Arondir is a captive of the orcs, Galadriel and Halbrand visit a legendary kingdom and Elendit is given a new assignment

Amazon’s expensive Lord of the Rings series settles down in to what I assume is it’s weekly structure, namely to switch between different adventures occurring in different parts of Middle-earth. It’s a formula that was previously used to great effect across Game of Thrones and suits epic storytelling.

With at least six story threads happening at once, we don’t meet all the characters every week, their rotation being bigger than a single episode length, but this can mean that you’re waiting for a fortnight to catch up with developments. Inevitably, this also means that you soon realise which are your favourites and which you’d rather were on the back burner.

So far, Galadriel’s story is the backbone to the series, and this week she (and Halbrand) are rescued at sea and taken to the island kingdom of Númenor, an elaborate realm realised by an impressive set and outstanding visual effects. It’s here that we meet Captain Elendit, future founder of Gondor and his son Isildur, who will also play a key role in the battle for the rings of power.

There’s an impressive action sequence where Arondir and yellow captive elves try to escape from a squad of Orcs, who are forcing them to dig for some undisclosed treasure. They’re vicious vampire-like creatures with an aversion to bright sunlight, and still have the cockney accents from Peter Jackson’s movies. Of less interest to me is the Harfoot saga, with the Hobbit race migrating their caravans – it’s just a bit twee for my particular tastes.

Verdict: A fine assortment of fantasy dramas played on a large canvas – the show has settled comfortably into its groove. 7/10

Nick Joy