‘LOTR: The Rings Of Power’ Season 1 Finale: Showrunners & EP Talk Sauron Twist, Tease “Grittier” Season 2, & New Characters From Tolkien Canon

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 finale, which just dropped on Amazon Prime Video tonight.

For even more on the LOTR season closer, check out Deadline’s Inside the Ring, the Rings of Power after show on October 15. Right now, watch past episodes here. “Season 2 is fundamentally different in that our main villain is out and about, and doing his thing,” The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power executive producer Lindsey Weber reveals of what’s coming in Amazon Prime Video’s next installment of its J.R.R.

Tolkien adaptation. “I think in some ways, it’s going to grittier, more intense, maybe a little scarier,” the EP adds. That villain is of course Sauron, and the just released Season 1 finale unveiled would-be blacksmith and King of the Southlands Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) to be the deposed Dark Lord himself.

The real identity of Sauron was the big question heading into the final episode of RoP Season 1, and, after some narrative sleight of hand, we finally got our answer, as well as a boatload of betrayal and new journeys to sail into Season 2.