From the high end to the legendarily mundane

Most fiction is either character-driven or plot-driven. The novels that make up A Song of Ice and Fire and the subsequent TV series, Game of Thrones, are notably character-driven. There is no high concept that drives the story. It's pretty much straightforward epic fantasy. But it's a story that is steered by several amazing characters, such as Tyrion Lannister and Arya Stark. It's the lack of these that currently hinders its prequel, House of the Dragon. The Rings of Power has the mild advantage of being plot-driven- everything centers around massive events like the creation of the rings and the fall of Numenór -but also having multiple characters that are interesting in and of themselves, like Galadriel and Halbrand. Granted, Galadriel is being written and played by Morfydd Clark so intensely as to be borderline annoying at times. Yes, we get it. You're obsessed with Sauron, greatest surviving servant of Morgoth, whom you hold responsible for the death of your brother and whom you will never, ever stop pursuing. We're right there with you but, at some point, we're all hoping that you learn one of Sauron's essential talents (e.g. more flies with honey, etc.) And, yet, somehow your vinegar roped in the queen-regent of the Dúnedain, Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson.) It's that kind of irritating leap that made this the first episode of Rings that felt more rote than splendid. It was still interesting, but it was also the kind of routine adventure story that you'd expect from material much lower on the scale of such things and more like you'd get out of a Terry Brooks novel (to speak of only one of the most notable of Tolkien ripoffs, complete with a Gandalf who sends some halflings on a mission.)

Just like that Brooks novel, this episode of Rings also involves a sword that the dark forces want to possess. Said weapon is in the hands of young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) who is determined to be more active in the defense of his fellow villagers that have taken shelter in the very watchtower that Arondir and company abandoned a couple weeks back. Everything old is new again and all that. The fact that this is much like Théoden leading his people to Helm's Deep should be in the forefront of most LotR fans' minds, if they're paying attention. And, again, this is what makes this episode somewhat rote in its telling. This is the adventure story, as the common people do their common things and the heroes among them stand out, to one degree of success or another. The fact that Theo waits until dark, when the orcs can move around at will, to try to escape from the otherwise empty village is another example of how one person's hero is another person's fool. But stumbling into things is also one of the easier ways of getting a story out of them, so here we are. There's a Tolkien nerd moment when the old man warns Theo of the return of Sauron, since said name was given to him by the elves as something of a mockery of his original name (Mairon, "the admirable"; Sauron means "the abominable") Would Sauron's servants use the elf name? Obviously, that's way too much detail for the casual viewer but it occurred to the Tolkien nerd.

The events on Numenór are a little more awkward in terms of delivering a story. Isildur "failing" at the Sea Guard tests is pretty standard for Campbell's hero's journey and, as noted, Míriel is somehow convinced by Galadriel discovering the secret of her ailing father. I guess they did well enough in showing just how disturbed the queen regent was by the vision she kept seeing in the palantir that she has, but it still felt unconvincing and simply like a plot element (e.g. this is how Elendil and a bunch of Dúnedain first end up in Middle-Earth!) that had to be fulfilled. Speaking of the seeing stones, it was odd to hear Míriel say that "the rest" had been lost or hidden, considering that when the Numenóreans finally moved to M-E for good, they brought seven of them along with them and Tolkien lore suggests that there may have never been more than eight in the first place. One other detail is that, in the books, the stones were only used for communication and it was mentioned that they could be used to view the past. The presence of visions of the future was never a thing, but artistic license by the show writers has already been employed, so this is probably just another one of those things. Still, I question why the others had to be "lost or hidden", rather than simply explaining that the one in the palace was simply one of them. Galadriel would have known what they were and why they were there, as they had been given to the kingdom by the elves. It was nice to see them displaying Pharazôn's political acumen, by setting up a rabble-rouser to inflame a crowd, only for the chancellor to calm them and display his leadership qualities. Thus are coups set in motion...

We were also brought back into the realm of the dwarves, as we finally returned to the amusing interplay between Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Durin (Owain Arthur), and Disa (Sophia Nomvete.) Obviously, all of this was leading up to the discovery of mithril at Khazad-Dûm, which is fine. It's a good way to show off the mistrust of the elves that the dwarves share with the humans, as well as the grasping possessiveness that the former have when the possibility of crafting something comes around. Disa is by far the most entertaining of the trio (That's right, racists. The Black dwarf is the cool one.) Alongside the typical blustery Durin and the aloof but still earnest Elrond, Disa is entirely practical yet eminently sociable and clearly the one most capable of navigating the disruptions created by the instincts (or agendae) of others. Nomvete is kind of a delight and I really hope her role expands in the future. In contrast, the appearance of the Morgoth-serving elf, Adar, was kind of restrained. I had expected a bit more of a Romulan experience, with the cold intellect surrounded by some degree of actual fury. For his couple of minutes on screen, he's essentially still the figure in the shadows that didn't need to be seen or named at all. That may be what is still the Diablo-esque nature of the M-E scenes shining (shadowing?) through, though, which is still part of what makes the show enjoyable. So, we've lost a bit of the shine of wonder and are through to the "story simply progressing" phase; much like the difference between Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. It's still absolutely worth the time.