The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power tells the tale of Middle-earth’s Second Age, a time described by Tolkien in The Silmarillion and other texts. That means those who have delved into the world of The Lord of the Rings in some capacity have a pretty good idea about the fates that await certain characters. Still, adaptations occasionally make changes to the narrative where relevant, and The Rings of Power has introduced many beloved original characters—more than enough to keep fans at the edges of their seats worrying over their fates. The Rings of Power is bound to have its fair share of character deaths in a season. And so, for the morbidly curious, we’ll keep track of all the The Rings of Power season two’s major characters deaths below.
Here’s who faded away in season two.
The Rings of Power Season 2, Episodes 1-3 Deaths
Sauron’s Post-Morgoth Form “Dies”
In season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Adar tells Galadriel that he killed Sauron. And we do see Sauron meet a death of sorts in the opening scene of The Rings of Power season two. Sauron, played by Jack Lowden in the opener, moves to assume power after Morgoth’s defeat. But Adar and the Orcs, having suffered much mistreatment at Sauron’s hand and having endured for long enough, have other ideas for him. Instead of crowning Sauron, Adar stabs him with his very own helm and is joined in his attack by the masses of Orcs gathered at the would-be coronation. After enough hits rain down on Sauron, he dramatically explodes, turning the fortress into an icy sepulcher.
Of course, as a Maia, Sauron is much harder to kill than that, and his dark spirit lives on. We see it return to life later in the episode, transforming into the Charlie Vickers form we now know as Sauron. But, in a sense, one version of Sauron did go to his death. Gold star to you, Adar.
Waldreg Meets His Death at the Hands of Sauron
Poor Waldreg. He was so ready to serve Sauron but abandoned that desire to loyally serve Adar, his Lord Father, instead. And Waldreg was a loyal servant. Unfortunately, in episode one of The Rings of Power season two, he meets his death thanks to Sauron.
Waldreg had been in charge of torturing the prisoner whom he’d thought to be the King of the Southlands, Halbrand. And Waldreg took his job very seriously, tormenting and taunting the captive. Of course, Halbrand is really Sauron in disguise, and it’s not really wise to anger the Dark Lord. Using his considerable powers, Sauron manipulated the Warg in his cell to follow his commands. And after convincing Adar to set him free, he left a gift behind for Waldreg. On Sauron’s orders, the Warg attacked Waldreg after Sauron had gone, presumably mauling him to death in The Rings of Power episode one. Sauron, of course, found the whole affair to be very funny.
The Rings of Power Confirms Bronwyn Died From Her Season One Wounds
Alas, we saw this death coming after Bronwyn’s actress, Nazanin Boniadi, announced that she was leaving The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But, still, it hurt when season two, episode three of The Rings of Power confirmed that Bronwyn, indeed, died. Arondir shares that even though Bronwyn appeared to heal, the orcish arrow that had struck her contained a slow-acting poison that brought about her death in the end.
Though Bronwyn and Arondir had seemed like they were heading for a happy ending, it was not meant to be for the two. In the early episodes of The Rings of Power season three, we see Bronwyn’s funeral pyre as her body is set aflame. This heartbreaking scene is gorgeously tragic and creates a new story for those Bronwyn left behind. Instead of a love story, Arondir will now grapple with grief. And the death of Bronwyn on The Rings of Power leaves a tremendous gap between her son Theo and the elven archer. We’ll see if the pair can work together to begin healing from this pain.
Many More Deaths Are Likely on Season 2 of The Rings of Power
With evil on the rise during season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, surely more deaths will follow. After all, even among immortal beings, the cost of war is high. We bet there will be plenty of casualties on the side of good and evil before the season is out. We guess we will just have to hope Sauron doesn’t cast his eye on any of our very favorites.