Adrift
In the second episode of Rings of Power, Galadriel swims back to shore all alone and swimming back. How many miles is that? Who knows, she’s going to keep on swimming all the same!
Nori and Poppy take the stranger back to their village, despite warnings not to. Nori believes that this person is important and sees this as fate to be the one to look after him.
Meanwhile, Bronwyn and Arondir search through the ruins of Hordern. Arondir finds a big hole in the ground and decides to go down and search deeper. “I must follow the passage.” Arondir says. “You don’t know what’s down there.” Bronwyn replies. “That is the reason I must go.” Arondir says, and with that he dives down into the tunnels and presses on, determined to find out what’s inside.
Meanwhile, in Eregion, the realm of the elven-smiths, Elrond looks over Feanor’s hammer, a tool that is both beautiful and painful. Celebrimbor wants to build a forge more powerful than any ever built but Gil-Galad isn’t offering a great workforce and has sent Elrond instead. ..
Durin, the prince of Khazad-Dum, suggests that Elrond bring in dwarves from Khazad-Dum to help out. Durin believes that this would be a diplomatic achievement of the age.
The pair walk together to the front door but despite a promise of rams horns and a warm greeting, Durin is told to leave with a swift “no”. However, Elrond invokes the Rite of Sigin-tarag, which allows him entry. He’s led inside alone, promising Celebrimbor that he’ll be back in a few days after working his magic.
It turns out the Signi-Tarag is actually a rite of endurance. He and Durin need to bash a rock constantly until one of them gives up. Durin breaks his rock with ease. As does Elrond. And this repeats for quite some time until Elrond fails. Durin escorts him to the exit though, heading up the elevator on the way up to talk. Durin is not happy given Elrond has missed his wedding and his kids growing up. ..
Durin is relieved when Elrond congratulates him on his return. He’s not banished after all, and heads to meet Disa, his wife. There’s also Gerda and Gamli, their two kids. It’s all jovial jokes and slapstick again here, complete with belching for good measure.
The last time we saw Galadriel was when she was swimming with her knife and raft to the mainland. She’s now survived an attack by a worm, and is with Halbrand on the mainland. It’s been revealed that there is a worm out there in the water, and Galadriel managed to survive.
Galadriel keeps her distance from Halbrand, eventually saying “I am wondering what manner of man would so readily abandon his companions to death.” The irony here, of course, is that Galadriel was willing to do exactly the same thing at the start of episode 1, deciding to press on with her company and leave one of her own behind and let them die for her cause. Anyway, I digress. ..
Harland tells the player that evil is growing in the East – specifically, in the South Lands. ..
Bronwyn finds herself in the presence of evil, in the form of a tribal masked orc that begins rummaging around. Theo and Bronwyn both attack it, with the latter throwing some sort of red mist at the orc. It’s a brutal fight, and Bronwyn is the one who hits the killing blow, decapitating its head and showing the men.
As they prepare to head out, Theo happens to be holding what looks to be one of Sauron’s trinkets. As he holds it, the item begins burning and a fire sparks up. Placing it in his bag, he heads out with Bronwyn and the others, who are on their way to the elf watchtower.
As the episode ends, Galadriel and Halbrand are saved by someone who looks like Celebrimbor in the shadows.
The Episode Review
In the first episode, we saw Elrond and Durin smashing rocks to create a foundation for their new kingdom. In this episode, we see Rings of Power take that foundation and destroy it. The tone in this show is so wildly inconsistent that it’s a wonder you won’t get whiplash from this.
The first episode of the new series was largely dark and serious, with Galadriel determined to see her mission through no mater what, no matter who dies along the way. This makes her remark at the end to Halbrand, unhappy that he’d let his companions die, all the more deliciously ironic. And of course, Galadriel is still very unlikable in this chapter with zero flaws, which is an alarming trend in modern entertainment.
The tone of the sequel is a deterrent. We get a lot of slapstick, including Durin and Disa’s banter and Nori’s slapstick with the makeshift carriage flying backwards down a hill. But then this is juxtaposed against an absolutely brutal fight involving Bronwyn and that orc, which is hung, beaten and then eventually decapitated. I do appreciate the original LOTR trilogy for mixing humour with action, but here it just doesn’t gel very well. ..
Despite the high budget and impressive visuals, it seems like things are only going to get worse from here. Episode 3 may have some surprises in store for us, as long as the story continues to develop in a positive way. ..
