Where are all the rings in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3?

One ring to find them

As the name of the series implies, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is focused on how the Dark Lord Sauron (Charlie Vickers) forged the Rings of Power as part of a scheme to control all of Middle-earth. As of season 3, the three Elven Rings, Seven Rings for the Dwarf-lords, and the Nine Rings for Mortal Men have all been made, while Sauron is working endlessly to complete his project by building the One Ring to rule them all.

That's a lot of magic jewelry to keep track of! If you need a refresher, we’ve put together a list of where the rings are and who is currently wearing them.

The Three Elven Rings

While in disguise and calling himself Halbrand, Sauron inspired the elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to create three rings that would save the Elves of Middle-earth from losing their immortality. He forged them in the season 1 finale using mithril Elrond (Robert Aramayo) received from his friend Durin IV (Owain Arthur), combined with a knife made of gold and silver from Valinor.

Even though Sauron didn’t have a direct hand in creating these rings, Elrond feared Sauron would use them to manipulate the Elves. So he stole the rings and took them to Círdan the Shipwright (Ben Daniels) in the Elven capital Lindon. Círdan is the oldest and wisest elf in Middle-earth and he offered to throw the rings into the ocean. But after actually seeing them, he changed his mind and donned the ring Narya. He brought the other two back to Lindon, where Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) put on Nenya and the High King of the Elves Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) donned Vilya. Their power was able to restore the Great Tree of Lindon, which is tied to the vitality of the elves of Middle-earth.

As of season 3, all three of those elves are still wearing those rings, which are the only things that seem capable of stopping Sauron’s advance across Middle-earth. Galadriel is protecting Rivendell, while Gil-galad and Círdan preserve Lindon. Meanwhile, Sauron is scouring Middle-earth for information on how Celebrimbor crafted the Elven rings so he can forge a ring of his own that would bind all the ringbearers to his will.

The Seven Dwarven Rings

With just a touch, Sauron was able to corrupt the seven rings that Celebrimbor made for the Dwarves. Durin III (Peter Mullan) wore one in season 2, and it made him paranoid and greedy. He didn’t listen to his son’s pleas to take off the ring even as Khazad-dûm was plunged into darkness. He only realized how much the ring was affecting him when he unleashed the Balrog while digging for mithril. He then took off the ring, gave it to Durin IV, and sacrificed himself to seal the Balrog away again.

As of the beginning of season 3, Durin IV has possession of all the Dwarven rings and has hidden them away, refusing to give them to the other Dwarven lords who paid Durin III for them. Durin’s older brother Thráin (Eddie Marsan) came to Khazad-dûm along with some of these lords, and while he’s acting like he has his brother’s best interests at heart, he’s actually in league with Sauron.

When Durin tells the Dwarf lords that the rings drove his father mad, Thráin points out that the king was wearing a ring when he decided to make Durin his heir. Arguing that their father was not of sound mind, he challenges his brother to a duel for control of Khazad-dûm. He wins and becomes the new king, but he still needs to find those rings.

The Nine Rings for Mortal Men

Sauron was directly involved in the construction of the Nine Rings for Mortal Men and has the most control over their wielders. As of the beginning of season 3, he has already distributed three of them, and these Ring-servants (or Nazgnagôl) are fearsome warriors capable of dark magic.

In the season premiere, the Gaudrim (Men from the desert lands of Rhûn) come to Mordor to accept his proposal of an alliance with the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds). Sauron makes them fight among themselves and gives one ring to the winner, Khamûl the Easterling (Zubin Varla). The ring’s power cures him of the Dark Wizard’s flesh-warping curse and he returns to Rhûn to usurp his former master. While the Dark Wizard demands that Khamûl surrender his ring, the Nazgnagôl refuses and shows off his new power by almost breaking the wizard’s staff.

Sauron also offered a ring to the Men of Númenor, who ignored his missives. Instead, the invite was answered by a group of Men from Pelargir, including Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) who were looking for an alternative to toiling for their colonial lords. Once again, Sauron made them fight for a ring. This time, he intervened after seeing a scar on Theo’s arm that came from the magical sword hilt used to cause a volcanic eruption in the Southlands and create Mordor.

Sauron uses necromancy to contact Theo’s father, Faldred, son of Hammethreg, explaining that he was a steward of Mordor and that Theo’s mother killed him when she discovered his dark nature. Sauron then offers Theo a ring as a way to claim power for himself as a conqueror, a sorcerer, and a king. Theo dons the ring and accompanies Sauron to Gundabad, but tries to allow Galadriel, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), and Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower) to escape. Sauron demonstrates his control of Theo by forcing him to kill his surrogate father, Arondir.