The fantasy series makes room for one of its most ignored characters.
Not much has transpired in Middle-earth since we left it. The Rings of Power season 2 premiere arrived as one of the three episodes that Amazon Prime Video batch-released on the same day, just for the streaming service to revert to weekly drops for episode 4. But although we’re now four hours into the second season of the big-budget Lord of the Rings prequel series, it still feels like everyone is just setting the stage for the battle to come. Like chess pieces slowly assembling on the board, the leagues of disconnected characters in The Rings of Power could really use a game clock to keep things moving.
That said, there’s another faction of Lord of the Rings fans who may wish episode 4 never ended. Audiences are finally introduced to Tom Bombadil in this episode, the immortal tree-hugger who was famously cut from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Say what you will about this previously-thought-to-be-inconsequential character (played by The Diplomat’s Rory Kinnear), but it seems that Bombadil is about to teach Gandalf “the Stranger” how to use magic. Seems mighty important to me!
He’ll need powerful spells in his arsenal, because there’s a new “Dark Wizard” (played by Ciarán Hinds) to face in Middle-earth. He’s popped up out of nowhere to threaten “the Stranger’s” existence, leading to a standoff between the two most powerful guys without names. Not much else is known about this new wizard. He commands an army of dirt bikers who wear bronze skeleton masks—and at one point, he summons a witch using a bunch of moths.
It all spells danger for Harfoots Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), but the two stout heroes have also found some new allies. The Stoors—a sort of desert Harfoot bunch—take them in and earn their trust. They’re led by Gundabel (Tanya Moodie), who will no doubt help our heroes perform some sort of Seven Samurai-esque rebellion against the Dark Wizard.
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Isildur Lives!
Outside of all this magic, the realm of man is undertaking one of its favorite tasks. It’s election season, and the city of Numenor is questioning its current ruler. Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) went blind after the eruption of Mount Doom at the end of season 1, coupled with heavy losses following a war in the Southlands. Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle), her advisor, has emerged as a possible contender to usurp her throne. When a Great Eagle auspiciously lands before him, the Numenorians take the bird’s appearance as a sign that it’s time to try someone new in charge.
In the Southlands, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) wakes up in a spider’s nest. Having miraculously survived the battle with the orcs, he fights off a massive spider and seeks to return home. Tolkien fans are very much aware of how important Isildur is to the events that come next, so his “death” was never really in the cards. Now all that’s left for the character is to fulfill his tragic and quite foolish destiny.
Partnering with Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and a wildling named Estrid (Nia Towle), Isildur is surprised on his journey by two massive Ents. (Those are the big talking trees from The Lord of the Rings.) Though they initially attack our heroes, the two Ents (voiced by Jim Broadbent and Olivia Williams) eventually come to trust Isildur. He asks for their forgiveness, promising to protect nature from the evil orcs.
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Isildur’s alive!
Finally, Dwarves!
Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) is without a doubt this Esquire writer’s shining beacon on Rings of Power. While everyone else is falling into Sauron’s trap and obsessing over magical rings, he’s the only one who is (rightfully) skeptical of anything new that enters his cave city. Sauron has tricked Celebrimbor into forging tainted rings for the dwarves in exchange for mithril, with Durin’s father (Peter Mullan) set to wield the potential doomsday device himself.
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My favorite couple is back.
We Can’t Forget About Galadriel
Speaking of obsessing over the rings, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) is prioritizing their protection over her own safety. When their band of elves is attacked by orcs, she tells Elrond to take off with the ring while she fights them alone. “It was to save the ring,” Elrond (Robert Aramayo) tells his friends. Though she puts up a good fight against the pitiful orcs, she’s captured by Adar (Sam Hazeldine). Unbeknownst to the two foes, they share a common enemy.
