"The Rings of Power" season 2 is coming to Prime Video very soon, but seeing as it's been just shy of two full years since our last trip back to Middle-earth's Second Age, there's a solid chance you might not remember all the key details so far.
You might recall that Galadriel was on the hunt for Sauron, or that The Stranger was off wandering the world accompanied by some Harfoots, but if you're in need of a 'Rings of Power' refresh, we've got you covered.
Below, we've pulled together some of the most important developments from the first season of one of the best fantasy shows on Prime Video. Here's what you need to know about "The Rings of Power" before the show returns for its second season.
This article contains major spoilers for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" season 1.
Halbrand no more
Admittedly, if you've seen any of the trailers, you might not need a reminder of who Charlie Vickers' character really is, but seeing as he's due to become an even bigger part in the story to come, here's a quick rundown on who this traitor really was all the same.
The face you're looking at here is none other than Sauron himself. The would-be Dark Lord adopted the guise of Halbrand, the King of the Southlanders. Late in the season, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) learned that the Southlands' royal line ended 1,000 years ago from some old records.
When she confronted her friend, she discovered he was actually Sauron in disguise. Halbrand attempted to convince her they could rule together, but she didn't buy it, and after he failed to drown her, Sauron fled Lindon and headed back to Mordor, ominously looking out over the lands. Looking at the trailers, his next moves are going to be pretty explosive.
This reveal is also sure to have big consequences for Galadriel herself. She was out to kill the Dark Lord she feared had returned... and instead managed to bring him right to the Elves' doorstep. Worse, she withheld his true identity... though Elrond also knows Halbrand's truth.
The first rings are forged
Plenty of season 1 took place in "The Southlands", though that picturesque region has since been wiped off the face of the realm.
After that epic battle in Tirharad, the Southlanders thought they'd beaten back Adar's orc armies, with the aid of the Númenóreans. Galadriel and Halbrand interrogated Adar, learning that he believed he'd killed Sauron, and sought to establish a home for his Orcs.
To do so, he finally set his plot in motion. A loyalist, Waldreg, fled the scene and unlocked a dam that sent water crashing through the lands and into the bowels of Orodruin, aka Mount Doom.
This caused a catastrophic volcanic eruption that transformed the lush scenery into an ash-coated, barren landscape, one which Adar names as Mordor. Those who survived the battle were forever changed: Isildur is presumed dead, Queen Míriel is blinded trying to rescue some survivors, and Galadriel sets off to save her then-friend's life with Elven medicine.
The first rings have been forged
You can't have "The Rings of Power" without, well, the rings of power, magical artifacts forged by Celebrimbor and his fellow smiths at Eregion.
After the eruption, Galadriel took Halbrand to Eregion, for treatment. There, he developed a keen interest in the Elven smith's work trying to use mithril that Elrond had secured with Durin IV's aid to save the Elves, who are at risk as darkness returns to the realm.
At his suggestion, Celebrimbor forged two small objects from an alloy of mithril and combined them with some precious jewels crafted by Fëanor. But after Galadriel learned of Halbrand's true nature (and he fled Eregion), she sought Celebrimbor and urged him to forge three rings, as she believed their powers would balance one another.
The three elven rings were subsequently forged in a lavish montage, and the trio resolved that Elves must be the only ones allowed to wield such power. Of course, anyone who knows their Middle-earth history knows that many more were forged, including Sauron's own One Ring. Expect to see Sauron continue to tempt the great smith into making more, soon.
Trouble in Khazad-dum
Prince Durin IV ended up in a tricky spot down in Khazad-dûm. Mining mithril proved a dangerous game; one of the mines collapsed, and King Durin III ordered all mithril mining to stop until further notice, no matter how helpful it might be to the Elves.
When it became clear Durin III would not be moved on the topic, Elrond and Durin IV began digging up mithril in secret. King Durin eventually found out, had Elrond banished, stripped his son of his royal status, and had their illicit mine sealed up.
The Stranger, unmasked
For the longest time, "Who is the Stranger?" was one of the biggest questions we all wanted to answer ever since he fell from the sky. Who is Daniel Weyman's giant character?
Well, it was implied that he might well be the feared new incarnation of Sauron, though after his travels with his Harfoot friends — and the fact that Halbrand laid claim to the title — we know that not to be the case.
While it's not quite been confirmed by the show for definite, it seems all but clear that he is in fact Gandalf. He's a powerful magician, one with a fondness for halflings, and someone with a part to play in the ensuing conflict. He also just so happened to remind Nori to 'always follow her nose' in the show... which is almost an exact copy of what Gandalf would later tell Merry during their trek through Merry.
Whilst there's certainly a possibility this is another red herring, it certainly seems like the show is all but telling us this is the same man who would later go on adventures with Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
Heading to Rhûn
Now, we mentioned that The Stranger and co. had run into bit of trouble in the Greenwood. The "trouble" in question was actually a group of cultists known as the Mystics. These three mysterious women sought him because they believed he was Sauron, and they wished to restore his memories and powers.
They also explained that the constellations he keeps envisaging can only be found far to the east, in the lands of Rhûn. Just before he banished them with his magic, one of the Mystics named him as one of the Istari.
At the end of the episode, The Stranger resolved to head where the cultists came from, to see if he could make sense of his visions or get a stronger grip on his powers.
Being possessed by a particularly adventurous spirit, Nori the Harfoot decided to accompany him to the east, to a region that's not really been seen in any other adaptation of Tolkien's work.
Numerous troubles in Númenor
Again, if you know the extended lore, you'll know that Númenor is doomed. Even if you didn't, you'll know that Queen Míriel saw the island being swallowed up by a great wave.
Unfortunately, that's not the only problem the kingdom faces. The loss of many soldiers (Isildur included, as far as his father Elendil is concerned) in the Southlands is bound to upset many Númenoreans, especially seeing as she offered to send the expeditionary force to help the Elves (who aren't exactly well-loved by the kingdom's citizens at present.
Míriel promised to return and help seek revenge upon the Orcs, but she's got another problem waiting for her back home. Her ailing father, King Tar-Palantir, has passed away, and it seems like Chancellor Pharazôn desires the throne for himself.
