The Rings of Power
War has destroyed Middle Earth as we know it (Picture: Amazon / Twitter / Wikipedia)

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power episode 6*

The Rings of Power fans watched on in utter disbelief as the latest installment of the Lord of the Rings revealed a major plot twist.

Set thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, the sixth explosive episode of the JRR Tolkien adaptation explained the origins of a Lord of the Rings landmark.

With Adar (Joseph Mawle) declaring war on the men and women currently living in the Southlands and unleashing the full might of his orc army, the chances of survival look slim.

However, after Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) successfully convinced Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to fight against the evil forces threatening Middle Earth, help is on the way.

Meanwhile, the sword Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) has been keeping secret finally reveals its true powers and opens a floodgate that flushes out the tunnels the Orcs use to protect themselves from the lethal sunlight.

As well as an underground stream, the water also activates a dormant volcano, thought to be Mount Doom, causing a violent eruption that will destroy the bucolic Southlands into Mordor.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Viewers’ jaws were dropping over the episode(Picture: Amazon Prime Video)

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay opened up about the spectacular twist, which they revealed links to environmentalism themes in Tolkien’s books.

Patrick explained: ‘In the writers’ room, we asked: “What if Mordor was beautiful?” All bucolic like Switzerland. And then what could happen that could transform it? We talked about the poisoning of the land – which starts in the first episode with the cow. Then you find out about the tunnels being dug and sulfur is going up into the air.

Rings of Power
Middle Earth has completely changed (Picture: Amazon Studios via AP)

‘It all builds towards this geologically realistic way of igniting the mountain which now blacks out the sky for a very practical reason — Adar, our villain, sees the Orcs as his people and they deserve a home where the sun doesn’t torment them. We’re hoping it will take people by surprise.’

Lord of the Rings fans were ‘blown away’ by the eventful episode with one writing: ‘Oh my God! That was an amazing #RingsofPower episode! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and that ending?!? OMG!’

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
The orc army was absolutely terrifying (Picture: Amazon)

Another penned: ‘Last episode blew me away. The anticipation is insane, I can’t wait till next Friday!’

‘#RingsofPower really picked up the pace this week with its best episode yet, but I did miss these cute ex-boyfriends,’ a viewer added.

A third remarked: ‘I think we can all collectively agree that this is the best episode of #RingsOfPower so far. Can’t wait for the next episode.’

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video

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