![]() ![]() This episode also goes some way towards addressing one of the other weaknesses of the first four episodes, which is the series’ overreliance on some level of familiarity with Tolkien’s work – or, at the very least, with the Peter Jackson films – in order for anything that is going on to mean anything. We know their king has abandoned them, but isn’t there anyone else in this group with opinions about who should lead them or what they should do? Arondir’s position of leadership makes more sense, since he has military experience, but half the population follow the old barman to go and serve the Orcs instead, while the rest seem to just hang around waiting for Arondir and Bronwyn to decide what to do. Bronwyn seems to have become their de facto leader simply because it was her suggestion that they move out, even though she is a healer and there is no obvious reason for her to lead them. The Southlands are even more desperately in need of some attention to their leadership issues and human relationships. Given that the show is clearly setting him up as an Evil Chancellor, it could do with offering something more than anti-Elf racism as an insight into his character and motives to show us why him ruling, or advising the ruler, is a bad idea. So far his plan doesn’t seem especially evil despite the sinister music in the background – he’s in favor of helping the Southlands and restoring Halbrand so they can set up trade routes and so on, which is entirely sensible and suggests a pretty decent potential ruler. We finally get a tiny bit more insight into Chancellor Pharazôn in this episode, but not much. The King Tar-Palantir is barely coherent and Queen Regent Míriel is mired in storylines about mysterious prophecies and forebodings and dilly-dallying over whether she should go to Middle-earth or not, when she should be at the heart of politicking and power plays in Númenor. There’s a lot of potential for some really interesting developments in these characters and their relationships per Tolkien’s outlines, but none of that potential has so far been realized in the series. The Númenor storyline, however, desperately needs some more work on the human politics side of things. ![]() Although this dilemma ends up being rather easily solved because, unlike just about every other TV character ever written, Elrond simply does the sensible thing and talks to Durin about it, that scene does give us one of the best lines of dialogue in the series so far – “A burden shared may be either halved or doubled, depending on the heart that receives it.” Elrond and Durin’s relationship is one of the key pairings that is holding the show together, with its blend of relatable love, affection, and humor, so it’s a relief to see them still together. His dilemma over whether to break his oath to Durin for the sake of his people gives us real insight into his character. This is especially true in the Elrond/Durin storyline, which sees Elrond face genuine inner conflict for the first time in the series. This episode takes a step forward in the latter direction, as we start to see conflict arising between several factions and within themselves, and get a bit more of a sense of what drives some of them. One of those weaknesses so far has been the politicking side of things – the show is at its best when it’s depicting huge, dramatic moments of battle or adventure, and at its weakest when examining the various power plays and conflicts between characters. Over the course of five episodes, it’s become clear what The Rings of Power’s strengths and weaknesses are. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 5 This Lord of the Rings review contains spoilers for The Rings of Power.
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