Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 8 Review + Sauron and Gandalf Ending Explained

Oh Damn! If you have seen today’s episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, you know what I am talking about. Throughout its run, this show was too good to be on TV, experience-wise but the series seemed to be struggling to find its ground in storytelling. Now that is in the past as LOTR: The Rings of Power has delivered a massively improved narrative since Episode 4 and Episode 6 managed to outdo all our expectations!  Episode 7 served as a buildup to the events of the finale and today came the main event. So, without further ado, let us get to the our verdict for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 8! WARNING – MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Review Marathon – Episode 1 & 2 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 / Episode 5 / Episode 6 / Episode 7

Rating – ★★★★★

Lord of the Rings: ROP Episode 8 Review – One Finale to Rule Them All!

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power just delivered a shocking, and heartwarming finale which has left fans rooting for more. It wasn’t at all explosive or feature high budget battles or action sequences, but it still managed to be the best episode of the series. It was subtle in its story-telling technique but revealed a lot, suggesting that the series is just getting started now! They took their sweet time but in the end it paid off as fans are now more hyped than ever, even though they have a long 1-2 year wait ahead of them.

First things first, staying true to our theories and the leaks we brought to you earlier, Halbrand was revealed to be Sauron and the stranger was revealed to be Gandalf. While the Halbrand-Sauron reveal was pretty obvious, Gandalf reveal was much more subtle. So apparently, Halbrand worked alongside the elves because they shared a common enemy in the form of Adar. That was until Galadriel found out that there hasn’t been an heir to the Southlands in over a 1000 years and confronted Halbrand. As a result, he revealed that he was indeed Sauron and tried to win Galadriel to his side by entering her mind. This sequence featured some impressive visuals, however, it didn’t make much sense. Anyways, Halbrand/Sauron left and reached Mordor towards the end of the episode whereas Galadriel, Elrond and co successfully created the 3 Eleven Rings.

Ironically, the three Elven Rings of Power were crafted as per a valuable suggestion given by Halbrand himself. He may have intended to steal them but Galadriel found out about him and we didn’t get to learn what his plan was. The very final scene of the season was a close up shot of the three rings and during the credits, we heard the iconic hymn about the Rings of Power which was beautifully sung. Coming back to the reveals, The Stranger arc, which was the worst of this season, concluded in a rather satisfying manner.

In the opening, we were mislead into believing that The Stranger was Sauron but that was clarified halfway through the episode. In a CGI heavy and tensed confrontation, Nori convinced the stranger that he was a good man and as a result The Stranger effectively put an end to the 3 dark wizards tailing him since the beginning of the series. Just before being killed, they yelled “He’s the other one.., the Istar” which made fans believe that he was indeed their favorite Gandalf, the Grey. This was later confirmed when he said to Nori, “When in doubt, Nori Brandyfoot, always follow your nose” which is one of the most iconic lines by Gandalf in LOTR.

Some fans are a little confused by this because according to the books, Istar arrived on Middle Earth in the third age. However, Amazon has decided to involve the fan favorite character of Gandalf in the second age itself. Well, according to Gandalf himself, his age was approximately 24000 years during the events of LOTR , Tolkien texts show that his physical age on Middle Earth was just over 2000 years during those events. But anyways, most of us are happy to have him and accept this slight change in the lore with open arms.

Unfortunately, all these reveals left no time for any appearance by Adar, Arondir, Durin, Theo or Isildur. Guess, Isildur will have to wait to be rescued by his horse till season 2. That aside, The King of Numenor has breathed his last and with his dying breath he revealed the secrets of the realm to Earien. There was one tender moment shared by Elendil and Miriel as well. In short, this episode wasn’t at all boring and managed to not just keep us interested but also get us hyped for the future seasons. As for the technical aspects, the visuals were as stunning and the sound design was as mesmerizing as the rest of the season.

Final Verdict – Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 8 managed to deliver all we expected from it. Some surprising revelations, a few heartfelt moments, mind-boggling audio-visual experience, and the formation of the very first rings of power make it one of the absolute best pieces of LOTR content. But ultimately, its effectiveness depends on what the future seasons hold in store for us. As an individual season, however, it manages to be reasonably impressive and leaves a scope for a massive and involving storyline. Only if it was paced a bit more skillfully, it could have been the best thing to have ever aired on TV.

Final Rating for LOTR: ROP – ★★★★

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