“Not everyone who wonders or wanders is lost,” Poppy sings (Megan Richards), the last Proudfellow left in the Harfoot caravan., in the walking song of his abandoned mother. In “The Breakups”, the fifth episode of the Prime Video program The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, wanderers and wanderers from all over the map will experience this tune. When is it good to go home again, and when is it dangerous? When will we go to unknown lands? What if the house itself is an unknown land? And what are we risking for our fellow travelers along the way?
Welcome back, Harfoots! I missed you! Nori (Markella Cavena) teaches a strangerDavid Weiman language (“Snails?”) and the Harfoot migrations. There are “a hundred dangers” and the Grove - people, wolves, various trolls. “I am dangerous,” the Stranger says with alarm, remembering the extinct fireflies in his palm. But Nori assures him that he is good, a word he learned much happier. “I’m fine,” he repeats. Let’s hope. As a group of Brandyfoots crawl through the Gray Marshes, over waterfalls and Scythes, through thunderstorms, teas and general laughter, Poppy sings: “Past the eyes of pale fire, / Black sand behind my bed, / I’ll trade all I know for the unknown ahead” .
The images of starfall suddenly burn through the spell of the song, the Wanderer in the center of the crater is like the dark pupil of a fiery eye. The fire has long gone out, but its secret remains. Above the charred hole, the whisper of the wind carries us to three mysterious figures with pale eyes wrapped in white. One climbs up and puts his hand on the burnt mud of the crater. They feel… something. And they don’t look too happy about it.
In a tower in Southland Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) refers to the refugees, a flash of blue against a background of gray stone. “I know I’m not the king you’ve been waiting for, but if you choose to stand with me and fight, this tower will no longer be a reminder of our weakness, but a symbol of our strength,” she vows. But early success turns into a rebellion. “You will die. I say it’s better to take the risk and bow down to the supposed enemy.” - WaldregGeoff Morrell) screams. He calls for Theo to follow him and dozens of other people leaving the tower. Will he?
In Numenor, ships preparing to sail to the aid of the southerners clog the harbor. Amid all the bustle and noise of Elendil (Lloyd Owen) basically gives Isildur (Maxim Baldry) silent treatment. Isildur cannot travel west until he “does something worthy of Númenor”, and he was not chosen to join the expedition. Elendil will not help him - Isildur made his choice when he was kicked out of the Sea Guard. But while half the city wants boats, the other half screams at PharazonTristan Gravel) to stop the war. erien (Ema Horvath) is one of them and recruits Kemen (Leon Wadham) with a gentle hand on his arm.
Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), meanwhile forging a blade in the armory. How did he get the guild crest? Hold this thought - he is called to Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). At Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) assurances and despite his protests, she hopes that he will help when they land. Left alone with their personal battle, Galadriel and Halbrand argue over who is using whom. It turns out that the price of his guild crest allowed Galadriel’s plan to be revealed the night she broke into the tower. “Find another head for the crown,” he spits, breaking their uneasy alliance and tearing the seal of his people from his neck.
The Harfoot migration moves through an unnaturally barren forest. Leafless branches cut into the gray day, and Nori finds huge wolf prints in the mud. But the greatest danger may come from within. Malva (Tusita Jayasundera), always fitting for Harfoot’s crude dose of humor, says “it’s as clear as a fungus on the lips” that the “big guy” is to blame for the strange lifelessness of the trees. She wants to put the Brandyfoot band in a quandary - “take their wheels and leave them”. Tough, Malva. Sadok (Lenny Henry) doesn’t say yes, but he certainly doesn’t say no.
Whatever the case, Nori and Poppy find Malva to tell her about the footprints. Right on cue, the screaming howl of a wolf splits the air, forcing the women to race back to camp. But they are late - huge wolves are running after them (reader, I squealed). One jumps on them, opening his wet mouth to rip the Nori apart. But instead, he is lifted into the air and thrown aside by the Stranger, who now stands between his friends and animals. They are dangerous. He is good. It pounds the ground and the wolves are thrown back with a shudder. He saved his friends but hurt himself, a serpent of lilac-black winds from his wrist to his forearm.
In Numenor, ValandilAlex Tarrant) and Ontamo (Anthony Crum) to practice sword fighting under Elendil’s supervision. He invites Galadriel to offer her experience, exactly the invitation she has been craving. “Come see me. Let’s see who gets fleshed out,” she tells the five trainees, and Elendil offers a promotion to anyone who can score her. She dodges Valandil’s punches without batting an eyelid, then fends off Ontamo’s punches like flies. All five rush at her at the same time and she slides through their swords like water, never once losing her smirk. But Valandil manages to knock the fabric against her arm. Congratulations Lieutenant Valandil! Speaking of weapons, Kemen would very much like Earien to touch him again, so he works on Pharazon to stop the expedition.When he insists that Pharazon would “rather die than obey the orders of an elf”, this plugs his father’s ears for once. “When all this is over, the elves will us orders”. Pharazon wants to give the people of Middle-earth a king in debt to Numenor - war is a tool for trade and power. All this time there was capitalism!
The Stranger’s recklessness has changed the Harfoots’ tune, but he doesn’t hear Nori tell him about it - he’s working on a cure for his wound by magically turning a puddle to ice. Cold creeps up his arm like frozen ivy and Nori gets stuck in the cold. She begs him to stop, but he continues his spell until she is thrown into the air. The memory of his fiery fall in Middle-earth flashes as she falls to earth. He wakes up as Nori cowers and runs away from his touch. Is he good? Or is he dangerous?
At a Candlelight Forest Dinner at Lindon Elrond (Robert Aramayo) toasts to the union of elves and dwarves. King Gil-galadBenjamin Walker) praises Durin (Owen Arthur) about the progress of Khazad-dum. Durin might have noted the same thing in Lindon’s rapid expansion: “It usually takes you humans weeks to decide on shit…” Elrond saves his friend (and TV-14 rating) by interrupting him and relieving the obvious tension. But after supper, Elrond and Gil-galad accuse each other of lying. The King leads Elrond to the yellow tree, where he “rewards” the soldiers by returning home. It was not possible to send Galadriel away - black rot entangles the tree trunk and its mighty branches, seeping into the veins of the leaves. “The light of the Eldar, our light, is fading,” says Gil-galad. Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) later confirms that only Durin’s mithril can bring him back and maybe save the world from the gathering evil. Elrond is left holding his piece of mithril under the stars, weighing the fate of his people against his oath to his friend.
Returning to Numenor, Isildur turns to his friend Valandir to put him on a boat. But, as with Elendil, love and history (and free hits in this case) are not enough to do another favor for a man who doesn’t deserve the ones he’s already been given. Valandir cannot—will not—help. So, Isildur hides on the ship just in time for Kemen to attempt to burn it under cover of darkness. They fight and the boat explodes. Amid the fire and debris, Isildur swims towards the pier, dragging the wounded Kemen behind him, and falls into the waiting arms of Elendil. Rescuing the chancellor’s son - and covering up his arson attempt - got Isildur a place?
Halbrand would very much like to stay out of the war altogether. He is sweeping the armory when Galadriel comes apologizing and pleading, “Stop fighting me, let’s fight them together.” But he’s still being pursued - she doesn’t know what he was doing before he sailed the raft across the Broken Seas. Galadriel shares with him the centuries-old words of her brother: “Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness.” Halbrand regrets everything she’s been through, but she wants action, not sympathy. “There is no… lasting rest on any path except that which lies beyond the sea,” she says, clutching his necklace in her fist.
But even in the southern lands there can be no lasting peace. The deserters reached their burnt village and knelt before Adar (Joseph Mole). “Raise us up from the dirt and mud to take our rightful place by your side,” Waldreg grovels. “I pledge my allegiance to Sauron.” At the sound of this name, Adar furiously turns into a scarred ghost against the empty blackness of the sky. You are Sauron, aren’t you? In response, Adar grabs Waldreg by the throat and throws him to the ground. Is he Sauron, furious at being recognized? Or is he a completely different evil, and Sauron still lies in wait? Waldreg doesn’t care: “Then I will serve you, whoever you are.” Adar grabs RowanIan Blackburn), makes him kneel and throws the knife to Waldreg. “Only blood can bind,” Adar growls at Rowan’s frightened plea.
Before we see Waldreg hit, we’re back in the tower where Theo is (Tyro Muhafidin) decided to stay and trust Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), showing him the mysterious hilt. Arondir recognizes it and rips the ivy out of the stone wall to reveal its carved likeness behind the roots. “It’s a key,” says Arondir Bronwyn, “something to do with Adar’s desire to become a god. He believes that they can survive the coming battle, but Bronwyn knows a way - to surrender. “We are doomed to darkness. This is how we survive,” Bronwyn says, her resolve broken as the ork torches close in.
Also on the move: Escorting Durin back to Khazad-dûm through the golden forest of Lindon while the elves carry a heavy stone table, he tricked Gil-galad into surrendering. Elrond may have broken his oath, but he can still be faithful to this friend: he confesses that he came to Khazad-dum for mithril, although he did not know about it. He tells Durin that without him, the elves have only one choice: leave Middle-earth or perish. Durin enjoys this unexpected power and then agrees to convince his father to let them mine it.
Halbrand also made his choice as to who he would be with. He is on horseback bathed in sunlight (as well as water and soap!) as the military procession marches. Miriel, golden in her armor, watches the petals fall around her—not the white petals of the Valar tree, but the red, pink, and purple petals of her people. The procession moves to warships, and Isildur, finally having accomplished a feat worthy of Numenor, becomes part of it. In addition, his father once again gave him an important job: to clean the manure in the stables. There are two other passengers on board: Galadriel, who swaps flowing dresses for armor she can’t put away, and the regal new Halbrand. They clasp their hands. The sails unfurl. Wind gusts. The ships sailed away from the sun-warmed shores of Numenor, heading for Middle-earth and war.
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power new episodes premiere every Friday on Prime Video.
Source: Collider
