'Rings of Power' Season 1 finale 'Alloyed' review: Sauron reveals himself in an exhilarating episode

For many fans of JRR Tolkien's writings and Peter Jackson's movies on the author's works, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' has been an expensive atrocity. They say things like the series besmirches the name of Tolkien's magnum opus by making significant changes in the lore, casts actors of colour in roles that should be reserved for those with white skin, and so on. But for others, this writer included, 'Rings of Power' has been a gift. Perhaps, being a lifelong Tolkien fan, it is hard for me to be objective about it -- though I have tried my best.

'Rings of Power' Season 1 finale episode, 'Alloyed', is full of reveals, big moments, and hints for the dark future of Middle-earth. Above all, it feels wonderfully familiar. 'The Lord of the Rings' is above all a story about the perils of temptation, the pleasures of simple life, and how great evil fears courage more than anything else. 'Rings of Power', thematically at least, is approaching the 'LotR' we know.

In the last episode, the forces of Southlanders and Númenór lick their wounds. The Númenóreans, greatly diminished, leave for their home, promising to return. Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was injured in the battle. Galadriel takes Halbrand to Lindon, believing only Elvish medicine can cure him.

SPOILER ALERT

'Alloyed' begins with a bang and it is finally revealed who really is Sauron. Or not. The mysterious, white-clad trio converge on the tall, bearded Stranger (Daniel Weyman), and call him 'Lord Sauron'. He is certainly one among the Maiar, the primordial spirits among whom was Sauron. But the Istari, incarnated as five wizards (like Gandalf and Sauron), were also among the Maiar. So is he Sauron or one among the Istari? Turns out, he is a wizard, and most likely the one who would come to be known as Gandalf, though the episode did not confirm that. Yes, the wizards did not appear until the Third Age in Tolkien's stories, but 'Rings of Power' is allowed any liberty it wishes so long as it keeps the storytelling interesting. And, for my money, it has done until now.

The Istari urges Nori (Markella Kavenagh) to go on a journey, I mean adventure, with him. They bid adieu to the Harfoots.

Meanwhile, at the elvish stronghold Lindon, the elves are hopeless about what to do with their impending doom. The elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is hard at work, thinking even a bit of Mithril can cure the sickness that is engulfing them. But he encounters issues. Halbrand, now apparently cured, gives a gift of using the right alloy can amplify Mithril's qualities.

After Galadriel gets suspicious about Halbrand, she checks the bloodline of the Southalnder kings, and finds out it was broken thousands of years ago. Halbrand isn't who he says he is. Yes, Halbrand is revealed to be Sauron. And while I suspected so, it is done in a thrilling way that will take your breath away. There is a shot featuring the reflections of both, with Halbrand wearing Sauron's pointy crown and Galadriel as his evil queen.

Sauron escapes, presumably to fool dwarves and men in Númenór and get them to forge similar rings too. And he will forge the One Ring at the ruined Southlands, now renamed Mordor. Remember the ditty: "Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky / Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone / Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die / One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."

'Alloyed' is an exhilarating finale that gives a worthy conclusion to 'Rings of Power' season 1. It feels more crucial than even the sixth episode, 'Udûn', which featured the biggest battle of the season. The war against Sauron will not just be corporeal. It will also be a war against temptation. For the Rings of Power, true to the name, grant immense strength to its bearer, and the allure of such strength is hard to resist. We know many mighty folks will fall before the desire to have power over others.