In my review of the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, I set as one of the metrics by which to measure the success of the show whether it depicts “a Middle-earth that is at once familiar to viewers and novel.” That is, if it will show us the same world we have seen before, but at a different time, from a different perspective, and with different elements at play. By simultaneously establishing one key new setting while otherwise moving past the necessary introductory material that made it difficult to judge the show fully, the third episode succeeded at this metric. For these and other reasons, it is the best episode of the show thus far.
The key setting introduced in this episode is Númenor, the island kingdom of men that holds an Atlantis-like significance. This redoubt of men in their prime is stunningly portrayed, a marvel of craft and splendor. But it also feels real, with its own culture and intricacies. We meet some of what are surely this season’s — and perhaps the entire show’s — most important characters. That includes some less-familiar names (Miriel, the island’s ruler, and Pharazon, her adviser), as well as some more-familiar ones (Elendil, Isildur). It is a place rich in texture and character, with plenty of dramatic potential as its fate unfolds.
The way we see this place is interesting also. In the most-famous depictions of The Lord of the Rings, we are used to seeing elves as beings at a remove, ethereal, almost angelic. But in Numenor, Galadriel is at a disadvantage; she approaches the status of prisoner at times in this episode, and is otherwise forced to admire the achievements not of elves but of men. This is an unusual position for an elf to be in, but an appropriate one, given the period Rings of Power is depicting. There are many possibilities here.
Elsewhere in this episode, we see Arondir, another elf, in a different unusual (and uncomfortable) position for his kind: forced servitude. Captured by orcs (once again practical, not CGI as in The Hobbit trilogy, as devious as ever — and averse to sunlight, a nice touch), he has been forced into harsh labor digging in the Southlands, a region on which evil has dark designs. Both discomfiting situations for the elves reinforce that this is indeed a different time we are seeing, one in which the elves are fully implicated in the affairs of Middle-earth.
Other highlights of episode three include some beautiful slow-motion scenes, adventure on the high seas (Númenor’s island status makes it a naval power, bringing another novel element into this series), and more fleshing out of two further mysteries: the identity of Halbrand, who is more than we thought (with greater potential for good and for evil), and the nature of ‘The Stranger,’ which is — for now — beginning to settle into ‘chaotic good.’ (The dwarves were sadly absent from this outing.) It is so far more than enough to make me interested in the direction The Rings of Power takes from here.