The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9 will not be airing on Amazon Prime Video. This is because Amazon has been producing each installment with eight episodes, as reflected in the episode count of both season 1 and 2.

Moreover, the recent posts on the show’s Instagram handle refer to episode 8, titled Shadow and Flame, as season finale and mention that all episodes are already available for streaming.

Confirming the absence of The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9, one of the posts uploaded on September 30 reads:

“The tides of fate are flowing. Season 2 Finale this Thursday.”

The other Instagram post reads:

“Each fight is personal. Dive into the critical scenes with Sauron, Celebrimbor, and Galadriel. All episodes available now on Prime Video.”

While the ending of the second season leaves numerous plotlines unresolved, these will not be explored in any potential The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9. Instead, they will likely be further explored in a third season, which will also consist of eight episodes, if Amazon’s current production scheduling holds.

The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power is based on J.R.R. Tolkein’s legendarium, specifically his Middle-Earth stories. Unlike Peter Jackson’s largely faithful adaptations, the series takes considerable liberties with the source material, thanks to the unique nature of the deal Amazon has with the Tolkien estate.

The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9 has not been produced, but season 3 is on cards

Instead of The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9, a third season has been teased by actor Ismael Cruz Cordova, who portrays Silvan Elf Arondir. In a September 2024 interview with Variety, he said:

“As far as I know, they did kind of confirm that we’re going for a third. I haven’t seen any scripts, though. I would love to. But I’m pretty sure we’re going for a third.”

According to The Irish Times, Amazon has reportedly invested close to a billion dollars in getting the show off the ground, with storylines planned that could go on for at least five seasons. Going by the absence of a Rings of Power season 2 episode 9, future seasons will also likely be eight episodes each.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners Patrick McCay and J.D Payne had this to say about their plans for Rings of Power season 3:

“All we can say is, we’re working on it. We’re cooking. Let us cook!”

Director Charlotte Brändström discusses the plot of The Rings of Power season 2

Even though Rings of Power season 2 episode 9 isn’t part of its schedule, director Charlotte Brändström discussed the plotlines during an interview with Nerdist, published on October 4, 2024. She spoke about ending Adar’s long-standing reign over the orcs, and what it was like spelling out his demise as he made way for Sauron’s ascension. She said:

“You can’t say somebody is a hundred percent evil, and I feel like Adar has his terrible, very violent, very crazy moments. But his ultimate motivation is he’s the father of all the Orcs and he wants to create a home for them.”

The Swedish-French director continued:

“So when he realizes he’s failed, he goes to Galadriel, and he tries to basically turn around and have her help him to do this. And then, obviously, he loses his life.”

Brändström characterized Sauron’s defeat of Adar as an act of sadistic revenge. The moment of Adar’s demise is portrayed as everything coming full circle from how his reign had originally started.

With Sauron ascending to the commander of the orcs, the episode climaxes with a confrontation between him and Galadriel. However, Sauron is able to escape her retribution by resorting to subterfuge and playing on her emotions.

Brändström further elaborated in the interview:

“And he becomes Halbrand for a while because he knew the feelings Galadriel had for him. I also think that Sauron was almost disappointed in the end because I think he would have liked to have Galadriel as his queen.”

Despite Sauron’s destiny as a future Dark Lord who will become one of the biggest threats to Middle-Earth, the series still portrays him as a self-righteous man firmly convinced he’s doing the right thing. The future implications of Sauron’s rise to power will be explored in future seasons.

Although The Rings of Power season 2 episode 9 is not part of Amazon’s season order, but the eight scheduled episodes can be streamed on Prime Video.