A compelling follow-up to what came before in the "Rings of Power" series, episode 5 took on new life as it exposed lingering secrets and explored elusive mysteries.
Great work on direction by Wayne Che Yip, and superb screenplay by Justin Doble. I have covered more details in previous reviews, so I shall keep it crisp this time round. Outstanding work all round by the VFX, hair-makeup, costume, music, cinematography, and editing crews, not to forget production design, set decoration, and stunts.
The stranger, played by Daniel Weyman, was noteworthy. Nori Brandyfoot, played by Markella Kavenagh, was great. Poppy Proudfellow, played by Megan Richards, was amazing. Adar (non-canonical character), played by Joseph Mawle, was good. Bronwyn (non-canonical character), played by Nazanin Boniadi, was also good. Arondir (non-canonical character), played by Ismael Cruz Cordova, was great.
Rowan (non-canonical character), played by Ian Blackburn, was amazing. Waldreg (non-canonical character), played by Geoff Morrell, was riveting. Isildur, played by Maxim Baldry, was interesting. Elendil (Capt.), played by Lloyd Owen, was great. Pharazôn, played by Trystan Gravelle, was quite good. Queen Regent Míriel, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, was enthralling.
Galadirel, played by Morfydd Clark, was splendid. Halbrand (non-canonical character), played by Charlie Vickers, was great. Kemen (non-canonical character), played by Leon Wadham, was intriguing. Eärien (non-canonical character), played by Ema Horvath, was good.
Sadoc Burrows (non-canonical character), played by Lenny Henry, was quite good. Malva, played by Thusitha Jayasundera, was great. Elrond, played by Robert Aramayo, was memorable. Prince Durin IV, played by Owain Arthur, was outstanding. High King Gil-galad, played by Benjamin Walker, was good. Celebrimbor, played by Charles Edwards, was also good. Valandil (non-canonical character), played by Alex Tarrant, was great.
All other cast and crew did great work in "Rings Of Power" episode 5 'Partings', now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
I liked that tiny detail about the stranger - whom I believe is Gandalf - pushing a Harfoot cart and then ages later, that same Gandalf will be riding into the Shire on his own horse-drawn cart. That, my friends, is what they call a tribute. *sigh* It's the little things... Gandalf himself remains unconfirmed as a character, but I started to see signs of him potentially being Saruman (!) instead. This episode played plenty of "Two Towers" tunes for me not to care about that possibility.
Some intriguing reveals also took place around the white-robed mystics, particularly the one several fans thought was young Sauron. It turned out, the lead mystic was a woman, and so were her companions, a warrior and an aide. The Dweller, played by Bridie Sisson, was captivating in the role. She created yet another ominous thread of mystery for the show going forward. Some interesting sequences around Adar and the orcs added to the wonder in this episode.
Poppy Proudfellow's rendition of 'The Wandering Day' song brought back some good old Tolkien vibes. My playlist has the song on loop now. Bear McCreary never ceases to impress. "Not all those who wander are lost."
The previous episode already hinted at a Helm's Deep style battle to come, and this epi delivered a small portion of that promise. I am not yet certain if the coming battle will be on a scale lesser or grander than the face-off in Peter Jackson's "The Two Towers". The tower in question was Ostirith - located in the eastern foothills of the Ephel Dúath. After Sauron will be done using it, much later in the fictional timeline, the place will become Cirith Ungol - near Minas Morgul, and a not-so-friendly neighbourhood spider named Shelob.
I liked how they captured Mithril's very own origin story. But this was not in keeping with what J. R. R. Tolkien envisioned for the legendary ore. In fact, Mithril was a Númenorean staple more than anything strictly Dwarven-implemented. Graceful though the rewrite was, and visually captivating, I did not appreciate the heavy-handed deviation for numerous reasons.
They connected the originally non-existent "Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir" (Tolkien had no such tale) with the "light of the lost Silmaril", which to hear Gil-galad (of all Elves) say it was a thing yet to be found. In truth, the "Rings of Power" timeline will have already seen all three Silmarils in mindful existence. The foreshadowing of the much-awaited Balrog was the best part of this almost anti-Tolkien take on his rich and intricate histories of Middle-Earth, and beyond.
Amazon managed to fit it altogether into their ongoing narrative, so I can't really complain. All in all, episode 5 of "Rings Of Power" was impressive and regaling. It captured even more nuances of the characters (canonical and otherwise) and locations that fans have come to admire about this franchise, and the show itself.
The unthinkable use of that broken sword (rather, tool) of Sauron - the one Theo kept hidden for a while - the very sword being revealed to have played a sorcerous part in enslaving the Southlands folk to the Dark Lord's will... Galadriel in full battle armour... Isildur and Elendil on their way to unwittingly fulfill their parts in the One-Ring-legacy... The Elves and Dwarves getting closer to creating a major inter-racial milestone, with Mithril possibly creating a strong bridge and bond between their people... Númenorean ships (those design masterpieces) going to Middle-Earth to address the threat in the Southlands - someone is going to jump out of one of those ships in classic Aragorn style, I can feel it...
These, and sundry notable themes and throwbacks, enriched and enlivened the fifth episode in the "Rings of Power" Amazon series. And I am now sat looking at the weekend as if they are weekdays. Next Friday is taking longer to arrive than the Harfoots to their new home.
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