Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power episode six spoilers follow.
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power episode six is full of reveals.
Mount Doom gets its spectacular debut, cutting short Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the Southlander's victory by erupting all over the place. Molten lava has begun to desecrate the land, ushering in the beginning of the end for the Southlands.
Anyone who has been paying even an ounce of attention (or those with a Tolkien map) will know by now that the lush and grassy Southlands is destined to become the barren, volcanic plain of Mordor.
What has not been so clear is the how. Up until now Mount Doom's origin has not been a part of Lord of the Rings' cinematic history but Rings of Power seeks to change that by canonising its Tolkien backstory.
How was Mount Doom Created?
According to Tolkien lore, Mount Doom was created by Morgoth during the First Age.
This fact is stated in 'The Peoples of Middle-earth' (the 12th volume of 'The History of Middle-earth') though details are thin.
This little detail, however, has been omitted from the Lord of the Rings cinematic universe history until this episode.
Fast forwarding from the First Age on (on paper) to the Second Age (on screen) – the time at which Rings of Power is set – and we see showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne make an effort to bring this history to life.
The oily Waldreg sees an opportunity to align himself closer to Sauron (the master he awaits) by stealing the hilt-key and plunging it into the stoney landmark which bears the same symbol.
It turns out those Orcs weren't digging tunnels in vain, because Waldreg's act triggers a massive flood which rips through the land, flowing to Mount Doom – culminating in its eruption.
Molten lava spews out of every possible Southland orifice before charging in on Galadriel and her Southlander-Númenor companions. The scorched land looks to be the beginning of its ruin.
While the history of Mount Doom isn't very explicit in Tolkien's lore it does seem to line up quite nicely with what we're seeing in Rings of Power.
The digging of the tunnels in previous episodes leading to this disastrous end proves that there was a plan at play. The orchestrated eruption would therefore have to have been set up by someone who had a real connection with the volcano.
The Watchtower (where the hilt-key was able to activate the volcano) was built by those who once followed Morgoth.
In episode four Waldreg states that the hilt, the 'power,' was created by Sauron but what if he wasn't entirely right? While Sauron may have wielded the hilt, its link to the volcano now makes it more feasible that it was Morgoth who created it.
Since he was the one who created Mount Doom it would make sense for him to have made a way for it to be easily activated, weaponising it at his own whim.
This would mean that the Rings of Power is beginning to fold the full origin of Mount Doom into the Lord of the Rings cinematic universe for the first time, but we'll have to wait for confirmation on that one.
Who created the Orcs?
Mount Doom is not the only thing getting the canon treatment this episode. Or at least a fuller, richer backstory. The tale of how the Orcs came to be is also delved into much further in this episode.
Fans of the movie franchise will already know that the first Orcs were created by torturing and corrupting elves. Galadriel's conversation with the corrupt elf Adar, whose blood also runs Orc-black, adds more meat to the bones.
"I heard stories of elves taken by Morgoth," she explains. "Tortured. Twisted. Made into a new ruined life, you are one of them, are you not?"
"We prefer Uruk," says Adar (Joseph Mawle) by way of confirmation.
After Morgoth's defeat, the Orcs were used by Sauron, who "sought to craft a power not of the flesh," Adar reveals, "but over flesh, the power of the unseen world."
His thirst for power led to the bloodshed of countless Orcs (our hearts bleed), which Adar could not abide.
Instead he claims to have killed Sauron (which we of course know can't be true) and sought a new home for the Orcs, hence the eradication of the Southlanders.
This fills in some of the blanks to Tolkien's story, opening up his world just that little bit more.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power airs weekly every Friday on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
