The Fantasy Review’s review of Rings of Power, season 2, episode 6, Where is He?.
The spoiler-free review of Rings of Power, season 2, episode 6 is that this is much better than what we have seen so far. There is no dawdling, no wasted scenes or dialogue; everything we see moves the story forwards and develops a character or plotline.
The show still fails to show Sauron as a great Deceiver. It tells us he is, repeatedly, but the writing of his dialogue is not up to the task.
Spoiler-Filled Review of Rings of Power, Season 2, Episode 6
This episode opens with a contractually obliged Elf running through the woods. Arondir happens upon two orc defectors from Adar’s army and then is beset on by a third. He kills all three easily and finds a map on one of them, revealing Adar’s intentions. That’s the “subtle” way the show is going to bring Arondir to the battle at Eregion, I presume.
Best Fëanor. Best Yourself.
Much of the plot of Rings of Power, season 2, episode 6 focuses on Eregion and Celebrimbor. The Elven-smiths and Celebrimbor have failed so far to make the Nine Rings for Men and Celebrimbor is losing his mind over it.
Annatar/Sauron saunters in with a dramatic costume change which I loved. Instead of pure, light colours, he now wears black lined with gold, indicating the eventual reveal of his true nature.
Mirdania, the Elf who looks like Galadriel, calls Celebrimbor “ill-tempered” to his face which was a bold move. He forgets her name and everyone is quite shocks, but to be fair, I had to look it up too.
Annatar tells everyone to leave and rest and he reassures Celebrimbor before leaving to address the people of Eregion in the Elf’s place. Mirdania and some others take him to a gate where no one has come for days, except a body with “Where is He?” carved into its torso. That doesn’t sound like a good omen.
Annatar then tells Mirdania that the smiths have been relieved from their duties by Celebrimbor, which, of course, they haven’t. This sets the stage for Sauron’s final deceit in Eregion.
Later in the episode, the orcs march on Eregion and Annatar hides the siege from Celebrimbor with a vision. Annatar convinces Celebrimbor to continue working on the Nine Rings for Men with what we can only assume is not mithril, but something else.
He convinces him by saying that in comparison to the Rings they make, the Silmarils will be nothing but a whisper, forgotten to history. This is probably the closest the writers on this show have come to actually showing us how genius Sauron’s manipulation is.
Galadriel Does an Oopsie
So, in episode 5 we see Galadriel captured by Adar. Now, at his camp, Adar tries to get Galadriel to join him and his orcs against Sauron, over a romantic candlelit dinner.
She initially refuses, but eventually relents. However, and this is the insane part, she actually tells him who has her Ring. Well done.
Adar then reveals his plan to attack Eregion and take her Ring from Elrond. She warns Adar that his plan is what Sauron wants, but Adar ignores her – he believes he will destroy Sauron with his legions.
After everything he had been saying earlier, about how incredibly manipulative Sauron is, you would think Adar would see that this is Sauron’s plan and believe Galadriel. However, you have to assume he is just blinded by fear and hatred of the Enemy.
The Valar Protect the Faithful (Sometimes)
In Númenor, Elendil stands before Ar-Pharazôn for the crime of high treason. Elendil is forced to renounce his crimes, but he refuses to accept Ar-Pharazôn as his true king.
Elendil is one of the best castings of this show. He looks and sounds like a hero, and they have done plenty with his character development to make him look like his descendant, Aragorn, as we see him in Peter Jackson’s movies. That certainly helps us like him more!
It is the story in Númenor that I had hoped would be the crown jewel of Rings of Power. It has mostly been a disappointment, due to rushed coups, invented events, and a lack of any powerful motivation for the King’s Men. We didn’t even hear “the Faithful” or “King’s Men” in the show until it was too late.
Anyway, so later on, in a dungeon somewhere, Elendil’s made up daughter announces to her father that he is “to be cast into the sea to face Trial by Abyss”. He refuses to go back on his actions.
But that crafty made up daughter has a trick up her sleeve. She brings in Míriel who attempts to convince Elendil to bow to Ar-Pharazôn, but he refuses again. He will not accept the lie of Ar-Pharazôn’s “legitimacy”.
During Elendil’s trial at sea, Míriel swoops in at the last moment and takes Elendil’s place. If she survives, it was what the Valar want. So, she goes into the sea, is surrounded by the tentacles of the sea worm, and is spat back out onto the shore, alive. Everyone starts chanting her name.
I am confused. So what, she is queen now? Do the people on this island take the eagle for Ar-Pharazôn to heart, only to now switch suddenly back to Míriel? It certainly looks that way, but hopefully we won’t go around in circles. I’m sure Ar-Pharazôn will go full-crazy now, trying to kill everyone, especially after the scene with him angrily looking into the palantír.
They Drag Out The Harfoots’ Plot
I have waited two weeks to see more of Tom Bombadil, The Stranger, and the Harfoots, and what we get is very little. They are forcing this plot into gaps of time that shouldn’t even be there, and that sucks for several reasons; the main one being that this is the most interesting plot in the whole show.
Not-Gandalf is with Tom Bombadill and sees a vision of Nori in trouble. I love Tom Bombadil’s portrayal in this show. If there was something they got right in Rings of Power it is this.
And The Stranger’s journey, wishing to “master” his power, when we can all see he needs only work with it – becoming the master over something is not how the Light works in Middle-earth. I love this exploration of the nature of Middle-earth and desperately want more of it.
This is the ultimate classic fantasy storyline and no one can tell me otherwise. Not-Gandalf is sent on a quest by Tom Bombadil to find his true staff so he can harness the power of the Secret Fire. Has anything ever sounded more classic fantasy than this? It doesn’t feel deep like Tolkien’s work, but it certainly feels like something Terry Brooks or David Eddings would have written, and I am here for it!
Elsewhere in Rhûn, Nori and Poppy are with the Stoors. Little happens here, but we do get a few nice conversations and development of motivations, etc. This is how you make a slow-paced plot feel satisfying, not like the dawdling mess in episode 5.
The leader of the Stoors tells Nori about not being able to leave because this is their home. It hits home, emotionally, with Nori who has spent her life looking for a home and never found it.
And finally, Poppy and Nobody tell each other how they feel and kiss. This invented love story is not the heartwarming, positive thing about Rings of Power I was expecting, but I like it anyway. Nothing wrong with a bit of whimsy.
Concluding Thoughts on Rings of Power, Season 2, Episode 6
Overall, I thought this episode was a step-up from what we have seen before and hopefully the momentum continues. I think the writers of the show struggle to make a show that is slow-paced and interesting, but now they are at the point of the season where everything starts happening, they can do quick, exciting action. Let’s hope.
An example of this slow pace is the plot at Khazad-dûm. I didn’t even mention it in this review because not much happens except minor set-up with Disa’s Just Stop Oil moment, stopping the dwarves from digging deeper.
Rings of Power, season 2, episode 6 ends with the orcs beginning their attack of Eregion. I am hoping that much of episode 7 is the battle that follows, as it should make for an epic tale.
