The Rings of Power – Eldest Review

This week’s Rings of Power episode was an encapsulation of what works within the series and what is much less successful. We had our introduction to Tom Bombadil – the first time the hermit with a heart of gold has appeared on screen in live action form (with the great Rory Kinnear playing him) – which also saw a serious amount of character development when it comes to The Stranger, who, if he is Gandalf (more on that in a moment), marks the start of the deep and wonderful relationship between the Wizard and Old Tom. We didn’t get any time in Numenor or with Sauron this time out, which was disappointing. We did get more of strangely jealous Elrond and some Galadriel being a badass, which was interesting if not all that enlightening. And then there was the time with the Stoors and the Harfoots as well as the excruciatingly dull time spent with Arondir, Theo, and Isildur (although we did get to see some Ents – and an Ent-wife – so that was a nice moment). A very mixed episode that was more of a slog than it was particularly interesting.

Let’s start with Tom and The Stranger, who learned a bit more about what is in store for him in the coming days and weeks. You see, while The Stranger was dreaming of those stars above Tom’s hut and that tree branch, he was not in search of his staff or a place to learn. Rather, he was in search of Tom’s counsel. And that counsel told him that there is a Dark Wizard in the land, one who is more concerned with consolidating his power to achieve greatness through subjugating those under his control than helping those with less power. He was talking, of course, of the Wizard played by Ciran Hinds – who certainly looks a heck of a lot like Saruman from the Lord of the Rings film series, even though Saruman was trustworthy until he fell under Sauron’s spell well after his initial defeat (and that attempt to initially defeat Sauron is the story being told here – there’s a reason Gandalf was surprised and disappointed to find out that Saruman had been seduced by Sauron in the trilogy: he had long been a trusted ally).

Now, the question of which Wizard the Dark Wizard might be is one much more open than just who The Stranger might be – and if he is indeed Saruman, well, I don’t quite understand what the series is doing in playing very loose with that character’s history and making it clear this is not a good Wizard (which would turn his actions in The Lord of the Rings into an inevitability, not a surprise). Which makes me think he’s one of the other five Wizards within Middle Earth in this era (and really, one of the two Blue Wizards, since Ratagast is absolutely not the Dark Wizard). As for who The Stranger might be – I think we get a massive clue this week when the Stoors were discussing him with Nori. He’s not an Elf, he’s a Grand Elf. And what does that sound like? Yeah, you guessed it, Gandalf. Now, it could certainly be a simple throwaway line, but really, why say that if you didn’t want to further plant that seed a bit deeper in our minds?

But we learn that The Stranger has a quest and it’s a doozy. He must not only take on the Dark Wizard and prevent him from aligning with Sauron, he must also help stop Sauron from inflicting his will on Middle Earth. Not exactly a simple ask for someone who doesn’t even know his name at this stage of the game. But in order to do this, he will need to harness his power and find his staff so that he can become the Wizard he is meant to be. Strange to see a Wizard on a hero’s journey in a story like this one, since in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit it’s the Wizards who are helping or hindering the hero’s journeys of others. But I’m excited to see this one unfold.

Over with Elrond and Galadriel, Elrond’s pure distrust of Galadriel and her ring is starting to border on bullying. Now, I understand he’s less than thrilled that Sauron was the one instigating the creation of the rings, but it’s strange knowing that these three rings are pure and not tainted (from reading the trilogy and seeing the films – and knowing that the ring bearers at that stage of the game (Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf) are anything but evil or tainted) and seeing Elrond so against them and their use. His inability to trust Galadriel seems to come from some place of almost jealousy – whether it’s because she has a ring or because he knows she’s better suited to command this mission, who knows – but boy is he whining and complaining and quite the jerk throughout this episode. I get being wary of Sauron’s influence, but he’s wholly discounting everything she says or does and that’s just plain stupid at this stage of the game. He needs to get over himself – and now that he has her ring, perhaps he’ll see that they aren’t as bad as he thought?

Over with the Hobbit Origin Storyline, we got another key piece of the puzzle. The Sûzat mentioned in the Stoor story is a direct reference to The Shire, with it being another name for the area in the Westron language. So, that tale of the Stoor who goes wandering in search of a new home is the tale of searching for The Shire – a land of milk and honey, which, as we’ve seen, is a gorgeous place and one where the Hobbits thrive. So, the Stoors and the Harfoots are clearly early ancestors of what will eventually become Hobbits (peep the large feet of the Stoors for another wink toward the future), and I suspect we’ll see some more steps taken to fully cement their path toward Hobbiton as the season continues.

And then there’s the introduction of the Ents into the story. While it was lovely to see the Ent-Wife appear (they are, you might recall, missing – much like female Dwarves – once we reach the time of The Lord of the Rings), their appearance didn’t add all that much to the story except to inform our most dull facet of the season’s arcs that there are Orcs around – who are cutting down trees. I assume this is meant to send Arondir out on a search for Adar (although I suspect lots of folks will have a vendetta against Adar by the end of the season). But we learn that Isildur’s potential girlfriend is a spy (not a very good one) and really does have a betrothed (who was also captured by the Ents). And Theo has some business of his own to take care of – what that is and why we should care, I don’t know. I feel like the series has really lost the plot when it comes to Theo, with nothing of real import happening with the character thus far. I had assumed there was a heel turn lurking for him after his seeming connection to Sauron and evil in season one, but now I’m not sure what point he serves in the story.

So, a disappointing mixed bag of an episode that gave us Tom Bombadil but little else in the way of compelling plot points or interesting character beats. Every series needs episodes that simply move characters from Point A to Point B, but rarely do they do that for pretty much every character at once without much flair along the way. And that’s what we got this time around.