The Rings of Power Season 2’s Shocking Opening Scene Revealed by Showrunners

The Rings of Power Season 2 is almost here, and the showrunners are revealing an opening scene that will probably surprise a lot of Lord of the Rings fans: 

“We open in the darkness, an orc walks in, and we see there are thousands of orcs gathered,” showrunner Patrick Mckay revealed to Total Film. “He’s about to be crowned, pitching his vision of Middle-earth, and right before they lay the crown on his head, his right-hand man, Adar, turns it upside down, and stabs him in the back. It’s the assassination of Sauron.”

The Rings of Power is once again expanding upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore by filling in details of Sauron’s conflict with Adar (who will be played in Season 2 by Sam Hazeldine, taking over for actor Joseph Mawle). Adar is the “father” of the Uruk (orcs), and Hazeldine has teased that matters of orc lives will be a focal point of the Season 2 storyline: 

“At the beginning of the season, Adar is kind of in an existential crisis because he doesn’t really know what to do next,” Hazeldine previously told EW. “Sure, they’re going to have to deal with various attacks, but he’s finished what he set out to do. He took on the responsibility of caring for these children of his and finding them a home, and now he’s done that. This sets up his call to adventure in season 2.” 

The actor added that Adar is “doing what he feels he has to do to save them from the genocide, whether that would be from Sauron, who sees them as cannon fodder, or from the elves.” 

Rings of Power Season 1 went for the bait-and-switch surprise of making viewers initially think that Adar and his dark campaign of orc conquest in the Southlands were actually Sauron reincarnated. This opening flashback of Season 2 will fill in the gap between Sauron’s secret cultivation of dark creatures descended from his master, Morgoth, to where he was deposed as leader and took on other forms (starting out as “Halbrand”) to influence Middle-earth and its peoples through whispers of innovation that led to the Rings of Power being created. 

Opening Season 2 with a look at the pivotal moment between Adar and Sauron is another way in which The Rings of Power can offer Tolkien fans content they want to see and feel is relevant to depict. It’s also clearly a set up to make Sauron a much bigger focus of Season 2 now that he’s been revealed:

“Right from the beginning, Sauron is the center of gravity,” McKay added. “It’s an ensemble show, but the focus is starting to get pulled towards him. He’s driving everything.”

Fine by us…

The Rings of Power Season 2 will stream weekly on Amazon Prime Video starting on August 29th.