TL;DR – A Tail of Two Narratives, one compelling, one fraught with simplicity.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

The Rings of Power Review –

Hmmm, we are now five episodes in and after last week’s Eldest and this week’s outing, it is clear that some fracture lines are appearing this season. On the one hand, we have story points that are engaging and bringing me into this world. And on the other hand, there are narratives that I might want to fast forward through if I give in to the whispers.

So, to set the scene in the halls of Khazad-dûm, food is starting to get scarce as the miners continue to struggle to build new light shafts after the previous shafts were destroyed in the aftermath of Mt Doom erupting. However, while there has been little headway made, Durin III (Peter Mullan) has a new tool, a ring from Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) that whispers in his ear and tells him where to dig. Durin IV is not sure of it, but when they strike light, it is surely proof that it is real? I mean, it is not like there is a sinister undertone going on here at all. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

If nothing else, I will always appreciate that The Rings of Power gave us a better look into the world of the Dwarves and helped make them a people and not a limited caricature. This week, we got to delve deep with the dwarves, and the designs of the rings delight and disquiet those around. While not as powerful as the one ring, there is a greed that has been unlocked in Durin III that we know does not end well for the dwarven people. Because the show has gone out of its way to connect us with these people, you care for them, and you desperately wish them to take another path even though you know it won’t happen. Also, I can’t be the only one who felt that the Rock Singer/ Ring Wearer divide around years of learned experience v shortcuts might have been influenced by some real-world events.

This also flows onto what we know of the elves because Sauron’s (Charlie Vickers) manipulation is so fascinating to watch. As someone who has had the unpleasant experience of working in a toxic environment before, I can tell that the writers of this part know that world well. Because the gaslighting, the manipulation, the positioning of people against each other, the isolation, the lying, it is all there. Sauron is very much abusing them, their talents, and their strength for his own powers, and it does make for uncomfortable watching at times, given how well they have depicted it.  

Unfortunately, this leads us back to Númenór, and the weakest section of the entire series so far. If the manipulation of Sauron is a deft dance, like the opening dual in The Princess Bride, then Pharazôn’s (Trystan Gravelle) attempts have all the subtlety of the Doof Warrior. You could telegraph every beet of this section from the moment Eärien (Ema Horvath) got snarky with her father, Elendil (Lloyd Owen). The moment that Valandil (Alex Tarrant) turned his back to that snivelling brat Kemen (Leon Wadham), I eye-rolled so big that I think the Harvest Moon spotted it. Gee, we are going to demolish the most sacred temple on the island cause a girl I liked looked at another boy, just wholly asinine.   

In the end, do we recommend The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Halls of Stone? Well, the Númenór section aside, I generally did. It was interesting to look more into Sauron’s deceptions while he was in his beautiful era. It will be interesting to see if the coming battle between the elves and the orcs can live up to what has come before.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Rings of Power
Directed by – Louise Hooper & Sanaa Hamri
Written by – Nicholas Adams
Created by – J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay
Based On – The Lord of the Rings and appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien
Production/Distribution Companies – Amazon Studios, Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins, New Line Cinema & Amazon Prime
Starring – Owain Arthur, Sophia Nomvete, Charles Edwards,Charlie Vickers, Trystan Gravelle, Cynthia Addia-Robinson, Lloyd Owen, Benjamin Walker, Robert Aramayo, Morfydd Clark & Peter Mullan with Kevin Eldon,Ema Horvath, Leon Wadham, Ameilia Kenworthy, Alex Tarrant, Calam Lynch & Sam Hazeldine and Rachel Payne, Laura Jane Matthewson, Selina Lo, Charlie Rix, Kai Martin & Robert Strange