Lord of the Rings: Power Rings Episode 3 is finding its direction, but I don’t know if I like it

Before we start hacking any further on Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, let’s all ground ourselves for a moment. The best way to do this is with a sentence that Martin said recently in the editorial conference, and which one should take to heart from time to time. It went like this: “We had Willow then and that was it”. And yes, we had to convince ourselves that we also liked the fantasy crumbs that Hollywood threw at us. Maybe that helps to realize that we can also consider ourselves a little lucky that geek topics like this finally have the broad visibility we always knew they deserved.

Well, that would be said so that nobody can say – especially not Martin – that we don’t fundamentally appreciate the high output of ambitious fantasy and sci-fi productions. On the other hand… the third episode of Rings of Power keeps me at a distance as well. We talked about it earlier this week: The first two episodes of Rings of Power were actually a lot better than I feared. I liked the imagery and think anyone who complains about the creative and technical aspects needs glasses. But the show was far from eliciting real emotions from me.

In addition to my changed viewing habits, this is certainly also due to the fact that they were full to the brim with exposure, which is why I was very curious about the third episode. Their credits are flickering across the screen here next to me and I have to say I’m a little concerned. The fan fiction alarm is ringing pretty hard right now. What you have to give the show credit for: It is now finding its way onto its hairy feet quite quickly and seems to be going in a certain direction. I now have a good idea of ​​the framework that we’re going to be exploring in the remaining five episodes, and I really appreciate that. But I don’t know if I like the direction – and the shortcuts she takes there.

So now there is Elendil, the eventual founder and ruler of Gondor and leader of the host that defeats Sauron at Mount Doom. But I’m having trouble reconciling this seafaring captain with the general and head of state he is destined to be. Of course, in Middle-earth even what you would nominally call a human being is several hundred years old and the series will condense that. But that doesn’t make it any more tangible. Rather less. The touches of shallow family dramas in the house of Elendil left me much colder than the better told Harfoot chapters from the last two episodes. I’m having bad Star Wars vibes right now, in that the focus on characters we’re mostly already familiar with – Isildur, the later Sauron slayer and Ringfinder, also features – suddenly makes the world seem smaller, although we’re getting so much more of her for the first time see. Difficult.

And then there are all the new characters that you really can’t or don’t want to categorize. Galadriel’s savior Halbrand is as much a cipher in terms of plot as it is in terms of his charm, I could do just fine without him, although some fan theories would add a bit of spice to his presence if they were true. I do not believe that. Elf Arondir – who, like all elves who don’t do fashion shows in Lindon, seems decidedly too muscular – gets one of the weaker action scenes of the last series time as the core of his episode share in orcish captivity. Both the fight against the first weaker CG monster – a warg that looked more like Knuckles after six years of crystal meth addiction – and the rest of the breakout choreography felt artificial and relieved of tension. The good man shrugged off the death of his comrade from an almost bloodless throat cut like an annoying stain on his freshly washed Sunday tunic. No, that was all nothing.

What happens with the Harfoots is what I like best along with the wonderful arrival to Numenor because their hobbit spirit is well captured and they are well designed. I am also interested in what the “friend” that fell from heaven is all about. Also, I have to say I missed Durin, Disa and Barad Dur terribly and look forward to seeing them again. Anything that doesn’t go quite right with the elves goes all the better with harfoots and dwarves, and now that Galadriel is realizing what the supposed sigil is all about, it can also become more compelling narratively. That reveal at the end was pretty well done.

I think next week I’ll have a better idea of ​​whether this is working for me or whether I’m going to finish it out of curiosity. I like enough elements—just looking at these images is amazingly valuable—to avoid shouldering the parachute and sticking two fingers through the ripcord handle. But I’m just making sure where the emergency exits are.

But hey, remember, we had Willow back then. How right Martin is…