Lord of the Rings fans are over the moon after The Rings of Power traveled to an iconic Middle-earth location for the first time in the very last scene of Season 2, which will be important for Season 3.
Spoiler alert for the Lord of the Rings series finale of Season 2:
Even though an extension of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has not yet been officially confirmed, the creative minds behind the fantasy series are already promising “good news” for season 3. After last Thursday’s big season 2 finale, many Tolkien fans are celebrating the unveiling of a famous Middle-earth location: Rivendell is now part of the series.
Lord of the Rings reunion: Fans celebrate the founding of Rivendell in the season 2 finale
After the Elven city of Eregion falls to the 10-fold superiority of Adar’s (Sam Hazeldine) Orc army, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) dies and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) brings the army and the nine human rings into his power, the heroes suffer a bitter defeat at the end of season 2.
Nevertheless, the latest season of the Lord of the Rings series ends on a hopeful note: Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and Elven king Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) find refuge in a sheltered valley north of the dwarf realm of Khazad-dûm and are ready to fight again.
Even though The Rings of Power never pronounces the name of the new refuge at the end of season 2, every Tolkien fan knows what we are witnessing here: the founding of Rivendell, also known as Imladris. This is the birth of that iconic place of Elrond’s home, which Peter Jackson already declared one of the most beautiful places in Middle-earth for Frodo and Bilbo in his Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogy. Many reacted accordingly happily to the last revelation of season 2:
Rivendell my love pic.twitter.com/LqNH4QvojB
— Nin ・ᴗ・ྀི | glorestor enthusiast (@valisse_nin) October 3, 2024
Rivendell, my great love!
tropspoilers theringsofpower
“and the house of elrond was a refuge for the weary and the oppressed, and a treasury of good counsel and wise lore” pic.twitter.com/Q2CrF7bLeu— (@elrondscouncil) October 3, 2024
this entire scene is pure chills. that’s how you end the season! pic.twitter.com/j0yoO9VQgJ
— Ivyy (@rukiasbankaii) October 3, 2024
This whole scene is pure goosebumps. This is how you end a season!
Many Lord of the Rings fans approvingly compare the Rivendell scene to the original Tolkien illustrations, to which The Rings of Power seems to be more closely aligned than to Peter Jackson’s vision:
TROPspoilers
I love the look they’ve gone for with the valley of Imladris. Instead of just modeling the scenery after the Jackson movies, I feel like they’re trying to evoke the vibe of Tolkien’s own painting of Rivendell (and Ted Nasmith’s) pic.twitter.com/YWAuwt9zz4— Leith Skilling BlackLivesMatter (@LeithSkilling) October 3, 2024
I love the look they’ve chosen for the Valley of Imladris. Rather than recreating the landscape of the Jackson movies, I get the impression they wanted to evoke the vibe of Tolkien’s own painting (and Ted Nasmith’s).
The Valley of Imladris in TheRingsOfPower vs. Tolkien’s illustration of Rivendell looking east. TROPspoilers pic.twitter.com/kjsA6uVUjS
— Godwin (@pennedbygodwin) October 3, 2024
Imladris in The Rings of Power vs. Tolkien’s illustration of Rivendell, looking east.
✨ S3 gonna eatttt pic.twitter.com/Cq2xJngh77
— Emily in Rivendell ♀️ (@softkitty_98) October 4, 2024
Season 3 [of The Rings of Power] will be really intense!
Lord of the Rings fans know: Rivendell will be important for season 3 of The Rings of Power
With the founding of Rivendell to the west of the Misty Mountains, The Rings of Power stays close to the literary original by author J.R.R. Tolkien. In it, Elrond founds the place as a bulwark and place of refuge in the Second Age of Middle-earth, in the midst of the war of the elves with Sauron and after the fall of Eregion. In the Third Age, Imladris finally becomes a place of refuge for elves and other travelers. It is here that the young Aragorn grows up, the dwarves around Bilbo find a breather, and it is here that the Lord of the Rings companions finally meet for the plan of Frodo’s ring destruction.
In the third season of The Rings of Power, Rivendell also promises to gain in importance. Because what is coming next is Sauron’s bitter war, including a takeover that will cover the entire continent of Middle-earth… with a few exceptions such as Lindon, Rivendell and Lothlorien. So perhaps Galadriel will soon follow Elrond’s example and make a certain forest further south a place of refuge? Possibly even with the help of the Ents, introduced in season 2, to whom Arondir has promised peace. But Rivendell is likely to become the new elven center for season 3.
