Episode (In the Medical Sense) Three: The Rings of Power

 

I was back again at John’s house with my nephew Kameron to watch the third episode of “The Rings of Power” on Friday. I have to admit that the pleasure of having the occasion of visiting the family probably tips my tolerance of the show a bit toward the indulgent side, but even that cannot completely compensate for the fraying of the emotions that “The Rings of Power” works upon my mind.

I suppose one cannot expect writing on the level of Tolkien himself from mere show biz people. I cannot count how many times we guessed the next line of dialog or made a joking parody of what it would be, only to have it fulfilled nearly verbatim. What can I say? These ‘creatives’ are not nearly creative enough, and they have mere outlines to guide them, which they tend to ignore any chance they can. Almost more irritating is when they echo lines and situations in a most painful ‘wink-wink, nudge-nudge’ manner.

The first part opens with Galadriel and Halbrand on a Numenorean ship, where they meet Elendil. They are taken to Numenor and meet the ‘Queen-Regent’ Miriel who is very cold to them as possible spies. Halbrand fast talks her into a period of leniency to decide what to do with them, then he and Galadriel proceed to make trouble wherever they go.

Elendil takes her to a library (as one does with prisoners, but then he seems to be more kindly disposed towards Elves) and she realizes that the sigil that is haunting her is a map of what will become Mordor. Halbrand shows a suspicious interest in becoming a smith and staying in Numenor, which raises some ideas in the viewership that he may be Sauron. Even his claims to being the king of the men on Middle-earth might be a sort of dissembling truth.  

We get to see a lot more Orcs next in this episode, as they have captured Mr. Tuvok and his fellow Elves. In ROP, Orcs do not only grow weak and dizzy under the Sun, but their flesh audibly sizzles when they leave their sheltering tents. After all the other Elves are killed while trying to escape, Tuvok is taken to the Orcs’ revered leader, called Adar (the Sindarin word for ‘Father’), whom we only briefly see in a blurry glimpse. There is some speculation that this could be Sauron, but it seems more likely to be one of the corrupted Elves who were the Orcs’ original stock.

Meanwhile, the Harfoots are getting ready to make their Fall migration, which isn’t good news for Largo Brandyfoot, Nori’s dad, who broke his ankle last episode. We are given a long remembrance list for those Harfoots who were killed on the trail or left behind, full of mostly terrible attempts of coming up with Hobbit names. The Stranger is finally revealed to the whole tribe, and, despite misgivings, is put on probation as he joins them. This solves the Brandyfoots’ problem, as he can draw their cart for them. The Stranger is looking less and less likely to be Sauron in disguise.

There are no specific instances of the Dwarf strand of story or of Bronwyn and her people (the humans captured by Orcs are apparently from Hordern) in this episode.

 Everyone seems to be playing the "Spot the Sauron" game for ROP, and that is still an element of interest. Is it Halbrand? The Stranger? Perhaps the shadowy "Adar" held in such reverence by the Orcs? In jest, I propose a fourth theory: it is the 'Galadriel' we've been seeing. It would explain her strange unpleasantness; her hunt for Sauron could be a big red herring that allows her to visit old evil fortresses without suspicion; the absence of Celeborn (the real Galadriel and Celeborn being off somewhere in isolation); her jumping ship rather than go to Valinor; her actions sowing doubt and dread wherever she goes, etc. etc. Although the Lore states that all the Valar and Maiar, though bodiless, have a gender that appears when they do embody, such details have never stopped the showrunners before. The big objection to this theory is that it's probably too creative by half for “The Rings of Power”.

I recently saw the trailer for “#Willow, an epic new Original series streaming only on Disney+.” How can it be that this looks like a better effort than "The Rings of Power"?