With the passing of the episodes and the development of more and more details of each story, it gets a little more complicated to decide what to talk about and what to focus on in each review, because many things happen, so I will try to give as many important details as possible, without this becoming an endless and heavy recap.
2x04 Eldest
Written by Glenise Mullins and directed by Louise Hooper & Sanaa Hamri
In this episode, we find out what happened to Nori, Poppy and the Stranger after they got separated when he caused a sandstorm that he couldn't stop. The girls are in the middle of nowhere where they meet Nobody (actually named Merimac) who takes them to his village, with the stoors. There they meet Gundabale Earthauler, the village leader who imprisons them when they tell her they want to help a wizard, although they finally protect them from the gaudrim when they arrive asking for them.
Meanwhile, the Stranger, looking for the harfoots, meets someone stranger than him, who, although doesn't pay much attention to him at first, ends up helping him to get out of a “tree” that swallowed him. This (not so) new character is revealed to be Tom Bombadil, who tells him a bit about his ancient origin (the eldest) in Middle-earth and plants in the Stranger the idea that he will have to face Sauron eventually.
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Rory Kinnear as “Tom Bombadil” (Left); Daniel Weyman as “The Stranger” (Right) / Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video / Copyright: Amazon MGM Studios
In another storyline of this episode, we see how Isildur, Estrid and Arondir go in search of Theo. On their way, the elf discovers that the girl is not who she says she is because she tried to cover the mark of Adar on her neck, but she proves to be trustworthy by saving them from a monster that traps them in a swamp, although later she betrays them again just because she is afraid of being thrown out of the group. We discover then that it was the Ents who took Theo and the rest of the wild men, as they killed several of their kind. Finally Arondir comes to an agreement with them to protect the forest if they free their prisoners, one of whom is Estrid's betrothed, which does not make Isildur very happy.
In the last story developed in this hour, the company of elves, led by Elrond, seek to return to Eregion. On their way they encounter an obstacle and Galadriel tries to guide them along another path, discovered thanks to a vision given to her by the ring, but Elrond remains reluctant to heed the advice of that creation of Sauron, so they end up attacked by a group of Barrow-wights, although they manage to escape from them, but not from Adar's army of orcs, who captures Galadriel, as she confronts them to buy time for the rest so they can take her ring back to Lindon.
2x05 Halls of Stone
Written by Nicholas Adams and directed by Louise Hooper & Sanaa Hamri
It’s time to see what has happened with the dwarves now that they have the rings forged in Eregion. Durin III, although he hesitates a bit before putting on the ring, ends up giving in and falls under the sway of its power, because thanks to it, he manages to get Khazad-dûm to recover the light lost, which encourages the dwarf king even more and ends up ironing out the differences with his son. In addition, he calls the emissaries of the other dwarf kings to offer them the rest of the rings, in exchange for gold from their mines. These situations alert Durin IV and Disa about the ambition that the king seems to be developing, and she asks her husband never to wear any of those rings.
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Owain Arthur as Durin / Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video / Copyright: Amazon MGM Studios
Meanwhile in Númenor, things have changed under the reign of Ar-Pharazôn, as all those who remain loyal to Queen Míriel have been stripped of their rank. This situation has even separated friends and families, like Eärien, who by taking sides with the new king, drives a wedge in her relationship with her friend Valandil and with her own father Elendil. And although he tells Míriel that there are still many people who support her and are willing to fight for her, she is convinced that the fate of Númenor has changed with the rise of Pharazôn, as the visions of the palantír have changed apparently, so she asks Elendil to remain calm, although this doesn’t help much, because things soon escalate when Kemen, Pharazôn's son, provokes a revolt in a sanctuary that ends with Valandil’s death.
The elves also have a part in this episode, though for the time being they are scattered in different places fighting their own demons. On one hand there’s Celebrimbor, who, although does not agree to make rings for men, ends up falling once again into Sauron's manipulative games. In addition, the master smith is visited by Durin IV who still doesn’t trust Annatar and questions the properties of the rings his people received. On the other hand, and with the orcs approaching Eregion, Gil-Galad finds himself at a crossroads as he does not feel they can defeat Sauron and Adar at the same time.
2x06 Where Is He?
Written by Justin Doble and directed by Sanaa Hamri
In this episode we go back to Númenor, where we see Elendil being judged and offered the opportunity to be pardoned as long as he accepts Ar-Pharazôn as his king, which he obviously refuses, so he´s condemned to go to the Trial by Abyss. His daughter, Eärien tries to convince him to leave his pride aside in order to save himself, but when she doesn’t succeed, so she takes Míriel to try it too, and although he still refuses, she ends up sacrificing herself for him and takes his place in the trial, from which she comes out unscathed, to Pharazôn's unpleasantness.
Meanwhile in Khazad-dûm, the first ravages of Durin III's ring begin to be visible, as he has become too ambitious, which is noticed by his son, who asks him to take off the ring to prove him that he dominates it and not the other way around, but the only thing he receives in return is a push from his father. This motivates Disa to convince Durin IV to do something to prevent them from digging in the mines, and although he does not want to to make his father look bad, he ends up agreeing.
The creation of the rings is also starting to cause trouble in Eregion, as Celebrimbor is out of his wits, cause he hasn’t been able to make any of the nine rings for men, plus they have run out of Mithril reserves. And although the others begin to realize that something bad is coming, Annatar (Sauron) asks them not to tell Celebrimbor, and even manages to create an illusion in the master smith's mind making him believe that all is well, as long as he’s not distracted from the task of creating the remaining rings.
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Charlie Vickers as Sauron; Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor / Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video / Copyright: Amazon MGM Studios
At the same time, Adar, who still has Galadriel as a prisoner, tries to convince her to ally with him, because he thinks that between the two of them, plus the power of Morgoth's crown and the Three Elven Rings, they will be able to get rid of Sauron once and for all. Galadriel hesitates to accept, but is finally convinced and at an unfortunate moment for her, reveals too much information that he will now use for his own benefit. Though he also shows her his numerous orc army and it is when she discovers that it’s all a new trap of Sauron to use the army of Adar to attack Eregion and take control cause he doesn’t have an army of his own, not yet at least.
The arts of deception and manipulation in which Sauron is an expert are becoming clearer, as we see how he gets into the minds of those who are under his influence, just as it happens with the rings. It’s also becoming clearer the weight that the rings are having on the characters and how little by little they’re getting into their minds. We begin to notice the influence of the rings in their bearers, through different characteristics that they did not have before (visions, ambition, burden, anger, pride). But it’s also noticeable that the rings not only affect their bearers, but also their creators, especially Celebrimbor who wants to correct and make up for the mistakes he feels he made in creating the previous rings before it's too late, what he doesn't realize is that it already is.
By having more and more open plots, I think the story feels more agile and moves forward faster and in each episode we get to see more things, although it might suddenly feel a little complicated to understand and weave all the stories, if you pay attention you can understand how all the plots are interrelated and you can get an idea of where the story is going towards the end of the season.
What do you think of the season so far? Leave your comments in the section below.
