Some viewers responded negatively to the brief introduction of an Orc wife and baby, leading to commentary and discussions about whether this is accurate to Tolkien.
After his son Isildur is presumed dead in the eruption of Mount Doom, sea captain Elendil returns to Númenor with the blinded Queen Regent Míriel and other survivors.
Celebrimbor and Sauron, the latter posing as Annatar, invite Prince Durin IV and Princess Disa to Eregion and reveal their plan to create Rings of Power for the Dwarves.
Pharazôn is concerned that there is not enough public support for such a move, until Elendil's daughter Eärien reveals that she has stolen Míriel's palantír (crystal ball).
In Pelargir, Arondir holds a funeral for Bronwyn, the human healer he fell in love with, who succumbed to her injuries from the battle before the eruption.
[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".
[13][14] The season's cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel,[15] Owain Arthur as Durin IV,[16] Maxim Baldry as Isildur,[17] Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir,[18] Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor,[19] Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn,[20] Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo,[21] Peter Mullan as Durin III,[22] Sophia Nomvete as Disa,[23] Lloyd Owen as Elendil,[24] and Charlie Vickers as Sauron.
[25] Also starring in the episode are Alex Tarrant as Valandil, Ema Horvath as Eärien, Leon Wadham as Kemen, Will Keen as Belzagar, Sam Hazeldine as Adar, Nia Towle as Estrid, Kevin Eldon as Narvi, Robert Strange as Khruge and Glüg, Ken Blackburn as Tar-Palantir, William Chubb as the High Priest of Númenor, Kirsty Hoiles as Niluzor, Benjamin Walker as the voice of Damrod, Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn, Gabriel Akuwudike as Hagen, and Murray McArthur as Ammred.
[32] A soundtrack album featuring composer Bear McCreary's score for the episode was released digitally on the streaming service Amazon Music on August 29, 2024.
[33][34] All music is composed by Bear McCreary:"The Eagle and the Sceptre" premiered on Prime Video in the United States on August 29, 2024.
[37] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, listed the series second—behind Hulu's Only Murders in the Building—on its US streaming chart for the week ending September 1.
[38] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on US television screens, estimated that The Rings of Power had 1.02 billion minutes viewed in the week ending September 1.
[39] Samba TV, which also gathers viewership data from smart TVs, listed the series seventh on its chart of top streaming programs for the week ending September 1.
He highlighted the quick rise and fall of Míriel and felt the series was "ready to really get moving", but was less positive about the number of characters and complex motivations for viewers to keep track of in the Númenórean storyline.
She found the politics and scheming of the Númenórean stoyline to be compelling and well told, and was also positive about how nuanced the episode's story of grief and loss is.
[43] Writing for Gizmodo, James Whitbrook said the episode did a "noble job" catching up the audience on key plotlines from the first season, and highlighted the Southlander stoyline and their grief following Bronwyn's death.
Club praised the episode as the best of the season so far, partially attributing this to the focus on Isildur who is "the closest thing we've got to a regular human on the show".
Miller had negative thoughts about the Southlanders storyline, feeling its "you're not my dad" scene between Theo and Arondir and the meeting of Isildur and Estrid were both beneath the works of Tolkien.