06:45So there was an ancient plan that Adar had made.
06:49They have a sword which has been buried.
06:51Theo finds it.
06:52It changes hands throughout the season and it ends up with Adar and there's a brief sort
06:57of conflict about trying to get this sword.
07:00But Adar has, in secret, given it to his trusty sidekick, Waldreg.
07:05Yeah.
07:05And Waldreg goes and in his proudest moment, he opens the floodgates, quite literally.
07:20And as soon as the water hits that lava, there is an incredible explosion which turns light
07:26to dark, right?
07:27Yeah, science.
07:28And the burning fires of Mordor are created.
07:31The Shadowland has been created and so the orcs can run free, wild and happy.
07:36Makes it sound lovely.
07:38Yeah.
07:38Well, for them it is.
07:39For them it is.
07:40We awaken in the rubble of an explosion and volcano.
07:48Everyone's confused and delirious.
07:50I lead us into this little house to get people out of safety and I'm looking around and I
07:58can see that the building's about to fall down.
07:59I think you're pretty hellbent on still trying to save more and more people.
08:03I was trying to be a hero.
08:04I was trying to be a hero.
08:05Muriel is.
08:06I am.
08:07You know.
08:07But.
08:08Well, I was holding up a beam to make sure that Muriel could still get out and then I
08:12could see the building was collapsing.
08:13So Isildur grabs Muriel, throws her out and then gets buried under the building.
08:18And I am a little worse for wear.
08:24And it is not until we reconnect that we realize and understand that I am blinded.
08:32You're dead and I'm blind.
08:35And she tells me the news that my son is dead.
08:37It's a big day.
08:40Hilarious.
08:41Apparently it's funny that Isildur is dead.
08:48We are now in a place called Khazad-dum, a dwarven kingdom that's inside a mountain.
08:59Inside Khazad-dum, we have Prince Durin and Princess Disa.
09:05Hello.
09:06And we also have a King Durin as well who's reigning the throne.
09:12So, this is the first time we see speaking a female dwarf.
09:18Yay.
09:19And this is, yeah.
09:21And this is portrayed by the beautiful Sofia Nunvete.
09:26We forgot your name then.
09:28So the dwarf and elf relationship.
09:31It's a fairly complex one, but pretty straightforward really.
09:34They don't like each other.
09:35But what's unique about this season and about our series is that Elrond and Durin are very good friends.
09:42It's kind of this love triangle, isn't it?
09:46Why are you in love with Elrond?
09:48Prince Durin and Elrond have been, let's say, estranged.
09:52You know, time is a really big factor.
09:55There's a big difference between elven time and dwarven time.
09:59Twenty years have passed since Elrond and Durin last saw each other.
10:04And in that time…
10:05Hello.
10:06Twenty years may be the blink of a night in Elf.
10:11But I've lived an entire life in that time.
10:15A life you missed.
10:18Meanwhile, back in Lindon, the Elves' power and magic, I guess, is fading.
10:25Life is fading. They're doomed.
10:27Even the worlds that don't interact, there's these signs that something in Middle-earth is altering
10:32and that there's an imminent threat.
10:34You kind of see that manifest in different ways in each of the worlds.
10:37It's symbolised by the dying of the great tree in Lindon.
10:42The leaves begin to fall and wither.
10:44In Khazad-dûm, we've discovered a new ore, Mithril.
10:47Lighter than silk, harder than iron, as weaponry it would best our proudest blades.
10:54And I actually give him a little nugget.
10:58Not a poo, the Mithril.
11:00Poo?
11:01When do you call poo?
11:03Keep going, the camera's rolling.
11:05I give him a nugget of Mithril.
11:07Mithril.
11:10So, Durin and Elrond discover that this Mithril has qualities that could save all of Middle-earth.
11:19And we dig deeper against Durin's father's wishes.
11:23He then, literally, he catches his red-handed and he banishes Elrond and also disowns his son.
11:30Durin gave Elrond the Mithril, this little piece that he then gives to me.
11:36And they need to make use of the Mithril into some kind of talisman or they have a discussion about what can we make.
11:43They talk about crowns and then they think maybe rings would be good.
11:48Through Halbrand's suggestion that Keller Brimboar realises that he can make use,
11:53because he's having trouble making how to use the Mithril and there's too little of it.
11:57There's only a little nugget of it.
11:59But Halbrand says you should try mixing it in this way or that way and Keller Brimboar is seduced by that.
12:06Well, that is an intriguing suggestion.
12:14Call it a gift.
12:19So, we arrive back in Numenor to discover that the king, my father, has died.
12:26And it sets up the potential for a power struggle, certainly between myself and perhaps anyone else who is looking to attempt to steal the crown, as it were.
12:39Everyone's really chuffed because we've just discovered how to possibly save the elves on Middle-earth with the help of this unassuming man, Halbrand.
12:48However, Gladriel finds some more information.
12:52The last man to bear your crest died over a thousand years ago.
12:59He had no heir.
13:01And she slowly, devastatingly starts to realise that she's not only not talking to the heir of the Throne of the Southland,
13:10she's actually talking to Sauron himself.
13:14As a plain actor.
13:17And it's so annoying.
13:19That's dead as well.
13:20Tell me your name.
13:25I have been awake since before the breaking of the first silence.
13:30In that time, I have had many names.
13:39It leads them to the point of no return in the eighth episode when she figures out who he is.
13:44And he makes a pitch to her and says, join me.
13:47It's a great bit.
13:48The game is up.
13:49It's a brilliant bit.
13:50And she says no.
13:58After they have this big confrontation, Galadriel, and I think it's, I love this bit in the episode,
14:06she comes back to the workshop and she looks at Celebrimbor and she looks at Elrond.
14:12There's a moment where she could tell them that Halbrand is Sauron and she doesn't say anything.
14:18She's an elf disgrace.
14:20They're also under huge pressure from the king at that point as well.
14:23He's saying, you've got to sort this out.
14:25Well, they were going to make one and so after this realization that Sauron has returned and this
14:30insight into what absolute power can do, she realizes that there can't be one.
14:35One will always corrupt.
14:37Two will divide.
14:39With three, there is balance.
14:40Yes.
14:41And that is the moment that Galadriel's brother's dagger gets melted down and put into the mix with the mithril to create the rings.
14:49And don't put any of those on your fingers if someone offers you.
14:55Nori and the stranger have an argument.
14:57The stranger leaves.
14:58Nori then sees that people are hunting him and looking for him.
15:01So decides to go searching for him, as does Marigol, as does Satic, as does Poppy.
15:05They end up encountering these beings that are attempting to trap the stranger.
15:09And they get into this really huge fight and Satic ends up passing away.
15:14And then at the very end, Nori and the stranger are talking.
15:18And he mentions that he has to go away.
15:20So that kind of ignites a fire in Nori that she already had, but hadn't had the opportunity yet to explore,
15:26which is her need to go and explore the unknown.
15:28The last thing you see is them heading off on a new chapter and her saying goodbye to the Halfwits.
15:34There's a sweet smell on the air this way.
15:39When in doubt, Eleanor Brandyfoot.
15:45Always follow your nose.
15:47There is not a fan of Tolkien nor a fan of fantasy that will not be hugely excited about the introduction of, drum roll please.
15:59The Balrog.
16:05Seal it up.
16:06We can really feel that something is cooking. There's something simmering underground in the caves of Khazad-dûm.
16:14We know it's there. We don't know what it is as the dwarves, but you guys all know it is the Balrog.
16:20And we have it.
16:21You shall not pass.
16:27How'd I do? I'm so sorry, Ian. I'm so sorry.
16:33That is everything you need to know ahead of season one.
16:39That is everything to know ahead of rings of powers season two.
16:43Now let's do it with drama.
16:45As opposed to just saying it.
16:47And that is everything you need to know ahead of season two.
16:51And that is everything you need to know ahead of season two.
16:59You