Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s ‘The Rings of Power’ takes us thousands of years before the events of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, focusing on the creation of the rings and all the trouble they spur, which ends with ‘The Return of the King.’ The Season 1 finale gives us the three Elven rings, and the second season follows Sauron building more rings until he eventually goes about making the One Ring to rule them all. At the end of the first episode of Season 2, despite Elrond’s concerns, the Elves wear the three rings, and its effects start to show immediately. In the beginning, it seems to be all good, but considering how things eventually turn out, a question is raised about their connection to Sauron and whether they were corrupt to begin with. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Three Elven Rings Were the Only Ones Not Corrupted by Sauron
In the finale of Season 1, Celebrimbor makes three rings: one set in ruby, the second in a white stone, and the third in a sapphire. At first, he wanted to make a crown, but Galadriel countered that it would be easily corruptible. It was to keep the power from falling into the wrong hands that three Elven rings were made, as “two would divide and three would create balance,” which is what the rings were intended for to begin with. Named Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they are worn by Círdan, Galadriel, and Gil-galad, with Círdan’s ring later going to Gandalf and Gil-galad’s to Elrond. The rings were meant to heal, preserve, and restore the power of the Trees of Valinor so that the Elves could stay in the Middle-Earth for longer.
The scene of their creation in Season 1 doesn’t show Sauron anywhere near the forge while they are being made. Celebrimbor, Galadriel, and Elrond are the only ones present, apart from the rest of the workers, when Galadriel’s dagger and the mithril from Khazad-dûm are melted and fused to make the rings. Because Sauron is not around at the time, he is not able to influence the creation of the rings, which is why the Elven rings are not corrupted by his magic the way the rest of the rings are. However, Sauron did put in the work that eventually led to their creation, which means that the Elven rings are, indirectly, so to speak, connected to him.
Still, they don’t have the same destructive impact that the other rings have on their bearers, with the men turning into Nazgûl’s and the dwarves turning against each other, driven by greed and jealousy. The second season shows this corruption in the third episode itself when Sauron, as Annatar, takes mithril from Celebrimbor and imbues it with his magic before dropping it in the forge. He didn’t get to do this with the Elven rings because Galadriel discovered his true identity, foiling his plan, but this is what he wanted for those three rings as well. Had he been able to corrupt the Elven rings, the Elves would have fallen more easily to him, and the world would have been under his reign.
While the Elven rings are not bound by his magic, they still exhibit some properties that make them dangerous for the bearer. When Sauron creates the One Ring in the fires of Mordor, the connection between his ring and the Elven rings is immediately established, and the Elves become aware of what he has done. The One Ring is meant to control the rest of the rings, which is why the Elves hide their rings and are unable to use them while Sauron holds the One Ring. It is when he is defeated and loses the ring that the Elves get to use their rings again to restore the balance of the world, but even then, they can feel the connection that the One Ring has with them, and it doesn’t completely dissipate until Frodo throws the ring in the fires of Mordor, destroying it once and for all.
Read More: Was Sauron Recast in The Rings of Power Season 2?
