One of the big questions fans have had in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is how Sauron manages to seed out his poison to the rest of Middle-earth. He has already given the Dwarves seven rings in Season 2 — namely, King Durin III in Khazad-dûm. This corrupted the king to be a cold ruler.

Luckily, the Elves have been more tempered with their approach in using their three rings. This led to questions about the nine that Men would receive in the J. R. R. Tolkien novels. Avid readers know they are the most evil of them, all due to what they bring about. Season 2 has answered why this is and how it will create Sauron’s macabre legion of enforcers.

Rings of Power Season 2 Confirms Sauron’s Blood Is in the Rings

Sauron Swaps His Essence In For Mithril

Disguised as Annatar in Eregion, Sauron has been using mithril in the Forge. This was why he kept trying to broker deals with King Durin: to get more mithril to make the rings powerful. But when the king ignored Sauron’s pleas, he decided to perfect his metallurgy with Celebrimbor by secretly cutting his hand. Sauron turned his blood into a small vial of fake mithril, which is a deception that shows his full power.

Sauron warped the Forge to make Celebrimbor use this “mithril,” without realizing war was occurring outside the walls. Little did the forger know, he wasn’t perfecting evil out of this new set of rings — he was adding to it. This melting pot had Sauron’s full rage, which is what the dark lord thinks will give him full control over the wearers of the bands when the time comes at the end of the Second Age of Middle-earth the show is set in.

Rings of Power Season 2 Teases the Rise of the Nazgûl

Sauron’s Blood Gives Him a Way to Mold the Nine Men

The big question is how Sauron would get these rings to Men and what they will do. Readers of the Tolkien novels know these nine Men were power-hungry. They were known as Black Riders, Ringwraiths, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or the Nine, in the Third Age. Little else is known about them, except they were lords: three of whom came from Númenor.

These mortals became warped by the rings, which served Sauron’s One Ring. They rode black horses and dragon-like creatures, which were seen in the Peter Jackson movies. With Sauron now leaving the Forge with the rings in the Season 2 finale, the stage is set for Rings of Power Season 3 to have him use these relics. They are extensions of him, so it will be easy to seduce the Men and have them change form into these monsters.

Rings of Power Season 2 Finale Details

Episode Title
Writer
Director
Episode No.
Release Date

“Shadow and Flame”
J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay
Charlotte Brändström
8
Oct. 3, 2024

Sauron changed form all season long, not just as a human, but also, showing he was a creature akin to something from a David Cronenberg or John Carpenter movie. With these rings, he can bend mortals’ minds. Much like Smeagol and Gollum changed when they found the One Ring, the bodies of these lords will be altered to give Sauron his army. These rings are indeed Trojan horses, which may well end up being along the lines of symbiotes and parasites.

Ultimately, it’s almost certain the wicked ruler of Númenor, Pharazôn, and his son, Kemen, will get two. One certainty is that Sauron has a new mission to find these acolytes. Audiences know the Nazgûl would die when Frodo and the Fellowship destroy Sauron’s ring years later, but at least, now passionate fans have more of the riders’ origin story the books skimped on.