‘The Rings of Power’ series finale review: Sauron’s delicious game of gaslighting finds epic stride in Middle Earth

The season finale of The Rings of Power’s second outing may not have completely answered every burning question or placated Tolkien purists, but it did accomplish something far more ambitious: it finally made the show feel less like a billion-dollar gamble and more like a living, breathing chronicle of Middle-earth. What started as a glossy, uneven, attempt to reignite the magic of Tolkien’s world has evolved into something richer, bolder, and surprisingly confident. After a first season that felt like it was tiptoeing around its own grandiosity, the showrunners seem to have embraced the absurd scale and endless lore of the source material, and the result is nothing short of an epic crescendo.

This sophomore season took many of the tepid criticisms from its freshman outing to heart, and the finale is proof of that course correction. While season one had all the hallmarks of a massive TV spectacle — the sprawling landscapes, the impeccably polished CGI, and, of course, the weight of Tolkien’s legacy pressing down like an anvil — it felt like a gilded cage. Beautiful, but somehow trapped in its own expectations. But with a little nudge from a purely, well-meaning Dark Lord, the series seems emancipated from those shackles.

Characters and subplots that once felt peripheral now coalesce in ways that elevate the show’s central themes, especially those around power, corruption, and the temptation of evil. The result is a more coherent narrative, albeit with still a way to go. 

Sauron’s shadow thankfully looms even larger in this season. Charlie Vickers’ “the great deceiver” is slow-burn villainy at its finest — a charming master manipulator with a facade so provocatively convincing. Opposite him, Charles Edwards’ Celebrimbor is equally magnetic — a visionary consumed by faith and ambition, yet oblivious to the noose tightening around him. Their scenes are a tragic pas de deux of trust and betrayal, with Edwards’ subtle unravelling matching Vickers’ sinister grace. When Sauron’s true nature is revealed, it’s not a punch to the gut, rather a blade inching its way into the jugular all season. Together, they elevate The Rings of Power into an intimate, psychological tragedy cloaked in epic stakes.

A still from ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2
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Amazon Prime Video

The vast, battle-heavy conclusion delivers the expected spectacle, and here, the series outshines nearly every other fantasy competitor. Whether it’s the shimmering glow of war-torn Eregion or the thunderous clash with Durin’s Bane deep within Khazad-dûm, the visuals in this finale are phenomenal. Still, amidst the fiery blades and crumbling fortresses, the narrative retains an emotional core — with Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his poignant, if too brief, relationship with his father, King Durin III. Their strained kinship, moulded by duty and stubborn pride, humanised the moment, even as a Balrog and mithril mines threaten to steal the scene.

Where so many fledgling efforts hedge their bets, seeking to ground their fresh fantasies in gritty realism, The Rings of Power revels in the luminous beauty of Middle-earth. It invites us to marvel at the sheer wonder of it all, from the shimmering lights of Valinor to the treacherous light refracting off molten mithril in a way that makes you feel the weight of history being made. There’s a purity to this world, a refusal to dim the magic for the sake of prestige. Even when the plot falters, the grandeur never does.

And this is where the show strikes gold. While The Rings of Power might not be for everyone, particularly those longing for the tonal grittiness of perhaps Westeros, it offers something else: a return to the awe that fantasy once commanded. In a sense, it asks us to remember what it feels like to believe in the extraordinary, to lose oneself in a world where the forces of good and evil are still battling for dominion — with all the beauty, peril, and wonder that entails.

For all its triumphs however, the show is (still) struggling with a few of its weaker elements. The Harfoots, largely sidelined in the finale, continue to feel disconnected from the main plot, their arc seemingly tacked on to add moments of whimsy to the darkening world. It’s no surprise we may not see much more of them in seasons to come.

A marvelous denoument to Sam Hazeldine’s Adar felt poetic, but left a bittersweet afterthought knowing we won’t be seeing any more of his superb turn either. But hey, at least we got a tacky “Grand-Elf” name-drop in the bargain — a reveal far too on the nose for it have kept us waiting this long.

As season two comes to a close, it’s clear that The Rings of Power has learned from its first season’s stumbles. It’s more confident in its storytelling, more assured in its character arcs, and unafraid to fully embrace the expansive mythos of Middle-earth. While it may never fully shake the shadow of Peter Jackson’s films, the show is carving its own path. Middle-earth is, once again, a place of wonder, of danger, and of irresistible allure. And for that, we can only be grateful.

All episodes of The Rings of Power are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video