There must be darkness to see the light on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In “The Eye,” the men and elves at Tirharad pick up the pieces and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) pleads his case for help to King Durin II (Peter Mullan).
The last time we saw Nori (Markella Kavenagh), she was running away from the Stranger (Daniel Weyman). She made the mistake of trying to stop him while was in a trance and that caused her to get hurt. The Stranger is still with the Harfoots, but for how long?
Elrond told Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) about the darkness that is taking over Middle Earth. The elves need the mithril to survive the darkness, but it is located deep inside the Misty Mountains. Mining the mithril is also very dangerous. Prince Durin wants to help and offers to take Elrond to speak to his father.
Adar (Joseph Mawle) had a plan all along to release a massive flow of water. His uruks dug their way under the human villages toward a dormant volcano. He knew when the water hit the volcano, it would awaken the mountain. And it’s obvious now why he did it.
And there are three strange individuals running around Middle Earth. Who are they? What do they want?
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ASH AND SMOKE
The volcano eruption left the village of Tirharad in flames. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) finds Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and they make their way out of the village together. Galadriel and Theo make their way towards the woods with the orcs close behind. Theo wants to turn around and face the orcs, but Galadriel warns him against it. She is humbled by Theo’s eagerness for revenge.
Isildur (Maxim Baldry) finds Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). Together they rescue a lot of people, including Isildur’s friend Valandil (Alex Tarrant). They hear screams coming from a burning house. The doorways are blocked by fiery boards. Isildur is able to life the boards long enough to clear the building. Queen Regent Míriel helps Isildur get the people out. A gust of embers hits Míriel in the face and she fall backward out of the house. Valandil helps her and sees the building fall on top of Isildur.
Elendil (Lloyd Owen) waits in the woods for signs of life. He sees Isildur’s horse, but not Isildur. Queen Regent Míriel and Valandil show up. The look on their faces is enough to tell Elendil that his son is dead. He also discovers that the Queen Regent is blind.
Later that night, Galadriel and Theo are hiding from the uruks passing by. Galadriel tells him about the loss she experienced in her life. First Finrod and then her husband, Celeborn. Celeborn also went to war and he never came back.
THE GROVE
The Harfoots continue their journey to the Grove. Nori had a scary encounter with the Stranger and are a little tense between them. When the caravan gets to the Grove, it’s burnt. The rocks from the volcano were able to reach the Grove and burned most of the trees and fruit.
Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry) tells them about the mountains in the south that spit fire rock. They go to sleep for hundreds of year, only to wake when a new evil is rising. Nori and Poppy (Megan Richards) look at the Stranger, wondering if he is the new evil. Sadoc wonders if the Stranger might be able to help them, but Nori doesn’t want to bother him.
Sadoc asks the Stranger for help anyways. The Stranger whispers to the trees. The entire village watches in awe. Nori’s brother steps towards the Stranger to get a closer look. At the same time, a large branch of the tree falls, almost hitting Nori and her brother.
The incident scares the Harfoots so much, Sadoc asks the Stranger to leave. Nori is sad, but she is also very scared of her friend. She starts to think that maybe she isn’t as special as she thought.
MITHRIL
Elrond makes his case to mine the mithril to King Durin, but the King thinks it’s way too dangerous. Prince Durin appeals on Elrond’s behalf, but the King won’t budge. The two of them have an argument about the matter before the Prince returns home.
Durin complains to Disa (Sophia Nomvete) about how stubborn his father is. But he can’t defy his king because he wants to set a good example for his sons. Elrond arrives and receives the bad news. He has to leave immediately to inform the High King (Benjamin Walker). Durin is sad to see him go and sad that he couldn’t help him. Elrond returns the mithril and bids him farewell
After Elrond leaves, Durin pouts at the dinner table. He throws the mithril across the table next to the Elvin yellow leaf. The leaf has the dark sickness spread throughout it. When the mithril lands next to the leaf, the darkness disappears.
Durin calls for Elrond to return. The two friends go down to the mine to try and get as close as they can. They knock a hole inside the mountain and can see mithril throughout the center. King Durin finds and stops them. He throws Elrond out of the mountain and scolds Durin for choosing elves over his own kind. The Prince gets upset and tells his father that he’s wrong. He considers Elrond as much his brother as the King is his father. King Durin strips the Prince of his collar, saying it no longer belongs to Durin.
King Durin takes the leaf and examines the hole in the mountain where the mithril is. He tells his men to patch up the hole and throws the leaf in before leaving. The leaf falls down the mountain. When it lands, it awakens the balrog sleeping at the bottom of a mountain.
NEW LIFE, NEW THREAT
The next day, Nori wakes up to Poppy singing and eating apples. Nori gets upset thinking food is scarce. When she looks at the grove, the trees came back to life. There is an abundance of food for the Harfoots now. The Harfoots pick everything and store the food in their wagons.
While getting water, Poppy discovers a large footprint. She gets scared and runs away. Later, the three strange individuals show up at the same river. They tracked the Harfoots journey. Nori is waiting for them though. She watches them walk toward the caravan and runs out to stop them.
Nori tells the three weird individuals which direction the Stranger went. Nori’s parents run up to protect their daughter. Largo Brandyfoot (Dylan Smith) tells the strangers to leave Nori alone. He sticks a torch in the leader’s face. The leader puts their hand over the torch and extinguishes the flame. They blows the embers out of their hand and into the village. All of the caravans catch fire.
After the individuals disappear, Nori decides to leave to find the Stranger. He is in danger and needs to be warned. Of course Poppy and others volunteer to go with her, including Nori’s mother, Marigold (Sara Zwangobani).
RETREAT AND REGROUP
Elendil leads his group to the Numenor encampment. Isildur’s horse is being temperamental. Elendil decides to set him free. He also regrets saving Galadriel from the sea.
Galadriel and Theo arrive. Theo goes in search of his mother and finds her helping the injured. Arondir watches their reunion. Theo sees him and walks to give him a big hug too.
Míriel informs Galadriel that they are sailing back to Númenór, but they would return. Elendil cries at the thought of leaving his son’s body behind. As for the Southlanders, they decide to head to Pelargir. It’s an old Númenórean colony by the Anduin river.
As for Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), he was hurt pretty bad in the fire. Galadriel says he needs elvish medicine and offers to take him to Lindon. She is going to report to the High King.
And finally, Adar has created a new home for his children. One of the uruks asks what they will call their new home. There’s only one name: Mordor.
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You can stream 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.
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