Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to return for Season 3, with showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay confirming that the upcoming episodes will feature Sauron’s long-awaited attempt to forge the One Ring at his forge in Barad-dûr, following the distribution of the rings for Men across Middle-earth.
Sauron’s Brutal Forge Failure in Season Three
The journey toward creating the ultimate weapon hits an immediate snag in the opening script pages of the new season. According to Entertainment Weekly, Sauron does not succeed on his initial attempt at his forge in Barad-dûr. Instead, the process goes disastrously wrong when an orc’s hand bursts into unearthly flames. The fire consumes the orc entirely, leaving behind nothing more than a pile of bones.
This dramatic misstep sets up a complex internal conflict for Charlie Vickers’s character. While his armies remain ascendant and his geopolitical influence stretches across Middle-earth, crafting a ring more powerful than any created before proves to be a deeply frustrating personal struggle. Co-showrunner Patrick McKay noted that beginnings matter deeply to the series, framing Season 3 as the point where Sauron actually makes the One Ring in the volcano, balancing outward military dominance with private technical failure.
Production Challenges and Character Evolution
Behind the camera, bringing this pivotal sequence to life required an immense physical and technical commitment. The production spent two full weeks filming the Ring’s creation alone. Charlie Vickers described the two different physical ring props used on set—one bearing its iconic inscription and one left plain—noting that the prop felt like it whispered a lot of stuff to him over those two weeks of shooting. McKay praised Vickers’s performance during these grueling sequences as absolutely staggering.
Stepping fully into Sauron’s true form after two seasons of disguise and deception as Halbrand and Annatar was an emotional milestone for the actor. Vickers admitted to crying on his first day walking onto the set in the character’s full costume.
A Darker Tonal Shift for Middle-earth
The narrative architecture of the series is undergoing a deliberate evolution. J.D. Payne has emphasized that Season 3 finally presents a full-on villain in a way the streaming show hadn’t previously attempted. Patrick McKay added that Sauron’s true emergence fundamentally changes the tone of the show, making it darker and more dangerous than what has come before, ensuring that no character remains entirely safe.
As the narrative converges on the fires of Mount Doom, the protracted buildup is finally yielding the legendary artifact that binds them all.
