In Eregion, Celebrimbor and the Dwarf Narvi celebrate the Dwarven rings by unveiling a new Western gate for Khazad-dûm: the Doors of Durin.
The new king of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn, tasks his son Kemen with cracking down on members of the Faithful who remain loyal to former Queen Regent Míriel.
[6] After introducing the setting and major heroic characters in the first season, the showrunners said the second would focus on the villains and go deeper into the "lore and the stories people have been waiting to hear".
[14] The season's cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel,[15] Robert Aramayo as Elrond,[16] Owain Arthur as Durin IV,[17] Morfydd Clark as Galadriel,[18] Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor,[19] Trystan Gravelle as Ar-Pharazôn,[16] Peter Mullan as Durin III,[20] Sophia Nomvete as Disa,[21] Lloyd Owen as Elendil,[22] Charlie Vickers as Sauron,[23] and Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad.
[24] Also starring in the episode are Kevin Eldon as Narvi, Amelia Kenworthy as Mirdania, Leon Wadham as Kemen, Ema Horvath as Eärien, Alex Tarrant as Valandil, Calam Lynch as Camnir, Sam Hazeldine as Adar, Rachel Payne as Brenna, Laura Jane Matthewson as Revna, Jeany Spark as the Commander of the South, Selina Lo as Rían, Charlie Rix as Vorohil, William Chubb as the High Priest of Númenor, Kai Martin as Zhor, and Robert Strange as Glûg.
[31] A soundtrack album featuring composer Bear McCreary's score for the episode was released digitally on the streaming service Amazon Music on September 12, 2024.
[33] Luminate, which gathers viewership data from smart TVs,[34] said the series was watched for 372.7 million minutes in the week ending September 12.
[35] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, again listed the series second—behind Hulu's Only Murders in the Building—on its US streaming chart for the week ending September 15.
[36] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on US television screens, estimated that The Rings of Power had 747 million minutes viewed in the week ending September 15.
[37] Samba TV, which also gathers viewership data from smart TVs, listed the series sixth on its chart of top streaming programs for the week ending September 15.
[39] Leon Miller of Polygon praised the episode as the best of the season so far and highlighted its focus on Sauron's ability to manipulate others, a key element for the character during the Second Age that is not explored in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or Jackson's films.
Schimkowitz also found the Númenor scenes to be effective due to "the shorthand of Kemen being a total prick", despite there being little time in the episode and season dedicated to that storyline.
She praised the episode's main story and the performances of Vickers and Edwards, but thought the strength of their scenes showed how "one dimensional" the Númenor characters are.
[40] Collider's Arezou Amin gave the episode 8 out of 10 and praised the way it brought the stakes of the season's plotlines together and focused on Sauron's manipulations of different characters.
[41] Keith Phipps of Vulture gave the episode three stars out of five and said the main storyline was compelling and intense, while the scenes in Númenor were less so and came across as simplistic with the "straight-up sneering villainous turns from Kemen and Eärien".
[42] Writing for Gizmodo, James Whitbrook said the increase of pace in the episode was "a kick up the rear Rings of Power needed to get this season into high gear", but he felt it came at the expense of rushing key storylines: King Durin III becoming corrupted by his ring, Sauron's manipulations of Celebrimbor leading to his downfall, and the rising civil war in Númenor.