Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 5.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally introducing what it has promised since the beginning: rings. In Season 2, Episode 5, “Halls of Stone,” the seven Dwarven Rings of Power come into play, with King Durin III (Peter Mullan) of Khazad-dûm wearing his for the first time. This is the second batch of Rings of Power in the series, and they have affected the Dwarves in a much different way than the three Elven rings affect their bearers. There are some important reasons for this that are mentioned in the episode itself, but there are other, more complex reasons for this as well.
Sauron Is Directly Involved in Forging the Dwarven Rings of Power
The forging of the seven Dwarven Rings takes place in the last scene of Episode 3, “The Eagle and the Scepter.” King Durin III is there, along with his son, Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his wife, Disa (Sophia Nomvete). The process is conducted by Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), the chief Elven-smith in Eregion, and Annatar (Charlie Vickers). Before Celebrimbor adds mithril to the alloy that will become the rings, Annatar gets in front of him, hand outstretched, to do it. Annatar, who, unknown to everyone present, is really Sauron in disguise, adds the last bit of metal to the seven Dwarven Rings of Power.
In “Halls of Stone,” the finished rings are presented to Durin the Elder, who puts his on right away. He immediately starts acting differently, claiming he can now “see the mountain” and finding openings to new sunshafts in Khazad-dûm. He is more confident than ever — and greedier, too. Before wearing the ring, he was known for being careful and respectful to the mountain under which his realm lies, but all that suddenly vanishes as he revokes all the safety measures he had put in place himself decades earlier. His orders are now to dig deeper into the mountain, mining for gold, mithril, and other riches, ignoring warnings about the mountain’s stability and the presence of an ancient and powerful evil that lies beneath the mountain: the Balrog.
The fact that Sauron takes an active part in the forging of the seven Dwarven Rings of Power means that their essence is corrupt, although he tries to blame their corruption on Celebrimbor’s lie to Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) about the closing of his forge. Powerful as they may be, whoever wears them is under his influence somehow. In J.R.R. Tolkien‘s writings, the Dwarves are known to be resistant to Sauron’s direct dominion over the rings, but the malice present in the pieces themselves still drives them greedier and greedier. Durin the Elder’s behavior is an example of this, and the obsession with wealth will eventually prove to be extremely dangerous. In Khazad-dûm, for example, digging ever deeper will awaken the Balrog. In other Dwarven realms, these riches will attract dragons and other monsters.
While Sauron Influences the Elven Rings, He Doesn’t Forge Them
There are a total of nineteen Rings of Power in Tolkien’s Legendarium, not counting the One Ring, forged by Sauron alone. Of those, the Dark Lord is present and takes an active part in the forging of sixteen of them: the seven Dwarven Rings and the nine Rings of Men. The only three that are made independently of him are the three Elven Rings, which, in the books, Celebrimbor forges by himself after the sixteen, and, in The Rings of Power, he forges before, but also without Sauron.
This doesn’t mean that the Three are free from Sauron’s influence, however; they still forged using his advice and procedures. This means that they are not inherently evil or corrupt like the other rings. The Three are meant to preserve, heal, and protect rather than dominate, which aligns with the Elves’ goal of maintaining beauty and order in Middle-earth. Some time later, Sauron himself uses the same techniques to forge his own One Ring, which becomes the master of all other Rings of Power. The Three are also tied to the One, but not necessarily to Sauron himself. For example, Gil-galad wears Vilya, Círdan (Ben Daniels) wears Narya, and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) wears Nenya until the One Ring is forged, when they immediately take them off. In the Third Age, after Sauron’s defeat in the War of the Last Alliance and before the War of the Ring, the Three are worn by Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and Galadriel, respectively, but, since the One is lost and Sauron is weakened, they don’t have much influence over these rings.
Another important aspect is that Elves are naturally much more powerful than Dwarves. All the Elves who wear the Three are known to possess immense wisdom, power, and innate resistance to external domination, including Gandalf, who is not an Elf. They are among the most powerful beings in Middle-earth, and their willpower and spiritual strength allow them to wield the Elven Rings without falling under Sauron’s control — provided, again, that the One Ring is not in play.
The Rings of Power Affect Their Bearers in Different Ways
Despite the differences in how the Rings of Power influence them, all races are affected by them, to a greater or smaller degree. In The Rings of Power, even the Elves can be said to be affected, since they experience visions of the future and have enhanced feelings about what may happen. Another effect is how the Three initially sow discord among the Elves, with Elrond being adamant about destroying them, while the others defend using them to preserve the Light of the Eldar in Middle-earth. Something similar happens to the Dwarves, with Durin the Younger and Disa opposing Durin the Elder’s use of his ring.
The fact that each race reacts differently to their own rings is perhaps the greatest flaw in Sauron’s plan to dominate them with the Rings of Power. The only ones that work according to his designs are the nine Rings of Men, which enslave their bearers to the point of turning them into Ringwraiths, the Nazgûl. As the seven Dwarven Rings are now in play, the Nine are the only ones left to show up in the series. Annatar continues to press Celebrimbor into forging them, and finally manages to draw him to the project at the end of the episode.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S. New episodes air weekly on Thursdays.
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