Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Durin III uses his ring to restore sunlight to Khazad-dûm, answering the crisis that threatened its food supply. The success makes his growing hunger for wealth harder to challenge. He plans deeper mining and demands a share of other Dwarf-lords' riches in exchange for their rings. Disa senses something dangerous beneath the workings, while Durin takes his concern about his father's behaviour to Celebrimbor. The king offers his son restored standing but refuses the warning, leaving Durin caught between the reconciliation he wanted and a power he increasingly fears.
Celebrimbor celebrates the completed Dwarven rings and the new Doors of Durin, then resists Annatar's demand for rings for Men. Mirdania's experiment exposes a terrifying presence in the unseen world, which Sauron persuades her to associate with the smith instead of himself. When Celebrimbor challenges him about the Dwarven rings, Annatar turns the accusation toward their shared deception of Gil-galad. Fearing that confession will end his life's work, Celebrimbor agrees to continue, hoping the Nine can redeem the damage done by the Seven.
Pharazôn's rule tightens around the Faithful in Númenor. Kemen interrupts a memorial service and destroys a sacred object, provoking a confrontation in which Valandil defeats him but is stabbed after sparing him. Elendil is blamed for the disturbance and arrested. In Lindon, Elrond warns that Adar's army is heading for Eregion. Galadriel remains a prisoner, but Adar offers to treat her as an ally against the enemy they share.