The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 3 Premiere Recap: Sauron Corrupts And An Unlikely Ally Arrives — Grade It!

Season 3 acts as a soft reboot for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," and the premiere wastes no time throwing us into the action. The previous chapters took their time building up conflicts in Middle-earth, but the third season kicks off with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) waging all-out war on the elves. It seems that this fighting has consumed Middle-earth in the five years since the end of Season 2, as Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) explains in her opening narration.

The sly dark lord was sneaky about revealing his identity during previous seasons, whether it was posing as the would-be king Halbrand or deceiving Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) as Annatar, Lord of Gifts. Now that Sauron has put into motion his plans for the domination of Middle-earth, however, he refuses to hide, and he's more than happy to flaunt his true self — as well as that gravity-defying crown — from his home in Mordor.

Providing a helpful introduction to this lore-heavy episode, Galadriel's exposition also reveals that Sauron has begun corrupting the hearts of men across the land, even as the elven realms of Lindon and Rivendell hold strong against him. 

Sauron may be trying to crush Middle-earth in his steely grip, but his attempts to create One Ring To Rule Them All™ aren't exactly going well. The episode kicks off with him forging a golden band in his workshop in Barad-dûr — but he's smart enough not to give it a whirl himself. The crowd of orcs around him are also pretty uneasy about it; the show takes pains to hover on one orc in particular, Marnûkh (Adam Young), who shoves a slimy comrade forward to become Sauron's guinea pig. After a brief moment wielding the ring, the unfortunate orc's hand bursts into flame, swiftly followed by the rest of him. Oh dear.

Still, Sauron is clearly consumed by his quest to create a master ring. He even has Celebrimbor's decaying skeleton strung up on his wall, just in case it wasn't clear how evil he really is. For a brief moment, it even looks as if Celebrimbor's ghost is berating Sauron, telling him he'll never be able to make one ring capable of controlling the others ... or, for that matter, Galadriel. "The machinery of your soul is missing a piece," this vision tells him. "The one that allows for a true bond, a true union with another being. So, in place of connection, you seek control." 

Since Galadriel has been hunting Sauron and brawling with orcs for two seasons, it's quite refreshing that Season 3 kicks off by exploring a moment of happiness in her life. The premiere gives us a flashback to the First Age, when she first met Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower). The two elves flirt by dancing and balletically swordfighting through a forest — how romantic! They even talk about one day building a forest home together, foreshadowing their eventual rule over the realm of Lothlórien.

Outside of her romantic flashbacks, however, Galadriel is not having a good time. While out hunting the enemy, she receives a prophetic vision from her own ring of power, warning that her battalion is about to be ambushed. This allows them to ready up and defend themselves, but, despite being ready to battle waves of orcs, she comes face-to-face with a so-called "ring-servant" — the first we meet this season. The black-cloaked "Lossoth Nazgnagôl" is a powerful being who is more than a match for Galadriel, and she's soon forced to flee for her life.

A mortal man bound to the power of the rings, this servant of Sauron will one day become one of the Nazgûl, so it's perhaps no surprise that Galadriel finds herself a little out of her depth. She's not the only one, either, as Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) is with her, too. When he kills a would-be attacker, he imagines seeing young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) before the man's face changes. Clearly, the wood elf is worried about leaving Theo behind as the "Lord of Pelargir" in the Season 2 "Rings of Power" finale. Does this foreshadow something bad happening to Theo somewhere down the line? We'll have to wait and see ...

While this episode doesn't take us to the desert kingdom of Rhûn, Sauron does meet with representatives from the Gaudrim, each of whom control soldiers that could aid the villain in his war on Middle-earth. During the conversation, two of them refuse to betray the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds), and they're killed on the spot by Sauron's orc lieutenant. It's hard to say what kind of benefits the mysterious sorcerer offers his  followers, but they must be good to earn that kind of loyalty.

The survivors face a deadly ultimatum by Sauron, since he only has one ring to give to Rhûn: He forces them to fight it out with a single sword, "Dark Knight"-style. Inevitably, the warrior with the coolest mask emerges victorious. When he kills his former comrades, Sauron's ring painfully turns him into a Nazgnagôl, as his body becomes "both of this world and another."

On the plus side, the ring also heals all the grisly, scabby wounds across the warrior's body. So, Sauron comes with health insurance! When he unmasks, he reveals that his name is Khamûl, which might ring a bell for book readers: This is the man who will later become the second-in-command of the Nazgûl.

Next, let's head beneath the Misty Mountains to catch up with Durin IV (Owain Arthur), who is keeping the dwarves out of Sauron's war for now — even as he secretly supplies Elrond (Robert Aramayo) with weapons. The pair's unlikely friendship continues to be one of the most wholesome dynamics in the show. At one point, Elrond is shocked to find that Durin's children are growing up so fast. The dwarf responds by reminding him: "Time crawls for elves and mountains, Elrond. For the rest of us, it's bounding away." Thanks for the reminder, Durin.

Unfortunately for the bearded king, he's also dealing with a potential coup from his brother, Thrain II (Eddie Marsan) — although the pair are apparently on good terms for now. Things might not stay that way, though, if Durin finds out that Thrain had a fling with his wife, Disa (Sophia Nomvete), decades ago. Who knew dwarven royal families had this much drama? Alas, the dwarves are pulled further into the war when Marnûkh, the orc from Sauron's forge, arrives as a defector with "knowledge that could save Middle-Earth." 

Theo briefly returns during the "Rings of Power" premiere. He's still living in the Númenórean settlement of Pelargir, but he's no lord, and he's forced to work chopping timber for ships. When he overhears high-ranking soldiers discussing Sauron's offer of "magic jewelry," he picks up the invitation for himself. Cue the ominous music! Theo also gets 12 lashes for being a "slothabout," just to confirm that the Númenórean colonizers aren't treating their subjects all too well. Maybe it's no surprise that his perspective on Middle-earth is changing.

At the end of the episode, a group of men arrive in Mordor to ask Sauron for rings to help them rebel against Númenor. Surprise surprise, Theo is one of them! (Arondir isn't going to be mad, just disappointed.) Sauron gives the men the same offer he made to the Guadim fighters: "Mordor can share but one this day ..."

The sword is thrown down, the men lunge for the blade, and Theo seems to get there first ... and then the credits roll. For now, it seems like "Rings of Power" is setting Theo on a dark path to becoming a Nazgûl, or perhaps even the Witch-King himself — which would be a brilliant way of providing some tragic context to the story of Sauron's Ringwraiths.

Now it's your turn. Grade the premiere via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!