‘The Rings of Power’ S3 forges the One Ring

Season three of The Rings of Power finally brings the forging of the One Ring to the screen. The fantasy prequel to The Lord of the Rings explores how Sauron, a shape-shifting villain seeking to conquer Middle-earth, creates the weapon at the centre of JRR Tolkien’s books and their film adaptations.

The first four episodes are streaming exclusively on Prime Video from today (11 November 2026). Episodes five and six arrive on 18 November, followed by the final two on 25 November.

The story takes place thousands of years before the three Lord of the Rings films, which follow a mission to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron’s threat to Middle-earth.

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

In the earlier seasons, Sauron used disguises to manipulate Celebrimbor, a master smith from the Elven race, into forging magical rings. The deception ended with Sauron murdering Celebrimbor.

Now the dark lord needs the dead smith’s knowledge to finish his greatest creation. Celeborn, the long-missing husband of Galadriel, an Elven leader fighting against Sauron, may hold the secrets he seeks.

The One Ring is designed to control the other magical rings and dominate their bearers. To create such power, Sauron must pour much of his own strength into the weapon, tying his fate to the Ring’s survival.

Season three jumps five years beyond the fall of Eregion, the Elven city where Celebrimbor worked. Sauron’s armies have since conquered much of Middle-earth, leaving only a few strongholds beyond his control.

The Dwarves have retreated deep into their mountain kingdom of Khazad-dûm, while the remaining Elven realms rely on three powerful rings for protection.

Elsewhere, the human island kingdom of Númenor faces civil war. Gandalf, a wizard opposing Sauron, attempts to strengthen resistance in the eastern lands of Middle-earth.

Sauron has also begun recruiting terrifying servants using nine rings intended for human rulers. These warriors, known as the Nazgnagôl, are gradually being corrupted into the Nazgûl, the ghostly Ringwraiths who hunt the One Ring in the later films.

Charlie Vickers returns as Sauron, alongside Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as the Elven leader Elrond and Daniel Weyman as Gandalf.

Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things) joins the cast as Celeborn, while Simon Pegg (Star Trek) voices the Balrog, a powerful creature of fire and shadow lurking beneath the Dwarven kingdom.

Thousands of years later, the One Ring will fall into the hands of Frodo, a hobbit from a peaceful farming region who must carry the weapon into enemy territory for destruction. The dangerous journey concludes in The Return of the King, the final film in the original trilogy.

For now, Sauron is preparing to create the very weapon that will eventually bring about his downfall.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.