Rings of Power episode five was the episode in which I lost all hope for the future of this series. This episode is titled “Partings” and begins with Nori and the Harfoots as they encounter new dangers on their migration. The Numenorians prepare to journey to the mainland while Galadriel petitions Halbrand to join the fight. Meanwhile, Elrond struggles with his loyalty to Durin, and the Southlanders find themselves besieged by the encroaching orc forces lead by Adar.

Let’s start with positives first. I enjoyed the multiple songs sung by various characters in this episode. Music is a core theme of Tolkien’s works that is often unexplored outside of the novels, so I appreciated the extra time devoted to it here. There was a decently choreographed sword fight with Galadriel, though the scene could have been easily cut in favor of something that would have actually progressed the plot.

I also enjoyed seeing Adar play a bigger part here. Although he is certainly a one note character, at least he acts with consistency and drives the plot foreword by providing a tangible threat for our characters in the Southlands.

Elrond and Durin’s relationship is the heart of the show once more. The actors have actual charisma and are consistently enjoyable to watch. However, unlike the last few episodes, the Elrond storyline was easily my least favorite aspect of this episode. There are some specific creative decisions made surrounding Mithril that completely destroyed my faith in the series as a respectable adaptation of Tolkien’s work. Not only does it completely undermine the lore surrounding the Elves, but it damages core themes surrounding the Second Age. I can’t really fathom the need for this creative change. To me, it comes across as sloppy writing utilized to progress the tension between Elves and Dwarves.

The other storylines don’t do much to salvage this episode for me either. Galadriel is still annoying and her inconsistent characterization has now been carried over to Bronwyn, Elendil, and others. Almost every character in this show undergoes rapid changes in the blink of an eye, behaving however the story needs them to. The only consistent characters are Elrond, Durin, Arondir, and Halbrand, though his arc in this particular episode still feels somewhat rushed.

It’s at this point that I again struggle with the structure of this show. Epic fantasy is often defined by grand scale with dozens of characters, nations, and cultures represented. However, typically this is not the case from the start. Most epics begin with a few central figures before gradually expanding outward into more complex plotlines.

This serves the dual purpose of easing the reader into a complex world while also providing solid characterization for the introductory cast. Tolkien’s core works, which follow a typical quest narrative structure, embody this idea. In contrast, Rings of Power opens with three branching storylines and progresses into more from the second episode onwards. As a result, there isn’t enough time devoted to each character before major events start occurring. Thus, I find myself with a lack of true investment in the overall storyline.

It certainly doesn’t help that everything just seems to fall into place for our heroes. This episode is chock full of convenient occurrences that just happen to make things a lot easier for our characters. Again, this is just more evidence of poor writing, as though the team didn’t have enough skill to craft compelling character arcs within the source material.

It’s unfortunate to see one of my favorite franchises be handled so poorly by a big name studio that has enough resources to craft something truly memorable. Rings of Power is beginning to feel like something more akin to the newest Star Wars trilogy at this point. It looks flashy, but delivers hollow, dull storylines that lack a true sense of direction. A lack of true respect for the source material will do that I suppose.

The Rings of Power

0.00

3.5

Score

3.5/10

Pros

• Elrond and Durin
• Adar is Pretty Cool.

Cons

• Mithril is What Now?
• Poor characterization
• Conveniences Galore