Charlie Vickers as Sauron; Morfydd Clark as Galadriel

The second season of The Rings of Power sure does explain how “they were all of them deceived.” There’s still a bit more to get to, with the season’s eighth and final episode set to drop on Thursday, October 3, but there’s already a lot to chew on.

Season two of the Amazon Prime show has seen some characters take on a bigger role than what they had in the first season. For others, their screen time or impact — or both — dwindled.

Below, we’ll go through the top 10 characters based on their level of impact and how compelling they were. (Bookmark this page if you want to see the final set of character rankings for the second season of The Rings of Power following the finale.)

10. Tom Bombadil

Rory Kinnear as “Tom Bombadil”
Who doesn’t love Old Tom?

The biggest character not featured in the Peter Jackson films is finally getting his due. Now, Old Tom hasn’t been able to have as direct of an impact on the plot of this season, but he’s doing a lot to develop The Stranger (who still seems to be Gandalf).

Bombadil also provides some interesting background into the Dark Wizard, as well. But there hasn’t been as much movement when it comes to The Stranger and Nori. Definitely some interesting bits of lore and connecting of dots, but not as much of a direct impact yet.

That said, I could listen to Old Tom talk about anything.

9. Princess Disa

Sophia Nomvete as Disa; Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV
King Durin’s wild season two has weighed particularly heavily on his son and daughter-in-law. For Princess Disa, she also experienced an extra level of frustration with her inability to communicate with the mountain — although, she did redeem herself on that front later. But while King Durin is creating all the problems in Khazad-dum, Princess Disa and Prince Durin are the driving forces pushing back.

And let’s be clear: Prince Durin is standing up to his old man in a big way, but he absolutely needs every ounce of support and pushback he’s gotten from Princess Disa.

8. Queen Miriel

Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel
Of this group, she’s had the least amount of screen time. But, what she has done with her opportunities is a different conversation.

Despite her own mistakes, Queen Miriel has been the center of political manipulation. Between Earin’s betrayal on Pharazon’s behalf and Pharazon’s quick-thinking when the eagle showed up in S2E3 (The Eagle and Sceptre), a moment that should have been hers was stolen. If you weren’t already thinking the eagle showed up for Queen Miriel, her attempted sacrifice on Elendil’s behalf proved she’s a true leader — both in terms of personality and a divine sense.

“Queen of the Sea” indeed. It may have been quick and quiet, her scene with the sea worm was amazing.

7. King Durin

Peter Mullan as King Durin III
It’s been quite a rough go for the King of Khazad-dum. Fighting with his son. Fighting with his daughter-in-law. Corrupted by one of the rings of power. Although he may feel good about himself, a lot has gone wrong for King Durin. And there’s only more to come.

But, these factors are what makes him among this season’s best. The most important thing he’s done above all else is illustrate what the rings of power can do. We’ve seen High King Gil-galad reaching for his ring every five seconds. Galadriel has provided a nice before and after look. But it’s King Durin who has shown what happens when a different species is handed one of these rings.

Imagine what’ll happen when the nine get their rings? (That is, before they turn into wraiths.)

6. Elrond

Robert Aramayo as Elrond
As much as Galadriel in season one was very different from the one fans met in The Fellowship of the Ring, Elrond in season one felt like an even greater shift.

That said, it was essential to establish the diplomatic side of Elrond, given the role he plays in the destruction of the One Ring. But between the character’s known prowess as both a warrior and leader, as well as Hugo Weaving portrayal in Jackson’s films, this younger version of Elrond was quite the change.

The second season of The Rings of Power has shown the start of Elrond’s evolution into a warrior. More importantly, we learn about the additional layers that lead to his hardening beyond his combat experience (Galadriel’s behavior, his relationship with Prince Durin).

5. Prince Durin

Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV
Standing up to a parent is a big step for anyone. Now, imagine that parent is one of your species’ most powerful kings. Yeah, no thanks.

Princess Disa has helped Prince Durin on this front in a lot of ways. But, he’s still the face of the group that stands opposite of King Durin. Also, he’s managed to ride that momentum to place himself among the impressive leaders who have proven themselves throughout this season.

Prince Durin still has as tough a road ahead as any going into the final episode. Hard to imagine anyone supplants the characters that make up season two’s top three, but he’s knocking on the door.

4. Galadriel

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel
She was probably No. 2 in the first season, but that’s also because there was such a heavy focus on her and Halbrand. We still spent a lot of time with Galadriel, but other characters got fleshed out more in season 2.

The big thing going for Galadriel: her season two was the inverse of her season one. This go-around, she was struggling to start things off. But now, she seems to have a clear head and is back on track.

But make no mistake, she’s still going through a lot. What happened with Celebrimbor is partially on her. She wasn’t manipulated by her ring to the level of King Durin, but she was far worse off than High King Gil-galad. Elrond has been furious with her. Adar was able to work her over.

Morfydd Clark has been asked to do a lot with this character, and she’s risen to the occasion at every turn. Regardless of whether she’s making another mistake or mixing in another killer action sequence, Galadriel has been outstanding.

3. Celebrimbor

Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor
LOTR fans knew it was going to be a rough go for Celebrimbor, but my goodness. If not for that little mouse, he might still be stuck in that loop. (I wonder if the rat from Avengers: Endgame is a descendent of this mousse…)

No one has looked worse this season than Celebrimbor. He fell into Sauron’s trap more easily than anyone, even though Galadriel gave him the heads up to stay away from Halbrand at the end of season one.

But that’s the brilliance of Sauron. They don’t call him the deceiver for nothing.

Charles Edwards had a tough task with this character. Similar to Galadriel, but on an even larger scale, he ran the gamut of emotions. Yet up until the end, he was frustratingly compelling.

2. Elendil

Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel; Lloyd Owen as Elendil
I don’t say this lightly: I’d run through a wall for the captain.

Of the characters featured prominently in season one of The Rings of Power, no one’s stock rose more than Elendil’s in season two. Heck, his devotion to Queen Miriel is part of why she makes this list.

Now, as a parent, he may be lacking. He still thinks Isildur is dead, and Earin is just about as insufferable as it gets — only to be outdone by that weasel Kemen. His failures as a father may be the result of his sense of duty — plus, he’s a single parent — but he still isn’t even the worst father featured on this show.

What’s so amazing about Lloyd Owen’s performance and the way he’s been written this season: Elendil went from a stiff rule-follower to someone who pushes back when needed. Like so many others, a lot has gone wrong for Elendil this season. No one, however, has responded as powerfully as him.

“Faith is not faith if it is not lived.”

1. Sauron

Charlie Vickers as Sauron
You can make arguments for reshuffling various groupings on this list, but there’s no question who reigns supreme. Or…does that mean he’s got his hooks into me, too?

Charlie Vickers has been brilliant. This character comes with loftier expectations than any, yet Vickers has come through every step of the way.

Sauron has twisted everyone in knots throughout the season, but the manner in which the writers tried to use him to mess with viewers was perfect. His whole bit about Morgoth’s cruelty may be fair, but this idea that Sauron just wants to help everyone is laughable. It’s not really considered help when everything has to be on your terms.

Yet, Vickers and the writers do an amazing job of making it seem like that’s what Sauron is trying to do. But while some villains who think they’re heroes wind up being exposed by their plan (a la Thanos), Sauron’s personality is what reveals him to be the monster that he is.