Sauron, is that you? Multiple endings reportedly in the pipe for The Rings of Power season 2

The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will come out on Amazon Prime Video sometime this year...we think. We know filming's been done for a while, but we haven't heard anything about a potential release date. If Amazon doesn't announce one soon, we'll start getting worried.

But that's a problem for another day. Right now, we have new information on season 2 itself, courtesy of scoopers extraordinaire Redanian Intelligence. RI has talked to members of The Rings of Power production and gotten information on alleged multiple endings for the second season; the producers reportedly don't know what they're going to use yet.

Keep in mind that this information isn't ironclad, especially since Amazon has apparently been spreading false information about season 2 to confound leak-hounds like us, but it's still fun to talk about. Beware potential MAJOR SPOILERS below!

Ending 1: Galadriel is reunited with her husband Celeborn

In the first season of The Rings of Power, we learn that Galadriel has a husband, Celeborn, who has been MIA for a while. That's no surprise to longtime Lord of the Rings fans, since Celeborn is around in J.R.R. Tolkien's original trilogy. It's odd that he's basically a no-show in the first season of The Rings of Power, which is set thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings proper. When elves like Galadriel and Celeborn marry, it's usually for life, and the lives of elves are eternal.

Anyway, according to RI, in The Rings of Power season 2, Celeborn will return, played by actor Calam Lynch. HOWEVER (and here's your last chance to avoid SPOILERS), he'll actually be nascent dark lord Sauron in disguise the whole time. In season 1, Galadriel encountered Sauron when he was taking the form of a man named Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers. Vickers will also appear in season 2.

Anyway, in the first of these potential endings, the real Celeborn will appear before Galadriel, also played by Calum Lynch. I'm guessing that Galadriel has figured out by this point that Sauron has been impersonating her husband, because she's unsure if this is the real article. She thinks he's the real deal, trusts her gut, and ends up being right. Husband and wife are reunited.

Ending 2: Celeborn is injured

In the second ending, Calum Lynch again turns up as the real Celeborn at the end of the second season, which will climax with a huge battle. In this version, Celeborn is injured, which tips Galadriel off to the fact that he's real, since apparently Sauron can't fake injuries...? The information on this one may be incomplete.

Anyway, in this version, there's no ambiguity about whether Celeborn is who he says he is or not. However, he's injured and on the edge of death. Apparently the season would end with us not knowing if Celeborn pulls through, which seems silly because, again, Celeborn is alive for the events of The Lord of the Rings thousands of years later, so there wouldn't be much tension to this potential cliffhanger.

Ending 3: Celeborn is Sauron, but the real Celeborn is alive elsewhere

In this ending, Celeborn again appears before Galadriel, but this time, it's actually Sauron still in disguise. He tells Galadriel that her husband is still alive.

Whatever happens, RI says that Calum Lynch will play the real Celeborn in season 3, which we know is in the planning stages. All of these endings go down in the last 5-10 minutes of the season, so the producers could, in theory, switch them out as they please right up to the air date, whenever that is.

As a grumpy Tolkien purist, I don't personally like any of these endings, mainly because I think it was a bad decision to leave Celeborn offscreen this long in the first place. This story seems like a very loose interpretation of Tolkien's writings, where Sauron appears before the elves in a beautiful form and helps them forge the Rings of Power. But he didn't show up as Celeborn, but rather as a holy shining guy named Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. I wish we had that story. Boo hoo wah wah.

Also, if this indeed the story they're going with, with Galadriel being fooled by Sauron impersonating her husband for most of the season only to learn the truth at the end, it sounds an awful lot like what happened with her in the first season, when she was fooled by Sauron impersonating a guy named Halbrand for most of the season only to learn the truth at the end. We'll get the full details whenever Amazon wants to release the next season.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.