The fourth episode of The Rings of Power begins in Minas Tirith. Sorry, I meant the palace of Numenor. Queen Regent Miriel wakes up terrified, dreaming of a huge flood that will destroy everything.
Tamar gives a big speech to the people on the street about how dangerous it is for elves to take their jobs away. Is that a metaphor? Certainly! The same kind of allegory that Tolkien disliked and wrote letters about.
The people of Numenor don’t like the idea of their queen working with elves, so Pharazon comes and assures them that this will always be a kingdom of humans, not elves. He also gives them lots of drinks to make them feel better.
Galadriel returns to Miriel and tells her that Halbrand or “evil Aragorn” is the lost heir to the throne of the Southlands who lives in exile. Miriel doesn’t believe her, but Galadriel insists that they should fight together to save the people of the Southlands before Sauron attacks.
Miriel says no again, but Galadriel tells the regent that she has “a storm in her” and that’s what brought her to Numenor. Galadriel is put behind bars for making threats against the Queen. What great negotiating skills this elf has!
Arondir is chained and encounters Adar, who looks like an elf but has scars on his face. He tells Arondir that he has been told many lies and that he wants to change the world, but that only gods can do that. Arondir asks Adar what he is, but Adar doesn’t tell him. Instead, he tells Arondir to go to “the men who have taken refuge in the old watchtower”. He has a message to deliver, and then he can go.
Lots of people waiting in the watchtower in the Southlands. Bronwyn tries to share the food, but Theo thinks they should go back to town and get supplies. Bronwynn, on the other hand, thinks they should just go hunting. However, Theo doesn’t listen and instead goes into town to get a cart and lots of supplies.
Rowan, a friend of Theo’s, is afraid of the growing shadow of the clouds and decides to leave town quickly. Theo is in one of the houses, so he has to leave him behind. Theo grabs that strange sword hilt as an orc appears. It turns into a sword and after fighting his way out he hides in a well.
Elrond goes back to Celebrimbor thinking about how Elrond’s father once told him that Elrond would decide what would happen to him in the future. Elrond is back at the mines in the next scene. It’s that simple. How long did it take him to get to the mines? This time there is no “shot” showing how he got there, nor a map like Indiana Jones used. Instead we only see the outside of the mine once before Elrond leads us inside.
Durin says he mines quartz, but he’s actually digging in the old mine. Elrond hears them from afar and realizes they are talking about the old mine below Mirrormere.
Elrond goes off alone, without a dwarf to guide him, and finds a secret door in the rock. As he walks through, he meets Durin, who tells him not to tell anyone what he is doing.
Prince Durin found a new ore, which explains what was in the Mystery Box in a previous episode. This is mithril. Durin thinks this could be a new era for the dwarves, but he can’t say much because his father has strict rules about mining too deep.
Well, says Elrond, “20 years is a long time.” He’s talking about how long it’s been since Episode 2. But that doesn’t really make sense, does it? Has it been 20 years since Numenor? Arondir down in the mines? There’s nothing that makes me think that could be true. Just so you don’t forget, this is the most expensive TV show of all time.
There is also a cave-in, but fortunately none of the dwarves are injured. But because of this, the mine will be closed and Durin will no longer be able to mine. But King Durin III makes things right with his son Durin after a very touching conversation with his son. Prince Durin eventually decides to go to Lindon with Elrond.
Galadriel, meanwhile, paces her cage, pondering how good or bad her negotiation skills are. Halbrand says Miriel’s real anger came from talking about her father, the king, who lives in the tower and hasn’t been seen in years.
That night, the regent decides to send her back to the elves in a ship with armed guards. This is good news, for that is what Galadriel wanted when she decided to swim hundreds of miles back to land in the open sea.
When the cell door is opened, Galadriel alone hits 5 armored men, pushes them back into the cell and locks them up. She has no weapons or armor. She looks at Pharazon, grins and then walks away.
The army masses to try to find Miriel’s father, who is in bed sick. Galadriel says she’s sorry because she thinks they should be honest with each other. Miriel eventually decides to trust Galadriel and shows her where a lost palantir is. When she touches it, she sees the same flood Miriel had dreamed of. Miriel wants to send Galadriel away so that future doesn’t come true.
Rowan, who is a friend of Theo’s, comes back to the tower but Theo is still in the well. Theo tries to escape during the night but he runs right into the orcs. But Arondir, whom Adar unleashed earlier in the episode, saves him. Although it is the middle of the night, they walk through the forest. When the sun rises, the orcs stop chasing them.
Galadriel leaves Numenor without a semi-rim, now free and not in prison. Seeing the White Tree’s petals falling, Miriel reconsiders sending Galadriel away. As Galadriel’s boat sails away, Miriel speaks to the council and decides to personally bring Galadriel back to Middle-earth.
Elrond’s flippant remark that he hasn’t seen Durin for 20 years is a great example of how carelessly the world is built in this book. Are Elrond and Durin in a different time period than the rest of us?
There are no Harfoots this time, which might be a small blessing as their story didn’t really add anything.
I’ve already said that Galadriel is the worst thing about this series, and that’s true in this episode as well. Even Amazon seems to know this, as there were recent articles urging people to have faith because Galadriel is on a “journey of humility”. But none of that happens here. Instead, we get a scene that makes us roll our eyes: Galadriel stops five fully armed and strong Numenorian guards all by himself, with no weapon or armor, and shoves them all into a prison cell without even breaking a sweat.
We’ve already seen 4 hours of this season, which means we’re halfway there. So far the plot hasn’t moved much forward, and things are moving at an icy pace. Will that get faster in the second half? Will there be progress in the story?
We’ll have to wait and see, but even though this is the most expensive TV project of all time, the writing on this show is still really bad, except for the visuals.
Based on the book by JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King are the titles of the films (2003). The series is a joint effort between New Zealand and the United States. It was produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by WingNut Films. Actors include Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean films.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins and his group, the Companions, as they attempt to destroy the One Ring and slay the Dark Lord Sauron who created it. The Fellowship eventually disintegrates and Frodo continues his quest with his faithful friend Sam and the devious Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, the banished heir to the throne of Gondor, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, Pippin and the wizard Gandalf work together to save the Free Peoples of Middle-earth from Sauron’s forces and rally them in the War of the Ring to help Frodo by taking Sauron’s attention away from Frodo is distracted.
The three films were all shot simultaneously and in Jackson’s native country of New Zealand from October 11, 1999 to December 22, 2000. Touch-up shots were taken from 2001 to 2004. It cost $281 million and was one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects of all time. The first film in the series was released on December 10, 2001 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The second film was released on December 5, 2002 at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. The third film was released on December 1, 2003 at the Embassy Theater in Wellington. A year after each film hit theaters, a longer version was released on home video.
Most people agree that The Lord of the Rings is one of the best and most important film series ever made. It grossed a lot and is one of the highest grossing film series of all time, grossing $2.991 billion worldwide. The acting, direction, screenplay, production values, score, ambition, emotional depth, groundbreaking special effects, and fidelity to the source material have been praised by both critics and audiences. The series received a lot of praise. He was nominated for 30 Oscars and won 17, including best picture for The Return of the King. The Library of Congress chose to list The Fellowship of the Ring in the United States’ National Film Registry in 2021 because it was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
