Episode 6 of the fantasy series Rings of Power episode 6 ended with a bang. No, seriously: it literally ended with a volcanic eruption.
The latest episode of the fantasy series saw the Southlands and its inhabitants under assault from Adar and his warband of orcs. Then, just as defeat seemed to be closing in, Galadriel, Halbrand, and the Númenóreans came to the rescue to rout the orcs and save the day. With Adar and the orcs defeated, everything seemed settled again: the Númenóreans even cracked out the kegs of beer. But then a nearby volcano erupted, raining down fire, ash, and flaming stone.
It was one of the most impressive and entertaining moments in the series so far, but it has left fans with one big question. Is the volcano that erupted in the Southlands Mount Doom?
Is the Volcano in the Southlands Mount Doom?
It hasn’t been explicitly confirmed by anyone in the series – but yes. The volcano in the Southlands is Mount Doom. We know this because the Southlands is the area that will later become Mordor in the Lord of the Rings movies, which has the volcano Mount Doom at the centre.
So what does this signal? When Waldreg used the broken sword as a key to open the floodgates, water poured through the tunnels that the orcs had been digging and led straight into the volcano, triggering an enormous eruption. This will transform the Southlands into Mordor with Mount Doom at its heart. Sauron will then use Mordor as his base of activity and as his stronghold.
Mount Doom, also known as Orodruin, or Amon Amarth by Men, would become pivotal in the subsequent events of Middle-earth. Its fire is used by Sauron to craft his One Ring, and it is also where that same One Ring is later destroyed, and where Gollum dies.