A Shadow of the Past
The opening scene of Rings of Power shows a young Galadriel making a paper boat and watching it sail down the water. Don’t worry, here’s no killer clowns here, as the other kids throw stones at it. Galadriel’s brother, Finrod, shows up and eventually takes her back home.
Sauron had been tracking Galadriel for centuries, and he was finally able to find her in the year 539 of the Third Age. He killed her brother, leaving his mark on her. Galadriel took up his knife and decided to hunt the evil foe, but his trail ran cold.
The company Galadriel runs with, the Northern Wastes elves, have their doubts about whether or not orcs are still around. For years they haven’t seen any and they’re not even sure if they’re still there. Galadriel ignores the concerned elf, deciding to press ahead. In fact, at one point she’s prepared to let her own people die in the search for Sauron. Thankfully though they actually stop right in front of Sauron’s stronghold. ..
Sauron’s mark is clearly visible on the stone, dating back to when he was still a powerful wizard. Galadriel is worried that he’s still here, lurking in the shadows. But Thondir is more confident, insisting that they should feed this information back to the High King at once. The mark looks to be many years old, and it could be a sign of more trouble ahead for Middle-earth.
Galadriel refuses though, deciding to root out all evil before returning home, even if that means sacrificing her group. She finds a snow-troll hiding in the depths and thankfully the power of anti-gravity sees Galadriel single-handedly takes out the snow troll, effortlessly after launching herself about 4 meters in the air.
Although the others are worried, believing they should never have gone on, Galadriel insists they continue and march at first light. Thondir draws his sword and refuses to follow her (which is fair enough, isn’t it?) and the others agree. ..
Nori investigates the footprint and soon realizes that it is from an orc. She then decides to take action, and leads a group of halflings in a battle against the orc. In the end, they are successful in defeating him and saving the town.
Nori’s mother is quick to point out that they’ve always been a safe and reclusive people, and that they shouldn’t venture too far from their home. They’ve managed to survive this long by staying close to one another and not exploring. ..
Elrond is happy to see Galadriel has returned, but he insists she stay and not go on any more quests. ..
Galadriel is not happy to receive a crown as High King Gil-Galad informs the company that evil has gone. For their heroic deeds, the group have also been granted passage across the Undying Lands of Valinor.
Galadriel rejects the gift from Elrond and decides to destroy Sauron instead. She even decides to go alone if need be. Elrond tries to remind her that she’s going based on a hunch and could be leading elves to their death. ..
Galadriel doesn’t care though and even Elrond’s plea of putting up her sword so she can be his friend doesn’t deter her. At least to begin with anyway. Eventually she succumbs and heads across on the ship all the same. The other elves begin singing beautiful ethereal lyrics but for Galadriel, she refuses. Turning back toward her knife, which happens to be on the floor.
The story of Arondir and Bronwyn is a forbidden love story that has been around for centuries. It started out as a simple enough relationship, but things quickly got out of hand. Medhor, the elf king, was not happy with the way things were going and he made it clear that he didn’t want any more human-elven relationships. The two lovers had to face the consequences of their actions, though. They were banned from ever being together again and their love was never allowed to be seen or talked about again.
When orders come in that the High King has declared an end to the watch, Arondir decides to head back to the village and see Bronwyn. Heever, there are problem with her cow, which seems to be oozing out disgusting black sludge from its udders. Bronwyn and Arondir decide to travel together East to the village of Hordern, determined to find out what’s going on.
Meanwhile, back with the Harfoots, Sadoc is convinced that something strange is going on and he proves to be right. An asteroid flies across the sky, which all of our main characters see. As for Galadriel, she decides to swim back across the Sea alone. Who knows how many miles this sea actually is but she’s on her own now.
As the episode ends, Nori is the first to the scene, where it is revealed that the asteroid is not just a rock, it appears to hold an elderly guy. And who ese is betting this is actually Gandalf?
The Episode Review
Galadriel is an unlikable protagonist who is driven by her mission. Despite being a good leader, she’s not very caring about her own safety and the safety of her elves. This company where she’s prepared to let her own elves die doesn’t exactly strike the right chord for Galadriel, but as per the cause, she can take out a snow troll with little effort.
There is no tension in the core mission of the Lord of the Rings. The characters are not in danger, and there is no stakes.
The dialogue in this issue is poor, and it’s masked as clever riddles to try and sound clever. If you thought Batwoman on the CW had cheesy lines, you’ll be disappointed with this issue.
The visuals and production values of Rings of Power are impressive, but the writing is poor. The characters are not well-drawn and the story is slow to start. There is potential for this show to improve, but it has not yet done so.
