The episode received generally positive reviews, with praise for the performances and visuals but mixed thoughts on other aspects, including the reveal that the Stranger is actually the Wizard Gandalf.
He attempts to escape with Míriel but she refuses to join him, giving him the sword Narsil and sending him to reclaim his lordship in the west of Númenor.
Kemen claims Pelargir as a military outpost for Númenor and demands the Southlanders and Wild Men cut down the forest in exchange for shelter and supplies.
Durin IV sends his army to aid the Elves, allowing Elrond, Gil-galad, Arondir, and other survivors to escape to a valley north of the city.
Elrond and Gil-galad use the Elven rings to heal Galadriel, and the Elves resolve to stand against Sauron's army as it marches across Middle-earth.
[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 series' cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel,[15] Robert Aramayo as Elrond,[16] Owain Arthur as Durin IV,[17] Maxim Baldry as Isildur,[18] Morfydd Clark as Galadriel,[19] Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir,[20] Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor,[21] Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn,[16] Ciarán Hinds as the Dark Wizard,[22] Markella Kavenagh as Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot,[23] Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo,[24] Peter Mullan as Durin III,[25] Sophia Nomvete as Disa,[26] Lloyd Owen as Elendil,[27] Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow,[28] Charlie Vickers as Sauron,[29] Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad,[30] and Daniel Weyman as the Stranger.
[23] Also starring in the episode are Kevin Eldon as Narvi, Gavi Singh Chera as Merimac, Tanya Moodie as Gundabale Earthauler, Ema Horvath as Eärien, Will Keen as Belzagar, Nia Towle as Estrid, Leon Wadham as Kemen, Sam Hazeldine as Adar, Rory Kinnear as Tom Bombadil, Zates Atour as Brânk, Peter Landi as Marmadas, William Chubb as the High Priest of Númenor, Robert Strange as Glûg, Gabriel Akuwudike as Hagen, Murray McArthur as Ammred, Thomas Gilbey as Drúv, Stuart Bowman as Barduk, and Charlie Rix as Vorohil.
Anthony Skrimshire, John Macdonald, Billy Mansell, Rupert Fawcett, and Jonny James play unnamed Orcs in the episode.
[40] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, again listed the series third—behind Hulu's Only Murders in the Building and Disney+'s Agatha All Along—on its US streaming chart for the week ending October 6.
[41] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on US television screens, estimated that The Rings of Power had 729 million minutes viewed in the week ending October 6.
This made it the fourth biggest original streaming series of the week behind Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Nobody Wants This, and Love Is Blind.
[42] 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 October 6.
[46] Writing for Vulture, Keith Phipps gave the episode three stars out of five and said it was the end of a "pretty good season", with praise for the visuals and production design.
Club graded the episode a "B" and said the series' strength was in its characters and performances, particularly highlighting Vickers, Edwards, Walker, Owen, and Mullan.
He praised the visual effects of the Balrog sequence but wished more of it had been shown, and was critical of the pacing of the season as a whole with some plotlines being rushed and shortcuts taken.
He praised the production values and the work of Brändström and Disenhof, as well as the performances—particularly those of Vickers and Edwards—but criticized the need to focus on so many storylines, especially the season's less interesting ones, and felt some had been rushed while the reveal of the Stranger being Gandalf had taken too long across the series.
[47] Kristian Milsted was nominated for Excellence in Production Design for a One-Hour Fantasy Single-Camera Series at the 2024 Art Directors Guild Awards for his work on this episode.