Rings of Power Episode 3, titled “Adar,” was a lot more gruesome and had a lot more tragic scenes, including the fight with the warg and the tavern brawl.
Scattered and alone after the first dark lord has fallen, the orcs are trying to rebuild without being eradicated by elves and men. The practical orcs were really fun to watch, especially because of the way they had to hide from the sun while making the slaves work. They look much better than the orcs in The Hobbit movies which uses CGI to make orcs. The orcs in Rings of Power are much scarier because the actors seem to do better without a green screen and the full costumes are more realistic.
Hallbrand, the man on the raft in episode 2, was thrown in jail in episode 3 for stealing a smith’s crest. His fight with the smith and other Numenoreans was one of the more gruesome scenes. I hope that soon, somehow, Isildur frees or aids Hallbrand, and in the process an oath is made. Next, Hallbrand should travel to Middle Earth and attempt to unite the southlands under one banner. but he will be defeated and retreat to the white mountains (the future Paths of the Dead) with the rest of his people. When Isildur eventually founds Gondor, he should call Hallbrand to his aid, invoking his faith to defeat Sauron. But Hallbrand has already lost many people and is afraid of a massive defeat. He will deny the summons, thus becoming the king of ghosts in the Paths of the Dead that Aragorn will later summon in The Lord of the Rings. This is all speculation on my part, but I want Hallbrand to be this character.
Numenor was extraordinary to look at. The music was not as good as the dwarven theme, but still outstanding. In Numenor, in the Silmarillion, the scepter falls to Miriel after her father’s death (in the show, he does not seem to be dead). Pharazon forces Miriel to become his wife even though they are cousins so he can take over the kingship of Numenor. In the show, he still appears to be chancellor. Hopefully, queen regent Miriel is undercover as one of the faithful. The “faithful” were the remnant of the Numenoreans who stayed faithful to the elves and the Valar (the gods of Middle Earth). The Numenorean character I appreciated the most was Isildur’s father, Elendil. Future high king of Gondor and Arnor, Elendil was played wonderfully by Lloyd Owens. He is right up there with Elrond, half-elven, in my opinion..
Since we’re on the topic of Elrond, there were no scenes featuring him in this episode, or any of the elves of Linden or the dwarves, for that matter. Since this is one of the story lines I most care for, I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t expanded upon. I want to see more of the friendship between Elrond and Durin.
The Harfoots in this episode were worse than they had been in the other episodes. They did not expand on the Stranger story line (the most interesting thing about the Harfoots), and their time on the screen took away from the epic story of Numenor.
In closing, an interesting line from this episode is when the orcs mention that Adar, their leader, is searching for a weapon. I think this is Theo’s blade. Adar is most likely Sauron in disguise. In The Silmarillion, the name Sauron deceives elves and men with is “Annatar,” lord of gifts. Adar…Annatar…see the connection?
I rate this episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars (or 5 out of 7 palantiri, if you prefer). What did you think of this episode, and what are you most looking forward to in the next episodes? Leave a comment.
Inkling Investigation 