Welcome back to the blog readers. Rings of Power has surprisingly been killing it so far this season, with the first two episodes of this season actually being really solid. Great performances all around, and a story that is honestly more concise, more driven, and more direction oriented. Will we really be able to continue the momentum in this episode, titled "The Eagle and the Sceptre," written by Helen Shang, and directed by Louise Hooper and Charlotte Brändström? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
I know I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the first season already, and I know I have said it already, but this second season has been a step up so far. But if I have to be honest with you guys for a minute, I did not feel as strongly with this episode as I did the first two. While this episode is far better than anything in the first season, I did not care for the fact that we spent a larger amount of time dealing with the Men and less time on the struggles between the Durins based on how last episode ended and no time at all with Galadriel, Elrond, and Gil-galad. I do want to praise the performances of Charles Edwards and Owain Arthur in this episode though and the events that happen with the Durins and Celebrimbor.
The first performance I want to praise is that of Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor. Edwards was my honorable mention in the last episode for his brilliant performance, especially in his conversation with Charlie Vickers's Sauron/Halbrand/Annatar. This conversation was absolutely fantastic and really highlights what a talent Edwards is. This episode was another story, because the depths that he is willing to go to pull off this role is astounding. Just the conversation Celebrimbor has with Annatar this episode where he highlights his desire to actually create something that works and can change lives without interference was the most real performance I have seen in this episode. Edwards has been a major highlight in this season for me, and these reasons are why. I do hope to see what happens next with his character.
The next performance I want to talk about is that of Owain Arthur as the dwarf Durin IV. Durin has been one of my favorite characters in the series, and his chemistry and interactions with Elrond have been my favorite in the series thus far. I am not sure we will get any in this season, but at least we have Arthur's dedicated and passionate performance as the heir to the throne of the Dwarven kingdom. In this episode, Arthur's hot-headedness is on full display for everyone to see, and his performance is all the better for it. Just the conversation he has with Celebrimbor and Annatar is something to behold, and we finally get that father and son confrontation in this episode that is awesome to watch. Arthur is a special talent, and this episode proves that to a tee.
First, I need to get something off my chest. The stuff with the Men on the realm of Númenor honestly has not been the greatest stuff in the show and I wished we would not have placed a greater emphasis on it in this episode. One of those subplots was probably the weakest link of this episode, and that involved Isildur and his C-level plot. So after Mordor was formed from the Southlands and many people lost their livelihoods and their homes, Isildur was captured by a giant spider and was able to escape with the help of his horse (by the way, can we shout out that horse for being the real MVP of this episode? I was so invested in this damn horse!). On his journey, he makes friends with some woman and finds himself in the old Númenorian village of Pelargir. Honestly, the goings on her are a snoozefest and I could care less about anything that happens here, especially with the kid who lost his mother and the Elf who loves him one week and hates him another. Isildur and the kid go to get his horse and find themselves in a major situation against wild Men and some giant thing that the kid, named Theo, is looking up at. Personally, I thought this was the weakest portion of the episode.
Next up, keeping on the topic of the Men, we go to Númenor itself and pick up on the events of last season. The Queen Regent of the region Miriel had been blinded by the formation of Mordor and the King, her father, had succumbed to old age. Now, people are not too happy with her in her ascent to the throne of Númenor because of her decision to go to Middle-earth and lead many Men to their deaths. And now her cousin Pharazôn is being coaxed into taking the throne for himself, but the king's Elven crystal ball is stolen so he will have a fighting chance. But at the coronation, as Miriel is attempting to speak to the people about what she plans to do for them as their Queen, Eärien reveals the crystal ball, which causes outrage amongst the people who attended until a giant ass eagle shows up and the people clamor for Pharazôn as their king. I am not too sure why we spent so much time here because this stuff has not been the best stuff in the series. It kind of feels like House of the Dragon if it wasn't good, in my opinion.
Now we move over to the Dwarf story of this episode. After the events of the last episode, Durin IV has received an invitation from Celebrimbor to go to Eregion to assist in the forging of the Dwarven Rings of Power, and he and his wife Disa oblige. But when they get there, after Celebrimbor and Annatar attempt to sell them on the idea of the Rings, he is understandably hesitant because he does not believe in magic. He relays his information to his father as they have their first confrontation of the season (in the best scene in the episode), where he apologizes to him for what he did. His father seems open to the idea and personally travels with them to Eregion to provide the mithril necessary to forge the seven Rings. This was by far the best plotline from this episode, and I am so invested in this storyline because it seems we are in for a dark turn based on the preview in the first episode.
Finally, I want to talk about Celebrimbor for a brief moment. Over the last few episodes, I have been invested in this tortured Elf looking for some purpose when all he wants is to be known for something and have a legacy after all this time of trying. Now that he feels something he made has bettered somebody, especially his people, he is understandably overwhelmed by this information and wants to keep it for himself. So he decides to lie to Gil-galad about closing down the forge and claim it for being able to perform this "work" without interference. If there is one character I actually feel bad for so far this season (besides Elrond), it has to be Celebrimbor for being deceived and lied to, and now he is Sauron's willing puppet in his rise to power. One thing to note is that Sauron is the one who placed the mithril in the forge, so toy can expect these rings to feature his influence, something Elrond was afraid of. Now the Dwarves are basically screwed.
Rings of Power stumbles a bit in this episode, something that could have found its way in season 1 with a greater focus on the weakest aspect of the series thus far and not doing too much to advance the story to the heights it can go to. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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