Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Middle-earth Lore.After what seems like a whole age of waiting, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally here! The show, not the actual rings, of course. To see them, we are actually going to have to wait a little longer. In the second episode "Adrift", we see Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), Lord of the Elvensmiths of Eregion, talk to Elrond (Robert Aramayo) about his next project, creating a powerful forge that will inevitably forge the titular rings and the One Ring.
But hold on! This is still the very beginning of the show, and Celebrimbor doesn't seem to know what he is going to do. What he knows is that he wants to surpass his grandfather, Fëanor, and produce something with the capacity to change Middle-Earth forever. That's Celebrimbor for you, as ambitious and starry-eyed as ever. The tale of Fëanor, however, will resemble his own in the future, both in the beauty of the results - as Fëanor was the one who produced the gems known as the Silmarils - and tragic consequences - as Fëanor was responsible for a genocide and a lot of other terrible things for his own kin. It's a messed-up family tree, but at least they're good smiths.
Celebrimbor Plans to Build a Mysterious Forge
Celebrimbor introduces the idea of a very ambitious project to Elrond, sent by the High King of the Elves, Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker), to aid the Elvensmith. He explains that the forge's power will be unlike anything ever seen in Middle-earth so far. The catch is that he needs it ready by spring. And that's how two arcs start to settle in the show: the cooperation between the Elves of Eregion and the Dwarves of Khazad-Dûm and the forging of the Rings of Power themselves. There is something strange in Celebrimbor's words, though. He reveals that Elrond is there to help him not with the "what", but with the "how". "What is but a glint on the far horizon," he says. It's not clear at this moment if he really has a specific goal in mind or not, but he knows where to start.
So far, Celebrimbor is very vague on the goal of this project but says he is already on a tight deadline. Weird, seeing as he is the Lord of Eregion, not a college student working on a thesis, right? It's almost as if there is something pressing him for time. Or someone. The building of his forge doesn't really figure into the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, but a look into J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium timeline may shed some light on what may be really going on here. (To be fair, the series only has the rights to The Lord of the Rings books and appendices and The Hobbit, so all of this is speculation.)
Sauron Might Already Be Influencing Celebrimbor
After the defeat of Morgoth, Sauron starts to stir again in Middle-Earth around year 500 of the Second Age (SA 500, to make it easier). The realm of Eregion itself is only founded after that, in SA 750, which would mean the great foe is already active. He is not the Sauron everyone fears, but is already running his schemes and influencing events here and there, laying the foundations for his big return. In SA 1200, he attempts to enter the Elvish capital of Lindon, the seat of High King Gil-Galad. By then, he is disguised in his fair elvish form and operates under the name of Annatar, claiming to be a messenger from the Valar and to come bearing gifts. Gil-Galad doesn't buy it and sends him on his away.
Sauron (or Annatar) then goes on to Eregion, where he is welcomed by Celebrimbor, and they start working on forging the Rings of Power. By SA 1500, the Elvensmiths of Eregion have reached the height of their powers and abilities as craftsmen under the guidance and leadership of Celebrimbor and Annatar. Almost two centuries later, Sauron will abandon his fair elvish form and reveal himself to Middle-Earth. In SA 1695, his armies attack Eregion and lay waist to the Elvish realm. He takes Celebrimbor hostage and, two years later, the Lord of the Elvensmiths dies in his torment.
Looking at the timeline is important because, so far, none was given to us by the show itself, so we still don't know when exactly in the Second Age we really are. But the current state of affairs would place The Rings of Power somewhere around SA 1200, but not close to SA 1500, yet. This means Sauron is very much alive and active in Middle-earth and could very well have already made contact with Celebrimbor. Yes, you read that right. Sauron may already be present in the very beginning of the show.
The Stranger Might Be a Misdirect
This theory would, of course, require The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) to be another entity instead of the Dark Lord, but it's not at all unlikely. On the contrary, it would explain Celebrimbor's haste on building the forge and his knowing how much power he would need it to produce. Starry-eyed as he is, he could be under the influence of Annatar already, and the blueprints to the forge could be one of his "gifts". Sauron doesn't want to waste any more time after centuries of preparing his servants for his return, so he could have put on his Annatar disguise and started feeding ideas to Celebrimbor, who, desperate to leave his mark and surpass Fëanor as a craftsman, is excited to begin his work. The following three centuries would then see the building of the forge and the Elvensmiths of Eregion perfect their craft, the result being the Rings of Power themselves.
Of course, we are only two episodes into the show, so this could be reaching a little. As far we know, the showrunners might have something completely different in store and, who knows, this tower to hold the forge could end up being something completely unrelated, like Barad-Dûr or Orthanc (we do know that Saruman builds his factories really quick in Peter Jackson's trilogy). Enough artistic liberties are being taken, so this kind of theory may not be that far off. But the timeline does not lie, and if the showrunners stick to it, well... We might be in for meeting the Dark Lord a lot sooner that we think.