Minor Spoilers

We remain in Númenor and Khazad-dûm, with a brief side-trip to Eregion.

Tension and suspense ramp up even more, which is an especially good thing as both are just a bit overdue. This episode showcases plenty of manipulators, all – in this instance – the villains. Pharazôn manipulates most of the kingdom of Númenor, and especially Eärin. Halbrand continues to manipulate King Durrin and Celebrimbor both, not to mention Adar. Adar then manages to manipulate Galadriel as well.

One the one hand, the pace is quickening and the drama is improving. On the other, it would also be good for the good guys to not perpetually be playing catch up. The conflict could show them as more evenly matched. The best triumphs are hard won, no doubt, but there shouldn’t be a sense of the good guys blundering to victory in spite of themselves.

In Númenor, Pharazôn continues his quest for power and moves to finally eliminate Elendil. We do finally see some depth to Eärin who finally shows some genuine desperation and grief. It’s also, clear, however, she can’t see through Pharazôn’s machinations and doesn’t understand her father standing by his ideals regardless of what they cost him. In a nice twist to that particular subplot, Elendil is not the only person to stand by their principles and gives us the return of the queen.

The power of the Rings – and therefore of Sauron – continues to grow, and Durrin and Disa search for ways to get the king to fight the influence of the rings. Their heartbreak is palpable, as is the battle between loyalty, love, fear, and duty that is raging inside both of them.

Celebrimbor continues his quest to forge the nine Rings, and we see the toll it is taking on him. We also see that he is still fighting to retain his sense of self and perspective.

At the end it would have been good for Galadriel to come to her realization sooner, and to be more persuasive. No doubt that will come later.

Gandalf and the Halflings did each have a scene, and Arondir had a swordfight, but basically neither of those subplots progressed, Gandalf’s own choice between loyalty and duty notwithstanding. How much, or little, they play into the final two episodes will be most interesting to see.

Verdict: Pacing and writing and suspense all continue to improve as we come down to the final two episodes. 8/10

Rigel Ailur