In the 7th episode of “The Rings of Power,” titled “The Eye,” we see Middle Earth bearing the destruction that had been caused after the clash between good and evil. The seed of evilness had been sown by Adar. He was able to put the Hilt inside the slot and, in turn, awaken Mount Doom from its slumber. Darkness was able to prevail, and the alliance of Southlands and Numenor wasn’t able to do much about it. Even though the future of Middle Earth seemed bleak, there were a few who hadn’t given up hope. Elrond hoped that King Durin would allow him to mine Mithril and help the elves to save their kind. The Harfoots were still trying to decipher the real identity of the Meteor man. Galadriel had survived, and she knew that she had to quickly regroup and find a way to tackle the situation before it was too late.
Spoilers Ahead
Southlands Transformed Into Mordor
Galadriel opened her eyes and managed to pull herself out of the rubble. The Southlands had been completely destroyed. It had been converted into a rotten piece of land, where there was no sign of life and light. A smog had covered the entire sky, and it felt like the shadows had enveloped Middle Earth. Galadriel bumped into Theo, but she had no clue who else had survived. She hoped that Elendil, Queen Regent Miriel, and Halbrand were safe and sound. Theo was fuming with anger. In the 7th episode of “The Rings of Power,” we see that his home, his family, and everything else was taken away from him. He somewhere blamed himself for giving the Hilt to Adar. He believed that if he hadn’t done so, nothing would have changed. Galadriel told him to control his anger. She told him that they shouldn’t act in haste and should first assess the situation completely. Galadriel knew that the Numenoreans had set their camp upon a ridgeline which was on the other side of a mountain. She knew that if she could reach there safely and meet the others, she could plan her next move. Theo had lost all hope. He had a gut-wrenching feeling inside him. He feared that he wouldn’t be able to see his mother ever again. But Galadriel told him to keep the faith. She gave Theo her sword and told him that as long as they didn’t let the darkness enter inside them, there was still some hope left.
Queen Regent Miriel entered a barn together with Isildur and Valandil to rescue the people who were stuck there. The sparks of fire got into her eye, and before she could do anything, the roof of the barn completely collapsed. Isildur couldn’t make it out in time, and Valandil and Queen Regent presumed that he was dead. They met Elendil and gave him the news about the demise of his son. Elendil was distraught. He couldn’t comprehend what he had heard. For a moment, he became numb. They also started moving towards the camp, and that’s when Elendil realized that Queen Miriel had lost her eyesight due to the sparks of fire. Queen Miriel told them not to make a fuss about it and to keep moving forward. Galadriel met the Queen Regent and apologized for making her and the Numenoreans suffer so much. She blamed herself because she was the one who had convinced the Numenoreans in the first place to come to the Southlands. Queen Regent assured her that she was not going to abandon her. She told Galadriel that the enemies would soon regret their actions. She told her that they would finish what they had started. The war wasn’t over yet. Though Queen Regent was leaving for Numenor, she promised Galadriel that she would return as soon as possible and fight the war alongside her.
Galadriel and Theo finally got reunited with the others. Arondir, Bronwyn, and Halbrand somehow managed to survive the wrath of Adar. Bronwyn and Arondir decided that they would travel to an old Numenorean colony named Pelargir and, for the time being, settle there and make a fresh start. Halbrand, on the other hand, was gravely injured, and Galadriel knew that his wounds could only be treated by Elvish medicine. Galadriel rode with the supposed King of the Southlands. She was probably taking him to someplace where she knew, with certainty, they could get the Elvish medicine. Though everybody had accepted that Isildur had met his fateful end, his horse, Berek, still felt his presence. Elendil left the horse free, and it galloped back to Southlands to his master, who was still alive. Adar had finally achieved what he had set out for. He had provided a place for his “children” to live. He had defeated the light (even if it was temporarily). He had transformed the Southlands into a rotten place where darkness could thrive. He renamed the place Mordor, the breeding grounds of evil. It was the same place which would eventually become the fortress of Sauron.
The Meteor Man’s Quest For Answers
Nori, Poppy, the Meteor man, together with the rest of the Brandyfoot family, finally reached the grove. They hadn’t gone off trail, as they had the Meteor man by their side, whose identity was still a mystery for them. They smelled woodsmoke, and they thought that probably the others would have started baking. But to their horror, they saw a sight that they didn’t expect to see in their wildest imaginations. The grove had been destroyed. Sadoc Burrows said that maybe it was the doing of a fire-spitting mountain situated in far-off lands. He was basically referring to Mount Doom. The volcano had been activated by Adar, and the effects of the same could be seen in the grove too. The Meteor man tried to heal the place by muttering some incomprehensible phrases. He tried very hard, but he couldn’t. Sadoc Burrows had a conversation with the Meteor man. He told him that there was a high possibility that he would find the answers that he had been looking for in Greenwood Forest. Sadoc told him that the bigfoots who lived beyond the forest might be able to tell him something about the constellations.
The Meteor man left the Harfoots and embarked on a journey to find the truth about his existence. It felt as if Nori had lost all her vigor as soon as the Meteor man left. Nori started to undermine her own existence. But the next day, she witnessed something spectacular. Meteor man’s powers had actually worked. The grove was once restored to its original form. Ripe fruits hung from the branches, and the natural resources had been replenished. But the happiness was short-lived. Once again, those three sorceresses, whom we saw a glimpse of in the 5th episode of “The Rings of Power,” came searching for the Meteor man. Though they didn’t harm anyone particularly, they put the whole settlement on fire before leaving. Nori had decided that she had to do something about it. Her conscience was not allowing her to just sit there, and she felt that she had to help her giant friend or just inform him about the danger that was approaching him. Maybe the Harfoots had realized that they couldn’t always run away from danger. It was impossible for an amateur to find their way amidst the dense forest. Going off the trail was a scary thing for a Harfoot, and now that Nori had taken the decision to do so, her mother, her friend, and the most knowledgeable person in their clan didn’t want to leave her alone. Sadoc Burrows, Poppy, and Marigold Brandyfoot decided to embark on a journey together with Nori.
‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 7: Ending Explained – Did King Durin Allow Elrond To Mine Mithril? What Was There Inside The Mines Of Khazad-Dum?
Prince Durin had asked Elrond to come with him once again to Khazad-Dum and ask his father, King Durin III, for permission to mine for Mithril. Elrond made an offer to King Durin. He said that the elves would provide the realm of dwarfs with the game, gain, and timber from the old forest of Eriador for the next five hundred years if they were allowed to mine for Mithril. It was a lucrative offer, but contrary to the expectations of Prince Durin and all the other dwarven lords present there, the King declined it. The King reminded his son, Prince Durin, that they were made of two elements: rock and fire. The rock symbolically represented the desire to last forever, whereas the fire made them embrace the truth. King Durin says that he couldn’t allow them to dig as he was of the opinion that the earth wouldn’t be able to bear it. The King said that they had to curb their desires and follow the age-old traditions and beliefs.
With a heavy heart, Price Durin tells Elrond about the decision. The elf decided to leave, but before he could exit the premises, Prince Durin and his wife, Princess Disa, witnessed something sinister in front of their eyes. Elrond had left a leaf, from a tree in Noldor, on their table. As soon as Prince Durin threw a piece of Mithril next to it, he saw that the veins of the leaf started turning black. It was evident that evil was on the rise, and the dwarven Prince was not ready to just sit and watch it destroy everything that he cared for. He called Elrond back, and together they started mining. They finally found a whole reserve of Mithril. King Durin got to know about it and was very angry, as his own son had gone against his wishes. He asked for the elf to be escorted out immediately. He told Prince Durin that he had always thought that his son was meant for greatness and that somewhere he had let him down by his actions. Prince Durin heard his father patiently, but after a point of time, he couldn’t resist. He told him that though he talked about greatness, he was the one who was stopping him from doing the righteous thing. He told his father that Elrond was more than a brother to him, and it was killing him not to be able to help him. He said that he was ready to discard any vow that didn’t let him help a friend in need. King Durin wasn’t open to accepting that the world was changing. He still held onto the past and ignored the perils that had the potential to bring their doom.
King Durin ordered the mines to be sealed forever. No matter how much the prince tried to convince him with reason, the old King wouldn’t leave his stubbornness. Just when the mines were about to be sealed, we caught a glimpse of an old and ferocious Maia named Balrog, who had been awakened from his slumber. Balrogs had fought on the side of Melkor in the first age, but after the defeat of the dark lord, they had been hibernating in the dark depths of the earth. The digging of Mithril had probably awakened it, and now it was ready to wreak havoc on Middle Earth. Though according to the accounts of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Balrogs weren’t active before the reign of Durin VI, there is a possibility that Rings of Power might show their involvement in the upcoming battle. If they do, then surely Sauron and his forces would have a fierce and loyal ally by their side. Though everybody had become aware of the motivations of Adar, the identity of Sauron was still unknown. Middle Earth stood on the threshold of a terrifying conflict between good and evil and it was just a matter of time when the two forces came face to face yet again.
