Episode 4 officially marks the halfway point for The Rings of Power. This episode is titled “The Great Wave” and focuses heavily on Numenor. Galadriel petitions the regent Tar-Miriel for aid while Elrond investigates Durin’s secret mining project. Arondir finds himself face to face with the mysterious Adar and Bronwyn tries to lead her people to safety.

For once, there are no Harfoots to be seen and that’s a great thing. Unfortunately, I still found the pacing to be quite slow, especially for the midpoint of the season. There is a heavy focus on Galadriel and I am extremely dissatisfied with her character. She comes across as both whiny and naïve. Her main conflict with the Numenorians isn’t very compelling either and many scenes between her, Tar-Miriel, and Elendil drag. The downfall of Numenor is foreshadowed heavily in this episode, but we still have a distinct lack of the major theme that brings about the end of the kingdom.

Another reason I find this plot line weak is because of the focus on the Numenorians distrust of the elves. The other plot lines with Elrond and Arondir are already focusing heavily on the relationships between races. In order to avoid this redundancy, it would be nice to get something different here.

On a more positive note, I found the Elrond and Durin plot line of this episode to be solid. The relationships between elves and dwarves are always tenuous and the resulting interpersonal drama is decently executed thus far.

Arondir’s plotline is also a highlight of this episode. The character of Adar is quite interesting though it’s heavily implied that he is Sauron. If so, I certainly enjoy this interpretation of the character. Joseph Mawle gives a thrilling, cold, ruthless, and calm performance.

The relationship between Bronwyn and her son Theo (while generic) is at least responsible for the majority of the action in this episode. However, this does cause some more issues for me in terms of choreography and editing. I forgot to mention this in my last review, but the use of slow motion is also quite heavy in this episode.

Slow motion footage is a powerful tool to emphasize fight beats, increase the impact of blows, or drive home emotions in a fight scene. On the other hand, slow motion can easily become quite silly if it is overused. There is a particular chase scene in this episode that I felt was ruined by the use of slow motion. It felt as though the showrunners wanted to capture the style of the Peter Jackson film trilogy, but failed to realize that he utilized slow motion only during pivotal moments in the story with powerful emotional weight.

Additionally, there is a truly awful escape scene that essentially boils down to Galadriel pushing a group of extras into a cell. It is small issues such as these that have slowly lowered my opinion of the show. With the amount of budget put behind The Rings of Power, I feel there should be fewer corners being cut here. It’s disappointing that every aspect of the show doesn’t appear to be treated equally by the directors.

As the definitive mid-season episode, I found this to be a rather dull transitional piece in the epic story that will unfold. I’m happy when a show takes its time, but when the character plot lines are already a little weak, to begin with, it only serves to enhance my growing feelings of boredom.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

LOTR: Rings of Power

4

Score

4.0/10

Pros

• No Harfoots
• Adar and Elrond have great scenes

Cons

• Overused Slow Motion
• Galadriel's characterization is annoying
• Slow pace