SPOILER WARNING: the following contains heavy spoilers (+ some lore spoilers) for the Rings of Power series.
If you don’t want spoilers, just save this post and come back to join the conversation once you’ve watched up to Episode 6 of the series!
“In the end, this shadow is but a small and passing thing. There is light and high beauty forever beyond it’s reach. Find the light. And the shadow will not find you.” -Bronwyn.
What in the what. This episode was wild.
It was also beautiful and terrifying and tender and hold-on-to-your-seat intense.
In case you can’t tell, I loved it.
The slow burn pace (that I predicted this show would have) really paid off with the connections and advancement we got to the story in Episode 6. I was thrilled with how they threaded intimate moments between characters into the vast story that keeps unfolding—in this episode particularly.
The plot point of Adar and the Uruks is something I didn’t anticipate but am finding massively intriguing. More on that in a moment.
I loved the scene with Galadriel and Isildur on the Númenorean ships at sunrise. It was achingly beautiful and connective. Seeing Isildur lay eyes on Middle-earth for the first time almost brought me to tears.
Seeing Arondir and Bronwyn grapple with the weight of defending the villagers together broke my heart in the best way. Their scene before the battle was so well done from every standpoint. I love how Arondir and Bronwyn are just “normal” people. They’re not of noble lineage. They’re not immensely powerful. They’re just a common elf and a common human doing all the good they can with what they have available wherever they found themselves. And I appreciate how it’s being portrayed onscreen without feeling cheesy or trite. I’m rooting for these two and need them to be gifted a farm away from the madness ASAP.
The scene with Theo and Bronwyn gave me full body chills. When she spoke those lines I almost cried because it’s nearly a word-for-word callback to a book scene in The Return of the King when Sam and Frodo are in Mordor (as well as Sam’s speech in the movie The Two Towers—both scenes were inspired by this passage in the books) I loved it. You can read the quote from the book below:
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." -J.R.R Tolkien, The Return of the King.
Finally watching Galadriel in full-blown warrior mode was immensely satisfying. I personally haven’t understood all the hate Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel has gotten. Admittedly, I haven’t liked her as much as I have other characters but, I also think the show runners are playing the long game with her character. Who she’s been in the first season will be a completely different person once five whole season’s wrap up (at least, I hope that’s the case).
I’m also finding it hard to articulate how much it means to me to see a strong female character being portrayed onscreen without her sex appeal being the main focus. In this episode, the male characters (Arondir, Elendil and Isildur) show her immense respect without sexualizing her. I can think of very few (if any?) onscreen portrayals that have handled doing the same way Rings of Power is and I’m here for it.
The battle scenes were much more intense than anything we’ve seen in the show so far. I’ll admit to closing my eyes during some of the um…more squeamish parts. I can handle tension in fighting but violence and gore are things I’ll skip every time. This show has had more of than I’m used to, but it’s not so much that I can’t watch entirely.
That being said, I do love how they’re handling the fight/battle scenes! They’re brilliantly choreographed while feeling gritty and authentic.
We finally got horses! I don’t know about you but when I think of Middle-earth, I think of sweeping horse-led charges. The Númenoreans coming in like they did just felt right. I did wonder how they fit all of them on just three ships though, ha!
Halbrand continues to cause confusion whenever he walks in the room..um, barn. What’s his long plan game? What are his motivations? Why is he doing the things he’s doing? Why did he hesitate when Adar asked who he was?!
Sidenote: his little speech in the woods to Galadriel’s has part of the fandom convinced he’s just a sad guy who’s went through hard times looking for a relationship. I say his words about fighting with her and binding that feeling “to his very being” sounded like he wants to use her. Sure yeah, he liked how her power made him feel. But he never said he liked her for who she is. 🧐
And then, they just made him king of the Southlands?! No background check? No references? Hmmm.
If you want my personal take on how I feel about Halbrand, watch this. 😉
Adar and his case for the Uruks is a layer I’m enjoying seeing added to the story. He’s not wrong about the Uruks (orcs) being created from the flame imperishable (click here to read an article explaining the significance of him mentioning it) and thus deserving of life. But, of course the way he’s going about it isn’t right. They may deserve life and a home but not over the subjugation of everyone else.
Elendil and Isildur had a moment of resolution as father and son that felt very needed. There’s been tension between them from the start so it was a relief to see them be humble towards one another for the sake of preserving their relationship.
And then, it happened. Orodruin erupted. If you missed it up to this point, yes, that volcano is THE volcano, Mount Doom. The Southlands are what we would know as Mordor. I was completely taken aback by the switcharoo that happened with the sword hilt/key and was left breathless when the episode ended.
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This episode of Rings of Power moved the story forward in a compelling, edge-of-your-seat way and I can’t wait to see where they take us in the last two episodes for this season. I’m going to be so sad when it’s over!
A few questions for you:
What are your thoughts on Episode 6? What stood out to you the most?
Let’s discuss below!
THIS. EPISODE.
I was motionless and breathless almost the entire time. I was *feeling* the fear, grief, hopelessness, and "this is the end" of the Southlanders. Because we stayed with the Southlanders the entire episode, we really got to be immersed in their plight. I actually felt overwhelmed with grief when they were trapped inside the tavern and Adar's army got to them. Like they had gone through so much grief and trauma already, and defeated them and felt that hope was still there, but now it was all for nothing. It was all to end in death anyway. UGH. It honestly, in a way, was felt deeply by me in a relatable way (not going to explain that here). And so, when the Numenorians thundered to help them, I cried. 😭 Enough rambling, sorry. 🙈 Just... My heart.
Also, MOUNT DOOM. I let out an audible gasp and sat up straight when I realized what all that weird fire and water stuff did when it erupted. Soooo cool to get to see a part of the LOTR era displayed in this time.
Only a couple things that I didn't like about this episode -
I thought it was a surprising lack of brains to have not opened the cloth to make sure it was the real hilt. I get that they could have just been trying to be really careful with not exposing it/be tempted by it, but still.
All the blood coming out of Bronwyn's shoulder wound. There would NOT be that much blood gushinggggg out like that with a wound in that location. I had to roll my eyes a little at that.
I thought it was really weird that they literally just asked Halbrand "Hey, are you our King?" and he's like "Yeah" and they're just like, "Cool!" I don't know if that's poor writing or if the writers did that on purpose to show that the Southlanders are gullible or something. I suppose we'll see.
Did anyone else notice alllll the Dutch tilts in the scene with Adar in the barn?! It's not really that I disliked it, I just thought it was interesting and a little too much 😅
But man, this episode was so good. ❤️ I really hope that they give us some conclusive thoughts on who Halbrand is..... But we probably won't get to know that till a later season 😩
So many interesting bits in this episode!
Bronwyn and Arondir <3 I was seriously stressing they would die and I was not okay with that.
Adar is interesting, obviously twisted but a different take about the orcs- that he sees them as individuals rather than just his slaves (in as far as he speaks to Galadriel).
I also found it intriguing how early on we see Bronwyn give Arondir Alfirin seeds (yay they saved her life, but where are they gonna get more to plant in their home together 😭).. and if I’m not mistaken Adar plants the same seeds on the grave where I’m assuming they buried Rowan. Both Bronwyn and Adar say the same line “New life, in defiance of death” Adar speaks it over Rowan’s grave in Quenya. My ears pricked up when Brownyn said it to Arondir when he gives her seeds to plant before the battle.
Halbrand is pretty suspicious, what beef does he have with Adar? I don’t trust Halbrand, but I am still sitting in the morally grey camp with him at this point.
We’ve not many episodes to go until the season wraps up, and I fear the wait will feel very long before the new season starts releasing!