The Great Wave – As the fourth episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power begins, Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) meets in the court to welcome the babies who will live the future they’ve built. She picks up baby Alinel. When they hear something outside, Miriel suggests the island just needs to stretch sometimes. The lights above them begin shaking. Queen Miriel looks outside and sees water pour over the mountains. The bridge crumbles and water gushes toward her just before she wakes up. Tamar (Jason Hood) complains about the Queen inviting the elf into her chambers. Earien (Ema Horvath) walks by and hears him. Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle) tells Kemen (Leon Wadham) to keep his voice down. He tells Kemen about statecraft before asking what is troubling him. Kemen admits they might have a squall on their hands.

Tamara complains about Elves taking their jobs. He says the Queen is either blind or an elf-lover like her father. Everyone begins shouting elf-lover. Pharazon interrupts to ask what the elf would see if she was here now. He suggests they are a gaggle of mewling children before reminding them that they’re sons and daughters of the Edain. Pharazon doesn’t think one Elf castaway could threaten them. He asks them to trust him because he swears that Elven hands will never take Numenor’s helm. He insists she will always remain a kingdom of Men. After ordering drinks for everyone, Pharazon embraces Tamar and others in the audience. Kemen talks to Earien about Pharazon and the fact that many owe him favors. She calls it impressive, but Earien thinks it is infuriating. He offers her a drink. He believes she is the new apprentice. She is pulled away by her boss seconds later. Queen Miriel complains to Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) that she vexed her even though she was welcomed as a guest.

She stole ancient scrolls while her Southlander companion assaulted their citizens. Galadriel says he is quick to get angry and his people are dying. She tells the Queen that the man in the dungeons may be the lost heir in exile to the throne of the Southlands. Galadriel says these people are scattered and leaderless, but they might unite behind his banner with her backing. Sauron was once her people’s enemy just as much as he was Galadriel’s enemy. Galadriel asks her to finish the task and once again forge the alliance between Numenor and Elves. They must fight Sauron to save the Southlands before he claims those lands as his own. While it is an ambitious proposal, the Queen admits that Numenor has chosen another path. When the Queen refuses, Galadriel says she’ll have no choice but to ask for another audience with Numenor’s true ruler, her father and the King. She wants the Queen to stand aside so she can present her proposal to one who holds the authority to answer it.

They continue arguing until Galadriel is locked up next to Halbrand (Charlie Vickers). While going through the trial, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) gets distracted and messes things up for everyone. He quickly takes the blame for the mistake. He claims it slipped, but the Sea Master believes it was deliberate so he decides to remove Isildur from the Sea Guard. All three of them are removed. Once they get off the boat, Isildur apologizes to his friends and promises to speak to see his father to try to get them reinstated. Valandil accuses him of getting kicked off of something that he never earned in the first place. He claims Isildur has only complained about his dead mother before Isildur punches him and walks away moments later. Adar (Joseph Mawle) approaches his fallen friend while Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) watches. Adar puts his friend out of his misery. He asks Arondir where he was born. Arondir says Beleriand. Adar went by that river once when he was young. Arondir questions why the orcs call him father.

Adar thinks he has been told many lies with some running so deep that even the rocks and roots now believe them. The creation of a new world would be required to untangle them all, but only the gods can do that. Adar is no God yet. He tells Arondir to go to the men who have taken refuge in the old watchtower and deliver them a message. Arondir asks what message. Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) is there when more refugees arrive from other areas. She argues with Waldreg (Geoff Morrell) about cutting rations again. She believes they can find a way to eat. Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) suggests sending a small party into town to get food from Walfreg’s cellar. He offers to go himself, but his mother isn’t going to allow it. She wants to send out hunters. Theo isn’t sure the rabbits are going to be enough. Bronwyn says he can help her or make it harder. Rowan (Ian Blackburn) goes out with Theo and begins regretting it moments later. Theo manages to convince him to continue into the city anyway.

They load up a wheelbarrow full of stuff before Theo says they should hit the tavern. Theo goes inside while his friend waits outside. As he collects food inside the tavern, someone seems to be watching him. Outside, the clouds begin covering the sun so Theo decides to run with the wheelbarrow. Theo is attacked by an orc. He protects himself with the sword which begins rebuilding itself. The orc runs outside and warns the others that he found the boy with the hilt. Theo hides down the well. When the orc hears him, he has to hide under the water until it leaves. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) talks to Lord Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) about the elves and dwarves working together. Celebrimbor begins talking about Elrond’s father and how he had a way of seeing far off. He once casually told him that his future would be in his son’s hands. He had forgotten about that until this moment. Elrond believes something is troubling him, but Celebrimbor doesn’t want to say it because he is his friend. He is either avoiding him or hiding something.

Elrond decides to speak to Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete) about it. She jokes he wouldn’t have a girlfriend because no one would have him before remembering that he went to mine Quartz Chasm today. Elrond doesn’t believe it because he has left his chiseling axe behind. He also questions why she’d be preparing his favorite meal. Disa says he didn’t need his axe because the quartz he is mining is pried and not chiseled. She is making his favorite dish because it needs a while to set before he is home. While it may take outsiders longer, dwarven climbers can make the descent to Quartz Chasm in just a few hours. Later, Disa visits her husband to tell him what lies she told the elf. He admits they’re making good progress in the old mine. Disa made sure he was escorted out. Elrond learns they’re working in the old mine below the Mirrormere. He finds a hidden door and looks at the material they’ve been mining. Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) gets angry when he learns he has come to spy on him.

Durin thinks he wants it for himself, but Elrond doesn’t know what it is. Elrond says he cares about their friendship. Durin wants his oath and reminds him that dwarven anger outlives even elven memory. Elrond gives his oath while swearing on the member of his father Earendil the Mariner. Durin explains that Disa detected it during a routine gold-seaming. It is a new ore that is lighter than silk and harder than iron. Durin believes it would be good for making weapons. Elrond finds it odd how it catches the light since it seems like it is lit from within. Durin says it could create a new era for their people, but it is perilous to mine. His dad has restricted their efforts in the name of caution. Right now, they’re calling it gray glitter. In Elrond’s language, it could be called mithril. Durin asks if he really came all this way for Eregion. Elrond claims he came because 20 years is too long to stay away. Durin tells him to keep the ore as a token of their friendship. The mine begins shaking. As Earien tries to rush back to work, she bumps into Kemen causing him to kill his drink.

He offers to help her clean and the last one to finish can pay for dinner. Halbrand reminds Galadriel that she isn’t battling orcs or trolls. He thinks she’d do well to identify what it is that her opponent fears most in a situation like that. Instead of exploiting it, she should give them a means of mastering it so she can master them. Halbrand believes he knows what the Queen fears. He asks Galadriel why she was thrown into a cell. Galadriel says she asked to speak to her father, the king in the tower who hasn’t been seen in many years. Then, they learn that the Queen Regent has rendered her decision in the elf’s case. Pharazon says she will be shipped back to the elves under armed escort tonight. When they try to take Galadriel out of her cell, she begins fighting with the guards. Halbrand tells Pharazon he can let her go if he knows where she is going. Earien finds Isildur, sits down with him, and begins telling him about her dinner. He tells her how he got everyone dismissed from the cadets. Although she thinks he won since he can go west, Isildur doesn’t like the fact that he ruined his friends’ lives.

Father won’t let him take Berek either. They’re interrupted when someone yells that the elf has escaped. Galadriel makes her way to the Queen who is next to her father’s bedside. The Queen has to comfort her father when he begins coughing and asking for her. Galadriel apologizes before learning that few know of the full extent of his decline. After the Queen says she’d like to keep it that way, Galadriel argues it is time for truth between them. She tells Miriel that her father was loyal to the elvish ways. Galadriel pleads to know why she isn’t. the Queen explains that her father was always restrained in his beliefs, but something changed after his coronation. He became claiming that they had provoked the anger of the Valar and should repent and return to the old ways. People rebelled when he announced plans to renew relations with the Elves. Much was lost and Miriel was picked to rule in his stead with a promise to quell the storm. That first night is all Numenor slept. He brought her here.

Galadriel is shown the Palantiri. Miriel explains there were once seven seeing stones, but the other six have been lost or hidden. This was one passed to her father with a secret. When Galadriel is asked to touch it, she says she has touched palantiri before. The Queen warns her that she has not touched this one. After touching it, she sees a flood that frightens her. Miriel says it is Numenor’s future before revealing that the vision begins with her arrival. She goes on to say only Numenor can bring about its downfall. Valar can take the isle away if they turn to the paths of darkness. Miriel says her father’s path to align with the elves nearly destroyed them and that is why she’ll announce that she is gone tomorrow. Galadriel warns her that it could get worse if the evil rising in Middle-earth is left unchecked. Avoiding the war may be the very thing that brings about their downfall. Galadriel knows what it is like to be the only one who knows. Maybe neither of them has to bear that burden alone any longer? She pleads with the Queen to choose the path of faith instead of fear.

Miriel isn’t going to change her mind regardless. Bronwyn learns that all the animals fled so hunting wasn’t successful. Rowan arrives with a wheelbarrow full of food and tells Bronwyn that Theo said he’d be right behind him. The orcs get frustrated looking for Theo who climbs out of the well and tries to escape. He nearly escapes the town before being caught by one of the orcs. Before the orc can kill him, he is saved by Arondir. They are chased by a large group of orcs as Arondir tries to keep Theo alive. Bronwyn arrives to help her son while Arondir yells for them to get to the clearing. When they reach the clearing, the orcs stop because they don’t want to step into the sunlight. Elrond attends a ceremony in which Disa makes a plea to the rocks to release the bodies of the miners with breath still inside them. She can’t stop thinking that Durin might’ve been in that shaft if Elrond hadn’t gone down there. She apologizes for lying to him. Durin arrives to tell them all are alive and have been pulled out of the rubble.

His father wants the whole vein to be sealed off. Durin wishes he could tell his father exactly what he thinks of him. Elrond tells him how his father single-handedly sailed to Valinor and convinced the Valar to join the war to vanquish Morgoth. As a result, the Valar lifted him beyond the bounds of this world to forever carry the evening star across the sky. He’d often look up at it wondering if his dad was watching him. He questions if he’d be proud or disappointed. One night, he realized he’d be happy to hear any judgment as long as it allowed him to have one more conversation with his father. Elrond encourages Durin not to waste what time he has left with his father. Disa wants to know how they met. Durin claims he saved Elrond from two hill trolls, but Elrond says there were three trolls and he saved Durin. When he came upon him in the forest, he was in the midst of dodging their mallet blows. Prince Durin goes to King Durin III (Peter Mullan) to apologize for being proud and stubborn. The King says their people believe when a new King is crowned that the voices of all his forbearers flow into him.

They share their wisdom and mistakes. Prince Durin will not need to wait for that day to hear his voice. He is with him forever and there is nothing to forgive. Prince Durin tells his father that Elrond has invited him to go with him to Lindon tomorrow. Despite Elrond’s reassurances, Prince Durin believes there is something more at work. His father tells him to go to Lindon to find out what. Bronwyn thanks Arondir who says he has a message from the one who commands the enemy. Their people may live if they forsake all claims to these lands and swear fealty to him. If they refuse, he is coming for Ostirith. Theo tries to keep the hilt hidden while Waldreg offers him a drink. He tells Theo to take it like he took that hilt from his barn. Waldreg shows him the mark on his arm and we see that Theo has one too. He tells Theo it is no sword. It is a power fashioned by their ancestors by his master’s own hand. He was lost, but he shall return. Waldreg asks if he has heard of Sauron. The star fall from a couple of days ago means his time is near.

Theo is told to save his strength because he will need it for what is coming. Adar is told that they found it and it is in the tower. Captain Elendil (Lloyd Owen) tells Galadriel to go in peace before she gets on the boat that will take her home. Pharazon tells the Queen her people will be relieved. The Queen and Elendil are worried when they see the petals of the White Tree falling around them. The faithful believe that is the tears of the Valar themselves. The Queen says there is an hour of judgment when each of them must decide who they shall be. She continues talking to her people while Halbrand walks through the city. The Queen reveals she has decided to personally escort the elf back to Middle-Earth to aid their mortal brethren who are now besieged in the Southlands. Captain Elendil goes looking for people who are willing to protect the Queen. Isildur and his friends decide to serve.

 

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Review

The fourth episode of The Rings of Power was likely the best episode in the series to date. It mostly pushed the story forward well and set up some future showdowns that could be entertaining. The lore behind the story isn’t exactly clear but it might be for individuals who have read the prior source material. For instance, viewers may not understand what Queen Miriel and Galadriel were talking about or what the petals of the White Tree are about. If viewers want to be picky about every little thing, they can always find a lot to hate about Rings of Power.

While there is still no connection between the viewers and characters, it is starting to look like this will change soon. The action was fun, the episode looked great mostly, and the pace is finally starting to pick up. As long as viewers don’t expect consistent home runs, they may allow themselves to enjoy The Rings of Power. The story is pretty simple when the attempt to include the lore isn’t thrown in to confuse viewers. Some performances could be better, but the characters are taking on personalities of their own.

Truthfully, this was just a more enjoyable episode with fun action and a few exciting scenes. It also did well in setting up the story for future episodes with Arondir and those in his area preparing for a possible orc invasion while Galadriel and Queen Miriel join forces. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of The Rings of Power can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us at this link.