The first episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are magnificent

The Rings of Power Episode 2 review: “Adrift”

Considering how much set up the first episode of The Rings of Power did, “Adrift” is able to hit the ground running. As with “Shadow of the Past,” our characters are all over the map, though by the end we start to get hints of how they could come together.

Perhaps the biggest cliffhanger of the series premiere was Galadriel’s decision to hop off the boat to Valinor and literally swim back to Middle-earth. If that sounds like an ill-advised plan, it is. Galadriel swims for a while before coming across some stranded humans. There’s a bit of tension as they realize she’s an Elf. But that’s short lived; only a few minutes later, an enormous sea creature comes up and wrecks the raft, killing everyone except for Galadriel and a man named Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), who cut his own bit of flotsam off from the rest of the group to escape.

From there, Galadriel and Halbrand spend several scenes dancing around their pasts; Halbrand’s home was destroyed by orcs, and Galadriel wants him to tell her where it is without really sharing anything about herself. Ultimately, we find out Halbrand hailed from the Southlands — the very same area where Arondir and Bronwyn are uncovering a malevolent presence.

Galadriel doesn’t have much time to make plans, though. After she and Halbrand weather a torrential storm (where he shows his better qualities by saving her life), they awaken to the sight of a ship looming over them. Bear McCreary’s Númenor theme plays, hinting that next week we’ll see the fabled city of Aragorn’s ancestors.

Galadriel’s section of this episode was more contained than Episode 1, but it featured some cool scenes as she made her way across the Shuddering Sea.

Trouble in the Southlands

Since we just mentioned the Southlands, we’ll head there next. After discovering that a nearby town had been destroyed, Arondir and Bronwyn find a strange tunnel amidst the devastation. Arondir tells Bronwyn to go back and warn her fellow humans while he slips into the tunnel by himself in order to track down whatever dug it. They get more moments to play up their romance here, and I found myself caring about it slightly more. Arondir explores the tunnels until he’s snatched by gnarled orcish hands. Meanwhile, Bronwyn gets back to her village but no one will listen to her about the danger.

Things start to get really interesting when they focus in on Bronwyn’s son Theo. After he discovers a broken blade in the basement of his neighbor’s barn — a blade that bears the mark of Sauron — Theo finds himself in the episode’s tensest sequence. In both Episodes 1 and 2, Theo complains about mice beneath the floorboards of his house. Succumbing to the dark influence of the sword, he finally freaks out and breaks a hole in the floorboards to scare them off. However, what he finds isn’t mice, but a tunnel just like the one Arondir was exploring. He also injures his hand, which allows blood to flow up onto the sword. The sword seemingly drinks his blood, and begins to regenerate.

All of that is certainly intriguing, but there isn’t much time to consider it before it becomes clear that the tunnel is inhabited by a very scary orc. The sequence where both Theo and Bronwyn are hiding in their house while the orc tries to sniff them out is a highlight. That orc looks more terrifying than I expected; the costuming and camerawork are excellent.

After the orc discovers them and they dispatch it in a chaotic fight, Bronwyn brings its head to the other villagers to convince them it’s time to leave their homes and hole up in the nearby tower the Elven garrison has just abandoned. But Theo is bringing his broken evil sword, and that doesn’t bode well.

The hammers of Khazad-Dûm

Perhaps my favorite storyline of “Adrift” takes place in Khazad-Dûm, the great dwarven city which will become the abandoned ruin of Moria by the time of The Lord of the Rings. In the Second Age, it’s a breathtaking underground metropolis. I can’t stress that enough; Khazad-Dûm is gorgeous to look at, and the music is fantastic at making us feel like we’ve just seen a wonder beyond imagining.

Elrond claims his friendship with the dwarves is strong enough that they’ll help his new pal Celebrimbor build a tower with an exceptionally hot forge, which he wants to use to make his masterpiece. (Again, book readers are probably side-eyeing this whole proposition. If you know you know.)

Despite Elrond’s insistence, he receives a frosty welcome at Khazad-Dûm. Turns out that his old friend Durin (Owain Arthur) is more than a little peeved that Elrond hasn’t visited him in 50 years. To an Elf that’s only the blink of an eye, but Durin has lived an entire lifetime in those years, and is now married with kids. (Elrond didn’t even go to the wedding!) Again, I’m really enjoying how The Rings of Power is exploring ideas from a different angle than The Lord of the Rings, showing how Elves weren’t quite used to being immortal here, at least not in the same way as they are in the Third Age.

After a rock breaking contest and a comedically tense dinner where we meet Durin’s wife Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), the two finally make nice and Durin hears out Elrond’s proposal for the dwarves to help make Celebrimbor’s tower forge. This scene is a lot of fun, largely because of Nomvete’s excellent portrayal of Disa, who puts the pressure on her husband to get along with Elrond.

But despite Elrond thinking his mission is success, the dwarves have a secret of their own. Hopefully we’ll see more of whatever glowing object Durin’s father is hiding in that chest next week.

A stranger amidst the harfoots

Finally, we come to Nori Brandyfoot. Nori’s story in “Adrift” focuses on her attempts to help the mysterious stranger who fell from the sky at the end of the series premiere. By the end, we still know very little about him…but what hints we get are intriguing. He can seemingly communicate with animals, as he does with the fireflies in Nori’s lantern. He has some kind of immense power he can only barely control; more than once Nori has to appeal to him with her hobbity innocence in order to get him to calm down.

Overall, Nori’s tale remains the lightest of the stories, though with these teases about the stranger’s mysterious identity, there’s certainly enough to keep things engaging.

However, Nori is so focused on helping her new friend that she skips out on helping her father put up a large tentpole. It falls, he twists his ankle pretty bad, and now the rest of the harfoots are concerned he won’t be able to manage the long walk to migrate when the time comes. It’s a little bit of down-to-earth tension, which fits perfectly with the overall tone of Nori’s story. This was the set up on top of the set up; how will this stranger affect the wider world? Stay tuned.

The Bullet Points of Power

• The rock breaking contest between Elrond and Durin was fun. Robert Aramayo does excellent work here, showing the shrewder side of Elrond as a politician through lots of subtle expressions.
• Anyone who has experienced the sound of mice in their walls or floor could probably relate to Theo’s outburst. I cheered, I laughed, and then I gasped when I realized he had unearthed something far more sinister than rodents. What a great scene.
• The fight with the orc was intense. Orcs were so casually dispatched in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films that one or two alone rarely ever felt like a threat. Samwise Gamgee literally defeats some with a frying pan in the first movie. But this orc is as terrifying as it is brutal, and it feels like Bronwyn and Theo only triumph by the skin of their teeth.
• Since we’re talking about the movies, Halbrand gives off some serious Aragorn vibes. Was that on purpose? Because if it was, it’s working.

Verdict

“Adrift” was just as solid as the first episode of The Rings of Power, while giving us a lot more action, politicking, and marvelous vistas. Khazad-Dûm was wonderous, the orc fight was scary, and the overall feeling is that the show is starting to move forward. Combine it with the promise of seeing Númenor next week, and I’m sold. The Rings of Power is officially off to a great start.

Episode grade: A-

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels