All Easter Eggs in The Rings of Power Episodes 1 and 2

The Rings of Power Episodes 1 and 2 premiered today and were filled with numerous Easter eggs. Although the show takes place in the Second Age, which has never been explored before in the live-action format, it did have references to the age before and the age after.

Those of you who’ve seen the OG trilogy by Peter Jackson will find quite a few connections between the Prime Video show and the movies. If you’re someone who has read the collective works of Tolkien, you might find hidden homages in almost every scene.

Let’s jump in and look at all the Easter eggs and references in The Rings of Power Episodes 1 and 2.

The Rings of Power premiere has Easter eggs connecting the story to The Silmarillion, The Return of the King, The Fellowship of the Ring, and more. We encounter Sauron, Morgoth, Galadriel’s swan ship, the Dwarf Kingdom of Moria, and more.

1. The Prologue

The prologue we hear from Galadriel is pretty similar to the one narrated by Cate Blanchett, who plays the same character. Peter Jackson’s first LOTR film, The Fellowship of the Ring, begins with this narrative and the similarities it shares with the prologue in The Rings of Power are pretty uncanny.

2. The Sigil of Sauron and Slash Wounds on Finrod

In the books, Sauron is not known to leave any mark on his enemies, but in the show, he does. However, the slash wounds on Finrod’s body are not wounds caused directly by the Dark Lord himself.

If you’ve read The Silmarillion, you’ll know that Sauron caught Finrod and his comrades while they attempted to reclaim one of the Hallowed Jewels. Sauron then let loose a werewolf on them, and the slash wounds you see on Finrod could be caused by the same werewolf.

3. Battle of Unnumbered Tears

In the prologue, we see a scene where Galadriel places a helmet on an existing heap of helmets. This scene seems similar to the aftermath of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.

It was a battle fought during the First Age of Middle-Earth, and the forces of good had faced a terrible loss. In the aftermath, there is a huge mountain of carcasses of the soldiers who perished in that battle. The shot with the helmets seems to be symbolic of that moment.

4. Galadriel’s Swan

At the show’s beginning, we see a young Galadriel play with a makeshift boat. We later see a gigantic ship of the same design in which the Elven Commander, along with the men who followed her, go towards the gates of Valinor.

Even in Peter Jackson’s films, we see a much older Galadriel aboard the swan-shaped ship. But this isn’t the only connection. In the books, Valinor is supposedly home to a specific group of elves called Teleri, and they live in a place called Alqualondë, which translates to Haven of Swans.

Finally, there’s one more reference in the scene where the crew moves towards Valinor. Galadriel doesn’t want to enter the realm because her job is unfinished. So, she decides to stay back as the gates close on her.

In The Return of the King, we see her enter the same place after Frodo Baggins and the rest of the Fellowship complete their mission.

5. The Love Story between Humans and Elves

Tolkien’s lore has always had a place for romantic stories between people of different races. However, his most popular choices are humans and elves. There have been many instances throughout the saga where the love story between people from the two races hasn’t ended well.

In The Rings of Power, we see a bond forming between Arondir and Bronwyn. A fellow Elf warns Arondir of the repercussions he might face. They seem uncannily similar to the bond between Arwen and Aragorn from Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

However, it can also be connected with the story of Beren and Lúthien, which is told in The Silmarillion. In fact, there are multiple other stories from other ages as well. So, without this subplot, the show wouldn’t feel the same.

6. Khazad-dûm or Mines of Moria

In the third age, the Dwarf Kingdom was in a desolated state because it had been long destroyed. However, the kingdom is flourishing and prospering in The Rings of Power.

We also see Elrond talk about the hospitality of the Dwarven Kingdom, which is quite similar to what Gimli was talking about in the OG films. In fact, even Pippin mentions this in The Return of the King.

7. The Stranger’s Encounter with the Harfoots

The Harfoots are hobbit-like creatures who also seem to live similarly. One of the key characters from this lot is Nori. She and Poppy encounter a childish stranger who can’t seem to talk.

This points to one specific race—the wizards. Even in the books, the wizards’ journey to Middle Earth begins in a similar fashion. Besides this, we also see the stranger communicate with Nori with the help of fireflies.

Now, in the OG films, we had seen Gandalf whisper something to a firefly while he was trapped at the top of Isengard. The stranger here seems to speak in a familiar language, which could mean one of three things.

Either the stranger comes from the same race as the wizards, or he is somehow related to Gandalf. If neither of these is true, then there’s a tiny chance that the stranger could be Gandalf himself.

8. Celebrimbor’s Forge for the Rings of Power

Celebrimbor and Elrond talk about a hammer that was used to forge the jewels which contained the last of the light. The light that Morgoth sought to steal. Celebrimbor also talks about building his own forge, which foreshadows how he would be forging the three Rings of Power, leading to a new age of war.

So, these were all the major Easter eggs from the show’s first two episodes. You’d have found a few more tiny references across the two episodes if you’re a hardcore, eagle-eyed Tolkien fan.

9. About The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American TV series, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay for streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Set 3,000 years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the show will be set in the Second Age of Middle-earth. Beginning with a time of peace, the series will follow the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron and the forging of the rings of power.

The cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, and Dylan Smith among many others.