‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 6′: Why it Took ‘4 Years’ to Make the Episode’s Explosive Ending

The Rings of Power episode 6 is the most action-packed yet and features a shocking ending. Amazon Prime Video went all in on their Lord of the Rings series, and that dedication to creating a fantastic production is displayed in this episode’s conclusion. The showrunners for The Rings of Power have been building up to this moment and say that it took four years to make it a reality. [SPOILERS AHEAD!]

‘The Rings of Power’ episode 6 delivers an epic Middle Earth battle

Episode 6 of The Rings of Power is a collision between two of the main storylines. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the forces of Numenor are traveling to the Southlands to assist Ostirith in a battle against an army of orcs led by Adar. The battle is long, bloody, and violent, but it also brings together many of the main characters viewers have been following thus far. 

While the battle appears to be won by the main heroes, a stunning twist reveals the orcs pulled off some trickery and stole the hilt bearing Sauron’s mark. The hilt is then used to open up a dam of water that flows into the valley, and through the tunnel the orcs were building earlier. The water falls into a pit of fire, erupting out of what is revealed to be Mount Doom. The episode ends with the origins of Mordor as fire reigns down on the land. “Udûn” — the title of the episode — is a valley in Mordor, so hardcore Tolkien fans could have seen this coming. 

The Mount Doom ending took four years to make

In an interview with Techradar, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne explained the lengthy process it took to bring Mount Doom and Mordor to life. McKay says they had a roadmap leading up to this moment in episode 6 of The Rings of Power, and it took four years to make it finally. 

“[It took] four years,” McKay shares. “We’ve known about that sequence for that long.”

“When we were blocking out season 1, we had a whiteboard of character arcs for Galadriel, Elendil, Isildur, Arondir, Bronwyn – all the main characters in this episode,” Payne adds. “All of those journeys were leading to this point when we finally introduce Mordor.”

Bringing this scene to life was a massive undertaking that required multiple cameras and countless hours of VFX production. VFX producer Ron Ames told Techrader that even though the series is fantasy, the visual effects team wanted to take a more scientific approach to capture how a volcano erupts. The team also used real-world locations, practical effects, and CGI to make this sequence more immersive. 

“It was important to us to use real-world locations. The actual mountain itself is based on a real location. The cliff that Ostilith sits on is an actual location. We went to those areas and shot backgrounds using helicopters. We also landed in those areas and took photographs and plates. Even the water you see in the final sequence is real – it’s just mixed in with some CGI elements to aid the flow of this massive deluge as it careens down the valley.”

The visual effects team made sure to balance the workload

Given the massive amount of work required to create this ending, along with the other effects needed in The Rings of Power, it would have required the visual effects team to work long days during crunch time. Ames says they would often work “12-hour” days, but he always ensured everyone would go home to shower and spend time with family. 

“Having seen the film business change and being an advocate for technology, I would say mindfulness and an approach to sharing the load is extremely important. Largely, we didn’t work more than 12-hour days. In some instances, I had to send crew members home to sleep and shower – they all worked extremely hard, but everyone got to go home, to see their families, to attend weddings, and do all the things humans need to do. I think the future of filmmaking requires us to look at mindfulness in the workplace and how to move forward in a balanced way to get the most creativity out of our artists.”

The Rings of Power is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.