Númenorean, Dwarven Intrigue, Men in Peril Mark Fourth Episode of an Improving Rings of Power

Last week, I wrote that the third episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “by simultaneously establishing one key new setting while otherwise moving past the necessary introductory material that made it difficult to judge the show fully,” became the best of the series yet. This week’s episode continued this improvement trend by introducing new complications to now-established settings and dropping ominous portents about calamities to come.

Elves in strange lands were once again a focus this week. Galadriel remained on Númenor, trying to persuade the island kingdom to fight evil in Middle-earth. Her persuasive methods are ineffective, however, until a different tack and two augurs help to convince Miriel, Númenor’s ruler, of Galadriel’s plan. The White Tree shedding leaves and visions of a catastrophic flood (the latter seen through a palantir) both augur poorly for the island kingdom of men. What remains to be seen, however, is whether Galadriel’s course is the way to stave off Numenor’s fall, or whether it will in fact set this fall into motion. On that score, the emergence of Pharazon as a recognizably — perhaps slightly too recognizably, given occasionally on-the-nose appeals to protectionism and nativism — modern demagogue and manipulator gives a better sense of how this schemer, currently subordinate to Miriel, will attempt to take control of the island. If the show continues in its presentation of him as a contemporary, grubby politician, presumably seeking to undermine the established monarchy, it would be a striking, authentic realization of Tolkien’s idiosyncratic contempt for modern forms of authority.

Meanwhile, Elrond returned to Khazad-dum, where he suspects his friend Durin IV hides a secret from him. That secret turns out to be a new ore, light yet durable, discovered by the dwarves: mithril. The full implications of this discovery remain to be seen, but the inherently risky nature of its pursuit, highlighted by a mining accident, hints at yet more danger to come (especially since trailers hint that a balrog is to appear before season’s end). Much remains hidden by the dwarves — and for now, that’s just the way they want it.

And in the Southlands, the evil that Galadriel has now roused Númenor to fight has made its presence known. As Southlander refugees struggle to meet basic needs in their self-imposed exile, young Theo impudently journeys back to the land they abandoned thinking he can find more food. Theo has discovered an ancient, malevolent weapon, which he hides from others and occasionally takes out to view, as though it were a porn mag (a classically — and fittingly, given the weapon’s provenance — teenage mixture of sin and shame). Theo’s adventure is interrupted by the orcs that now linger in his former homeland. Two sequences that result from their hunting him, a kind of Children of Men–esque tracking shot of Theo escaping their sight, and a slow-motion battle through the woods as elf Throndir makes a well-timed rescue, are highlights of the episode. But with the introduction of the mysteriously charismatic, nearly elf-like orc Adar, who has designs on what remains of the Southland’s refugees, this land’s beleaguered inhabitants are not out of the woods yet.

Númenorean and dwarven intrigue; elves dealing with men and dwarves; men in peril — The Rings of Power continues to hold my attention, with a promise of even more to come.