The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 delivers a darker, more emotional, and somehow funnier season than expected. Because we knew that when Sauron fully steeped himself in his power, things were going to get bad. I just maybe deluded myself into thinking that they would get bad and the characters that I liked would of course make it through. Unfortunately they didn’t. And I found myself crying for the first time while watching The Rings of Power.
MORE: Where did we last leave off? Read our review for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Shadow and Flame!
MAJOR SPOILER WARNINGS AHEAD!
Like I said, I knew that a lot of people were going to die on the road to Sauron getting his one ring. It just caught me off kilter that the first big main character that would fall would be Arondir, someone who has been here since the beginning. It’s made all the more tragic by the fact that he was killed by his pseudo son Theo after he became a Nazgnagôl as a means of getting power to protect himself from the people that had enslaved him.
It’s Arondir’s death that shook me and made me cry for the first time in this show’s entirety. Because I’ve been so focused on the fantastical of it all and how much I’ve enjoyed being back in Middle Earth that his death feels like my eyes being opened in totality at the fragility of the story being told. Because we know how this ends for Sauron. But along the way we’re going to lose a lot more people, especially beloved ones like Arondir, who I feel like could have done so much more in this story in trying to reach Theo as he serves Sauron.
MORE: The Rings of Power Adds 3 New Cast Members to Season 3
Another person that we lost in the first four episodes of Season 3 was Eärien.
A lot of people are not going to be sad about her death because of the role that she played in the fall of the Faithful and Queen Regent Miriel. But I think she knew that what she did was wrong and she did the dirty work to try to fix things. In a lot of ways it’s too late. But it matters that she realized her mistake, how she helped destroy her family, with her literally sacrificing her life to make sure Pharazôn got nothing intel out of her. But like Arondir, maybe more time spent exploring this regret could’ve made her death more impactful even if shocking.
Admittedly, these two deaths were the real standout moments for me in The Rings of Power Season 3 Episodes 1 through 4. They exemplified how much the show is taking a darker turn from here on out. Everything else did feel a little over stuffed, which is commonplace for The Rings of Power. And if you come to this show and expect balance, that’s not what you’re going to get here because there are so many characters and moving pieces. I’ve made peace with that after 2 seasons.
Within this over-stuffed storyline, there were some beautiful moments like Gandalf putting on his iconic hat for the first time, Galadriel finding out her husband Celeborn is still alive, and that exchange between Durin and his wife Disa, even if it turned sour when his jealousy spiked. And it goes to show you that yes the show is getting darker, but there are still moments of light within the show that make it worth sitting down, turning on the tv, and going on the next leg of this journey in Middle Earth.
The one surprised delight of Season 3 Episodes 1-4 also goes to Marnûkh the orc.
I feel like most of The Lord of the Rings films have made the orcs seem like mindless drones. But they do have personality, they always have. And making some of the orcs funny, or willing to try to take Sauron down, makes their plight a little bit more layered. (Of course, that’s not so surprising after the Adar of it all. But still.) And it all makes me look at who they are in the future with a different eye. Yes, they’re still on the side of the bad guy. But I like a little nuance sprinkled all over the media I consume. And hopefully this isn’t the last time we see of Marnûkh now that Sauron has him….
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 Episodes 1-4 are now available on Prime Video.
