5 Things Our Lord Of The Rings Expert Thinks Will Happen In Rings Of Power Season 3

Well, folks, season 3 of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is officially on the way. Or, well, mostly officially? Technically, as of this writing, the airwaves have remained silent regarding a formal renewal of Prime Video’s hit Second Age Middle-earth series for a third season (there are five seasons planned in all). However, in a recent interview with Screen Rant, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay definitively declared that they are working on season 3. Payne specifically said, “We’re prepping now, very, very intensely.” McKay added, “That’s all we can say!” So, yeah, despite the lack of an official confirmation from Amazon, more “Rings of Power” is on its way.

This isn’t a surprise. “Rings of Power” season 2 saw a sizable jump in ratings, ensuring that the appetite for the show’s sprawling and growing story isn’t abating. Payne and McKay also signed a multi-year deal with Amazon Studios earlier in 2024, part of which was to clear the way for them breaking ground on season 3.

Okay, so the next season of the show is officially in the works, but what does that mean for the “Rings of Power” story? This series spans the gamut (even more than most big-scale Middle-earth adaptations), and there are so many directions things could go next. There are some storylines that aren’t in the source material at this point, like the dwarves in Khazad-dûm or the hobbit ancestors wandering homeless across eastern regions of the continent, which makes predictions challenging. However, events are clearly in motion in more recognizable areas of Second Age Middle-earth, too, and it’s possible to make some educated guesses on what could come next.

Here’s what I’m predicting is in the pipeline for season 3, based on Tolkien’s writings, the pacing of the show, and the various storyline irons that Payne and McKay have in the fire right now.

Where did Rings of Power season 2 end?

Let’s start with a quick recap of where season 2 ended. After a slow start with season 1, its sequel picked up the pace and raised the stakes across the board. By the end of season 2, the Elvish stronghold of Eregion is wiped out (RIP Celebrimbor), and Elrond, Gil-galad, Galadriel, Arondir, and the rest of the survivors have hightailed it to a hidden oasis (which is pretty clearly the future spot for Rivendell).

The Elvish plight comes from their defeat at the hands of the rising Dark Lord Sauron, who killed Adar and seized his army in the finale. The Dwarves helped their Elvish counterparts escape annihilation in battle, but back in Khazad-dûm, they’ve lost their king, Durin III, to a Balrog, and their new king, Durin IV, faces external contenders to his throne and internal disruption from the Dwarven Rings of Power.

Meanwhile, in Rhûn in the East, the finale confirmed that the Stranger is a younger Gandalf. Nori and Poppy also left with the Stoors, presumably leading them to safety. They’re likely setting up the settling of the Shire here, but that isn’t one of my season 3 predictions. I think that’s coming later in the show, even if it doesn’t technically happen until well into the Third Age in the source material.

Elsewhere, on Numenor, the island nation of men is in turmoil as Míriel has been overpowered by her cousin, the newly crowned Ar-Pharazôn. Elendil has fled to find the Faithful, and Isildur and Kemen are making power plays in the Middle-earth colony of Pelargir.

The biggest development of season 2, though? Sauron is revealed. Like, really revealed. That means no more Annatar or Halbrand schticks. He is the Dark Lord incarnate with a home base in Mordor and an Orc army at his command. He has also distributed seven Rings of Power to the dwarves and has nine newly minted Rings of Power to hand out to Mortal Men Doomed to Die (more on that in a minute).

This is where things left off for season 2. So, where are things going next? Here are five predictions that I think are slam-dunk-certain to happen in season 3.

We’ve got to get the One Ring

The Second Age is the era of the forging of the Rings of Power and their initial impact on Middle-earth politics. Through the first two seasons of “The Rings of Power,” we’ve gotten the Three Elven Rings, the Seven Dwarven Rings, and now the Nine Rings for Men. That leaves just one ring — One Ring to Rule Them All.

The showrunners’ approach to the order of the forging of the Rings has been unusual. In the source material, the Seven and the Nine come first. Then, the Three are forged by Celebrimbor while Sauron is gone. The one area where the show and the source material will inevitably align, though, is with the One Ring. It comes last and is the greatest. As “The Silmarillion” puts it:

“Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last.”

In the original story, the forging of the One Ring is where things go wrong for Sauron. The Elves hide their Rings of Power, and that sparks the war where Sauron destroys Eregion, kills Celebrimbor, and reclaims the Seven and Nine rings. Obviously, in “The Rings of Power,” that Elven city is already in ruins, and Sauron has distributed the Seven and reclaimed the Nine.

So … where’s the One Ring then? It’s long overdue, and it’s hard to imagine not seeing it before season 3 ends. Even so, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show (which managed to drag out a Gandalf reveal for two seasons) protracts the forging of the One until the season 3 finale. Maybe Sauron distributes the Nine and realizes he wants more control over them all, so he forges the One? We’ll see. What I will say is, plan on the One Ring showing up in season 3 one way or another.

The Nazgûl are incoming

“The Lord of the Rings” has an obvious top-dog villain. The story is literally named after Sauron. However, the manifestation of his evil is often channeled through his most fearsome servants, the Nazgûl. By the time of the “Lord of the Rings” story, these Black Riders are already terrifying, Ring-wielding specters. “The Rings of Power” takes place thousands of years earlier, before this ennead of evil has formed — and I’m declaring now that we should expect to see the Ringwraith posse take shape in season 3.

One obvious reason for this is the show’s pacing. Season 1 ended with the forging of the Three Rings, and season 2 opened with those in full use. I would expect that same cadence with the Nine. Season 2 ended with the forging of the Nine Rings, and it makes sense that Sauron would get right to work in season 3, finding recipients for those horrifying gifts.

The other reason I expect the Ringwraiths to debut in season 3 is that I’m pretty sure we’ve already seen several characters set up to eventually become Nazgûl. Kemen is a prime target. (Witch-king, anyone?) Isildur’s love interest, Estrid, is betrothed to a wild Southlander named Hagen, who I think also has potential for corruption here. There are plenty of others, like the Dark Wizard’s unruly ruffians in Rhûn. (I’ll state for the record once again, though, that I don’t think Theo will become a Black Rider — I think he’ll have a more tragic fate.)

“The Silmarillion” summarizes the Nazgûl (most of whom are unnamed) as follows:

“Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old.”

Expect Sauron to spend a good chunk of season 3 picking out this menagerie of minions and gifting them with Rings of Power.

We’ve got to get Celeborn

This next one is a prediction based not so much on the natural flow of the source material as a major oversight on the part of the “Rings of Power” story creators. Guys, with all due respect, please hear me when I say: where the heck is Celeborn? Galadriel’s husband was referenced once in season 1 when she talked about his clam-like armored appearance and how he was lost in battle. That’s it. No more missing husband talk.

While I am enjoying this show, I have to admit that not having Celeborn in the series so far has bordered on adaptive negligence. He’s a key part of Galadriel’s story, and their daughter is supposed to marry Elrond. Celeborn is an Elven prince and a major political and military mover and shaker in Tolkien’s Second Age. And yet, here we are, entering season 3 without a shred of evidence that he’s even alive still. (Sure, we know he has to show up sooner or later, but you can’t have much influence when you’re missing in action.)

Instead of working Celeborn into a position in the story, we’ve got Galadriel and Elrond (two future in-laws, mind you) smooching on screen (I don’t care if Elrond actor Robert Aramayo thought it was non-romantic) while Celeborn is nowhere to be found.

Again, I say this with all due respect to the storytelling process, and I understand that this is an adaptation, not a shot-for-shot depiction of what Tolkien wrote. But still, I can’t help but shout from the rooftops at this point: where is this guy? We need him in here!

If I had to make an educated guess, I think Celeborn will arrive as part of Galadriel’s ongoing rehabilitation process. In an interview with Screen Rant, actor Morfydd Clark pointed out that Galadriel’s second rejection of Sauron at the end of season 2 marked a commitment to loving, caring, and hoping. She added, “I feel it’s this big new chapter to where she’s kind of becoming so much closer to the Lady of Light that we know.” Celeborn is a big part of that Lady of Light narrative, so expect season 3 to feature the Elven prince’s long overdue debut in Payne and McKay’s adaptation.

Gandalf will confront a Blue Wizard and stir up resistance to Sauron in the East

Gandalf. Isn’t it nice to finally just say it? I was always on team Blue Wizard, but there were so many hints that the Stranger was Gandalf throughout the first two seasons that it finally became a relief to just be able to embrace the adaptive adjustment to the source material and move on with our lives. Now that we know Daniel Weyman’s wizard is officially the Grey Wizard, we can start considering what his role could be in a Second Age story.

My guess, especially in the immediate future of season 3, is that we’re going to see Gandalf get to know the Dark Wizard a bit more. I don’t know if they’ll have a direct confrontation in the next season, but I do expect to see Gandalf learn a lot more about Rhûn and how the Dark Wizard (who is most likely a Blue Wizard) is terrorizing the area. In a letter in 1958, Tolkien said of the Blue Wizards operating in Eastern Middle-earth:

“What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.”

If the Dark Wizard is a Blue Wizard, he is likely a very powerful, corrupt spiritual being who will require being put in his place. My guess is that Gandalf’s main role in the show will be to undermine the corrupt Blue Wizard’s influence in Eastern Middle-earth as an “early mission” before he doubles back to the Western regions to combat Sauron in the “Lord of the Rings” story we know and love.

That said, did you notice the plural? There are two Blue Wizards in Tolkien’s texts. If this guy is a Blue, where is his partner in crime? Did they have a falling out? Is he going to show up at some point? I also expect some clarity on that detail in season 3.

Númenorean armies will return to Middle-earth

Finally, we have Númenor. The island nation has the most potential in this show, and yet, through two seasons, it has felt like it’s spinning its wheels. The drama on Númenor has understandably been politics-heavy so far (don’t worry, it’ll pick up). Even so, it’s just been downright confusing. Míriel’s role has been inflated compared to the source material, and right up to the end of season 2, it was unclear who was really going to win the power struggle left by the season 1 finale death of the island’s king, Tar-Palantir.

At the end of the second season, that question was put to bed. Ar-Pharazôn is in charge now, and Míriel, Elendil, and their Faithful, Elf-loving friends are officially the underdogs. This is what I’ve been waiting for. What’s Gandalf’s line from “The Return of the King”? The board is set, the pieces are moving. Expect the Númenor storyline to really get going heading into season 3.

Specifically, I think we’ll see Ar-Pharazôn consolidate power, build up his armies, and start colonizing Middle-earth like wildfire. (He already made some comments about the commercial potential of the mainland in season 1.) By the end of the season, we might even see him arrive on the shores of the continent in glorious splendor at the head of an army so magnificent that Sauron’s servants abandon him, and the Dark Lord himself willingly surrenders to his overpowering island-dwelling opponents. The short version of all of this? Expect Númenoréan power to explode in season 3, setting the stage for its Atlantean downfall in the following season. You heard it here first, folks.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Prime Video.