And the story unfolds on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In “Adar,” Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) makes a startling discovery, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) finds her way to a legendary place and Nori’s (Markella Kavenagh) family faces dire consequences.
To fully enjoy this series, you really must watch it. These recaps will be a little different from the previous ones. I hope you enjoy!
Trouble started for all of our heroes in the first two episodes. Galadriel jumped the ship to Valinor and wound up on a raft with a human named Halbrand (Charlie Vickers). They endured a massive storm and were last seen being rescued. Nori found the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) inside of a comet. They have some communication issues, but she was able to make out that he needed to find stars to find his way. And Arondir found a large tunnel underneath a deserted village. He was taken after being chased through the tunnel.
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Arondir wakes up in a larger underground tunnel, to find many humans and elves being held prisoner. It appears the orcs took the people of Bronwyn’s (Nazanin Boniadi) home village and the elves of the Watchtower of Ostirith, chained them all up and are forcing them to dig. For what? That remains to be seen.
The elves are able to gather and whisper about what’s happening. They surmise that Morgoth’s successor has taken over. And the orcs appear to be looking for something, perhaps a weapon. As they get closer to the surface, the tunnel is covered. The sun literally burns the orc. Arondir and his elvish brethren make plans to escape. It’s not as easy as it sounds and a few elves die just trying to set up the plan.
Galadriel woke up on a ship sailing to the kingdom of the Númenor. The people of Númenor were once friendly to the elves, but not anymore. The captain of the ship, Elendil (Lloyd Owen), takes Galadriel to the Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and they look like they are ready to fight. Galadriel pretty much demands a boat to take her to Middle Earth. Whether or not Míriel allows it, Galadriel will leave.
Halbrand calms everyone down with the idea to let him and Galdriel stay until the Queen Regent can figure out what to do with them. During this time, he finds himself in a precarious situation that lands him in jail. As for Galadriel, Elendil takes her to the Hall of Law where she finds the sigil in writing. It’s not a sigil though. It’s a map to the Southlands.
BTW, you should recognize the name Elendil if you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings. Here’s what we know about him. Elendil is of noble blood, but turned from that life to become a sailor. He has three children, Anárion, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and Eärien (Ema Horvath). Anárion left Númenor and sailed west. Isildur wants to do the same, much to Elendil’s chagrin. He thinks there is nothing for them there. And Eärien was accepted as an apprentice in the builder’s guild.
Next, we visit the Harfoots. They are having their annual festival before they move on to their next destination. Everyone is worried about Largo Brandyfoot (Dylan Smith). His foot has gotten worse and he may not be able to travel. Which is crazy because, during the festival, the Harfoots chant that nobody walks along and nobody is left behind.
Nori thinks she needs to find a map of the stars to help the Stranger. That map is probably in a book in Sadoc Burrows’ (Lenny Henry) cart. Nori sneaks into the cart with Poppy’s (Megan Richards) help of course and takes the map she needs. She puts it in a safe place and joins the festival.
Sadoc addresses the Harfoots as they remember those who perished in the move. While they reflect and remember, the Stranger finds the maps. He finds a constellation that he recognizes and sits by the fire to examine it. He gets too close to the fire and lights up the map. The Stranger makes a commotion, alerting the Harfoots to his presence. They scream and hide as he flails around. When he stops and everything is quiet, he says Nori’s name.
The village is livid with Nori. She brought a stranger into their village and put them all at risk. Their laws says she should be banished, but Sadoc won’t do that. Instead he puts the Brandyfoot wagon at the back of the caravan, knowing they will have trouble keeping up.
The day of the move comes. The Brandyfoot wagon is heavy, forcing the family to stop multiple times. Poppy even stops a time or two to look back. The Brandyfoot wagon gets stuck and Largo needs a break. They are about to give up when the Stranger appears and helps them move the wagon. He looks at Nori and says ‘friend.’ Nori says he’s the answer. They help him and he will help them. The Stranger helps the Brandyfoot wagon catch up to the caravan.
Galadriel finds Halbrand and tells him about the map. She also tells him that she knows who he is. If you recall, Halbrand wears a small bag with a silver sigil around his neck. Galadriel asked if it was the sigil of his king and he said his people have no king. Galadriel found that sigil on a scroll and recognized it.
The sigil is the sign of a man who untied the Southlands under one banner. It is a mark of nobility. Galadriel believes Halbrand is the king of Southlands. He warns her that his ancestor swore a blood oath to Morgoth. His family lost the war.
Galadril says their meeting was not by chance. She asks him to sail to Middle Earth with her and redeem their bloodlines. He asks how. She has no army. Galadriel says that’s about to change. Meanwhile Queen Regent Míriel speaks to her father, saying the moment they feared is here. The Elf has arrived.
Arondir and the elves find the perfect opportunity to make their escape. They start by breaking their chains. The orcs do their best to stop them, but Arondir tears the cover over the tunnel, forcing the orcs to retreat to the darkness. Even in teh darkness, the orcs are able to kill the elves, one by one, leaving Arondir and his watchtower commander Revion (Simon Merrells). Arondir sacrifices himself to help Revion escape into the sunlight. He quickly follows, only to see Revion get shot down by arrows. The orcs catch up to Arondir and bring him back. Instead of killing him, they take him to the Adar. Adar walks through the orcs toward the light, but we never see his face.
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Watch the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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