10 Biggest Changes Rings Of Power Season 3, Episodes 1-4 Make To Tolkien's Story

Published Nov 11, 2026, 8:00 AM EST Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Warning! Spoilers for Rings of Power season 3, episodes 1-4 ahead! Prime Video is back at it with Rings of Power season 3! The platform was kind enough to premiere with four episodes, which will ultimately be exactly half of the complete eight-episode season. We've therefore covered quite a bit of ground in a short amount of time, and Rings of Power has absolutely delivered on all the thrilling intensity that was promised. Of course, as was expected, not all of this is strictly in line with what J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in his various works. Rings of Power has taken a lot of flak for its various changes to canon, but that's not always exactly fair. The Second Age of Middle-earth was never written about within a novel or traditional narrative. Instead, Tolkien described these events as an impartial historian would. This ultimately meant that large gaps in the details had to be filled in. For this reason, there's no point in listing all the ways brand-new characters like Arondir or Theo don't have a place in canon. Still, there are a good handful of elements in Rings of Power season 3 that do specifically contradict that canon version of the story. Sauron Struggles To Craft The One Ring Image via MovieStillsDB Tolkien didn't describe in much detail the actual process of Sauron creating the One Ring, nor did he ever mention whether the Dark Lord faced any significant failures or challenges. In Rings of Power season 3, however, we pick up with the understanding that Sauron has been at this for quite some time. The show establishes that Celebrimbor kept a key secret from Sauron and that he needs to discover what it is to create a ring that can control not just all the others but the Three Elven Rings as well. It's an entertaining struggle, but certainly not canon. In canon, Sauron had possession of the Three Elven Rings and gave them to the Elves, even though he didn't craft them himself. It therefore doesn't make sense that he would need one back to study it and create the One Ring. An Orc Betrays Sauron To Help The Elves Image via MovieStillsDB Rings of Power's orcs have been rather controversial across the board. Last season, we saw orc parents with their baby, which, though frequently challenged, is not out of line with the Tolkien canon. Season 3 takes things a bit further, however, and we see what the showrunners are calling an "orc with an arc." Marnûkh seemingly betrays Sauron to help the Elves prevent the creation of the One Ring. There's absolutely no mention of such an event in Tolkien's works; neither is there any orc that ever went good. One Blue Wizard Turns On The Other Image via Prime Video We now know that the Stranger is actually Gandalf the Grey, and Rings of Power season 3 has officially revealed that the Dark Wizard is one of the Blue Wizards. More specifically, he is Pallando. This makes some sense in canon, since one of Tolkien's explanations for what happened to these wizards is that they formed magical cults in Rhûn. What the author never wrote about, however, is this idea that Pallando murdered his companion, Alatar, and that this is what caused Rhûn to become a desert wasteland. King Durin IV Struggles With His Brother Ben Rothstein/©Amazon/MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection In Tolkien's legendarium, there was a King Durin III who ruled Khazad-dûm around the time that Sauron's Rings were created. However, he did not have a son named Durin IV who lived at the same time. The name "Durin" was given to dwarves that were believed to be incarnations of Durin the Deathless, so there couldn't be two at once. Durin IV ruled generations later, during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. All of this means that the family drama seen in Rings of Power season 3 between Durin and Thráin absolutely did not happen. While it's conceivable that Tolkien would have written about brotherly rivalry among the dwarven heirs, the dramatic misunderstanding about Disa and Thráin's relationship feels less like something that would ever appear in his works. Some Elven Smiths Actually Did Escape Eregion Rings of Power season 3 hinges on the idea that none of the Elven Smiths survived the fall of Eregion. In the show, Sauron specifically ordered that all of them be executed and Celebrimbor's records be burned. This bites him in the butt, since he now needs answers that only an Eregion smith would have. This wouldn't necessarily have been an issue in canon, since it's specifically noted that several smiths (Gwaith-i-Mírdain) were among the elves that escaped to Rivendell. Whether Sauron could have gained access to them is another matter, but they certainly existed. Sauron’s Process Of Choosing The Nine Sauron's entire process of handing out his Rings of Power is quite different in Prime Video's TV show compared to Tolkien works. According to canon, Sauron intended for all of his rings to go to elves, but they proved too difficult to corrupt. He had to gather them all back up again before ultimately deciding to redistribute them to Dwarves and Men. As for the Nine specifically, Sauron chose men of influence and power—the Great Kings of Men. There's no real reason to think that he had ordinary men fight one another to the death to claim rings for themselves. The Faithful’s Violent Conflict Against Pharazon The idea of Elendil leading a group known as the Faithful is absolutely canon. It didn't really happen until much later, when Pharazon embraced Sauron's cult, and Númenor began worshiping and giving human sacrifices to Morgoth. Even then, however, the Faithful were a peaceful resistance to the new practices. They simply refused to participate. Rings of Power portrays the Faithful as being an army in training that plans and carries out assassinations and other forms of violence. This is, once again, far more dramatic, but not a part of Tolkien's story. Galadriel’s Fear & Fixation On Sauron MovieStillsDB It's no big secret that Rings of Power invented the implied romance between Galadriel and Sauron. While it's certainly possible that the Dark Lord would have wanted Galadriel on his side, perhaps even as his queen (pretty much everyone fell immediately in love with Galadriel), there's no concrete proof. Moreover, the idea of Galadriel having nightmares about Sauron being in her bed doesn't fit with anything we know about these canon characters. Galadriel was among those who were never fooled by Annatar, and while she knew Sauron was dangerous, she never had this traumatized fear response toward him. Gandalf Speaking Directly To The Secret Fire MovieStillsDB When Gandalf faces the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring, he announces that he is a servant to the Secret Fire. Rings of Power has incorporated this idea, but with some odd twists. The Secret Fire is the source of all life in Tolkien's works, and the only being with access to it is the supreme god, Eru Ilúvatar. When Gandalf says he is a servant to the Secret Fire, he means that he serves Ilúvatar's will for life. There's no reason to think the wizard could ever speak to the flame directly, or that the flame could ever talk back. If this is just meant to be a vision that Ilúvatar used to communicate with Gandalf, then perhaps it works. Celeborn’s Captivity At Gundabad Image via MovieStillsDB Rings of Power had already headed in its own direction regarding the character Celeborn, since it was claimed by Galadriel in season 1 that her husband had died. We all knew that couldn't possibly be true, and Rings of Power delivered in season 3 with the reveal that Celeborn had just been taken captive. Galadriel finds him at Gundabad, but it's hard to imagine he was kept there for the several thousand years since the First Age. It's all a big oddity, but we will have to see where this non-canon story goes as Rings of Power season 3 continues. Release Date September 1, 2022 Network Amazon Prime Video Showrunner John D. Payne, Patrick McKay Cast Ismael Cruz Cordova Arondir Directors J.A. Bayona, Sanaa Hamri Writers Patrick McKay, John D. Payne, J.R.R. Tolkien, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Stephany Folsom, Nicholas Adams Franchise(s) The Lord of the Rings Creator(s) Patrick McKay, John D. Payne