Rings of Power Comes off the Rails in Episode 5
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 OF RINGS OF POWER
As discussed briefly in the upcoming podcast, Rings of Power has had a pacing issue in the first half of its season. The four subplots just aren’t moving much, with the exception of the Southlands portion. There are characterization issues as well. If there was a time that a show needed to build some momentum, it was with episode 5: Partings.
It didn’t. In fact, both problems just got a lot worst.
First, nothing of significance happened in this episode. Galadriel is still in Numenor. The Harfoots are still migrating with the giant they found. The people of the Southlands are still holed up in the elf watch tower and the orcs are still on their way. Durin and Elrond had dinner with King Gil-Galad but the mithril mining, the tower, and the elf/dwarf mistrust are all exactly where we left them.
There was a couple largely uninteresting reveals, and a tiny bit of character development, only it wasn’t any of the main characters. The bigger problem with the latter is that it brought upon more confusion rather than clarifying or in any way enhancing the likability of any of the main characters.
Galadriel is still insufferable. We learn a little more about Halbrand, who totally isn’t Sauron, but none of it was interesting or really all that new. He wants to work in a forge in Numenor, not go back to the Southlands. He doesn’t want to be king, just like Aragorn. Galadriel is forcing the issue, and as usual, gets her way despite lacking in tact or anything resembling persuasive charisma.
Arondir is still Arondir. His love interest might have given the least motivating speech of all time. The townsfolk get a little more screen time to show us what we already know. Some of them are Sauron sympathizers.
Two weird things happen too. An orc exposes their arm to the sun and it starts blistering. Are orcs vampires now? There are also white cloaked figures examining the crater where not-Gandalf fell from the sky. The Slim Shady comparisons are spot on. Their sinister eyebrows, piercing blue eyes and the androgynous appearance of the lead figure raises more questions.
What we have is new characters who we have no idea who or what they are, only that they look evil and a little weird. I mean weird as in they do not resemble anything we’ve seen in Middle Earth in the show or Peter Jackson movies.
Why does this show insist on its parade of small hooks and teasers? We are over halfway through the season and it feels like we are not getting any closer to the climax or any resolution.
We don’t know who the comet man is yet.
We don’t know who Sauron is yet.
We know who Adar is and what he wants, but no idea where he came from yet.
What is with the Numenoreans? They hate elves, then volunteer to help Galadriel. They’re isolationist and racist until they’re not. They’re a mighty empire with only 5 ships to spare. They require volunteers since apparently their mighty army and navy don’t exist.
Why does the show spend so much time introducing Numenorean characters, giving them screen time but ultimately most of them have had zero affect on the plot?
Why are the female elf servants at King Gil Galad’s dinner wearing white burqas?
Enough with the mystery boxes and confusing narrative choices!
It is possible the show is making a critical mistake, taking their 5 season run for granted and using the first season as mostly setup for the big events that will come towards the finale. This is a flawed approach that some writers take with the first book in a new series. It results in a mediocre first book dulling interest in the climactic events that come in later books.
In Partings, Rings of Power needed to pick up the pace and really start delivering some satisfying payoffs. It failed. I wonder how many viewers they lost with yet another slow episode. With three left, hope is getting dim that Amazon Studios can pull itself out of free fall.