The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1×05 “Partings” is the calm before the storm. It’s everyone bringing together their forces, planning to face the enemy head-on, and not understanding how much danger they’re heading into. Because there are other dark forces in their crossroads. And this one doesn’t look like Sauron. In fact, he looked rightfully insulted. And that is cause for concern.
Galadriel Ain’t Convincing Anyone & I Love It
I love Galadriel for how messy she is. She’s obviously not the elf that we were introduced to in The Lord of the Rings. And she’s adapting on the fly to an evershifting situation where she is the one in power and moving the pieces instead of the one following orders aka something people don’t realize is new for her. And The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1×05 is showing that once more.
And she’s getting better at it. So much so that Halbrand left his quiet blacksmith life and the Queen Regent left her home for Middle-Earth. Too bad that most of these people will never return before the fall of this island kingdom. (That wave is coming for sure. Plus the orcs. Don’t forget them.) But it still stands that Galadriel is growing as a leader of people and not just a commander of soldiers.
Galadriel’s fighting scenes with the Númenóreans was *chefs kiss*. Sure, Galadriel might still suck at talking to people. But she is a skilled fighter that has honed her craft over decades. That’s why she could take them on. Because she knows bruttish force doesn’t get things done. Patience does. Practice does. And training does. With Galadriel leading them into the belly of the beast aka the future Mordor, they’re going to need all that practice too.
Hopefully there are moments on the sea where she can share her talents while building loyalty from a people that have been taught to distrust her kind.
Nori & Her Developing Relationship with The Stranger
Nori and The Stranger absolutely broke my heart in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1×05. Their scenes together prove that quite some time has passed and that The Stranger has been with them for a while. He’s learned how to form sentences, understand concepts, and use his powers. Sadly those powers rightfully terrified Nori and left The Stranger feeling lost and like maybe he’s really the peril that his Harfoot friend talked about earlier.
But even then, I still think that The Stranger could be Gandalf. We know that when beings like him are sent down they are disoriented. They don’t remember who they are, their mission, or have control of their powers. And sure, Tolkien’s history dictates specific events of Gandalf’s life. But not all of it. There’s room to grown and expand on his story that connects with the timeline we know and love. And I think this show is going to piece everything neatly together if given the time.
What I’m most concerned about is what comes next for The Stranger. Because when he came down, many saw him. And while some just thought it was a falling star, there were some who thought it spoke of trying times. I’m looking at you, Harfoot elder. So it’s not hard to believe that Eminem lookalikes are roaming Middle-Earth and looking for a magical being who is weak, disoriented, and could be the key to powering Sauron up and making him into THE bad guy.
Arondir and Bronwyn Hitting Trying to Survive
Personally, I could watch an entire show about Arondir and Bronwyn. Arondir is my favorite character and Bronwyn is a badass woman. And The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1×05 gave me essential building blocks to show that these two could make an ultimate power couple. And that’s still true in “Partings” when they disagree on what to do about the oncoming threat of orcs and the mysterious sword that Theo thankfully shared.
Couples disagree. They stand tall together, lean on the other, but they do disagree. Those who think otherwise and say they aren’t the power couple to end all on this show…well, you’re wrong. Plus, they ended up coming together at the end and that’s what matters. Even Arondir teaching Theo how to shoot is part of that and I’m grateful to see him bonding with Bronwyn’s son because he can and he wants to. Simple as that.
Talking about the threat coming for them all…that’s not Sauron. If anything he’s someone who was insulted by the mere insinuation that he was Sauron. And that is terrifying. Because Galadriel and her gang thing that they’re dealing with one big and looming threat. They don’t understand that they’re dealing with evils from various fronts. And that is going to lure them into a false sense of security that will cost lives. Not just a handful either. We’re talking thousands upon thousands.
And a lot of them will be our favorites.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres new episodes each Friday on Prime Video.
