The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Do not read until you have seen episodes one to four …
By the rivers of … Beleriand
After getting a blurry glimpse last week, we get to see Adar (Joseph Mawle) properly. His chat with Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) before releasing him from proto-Mordor might have been short, but we did glean a few nuggets. Adar is a corrupted elf in the service of Sauron. He and Arondir spoke Elvish and swapped stories of rivers in Beleriand (an area mostly destroyed by Morgoth’s forces during the War of Wrath of the First Age).
Adar also spoke of the many lies he had learned, before releasing Arondir with a simple message – the Southlanders have two choices …
And in the south …
The locals of Tirharad, now holed up in the abandoned elven watchtower, were running low on supplies, so Rowan (Ian Blackburn) and Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) volunteered to go back to the village to stock up. Naturally, it was a disaster, with Rowan returning alone, leaving Theo to be attacked by the orcs. Thankfully, Arondir had been released by this point, and was free to save his crush’s son from having his arm lopped off. Later joined by Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), the trio escaped the orcs and took a few out before the sunrise saved the day. Handy with a bow, that Arondir.
We still don’t know why that blade hilt reacts as it does to Theo, or indeed what it actually is. Let’s assume that it was Sauron’s blade from the War of Wrath, and that the oath sworn by men of the area still lives in the bloodline, which is why it behaves as it does when it comes into contact with his blood. The identity of Theo’s dad then becomes key – does Theo come from a long line of ardent Morgoth worshippers?
The conversation with Waldreg (Geoff Morrell) was intriguing – devotion to the Dark Lord still runs deep in the region, meaning the elves were wise to keep watch on the Southlands for so long, and foolish to end their stint after just 79 years. “He who was lost, but shall return,” says Waldreg, and makes a reference to a star fall. Of course, we know that to mean the comet The Stranger flew in on. Is it merely part of a wider prophecy, or, more literally, does it mean The Stranger is, in fact, Sauron? (I don’t think it does, for what it’s worth, but I’ve been wrong before.)
Elf lovers
A more in-depth trip to Númenor this week, for some Important Things. Queen-regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) stopped being angry for long enough to tell Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) that she has been plagued by visions from the palantír, and that her dad, Tar-Palantír is alive, barely.
Míriel has seen a great wave (this episode is called The Great Wave) destroying Númenor, the downfall of the kingdom ushered in by Galadriel’s arrival. Of course, Númenor will be destroyed by a great wave, so the vision is true. She is not going to be able to do anything about that, but at least she decides to assist Galadriel with her quest to help the Southlanders, swayed by the White Tree shedding its leaves – a reminder that the Valar are watching, always (and, of course, a sign that her vision might imminently come true).
We learned more about Eärien (Ema Horvath) this week, namely that she likes standing about in the town square looking worried and isn’t great at flirting (“Scrubbing is good for dexterity”? Pur-lease). Her brother Isildur (Maxim Baldry) is every bit as beautiful but almost as useless, although now he’s been kicked out of the sea service and has volunteered to head to Middle-earth, his real journey can begin.
All that glitters
We got our first glimpse of mithril, the most-prized metal in Middle-earth, described by Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring as something desired by all folk … “It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim.”
Durin (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) are keeping the discovery of mithril secret from almost everyone, even his dad, the king (Peter Mullan), and they suspect it’s the real reason for the arrival of Elrond (Robert Aramayo). It’s not, of course, but at least they managed to repair their friendship, despite the minor disaster in the mine. And Elrond outed himself as Middle-earth’s answer to Sherlock Holmes, the way he immediately knew things weren’t right when he saw Durin’s axe and the pot of stew on the stove.
Talking of disasters, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is well under way with his forge, and I can’t help but think that explosion in Khazad-dûm is a sign of a balrog being disturbed from its slumber.
Overall
We reach the end of another slightly plodding episode, with most characters not much further along on their journeys by the end, but one that hints at a tantalising fifth instalment next week. Hopefully, we will see Queen-regent Míriel, Galadriel and the fleet depart Númenor for Middle-earth and head south to kill some orcs.
I’m still not sold on Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), but we didn’t get much in the way of his identity here. I went out on a limb last week and suggested he was Sauron himself – the internet seems to think he’ll go on to become the Witch-king of Angmar. Either way, he’s a wrong ’un.
Notes and observations
The way the camera lingered on the blade Adar plunged into the wounded orc made me think it was significant, and in turn, revealed a little more about Adar’s possible identity. That dagger could be made of galvorn, an alloy created by a … dark elf called Eöl. But if I had to put money on Adar being another character from the books, I’d say it was Eöl’s son, Maeglin. He was lord of the hidden kingdom of Gondolin, who betrayed his people by telling Morgoth where it was. He was born in Beleriand, too, and supposedly died falling into flames. Maybe he lived and has badly burned skin?
I’m slightly obsessed with Tamar’s (Jason Hood) beard. Even when he was attacking Halbrand last week, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Is that fuzz real? If not, what is it made of? Hair? Shredded Wheat?
If ever you wondered what the plural of palantír was, you have an answer. Thanks Galadriel, Middle-earth’s answer to Susie Dent. Not palantír, palantírs or palantírae, but palantíri.
Talking of palantír (stop saying palantír in there) … “Seven seeing stones there once were, the other six either lost or hidden,” says the Queen-regent, setting up a slightly different scenario for this series to that of the books, where there were eight. We see two in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, one used by Saruman at Orthanc, later collected by Pip and Gandalf after his impaling and used by Aragorn to announce his return to the throne, and a second, in that vision, in the hand of Sauron.
Film fans have seen mithril before – Bilbo’s shiny vest in The Hobbit, later given to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring, was made of it.
Keep your eye on Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) – he’s up to no good, and who knows what he might do with the Queen-regent away on her travels.
What did you think? No harfoots this week, did you miss them? Any more thoughts on who Halbrand is? Have your say below …
